| Abstrakt: |
Connectivity along the coastline is important for applications including pollutant, larvae, and phytoplankton transport, particularly between bays which can act as sources or sinks of these materials. This study presents the results of a high-resolution numerical model (500 m–2 km with 30 vertical layers) of the northwest Gulf of Mexico to simulate surface drifters, and the calculation of alongcoast connectivity by tracking drifter crossings of 5 km by 5 km analysis boxes along the coastline. Seasonal results show the detailed connectivity relationships between locations, particularly strong downcoast (toward Mexico from Louisiana) connectivity in winter and both up- and downcoast connectivity in summer, tied to winds as well as the presence of the Mississippi-Atchafalaya river plume. The likelihood of any connectivity between nine bays and notable locations along the Texas–Louisiana coastline is summarized and shows particular connectivity from Galveston downcoast to Port Aransas, especially in the winter. The details of likelihood of any connectivity as well as the timing over 30 simulation days are presented for transport from and to each of the nine locations. The Louisiana locations are more isolated from the Texas locations, though they can have downcoast transport to Texas in the winter. Texas sites can be connected both up- and downcoast, especially with other Texas sites. These results can be used to read the minimum transport time between locations as well as detailed likelihood over time by season for determining the possibility of transport of, for example, a harmful algal bloom from one known location to other vulnerable sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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