scholarly journals Model Development and Hindcast Simulations of NOAA’s Integrated Northern Gulf of Mexico Operational Forecast System

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zizang Yang ◽  
Lianyuan Zheng ◽  
Phillip Richardson ◽  
Edward Myers ◽  
Aijun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
Additional Domain ◽  
One Year

NOAA’s National Ocean Service is upgrading three existing northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) operational nowcast/forecast systems (OFS) by integrating them into one single system (INGOFS) and developing additional domain coverage to encompass the lower Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, Texas coastal embayments, and Mexican coastal waters. The system will produce real-time nowcast and short-range forecast guidance for water levels, 3-dimensional currents, water temperature, and salinity. INGOFS will be implemented using the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). This paper describes the model configuration and results from a one-year (2 August 2016–1 August 2017) hindcast simulation. The model grid is composed of about 300,000 nodes and 600,000 elements, and has a spatial resolution ranging from 45 m near the coast to around 10 km on the open ocean boundary. It uses the FVCOM wetting and drying feature, the quadratic bottom friction scheme, and the two-equation model of the Mellor-Yamada Level 2.5 turbulence closure scheme. The hindcast results of water levels, surface temperatures, and salinity were verified by comparing the model time series with in situ observations. The root-mean-squared errors are about 0.08 m for water levels, about 1.1 °C for temperatures, and about 3.7 psu for salinity. The hindcast configuration will be further tested in a nowcast/forecast environment for a one-year period. The upgraded system is anticipated to be in operational production in mid-2020.

Validating the occurrence of Caribbean reef sharks, Carcharhinus perezi (Poey), (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhiniformes) in the northern Gulf of Mexico, with a key for sharks of the family Carcharhinidae inhabiting the region

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2933 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM B. DRIGGERS III ◽  
ERIC R. HOFFMAYER ◽  
EMMA L. HICKERSON ◽  
TIMOTHY L. MARTIN ◽  
CHRISTOPHER T. GLEDHILL
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Mississippi River Delta ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
The Family ◽  
Reef Sharks

Among the sharks inhabiting the continental shelf waters of the western North Atlantic Ocean, those within the genus Carcharhinus are the most speciose (Castro 2011). Authoritative sources agree on the presence of twelve species of carcharhinids in the northern Gulf of Mexico; however, they disagree on the presence of a thirteenth species, C. perezi (Poey), in the region (Compagno 1984, Compagno 2002, McEachran & Fechhelm 1998, Castro 2011). While the range of C. perezi is well-documented to extend from the southeastern coast of Florida and the Bahamas to Brazil (Castro 2011), published records of C. perezi occurring in the northern Gulf of Mexico are limited to two sources. In their description of Eulamia springeri, a junior synonym of C. perezi, Bigelow & Schroeder (1944) place the species in the northern Gulf of Mexico based on “a somewhat shrivelled skin with head” from a specimen collected off the west coast of Florida that was reported by the authors to be “probably of this species.” Later, Springer (1960) reported the capture of a single specimen off the Mississippi River Delta in 1947; however, no detail of the capture was provided other than it being listed within a table summarizing shark species collected during exploratory fishing operations.

scholarly journals Extensive reproductive disruption, ovarian masculinization and aromatase suppression in Atlantic croaker in the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1726) ◽  
pp. 28-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Thomas ◽  
Md. Saydur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Aromatase Activity ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Hypoxia Exposure ◽  
Hypoxic Zone ◽  
Seasonal Hypoxia ◽  
Reproductive Disruptions ◽  
Reproductive Disruption

The long-term impacts on marine ecosystems of the recent dramatic worldwide increase in the incidence of coastal hypoxia are unknown. Here, we show widespread reproductive disruption in Atlantic croakers collected from hypoxic sites approximately 120 km apart in the extensive northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf hypoxic zone. Gonadal growth and gamete production were impaired in croakers from hypoxic sites compared with fish from reference normoxic sites east of the Mississippi River Delta. Male germ cells were detected in approximately 19 per cent of croaker ovaries collected in the hypoxic region, but were absent in ovaries from normoxic sites. In addition, the sex ratio was skewed towards males at the hypoxic sites. The masculinization and other reproductive disruptions were associated with declines in neuroendocrine function, as well as ovarian and brain expression of aromatase (the enzyme that converts androgens to oestrogens). A similar incidence of ovarian masculinization and decline in ovarian aromatase expression were observed in croaker after chronic laboratory hypoxia exposure, indicating that ovarian masculinization is a specific hypoxia response and is due to decreased aromatase activity. The results suggest severe reproductive impairment can occur over large coastal regions in marine fish populations exposed to seasonal hypoxia, with potential long-term impacts on population abundance.

scholarly journals Rethinking the Mississippi River diversion for effective capture of riverine sediments

2015 ◽  
Vol 367 ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Jun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
River Diversion ◽  
Flood Plains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
Riverine Sediment ◽  
Coastal Land

Abstract. Many river deltas in the world are vibrant economic regions, serving as transportation hubs, population centres, and commercial hotspots. However, today, many of these deltaic areas face a tremendous challenge with land loss due to a number of factors, such as reduced riverine sediment supply, coastal land erosion, subsidence, and sea level rise. The development of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain (MRDP) in southeast Louisiana, USA, over the past century is a good example. Since 1932, approximately 4877 km2 of the coastal land of MRDP has become submerged. The lower Mississippi River main channel entering the Gulf of Mexico has become an isolated waterway with both sides losing land. In contrast, large open water areas in the Mississippi River’s distributary basin, the Atchafalaya River basin, have been silted up over the past century, and the river mouth has developed a prograding delta feature at its two outlets to the Gulf of Mexico. The retrospective analysis of this paper makes it clear that the main cause of the land loss in the MRDP is not the decline of riverine sediment, but the disconnection of the sediment sources from the natural flood plains. Future sediment management efforts in the MRDP should focus on restoring the natural connection of riverine sediment supplies with flood plains, rather than solely using channelized river diversion. This could be achieved through controlled overbank flooding (COF) and artificial floods in conjunction with the use of a hydrograph-based sediment availability assessment.

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