Did the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami Affect the Area of High Particulate

Organic Carbon and High Chlorophyll Concentration?

By: Maiya Osife & Alexis NaoneTeacher: Ms. Everett

Southridge High SchoolGrade: 11

Description of Images

•Location: Indian Ocean, near Indonesian islands

•Date: December 26th 2004

• Parameters: Particulate Organic Carbon and Chlorophyll levels

Particulate Organic Carbon concentration in mg/m³

2000 2001

2003 2004

2002

2005 2006

Chlorophyll Concentration in mg/m³

2000 2001 2002

2003 2004 2005 2006

Background

•Particulate Organic Carbon: The carbon that is too large and is filtered out of a sample. The physical and chemical properties of the particles control how rapidly a chemical species is removed from solution and incorporated in sediment•Chlorophyll: A compound in plants that converts radiant energy to chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis •Epicenter on the west coast of Indonesian island of Sumatra•9.1-9.3 Magnitude, 3rd largest earthquake ever recorded•The rupture was more than 600 miles long and displacing the seafloor by 10 yards

Question and Hypothesis

•Question: Did the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affect the area of high particulate organic carbon and chlorophyll and are they correlated?•Hypothesis: We predict that the tsunami would increase both the organic carbon and chlorophyll levels because the intense waves would cause the organic carbon to rise and increase the levels of chlorophyll. The chlorophyll would increase because of the increased nutrient availability.

Variables:

•Independent Variable: Years during December measured for chlorophyll and particulate carbon (2000 to 2006)

•Dependent Variable: Area in km² of particulate organic carbon above 400 mg/m^3 and area of chlorophyll above 1 mg/m^3

Methods

Source of Images:

•Giovanni

Sources of Background Information:

•National Geographic

•CSA

•WET Labs

Data Analysis Steps: Particulate Organic Carbon Concentration How to prepare the images for measurement:

•Choose parameters and settings on Giovanni

•Open Image J

•Set the scale to 1909.19 km per 135.21 pixel (found from Google Earth)

•Crop the image so only the map portion shows.

•Set the image type to RGB and then to RGB stack.

•Set the threshold to include pixel values between 70 and 252

• -This will include carbon concentration levels higher than 400mg/m³

•Set measurements to area and limit to threshold.

•Measure the image.

Data Analysis Steps: Chlorophyll Concentration

How to prepare the images for measurement:•Choose parameters and settings on Giovanni•Open Image J •Set the scale to 1909.19 km per 135.21 pixel (found from Google Earth)•Crop the image so only the map portion shows.•Set the image type to RGB and then to RGB stack.•Set the threshold to include pixel values between 161 and 252

-This will include chlorophyll levels higher than 1mg/m³•Set measurements to area and limit to threshold. •Measure the image.

Results: Data Table

748064372006

875571782005

688560862004

707159972003

667360262002

741464262001

796170302000

Area of Chlorophyll (km²) above 1mg/m^3

Area of Particulate Carbon (km²) above 400 mg/m^3

Date (years)

Results: Particulate Organic Carbon Graph

Results: Chlorophyll Graph

Findings and Discussion

•The highest area occurred in 2005 for both carbon and chlorophyll

•The lowest area occurred in 2002 for both carbon and chlorophyll

•Data Trend: The concentration levels that were measured did not change drastically until the year, 2005, after the tsunami. This suggests that the tsunami did cause an increase in the concentration levels of both particulate organic carbon and chlorophyll.

•Unusual Findings: We had predicted that the concentration levels of both parameters would increase in 2004, the year of the tsunami, when in fact the changes took place over time and the affect showed in 2005.

Conclusion

•Hypothesis: Did the 2004 tsunami affect the particulate organic carbon and chlorophyll concentration levels? Yes, the particulate organic carbon and chlorophyll concentration both dramatically increased following the year of the 2004 tsunami. Both concentrations showed increase in 2005, suggesting the correlation between the two. To follow up, we did a correlation analysis and the r value is .954 which suggests a very significant correlation. The increase in particulate organic carbon was caused by the stirring up of sediment which also contained different nutrients which would in turn benefit the algae and cause an increase in chlorophyll.

•Future Prediction: We predict that the future years to come the parameters will stay at a pretty moderate level until another natural disaster or a cause of stirring up of sediments occurs.

Limitations1. Seeing that the increase occurred in 2005, the year after the tsunami, we feel that it would be more substantial to have recorded data specifically during all months of 2004 and 2005 and perhaps 2006 also to show the levels going back to normal again.

2. Inconsistency of computer usage, general speed of the computers in the lab resulted in very slow results as far as image processing.

3. The general time span of this project because we are very pleased that our hypothesis proved true and would enjoy expanding the topic, perhaps by expanding the date range specifically to all of 2004, 2005, and 2006.

4. Skewed Images led to some possible inaccurate data and further results.

5. Considering that the world is round and our images were flat, that could have thrown off our data.

6. Scale may have been slightly off.

Implications for Humans• Thousands of homes, businesses, and beaches were ruined from the

natural disaster. Leaving families broken and no place to go. Many lives were lost, also hundreds were injured or missing.

• Aid agencies spent millions on rehabilitation centers, shelters, and fresh water and food to help the civilians get healthy and back on their feet.

• Marine fisheries and local markets went out of business from the huge decrease of fish and sea life. There was also severe damage to fishing boats and equipment that could no longer be used.

• The sandy beaches and coral reefs were the main tourist attractions. Companies had lost tons of money and business due to the tsunami.

• Organizations from all over came together to help the people of need by rebuilding stores and homes.

• National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program announced they were installing 32 more satellite tsunami tracker systems that are located in the ocean in several places all over the world. This cost the company a ton of money.

Implications for EcosystemsNegative:

•Large amounts of pollution had been drained into the ocean, contaminating the water and killing the sea life.

•40-60% of the coral reefs were knocked over and destroyed because of the waves.

•Sea life living in the coral reefs had died from the pollution

(bleaching), and destroyed by the waves.Positive:

•Sediments that were brought up also helped sea life continue to grow and animals got the nutrients they need.

•Natural barriers saved some coastline communities from severe damage.

Cited Sources

• "Ocean Color Radiometry Online Visualization and Analysis." Giovanni. NASA. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://gdata1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/daac-bin/G3/gui.cgi?instance_id=ocean_month>.

• "The Deadliest Tsunami in History?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 7 Jan. 2005. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html>.

• "Tsunamis and the International Response: Economic, Social and Environmental Dimensions." CSA. Pro Quest. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/tsunami/overview.php?SID=ed8m1roo1f1k3mrslur6o7d574>.

• "WET Labs: Glossary of Terms." Underwater Sensors from WET Labs. WET Labs. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.wetlabs.com/glossary.htm>.