Introduction

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season set records as the most active season as well as the most expensive in terms of property damage. Additionally, it was the fifth consecutive season since 2016 with above average number of storms. Overall there were 30 named storms, with thirteen of the storms developing into hurricanes, and six intensifying into major hurricanes. Twelve of the hurricanes that developed made landfall in the contiguous United States, breaking a record set in 1916. The season was also the fifth consecutive one in which a category 5 hurricane was formed. The energy for the 2020 hurricane season was fueled largely by the La Niña event that occurred in the summer months of 2020.

Measuring Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity With NASA's SMAP and Data Analysis Products

The animations of sea surface temperature anomaly, sea surface temperature, and sea surface salinity clearly show how active the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was, as well as the oceanic response to the multiple storms. The evolution of the ocean response to the 2020 Atlantic tropical cyclones is evaluated using data from the NASA Multi-Scale Ultra-High Resolution (MUR) sea surface temperature (SST) and NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) sea surface salinity (SSS) based on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Captive Active Passive (CAP) Product. 

Major Findings

The ocean response is clearly observed along the tracks of the 2020 Atlantic tropical cyclones, with waters approximately 2°C cooler from normal along the hurricane track that persisted for several days. It is common to observe trails of cooler water, or cold wakes, along hurricane tracks as a result of wind-induced mixing and turbulence that brings cold waters at depth to the surface. Salinity freshening due to precipitation can also be seen along the hurricane tracks, as well as increased salinity from wind stress-generated vertical mixing. The ocean salinity response to hurricanes is a combination of two competing effects: 1) salinity freshening due to enhanced precipitation and 2) salinity increase due to wind stress-generated vertical mixing, wherein increased salinity from a mid-level maximum is brought to the surface.

Related Links

• Ocean Response to 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season
• Sea Surface Temperature Response to 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season
• Sea Surface Salinity Response to 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season 

References

• Chin, T.M., J. Vazquez-Cuervo, and E.M. Armstrong (2017). A multi-scale high-resolution analysis of global sea surface temperature. Remote sensing of environment, 200,154-169.
• Fore, A.G, S.H. Yueh, W. Tang, B.W. Stiles, and A.K. Hayashi (2016). Combined Active/Passive Retrievals of Ocean Vector Wind and Sea Surface Salinity With SMAP. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING, VOL. 54, NO. 12. p.7396-7404. doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2016.2601486.