Galveston Bay and Coastal Ocean Optical-Geochemical Response to Hurricane Harvey From VIIRS Ocean Color

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon, suspended particulate matter concentrations, and their optical proxies colored dissolved organic matter absorption and backscattering coefficients were studied in Galveston Bay, Texas, following the extreme flooding of Houston and surrounding areas due to Hurricane Harvey (25-29 August 2017) using field and ocean color observations. A three-step empirical-semianalytic algorithm for determination of colored dissolved organic matter absorption and backscattering coefficients revealed the dynamics of dissolved organic carbon and particle distribution from Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometric Suite ocean color. Environmental drivers, especially floodwater discharge and winds, strongly influenced the spatiotemporal distribution of dissolved/particulate material in the bay and shelf waters following the hurricane passage. Over 10 days during/following the hurricane, ~25.2 × 10⁶ kg C of total organic carbon and ~314.7 × 10⁶ kg of suspended particulate matter were rapidly exported from Galveston Bay (representing ~0.65% and 0.27% of respective annual Mississippi River fluxes to the Gulf of Mexico), with potential for ecological impacts to shelf waters.