Preliminary remote sensing observation of sea surface temperature increase during Ulva prolifera blooms.

A massive bloom of green macroalgaeUlva proliferaoccurred in June 2008 in the Yellow Sea, resulting in perhaps the largest “green tide” event in the history of bloom research. The covered area is about 1,200 km2and the impacted area reached 40,000 km2on 31 May. This also occurred in the following two years, 2009 and 2010. We analyzed the satellite data from MODIS and the results showed that sea surface temperature increased 1–3°C inU. proliferabloom locations. The macroalgae in the water may have been the cause of the increase of sea surface temperatures. Rapid increases ofU. proliferabiomass during the blooms may have increased radiation absorption of the water, and thus enhanced the rate of heating at the sea surface. The present study represents a preliminary observation, which is an important step for understanding influences of macroalgae on ocean surface conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]