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Abstract
Analysis of satellite remote sensing data has revealed changes in distribution of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and sea surface temperature (SST) in the Indian Ocean during the South Asian tsunami in December 2004. Chl-a data derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) images were examined for the period from 1998 to 2005. Around the epicentre of the Sumatra earthquake, the Chl-a concentration was found to increase prior to the main event on 26 December 2004 and then decrease during the tsunami event, while a high SST (∼30–31°C) was observed in and around the epicentral region. Chl-a concentrations in the coastal waters of the Southeast Asian countries were remarkably low during and after the tsunami. Similar but relatively small variations in Chl-a and SST were observed during the second earthquake on 28 March 2005. Analysis of Chl-a, SST, wind and upwelling water has provided information for understanding the changes in Chl-a concentration during the tsunami. A very large offshore phytoplankton bloom (∼300 km2) appeared to the southeast of Sri Lanka about 3 weeks after the tsunami; this might have been caused by a tropical storm that could be responsible for the enhancement of nutrients.
Acknowledgements
The present work was supported by research grants from (1) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC40576053 and 40811140533) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2008 Partnership program for typhoon research 8351030101000002); and (2) the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (LYQY200701) and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams awarded to Professor DanLing Tang; and (3) a post-doctoral fellowship of CAS awarded to Dr Satyanarayana (No. 2005037619). We are grateful to the Editor and the anonymous referees for their comments/suggestions that have helped to improve the original version of the manuscript.