I understand upwelling from a previous storm brings up cooler waters in its wake, BUT...
1) How deep do storm waters effect? Are we talking about 100-500 ft? That sounds deep, but in the vastness of the oceans, that's not much.
2) This question somewhat depends on the first... How long does the upwelling last? Only the duration of the storm, or longer? If only for the duration of the storm, 1-2 days over a typical spot of ocean doesn't seem like much time for a complete water turnover.
3) And given the average average mid 80-mid 90 temps in the Gulf, I would think that any upwelling would have "reheated" by now, given that hot air (or water) rises and cooler sinks (denser salinity) How long on average does it take for water temps to return to "normal"?
Not to belittle Katrina in any way, but I would think that the Gulf waters would have "resettled" by now. Can anybody give any info?
I was curious because many people are talking about Katrina's upwell surpressing new/increasing development for Rita and I was curious about long-term effects in a relatively shallow Gulf (vs Atlantic proper)...


