The relationship between climate condition and water quality responses in South Florida

Entrusted with stewardship of many of the most ecologically, economically and socially important marine resources in U.S. waters, managers at NOAA's Marine Sanctuaries need accurate and timely decision-making tools to take proactive steps in facing the threat climate change poses to the resources. The fundamental task ahead is to make basic climate information readily available for these resource managers, and to provide interpreted and derived information that reduces complexity and renders decision making easier, quicker and more successful. Tools which provide this information should include assessments, status, trends and alerts for target regions, and should also provide an easy and satisfying feedback mechanism for developers, managers, and stakeholders.

One of the components of the project is to quantify water quality responses to different climate events. Specifically, we will use 12 years of ocean color data to compute (1) the expected annual cycle of water quality and consequently (2) the difference between the expected and instantaneous conditions. The difference term will be the focus of the discussion here as it provides clues to how water quality in South Florida responds to different climate events.