Reduced interdecadal variability of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation under global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jun; Liu, Zhengyu; Zhang, Shaoqing; Liu, Wei; Dong, Lina; Liu, Peng; Li, Hongli

2016-01-01

Interdecadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC-IV) plays an important role in climate variation and has significant societal impacts. Past climate reconstruction indicates that AMOC-IV has likely undergone significant changes. Despite some previous studies, responses of AMOC-IV to global warming remain unclear, in particular regarding its amplitude and time scale. In this study, we analyze the responses of AMOC-IV under various scenarios of future global warming in multiple models and find that AMOC-IV becomes weaker and shorter with enhanced global warming. From the present climate condition to the strongest future warming scenario, on average, the major period of AMOC-IV is shortened from ∼50 y to ∼20 y, and the amplitude is reduced by ∼60%. These reductions in period and amplitude of AMOC-IV are suggested to be associated with increased oceanic stratification under global warming and, in turn, the speedup of oceanic baroclinic Rossby waves. PMID:26951654

The Emergence of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation (PMOC) Paced by Obliquity Cycles during the Pliocene

Science.gov (United States)

Burls, N.; Fedorov, A. V.; Sigman, D. M.; Jaccard, S.; Tiedemann, R.; Haug, G. H.

2016-12-01

Deep water formation in northern high latitudes, as part of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), is a critical element of modern ocean circulation and climate. For the warm Pliocene, roughly 4 to 2.8 million years ago, we present measurements and modeling evidence that deep water formation also occurred in the North Pacific, supporting another overturning cell - the Pacific meridional overturning circulation (PMOC). The evidence includes calcium carbonate accumulation in Pliocene subarctic Pacific sediments rivaling that of the modern North Atlantic, with pigment, total organic carbon, and redox-sensitive trace metal measurements supporting deep ocean ventilation as the driver of the enhanced calcium carbonate preservation. Together with high accumulation rates of biogenic opal, this implies a bi-directional communication between surface waters and the waters overlying the deep seafloor, and hence deep convection. A Pliocene-like climate simulation reproduces this deep water formation, with co-occurring Atlantic and Pacific overturning cells. The PMOC emerges as a result of the less intense hydrological cycle under Pliocene conditions characterized by a reduced meridional SST gradient. This weaker hydrological cycle leads to the erosion of the North Pacific halocline, allowing deep convection. Examining the data in more detail shows that, while the opal accumulation rate was continuously high, maxima in calcium carbonate accumulation rate were sharp and intermittent. Most likely, these maxima occurred during Northern Hemisphere summer insolation maxima when, as supported by the modeling results, mid-latitude SSTs in the Northern Hemisphere were at a maximum and the meridional SST gradient was particularly weak. These findings suggest that the climate system fluctuated between periods of strong and weak PMOC during the Pliocene. Such fluctuations appear to be a crucial part of Pliocene climate variability on orbital timescales.

Pulling the Meridional Overturning Circulation From the South DESC0005100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cessi, Paola [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States); Wolfe, Christopher L. [Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, San Diego, CA (United States)

2015-11-25

This project concerned the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), its stability, variability and sensitivity to atmospheric forcing, both mechanical (wind-stress) and thermodynamical (heat and freshwater surface fluxes). The focus of the study is the interhemispheric cell in the largely adiabatic regime, where the flow is characterized by a descending branch in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic and the upwelling branch in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) region of the Southern Ocean. These two end points are connected by shared isopycnals along which the flow takes place. The approach is to systematically study the amplitude and frequency of the AMOC’s response to localized buoyancy with an ocean-only model in both coarse and high-resolution configurations, analyzed with innovative diagnostics, focused on the “residual overturning circulation” (ROC), which is the proper measure of the transport of heat and other tracers.

Cold-season atmospheric response to the natural variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gastineau, Guillaume; Frankignoul, Claude [LOCEAN/IPSL, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, BP100, Paris Cedex 05 (France)

2012-07-15

The influence of the natural variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on the atmosphere is studied in multi-centennial simulations of six global climate models, using Maximum Covariance Analysis (MCA). In all models, a significant but weak influence of the AMOC changes is found during the Northern Hemisphere cold-season, when the ocean leads the atmosphere by a few years. Although the oceanic pattern slightly varies, an intensification of the AMOC is followed in all models by a weak sea level pressure response that resembles a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The signal amplitude is typically 0.5 hPa and explains about 10% of the yearly variability of the NAO in all models. The atmospheric response seems to be due primarily due to an increase of the heat loss along the North Atlantic Current and the subpolar gyre, associated with an AMOC-driven warming. Sea-ice changes appear to be less important. The stronger heating is associated to a southward shift of the lower-tropospheric baroclinicity and a decrease of the eddy activity in the North Atlantic storm track, which is consistent with the equivalent barotropic perturbation resembling the negative phase of the NAO. This study thus provides some evidence of an atmospheric signature of the AMOC in the cold-season, which may have some implications for the decadal predictability of climate in the North Atlantic region. (orig.)

The onset of modern-like Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at the Eocene-Oligocene transition: Evidence, causes, and possible implications for global cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Abelson, Meir; Erez, Jonathan

2017-06-01

A compilation of benthic δ18O from the whole Atlantic and the Southern Ocean (Atlantic sector) shows two major jumps in the interbasinal gradient of δ18O (Δδ18O) during the Eocene and the Oligocene: one at ˜40 Ma and the second concomitant with the isotopic event of the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), ˜33.7 Ma ago. From previously published circulation models and proxies, we show that the first Δδ18O jump reflects the thermal isolation of Antarctica associated with the proto-Antarctic circumpolar current (ACC). The second marks the onset of interhemispheric northern-sourced circulation cell, similar to the modern Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The onset of AMOC-like circulation slightly preceded (100-300 kyr) the EOT, as we show by the high-resolution profiles of δ18O and δ13C previously published from DSDP/ODP sites in the Southern Ocean and South Atlantic. These events coincide with the onset of antiestuarine circulation between the Nordic seas and the North Atlantic which started around the EOT and may be connected to the deepening of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. We suggest that while the shallow proto-ACC supplied the energy for deep ocean convection in the Southern Hemisphere, the onset of the interhemispheric northern circulation cell was due to the significant EOT intensification of deepwater formation in the North Atlantic driven by the Nordic antiestuarine circulation. This onset of the interhemispheric northern-sourced circulation cell could have prompted the EOT global cooling.Plain Language SummaryThe Eocene-Oligocene transition is the major abrupt climatic event during the Cenozoic, which marks the major step to the icehouse world. We show that this transition is a shift to a world with Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and slightly preceded this transition. Thus, possibly was a major factor in this climatic shift.

The role of meltwater-induced subsurface ocean warming in regulating the Atlantic meridional overturning in glacial climate simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brady, Esther C.; Otto-Bliesner, Bette L. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

2011-10-15

The Community Climate System Model version 3, (CCSM3) is used to investigate the effect of the high latitude North Atlantic subsurface ocean temperature response in idealized freshwater hosing experiments on the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The hosing experiments covered a range of input magnitudes at two locations in a glacial background state. Subsurface subpolar ocean warms when freshwater is added to the high latitude North Atlantic (NATL cases) and weakly cools when freshwater is added to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM cases). All cases show subsurface ocean warming in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The sensitivity of the AMOC response to the location and magnitude of hosing is related to the induced subsurface temperature response, which affects the magnitude of the large-scale meridional pressure gradient at depth through the effect on upper ocean density. The high latitude subsurface warming induced in the NATL cases lowers the upper ocean density in the deepwater formation region enhancing a density reduction by local freshening. In the GOM cases the effect of SH warming partially offsets the effect of the high latitude freshening on the meridional density gradient. Following the end of hosing, a brief convective event occurs in the largest NATL cases which flushes some of the heat stored in the subsurface layers. This fuels a rapid rise in AMOC that lasts less than a couple of decades before subsequent freshening from increases in precipitation and sea ice melt reverses the initial increase in the meridional density gradient. Thereafter AMOC recovery slows to the rate found in comparable GOM cases. The result for these glacial transient hosing experiments is that the pace of the longer recovery is not sensitive to location of the imposed freshwater forcing. (orig.)

Variations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in control and transient simulations of the last millennium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Hofer

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The variability of the Atlantic meridional overturing circulation (AMOC strength is investigated in control experiments and in transient simulations of up to the last millennium using the low-resolution Community Climate System Model version 3. In the transient simulations the AMOC exhibits enhanced low-frequency variability that is mainly caused by infrequent transitions between two semi-stable circulation states which amount to a 10 percent change of the maximum overturning. One transition is also found in a control experiment, but the time-varying external forcing significantly increases the probability of the occurrence of such events though not having a direct, linear impact on the AMOC. The transition from a high to a low AMOC state starts with a reduction of the convection in the Labrador and Irminger Seas and goes along with a changed barotropic circulation of both gyres in the North Atlantic and a gradual strengthening of the convection in the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN Seas. In contrast, the transition from a weak to a strong overturning is induced by decreased mixing in the GIN Seas. As a consequence of the transition, regional sea surface temperature (SST anomalies are found in the midlatitude North Atlantic and in the convection regions with an amplitude of up to 3 K. The atmospheric response to the SST forcing associated with the transition indicates a significant impact on the Scandinavian surface air temperature (SAT in the order of 1 K. Thus, the changes of the ocean circulation make a major contribution to the Scandinavian SAT variability in the last millennium.

Recent increases in Arctic freshwater flux affects Labrador Sea convection and Atlantic overturning circulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yang, Qian; Dixon, Timothy H.; Myers, Paul G.; Bonin, Jennifer; Chambers, Don; Van Den Broeke, M. R.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073765643

2016-01-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is an important component of ocean thermohaline circulation. Melting of Greenland's ice sheet is freshening the North Atlantic; however, whether the augmented freshwater flux is disrupting the AMOC is unclear. Dense Labrador Sea Water (LSW),

There is no real evidence for a diminishing trend of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Parker

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC is part of the great ocean “conveyor belt” that circulates heat around the globe. Since the early 2000s, ocean sensors have started to monitor the AMOC, but the measurements are still far from accurate and the time window does not permit the separation of short term variability from a longer term trend. Other works have claimed that global warming is slowing down the AMOC, based on models and proxies of temperatures. Some other observations demonstrate a stable circulation of the oceans. By using tide gauge data complementing recent satellite and ocean sensor observations, the stability of the AMOC is shown to go back to 1860. It is concluded that no available information has the due accuracy and time coverage to show a clear trend outside the inter-annual and multi-decadal variability in the direction of increasing or decreasing strength over the last decades.

The North Atlantic Ocean Is in a State of Reduced Overturning

Science.gov (United States)

Smeed, D. A.; Josey, S. A.; Beaulieu, C.; Johns, W. E.; Moat, B. I.; Frajka-Williams, E.; Rayner, D.; Meinen, C. S.; Baringer, M. O.; Bryden, H. L.; McCarthy, G. D.

2018-02-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is responsible for a variable and climatically important northward transport of heat. Using data from an array of instruments that span the Atlantic at 26°N, we show that the AMOC has been in a state of reduced overturning since 2008 as compared to 2004-2008. This change of AMOC state is concurrent with other changes in the North Atlantic such as a northward shift and broadening of the Gulf Stream and altered patterns of heat content and sea surface temperature. These changes resemble the response to a declining AMOC predicted by coupled climate models. Concurrent changes in air-sea fluxes close to the western boundary reveal that the changes in ocean heat transport and sea surface temperature have altered the pattern of ocean-atmosphere heat exchange over the North Atlantic. These results provide strong observational evidence that the AMOC is a major factor in decadal-scale variability of North Atlantic climate.

South Atlantic meridional transports from NEMO-based simulations and reanalyses

Science.gov (United States)

Mignac, Davi; Ferreira, David; Haines, Keith

2018-02-01

The meridional heat transport (MHT) of the South Atlantic plays a key role in the global heat budget: it is the only equatorward basin-scale ocean heat transport and it sets the northward direction of the global cross-equatorial transport. Its strength and variability, however, are not well known. The South Atlantic transports are evaluated for four state-of-the-art global ocean reanalyses (ORAs) and two free-running models (FRMs) in the period 1997-2010. All products employ the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Oceans (NEMO) model, and the ORAs share very similar configurations. Very few previous works have looked at ocean circulation patterns in reanalysis products, but here we show that the ORA basin interior transports are consistently improved by the assimilated in situ and satellite observations relative to the FRMs, especially in the Argo period. The ORAs also exhibit systematically higher meridional transports than the FRMs, which is in closer agreement with observational estimates at 35 and 11° S. However, the data assimilation impact on the meridional transports still greatly varies among the ORAs, leading to differences up to ˜ 8 Sv and 0.4 PW in the South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the MHTs, respectively. We narrow this down to large inter-product discrepancies in the western boundary currents (WBCs) at both upper and deep levels explaining up to ˜ 85 % of the inter-product differences in MHT. We show that meridional velocity differences, rather than temperature differences, in the WBCs drive ˜ 83 % of this MHT spread. These findings show that the present ocean observation network and data assimilation schemes can be used to consistently constrain the South Atlantic interior circulation but not the overturning component, which is dominated by the narrow western boundary currents. This will likely limit the effectiveness of ORA products for climate or decadal prediction studies.

The subpolar North Atlantic - Response to North Atlantic oscillation like forcing and Influence on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Lohmann, Katja; Drange, Helge; Jungclaus, Johann

2010-05-01

The extent and strength of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) changed rapidly in the mid-1990s, going from large and strong in 1995 to substantially weakened in the following years. The abrupt change in the intensity of the SPG is commonly linked to the reversal of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, changing from strong positive to negative values, in the winter 1995/96. In this study we investigate the impact of the initial SPG state on its subsequent behavior by means of an ocean general circulation model driven by NCEP-NCAR reanalysis fields. Our sensitivity integrations suggest that the weakening of the SPG cannot be explained by the change in the atmospheric forcing alone. Rather, for the time period around 1995, the SPG was about to weaken, irrespective of the actual atmospheric forcing, due to the ocean state governed by the persistently strong positive NAO during the preceding seven years (1989 to 1995). Our analysis indicates that it was this preconditioning of the ocean, in combination with the sudden drop in the NAO in 1995/96, that lead to the strong and rapid weakening of the SPG in the second half of the 1990s. In the second part, the sensitivity of the low-frequency variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to changes in the subpolar North Atlantic is investigated using a 2000 year long control integration as well as sensitivity experiments with the MPI-M Earth System Model. Two 1000 year long sensitivity experiments will be performed, in which the low-frequency variability in the overflow transports from the Nordic Seas and in the subpolar deep water formation rates is suppressed respectively. This is achieved by nudging temperature and salinity in the GIN Sea or in the subpolar North Atlantic (up to about 1500m depth) towards a monthly climatology obtained from the last 1000 years of the control integration.

Expert judgements on the response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zickfeld, K.; Levermann, A.; Kuhlbrodt, T.; Rahmstorf, S.; Morgan, M.G.; Keith, D.W.

2007-01-01

We present results from detailed interviews with 12 leading climate scientists about the possible effects of global climate change on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The elicitation sought to examine the range of opinions within the climatic research community about the physical processes that determine the current strength of the AMOC, its future evolution in a changing climate and the consequences of potential AMOC changes. Experts assign different relative importance to physical processes which determine the present-day strength of the AMOC as well as to forcing factors which determine its future evolution under climate change. Many processes and factors deemed important are assessed as poorly known and insufficiently represented in state-of-the-art climate models. All experts anticipate a weakening of the AMOC under scenarios of increase of greenhouse gas concentrations. Two experts expect a permanent collapse of the AMOC as the most likely response under a 4xCO2 scenario. Assuming a global mean temperature increase in the year 2100 of 4 K, eight experts assess the probability of triggering an AMOC collapse as significantly different from zero, three of them as larger than 40%. Elicited consequences of AMOC reduction include strong changes in temperature, precipitation distribution and sea level in the North Atlantic area. It is expected that an appropriately designed research program, with emphasis on long-term observations and coupled climate modeling, would contribute to substantially reduce uncertainty about the future evolution of the AMOC

Plausible Effect of Weather on Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation with a Coupled General Circulation Model

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zedong; Wan, Xiuquan

2018-04-01

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a vital component of the global ocean circulation and the heat engine of the climate system. Through the use of a coupled general circulation model, this study examines the role of synoptic systems on the AMOC and presents evidence that internally generated high-frequency, synoptic-scale weather variability in the atmosphere could play a significant role in maintaining the overall strength and variability of the AMOC, thereby affecting climate variability and change. Results of a novel coupling technique show that the strength and variability of the AMOC are greatly reduced once the synoptic weather variability is suppressed in the coupled model. The strength and variability of the AMOC are closely linked to deep convection events at high latitudes, which could be strongly affected by the weather variability. Our results imply that synoptic weather systems are important in driving the AMOC and its variability. Thus, interactions between atmospheric weather variability and AMOC may be an important feedback mechanism of the global climate system and need to be taken into consideration in future climate change studies.

How Robust Are the Surface Temperature Fingerprints of the Atlantic Overturning Meridional Circulation on Monthly Time Scales?

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander-Turner, R.; Ortega, P.; Robson, J. I.

2018-04-01

It has been suggested that changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) can drive sea surface temperature (SST) on monthly time scales (Duchez et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005667). However, with only 11 years of continuous observations, the validity of this result over longer, or different, time periods is uncertain. In this study, we use a 120 yearlong control simulation from a high-resolution climate model to test the robustness of the AMOC fingerprints. The model reproduces the observed AMOC seasonal cycle and its variability, and the observed 5-month lagged AMOC-SST fingerprints derived from 11 years of data. However, the AMOC-SST fingerprints are very sensitive to the particular time period considered. In particular, both the Florida current and the upper mid-ocean transport produce highly inconsistent fingerprints when using time periods shorter than 30 years. Therefore, several decades of RAPID observations will be necessary to determine the real impact of the AMOC on SSTs at monthly time scales.

The role of salinity in the decadal variability of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frankignoul, Claude [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6, LOCEAN/IPSL, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Deshayes, Julie; Curry, Ruth [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (United States)

2009-11-15

An OGCM hindcast is used to investigate the linkages between North Atlantic Ocean salinity and circulation changes during 1963-2003. The focus is on the eastern subpolar region consisting of the Irminger Sea and the eastern North Atlantic where a careful assessment shows that the simulated interannual to decadal salinity changes in the upper 1,500 m reproduce well those derived from the available record of hydrographic measurements. In the model, the variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is primarily driven by changes in deep water formation taking place in the Irminger Sea and, to a lesser extent, the Labrador Sea. Both are strongly influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The modeled interannual to decadal salinity changes in the subpolar basins are mostly controlled by circulation-driven anomalies of freshwater flux convergence, although surface salinity restoring to climatology and other boundary fluxes each account for approximately 25% of the variance. The NAO plays an important role: a positive NAO phase is associated with increased precipitation, reduced northward salt transport by the wind-driven intergyre gyre, and increased southward flows of freshwater across the Greenland-Scotland ridge. Since the NAO largely controlled deep convection in the subpolar gyre, fresher waters are found near the sinking region during convective events. This markedly differs from the active influence on the MOC that salinity exerts at decadal and longer timescales in most coupled models. The intensification of the MOC that follows a positive NAO phase by about 2 years does not lead to an increase in the northward salt transport into the subpolar domain at low frequencies because it is cancelled by the concomitant intensification of the subpolar gyre which shifts the subpolar front eastward and reduces the northward salt transport by the North Atlantic Current waters. This differs again from most coupled models, where the gyre

A commentary on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation stability in climate models

Science.gov (United States)

Gent, Peter R.

2018-02-01

The stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in ocean models depends quite strongly on the model formulation, especially the vertical mixing, and whether it is coupled to an atmosphere model. A hysteresis loop in AMOC strength with respect to freshwater forcing has been found in several intermediate complexity climate models and in one fully coupled climate model that has very coarse resolution. Over 40% of modern climate models are in a bistable AMOC state according to the very frequently used simple stability criterion which is based solely on the sign of the AMOC freshwater transport across 33° S. In a recent freshwater hosing experiment in a climate model with an eddy-permitting ocean component, the change in the gyre freshwater transport across 33° S is larger than the AMOC freshwater transport change. This casts very strong doubt on the usefulness of this simple AMOC stability criterion. If a climate model uses large surface flux adjustments, then these adjustments can interfere with the atmosphere-ocean feedbacks, and strongly change the AMOC stability properties. AMOC can be shut off for many hundreds of years in modern fully coupled climate models if the hosing or carbon dioxide forcing is strong enough. However, in one climate model the AMOC recovers after between 1000 and 1400 years. Recent 1% increasing carbon dioxide runs and RCP8.5 future scenario runs have shown that the AMOC reduction is smaller using an eddy-resolving ocean component than in the comparable standard 1° ocean climate models.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation response to idealized external forcing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, W.; Latif, M. [Leibniz-Institut fuer Meereswissenschaften an der Universitaet Kiel, Kiel (Germany)

2012-10-15

The response of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to idealized external (solar) forcing is studied in terms of the internal (unforced) AMOC modes with the Kiel Climate Model (KCM), a coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice general circulation model. The statistical investigation of KCM's internal AMOC variability obtained from a multi-millennial control run yields three distinct modes: a multi-decadal mode with a period of about 60 years, a quasi-centennial mode with a period of about 100 years and a multi-centennial mode with a period of about 300-400 years. Most variance is explained by the multi-centennial mode, and the least by the quasi-centennial mode. The solar constant varies sinusoidally with two different periods (100 and 60 years) in forced runs with KCM. The AMOC response to the external forcing is rather complex and nonlinear. It involves strong changes in the frequency structure of the variability. While the control run depicts multi-timescale behavior, the AMOC variability in the experiment with 100 year forcing period is channeled into a relatively narrow band centered near the forcing period. It is the quasi-centennial AMOC mode with a period of just under 100 years which is excited, although it is heavily damped in the control run. Thus, the quasi-centennial mode retains its period which does not correspond exactly to the forcing period. Surprisingly, the quasi-centennial mode is also most strongly excited when the forcing period is set to 60 years, the period of the multi-decadal mode which is rather prominent in the control run. It is largely the spatial structure of the forcing rather than its period that determines which of the three internal AMOC modes is excited. The results suggest that we need to understand the full modal structure of the internal AMOC variability in order to understand the circulation's response to external forcing. This could be a challenge for climate models: we cannot necessarily expect that the

On the seasonal variability of the Canary Current and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Vélez-Belchí, Pedro; Pérez-Hernández, M. Dolores; Casanova-Masjoan, María.; Cana, Luis; Hernández-Guerra, Alonso

2017-06-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is continually monitored along 26°N by the RAPID-MOCHA array. Measurements from this array show a 6.7 Sv seasonal cycle for the AMOC, with a 5.9 Sv contribution from the upper mid-ocean. Recent studies argue that the dynamics of the eastern Atlantic is the main driver for this seasonal cycle; specifically, Rossby waves excited south of the Canary Islands. Using inverse modeling, hydrographic, mooring, and altimetry data, we describe the seasonal cycle of the ocean mass transport around the Canary Islands and at the eastern boundary, under the influence of the African slope, where eastern component of the RAPID-MOCHA array is situated. We find a seasonal cycle of -4.1 ± 0.5 Sv for the oceanic region of the Canary Current, and +3.7 ± 0.4 Sv at the eastern boundary. This seasonal cycle along the eastern boundary is in agreement with the seasonal cycle of the AMOC that requires the lowest contribution to the transport in the upper mid-ocean to occur in fall. However, we demonstrate that the linear Rossby wave model used previously to explain the seasonal cycle of the AMOC is not robust, since it is extremely sensitive to the choice of the zonal range of the wind stress curl and produces the same results with a Rossby wave speed of zero. We demonstrate that the seasonal cycle of the eastern boundary is due to the recirculation of the Canary Current and to the seasonal cycle of the poleward flow that characterizes the eastern boundaries of the oceans.

The Canary Basin contribution to the seasonal cycle of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26°N

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Hernández, M. D.; McCarthy, G. D.; Vélez-Belchí, P.; Smeed, D. A.; Fraile-Nuez, E.; Hernández-Guerra, A.

2015-11-01

This study examines the seasonal cycle of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and its eastern boundary contributions. The cycle has a magnitude of 6 Sv, as measured by the RAPID/MOCHA/WBTS project array at 26°N, which is driven largely by the eastern boundary. The eastern boundary variations are explored in the context of the regional circulation around the Canary Islands. There is a 3 month lag between maximum wind forcing and the largest eastern boundary transports, which is explained in terms of a model for Rossby wave generated at the eastern boundary. Two dynamic processes take place through the Lanzarote Passage (LP) in fall: the recirculation of the Canary Current and the northward flow of the Intermediate Poleward Undercurrent. In contrast, during the remaining seasons the transport through the LP is southward due to the Canary Upwelling Current. These processes are linked to the seasonal cycle of the AMOC.

Variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in the last millennium and two IPCC scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega, Pablo; Montoya, Marisa; Gonzalez-Rouco, Fidel [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, Dpto. Astrofisica y Ciencias de la Atmosfera/Instituto de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias Fisicas, Madrid (Spain); Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, Instituto de Geociencias (UCM-CSIC), Facultad de Ciencias Fisicas, Madrid (Spain); Mignot, Juliette [IPSL/LOCEAN, UPMC/CNRS/IRD/MNHN, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Legutke, Stephanie [Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ), Hamburg (Germany)

2012-05-15

The variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is investigated in several climate simulations with the ECHO-G atmosphere-ocean general circulation model, including two forced integrations of the last millennium, one millennial-long control run, and two future scenario simulations of the twenty-first century. This constitutes a new framework in which the AMOC response to future climate change conditions is addressed in the context of both its past evolution and its natural variability. The main mechanisms responsible for the AMOC variability at interannual and multidecadal time scales are described. At high frequencies, the AMOC is directly responding to local changes in the Ekman transport, associated with three modes of climate variability: El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the East Atlantic (EA) pattern. At low frequencies, the AMOC is largely controlled by convection activity south of Greenland. Again, the atmosphere is found to play a leading role in these variations. Positive anomalies of convection are preceded in 1 year by intensified zonal winds, associated in the forced runs to a positive NAO-like pattern. Finally, the sensitivity of the AMOC to three different forcing factors is investigated. The major impact is associated with increasing greenhouse gases, given their strong and persistent radiative forcing. Starting in the Industrial Era and continuing in the future scenarios, the AMOC experiences a final decrease of up to 40% with respect to the preindustrial average. Also, a weak but significant AMOC strengthening is found in response to the major volcanic eruptions, which produce colder and saltier surface conditions over the main convection regions. In contrast, no meaningful impact of the solar forcing on the AMOC is observed. Indeed, solar irradiance only affects convection in the Nordic Seas, with a marginal contribution to the AMOC variability in the ECHO-G runs. (orig.)

Influence of glacial ice sheets on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation through surface wind change

Science.gov (United States)

Sherriff-Tadano, Sam; Abe-Ouchi, Ayako; Yoshimori, Masakazu; Oka, Akira; Chan, Wing-Le

2018-04-01

Coupled modeling studies have recently shown that the existence of the glacial ice sheets intensifies the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). However, most models show a strong AMOC in their simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which is biased compared to reconstructions that indicate both a weaker and stronger AMOC during the LGM. Therefore, a detailed investigation of the mechanism behind this intensification of the AMOC is important for a better understanding of the glacial climate and the LGM AMOC. Here, various numerical simulations are conducted to focus on the effect of wind changes due to glacial ice sheets on the AMOC and the crucial region where the wind modifies the AMOC. First, from atmospheric general circulation model experiments, the effect of glacial ice sheets on the surface wind is evaluated. Second, from ocean general circulation model experiments, the influence of the wind stress change on the AMOC is evaluated by applying wind stress anomalies regionally or at different magnitudes as a boundary condition. These experiments demonstrate that glacial ice sheets intensify the AMOC through an increase in the wind stress at the North Atlantic mid-latitudes, which is induced by the North American ice sheet. This intensification of the AMOC is caused by the increased oceanic horizontal and vertical transport of salt, while the change in sea ice transport has an opposite, though minor, effect. Experiments further show that the Eurasian ice sheet intensifies the AMOC by directly affecting the deep-water formation in the Norwegian Sea.

Linking the South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the Global Monsoons

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, H.; Dong, S.; Goni, G. J.; Lee, S. K.

2016-02-01

This study tested the hypothesis whether low frequency decadal variability of the South Atlantic meridional heat transport (SAMHT) influences decadal variability of the global monsoons. A multi-century run from a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model is used as basis for the analysis. Our findings indicate that multi-decadal variability of the South Atlantic Ocean plays a key role in modulating atmospheric circulation via interhemispheric changes in Atlantic Ocean heat content. Weaker SAMHT produces anomalous ocean heat divergence over the South Atlantic resulting in negative ocean heat content anomaly about 15 years later. This, in turn, forces a thermally direct anomalous interhemispheric Hadley circulation in the atmosphere, transporting heat from the northern hemisphere (NH) to the southern hemisphere (SH) and moisture from the SH to the NH, thereby intensify (weaken) summer (winter) monsoon in the NH and winter (summer) monsoon in the SH. Results also show that anomalous atmospheric eddies, both transient and stationary, transport heat northward in both hemispheres producing eddy heat flux convergence (divergence) in the NH (SH) around 15-30°, reinforcing the anomalous Hadley circulation. Overall, SAMHT decadal variability leads its atmospheric response by about 15 years, suggesting that the South Atlantic is a potential predictor of global climate variability.

Glacial climate sensitivity to different states of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: results from the IPSL model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kageyama

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Paleorecords from distant locations on the globe show rapid and large amplitude climate variations during the last glacial period. Here we study the global climatic response to different states of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC as a potential explanation for these climate variations and their possible connections. We analyse three glacial simulations obtained with an atmosphere-ocean coupled general circulation model and characterised by different AMOC strengths (18, 15 and 2 Sv resulting from successive ~0.1 Sv freshwater perturbations in the North Atlantic. These AMOC states suggest the existence of a freshwater threshold for which the AMOC collapses. A weak (18 to 15 Sv AMOC decrease results in a North Atlantic and European cooling. This cooling is not homogeneous, with even a slight warming over the Norwegian Sea. Convection in this area is active in both experiments, but surprisingly stronger in the 15 Sv simulation, which appears to be related to interactions with the atmospheric circulation and sea-ice cover. Far from the North Atlantic, the climatic response is not significant. The climate differences for an AMOC collapse (15 to 2 Sv are much larger and of global extent. The timing of the climate response to this AMOC collapse suggests teleconnection mechanisms. Our analyses focus on the North Atlantic and surrounding regions, the tropical Atlantic and the Indian monsoon region. The North Atlantic cooling associated with the AMOC collapse induces a cyclonic atmospheric circulation anomaly centred over this region, which modulates the eastward advection of cold air over the Eurasian continent. This can explain why the cooling is not as strong over western Europe as over the North Atlantic. In the Tropics, the southward shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone appears to be strongest over the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific and results from an adjustment of the atmospheric and oceanic heat transports. Finally, the

Further influence of the eastern boundary on the seasonal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26N

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Baehr, Johanna; Schmidt, Christian

2016-04-01

The seasonal cycle of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) at 26.5 N has been shown to arise predominantly from sub-surface density variations at the Eastern boundary. Here, we suggest that these sub-surface density variations have their origin in the seasonal variability of the Canary Current system, in particular the Poleward Undercurrent (PUC). We use a high-resolution ocean model (STORM) for which we show that the seasonal variability resembles observations for both sub-surface density variability and meridional transports. In particular, the STORM model simulation density variations at the eastern boundary show seasonal variations reaching down to well over 1000m, a pattern that most model simulations systematically underestimate. We find that positive wind stress curl anomalies in late summer and already within one degree off the eastern boundary result -through water column stretching- in strong transport anomlies in PUC in fall, coherent down to 1000m depth. Simultaneously with a westward propagation of these transport anomalies, we find in winter a weak PUC between 200 m and 500m, and southward transports between 600m and 1300m. This variability is in agreement with the observationally-based suggestion of a seasonal reversal of the meridional transports at intermediate depths. Our findings extend earlier studies which suggested that the seasonal variability at of the meridional transports across 26N is created by changes in the basin-wide thermocline through wind-driven upwelling at the eastern boundary analyzing wind stress curl anomalies 2 degrees off the eastern boundary. Our results suggest that the investigation of AMOC variability and particular its seasonal cycle modulations require the analysis of boundary wind stress curl and the upper ocean transports within 1 degree off the eastern boundary. These findings also implicate that without high-resolution coverage of the eastern boundary, coarser model simulation might not fully

Abrupt Climate Change and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: sensitivity and non-linear response to Arctic/sub-Arctic freshwater pulses. Collaborative research. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, Christopher [MIT (Massachusetts Inst. of Technology), Cambridge, MA (United States)

2015-06-15

This project investigated possible mechanisms by which melt-water pulses can induce abrupt change in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) magnitude. AMOC magnitude is an important ingredient in present day climate. Previous studies have hypothesized abrupt reduction in AMOC magnitude in response to influxes of glacial melt water into the North Atlantic. Notable fresh-water influxes are associated with the terminus of the last ice age. During this period large volumes of melt water accumulated behind retreating ice sheets and subsequently drained rapidly when the ice weakened sufficiently. Rapid draining of glacial lakes into the North Atlantic is a possible origin of a number of paleo-record abrupt climate shifts. These include the Younger-Dryas cooling event and the 8,200 year cooling event. The studies undertaken focused on whether the mechanistic sequence by which glacial melt-water impacts AMOC, which then impacts Northern Hemisphere global mean surface temperature, is dynamically plausible. The work has implications for better understanding past climate stability. The work also has relevance for today’s environment, in which high-latitude ice melting in Greenland appears to be driving fresh water outflows at an accelerating pace.

High Resolution Model Development to Quantify the Impact of Icebergs on the Stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Condron, Alan [Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)

2016-10-18

In the present-day North Atlantic Ocean, relatively warm and salty water moves northwards from the tropics to the high latitudes, sinks, and returns southward towards the equator as North Atlantic Deep Water, forming the so called Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). It has been found that the stability of the AMOC is non-linearly related to the freshwater budget of the North Atlantic. In this way, additional fresh water can be added to the ocean with little impact, until a tipping point is reached that causes the AMOC to suddenly weaken and the Northern Hemisphere to abruptly cool. A great deal of uncertainty still remains over the sensitivity of the AMOC to changes in freshwater discharge as a result of the unrealistic manner in which freshwater has historically been added to climate models. Frequently, freshwater is discharged in ocean models entirely as liquid water, but in reality a large fraction of freshwater entering the ocean is ice calving from marine glaciers (half for Antarctica and two-thirds for Greenland). To more accurately quantify AMOC sensitivity to past and future changes in freshwater input, this project developed a comprehensive iceberg model to more realistically simulate the interaction between the cryosphere and the oceans at high-latitudes. The iceberg model created is written in Fortran90 and designed to scale efficiently on High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters so that tens-of-thousands of icebergs can be simulated at any time. Experiments performed with our model showed that in the Pleistocene there would have been enormous floods of freshwater released into the North Atlantic that would have transported icebergs and meltwater along the entire east coast of the United States, as far south as Florida Keys. In addition, high-resolution, modern-day, model simulations showed that if the Greenland Ice Sheet continues to melt at its current rate then there will be a 6-fold increase in the number of icebergs drifting in the

Climate and vegetation changes around the Atlantic Ocean resulting from changes in the meridional overturning circulation during deglaciation

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Handiani, D.; Paul, A.; Dupont, L.

2012-07-01

The Bølling-Allerød (BA, starting ~ 14.5 ka BP) is one of the most pronounced abrupt warming periods recorded in ice and pollen proxies. The leading explanation of the cause of this warming is a sudden increase in the rate of deepwater formation in the North Atlantic Ocean and the resulting effect on the heat transport by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). In this study, we used the University of Victoria (UVic) Earth System-Climate Model (ESCM) to run simulations, in which a freshwater perturbation initiated a BA-like warming period. We found that under present climate conditions, the AMOC intensified when freshwater was added to the Southern Ocean. However, under Heinrich event 1 (HE1, ~ 16 ka BP) climate conditions, the AMOC only intensified when freshwater was extracted from the North Atlantic Ocean, possibly corresponding to an increase in evaporation or a decrease in precipitation in this region. The intensified AMOC led to a warming in the North Atlantic Ocean and a cooling in the South Atlantic Ocean, resembling the bipolar seesaw pattern typical of the last glacial period. In addition to the physical response, we also studied the simulated vegetation response around the Atlantic Ocean region. Corresponding with the bipolar seesaw hypothesis, the rainbelt associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) shifted northward and affected the vegetation pattern in the tropics. The most sensitive vegetation area was found in tropical Africa, where grass cover increased and tree cover decreased under dry climate conditions. An equal but opposite response to the collapse and recovery of the AMOC implied that the change in vegetation cover was transient and robust to an abrupt climate change such as during the BA period, which is also supported by paleovegetation data. The results are in agreement with paleovegetation records from Western tropical Africa, which also show a reduction in forest cover during this time period. Further

The impact of resolution on the adjustment and decadal variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in a coupled climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hodson, Daniel L.R.; Sutton, Rowan T. [University of Reading, NCAS-Climate, Department of Meteorology, Earley Gate, PO Box 243, Reading (United Kingdom)

2012-12-15

Variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exert an important influence on climate, particularly on decadal time scales. Simulation of the MOC in coupled climate models is compromised, to a degree that is unknown, by their lack of fidelity in resolving some of the key processes involved. There is an overarching need to increase the resolution and fidelity of climate models, but also to assess how increases in resolution influence the simulation of key phenomena such as the MOC. In this study we investigate the impact of significantly increasing the (ocean and atmosphere) resolution of a coupled climate model on the simulation of MOC variability by comparing high and low resolution versions of the same model. In both versions, decadal variability of the MOC is closely linked to density anomalies that propagate from the Labrador Sea southward along the deep western boundary. We demonstrate that the MOC adjustment proceeds more rapidly in the higher resolution model due the increased speed of western boundary waves. However, the response of the Atlantic sea surface temperatures to MOC variations is relatively robust - in pattern if not in magnitude - across the two resolutions. The MOC also excites a coupled ocean-atmosphere response in the tropical Atlantic in both model versions. In the higher resolution model, but not the lower resolution model, there is evidence of a significant response in the extratropical atmosphere over the North Atlantic 6 years after a maximum in the MOC. In both models there is evidence of a weak negative feedback on deep density anomalies in the Labrador Sea, and hence on the MOC (with a time scale of approximately ten years). Our results highlight the need for further work to understand the decadal variability of the MOC and its simulation in climate models. (orig.)

Recent increases in Arctic freshwater flux affects Labrador Sea convection and Atlantic overturning circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qian; Dixon, Timothy H.; Myers, Paul G.; Bonin, Jennifer; Chambers, Don; van den Broeke, M. R.

2016-01-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is an important component of ocean thermohaline circulation. Melting of Greenland's ice sheet is freshening the North Atlantic; however, whether the augmented freshwater flux is disrupting the AMOC is unclear. Dense Labrador Sea Water (LSW), formed by winter cooling of saline North Atlantic water and subsequent convection, is a key component of the deep southward return flow of the AMOC. Although LSW formation recently decreased, it also reached historically high values in the mid-1990s, making the connection to the freshwater flux unclear. Here we derive a new estimate of the recent freshwater flux from Greenland using updated GRACE satellite data, present new flux estimates for heat and salt from the North Atlantic into the Labrador Sea and explain recent variations in LSW formation. We suggest that changes in LSW can be directly linked to recent freshening, and suggest a possible link to AMOC weakening.

North Atlantic 20th century multidecadal variability in coupled climate models: sea surface temperature and ocean overturning circulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Medhaug

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Output from a total of 24 state-of-the-art Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models is analyzed. The models were integrated with observed forcing for the period 1850–2000 as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. All models show enhanced variability at multi-decadal time scales in the North Atlantic sector similar to the observations, but with a large intermodel spread in amplitudes and frequencies for both the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC. The models, in general, are able to reproduce the observed geographical patterns of warm and cold episodes, but not the phasing such as the early warming (1930s–1950s and the following colder period (1960s–1980s. This indicates that the observed 20th century extreme in temperatures are due to primarily a fortuitous phasing of intrinsic climate variability and not dominated by external forcing. Most models show a realistic structure in the overturning circulation, where more than half of the available models have a mean overturning transport within the observed estimated range of 13–24 Sverdrup. Associated with a stronger than normal AMOC, the surface temperature is increased and the sea ice extent slightly reduced in the North Atlantic. Individual models show potential for decadal prediction based on the relationship between the AMO and AMOC, but the models strongly disagree both in phasing and strength of the covariability. This makes it difficult to identify common mechanisms and to assess the applicability for predictions.

Reconstruction of the North Atlantic end-member of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation over glacial-interglacial cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J.; Seguí, M. J.; Knudson, K. P.; Yehudai, M.; Goldstein, S. L.; Pena, L. D.; Basak, C.; Ferretti, P.

2017-12-01

North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) represents the major water mass that drives the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation (AMOC), which undergoes substantial reorganization with changing climate. In order to understand its impact on ocean circulation and climate through time, it is necessary to constrain its composition. We report Nd isotope ratios of Fe-Mn oxide encrusted foraminifera and fish debris from DSDP Site 607 (41.00N 32.96W, 3427m), in the present-day core of NADW, and ODP 1063 (33.68N 57.62W, 4585m), on the deep abyssal plain at the interface between NADW and Antarctic Bottom Water. We provide a new North Atlantic paleocirculation record covering 2 Ma. At Site 607 interglacial ɛNd-values are consistently similar to present-day NADW (ɛNd -13.5), with median ɛNd-values of -14.3 in the Early Pleistocene and -13.8 in the Late Pleistocene. Glacial ɛNd-values are higher by 1 ɛNd-unit in the Early Pleistocene, and 1.5-2 ɛNd-units in the Late Pleistocene. Site 1063 shows much greater variability, with ɛNd ranging from -10 to -26. We interpret the North Atlantic AMOC source as represented by the Site 607 interglacial ɛNd-values, which has remained nearly stable throughout the entire period. The higher glacial ɛNd-values reflect incursions of some southern-sourced waters to Site 607, which is supported by coeval shifts to lower benthic foraminiferal d13C. In contrast, the Site 1063 ɛNd-values do not appear to reflect the AMOC end-member, and likely reflects local effects from a bottom source. A period of greatly disrupted ocean circulation marks 950-850 Ma, which may have been triggered by enhanced ice growth in the Northern Hemisphere that began around 1.2 Ma, as suggested by possible input events of Nd from the surrounding cratons into the North Atlantic observed in Site 607. Interglacial AMOC only recovers to the previously observed vigor over 200 ka following the disruption, whereas further intensified SSW incursion into the deep North Atlantic come to

Interhemispheric teleconnections: Late Pliocene change in Mediterranean outflow water linked to changes in Indonesian Through-Flow and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a review and update

Science.gov (United States)

Sarnthein, Michael; Grunert, Patrick; Khélifi, Nabil; Frank, Martin; Nürnberg, Dirk

2018-03-01

The ultimate, possibly geodynamic control and potential impact of changes in circulation activity and salt discharge of Mediterranean outflow waters (MOW) on Atlantic meridional overturning circulation have formed long-standing objectives in paleoceanography. Late Pliocene changes in the distal advection of MOW were reconstructed on orbital timescales for northeast Atlantic DSDP/ODP sites 548 and 982 off Brittany and on Rockall Plateau, supplemented by a proximal record from Site U1389 west off Gibraltar, and compared to Western Mediterranean surface and deep-water records of Alboran Sea Site 978. From 3.43 to 3.3 Ma, MOW temperatures and salinities form a prominent rise by 2-4 °C and 3 psu, induced by a preceding and coeval rise in sea surface and deep-water salinity and increased summer aridity in the Mediterranean Sea. We speculate that these changes triggered an increased MOW flow and were ultimately induced by a persistent 2.5 °C cooling of Indonesian Through-Flow waters. The temperature drop resulted from the northward drift of Australia that crossed a threshold value near 3.6-3.3 Ma and led to a large-scale cooling of the eastern subtropical Indian Ocean and in turn, to a reduction of African monsoon rains. Vice versa, we show that the distinct rise in Mediterranean salt export after 3.4 Ma induced a unique long-term rise in the formation of Upper North Atlantic Deep Water, that followed with a phase lag of 100 ky. In summary, we present evidence for an interhemispheric teleconnection of processes in the Indonesian Gateways, the Mediterranean and Labrador Seas, jointly affecting Pliocene climate.

The relation between AMOC, gyre circulation, and meridional heat transports in the North Atlantic in model simulations of the last millennium

Science.gov (United States)

Jungclaus, Johann; Moreno-Chamarro, Eduardo; Lohmann, Katja

2016-04-01

While it is clear that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is responsible for meridional heat transfer from the South Atlantic and the tropics to the North Atlantic, the majority of the heat transport in the northern North Atlantic and the Nordic seas is carried by the gyre system. However, the detailed mechanisms determining the interaction between and the temporal modulation of the components of the northward heat transport system are not clear. Long-term climate records and model simulations can help to identify important processes and to provide background for the changes that are presently observed. Multi-centennial proxy records from the subpolar North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas indicate, for example, an out-of-phase behavior of sea surface temperature and gyre circulation between the two regions with consequences for regional climate. Paleoceanographic evidence from Fram Strait shows a pronounced modulation of heat transfer to the Arctic by the Atlantic Water layer during the last 2000 years and reconstructions from the Subpolar North Atlantic suggest a role of ocean circulation in the transition between the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. Here we explore a small ensemble of last millennium simulations, carried out with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model, and analyze mechanisms connecting the AMOC and gyre circulation and their relation to external forcing. Our results support the important role of the Subpolar Gyre strength and the related meridional mass and temperature fluxes. We find that the modulation of the northward heat transport into the Nordic Seas and the Arctic has pronounced impact on sea-ice distribution, ocean-atmosphere interaction, and the surface climate in Scandinavia and Western Europe.

The modern and glacial overturning circulation in the Atlantic ocean in PMIP coupled model simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. L. Weber

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyses the response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC to LGM forcings and boundary conditions in nine PMIP coupled model simulations, including both GCMs and Earth system Models of Intermediate Complexity. Model results differ widely. The AMOC slows down considerably (by 20–40% during the LGM as compared to the modern climate in four models, there is a slight reduction in one model and four models show a substantial increase in AMOC strength (by 10–40%. It is found that a major controlling factor for the AMOC response is the density contrast between Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW and North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW at their source regions. Changes in the density contrast are determined by the opposing effects of changes in temperature and salinity, with more saline AABW as compared to NADW consistently found in all models and less cooling of AABW in all models but one. In only two models is the AMOC response during the LGM directly related to the response in net evaporation over the Atlantic basin. Most models show large changes in the ocean freshwater transports into the basin, but this does not seem to affect the AMOC response. Finally, there is some dependence on the accuracy of the control state.

Sensitivity of North Atlantic subpolar gyre and overturning to stratification-dependent mixing: response to global warming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marzeion, Ben [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, EAPS, Cambridge, MA (United States); Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway); University of Innsbruck, Tropical Glaciology Group, Institute of Geography, Innsbruck (Austria); Levermann, Anders [Potsdam University, Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Institute of Physics, Potsdam (Germany); Mignot, Juliette [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, LOCEAN, Paris (France)

2010-04-15

We use a reduced complexity climate model with a three-dimensional ocean component and realistic topography to investigate the effect of stratification-dependent mixing on the sensitivity of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG), and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), to idealized CO{sub 2} increase and peaking scenarios. The vertical diffusivity of the ocean interior is parameterized as {kappa} {proportional_to} N {sup -{alpha}}, where N is the local buoyancy frequency. For all parameter values 0 {<=} {alpha} {<=} 3, we find the SPG, and subsequently the AMOC, to weaken in response to increasing CO{sub 2} concentrations. The weakening is significantly stronger for {alpha} {>=} {alpha}{sub cr} {approx} 1.5. Depending on the value of {alpha}, two separate model states develop. These states remain different after the CO{sub 2} concentration is stabilized, and in some cases even after the CO{sub 2} concentration has been decreased again to the pre-industrial level. This behaviour is explained by a positive feedback between stratification and mixing anomalies in the Nordic Seas, causing a persistent weakening of the SPG. (orig.)

Mechanisms of meridional transport processes in the tropical Atlantic; Mechanismen meridionaler Transportprozesse im tropischen Atlantik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kroeger, J.

2001-07-01

Meridional transport processes of water masses and tracers in the subtropical and tropical Atlantic are investigated using a regional eddy resolving model of the wind driven and thermohaline circulation. Analytical emphasis is on float simulations in the model which, complementary to Eulerian means, represent the Lagrangian view and give further insight into the spreading and pathways of characteristic water masses in this area. In the tropics and subtropics shallow 3-dimensional circulation cells are superimposed on the northward warm water transfer within the deep reaching thermohaline overturning cell (MOC) as part of the global ''Conveyor Belt''. Under present-day climate conditions the model shows that the equatorial thermocline is exclusively ventilated by subsurface flow within the tropical-subtropical cell (STC) of the South Atlantic. Only with a prescribed ''Conveyor-off''-Mode the STC of the North Atlantic contributes to this ventilation process with equal amounts. Throughout the year the interhemispheric transport of surface and central water masses of South Atlantic origin into the Caribbean Sea is dominated by zonal detours to the east as a consequence of the interplay of several retroflection events occuring in the North Atlantic. The eulerian mean flow field in the deep layer postulates the interhemispheric mass transport into the South Atlantic to be confined entirely to the western boundary, whereas Lagrangian means indicate intermittent eastward excursions along the equator, related to seasonally alternating zonal currents due to long Rossby waves. It was suggested that the observed characteristic eastward maximum of tracer concentrations along the equator is a consequence of rectifying effects of single or interacting equatorial waves. The model does not validate this hypothesis. The response to transport anomalies of subpolar origin and long periodicity is subject to different time-scales in both

Response of the meridional overturning circulation to variable buoyancy forcing in a double hemisphere basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucas, Marc A. [National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton (United Kingdom); Collecte Localisation Satellite, Ramonville Saint Agne (France); Hirschi, J.J.M. [National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton (United Kingdom); Marotzke, J. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany)

2010-04-15

We consider how a highly idealized double-hemisphere basin responds to a zonally constant restoring surface temperature profile that oscillates in time, with periods ranging from 0.5 to 32,000 years. In both hemispheres, the forcing is similar but can be either in phase or out of phase. The set-up is such that the Northern Hemisphere always produces the densest waters. The model's meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exhibits a strong response in both hemispheres on decadal to multi-millennial timescales. The amplitude of the oscillations reaches up to 140% of the steady-state maximum MOC and exhibits resonance-like behaviour, with a maximum at centennial to millennial forcing periods. When the forcing is in phase between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, there is a marked decrease in the amplitude of the MOC response as the forcing period is increased beyond the resonance period. In this case the resonance-like behaviour is identical to the one we found earlier in a single-hemisphere model and occurs for the same reasons. When the forcing is out of phase between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the amplitude of the MOC response is substantially greater for long forcing periods (millennial and longer), particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. This increased MOC amplitude occurs because for an out of phase forcing, either the northern or the southern deep water source is always active, leading to generally colder bottom waters and thus greater stratification in the opposite hemisphere. This increased stratification in turn stabilises the water column and thus reduces the strength of the weaker overturning cell. The interaction of the two hemispheres leads to response timescales of the deep ocean at half the forcing period. Our results suggest a possible explanation for the half-precessional time scale observed in the deep Atlantic Ocean palaeo-temperature record. (orig.)

Abyssal ocean overturning shaped by seafloor distribution

Science.gov (United States)

de Lavergne, C.; Madec, G.; Roquet, F.; Holmes, R. M.; McDougall, T. J.

2017-11-01

The abyssal ocean is broadly characterized by northward flow of the densest waters and southward flow of less-dense waters above them. Understanding what controls the strength and structure of these interhemispheric flows—referred to as the abyssal overturning circulation—is key to quantifying the ocean’s ability to store carbon and heat on timescales exceeding a century. Here we show that, north of 32° S, the depth distribution of the seafloor compels dense southern-origin waters to flow northward below a depth of about 4 kilometres and to return southward predominantly at depths greater than 2.5 kilometres. Unless ventilated from the north, the overlying mid-depths (1 to 2.5 kilometres deep) host comparatively weak mean meridional flow. Backed by analysis of historical radiocarbon measurements, the findings imply that the geometry of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic basins places a major external constraint on the overturning structure.

Warm and Saline Events Embedded in the Meridional Circulation of the Northern North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Hakkinen, Sirpa; Rhines, Peter B.; Worthen, Denise L.

2011-01-01

Ocean state estimates from 1958 to 2005 from the Simple Ocean Assimilation System (SODA) system are analyzed to understand circulation between subtropical and subpolar Atlantic and their connection with atmospheric forcing. This analysis shows three periods (1960s, around 1980, and 2000s) with enhanced warm, saline waters reaching high latitudes, alternating with freshwater events originating at high latitudes. It complements surface drifter and altimetry data showing the subtropical -subpolar exchange leading to a significant temperature and salinity increase in the northeast Atlantic after 2001. The warm water limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning cell represented by SODA expanded in density/salinity space during these warm events. Tracer simulations using SODA velocities also show decadal variation of the Gulf Stream waters reaching the subpolar gyre and Nordic seas. The negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation index, usually invoked in such variability, fails to predict the warming and salinization in the early 2000s, with salinities not seen since the 1960s. Wind stress curl variability provided a linkage to this subtropical/subpolar gyre exchange as illustrated using an idealized two ]layer circulation model. The ocean response to the modulation of the climatological wind stress curl pattern was found to be such that the northward penetration of subtropical tracers is enhanced when amplitude of the wind stress curl is weaker than normal. In this case both the subtropical and subpolar gyres weaken and the subpolar density surfaces relax; hence, the polar front moves westward, opening an enhanced northward access of the subtropical waters in the eastern boundary current.

Sinking of Dense North Atlantic Waters in a Global Ocean Model : Location and Controls

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katsman, C.A.; Drijfhout, SS; Dijkstra, H. A.; Spall, M. A.

2018-01-01

We investigate the characteristics of the sinking of dense waters in the North Atlantic Ocean that constitute the downwelling limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as simulated by two global ocean models: an eddy-permitting model at 1/4° resolution and its coarser 1°

The role of the northward-directed (sub)surface limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during the 8.2 ka Event

Science.gov (United States)

Tegzes, A. D.; Jansen, E.; Telford, R. J.

2014-02-01

The so-called "8.2 ka Event" has been widely regarded as a major climate perturbation over the Holocene. It is most readily identifiable in the oxygen-isotope records from Greenland ice cores as an approximately 160 yr-long cold interval between 8250-8090 yr BP. The prevailing view has been that the cooling over Greenland, and potentially over the northern North Atlantic at least, was triggered by the catastrophic final drainage of the Agassiz-Ojibway proglacial lake as part of the remnant Laurentide Ice Sheet collapsed over Hudson Bay at around 8420 ± 80 yr BP. The consequent freshening of surface waters in the northern North Atlantic Ocean and the Nordic Seas resulted in weaker overturning, hence reduced northward heat transport. Here we present proxy records from site JM97-MD95-2011 on the mid-Norwegian Margin indicating a (sharp) decline in the strength of the eastern branch of the Atlantic Inflow into the Nordic Seas immediately following a uniquely large drop in (sub)surface ocean temperatures coeval with the lake outbursts. We propose that the final drainage of Lake Agassiz-Ojibway was accompanied by a major iceberg discharge from Hudson Bay, which resulted in the cooling of the northward-directed northern Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Drift-Norwegian Atlantic Current system. Since our current-strength proxy records from the mid-Norwegian Margin do not evidence an exceptionally strong reduction in the main branch of the Atlantic Inflow into the Nordic Seas at the time, we argue that a chilled northward-directed (sub)surface-current system and an already colder background climate state could be the main factors responsible for the 8.2 ka climate perturbation.

A record of the last 460 thousand years of upper ocean stratification from the central Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scussolini, P.; Peeters, F.J.C.

2013-01-01

The upper branch of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation predominantly enters the Atlantic Ocean through the southeast, where the subtropical gyre is exposed to the influence of the Agulhas leakage (AL). To understand how the transfer of Indian Ocean waters via the AL affected the upper

An Anthropogenic Radioisotope, Iodine 129, As A Tracer For Studying The Northern Limb of The Meridional Overturning Circulation (moc)

Science.gov (United States)

Gascard, J. C.; Raisbeck, G.; Yiou, F.; Sequeira, S.; Mork, K. A.

A number of observations taken during the 1990s, seem to corroborate the fact that the northern limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (the so-called MOC), is undergoing large scale variability. Arctic Sea-Ice thinning, Overflows slackening, Labrador and Greenland Seas Deep Convection weakening, have recently been re- ported. Can this large scale variability be interpreted as a natural variability of the MOC or is it more related to global changes due to anthropogenic effects like green- house gases enhancing Global Warming at High Latitudes ? Iodine 129 resulting from reprocessing nuclear wastes at La Hague (France) and Sellafield (UK), has penetrated through all the various parts of the MOC from the Source: the Norwegian Coastal Current (NCC) collecting Iodine 129 from the North Sea, to the Sink: the Greenland- Iceland-Scotland Overflows and ultimately to the North Atlantic Deep Waters via the Deep Western Boundary Current. During recent years, discharges of Iodine 129 have increased drastically and peaks in Iodine 129 concentrations have already been ob- served all along the coast of Norway. In this talk, we will first present the most recent results showing the transfer of Iodine 129 through the various parts of the MOC from the NCC down to the North Atlantic Overflows (Denmark Strait), and second, explain how this results allow us to improve our understanding of the MOC system and in particular its variability. This is an important issue for improving reliability of actual numerical simulations of past, present and future behavior of the MOC, which has strong implications for climate related problems.

Salt exchange in the Indian-Atlantic Ocean Gateway since the Last Glacial Maximum : A compensating effect between Agulhas Current changes and salinity variations?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Simon, Margit H.; Gong, Xun; Hall, Ian R.; Ziegler, Martin; Barker, Stephen; Knorr, Gregor; van der Meer, Marcel T J; Kasper, Sebastian; Schouten, Stefan

2015-01-01

The import of relatively salty water masses from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic is considered to be important for the operational mode of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). However, the occurrence and the origin of changes in this import behavior on millennial and

Salt exchange in the Indian-Atlantic Ocean Gateway since the Last Glacial Maximum: A compensating effect between Agulhas Current changes and salinity variations?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Simon, M.H.; Gong, X.; Hall, I.R.; Ziegler, M.; Barker, S.; Knorr, G.; van der Meer, M.T.J.; Kasper, S.; Schouten, S.

2015-01-01

The import of relatively salty water masses from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic is considered to be important for the operational mode of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). However, the occurrence and the origin of changes in this import behavior on millennial and

Pronounced subsurface cooling of North Atlantic waters off Northwest Africa during Dansgaard-Oeschger interstadials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kim, J.H.; Romero, O.E.; Lohmann, G.; Donner, B.; Laepple, T.; Haam, E.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.

2012-01-01

Millennial-scale Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) variability has often been invoked to explain the Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events. However, the underlying causes responsible for millennial-scale AMOC variability are still debated. High-resolution U-37(K)' and TEX86H temperature

Response of the Atlantic Ocean circulation to Greenland Ice Sheet melting in a strongly-eddying ocean model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijer, W.; Maltrud, M.E.; Hecht, M.W.; Dijkstra, H.A.; Kliphuis, M.

2012-01-01

The sensitivity of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to high-latitude freshwater input is one of the key uncertainties in the climate system. Considering the importance of the AMOC for global heat transports, and the vulnerability of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to global

Ocean array alters view of Atlantic conveyor

Science.gov (United States)

Kornei, Katherine

2018-02-01

Oceanographers have put a stethoscope on the coursing circulatory system of the Atlantic Ocean, and they have found a skittish pulse that's surprisingly strong in the waters east of Greenland—discoveries that should improve climate models. The powerful currents known as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are an engine in Earth's climate. The AMOC's shallower limbs—which include the Gulf Stream—move warm water from the tropics northward, warming Western Europe. In the north, the waters cool and sink, forming deeper limbs that transport the cold water back south—and sequester anthropogenic carbon in the process. Last week, at the American Geophysical Union's Ocean Sciences meeting, scientists presented the first data from an array of instruments moored in the subpolar North Atlantic, a $35 million, seven-nation project known as the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP). Since 2004, researchers have gathered data from another array, at 26°N, stretching from Florida to Africa. But OSNAP is the first to monitor the circulation farther north, where a critical aspect of the overturning occurs. The observations reveal unexpected eddies and strong variability in the AMOC currents. They also show that the currents east of Greenland contribute the most to the total AMOC flow. Climate models, on the other hand, have emphasized the currents west of Greenland in the Labrador Sea.

Antarctic contribution to meltwater pulse 1A from reduced Southern Ocean overturning.

Science.gov (United States)

Golledge, N R; Menviel, L; Carter, L; Fogwill, C J; England, M H; Cortese, G; Levy, R H

2014-09-29

During the last glacial termination, the upwelling strength of the southern polar limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation varied, changing the ventilation and stratification of the high-latitude Southern Ocean. During the same period, at least two phases of abrupt global sea-level rise--meltwater pulses--took place. Although the timing and magnitude of these events have become better constrained, a causal link between ocean stratification, the meltwater pulses and accelerated ice loss from Antarctica has not been proven. Here we simulate Antarctic ice sheet evolution over the last 25 kyr using a data-constrained ice-sheet model forced by changes in Southern Ocean temperature from an Earth system model. Results reveal several episodes of accelerated ice-sheet recession, the largest being coincident with meltwater pulse 1A. This resulted from reduced Southern Ocean overturning following Heinrich Event 1, when warmer subsurface water thermally eroded grounded marine-based ice and instigated a positive feedback that further accelerated ice-sheet retreat.

Increased ventilation of Antarctic deep water during the warm mid-Pliocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhongshi; Nisancioglu, Kerim H; Ninnemann, Ulysses S

2013-01-01

The mid-Pliocene warm period is a recent warm geological period that shares similarities with predictions of future climate. It is generally held the mid-Pliocene Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation must have been stronger, to explain a weak Atlantic meridional δ(13)C gradient and large northern high-latitude warming. However, climate models do not simulate such stronger Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, when forced with mid-Pliocene boundary conditions. Proxy reconstructions allow for an alternative scenario that the weak δ(13)C gradient can be explained by increased ventilation and reduced stratification in the Southern Ocean. Here this alternative scenario is supported by simulations with the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM-L), which simulate an intensified and slightly poleward shifted wind field off Antarctica, giving enhanced ventilation and reduced stratification in the Southern Ocean. Our findings challenge the prevailing theory and show how increased Southern Ocean ventilation can reconcile existing model-data discrepancies about Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation while explaining fundamental ocean features.

Wintertime re-ventilation of the East Greenland Current's Atlantic-origin Overflow Water in the western Iceland Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Våge, Kjetil; Håvik, Lisbeth; Papritz, Lukas; Spall, Michael; Moore, Kent

2017-04-01

The Deep Western Boundary Current constitutes the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and, as such, is a crucial component of the Earth's climate system. The largest and densest contribution to the current stems from the overflow plume that passes through Denmark Strait. A main source of Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) is the East Greenland Current (EGC). The DSOW transported by the EGC originates from the Atlantic inflow into the Nordic Seas. This is then transformed into Atlantic-origin Overflow Water while progressing northward through the eastern part of the Nordic Seas. Here we show, using measurements from autonomous gliders deployed from fall 2015 to spring 2016, that the Atlantic-origin Overflow Water transported toward Denmark Strait by the EGC was re-ventilated while transiting the western Iceland Sea in winter. In summer, this region is characterized by an upper layer of cold, fresh Polar Surface Water that is thought to prevent convection. But in fall and winter this fresh water mass is diverted toward the Greenland shelf by enhanced northerly winds, which results in a water column that is preconditioned for convection. Severe heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere offshore of the ice edge subsequently causes the formation of deep mixed layers. This further transforms the Atlantic-origin Overflow Water and impacts the properties of the DSOW, and hence the deepest and densest component of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

North Atlantic ocean circulation and abrupt climate change during the last glaciation.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, L G; McManus, J F; Curry, W B; Roberts, N L; Piotrowski, A M; Keigwin, L D

2016-07-29

The most recent ice age was characterized by rapid and hemispherically asynchronous climate oscillations, whose origin remains unresolved. Variations in oceanic meridional heat transport may contribute to these repeated climate changes, which were most pronounced during marine isotope stage 3, the glacial interval 25 thousand to 60 thousand years ago. We examined climate and ocean circulation proxies throughout this interval at high resolution in a deep North Atlantic sediment core, combining the kinematic tracer protactinium/thorium (Pa/Th) with the deep water-mass tracer, epibenthic δ(13)C. These indicators suggest reduced Atlantic overturning circulation during every cool northern stadial, with the greatest reductions during episodic Hudson Strait iceberg discharges, while sharp northern warming followed reinvigorated overturning. These results provide direct evidence for the ocean's persistent, central role in abrupt glacial climate change. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Meridional overturning and large-scale circulation of the Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Ganachaud, Alexandre; Wunsch, Carl; Marotzke, Jochem; Toole, John

2000-11-01

The large scale Indian Ocean circulation is estimated from a global hydrographic inverse geostrophic box model with a focus on the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). The global model is based on selected recent World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) sections which in the Indian Basin consist of zonal sections at 32°S, 20°S and 8°S, and a section between Bali and Australia from the Java-Australia Dynamic Experiment (JADE). The circulation is required to conserve mass, salinity, heat, silica and "PO" (170PO4+O2). Near-conservation is imposed within layers bounded by neutral surfaces, while permitting advective and diffusive exchanges between the layers. Conceptually, the derived circulation is an estimate of the average circulation for the period 1987-1995. A deep inflow into the Indian Basin of 11±4 Sv is found, which is in the lower range of previous estimates, but consistent with conservation requirements and the global data set. The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) is estimated at 15±5 Sv. The flow in the Mozambique Channel is of the same magnitude, implying a weak net flow between Madagascar and Australia. A net evaporation of -0.6±0.4 Sv is found between 32°S and 8°S, consistent with independent estimates. No net heat gain is found over the Indian Basin (0.1 ± 0.2PW north of 32°S) as a consequence of the large warm water influx from the ITF. Through the use of anomaly equations, the average dianeutral upwelling and diffusion between the sections are required and resolved, with values in the range 1-3×10-5 cm s-1 for the upwelling and 2-10 cm2 s-1 for the diffusivity.

The Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone: A Crossroads of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Bower, A. S.; Furey, H. H.; Xu, X.

2016-02-01

The Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ), a deep gap in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 52N, is the primary conduit for westward-flowing Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW), which merges with Denmark Strait Overflow Water to form the Deep Western Boundary Current. The CGFZ has also been shown to "funnel" the path of the northern branch of the eastward-flowing North Atlantic Current (NAC), thereby bringing these two branches of the AMOC into close proximity. A recent two-year time series of hydrographic properties and currents from eight tall moorings across the CGFZ offers the first opportunity to investigate the NAC as a source of variability for ISOW transport. The two-year mean and standard deviation of ISOW transport was -1.7 ± 1.5 Sv, compared to -2.4 ± 3.0 Sv reported by Saunders for a 13-month period in 1988-1989. Differences in the two estimates are partly explained by limitations of the Saunders array, but more importantly reflect the strong low-frequency variability in ISOW transport through CGFZ (which includes complete reversals). Both the observations and output from a multi-decadal simulation of the North Atlantic using the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) forced with interannually varying wind and buoyancy fields indicate a strong positive correlation between ISOW transport and the strength of the NAC through the CGFZ (stronger eastward NAC related to weaker westward ISOW transport). Vertical structure of the low-frequency current variability and water mass structure in the CGFZ will also be discussed. The results have implications regarding the interaction of the upper and lower limbs of the AMOC, and downstream propagation of ISOW transport variability in the Deep Western Boundary Current.

Open oceanic productivity changes at mid-latitudes during interglacials and its relation to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Nave, Silvia; Lebreiro, S.; Kissel, C.; Guihou, A.; Figueiredo, M. O.; Silva, T. P.; Michel, E.; Cortijo, E.; Labeyrie, L.; Voelker, A.

2010-05-01

-size variations and magnetic properties, suggests stronger/faster bottom currents during cold phases, in agreement with a stronger component of Antarctic sourced Bottom Water (AABW) at the Eastern Atlantic Margin. The probable enhancement of AABW during these periods may also account for a higher preservation of siliceous biogenic particles at the ocean floor sediment/water interface. Given that MD01-2446 is placed far from the continent, productivity records should mainly reflect local conditions. Still, we should not fully discard the preservation of punctual influence of coastal processes derived from upwelling filament plumes at the Estremadura Plateau. Lebreiro et al., 1997 [Paleoceanography, 12, 718-727] reported for a near location, the dominance of pre-upwelling and post-upwelling related foraminifera species during MIS 6 implying less intense or persistent upwelling during MIS 6 than MIS 4. On the contrary, opal and organic carbon data reveals a clear increase in productivity also during MIS 6, reinforcing the idea that productivity variations are likely related to open ocean conditions and therefore, nutrients availability associated to the Atlantic Meridional Oceanic Circulation.

Anomalously weak Labrador Sea convection and Atlantic overturning during the past 150 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Thornalley, David J R; Oppo, Delia W; Ortega, Pablo; Robson, Jon I; Brierley, Chris M; Davis, Renee; Hall, Ian R; Moffa-Sanchez, Paola; Rose, Neil L; Spooner, Peter T; Yashayaev, Igor; Keigwin, Lloyd D

2018-04-01

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a system of ocean currents that has an essential role in Earth's climate, redistributing heat and influencing the carbon cycle 1, 2 . The AMOC has been shown to be weakening in recent years 1 ; this decline may reflect decadal-scale variability in convection in the Labrador Sea, but short observational datasets preclude a longer-term perspective on the modern state and variability of Labrador Sea convection and the AMOC 1, 3-5 . Here we provide several lines of palaeo-oceanographic evidence that Labrador Sea deep convection and the AMOC have been anomalously weak over the past 150 years or so (since the end of the Little Ice Age, LIA, approximately AD 1850) compared with the preceding 1,500 years. Our palaeoclimate reconstructions indicate that the transition occurred either as a predominantly abrupt shift towards the end of the LIA, or as a more gradual, continued decline over the past 150 years; this ambiguity probably arises from non-AMOC influences on the various proxies or from the different sensitivities of these proxies to individual components of the AMOC. We suggest that enhanced freshwater fluxes from the Arctic and Nordic seas towards the end of the LIA-sourced from melting glaciers and thickened sea ice that developed earlier in the LIA-weakened Labrador Sea convection and the AMOC. The lack of a subsequent recovery may have resulted from hysteresis or from twentieth-century melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet 6 . Our results suggest that recent decadal variability in Labrador Sea convection and the AMOC has occurred during an atypical, weak background state. Future work should aim to constrain the roles of internal climate variability and early anthropogenic forcing in the AMOC weakening described here.

A global hybrid coupled model based on atmosphere-SST feedbacks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cimatoribus, Andrea A.; Drijfhout, Sybren S. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt (Netherlands); Dijkstra, Henk A. [Utrecht University, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands)

2012-02-15

A global hybrid coupled model is developed, with the aim of studying the effects of ocean-atmosphere feedbacks on the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The model includes a global ocean general circulation model and a statistical atmosphere model. The statistical atmosphere model is based on linear regressions of data from a fully coupled climate model on sea surface temperature both locally and hemispherically averaged, being the footprint of Atlantic meridional overturning variability. It provides dynamic boundary conditions to the ocean model for heat, freshwater and wind-stress. A basic but consistent representation of ocean-atmosphere feedbacks is captured in the hybrid coupled model and it is more than 10 times faster than the fully coupled climate model. The hybrid coupled model reaches a steady state with a climate close to the one of the fully coupled climate model, and the two models also have a similar response (collapse) of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to a freshwater hosing applied in the northern North Atlantic. (orig.)

Early deglacial Atlantic overturning decline and its role in atmospheric CO2 rise inferred from carbon isotopes (δ13C

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Schmittner

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The reason for the initial rise in atmospheric CO2 during the last deglaciation remains unknown. Most recent hypotheses invoke Southern Hemisphere processes such as shifts in midlatitude westerly winds. Coeval changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC are poorly quantified, and their relation to the CO2 increase is not understood. Here we compare simulations from a global, coupled climate–biogeochemistry model that includes a detailed representation of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C with a synthesis of high-resolution δ13C reconstructions from deep-sea sediments and ice core data. In response to a prolonged AMOC shutdown initialized from a preindustrial state, modeled δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC decreases in most of the surface ocean and the subsurface Atlantic, with largest amplitudes (more than 1.5‰ in the intermediate-depth North Atlantic. It increases in the intermediate and abyssal South Atlantic, as well as in the subsurface Southern, Indian, and Pacific oceans. The modeled pattern is similar and highly correlated with the available foraminiferal δ13C reconstructions spanning from the late Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~19.5–18.5 ka BP to the late Heinrich stadial event 1 (HS1, ~16.5–15.5 ka BP, but the model overestimates δ13CDIC reductions in the North Atlantic. Possible reasons for the model–sediment-data differences are discussed. Changes in remineralized δ13CDIC dominate the total δ13CDIC variations in the model but preformed contributions are not negligible. Simulated changes in atmospheric CO2 and its isotopic composition (δ13CCO2 agree well with ice core data. Modeled effects of AMOC-induced wind changes on the carbon and isotope cycles are small, suggesting that Southern Hemisphere westerly wind effects may have been less important for the global carbon cycle response during HS1 than previously thought. Our results indicate that during the early deglaciation the AMOC decreased

Investigating sediment size distributions and size-specific Sm-Nd isotopes as paleoceanographic proxy in the North Atlantic Ocean: reconstructing past deep-sea current speeds since Last Glacial Maximum

OpenAIRE

Li, Yuting

2017-01-01

To explore whether the dispersion of sediments in the North Atlantic can be related to modern and past Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) flow speed, particle size distributions (weight%, Sortable Silt mean grain size) and grain-size separated (0–4, 4–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40 and 40–63 µm) Sm-Nd isotopes and trace element concentrations are measured on 12 cores along the flow-path of Western Boundary Undercurrent and in the central North Atlantic since the Last glacial Maximum ...

Vertical density gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during the last 30,000 years

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogerson, M.; Ramirez, J. [University of Hull, Geography Department, Hull (United Kingdom); Bigg, G.R. [University of Sheffield, Department of Geography, Sheffield (United Kingdom); Rohling, E.J. [University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton (United Kingdom)

2012-08-15

Past changes in the density and momentum structure of oceanic circulation are an important aspect of changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and consequently climate. However, very little is known about past changes in the vertical density structure of the ocean, even very extensively studied systems such as the North Atlantic. Here we exploit the physical controls on the settling depth of the dense Mediterranean water plume derived from the Strait of Gibraltar to obtain the first robust, observations-based, probabilistic reconstruction of the vertical density gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during the last 30,000 years. We find that this gradient was weakened by more than 50%, relative to the present, during the last Glacial Maximum, and that changes in general are associated with reductions in AMOC intensity. However, we find only a small change during Heinrich Event 1 relative to the Last Glacial Maximum, despite strong evidence that overturning was substantially altered. This implies that millennial-scale changes may not be reflected in vertical density structure of the ocean, which may be limited to responses on an ocean-overturning timescale or longer. Regardless, our novel reconstruction of Atlantic density structure can be used as the basis for a dynamical measure for validation of model-based AMOC reconstructions. In addition, our general approach is transferrable to other marginal sea outflow plumes, to provide estimates of oceanic vertical density gradients in other locations. (orig.)

Similar mid-depth Atlantic water mass provenance during the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Jacob N. W.; Huang, Kuo-Fang; Oppo, Delia W.; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Mulitza, Stefan; Blusztajn, Jurek; Piotrowski, Alexander M.

2018-05-01

The delivery of freshwater to the North Atlantic during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) is thought to have fundamentally altered the operation of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Although benthic foraminiferal carbon isotope records from the mid-depth Atlantic show a pronounced excursion to lower values during HS1, whether these shifts correspond to changes in water mass proportions, advection, or shifts in the carbon cycle remains unclear. Here we present new deglacial records of authigenic neodymium isotopes - a water mass tracer that is independent of the carbon cycle - from two cores in the mid-depth South Atlantic. We find no change in neodymium isotopic composition, and thus water mass proportions, between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and HS1, despite large decreases in carbon isotope values at the onset of HS1 in the same cores. We suggest that the excursions of carbon isotopes to lower values were likely caused by the accumulation of respired organic matter due to slow overturning circulation, rather than to increased southern-sourced water, as typically assumed. The finding that there was little change in water mass provenance in the mid-depth South Atlantic between the LGM and HS1, despite decreased overturning, suggests that the rate of production of mid-depth southern-sourced water mass decreased in concert with decreased production of northern-sourced intermediate water at the onset of HS1. Consequently, we propose that even drastic changes in the strength of AMOC need not cause a significant change in South Atlantic mid-depth water mass proportions.

Links Between the Deep Western Boundary Current, Labrador Sea Water Formation and Export, and the Meridional Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Paul G.; Kulan, Nilgun

2010-05-01

Based on an isopyncal analysis of historical data, 3-year overlapping triad fields of objectively analysed temperature and salinity are produced for the Labrador Sea, covering 1949-1999. These fields are then used to spectrally nudge an eddy-permitting ocean general circulation model of the sub-polar gyre, otherwise forced by inter annually varying surface forcing based upon the Coordinated Ocean Reference Experiment (CORE). High frequency output from the reanalysis is used to examine Labrador Sea Water formation and its export. A number of different apprpoaches are used to estimate Labrador Sea Water formation, including an instanteous kinematic approach to calculate the annual rate of water mass subduction at a given density range. Historical transports are computed along sections at 53 and 56N for several different water masses for comparison with recent observations, showing a decline in the stength of the deep western boundary current with time. The variability of the strength of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) from the reanalysis is also examined in both depth and density space. Linkages between MOC variability and water mass formation variability is considered.

The Atlantic Meridional Transect: Spatially Extensive Calibration and Validation of Optical Properties and Remotely Sensed Measurements of Ocean Colour

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, James; Hooker, Stanford

1997-01-01

Twice a year, the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Clark Ross (JCR) steams a meridional transect of the atlantic Ocean between Grimsly (UK) and Stanley (Falkland Islands) with a port call in Montevideo (Uruguay), as part of the annual research activities of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). In September, the JCR sails from the UK, and the following April it makes the return trip. The ship is operated by the BAS for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) Program exploits the passage of the JCR from approximately 50 deg. N to 50 deg. S with a primary objective to investigate physical and biological processes, as well as to measure the mesi-to-basin-scale bio-optical properties of the atlantic Ocean. The calibration and validation of remotely sensed observations of ocean colour is an inherent objective of these studies: first, by relating in situ measurements of water leaving radiance to satellite measurement, and second, by measuring the bio-optically active constituents of the water.

Evidence for external forcing of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation since termination of the Little Ice Age.

Science.gov (United States)

Knudsen, Mads Faurschou; Jacobsen, Bo Holm; Seidenkrantz, Marit-Solveig; Olsen, Jesper

2014-02-25

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) represents a significant driver of Northern Hemisphere climate, but the forcing mechanisms pacing the AMO remain poorly understood. Here we use the available proxy records to investigate the influence of solar and volcanic forcing on the AMO over the last ~450 years. The evidence suggests that external forcing played a dominant role in pacing the AMO after termination of the Little Ice Age (LIA; ca. 1400-1800), with an instantaneous impact on mid-latitude sea-surface temperatures that spread across the North Atlantic over the ensuing ~5 years. In contrast, the role of external forcing was more ambiguous during the LIA. Our study further suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is important for linking external forcing with North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures, a conjecture that reconciles two opposing theories concerning the origin of the AMO.

Regional seesaw between the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas during the last glacial abrupt climate events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Wary

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Dansgaard–Oeschger oscillations constitute one of the most enigmatic features of the last glacial cycle. Their cold atmospheric phases have been commonly associated with cold sea-surface temperatures and expansion of sea ice in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas. Here, based on dinocyst analyses from the 48–30 ka interval of four sediment cores from the northern Northeast Atlantic and southern Norwegian Sea, we provide direct and quantitative evidence of a regional paradoxical seesaw pattern: cold Greenland and North Atlantic phases coincide with warmer sea-surface conditions and shorter seasonal sea-ice cover durations in the Norwegian Sea as compared to warm phases. Combined with additional palaeorecords and multi-model hosing simulations, our results suggest that during cold Greenland phases, reduced Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and cold North Atlantic sea-surface conditions were accompanied by the subsurface propagation of warm Atlantic waters that re-emerged in the Nordic Seas and provided moisture towards Greenland summit.

Nine years of mass transport data in the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre

Science.gov (United States)

Fraile-Nuez, Eugenio; MachíN, Francisco; VéLez-Belchí, Pedro; López-Laatzen, Federico; Borges, Rafael; BeníTez-Barrios, Verónica; HernáNdez-Guerra, Alonso

2010-09-01

One of the longest current meter time series in the Lanzarote Passage in the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre has been used to determine and quantify the 9-year mean transport, the inter-annual and seasonal mass transport variability for the three water masses present in the area. Results show North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) flowing southward in the upper levels with a mean mass transport of -0.81 ± 1.48 Sv, Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) flowing northward at intermediate levels with a mean transport of +0.09 ± 0.57 Sv and Mediterranean Water (MW) flowing southward in the deep part of the passage with a mean transport of -0.05 ± 0.17 Sv. Harmonic and wavelet analysis show the presence of a seasonal pattern in the passage for the three water masses. A maximum southward transport in winter and spring has been observed for the NACW followed by a minimum in summer and fall. Near zero values during winter and spring are found for AAIW, with a maximum northward value in summer and a negative value in fall, when this water mass reverses its flow. MW has a similar seasonal pattern to NACW. The vertical structure in the Lanzarote Passage can be approximated by four significant oscillatory modes which cumulatively explain 86.4% of the variance. The strong transport fluctuation found at the seasonal and inter-annual timescales demonstrates that the Eastern Boundary Current transport has a strong impact on meridional overturning estimates, thus indicating that to understand Meridional Overturning Circulation variability, these transport estimates at the eastern Atlantic margin are necessary.

Modeling SST gradient changes, the hydrological cycle response, and deep water formation in the North Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Burls, N.; Ford, H. L.; Fedorov, A. V.; Jahn, A.; Jacobs, P.

2017-12-01

The absence of deep-water formation and a deep meridional overturning cell in the modern North Pacific has been attributed to the relatively fresh surface conditions in the subarctic. These conditions are, in turn, best explained by the local excess of precipitation over evaporation in the northern Pacific due to net moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific and/or moisture transport associated with the Asian monsoon. Some studies link the lack of deep-water formation in the Pacific directly to its occurrence in the Atlantic via the Atlantic-Pacific seesaw effect and idealized experiments indicate that the smaller width of the Atlantic predisposes it to higher salinity and deep-water formation. We have conducted a series of coupled model experiments across which global mean temperatures and large-scale meridional SST gradients are varied. We perturb either atmospheric CO2 concentrations or the meridional gradient in cloud radiative forcing and run each experiment out to 3000 years so that the deep ocean has equilibrated. As the strength of the meridional temperature gradient decreases across our experiments, a Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation develops. The strength of this Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation generally increases as the gradient weakens. In one of these experiments where the meridional SST gradient most closely resembles Pliocene reconstructions, a PMOC exists of comparable in strength to the modern AMOC. We will describe how the hydrological cycle response to reduced meridional SST gradients acts to increase the strength of the PMOC across our sensitivity experiments. Additionally, we will discuss our effort to include carbon isotopes in our Pliocene-like simulation for data-model comparisons. Calcium carbonate accumulation data from Subarctic North Pacific Site 882 and new and previously published carbon isotope records from the Pacific appear to support our modelling results suggesting that weaker meridonal SST gradients

The impacts of the atmospheric annular mode on the AMOC and its feedback in an idealized experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Santis, Wlademir; Aimola, Luis; Campos, Edmo J. D.; Castellanos, Paola

2018-03-01

The interdecadal variability of the atmospheric and oceanic meridional overturning circulation is studied, using a coupled model with two narrow meridional barriers representing the land and a flat bottomed Aquaplanet. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis are used in the atmospheric and oceanic meridional overturning cells, revealing the atmospheric interdecadal variability is dominated by an annular mode, in both hemispheres, which introduces in the ocean a set of patterns of variability. The most energetic EOFs in the ocean are the barotropic responses from the annular mode. The interaction between the heat anomalies, due to the barotropic response, and the thermohaline circulation of each basin leads to a resonance mechanism that feeds back to the atmospheric forcing, modulating the annular mode spectrum. Besides the barotropic response, the annular mode introduces anomalies of salinity and temperature in the subtropical Atlantic that affects its upper buoyancy. These anomalies are incorporated within the ocean circulation and advected until the areas of deep sinking in the northern Atlantic, impacting on its overturning circulation as well.

Climatic impacts of fresh water hosing under Last Glacial Maximum conditions: a multi-model study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kageyama, M.; Merkel, U.; Otto-Bliesner, B.; Prange, M.; Abe-Ouchi, A.; Lohmann, G.; Ohgaito, R.; Roche, D.M.V.A.P.; Singarayer, J

2013-01-01

Fresh water hosing simulations, in which a fresh water flux is imposed in the North Atlantic to force fluctuations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, have been routinely performed, first to study the climatic signature of different states of this circulation, then, under present or

Variability in Labrador Sea Water formation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gelderloos, R.

2012-01-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports of a large amount of heat towards the North Atlantic region. Since this circulation is considered to have shown pronounced variability in the past, and a weakening is projected for the 21st century, it is very important to understand

Tropical Indo-Pacific hydroclimate response to North Atlantic forcing during the last deglaciation as recorded by a speleothem from Sumatra, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Wurtzel, Jennifer B.; Abram, Nerilie J.; Lewis, Sophie C.; Bajo, Petra; Hellstrom, John C.; Troitzsch, Ulrike; Heslop, David

2018-06-01

Abrupt changes in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation are known to have affected the strength of the Indian and Asian Monsoons during glacial and deglacial climate states. However, there is still much uncertainty around the hydroclimate response of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) region to abrupt climate changes in the North Atlantic. Many studies suggest a mean southward shift in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the IPWP region during phases of reduced Atlantic meridional overturning, however, existing proxies have seasonal biases and conflicting responses, making it difficult to determine the true extent of North Atlantic forcing in this climatically important region. Here we present a precisely-dated, high-resolution record of eastern Indian Ocean hydroclimate variability spanning the last 16 ky (thousand years) from δ18O measurements in an aragonite-calcite speleothem from central Sumatra. This represents the western-most speleothem record from the IPWP region. Precipitation arrives year-round at this site, with the majority sourced from the local tropical eastern Indian Ocean and two additional long-range seasonal sources associated with the boreal and austral summer monsoons. The Sumatran speleothem demonstrates a clear deglacial structure that includes 18O enrichment during the Younger Dryas and 18O depletion during the Bølling-Allerød, similar to the pattern seen in speleothems of the Asian and Indian monsoon realms. The speleothem δ18O changes at this site are best explained by changes in rainfall amount and changes in the contributions from different moisture pathways. Reduced rainfall in Sumatra during the Younger Dryas is most likely driven by reductions in moisture transport along the northern or southern monsoon transport pathways to Sumatra. Considered with other regional proxies, the record from Sumatra suggests the response of the IPWP to North Atlantic freshwater forcing is not solely driven by southward shifts of the

The Impact of the AMOC Resumption in the Western South Atlantic Thermocline at the Onset of the Last Interglacial

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Thiago P.; Lessa, Douglas O.; Venancio, Igor M.; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Mulitza, Stefan; Kuhnert, Henning; Albuquerque, Ana Luiza S.

2017-11-01

After glacial terminations, large amounts of heat and salt were transferred from low to high latitudes, which is a crucial phenomenon for the reestablishment of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). However, how different glacial terminations evolved in the (sub)tropics is still poorly documented. Here we use foraminifera oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) stable isotopes to show that the North Atlantic heat piracy, following the AMOC resumption at the early Last Interglacial, affected the thermocline δ18O levels of the subtropical western South Atlantic. Because of the cooling imposed by this process, glacial δ18O persisted in the thermocline for 7 kyr after the onset of the Last Interglacial, dampening the effect of sea level rise usually imprinted on foraminifera δ18O during terminations. Faunal composition and δ13C also suggest the existence of a colder and thicker South Atlantic Central Water coeval with the AMOC recovery. This process apparently did not occur during the last deglaciation.

Coccolithophore paleoproductivity and ecology response to deglacial and Holocene changes in the Azores Current System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schwab, C.; Kinkel, Hanno; Weinelt, M.

2012-01-01

In order to test the sensitivity of marine primary productivity in the midlatitude open ocean North Atlantic to changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), we investigated two spliced sediment cores from a site south of the Azores Islands at the northern rim of the North At...

Impact of the new equation of state of seawater (TEOS-10) on the estimates of water mass mixture and meridional transport in the Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Lucas; de Azevedo, José Luiz Lima; Kerr, Rodrigo; Araujo, Moacyr; Mata, Mauricio M.

2018-03-01

The equation of state of seawater (EOS) provides a simple way to link the properties of seawater that are the most important for ocean dynamics and the ocean-atmosphere climate system. In 2010, the set of equations used to derive all thermodynamic properties of seawater were updated using a thermodynamic approach. The new approach, named TEOS-10, results in better estimates of seawater properties, such as salinity and temperature, when compared to the previous EOS version (EOS-80). Since several physical processes in the oceans are driven by these properties, improvements in the EOS performance are expected to lead to a better and more realistic representation of the ocean. This work focuses on assessing the main differences of the: (i) contribution of water masses to a total mixture, (ii) baroclinic velocity, and (iii) volume and heat transport, as calculated by the EOS-80 and by the TEOS-10, along four zonal transects at 26.5°N, 10°N, 11°S, and 34.5°S in the Atlantic Ocean. The density differences (always between TEOS-10 and EOS-80) increase with depth and hence the results indicate that the most significant difference in the water mass contributions was found for Antarctic Bottom Water. Within that layer, the differences reach up to 10% on its fraction of the mixture when calculated by the TEOS-10, although the difference in the North Atlantic Deep Water contribution was not negligible either. The estimated baroclinic velocities showed considerable differences in all studied areas, being more significant over boundary current systems. The Gulf Stream presented lower velocity, while the Brazil Current presented increasing velocity when using TEOS-10. The comparison between values computed for volume transported by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation showed a total difference of about +6%, which cannot be neglected when considering the space and time variability involved. The heat transport showed significant differences in the study areas at the

Internal and external North Atlantic Sector variability in the Kiel climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Latif, Mojib; Park, Wonsun; Ding, Hui; Keenlyside, Noel S. [Leibniz-Inst. fuer Meereswissenschaften, Kiel (Germany)

2009-08-15

The internal and external North Atlantic Sector variability is investigated by means of a multimillennial control run and forced experiments with the Kiel Climate Model (KCM). The internal variability is studied by analyzing the control run. The externally forced variability is investigated in a run with periodic millennial solar forcing and in greenhouse warming experiments with enhanced carbon dioxide concentrations. The surface air temperature (SAT) averaged over the Northern Hemisphere simulated in the control run displays enhanced variability relative to the red background at decadal, centennial, and millennial timescales. Special emphasis is given to the variability of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). The MOC plays an important role in the generation of internal climate modes. Furthermore, the MOC provides a strong negative feedback on the Northern Hemisphere SAT in both the solar and greenhouse warming experiments, thereby moderating the direct effects of the external forcing in the North Atlantic. The implications of the results for decadal predictability are discussed. (orig.)

Bidecadal North Atlantic ocean circulation variability controlled by timing of volcanic eruptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Swingedouw, Didier; Ortega, Pablo; Mignot, Juliette; Guilyardi, Eric; Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Butler, Paul G; Khodri, Myriam; Séférian, Roland

2015-03-30

While bidecadal climate variability has been evidenced in several North Atlantic paleoclimate records, its drivers remain poorly understood. Here we show that the subset of CMIP5 historical climate simulations that produce such bidecadal variability exhibits a robust synchronization, with a maximum in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) 15 years after the 1963 Agung eruption. The mechanisms at play involve salinity advection from the Arctic and explain the timing of Great Salinity Anomalies observed in the 1970s and the 1990s. Simulations, as well as Greenland and Iceland paleoclimate records, indicate that coherent bidecadal cycles were excited following five Agung-like volcanic eruptions of the last millennium. Climate simulations and a conceptual model reveal that destructive interference caused by the Pinatubo 1991 eruption may have damped the observed decreasing trend of the AMOC in the 2000s. Our results imply a long-lasting climatic impact and predictability following the next Agung-like eruption.

Impact of interocean exchange on the Atlantic overturning circulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijer, W.

2000-01-01

The awareness that human activity could change climate has greatly raised public and scientific interest in climate. One issue of present-day climate research is the stability of the thermohaline circulation. This overturning circulation, popularly known as the `conveyor belt', redistributes

Changes of deep Pacific overturning circulation and carbonate chemistry during middle Miocene East Antarctic ice sheet expansion

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaolin; Tian, Jun; Ma, Wentao; Li, Ke; Yu, Jimin

2018-02-01

East Antarctic ice sheet expansion (EAIE) at ∼13.9 Ma in the middle Miocene represents a major climatic event during the long-term Cenozoic cooling, but ocean circulation and carbon cycle changes during this event remain unclear. Here, we present new fish teeth isotope (εNd) and benthic foraminiferal B/Ca records from the South China Sea (SCS), newly integrated meridional Pacific benthic foraminiferal δ18O and δ13C records and simulated results from a biogeochemical box model to explore the responses of deep Pacific Ocean circulation and carbon cycle across EAIE. The εNd and meridional benthic δ13C records reveal a more isolated Pacific Deep Water (PDW) and a sluggish Pacific meridional overturning circulation during the post-EAIE with respect to the pre-EAIE owing to weakened southern-sourced deep water formation. The deep-water [CO23-] and calcium carbonate mass accumulation rate in the SCS display markedly similar increases followed by recoveries to the pre-EAIE level during EAIE, which were probably caused by a shelf-basin shift of CaCO3 deposition and strengthened weathering due to a sea level fall within EAIE. The model results show that the ∼1‰ positive δ13C excursion during EAIE could be attributed to increased weathering of high-δ13C shelf carbonates and a terrestrial carbon reservoir expansion. The drawdown of atmospheric CO2 over the middle Miocene were probably caused by combined effects of increased shelf carbonate weathering, expanded land biosphere carbon storage and a sluggish deep Pacific meridional overturning circulation.

Indian summer monsoon forcing on the deglacial polar cold reversals

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Virupaxa K Banakar

2017-09-01

Sep 1, 2017 ... because CO2, the fundamental forcing for deglaciation, and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, ... The role of CO2 in causing these deglacial cold ..... Temperature changes in the polar regions with reference to their ...

The Atlantic Multidecadal Variability in surface and deep ocean temperature and salinity fields from unperturbed climate simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Zanchettin, D.; Jungclaus, J. H.

2013-12-01

Large multidecadal fluctuations in basin-average sea-surface temperature (SST) are a known feature of observed, reconstructed and simulated variability in the North Atlantic Ocean. This phenomenon is often referred to as Multidecadal Atlantic Variability or AMV. Historical AMV fluctuations are associated with analog basin-scale changes in sea-surface salinity, so that warming corresponds to salinification and cooling to freshening [Polyakov et al., 2005]. The surface imprint of the AMV further corresponds to same-sign fluctuations in the shallow ocean and with opposite-sign fluctuations in the deep ocean for both temperature and salinity [Polyakov et al., 2005]. This out-of-phase behavior reflects the thermohaline overturning circulation shaping North Atlantic's low-frequency variability. Several processes contribute to the AMV, involving both ocean-atmosphere coupled processes and deep ocean circulation [e.g., Grossmann and Klotzbach, 2009]. In particular, recirculation in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre region of salinity anomalies from Arctic freshwater export may trigger multidecadal variability in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, and therefore may be part of the AMV [Jungclaus et al., 2005; Dima and Lohmann, 2007]. With this contribution, we aim to improve the physical interpretation of the AMV by investigating spatial and temporal patterns of temperature and salinity fields in the shallow and deep ocean. We focus on two unperturbed millennial-scale simulations performed with the Max Planck Institute Earth system model in its paleo (MPI-ESM-P) and low-resolution (MPI-ESM-LR) configurations, which provide reference control climates for assessments of pre-industrial and historical climate simulations. The two model configurations only differ for the presence, in MPI-ESM-LR, of an active module for dynamical vegetation. We use spatial-average indices and empirical orthogonal functions/principal components to track the horizontal and vertical

Astronomically paced middle Eocene deepwater circulation in the western North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Vahlenkamp, Maximilian; Niezgodzki, Igor; De Vleeschouwer, David; Bickert, Torsten; Harper, Dustin; Lohmann, Gerrit; Pälike, Heiko; Zachos, James C.

2017-04-01

The role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as a key player for abrupt climatic changes (e.g. Heinrich Stadials) during the Pleistocene is relatively well constrained. However, the timing of the onset of a „modern" North Atlantic Deepwater (NADW) formation are still debated: Recent estimates range from the middle Miocene to the Early Eocene [Davies et al., 2001, Stoker et al., 2005, Hohbein et al., 2012] and are mainly based on the seismic interpretation contourite drifts. Another understudied aspect of the AMOC is its behavior during climatic variations on orbital time scales and under different climatic boundary conditions (icehouse vs hothouse). IODP Expedition 342 drilled carbonate-rich sequences from sediment drifts offshore Newfoundland that cover the middle Eocene with high sedimentation rates ( 3 cm/ kyr). We present a 2 Myr long stable carbon and oxygen isotope record of benthic foraminifera nuttalides truempyi spanning magnetochron C20r in unprecedented resolution (Petroleum Geology, v. 22, no. 9, p. 977-1005. Hohbein, M. W., Sexton, P. F., and Cartwright, J. A., 2012, Onset of North Atlantic Deep Water production coincident with inception of the Cenozoic global cooling trend: Geology, v. 40, no. 3, p. 255-258.

An optimally tuned ensemble of the "eb_go_gs" configuration of GENIE: parameter sensitivity and bifurcations in the Atlantic overturning circulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Marsh

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The key physical parameters for the "eb_go_gs" configuration of version 2.7.4 of GENIE, an Earth system model of intermediate complexity (EMIC, are tuned using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. An ensemble of 90 parameter sets is tuned using two ocean and two atmospheric state variables as targets. These are "Pareto-optimal", representing a range of trade-offs between the four tuning targets. For the leading five parameter sets, simulations are evaluated alongside a simulation with untuned "default" parameters, comparing selected variables and diagnostics that describe the state of the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice. Further experiments are undertaken with these selected parameter sets to compare equilibrium climate sensitivities and transient climate responses. The pattern of warming under doubled CO2 is strongly shaped by changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC, while the pattern and rate of warming under rising CO2 is closely linked to changing sea ice extent. One of the five tuned parameter sets is identified as marginally optimal, and the objective function (error landscape is further analysed in the vicinity of the tuned values of this parameter set. "Cliffs" along some dimensions motivate closer inspection of corresponding variations in the AMOC. This reveals that bifurcations in the AMOC are highly sensitive to parameters that are not typically associated with MOC stability. Specifically, the state of the AMOC is sensitive to parameters governing the wind-driven circulation and atmospheric heat transport. For the GENIE configuration presented here, the marginally optimal parameter set is recommended for single simulations, although the leading five parameter sets may be used in ensemble mode to admit a constrained degree of parametric uncertainty in climate prediction.

Recent progress in understanding climate thresholds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Good, Peter; Bamber, Jonathan; Halladay, Kate; Harper, Anna B.; Jackson, Laura C.; Kay, Gillian; Kruijt, Bart; Lowe, Jason A.; Phillips, Oliver L.; Ridley, Jeff; Srokosz, Meric; Turley, Carol; Williamson, Phillip

2018-01-01

This article reviews recent scientific progress, relating to four major systems that could exhibit threshold behaviour: ice sheets, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), tropical forests and ecosystem responses to ocean acidification. The focus is on advances since the

Fueling export production: nutrient return pathways from the deep ocean and their dependence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Palter, J. B.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Simeon, J.; Slater, R. D.

2010-11-01

In the Southern Ocean, mixing and upwelling in the presence of heat and freshwater surface fluxes transform subpycnocline water to lighter densities as part of the upward branch of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). One hypothesized impact of this transformation is the restoration of nutrients to the global pycnocline, without which biological productivity at low latitudes would be significantly reduced. Here we use a novel set of modeling experiments to explore the causes and consequences of the Southern Ocean nutrient return pathway. Specifically, we quantify the contribution to global productivity of nutrients that rise from the ocean interior in the Southern Ocean, the northern high latitudes, and by mixing across the low latitude pycnocline. In addition, we evaluate how the strength of the Southern Ocean winds and the parameterizations of subgridscale processes change the dominant nutrient return pathways in the ocean. Our results suggest that nutrients upwelled from the deep ocean in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and subducted in Subantartic Mode Water support between 33 and 75% of global export production between 30° S and 30° N. The high end of this range results from an ocean model in which the MOC is driven primarily by wind-induced Southern Ocean upwelling, a configuration favored due to its fidelity to tracer data, while the low end results from an MOC driven by high diapycnal diffusivity in the pycnocline. In all models, nutrients exported in the SAMW layer are utilized and converted rapidly (in less than 40 years) to remineralized nutrients, explaining previous modeling results that showed little influence of the drawdown of SAMW surface nutrients on atmospheric carbon concentrations.

Fueling export production: nutrient return pathways from the deep ocean and their dependence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. B. Palter

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In the Southern Ocean, mixing and upwelling in the presence of heat and freshwater surface fluxes transform subpycnocline water to lighter densities as part of the upward branch of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC. One hypothesized impact of this transformation is the restoration of nutrients to the global pycnocline, without which biological productivity at low latitudes would be significantly reduced. Here we use a novel set of modeling experiments to explore the causes and consequences of the Southern Ocean nutrient return pathway. Specifically, we quantify the contribution to global productivity of nutrients that rise from the ocean interior in the Southern Ocean, the northern high latitudes, and by mixing across the low latitude pycnocline. In addition, we evaluate how the strength of the Southern Ocean winds and the parameterizations of subgridscale processes change the dominant nutrient return pathways in the ocean. Our results suggest that nutrients upwelled from the deep ocean in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and subducted in Subantartic Mode Water support between 33 and 75% of global export production between 30° S and 30° N. The high end of this range results from an ocean model in which the MOC is driven primarily by wind-induced Southern Ocean upwelling, a configuration favored due to its fidelity to tracer data, while the low end results from an MOC driven by high diapycnal diffusivity in the pycnocline. In all models, nutrients exported in the SAMW layer are utilized and converted rapidly (in less than 40 years to remineralized nutrients, explaining previous modeling results that showed little influence of the drawdown of SAMW surface nutrients on atmospheric carbon concentrations.

Fueling primary productivity: nutrient return pathways from the deep ocean and their dependence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Palter, J. B.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Simeon, J.; Slater, D.

2010-06-01

In the Southern Ocean, mixing and upwelling in the presence of heat and freshwater surface fluxes transform subpycnocline water to lighter densities as part of the upward branch of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). One hypothesized impact of this transformation is the restoration of nutrients to the global pycnocline, without which biological productivity at low latitudes would be catastrophically reduced. Here we use a novel set of modeling experiments to explore the causes and consequences of the Southern Ocean nutrient return pathway. Specifically, we quantify the contribution to global productivity of nutrients that rise from the ocean interior in the Southern Ocean, the northern high latitudes, and by mixing across the low latitude pycnocline. In addition, we evaluate how the strength of the Southern Ocean winds and the parameterizations of subgridscale processes change the dominant nutrient return pathways in the ocean. Our results suggest that nutrients upwelled from the deep ocean in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and subducted in Subantartic Mode Water support between 33 and 75% of global primary productivity between 30° S and 30° N. The high end of this range results from an ocean model in which the MOC is driven primarily by wind-induced Southern Ocean upwelling, a configuration favored due to its fidelity to tracer data, while the low end results from an MOC driven by high diapycnal diffusivity in the pycnocline. In all models, the high preformed nutrients subducted in the SAMW layer are converted rapidly (in less than 40 years) to remineralized nutrients, explaining previous modeling results that showed little influence of the drawdown of SAMW surface nutrients on atmospheric carbon concentrations.

Atlantic multidecadal oceanic variability and its influence on the atmosphere in a climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Msadek, Rym; Frankignoul, Claude [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6, LOCEAN/IPSL, Paris (France)

2009-07-15

The mechanisms controlling the decadal to multidecadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) and its influence on the atmosphere are investigated using a control simulation with the IPSL-CM4 climate model. The multidecadal fluctuations of the MOC are mostly driven by deep convection in the subpolar gyre, which occurs south of Iceland in the model. The latter is primarily influenced by the anomalous advection of salinity due to changes in the East Atlantic Pattern (EAP), which is the second mode of atmospheric variability in the North Atlantic region. The North Atlantic Oscillation is the dominant mode, but it plays a secondary role in the MOC fluctuations. During summer, the MOC variability is shown to have a significant impact on the atmosphere in the North Atlantic-European sector. The MOC influence is due to an interhemispheric sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly with opposite signs in the two hemispheres but largest amplitude in the northern one. The SST pattern driven by the MOC mostly resembles the model Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and bears some similarity with the observed one. It is shown that the AMO reflects both the MOC influence and the local atmospheric forcing. Hence, the MOC influence on climate is best detected using lagged relations between climatic fields. The atmospheric response resembles the EAP, in a phase that might induce a weak positive feedback on the MOC. (orig.)

Natural Surfactant Enrichments in the Atlantic Ocean Between 50°N and 50°S: Data from the Atlantic Meridional Transect, Oct-Nov 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Sabbaghzadeh, B.; Upstill-Goddard, R. C.; Nightingale, P. D.; Beale, R.

2016-02-01

Surfactants that decrease air-sea gas exchange by suppressing the gas transfer velocity (kw) show variable enrichments in the sea surface microlayer (SML) relative to the underlying water. This reflects variability in the rates of surfactant production and consumption. Total surfactant activity (SA: equivalent to Triton-X-100, mgL -1) was determined daily between the UK and the Falkland Islands, during cruise 24 of the Atlantic Meridional Transect programme (AMT 24). Samples were simultaneously obtained from the SML (Garrett screen), from the ship's underway system (inlet at 7m) and in hydrocasts to 500m. SA analysis was by hanging mercury drop electrode polarography (Metrohm 797 VA Computrace). SA enrichment factors (EF: SML SA / underlying water SA) >1 were observed at most locations, showing the SML to be consistently SA-enriched along the entire cruise transect. The persistence of these enrichments up to wind speeds 12m s-¹ support previous conclusions regarding the stability of the SML under high winds. More specifically, SA in the SML was up to four-fold higher in the Atlantic Northern Hemisphere than in the Atlantic Southern Hemisphere. Even so, EF values were not significantly different between the two hemispheres (p >0.05). These various findings have potentially important implications for kw variability across ocean basin scales.

The meganism behind internally generated centennial-to-millennial scale climate variability in an earth system model of intermediate complexity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Friedrich, T.; Timmermann, A.; Menviel, L.; Elison Timm, O.; Mouchet, A.; Roche, D.M.V.A.P.

2010-01-01

The mechanism triggering centennial-to-millennial-scale variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the earth system model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM is investigated. It is found that for several climate boundary conditions such as low obliquity values (∼22.1 )

The role of Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) on Ancient Climates and Implications for Anthropogenic Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Cumming, M.

2017-12-01

Our increasingly robust history of ancient climates indicates that high latitude glaciation is the ultimate product of an episodic cooling trend that began about 100-million years ago rather than a result of a yet-to-be identified modal change. Antarctic geography (continent surrounded by ocean) allowed ice to develop prior to significant glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere (ocean surrounded by land), but global ice volume generally increased as Earth cooled. The question of what caused the Ice Ages should be reframed as to "What caused the Cenozoic Cooling?" Records tell us that changes in temperature and CO2 levels rise and fall together, however it is not clear when CO2 acts as a driver versus when it is primarily an indicator of temperature change. The episodic nature of the cooling trend suggests other more dynamic phenomena are involved. It is proposed that oceanic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) plays a significant role in regulating Earth's surface temperature. Robust MOC has a cooling effect which results from its sequestration of cold waters (together with their increased heat-absorbing potential) below the surface. Unable to better absorb equatorial insolation for great lengths of time, oceanic deep waters are not able to fully compensate for the heat lost by warm-water transport to Polar Regions. A lag-time between cooling and subsequent warming yields lower operating temperatures commensurate with the strength of global MOC. The long-term decline in global temperatures is largely explained by the tectonic reshaping of ocean basins and the connections between them such that MOC has generally, but not uniformly, increased. Geophysically Influenced MOC (GIMOC) has caused a significant proportion of the lowering of global temperatures in the Cenozoic Era. Short-term disruptions in MOC (and subsequent impacts on global temperatures) were likely involved in Late Pleistocene glacial termination events and may already be compounding present

Atmosphere and ocean dynamics: contributors to the European Little Ice Age?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palastanga, V.; Schrier, G. van der; Weber, S.L. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), P.O. Box 201, De Bilt (Netherlands); Kleinen, T. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom); Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Briffa, K.R.; Osborn, T.J. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom)

2011-03-15

The role of a reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning and that of a persistently negative North Atlantic Oscillation in explaining the coldness of the European Little Ice Age (LIA) has been assessed in two sets of numerical experiments. These experiments are performed using an intermediate complexity climate model and a full complexity GCM. The reduction in the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) of ca. 25% is triggered by a conventional fresh-water hosing set-up. A persistently negative NAO winter circulation, at NAO-index value -0.5, is imposed using recently developed data-assimilation techniques applicable on paleoclimatic timescales. The hosing experiments lead to a reduction in oceanic meridional heat transport and cooler sea-surface temperatures. Next to a direct cooling effect on European climate, the change in ocean surface temperatures feedback on the atmospheric circulation modifying European climate significantly. The data-assimilation experiments showed a reduction of winter temperatures over parts of Europe, but there is little persistence into the summer season. The output of all model experiments are compared to reconstructions of winter and summer temperature based on the available temperature data for the LIA period. This demonstrates that the hypothesis of a persistently negative NAO as an explanation for the European LIA does not hold. The hosing experiments do not clearly support the hypothesis that a reduction in the MOC is the primary driver of LIA climate change. However, a reduction in the Atlantic overturning might have been a cause of the European LIA climate, depending on whether there is a strong enough feedback on the atmospheric circulation. (orig.)

Connecting Atlantic temperature variability and biological cycling in two earth system models

Science.gov (United States)

Gnanadesikan, Anand; Dunne, John P.; Msadek, Rym

2014-05-01

Connections between the interdecadal variability in North Atlantic temperatures and biological cycling have been widely hypothesized. However, it is unclear whether such connections are due to small changes in basin-averaged temperatures indicated by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) Index, or whether both biological cycling and the AMO index are causally linked to changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We examine interdecadal variability in the annual and month-by-month diatom biomass in two Earth System Models with the same formulations of atmospheric, land, sea ice and ocean biogeochemical dynamics but different formulations of ocean physics and thus different AMOC structures and variability. In the isopycnal-layered ESM2G, strong interdecadal changes in surface salinity associated with changes in AMOC produce spatially heterogeneous variability in convection, nutrient supply and thus diatom biomass. These changes also produce changes in ice cover, shortwave absorption and temperature and hence the AMO Index. Off West Greenland, these changes are consistent with observed changes in fisheries and support climate as a causal driver. In the level-coordinate ESM2M, nutrient supply is much higher and interdecadal changes in diatom biomass are much smaller in amplitude and not strongly linked to the AMO index.

Observed and Modeled Pathways of the Iceland Scotland Overflow Water in the eastern North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Sijia; Lozier, Susan; Zenk, Walter; Bower, Amy; Johns, William

2017-04-01

The Iceland Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW), one of the major components of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is formed in the Nordic Seas and enters the eastern North Atlantic subpolar gyre via the Iceland-Scotland sill. After entraining the ambient waters, the relatively homogeneous ISOW spreads southward into the North Atlantic. An understanding of the distribution and variability of the spreading pathways of the ISOW is fundamental to our understanding of AMOC structure and variability. Three major ISOW pathways have been identified in the eastern North Atlantic by previous studies: 1) across the Reykjanes Ridge via deep gaps, 2) through the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone, and 3) southward along the eastern flank of the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR). However, most of these studies were conducted using an Eulerian frame with limited observations, especially for the third pathway along the eastern flank of the MAR. In this work, we give a comprehensive description of ISOW pathways in the Eulerian and Lagrangian frames, quantify the relative importance of each pathway and examine the temporal variability of these pathways. Our study distinguishes itself from past studies by using both Eulerian (current meter data) and Lagrangian (eddy-resolving RAFOS float data) observations in combination with modeling output (1/12° FLAME) to describe ISOW spreading pathways and their variability.

Climate drift of AMOC, North Atlantic salinity and arctic sea ice in CFSv2 decadal predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Bohua; Zhu, Jieshun; Marx, Lawrence; Wu, Xingren; Kumar, Arun; Hu, Zeng-Zhen; Balmaseda, Magdalena A.; Zhang, Shaoqing; Lu, Jian; Schneider, Edwin K.; Kinter, James L., III

2015-01-01

There are potential advantages to extending operational seasonal forecast models to predict decadal variability but major efforts are required to assess the model fidelity for this task. In this study, we examine the North Atlantic climate simulated by the NCEP Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2), using a set of ensemble decadal hindcasts and several 30-year simulations initialized from realistic ocean-atmosphere states. It is found that a substantial climate drift occurs in the first few years of the CFSv2 hindcasts, which represents a major systematic bias and may seriously affect the model's fidelity for decadal prediction. In particular, it is noted that a major reduction of the upper ocean salinity in the northern North Atlantic weakens the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) significantly. This freshening is likely caused by the excessive freshwater transport from the Arctic Ocean and weakened subtropical water transport by the North Atlantic Current. A potential source of the excessive freshwater is the quick melting of sea ice, which also causes unrealistically thin ice cover in the Arctic Ocean. Our sensitivity experiments with adjusted sea ice albedo parameters produce a sustainable ice cover with realistic thickness distribution. It also leads to a moderate increase of the AMOC strength. This study suggests that a realistic freshwater balance, including a proper sea ice feedback, is crucial for simulating the North Atlantic climate and its variability.

Impact of restriction of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gateway on the Mediterranean Outflow Water and eastern Atlantic circulation during the Messinian

Science.gov (United States)

PéRez-Asensio, J. N.; Aguirre, J.; Schmiedl, G.; Civis, J.

2012-09-01

Messinian foraminiferal stable oxygen and carbon isotopes of the Montemayor-1 core (Guadalquivir Basin, SW Spain) have been investigated. This record is exceptional to study the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) impact on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and global climate during the Messinian because the core is near the Guadalhorce Corridor, the last Betic gateway to be closed during the early Messinian. Our results allow dating accurately its closure at 6.18 Ma. Constant benthicδ18O values, high difference between benthic and planktonic δ18O, and low sedimentation rates before 6.18 Ma indicate the presence of a two-layer water column, with bottom winnowing due to an enhanced Mediterranean outflow current. The enhanced contribution of dense MOW to the North Atlantic Ocean likely fostered the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). After 6.18 Ma, benthicδ18O values parallel that of the global glacioeustatic curve, the difference between benthic and planktonic δ18O is low, and sedimentation rates considerably increased. This indicates a good vertical mixing of the water column, interruption of the MOW, and a dominant glacioeustatic control on the isotopic signatures. According to the role of MOW in the modern Atlantic thermohaline circulation, the reduction of the MOW after the closure of the Guadalhorce Corridor might have resulted in a decreased NADW formation rate between 6.0 and 5.5 Ma weakening the AMOC and promoting northern hemisphere cooling. After the Gibraltar Strait opening, the restoration of the MOW and related salt export from the Mediterranean could have promoted an enhanced NADW formation.

The influence of meridional ice transport on Europa's ocean stratification and heat content

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, P.; Manucharyan, G.; Thompson, A. F.; Goodman, J. C.; Vance, S.

2017-12-01

Jupiter's moon Europa likely hosts a saltwater ocean beneath its icy surface. Geothermal heating and rotating convection in the ocean may drive a global overturning circulation that redistributes heat vertically and meridionally, preferentially warming the ice shell at the equator. Here we assess thepreviously unconstrained influence of ocean-ice coupling on Europa's ocean stratification and heat transport. We demonstrate that a relatively fresh layer can form at the ice-ocean interface due to a meridional ice transport forced by the differential ice shell heating between the equator and the poles. We provide analytical and numerical solutions for the layer's characteristics, highlighting their sensitivity to critical ocean parameters. For a weakly turbulent and highly saline ocean, a strong buoyancy gradient at the base of the freshwater layer can suppress vertical tracer exchange with the deeper ocean. As a result, the freshwater layer permits relatively warm deep ocean temperatures.

A Tropical View of Atlantic Multidecadal SST Variability over the Last Two Millennia

Science.gov (United States)

Wurtzel, J. B.; Black, D. E.; Thunell, R.; Peterson, L. C.; Tappa, E. J.; Rahman, S.

2011-12-01

Instrumental and proxy-reconstructions show the existence of a 60-80 year periodicity in Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST), known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). The AMO is correlated with circum-tropical Atlantic climate phenomena such as Sahel and Nordeste rainfall, as well as Atlantic hurricane patterns. Though it has been suggested that the AMO is controlled by thermohaline circulation, much debate exists as to whether the SST fluctuations are a result of anthropogenic forcing or natural climate variability. Our ability to address this issue has been limited by instrumental SST records that rarely extend back more than 50-100 years and proxy reconstructions that are largely terrestrial-based. Here we present a high-resolution marine sediment-derived reconstruction of seasonal tropical Atlantic SSTs from the Cariaco Basin spanning the past two millennia that is correlated with instrumental SSTs and the AMO for the period of overlap. The full record demonstrates that seasonality is largely controlled by variations in winter/spring SST. Wavelet analysis of the proxy data suggest that variability in the 60-80 year band evolved 250 years ago, while 40-60 year periodicities dominate earlier parts of the record. At least over the last millennia, multidecadal- and centennial- scale SST variability in the tropical Atlantic appears related to Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) fluctuations and its associated northward heat transport that in turn may be driven by solar variability. An inverse correlation between the tropical proxy annual average SST record and Δ14C indicates that the tropics experienced positive SST anomalies during times of reduced solar activity, possibly as a result of decreased AMOC strength (Figure 1).

Atlantic Water transformation in the Nordic Seas and its influence on the export rate of the Overflow Waters

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia Quintana, Yarisbel; Wiesner, Pia; Hu, Xianmin; Myers, Paul

2017-04-01

The Nordic Seas (NS) are the main gateway between the Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans. The basin can be considered as the headwaters for the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), for it is there that the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) and the Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) acquire their properties. Their inflow into the North Atlantic Ocean occurs across the Greenland-Scotland ridge. Together with Labrador Sea Water, DSOW and ISOW are the main components of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), which ventilates the lower limb of the Atlantic MOC. In spite recent studies exploring the export rate and later pathways of the overflows, the question about what drives them, remains. Here we explore the transformation of the Atlantic Water (AW) as it enters the NS through Denmark Strait, Iceland Faroe Ridge and Faroe Schotland Channel, as well as its pathways within the basin. To do so, we use an eddy-permitting ocean general circulation model run over the period 2002 to 2015. Two different approaches are used to track the AW transformation in the NS: the well-tested off-line Lagrangian tool ARIANE and on-line passive tracers. In both cases we use the same definition of AW to tag its inflow through the three entering sections. The overflows directly impact circulation and water properties in much of the deep Atlantic Ocean, thus a better understanding of the physical processes behind their variability is crucial a asset.

Assessing the role of North Atlantic freshwater forcing in millennial scale climate variability: a tropical Atlantic perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahl, Kristina A [Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, Woods Hole, MA (United States); Broccoli, Anthony J [Rutgers University, Department of Environmental Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ (United States); Stouffer, Ronald J [Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ (United States)

2005-03-01

This study analyzes a three-member ensemble of experiments, in which 0.1 Sv of freshwater was applied to the North Atlantic for 100 years in order to address the potential for large freshwater inputs in the North Atlantic to drive abrupt climate change. The model used is the GFDL R30 coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. We focus in particular on the effects of this forcing on the tropical Atlantic region, which has been studied extensively by paleoclimatologists. In response to the freshwater forcing, North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is reduced to roughly 40% by the end of the 100 year freshwater pulse. Consequently, the North Atlantic region cools by up to 8 C. The extreme cooling of the North Atlantic increases the pole-to-equator temperature gradient and requires more heat be provided to the high latitude Atlantic from the tropical Atlantic. To accommodate the increased heat requirement, the ITCZ shifts southward to allow for greater heat transport across the equator. Accompanying this southward ITCZ shift, the Northeast trade winds strengthen and precipitation patterns throughout the tropical Atlantic are altered. Specifically, precipitation in Northeast Brazil increases, and precipitation in Africa decreases slightly. In addition, we find that surface air temperatures warm over the tropical Atlantic and over Africa, but cool over northern South America. Sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic warm slightly with larger warm anomalies developing in the thermocline. These responses are robust for each member of the ensemble, and have now been identified by a number of freshwater forcing studies using coupled OAGCMs. The model responses to freshwater forcing are generally smaller in magnitude, but have the same direction, as paleoclimate data from the Younger Dryas suggest. In certain cases, however, the model responses and the paleoclimate data directly contradict one another. Discrepancies between the model simulations

Post-1980 shifts in the sensitivity of boreal tree growth to North Atlantic Ocean dynamics and seasonal climate. Tree growth responses to North Atlantic Ocean dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Ols, Clémentine; Trouet, Valerie; Girardin, Martin P.; Hofgaard, Annika; Bergeron, Yves; Drobyshev, Igor

2018-06-01

The mid-20th century changes in North Atlantic Ocean dynamics, e.g. slow-down of the Atlantic meridional overturning thermohaline circulation (AMOC), have been considered as early signs of tipping points in the Earth climate system. We hypothesized that these changes have significantly altered boreal forest growth dynamics in northeastern North America (NA) and northern Europe (NE), two areas geographically adjacent to the North Atlantic Ocean. To test our hypothesis, we investigated tree growth responses to seasonal large-scale oceanic and atmospheric indices (the AMOC, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Arctic Oscillation (AO)) and climate (temperature and precipitation) from 1950 onwards, both at the regional and local levels. We developed a network of 6876 black spruce (NA) and 14437 Norway spruce (NE) tree-ring width series, extracted from forest inventory databases. Analyses revealed post-1980 shifts from insignificant to significant tree growth responses to summer oceanic and atmospheric dynamics both in NA (negative responses to NAO and AO indices) and NE (positive response to NAO and AMOC indices). The strength and sign of these responses varied, however, through space with stronger responses in western and central boreal Quebec and in central and northern boreal Sweden, and across scales with stronger responses at the regional level than at the local level. Emerging post-1980 associations with North Atlantic Ocean dynamics synchronized with stronger tree growth responses to local seasonal climate, particularly to winter temperatures. Our results suggest that ongoing and future anomalies in oceanic and atmospheric dynamics may impact forest growth and carbon sequestration to a greater extent than previously thought. Cross-scale differences in responses to North Atlantic Ocean dynamics highlight complex interplays in the effects of local climate and ocean-atmosphere dynamics on tree growth processes and advocate for the use of different spatial scales in

Variations in Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange across the late Pliocene climate transition

Science.gov (United States)

García-Gallardo, Ángela; Grunert, Patrick; Piller, Werner E.

2018-03-01

Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar plays a significant role in the global ocean-climate dynamics in two ways. On one side, the injection of the saline and warm Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) contributes to North Atlantic deep-water formation. In return, the Atlantic inflow is considered a sink of less saline water for the North Atlantic Ocean. However, while the history of MOW is the focus of numerous studies, the Pliocene Atlantic inflow has received little attention so far. The present study provides an assessment of the Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange with a focus on the Atlantic inflow strength and its response to regional and global climate from 3.33 to 2.60 Ma. This time interval comprises the mid-Pliocene warm period (MPWP; 3.29-2.97 Ma) and the onset of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation (NHG). For this purpose, gradients in surface δ18O records of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber between the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1389E (Gulf of Cádiz) and Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 978A (Alboran Sea) have been evaluated. Interglacial stages and warm glacials of the MPWP revealed steep and reversed (relative to the present) W-E δ18O gradients suggesting a weakening of Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange likely caused by high levels of relative humidity in the Mediterranean region. In contrast, periods of stronger inflow are indicated by flat δ18O gradients due to more intense arid conditions during the severe glacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) M2 and the initiation of NHG (MIS G22, G14, G6-104). Intensified Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange in cold periods is linked to the occurrence of ice-rafted debris (IRD) at low latitudes and a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Our results thus suggest the development of a negative feedback between AMOC and exchange rates at the Strait of Gibraltar in the latest Pliocene as it has been proposed for the late Quaternary.

The influence of the North Atlantic Ocean variability on the atmosphere in the cold season at seasonal to multidecadal time scales

Science.gov (United States)

Frankignoul, C.

2017-12-01

Observational evidence of an atmospheric response to the North Atlantic horseshoe SST anomalies has been accumulating since the late 90's, suggesting that it drives a negative NAO response during late fall/early winter. The North Atlantic horseshoe SST anomaly is in part stochastically driven by the atmosphere, but at low frequency it is correlated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Correspondingly, an atmospheric response to the AMO has been detected at low frequency in winter, with a positive AMO phase leading a negative NAO-like pattern, consistent with sensitivity studies with atmospheric general circulation models. Both the subpolar and tropical components of the AMO seem to contribute to its influence on the atmosphere. As North Atlantic SST changes reflects internally-generated SST fluctuations as well the response to anthropogenic and other external forcing, the AMO is sensitive to the way the forced SST signal is removed; estimates of the natural variability of the AMO vary by as much as a factor of two between estimation methods, leading to possible biases in its alleged impacts. Since an intensification of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) leads the AMO and drives a negative NAO in many climate models, albeit with different lead times, the relation between AMO and AMOC will be discussed, as well as possible links with the North Pacific and sea ice variability.

A seesaw in Mediterranean precipitation during the Roman Period linked to millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Dermody, B. J.; de Boer, H. J.; Bierkens, M. F. P.; Weber, S. L.; Wassen, M. J.; Dekker, S. C.

2012-03-01

We present a reconstruction of the change in climatic humidity around the Mediterranean between 3000-1000 yr BP. Using a range of proxy archives and model simulations we demonstrate that climate during this period was typified by a millennial-scale seesaw in climatic humidity between Spain and Israel on one side and the Central Mediterranean and Turkey on the other, similar to precipitation anomalies associated with the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern in current climate. We find that changes in the position and intensity of the jet stream indicated by our analysis correlate with millennial changes in North Atlantic sea surface temperature. A model simulation indicates the proxies of climatic humidity used in our analysis were unlikely to be influenced by climatic aridification caused by deforestation during the Roman Period. That finding is supported by an analysis of the distribution of archaeological sites in the Eastern Mediterranean which exhibits no evidence that human habitation distribution changed since ancient times as a result of climatic aridification. Therefore we conclude that changes in climatic humidity over the Mediterranean during the Roman Period were primarily caused by a modification of the jet stream linked to sea surface temperature change in the North Atlantic. Based on our findings, we propose that ocean-atmosphere coupling may have contributed to regulating Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation intensity during the period of analysis.

Coccolithophore ecology in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean: New perspectives from the Atlantic meridional transect (AMT) programme

Science.gov (United States)

Poulton, Alex J.; Holligan, Patrick M.; Charalampopoulou, Anastasia; Adey, Tim R.

2017-11-01

Coccolithophore species composition was determined in 199 samples collected from the upper 300 m of the Atlantic Ocean, spanning temperate, tropical and subtropical waters in both hemispheres during four Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) cruises over the period 2003-2005. Of the 171 taxa observed, 140 consistently represented 10% surface irradiance); the lower euphotic zone (LEZ, 10-1% surface irradiance); and the sub-euphotic zone (SEZ, Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa ericsonii which were also abundant at higher latitudes. It is suggested that this pattern reflects similarities in the light (and inorganic nutrient) conditions between the LEZ and temperate waters. The SEZ is below the depth where light is thought to be sufficient to support photosynthesis, suggesting that deep-dwelling species such as Florisphaera profunda and Gladiolithus spp. may be mixotrophic or phagotrophic, although conclusive proof will need to be gained experimentally. Mixotrophy could also be an important nutritional strategy for species abundant (Umbellosphaera spp., holococcolithophores) in the UEZ where inorganic nutrient concentrations are depleted and limiting to growth, although other nutritional strategies, such as the use of organic nutrients, are also possible. Statistical differences were also found in the species composition between the different cruises, with high levels of similarity for similar timed cruises (May or September-October). Few individual taxa showed significant variability in abundance over the time-span of sampling, except species such as E. huxleyi and G. ericsonii at higher latitudes. In subtropical and equatorial waters, high levels of species richness and low levels of species dominance remained throughout the sampling period indicating that seasonal fluctuations reflected differences in the whole coccolithophore community rather than in just one or a few species. Multivariate analyses of the taxa classified as rare also indicated some level of temporal

Tropical climate and vegetation cover during Heinrich event 1: Simulations with coupled climate vegetation models

OpenAIRE

Handiani, Dian Noor

2012-01-01

This study focuses on the climate and vegetation responses to abrupt climate change in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial period. Two abrupt climate events are explored: the abrupt cooling of the Heinrich event 1 (HE1), followed by the abrupt warming of the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (BA). These two events are simulated by perturbing the freshwater balance of the Atlantic Ocean, with the intention of altering the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and also of in...

An Anatomy of the 1960s Atlantic Cooling.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodson, Dan; Robson, Jon; Sutton, Rowan

2014-05-01

North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) exhibited pronounced multidecadal variability during the 20th Century. In particular, the North Atlantic SSTs exhibited a rapid warming between 1920 and 1940 followed by a rapid cooling between 1960 and 1980. SSTs outside the North Atlantic display a much smaller level of decadal variability over the 20th Century. This pattern of North Atlantic warming and cooling has been linked to subsequent changes in rainfall over the Sahel and Nordeste Brazil, Summertime North American Climate and Atlantic Hurricane Genesis. Several hypotheses for the rapid 1960s Atlantic cooling have been proposed, including a reduction in northward ocean heat transport due to a reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the significant rise in anthropogenic sulphur dioxide emissions during the latter half of the 20th century. Here we examine the observed 1960s Atlantic cooling in more detail. We describe the evolution of the rapid cooling by constructing a detailed multivariate anatomy of the cooling period in order to illuminate the possible explanations and mechanisms involved. We show that the observed 1960s cooling began around 1964-68 in the Greenland-Iceland-Norway (GIN) seas, later spreading to the Atlantic Sub Polar Gyre and much of the subtropical Atlantic. This initial cooling of the Sub Polar Gyre is associated with a marked reduction in salinity (the Great Salinity Anomaly). The cooling peaked between 1972-76, extending into the Tropical North Atlantic. This period also saw the development of a significant Winter North-South Dipole Mean Sea Level Pressure dipole pattern reminiscent of a positive NAO (High over the Azores, Low over Iceland). The cooling then retreated back to higher latitudes during 1976:80. Our analysis demonstrates that the cooling of the North Atlantic during the 1960s cannot be understood as a simple thermodynamic response to aerosol induced reductions in shortwave radiation. Dynamical changes

Modes of winter precipitation variability in the North Atlantic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zorita, E. [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Hydrophysik; Saenz, J.; Fernandez, J.; Zubillaga, J. [Bilbao Univ. (Spain)

2001-07-01

The modes of variability of winter precipitation in the North Atlantic sector are identified by Empirical Orthogonal Functions Analysis in the NCEP/NCAR global reanalysis data sets. These modes are also present in a gridded precipitation data set over the Western Europe. The large-scale fields of atmospheric seasonal mean circulation, baroclinic activity, evaporation and humidity transport that are connected to the rainfall modes have been also analyzed in order to investigate the physical mechanisms that are causally linked to the rainfall modes. The results indicate that the leading rainfall mode is associated to the North Atlantic oscillation and represents a meridional redistribution of precipitation in the North Atlantic through displacements of the storm tracks. The second mode is related to evaporation anomalies in the Eastern Atlantic that precipitate almost entirely in the Western Atlantic. The third mode seems to be associated to meridional transport of water vapor from the Tropical Atlantic. (orig.)

The Baltic haline conveyor belt or the overturning circulation and mixing in the Baltic.

Science.gov (United States)

Döös, Kristofer; Meier, H E Markus; Döscher, Ralf

2004-06-01

A study of the water-mass circulation of the Baltic has been undertaken by making use of a three dimensional Baltic Sea model simulation. The saline water from the North Atlantic is traced through the Danish Sounds into the Baltic where it upwells and mixes with the fresh water inflow from the rivers forming a Baltic haline conveyor belt. The mixing of the saline water from the Great Belt and Oresund with the fresh water is investigated making use of overturning stream functions and Lagrangian trajectories. The overturning stream function was calculated as a function of four different vertical coordinates (depth, salinity, temperature and density) in order to understand the path of the water and where it upwells and mixes. Evidence of a fictive depth overturning cell similar to the Deacon Cell in the Southern Ocean was found in the Baltic proper corresponding to the gyre circulation around Gotland, which vanishes when the overturning stream function is projected on density layers. A Lagrangian trajectory study was performed to obtain a better view of the circulation and mixing of the saline and fresh waters. The residence time of the water masses in the Baltic is calculated to be 26-29 years and the Lagrangian dispersion reaches basin saturation after 5 years.

North Atlantic deep water formation and AMOC in CMIP5 models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Heuzé

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Deep water formation in climate models is indicative of their ability to simulate future ocean circulation, carbon and heat uptake, and sea level rise. Present-day temperature, salinity, sea ice concentration and ocean transport in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre and Nordic Seas from 23 CMIP5 (Climate Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 models are compared with observations to assess the biases, causes and consequences of North Atlantic deep convection in models. The majority of models convect too deep, over too large an area, too often and too far south. Deep convection occurs at the sea ice edge and is most realistic in models with accurate sea ice extent, mostly those using the CICE model. Half of the models convect in response to local cooling or salinification of the surface waters; only a third have a dynamic relationship between freshwater coming from the Arctic and deep convection. The models with the most intense deep convection have the warmest deep waters, due to a redistribution of heat through the water column. For the majority of models, the variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC is explained by the volumes of deep water produced in the subpolar gyre and Nordic Seas up to 2 years before. In turn, models with the strongest AMOC have the largest heat export to the Arctic. Understanding the dynamical drivers of deep convection and AMOC in models is hence key to realistically forecasting Arctic oceanic warming and its consequences for the global ocean circulation, cryosphere and marine life.

The stability of the thermohaline circulation in a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schiller, A. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Mikolajewicz, U. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Voss, R. [Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ), Hamburg (Germany)

1996-02-01

The stability of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation against meltwater input is investigated in a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. The meltwater input to the Labrador Sea is increased linearly for 250 years to a maximum input of 0.625 Sv and then reduced again to 0 (both instantaneously and slowly decreasing over 250 years). The resulting freshening forces a shutdown of the formation of North Atlantic deepwater and a subsequent reversal of the thermohaline circulation of the Atlantic, filling the deep Atlantic with Antarctic bottom water. The change in the overturning pattern causes a drastic reduction of the Atlantic northward heat transport, resulting in a strong cooling with maximum amplitude over the northern North Atlantic and a southward shift of the sea-ice margin in the Atlantic. Due to the increased meridional temperature gradient, the Atlantic intertropical convergence zone is displaced southward and the westerlies in the northern hemisphere gain strength. We identify four main feedbacks affecting the stability of the thermohaline circulation: the change in the overturning circulation of the Atlantic leads to longer residence times of the surface waters in high northern latitudes, which allows them to accumulate more precipitation and runoff from the continents, which results in an increased stability in the North Atlantic.

Freshwater fluxes into the subpolar North Atlantic from secular trends in Arctic land ice mass balance

Science.gov (United States)

Bamber, J. L.; Enderlin, E. M.; Howat, I. M.; Wouters, B.; van den Broeke, M.

2015-12-01

Freshwater fluxes (FWF) from river runoff and precipitation minus evaporation for the pan Arctic seas are relatively well documented and prescribed in ocean GCMs. Fluxes from Greenland and Arctic glaciers and ice caps on the other hand are generally ignored, despite their potential impacts on ocean circulation and marine biology and growing evidence for changes to the hydrography of parts of the subpolar North Atlantic. In a previous study we determined the FWF from Greenland for the period 1958-2010 using a combination of observations and regional climate modeling. Here, we update the analysis with data from new satellite observations to extend the record both in space and time. The new FWF estimates cover the period 1958-2014 and include the Canadian, Russian and Norwegian Arctic (Svalbard) in addition to the contributions from Greenland. We combine satellite altimetry (including CryoSat 2) with grounding line flux data, regional climate modeling of surface mass balance and gravimetry to produce consistent estimates of solid ice and liquid FWF into the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. The total cumulative FWF anomaly from land ice mass loss started to increase significantly in the mid 1990s and now exceeds 5000 km^3, a value that is about half of the Great Salinity Anomaly of the 1970s. The majority of the anomaly is entering two key areas of deep water overturning in the Labrador and Irminger Seas, at a rate that has been increasing steadily over the last ~20 years. Since the mid 2000s, however, the Canadian Arctic archipelago has been making a significant contribution to the FW anomaly entering Baffin Bay. Tracer experiments with eddy-permitting ocean GCMs suggest that the FW input from southern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic should accumulate in Baffin Bay with the potential to affect geostrophic circulation, stratification in the region and possibly the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. We also examine the trajectory of

Evidence of local and regional freshening of Northeast Greenland coastal waters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sejr, Mikael K.; Stedmon, Colin A; Bendtsen, Jørgen

2017-01-01

coast and providing evaluation basis for ocean models. Here we present 13 years of summer measurements along a 120 km transect in Young Sound, Northeast Greenland and show that sub-surface coastal waters are decreasing in salinity with an average rate of 0.12 ± 0.05 per year. This is the first...... coastal currents thus reducing density of water masses influencing major deep water formation areas in the Subarctic Atlantic Ocean. Ultimately, the observed freshening could have implications for the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation....

Impacts of the Pacific Meridional Mode on Landfalling North Atlantic tropical cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Villarini, Gabriele; Vecchi, Gabriel A.; Murakami, Hiroyuki

2018-02-01

This study examines the impacts of the Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM) on North Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) making landfall along the coastal US, Caribbean Islands and Mexico, and provides insights on the underlying physical mechanisms using observations and model simulations. There is a statistically significant time-lagged association between spring PMM and the August-October US and Caribbean landfalling TCs. Specifically, the positive (negative) spring PMM events tend to be followed by fewer (more) TCs affecting the coastal US (especially over the Gulf of Mexico and Florida) and the Caribbean Islands. This lagged association is mainly caused by the lagged impacts of PMM on the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the subsequent impacts of ENSO on TC frequency and landfalls. Positive (negative) PMM events are largely followed by El Niño (La Niña) events, which lead to less (more) TC geneses close to the US coast (i.e., the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea); this also leads to easterly (westerly) steering flow in the vicinity of the US and Caribbean coast, which is unfavorable (favorable) to TC landfall across the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and Caribbean Islands. Perturbation simulations with the state-of-the-art Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Forecast-oriented Low Ocean Resolution Version of CM2.5 (FLOR) support the linkage between PMM and TC landfall activity. The time-lagged impacts of spring PMM on TC landfalling activity results in a new predictor to forecast seasonal TC landfall activity along the US (especially over the Gulf of Mexico and Florida) and Caribbean coastal regions.

An anatomy of the projected North Atlantic warming hole in CMIP5 models

Science.gov (United States)

Menary, Matthew B.; Wood, Richard A.

2018-04-01

Global mean surface air temperature has increased over the past century and climate models project this trend to continue. However, the pattern of change is not homogeneous. Of particular interest is the subpolar North Atlantic, which has cooled in recent years and is projected to continue to warm less rapidly than the global mean. This is often termed the North Atlantic warming hole (WH). In climate model projections, the development of the WH is concomitant with a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Here, we further investigate the possible link between the AMOC and WH and the competing drivers of vertical mixing and surface heat fluxes. Across a large ensemble of 41 climate models we find that the spatial structure of the WH varies considerably from model to model but is generally upstream of the simulated deep water formation regions. A heat budget analysis suggests the formation of the WH is related to changes in ocean heat transport. Although the models display a plethora of AMOC mean states, they generally predict a weakening and shallowing of the AMOC also consistent with the evolving depth structure of the WH. A lagged regression analysis during the WH onset phase suggests that reductions in wintertime mixing lead a weakening of the AMOC by 5 years in turn leading initiation of the WH by 5 years. Inter-model differences in the evolution and structure of the WH are likely to lead to somewhat different projected climate impacts in nearby Europe and North America.

Global Warming In A Regional Model of The Atlantic Ocean - Echam4/opyc3 In Flame 4/3

Science.gov (United States)

Schweckendiek, U.; Willebrand, J.

The reaction of the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) in most climate models on global warming scenarios is a weakening of the THC. An exception is the ECHAM4/OPYC3 simulation whose stable behaviour is traced back to a strongly enhanced evaporation and as a consequence to a development of a salt anomaly in the tropics and subtropics of the Atlantic Ocean (Latif et al.,2000). This salt signal is advected into convection regions and compensates the reduction of surface density due to surface heating and freshening. To examine this scenario for a more realistic ocean model, data from this model is used to drive a reginal model of the Atlantic Ocean. In order to test the crucial mechanisms for the maintainance of the meridional overturning, we have performed sensitivity studies by focussing on different combinations of the anomalous freshwater and heat fluxes. The results demonstrate that for the stabilising effect to become effective the salt sig- nal has to enter the GIN-Seas and subsequently the overflow waters, underlining the importance of the overflows for the THC. The Labrador Sea Convection is however uneffected by this stabilising salt signal and its convection ultimatly breaks down un- der surface warming and freshening.

Atmospheric circulation in northern hemisphere and north atlantic oscillation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Александр Вадимович Холопцев

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Conditions under which statistical connections of interannual changes of repitition duration periods in Northern hemisphere of elementary circulation mechanisms associated to meridional northern and meridional southern groups with variations of North Atlantic oscillation are significant were revealed. It is shown, that the characteristics changes of these connections taking place in modern period can be caused by distribution changes of distribution of sea surface temperatures

Influences of tropical-extratropical interaction on the multidecadal AMOC variability in the NCEP climate forecast system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Bohua; Schneider, Edwin K.; Klinger, Barry [Gorge Mason University, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, College of Science, Fairfax, VA (United States); Institute of Global Environment and Society, Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States); Hu, Zeng-Zhen; Xue, Yan [National Centers for Environmental Prediction/NOAA, Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States); Wu, Zhaohua [Florida State University, Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Tallahassee, FL (United States)

2012-08-15

We have examined the mechanisms of a multidecadal oscillation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in a 335-year simulation of the Climate Forecast System (CFS), the climate prediction model developed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Both the mean and seasonal cycle of the AMOC in the CFS are generally consistent with observation-based estimates with a maximum northward volume transport of 16 Sv (10{sup 6} m{sup 3}/s) near 35 N at 1.2 km. The annual mean AMOC shows an intermittent quasi 30-year oscillation. Its dominant structure includes a deep anomalous overturning cell (referred to as the anomalous AMOC) with amplitude of 0.6 Sv near 35 N and an anomalous subtropical cell (STC) of shallow overturning spanning across the equator. The mechanism for the oscillation includes a positive feedback between the anomalous AMOC and surface wind stress anomalies in mid-latitudes and a negative feedback between the anomalous STC and AMOC. A strong AMOC is associated with warm sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) centered near 45 N, which generates an anticyclonic easterly surface wind anomaly. This anticyclonic wind anomaly enhances the regional downwelling and reinforces the anomalous AMOC. In the mean time, a wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedback extends the warm SSTA to the tropics and induces a cyclonic wind stress anomaly there, which drives a tropical upwelling and weakens the STC north of the equator. The STC anomaly, in turn, drives a cold upper ocean heat content anomaly (HCA) in the northern tropical Atlantic and weakens the meridional heat transport from the tropics to the mid-latitude through an anomalous southward western boundary current. The anomalous STC transports cold HCA from the subtropics to the mid-latitudes, weakening the mid-latitude deep overturning. (orig.)

Dynamical reconstruction of the global ocean state during the Last Glacial Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Kurahashi-Nakamura, Takasumi; Paul, André; Losch, Martin

2017-04-01

The global ocean state for the modern age and for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was dynamically reconstructed with a sophisticated data assimilation technique. A substantial amount of data including global seawater temperature, salinity (only for the modern estimate), and the isotopic composition of oxygen and carbon (only in the Atlantic for the LGM) were integrated into an ocean general circulation model with the help of the adjoint method, thereby the model was optimized to reconstruct plausible continuous fields of tracers, overturning circulation and water mass distribution. The adjoint-based LGM state estimation of this study represents the state of the art in terms of the length of forward model runs, the number of observations assimilated, and the model domain. Compared to the modern state, the reconstructed continuous sea-surface temperature field for the LGM shows a global-mean cooling of 2.2 K, and the reconstructed LGM ocean has a more vigorous Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, shallower North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) equivalent, stronger stratification, and more saline deep water.

Abrupt pre-Bølling-Allerød warming and circulation changes in the deep ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiagarajan, Nivedita; Subhas, Adam V; Southon, John R; Eiler, John M; Adkins, Jess F

2014-07-03

Several large and rapid changes in atmospheric temperature and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere--probably linked to changes in deep ocean circulation--occurred during the last deglaciation. The abrupt temperature rise in the Northern Hemisphere and the restart of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at the start of the Bølling-Allerød interstadial, 14,700 years ago, are among the most dramatic deglacial events, but their underlying physical causes are not known. Here we show that the release of heat from warm waters in the deep North Atlantic Ocean probably triggered the Bølling-Allerød warming and reinvigoration of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Our results are based on coupled radiocarbon and uranium-series dates, along with clumped isotope temperature estimates, from water column profiles of fossil deep-sea corals in a limited area of the western North Atlantic. We find that during Heinrich stadial 1 (the cool period immediately before the Bølling-Allerød interstadial), the deep ocean was about three degrees Celsius warmer than shallower waters above. This reversal of the ocean's usual thermal stratification pre-dates the Bølling-Allerød warming and must have been associated with increased salinity at depth to preserve the static stability of the water column. The depleted radiocarbon content of the warm and salty water mass implies a long-term disconnect from rapid surface exchanges, and, although uncertainties remain, is most consistent with a Southern Ocean source. The Heinrich stadial 1 ocean profile is distinct from the modern water column, that for the Last Glacial Maximum and that for the Younger Dryas, suggesting that the patterns we observe are a unique feature of the deglacial climate system. Our observations indicate that the deep ocean influenced dramatic Northern Hemisphere warming by storing heat at depth that preconditioned the system for a subsequent abrupt overturning event during the

Mechanisms of the atmospheric response to North Atlantic multidecadal variability: a model study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Msadek, Rym [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, LOCEAN/IPSL, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Princeton University, GFDL/NOAA, AOS Program, Princeton, NJ (United States); Frankignoul, Claude [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, LOCEAN/IPSL, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Li, Laurent Z.X. [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, LMD/IPSL, Paris Cedex 05 (France)

2011-04-15

The atmospheric circulation response to decadal fluctuations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the IPSL climate model is investigated using the associated sea surface temperature signature. A SST anomaly is prescribed in sensitivity experiments with the atmospheric component of the IPSL model coupled to a slab ocean. The prescribed SST anomaly in the North Atlantic is the surface signature of the MOC influence on the atmosphere detected in the coupled simulation. It follows a maximum of the MOC by a few years and resembles the model Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. It is mainly characterized by a warming of the North Atlantic south of Iceland, and a cooling of the Nordic Seas. There are substantial seasonal variations in the geopotential height response to the prescribed SST anomaly, with an East Atlantic Pattern-like response in summer and a North Atlantic oscillation-like signal in winter. In summer, the response of the atmosphere is global in scale, resembling the climatic impact detected in the coupled simulation, albeit with a weaker amplitude. The zonally asymmetric or eddy part of the response is characterized by a trough over warm SST associated with changes in the stationary waves. A diagnostic analysis with daily data emphasizes the role of transient-eddy forcing in shaping and maintaining the equilibrium response. We show that in response to an intensified MOC, the North Atlantic storm tracks are enhanced and shifted northward during summer, consistent with a strengthening of the westerlies. However the anomalous response is weak, which suggests a statistically significant but rather modest influence of the extratropical SST on the atmosphere. The winter response to the MOC-induced North Atlantic warming is an intensification of the subtropical jet and a southward shift of the Atlantic storm track activity, resulting in an equatorward shift of the polar jet. Although the SST anomaly is only prescribed in the Atlantic ocean

Basin-Wide Oceanographic Array Bridges the South Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Ansorge, I. J.; Baringer, M. O.; Campos, E. J. D.; Dong, S.; Fine, R. A.; Garzoli, S. L.; Goni, G.; Meinen, C. S.; Perez, R. C.; Piola, A. R.; Roberts, M. J.; Speich, S.; Sprintall, J.; Terre, T.; Van den Berg, M. A.

2014-02-01

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is a global system of surface, intermediate, and deep ocean currents. The MOC connects the surface layer of the ocean and the atmosphere with the huge reservoir of the deep sea and is the primary mechanism for transporting heat, freshwater, and carbon between ocean basins. Climate models show that past changes in the strength of the MOC were linked to historical climate variations. Further research suggests that the MOC will continue to modulate climate change scenarios on time scales ranging from decades to centuries [Latif et al., 2006].

Dynamical attribution of oceanic prediction uncertainty in the North Atlantic: application to the design of optimal monitoring systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sévellec, Florian; Dijkstra, Henk A.; Drijfhout, Sybren S.; Germe, Agathe

2017-11-01

In this study, the relation between two approaches to assess the ocean predictability on interannual to decadal time scales is investigated. The first pragmatic approach consists of sampling the initial condition uncertainty and assess the predictability through the divergence of this ensemble in time. The second approach is provided by a theoretical framework to determine error growth by estimating optimal linear growing modes. In this paper, it is shown that under the assumption of linearized dynamics and normal distributions of the uncertainty, the exact quantitative spread of ensemble can be determined from the theoretical framework. This spread is at least an order of magnitude less expensive to compute than the approximate solution given by the pragmatic approach. This result is applied to a state-of-the-art Ocean General Circulation Model to assess the predictability in the North Atlantic of four typical oceanic metrics: the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the intensity of its heat transport, the two-dimensional spatially-averaged Sea Surface Temperature (SST) over the North Atlantic, and the three-dimensional spatially-averaged temperature in the North Atlantic. For all tested metrics, except for SST, ˜ 75% of the total uncertainty on interannual time scales can be attributed to oceanic initial condition uncertainty rather than atmospheric stochastic forcing. The theoretical method also provide the sensitivity pattern to the initial condition uncertainty, allowing for targeted measurements to improve the skill of the prediction. It is suggested that a relatively small fleet of several autonomous underwater vehicles can reduce the uncertainty in AMOC strength prediction by 70% for 1-5 years lead times.

Northern tropical Atlantic climate since late Medieval times from Northern Caribbean coral geochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Kilbourne, K. H.; Xu, Y.

2015-12-01

Paleoclimate reconstructions of different global climate modes over the last 1000 years provide the basis for testing the relative roles of forced and unforced variability climate system, which can help us improve projections of future climate change. The Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) has been characterized by a combination of persistent La Niña-like conditions, a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (+NAO), and increased Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The northern tropical Atlantic is sensitive to each of these climate patterns, but not all of them have the same regional fingerprint in the modern northern tropical Atlantic. The relative influence of different processes related to these climate patterns can help us better understand regional responses to climate change. The regional response of the northern tropical Atlantic is important because the tropical Atlantic Ocean is a large source of heat and moisture to the global climate system that can feedback onto global climate patterns. This study presents new coral Sr/Ca and δ18O data from the northern tropical Atlantic (Anegada, British Virgin Islands). Comparison of the sub-fossil corals that grew during the 13th and 14th Centuries with modern coral geochemical data from this site indicates relatively cooler mean conditions with a decrease in the oxygen isotopic composition of the water consistent with lower salinities. Similar average annual cycles between modern and sub-fossil Sr/Ca indicate no change in seasonal temperature range, but a difference in the relative phasing of the δ18O seasonal cycles indicates that the fresher mean conditions may be due to a more northerly position of the regional salinity front. This localized response is consistent with some, but not all of the expected regional responses to a La Niña-like state, a +NAO state, and increased AMOC. Understanding these differences can provide insight into the relative importance of advection versus surface fluxes for

Seasonal Cycles of Oceanic Transports in the Eastern Subpolar North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Gary, Stefan F.; Cunningham, Stuart A.; Johnson, Clare; Houpert, Loïc.; Holliday, N. Penny; Behrens, Erik; Biastoch, Arne; Böning, Claus W.

2018-02-01

The variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) may play a role in sea surface temperature predictions on seasonal to decadal time scales. Therefore, AMOC seasonal cycles are a potential baseline for interpreting predictions. Here we present estimates for the seasonal cycle of transports of volume, temperature, and freshwater associated with the upper limb of the AMOC in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic on the Extended Ellett Line hydrographic section between Scotland and Iceland. Due to weather, ship-based observations are primarily in summer. Recent glider observations during other seasons present an opportunity to investigate the seasonal variability in the upper layer of the AMOC. First, we document a new method to quality control and merge ship, float, and glider hydrographic observations. This method accounts for the different spatial sampling rates of the three platforms. The merged observations are used to compute seasonal cycles of volume, temperature, and freshwater transports in the Rockall Trough. These estimates are similar to the seasonal cycles in two eddy-resolving ocean models. Volume transport appears to be the primary factor modulating other Rockall Trough transports. Finally, we show that the weakest transports occur in summer, consistent with seasonal changes in the regional-scale wind stress curl. Although the seasonal cycle is weak compared to other variability in this region, the amplitude of the seasonal cycle in the Rockall Trough, roughly 0.5-1 Sv about a mean of 3.4 Sv, may account for up to 7-14% of the heat flux between Scotland and Greenland.

Ventilation versus biology: What is the controlling mechanism of nitrous oxide distribution in the North Atlantic?

Science.gov (United States)

Paz, Mercedes; García-Ibáñez, Maribel I.; Steinfeldt, Reiner; Ríos, Aida F.; Pérez, Fiz F.

2017-04-01

The extent to which water mass mixing and ocean ventilation contribute to nitrous oxide (N2O) distribution at the scale of oceanic basins is poorly constrained. We used novel N2O and chlorofluorocarbon measurements along with multiparameter water mass analysis to evaluate the impact of water mass mixing and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) on N2O distribution along the Observatoire de la variabilité interannuelle et décennale en Atlantique Nord (OVIDE) section, extending from Portugal to Greenland. The biological N2O production has a stronger impact on the observed N2O concentrations in the water masses traveling northward in the upper limb of the AMOC than those in recently ventilated cold water masses in the lower limb, where N2O concentrations reflect the colder temperatures. The high N2O tongue, with concentrations as high as 16 nmol kg-1, propagates above the isopycnal surface delimiting the upper and lower AMOC limbs, which extends from the eastern North Atlantic Basin to the Iceland Basin and coincides with the maximum N2O production rates. Water mixing and basin-scale remineralization account for 72% of variation in the observed distribution of N2O. The mixing-corrected stoichiometric ratio N2O:O2 for the North Atlantic Basin of 0.06 nmol/μmol is in agreement with ratios of N2O:O2 for local N2O anomalies, suggesting than up to 28% of N2O production occurs in the temperate and subpolar Atlantic, an overlooked region for N2O cycling. Overall, our results highlight the importance of taking into account mixing, O2 undersaturation when water masses are formed and the increasing atmospheric N2O concentrations when parameterizing N2O:O2 and biological N2O production in the global oceans.

Mid-Pliocene shifts in ocean overturning circulation and the onset of Quaternary-style climates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sarnthein

2009-06-01

Full Text Available A major tipping point of Earth's history occurred during the mid-Pliocene: the onset of major Northern-Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG and of pronounced, Quaternary-style cycles of glacial-to-interglacial climates, that contrast with more uniform climates over most of the preceding Cenozoic and continue until today (Zachos et al., 2001. The severe deterioration of climate occurred in three steps between 3.2 Ma (warm MIS K3 and 2.7 Ma (glacial MIS G6/4 (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005. Various models (sensu Driscoll and Haug, 1998 and paleoceanographic records (intercalibrated using orbital age control suggest clear linkages between the onset of NHG and the three steps in the final closure of the Central American Seaways (CAS, deduced from rising salinity differences between Caribbean and the East Pacific. Each closing event led to an enhanced North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and this strengthened the poleward transport of salt and heat (warmings of +2–3°C (Bartoli et al., 2005. Also, the closing resulted in a slight rise in the poleward atmospheric moisture transport to northwestern Eurasia (Lunt et al., 2007, which probably led to an enhanced precipitation and fluvial run-off, lower sea surface salinity (SSS, and an increased sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean, hence promoting albedo and the build-up of continental ice sheets. Most important, new evidence shows that the closing of the CAS led to greater steric height of the North Pacific and thus doubled the low-saline Arctic Throughflow from the Bering Strait to the East Greenland Current (EGC. Accordingly, Labrador Sea IODP Site 1307 displays an abrupt but irreversible EGC cooling of 6°C and freshening by ~2 psu from 3.25/3.16–3.00 Ma, right after the first but still reversible attempt of closing the CAS.

Initializing decadal climate predictions over the North Atlantic region

Science.gov (United States)

Matei, Daniela Mihaela; Pohlmann, Holger; Jungclaus, Johann; Müller, Wolfgang; Haak, Helmuth; Marotzke, Jochem

2010-05-01

Decadal climate prediction aims to predict the internally-generated decadal climate variability in addition to externally-forced climate change signal. In order to achieve this it is necessary to start the predictions from the current climate state. In this study we investigate the forecast skill of the North Atlantic decadal climate predictions using two different ocean initialization strategies. First we apply an assimilation of ocean synthesis data provided by the GECCO project (Köhl and Stammer, 2008) as initial conditions for the coupled model ECHAM5/MPI-OM. Hindcast experiments are then performed over the period 1952-2001. An alternative approach is one in which the subsurface ocean temperature and salinity are diagnosed from an ensemble of ocean model runs forced by the NCEP-NCAR atmospheric reanalyzes for the period 1948-2007, then nudge into the coupled model to produce initial conditions for the hindcast experiments. An anomaly coupling scheme is used in both approaches to avoid the hindcast drift and the associated initial shock. Differences between the two assimilation approaches are discussed by comparing them with the observational data in key regions and processes. We asses the skill of the initialized decadal hindcast experiments against the prediction skill of the non-initialized hindcasts simulation. We obtain an overview of the regions with the highest predictability from the regional distribution of the anomaly correlation coefficients and RMSE for the SAT. For the first year the hindcast skill is increased over almost all ocean regions in the NCEP-forced approach. This increase in the hindcast skill for the 1 year lead time is somewhat reduced in the GECCO approach. At lead time 5yr and 10yr, the skill enhancement is still found over the North Atlantic and North Pacific regions. We also consider the potential predictability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and Nordic Seas Overflow by comparing the predicted values to

New direct estimates of Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water transport through the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone and its relationship to the North Atlantic Current

Science.gov (United States)

Bower, Amy; Furey, Heather; Xu, Xiaobiao

2015-04-01

Detailed observations of the pathways, transports and water properties of dense overflows associated with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) provide critical benchmarks for climate models and mixing parameterizations. A recent two-year time series from eight moorings offers the first long-term simultaneous observations of the hydrographic properties and transport of Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) flowing westward through the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ), a major deep gap in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) connecting the eastern and western basins of the North Atlantic. In addition, current meters up to 500-m depth and satellite altimetry allow us to investigate the overlying North Atlantic Current (NAC) as a source of ISOW transport variability. Using the isohaline 34.94 to define the ISOW layer, the two year mean and standard deviation of ISOW transport was -1.7 ± 1.5 Sv, compared to -2.4 ± 3.0 Sv reported by Saunders for a 13-month period in 1988-1989 using the same isohaline. Differences in the two estimates are partly explained by limitations of the Saunders array, but more importantly reflect the strong low-frequency variability in ISOW transport through CGFZ (which includes complete reversals). Both the observations and output from a multi-decadal simulation of the North Atlantic using the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) forced with interannually varying wind and buoyancy fields indicate a strong positive correlation between ISOW transport and the strength of the NAC through the CGFZ. This result raises new questions regarding the interaction of the upper and lower limbs of the AMOC, downstream propagation of ISOW transport variability in the Deep Western Boundary Current and alternative pathways of ISOW across the MAR.

Property changes of deep and bottom waters in the Western Tropical Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Herrford, Josefine; Brandt, Peter; Zenk, Walter

2017-06-01

The flow of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) contributes to the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Changes in the associated water mass formation might impact the deep ocean's capacity to take up anthropogenic CO2 while a warming of the deep ocean significantly contributes to global sea level rise. Here we compile historic and recent shipboard measurements of hydrography and velocity to provide a comprehensive view of water mass distribution, pathways, along-path transformation and long-term temperature changes of NADW and AABW in the western South and Equatorial Atlantic. We confirm previous results which show that the northwest corner of the Brazil Basin represents a splitting point for the southward/northward flow of NADW/AABW. The available measurements sample water mass transformation along the two major routes for deep and bottom waters in the tropical to South Atlantic - along the deep western boundary and eastward, parallel to the equator - as well as the hot-spots of extensive mixing. We find lower NADW and lighter AABW to form a highly interactive transition layer in the northern Brazil Basin. The AABW north of 5°S is relatively homogeneous with only lighter AABW being able to pass through the Equatorial Channel (EQCH) into the North Atlantic. Spanning a period of 26 years, our data also allow an estimation of long-term temperature trends in abyssal waters. We find a warming of 2.5±0.7•10-3 °C yr-1 of the waters in the northern Brazil Basin at temperatures colder than 0.6 °C throughout the period 1989-2014 and can relate this warming to a thinning of the dense AABW layer. Whereas isopycnal heave is the dominant effect which defines the vertical distribution of temperature trends on isobars, we also find temperature changes on isopycnals in the lower NADW and AABW layers. There temperatures on isopycnals exhibit decadal variations with warming in the 1990s and cooling in the 2000s - the contributions to the

On the Role of Mantle Overturn during Magma Ocean Solidification

Science.gov (United States)

Boukaré, C. E.; Parmentier, E.; Parman, S. W.

2017-12-01

Solidification of potential global magma ocean(s) (MO) early in the history of terrestrial planets may play a key role in the evolution of planetary interiors by setting initial conditions for their long-term evolution. Constraining this initial structure of solid mantles is thus crucial but remains poorly understood. MO fractional crystallization has been proposed to generate gravitationally unstable Fe-Mg chemical stratification capable of driving solid-state mantle overturn. Fractional solidification and overturn hypothesis, while only an ideal limiting case, can explain important geochemical features of both the Moon and Mars. Current overturn models consider generally post-MO overturn where the cumulate pile remains immobile until the end of MO solidification. However, if the cumulate pile overturns during MO solidification, the general picture of early planet evolution might differ significantly from the static crystallization models. We show that the timing of mantle overturn can be characterized with a dimensionless number measuring the ratio of the MO solidification time and the purely compositional overturn timescale. Syn-solidification overturn occurs if this dimensionless parameter, Rc, exceeds a critical value. Rc is mostly affected by the competition between the MO solidification time and mantle viscosity. Overturn that occurs during solidification can result in smaller scales of mantle chemical heterogeneity that could persist for long times thus influencing the whole evolution of a planetary body. We will discuss the effects of compaction/percolation on mantle viscosity. If partially molten cumulate do not have time to compact during MO solidification, viscosity of cumulates would be significantly lower as the interstitcial melt fraction would be large. Both solid mantle remelting during syn-solidification overturn and porous convection of melt retained with the cumulates are expected to reduce the degree of fractional crystallization. Syn

AMOC decadal variability in Earth system models: Mechanisms and climate impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fedorov, Alexey [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States)

2017-09-06

This is the final report for the project titled "AMOC decadal variability in Earth system models: Mechanisms and climate impacts". The central goal of this one-year research project was to understand the mechanisms of decadal and multi-decadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) within a hierarchy of climate models ranging from realistic ocean GCMs to Earth system models. The AMOC is a key element of ocean circulation responsible for oceanic transport of heat from low to high latitudes and controlling, to a large extent, climate variations in the North Atlantic. The questions of the AMOC stability, variability and predictability, directly relevant to the questions of climate predictability, were at the center of the research work.

DETECTION OF EQUATORWARD MERIDIONAL FLOW AND EVIDENCE OF DOUBLE-CELL MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION INSIDE THE SUN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Junwei; Bogart, R. S.; Kosovichev, A. G.; Hartlep, Thomas; Duvall, T. L. Jr.

2013-01-01

Meridional flow in the solar interior plays an important role in redistributing angular momentum and transporting magnetic flux inside the Sun. Although it has long been recognized that the meridional flow is predominantly poleward at the Sun's surface and in its shallow interior, the location of the equatorward return flow and the meridional flow profile in the deeper interior remain unclear. Using the first 2 yr of continuous helioseismology observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic Magnetic Imager, we analyze travel times of acoustic waves that propagate through different depths of the solar interior carrying information about the solar interior dynamics. After removing a systematic center-to-limb effect in the helioseismic measurements and performing inversions for flow speed, we find that the poleward meridional flow of a speed of 15 m s –1 extends in depth from the photosphere to about 0.91 R ☉ . An equatorward flow of a speed of 10 m s –1 is found between 0.82 and 0.91 R ☉ in the middle of the convection zone. Our analysis also shows evidence of that the meridional flow turns poleward again below 0.82 R ☉ , indicating an existence of a second meridional circulation cell below the shallower one. This double-cell meridional circulation profile with an equatorward flow shallower than previously thought suggests a rethinking of how magnetic field is generated and redistributed inside the Sun

DETECTION OF EQUATORWARD MERIDIONAL FLOW AND EVIDENCE OF DOUBLE-CELL MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION INSIDE THE SUN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao Junwei; Bogart, R. S.; Kosovichev, A. G.; Hartlep, Thomas [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4085 (United States); Duvall, T. L. Jr. [Solar Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2013-09-10

Meridional flow in the solar interior plays an important role in redistributing angular momentum and transporting magnetic flux inside the Sun. Although it has long been recognized that the meridional flow is predominantly poleward at the Sun's surface and in its shallow interior, the location of the equatorward return flow and the meridional flow profile in the deeper interior remain unclear. Using the first 2 yr of continuous helioseismology observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic Magnetic Imager, we analyze travel times of acoustic waves that propagate through different depths of the solar interior carrying information about the solar interior dynamics. After removing a systematic center-to-limb effect in the helioseismic measurements and performing inversions for flow speed, we find that the poleward meridional flow of a speed of 15 m s{sup -1} extends in depth from the photosphere to about 0.91 R{sub Sun }. An equatorward flow of a speed of 10 m s{sup -1} is found between 0.82 and 0.91 R{sub Sun} in the middle of the convection zone. Our analysis also shows evidence of that the meridional flow turns poleward again below 0.82 R{sub Sun }, indicating an existence of a second meridional circulation cell below the shallower one. This double-cell meridional circulation profile with an equatorward flow shallower than previously thought suggests a rethinking of how magnetic field is generated and redistributed inside the Sun.

Rayleigh-Taylor convective overturn in stellar collapse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruenn, S.W.; Buchler, J.R.; Livio, M.

1979-01-01

Rayleigh--Taylor convective overturn in collapsing stellar cores is modeled with a one-dimensional parametrization. The results of a numerical hydrodynamic study are very encouraging and indicate that such an overturn could well be a dominant feature in the supernova explosion mechanism

Mercury distribution and transport in the North Atlantic Ocean along the GEOTRACES-GA01 transect

Science.gov (United States)

Cossa, Daniel; Heimbürger, Lars-Eric; Pérez, Fiz F.; García-Ibáñez, Maribel I.; Sonke, Jeroen E.; Planquette, Hélène; Lherminier, Pascale; Boutorh, Julia; Cheize, Marie; Lukas Menzel Barraqueta, Jan; Shelley, Rachel; Sarthou, Géraldine

2018-04-01

We report here the results of total mercury (HgT) determinations along the 2014 Geotraces Geovide cruise (GA01 transect) in the North Atlantic Ocean (NA) from Lisbon (Portugal) to the coast of Labrador (Canada). HgT concentrations in unfiltered samples (HgTUNF) were log-normally distributed and ranged between 0.16 and 1.54 pmol L-1, with a geometric mean of 0.51 pmol L-1 for the 535 samples analysed. The dissolved fraction (waters. The HgTUNF concentrations were similarly low in the subpolar gyre waters ( ˜ 0.45 pmol L-1), whereas they exceeded 0.60 pmol L-1 in the subtropical gyre waters. The HgTUNF distribution mirrored that of dissolved oxygen concentration, with highest concentration levels associated with oxygen-depleted zones. The relationship between HgTF and the apparent oxygen utilization confirms the nutrient-like behaviour of Hg in the NA. An extended optimum multiparameter analysis allowed us to characterize HgTUNF concentrations in the different source water types (SWTs) present along the transect. The distribution pattern of HgTUNF, modelled by the mixing of SWTs, show Hg enrichment in Mediterranean waters and North East Atlantic Deep Water and low concentrations in young waters formed in the subpolar gyre and Nordic seas. The change in anthropogenic Hg concentrations in the Labrador Sea Water during its eastward journey suggests a continuous decrease in Hg content in this water mass over the last decades. Calculation of the water transport driven by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation across the Portugal-Greenland transect indicates northward Hg transport within the upper limb and southward Hg transport within the lower limb, with resulting net northward transport of about 97.2 kmol yr-1.

Amplified North Atlantic Warming in the Late Pliocene by Changes in Arctic Gateways

Science.gov (United States)

Otto-Bliesner, B. L.; Jahn, A.; Feng, R.; Brady, E. C.; Hu, A.; Lofverstrom, M.

2017-12-01

Reconstructions of the late Pliocene (mid-Piacenzian, 3.3 - 3.0 million years ago) sea surface temperature (SST) find much warmer conditions in the North Atlantic than modern. The much warmer SSTs, up to 8.8°C from sites with good dating and replicates from several different types of proxies, have been difficult for climate models to reproduce. Even with the slow feedbacks of a reduced Greenland ice sheet and expansion of boreal forests to the Arctic Ocean over Canada and Eurasia, models cannot warm the North Atlantic sufficiently to match the reconstructed SSTs. An enhancement of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during the late Pliocene, proposed as a possible mechanism based on ocean core records of δ13C, also is not present in the model simulations. Here, we present CESM simulations using a new reconstruction of late Pliocene paleogeography that has the Bering Strait (BS) and Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) Straits closed. We find that the closure of these small Arctic gateways strengthens the AMOC, by inhibiting freshwater (FW) transport from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean and from the Arctic Ocean to the Labrador Sea, leading to warmer sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic. The cutoff of the short export route through the CAA results in a more saline Labrador and south Greenland Sea with increased deep convection. At the same time, as all FW now leaves the Arctic east of Greenland, there is a freshening of and decreased deepwater formation in the Norwegian Sea. Overall, the AMOC strengthens. This past time period has implications for a future Earth under more responsible scenarios of emissions. Late Pliocene atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are estimated to have ranged between 350 and 450 ppmv and the paleogeography is relatively similar to modern. Our study indicates that the state of the Arctic gateways may influence the sensitivity of the North Atlantic climate in complex ways, and better understanding of the

The mechanism behind internally generated centennial-to-millennial scale climate variability in an earth system model of intermediate complexity

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T. Friedrich

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The mechanism triggering centennial-to-millennial-scale variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC in the earth system model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM is investigated. It is found that for several climate boundary conditions such as low obliquity values (~22.1° or LGM-albedo, internally generated centennial-to-millennial-scale variability occurs in the North Atlantic region. Stochastic excitations of the density-driven overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas can create regional sea-ice anomalies and a subsequent reorganization of the atmospheric circulation. The resulting remote atmospheric anomalies over the Hudson Bay can release freshwater pulses into the Labrador Sea and significantly increase snow fall in this region leading to a subsequent reduction of convective activity. The millennial-scale AMOC oscillations disappear if LGM bathymetry (with closed Hudson Bay is prescribed or if freshwater pulses are suppressed artificially. Furthermore, our study documents the process of the AMOC recovery as well as the global marine and terrestrial carbon cycle response to centennial-to-millennial-scale AMOC variability.

The roles of static stability and tropical-extratropical interactions in the summer interannual variability of the North Atlantic sector

Science.gov (United States)

Mbengue, Cheikh Oumar; Woollings, Tim; Dacre, Helen F.; Hodges, Kevin I.

2018-04-01

Summer seasonal forecast skill in the North Atlantic sector is lower than winter skill. To identify potential controls on predictability, the sensitivity of North Atlantic baroclinicity to atmospheric drivers is quantified. Using ERA-INTERIM reanalysis data, North Atlantic storm-track baroclinicity is shown to be less sensitive to meridional temperature-gradient variability in summer. Static stability shapes the sector's interannual variability by modulating the sensitivity of baroclinicity to variations in meridional temperature gradients and tropopause height and by modifying the baroclinicity itself. High static stability anomalies at upper levels result in more zonal extratropical cyclone tracks and higher eddy kinetic energy over the British Isles in the summertime. These static stability anomalies are not strongly related to the summer NAO; but they are correlated with the suppression of convection over the tropical Atlantic and with a poleward-shifted subtropical jet. These results suggest a non-local driver of North Atlantic variability. Furthermore, they imply that improved representations of convection over the south-eastern part of North America and the tropical Atlantic might improve summer seasonal forecast skill.

Contrasting spatial structures of Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation between observations and slab ocean model simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Cheng; Li, Jianping; Kucharski, Fred; Xue, Jiaqing; Li, Xiang

2018-04-01

The spatial structure of Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) is analyzed and compared between the observations and simulations from slab ocean models (SOMs) and fully coupled models. The observed sea surface temperature (SST) pattern of AMO is characterized by a basin-wide monopole structure, and there is a significantly high degree of spatial coherence of decadal SST variations across the entire North Atlantic basin. The observed SST anomalies share a common decadal-scale signal, corresponding to the basin-wide average (i. e., the AMO). In contrast, the simulated AMO in SOMs (AMOs) exhibits a tripole-like structure, with the mid-latitude North Atlantic SST showing an inverse relationship with other parts of the basin, and the SOMs fail to reproduce the observed strong spatial coherence of decadal SST variations associated with the AMO. The observed spatial coherence of AMO SST anomalies is identified as a key feature that can be used to distinguish the AMO mechanism. The tripole-like SST pattern of AMOs in SOMs can be largely explained by the atmosphere-forced thermodynamics mechanism due to the surface heat flux changes associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The thermodynamic forcing of AMOs by the NAO gives rise to a simultaneous inverse NAO-AMOs relationship at both interannual and decadal timescales and a seasonal phase locking of the AMOs variability to the cold season. However, the NAO-forced thermodynamics mechanism cannot explain the observed NAO-AMO relationship and the seasonal phase locking of observed AMO variability to the warm season. At decadal timescales, a strong lagged relationship between NAO and AMO is observed, with the NAO leading by up to two decades, while the simultaneous correlation of NAO with AMO is weak. This lagged relationship and the spatial coherence of AMO can be well understood from the view point of ocean dynamics. A time-integrated NAO index, which reflects the variations in Atlantic meridional overturning

Overturning behaviour of nuclear power plant structures during earthquakes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalal, J.S.; Perumalswami, P.R.

1977-01-01

Nuclear power plant structures are designed to withstand severe postulated seismic forces. Structures subjected to such forces may be found to ''overturn'', if the factor of safety is computed in the traditional way, treating these forces as static. This study considers the transient nature of the problem and draws distinction between rocking, tipping and overturning. Responses of typical nuclear power plant structures to earthquake motions are used to assess their overturning potential more realistically. Structures founded on both rock and soil are considered. It is demonstrated that the traditional factor of safety, when smaller than unity, indicates only minimal base rotations and not necessarily overturning. (auth.)

Meridional Considerations of the Centrifugal Compressor Development

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C. Xu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Centrifugal compressor developments are interested in using optimization procedures that enable compressor high efficiency and wide operating ranges. Recently, high pressure ratio and efficiency of the centrifugal compressors require impeller design to pay attention to both the blade angle distribution and the meridional profile. The geometry of the blades and the meridional profile are very important contributions of compressor performance and structure reliability. This paper presents some recent studies of meridional impacts of the compressor. Studies indicated that the meridional profiles of the impeller impact the overall compressor efficiency and pressure ratio at the same rotational speed. Proper meridional profiles can improve the compressor efficiency and increase the overall pressure ratio at the same blade back curvature.

Modelling the Seasonal Overturning Circulation in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao

2015-04-01

The overturning circulation in the Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonally reversing pattern and is studied using 50-year, high-resolution MIT general circulation model simulations. The seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is successfully simulated, and the structures of the intruding subsurface Gulf of Aden intermediate water are in good agreement with summer observations in 2011. The model results suggest that the summer overturning circulation is driven by the combined effect of the shoaling of the thermocline in the Gulf of Aden resulting from remote winds in the Arabian Sea and an upward surface slope from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden set up by local surface winds in the Red Sea. For the winter overturning circulation, the climatological model mean results suggest that the surface inflow intensifies in a western boundary current in the southern Red Sea that switches to an eastern boundary current north of 24°N. The overturning is accomplished through a cyclonic recirculation and a cross-basin overturning circulation in the northern Red Sea, with major sinking occurring along a narrow band of width about 20 km along the eastern boundary and weaker upwelling along the western boundary. The northward pressure gradient force, strong vertical mixing, and horizontal mixing near the boundary are the essential dynamical components in the model\\'s winter overturning circulation.

Decadal- to interannual-scale source water variations in the Caribbean Sea recorded by Puerto Rican coral radiocarbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilbourne, K H; Quinn, T M; Guilderson, T P; Webb, R S; Taylor, F W

2006-12-05

Water that forms the Florida Current, and eventually the Gulf Stream, coalesces in the Caribbean from both subtropical and equatorial sources. The equatorial sources are made up of, in part, South Atlantic water moving northward and compensating for southward flow at depth related to meridional overturning circulation. Subtropical surface water contains relatively high amounts of radiocarbon ({sup 14}C), whereas equatorial waters are influenced by the upwelling of low {sup 14}C water and have relatively low concentrations of {sup 14}C. We use a 250-year record of {Delta}{sup 14}C in a coral from southwestern Puerto Rico along with previously published coral {Delta}{sup 14}C records as tracers of subtropical and equatorial water mixing in the northern Caribbean. Data generated in this study and from other studies indicate that the influence of either of the two water masses can change considerably on interannual to interdecadal time scales. Variability due to ocean dynamics in this region is large relative to variability caused by atmospheric {sup 14}C changes, thus masking the Suess effect at this site. A mixing model produced using coral {Delta}{sup 14}C illustrates the time varying proportion of equatorial versus subtropical waters in the northern Caribbean between 1963 and 1983. The results of the model are consistent with linkages between multidecadal thermal variability in the North Atlantic and meridional overturning circulation. Ekman transport changes related to tradewind variability are proposed as a possible mechanism to explain the observed switches between relatively low and relatively high {Delta}{sup 14}C values in the coral radiocarbon records.

A spatial cluster analysis of tractor overturns in Kentucky from 1960 to 2002.

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Daniel M Saman

Full Text Available Agricultural tractor overturns without rollover protective structures are the leading cause of farm fatalities in the United States. To our knowledge, no studies have incorporated the spatial scan statistic in identifying high-risk areas for tractor overturns. The aim of this study was to determine whether tractor overturns cluster in certain parts of Kentucky and identify factors associated with tractor overturns.A spatial statistical analysis using Kulldorff's spatial scan statistic was performed to identify county clusters at greatest risk for tractor overturns. A regression analysis was then performed to identify factors associated with tractor overturns.The spatial analysis revealed a cluster of higher than expected tractor overturns in four counties in northern Kentucky (RR = 2.55 and 10 counties in eastern Kentucky (RR = 1.97. Higher rates of tractor overturns were associated with steeper average percent slope of pasture land by county (p = 0.0002 and a greater percent of total tractors with less than 40 horsepower by county (p<0.0001.This study reveals that geographic hotspots of tractor overturns exist in Kentucky and identifies factors associated with overturns. This study provides policymakers a guide to targeted county-level interventions (e.g., roll-over protective structures promotion interventions with the intention of reducing tractor overturns in the highest risk counties in Kentucky.

Evolution of Interhemispheric Sea-Surface Temperature Contrast in the Tropical Atlantic During Termination I

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J.

2001-12-01

Meteorological and oceanographic studies show that interannual and decadal variability in tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperature (SST) strongly influences the climates over northeast Brazil, sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Central American and Caribbean regions. In this context, it is worthwhile to reconstruct spatial temperature patterns for the longer-term tropical Atlantic SST history. In this study, a high-resolution alkenone-derived SST record from the subtropical eastern South Atlantic (core GeoB 1023-5) is compared with one from the tropical western North Atlantic (core M35003-4). This comparison reveals synchronous SST variations between both near equatorial Atlantic regions during the Heinrich Event 1 (H1) (18-15.5 cal kyr B.P.), but dipole-like SST variations during the Younger Dryas (YD) (13-11.5 cal kyr B.P.). To assess the relationship of SST variations between both regions, we calculated SST differences between cores GeoB 1023-5 and M35003-4, and compared it with the coccolithophorid Florisphaera profunda abundance record from the equatorial eastern Atlantic (core RC24-08) as an indicator of variations in intensity of south-easterly trade winds [McIntyre and Molfino, 1996]. This comparison suggests that synchronous warming in both regions during the H1 can be attributed to a reduced northward heat transport from the warm equatorial Atlantic to the cold high-latitude North Atlantic linked to the slowdown of thermohaline circulation overturning during cold events under full glacial conditions. However, dipole-like SST variations during the YD is probably more associated with strengthened south-easterly trade winds, which led to a strong upwelling-related cooling in the eastern South Atlantic region and concurrently enhanced advection of warm subtropical South Atlantic waters to the tropical western Atlantic during that time. Accordingly, a coupled oceanic-atmospheric process created a warm pool in the tropical western Atlantic and thus a dipole

Water mass distributions and transports for the 2014 GEOVIDE cruise in the North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

García-Ibáñez, Maribel I.; Pérez, Fiz F.; Lherminier, Pascale; Zunino, Patricia; Mercier, Herlé; Tréguer, Paul

2018-04-01

We present the distribution of water masses along the GEOTRACES-GA01 section during the GEOVIDE cruise, which crossed the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea in the summer of 2014. The water mass structure resulting from an extended optimum multiparameter (eOMP) analysis provides the framework for interpreting the observed distributions of trace elements and their isotopes. Central Waters and Subpolar Mode Waters (SPMW) dominated the upper part of the GEOTRACES-GA01 section. At intermediate depths, the dominant water mass was Labrador Sea Water, while the deep parts of the section were filled by Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and North-East Atlantic Deep Water. We also evaluate the water mass volume transports across the 2014 OVIDE line (Portugal to Greenland section) by combining the water mass fractions resulting from the eOMP analysis with the absolute geostrophic velocity field estimated through a box inverse model. This allowed us to assess the relative contribution of each water mass to the transport across the section. Finally, we discuss the changes in the distribution and transport of water masses between the 2014 OVIDE line and the 2002-2010 mean state. At the upper and intermediate water levels, colder end-members of the water masses replaced the warmer ones in 2014 with respect to 2002-2010, in agreement with the long-term cooling of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre that started in the mid-2000s. Below 2000 dbar, ISOW increased its contribution in 2014 with respect to 2002-2010, with the increase being consistent with other estimates of ISOW transports along 58-59° N. We also observed an increase in SPMW in the East Greenland Irminger Current in 2014 with respect to 2002-2010, which supports the recent deep convection events in the Irminger Sea. From the assessment of the relative water mass contribution to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) across the OVIDE line, we conclude that the larger AMOC intensity in

Sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet to Interglacial Climate Forcing: MIS 5e Versus MIS 11

Science.gov (United States)

Rachmayani, Rima; Prange, Matthias; Lunt, Daniel J.; Stone, Emma J.; Schulz, Michael

2017-11-01

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is thought to have contributed substantially to high global sea levels during the interglacials of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e and 11. Geological evidence suggests that the mass loss of the GrIS was greater during the peak interglacial of MIS 11 than MIS 5e, despite a weaker boreal summer insolation. We address this conundrum by using the three-dimensional thermomechanical ice sheet model Glimmer forced by Community Climate System Model version 3 output for MIS 5e and MIS 11 interglacial time slices. Our results suggest a stronger sensitivity of the GrIS to MIS 11 climate forcing than to MIS 5e forcing. Besides stronger greenhouse gas radiative forcing, the greater MIS 11 GrIS mass loss relative to MIS 5e is attributed to a larger oceanic heat transport toward high latitudes by a stronger Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The vigorous MIS 11 ocean overturning, in turn, is related to a stronger wind-driven salt transport from low to high latitudes promoting North Atlantic Deep Water formation. The orbital insolation forcing, which causes the ocean current anomalies, is discussed.

The Global Monsoon as Seen through the Divergent Atmospheric Circulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Trenberth, Kevin E.; Stepaniak, David P.; Caron, Julie M.

2000-11-01

20% of the variance, features relatively shallow but vigorous overturning with the maximum vertical velocities near 800 mb, outflow from 750 to 350 mb, and inflow peaking at 925 mb. It is especially strong over Africa where the shallow, mostly meridional overturning migrates back and forth across the equator with the seasons. It influences the Middle East, has a signature over Australia, and is also an important component of the overturning in the tropical eastern Pacific and Atlantic, and thus of the convergence zones in these regions.The relationship of the global monsoon to the regional monsoons is described over six zonal sectors: Africa, Australia-Asia, North America, South America, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Only the two ocean areas do not undergo a seasonal reversal required for monsoons, although they have direct overturning cells and they nevertheless participate in the global monsoon through the changes in large-scale overturning. The regional meridional cross sections highlight the importance of the shallow overturning cell in lower-troposphere monsoon activity. The steadiness of the overturning circulation is determined by comparing the signal of the seasonal mean vertical motions at 500 mb with the standard deviation of the transient daily variations. Locations where this signal exceeds 60% of the daily noise correspond closely with the regional centers of the monsoon.

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 2. Winter circulation

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Pratt, Lawrence J.; Bower, Amy S.; Kö hl, Armin; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Rivas, David

2014-01-01

The shallow winter overturning circulation in the Red Sea is studied using a 50 year high-resolution MITgcm (MIT general circulation model) simulation with realistic atmospheric forcing. The overturning circulation for a typical year, represented

Tropical Atlantic Contributions to Strong Rainfall Variability Along the Northeast Brazilian Coast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Hounsou-gbo

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Tropical Atlantic (TA Ocean-atmosphere interactions and their contributions to strong variability of rainfall along the Northeast Brazilian (NEB coast were investigated for the years 1974–2008. The core rainy seasons of March-April and June-July were identified for Fortaleza (northern NEB; NNEB and Recife (eastern NEB; ENEB, respectively. Lagged linear regressions between sea surface temperature (SST and pseudo wind stress (PWS anomalies over the entire TA and strong rainfall anomalies at Fortaleza and Recife show that the rainfall variability of these regions is differentially influenced by the dynamics of the TA. When the Intertropical Convergence Zone is abnormally displaced southward a few months prior to the NNEB rainy season, the associated meridional mode increases humidity and precipitation during the rainy season. Additionally, this study shows predictive effect of SST, meridional PWS, and barrier layer thickness, in the Northwestern equatorial Atlantic, on the NNEB rainfall. The dynamical influence of the TA on the June-July ENEB rainfall variability shows a northwestward-propagating area of strong, positively correlated SST from the southeastern TA to the southwestern Atlantic warm pool (SAWP offshore of Brazil. Our results also show predictive effect of SST, zonal PWS, and mixed layer depth, in the SAWP, on the ENEB rainfall.

Solar-cycle variation of zonal and meridional flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komm, R; Howe, R; Hill, F; Hernandez, I Gonzalez; Haber, D

2011-01-01

We study the variation with the solar cycle of the zonal and meridional flows in the near-surface layers of the solar convection zone. We have analyzed MDI Dynamics-Program data with ring-diagram analysis covering the rising phase of cycle 23, while the analyzed GONG high-resolution data cover the maximum and declining phase of cycle 23. For the zonal flow, the migration with latitude of the flow pattern is apparent in the deeper layers, while for the meridional flow, a migration with latitude is apparent only in the layers close to the surface. The faster-than-average bands of the zonal flow associated with the new cycle are clearly visible. Similarly, a pattern related to the new cycle appears in the residual meridional flow. We also study the flow differences between the hemispheres during the course of the solar cycle. The difference pattern of the meridional flow is slanted in latitude straddling the faster-than-average band of the torsional oscillation pattern in the zonal flow. The difference pattern of the zonal flow, on the other hand, resembles the cycle variation of the meridional flow. In addition, the meridional flow during the minimum of cycle 23/24 appears to be slightly stronger than during the previous minimum of cycle 22/23.

A comparison of climatological subseasonal variations in the wintertime storm track activity between the North Pacific and Atlantic: local energetics and moisture effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sun-Seon; Ha, Kyung-Ja [Pusan National University, Division of Earth Environmental System, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, June-Yi; Wang, Bin; Jin, Fei-Fei [University of Hawaii, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Honolulu, HI (United States); Lee, Woo-Jin [Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2011-12-15

Distinct differences of the storm track-jet relationship over the North Pacific and North Atlantic are investigated in terms of barotropic and baroclinic energetics using NCEP-2 reanalysis data for the period of 1979-2008. From fall to midwinter the Pacific storm track (PST) activity weakens following the southward shift of the Pacific jet, whereas the Atlantic storm track (AST) activity remains steady in position and intensifies regardless of the slight southward shift of the Atlantic jet. This study is devoted to seeking for the factors that can contribute to this conspicuous difference between the two storm tracks on climatological subseasonal variation by analyzing eddy properties and local energetics. Different eddy properties over the two oceans lead to different contribution of barotropic energy conversion to the initiation of storm tracks. In the North Atlantic, meridionally elongated eddies gain kinetic energy efficiently from stretching deformation of the mean flow in the jet entrance. On the other hand, the term associated with shearing deformation is important for the initiation of PST. Analysis of baroclinic energetics reveals that the intensification of the AST activity in midwinter is mainly attributed to coincidence between location of maximum poleward and upward eddy heat fluxes and that of the largest meridional temperature gradient over slight upstream of the AST. The relatively large amount of precipitable water and meridional eddy moisture flux along baroclinic energy conversion axis likely provides a more favorable environment for baroclinic eddy growth over the North Atlantic than over the North Pacific. In the meantime, the midwinter minimum of the PST activity is attributable to the southward shift of the Pacific jet stream that leads to discrepancy between core region of poleward and upward heat fluxes and that of meridional thermal gradient. Weakening of eddy-mean flow interaction due to eddy shape and reduction of moist effect are also

Mechanisms of decadal variability in the Labrador Sea and the wider North Atlantic in a high-resolution climate model

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega, Pablo; Robson, Jon; Sutton, Rowan T.; Andrews, Martin B.

2017-10-01

A necessary step before assessing the performance of decadal predictions is the evaluation of the processes that bring memory to the climate system, both in climate models and observations. These mechanisms are particularly relevant in the North Atlantic, where the ocean circulation, related to both the Subpolar Gyre and the Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is thought to be important for driving significant heat content anomalies. Recently, a rapid decline in observed densities in the deep Labrador Sea has pointed to an ongoing slowdown of the AMOC strength taking place since the mid 90s, a decline also hinted by in-situ observations from the RAPID array. This study explores the use of Labrador Sea densities as a precursor of the ocean circulation changes, by analysing a 300-year long simulation with the state-of-the-art coupled model HadGEM3-GC2. The major drivers of Labrador Sea density variability are investigated, and are characterised by three major contributions. First, the integrated effect of local surface heat fluxes, mainly driven by year-to-year changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation, which accounts for 62% of the total variance. Additionally, two multidecadal-to-centennial contributions from the Greenland-Scotland Ridge outflows are quantified; the first associated with freshwater exports via the East Greenland Current, and the second with density changes in the Denmark Strait Overflow. Finally, evidence is shown that decadal trends in Labrador Sea densities are followed by important atmospheric impacts. In particular, a positive winter NAO response appears to follow the negative Labrador Sea density trends, and provides a phase reversal mechanism.

Key features of the IPSL ocean atmosphere model and its sensitivity to atmospheric resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marti, Olivier; Braconnot, P.; Bellier, J.; Brockmann, P.; Caubel, A.; Noblet, N. de; Friedlingstein, P.; Idelkadi, A.; Kageyama, M. [Unite Mixte CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, IPSL/LSCE, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Dufresne, J.L.; Bony, S.; Codron, F.; Fairhead, L.; Grandpeix, J.Y.; Hourdin, F.; Musat, I. [Unite Mixte CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique-ENS-UPCM, IPSL/LMD, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Benshila, R.; Guilyardi, E.; Levy, C.; Madec, G.; Mignot, J.; Talandier, C. [unite mixte CNRS-IRD-UPMC, IPLS/LOCEAN, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Cadule, P.; Denvil, S.; Foujols, M.A. [Institut Pierre Simon Laplace des Sciences de l' Environnement (IPSL), Paris Cedex 05 (France); Fichefet, T.; Goosse, H. [Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut d' Astronomie et de Geophysique Georges Lemaitre, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Krinner, G. [Unite mixte CNRS-UJF Grenoble, LGGE, BP96, Saint-Martin-d' Heres (France); Swingedouw, D. [CNRS/CERFACS, Toulouse (France)

2010-01-15

This paper presents the major characteristics of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. The model components and the coupling methodology are described, as well as the main characteristics of the climatology and interannual variability. The model results of the standard version used for IPCC climate projections, and for intercomparison projects like the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP 2) are compared to those with a higher resolution in the atmosphere. A focus on the North Atlantic and on the tropics is used to address the impact of the atmosphere resolution on processes and feedbacks. In the North Atlantic, the resolution change leads to an improved representation of the storm-tracks and the North Atlantic oscillation. The better representation of the wind structure increases the northward salt transports, the deep-water formation and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. In the tropics, the ocean-atmosphere dynamical coupling, or Bjerknes feedback, improves with the resolution. The amplitude of ENSO (El Nino-Southern oscillation) consequently increases, as the damping processes are left unchanged. (orig.)

Centennial-scale links between Atlantic Ocean dynamics and hydroclimate over the last 4400 years: Insights from the northern Gulf of Mexico

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Thirumalai, K.; Quinn, T. M.; Okumura, Y.; Richey, J. N.; Partin, J. W.; Poore, R. Z.

2015-12-01

Surface circulation in the Atlantic Ocean is an important mediator of global climate and yet its variability is poorly constrained on centennial timescales. Changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) have been implicated in late Holocene climate variability in the Western Hemisphere, although the relationship between AMOC variability and hydroclimate is uncertain due to the lack of sufficiently highly resolved proxy records. Here we present a replicated reconstruction of sea-surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS) from the Garrison Basin in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) spanning the last 4,400 years to better constrain past sea-surface conditions. We generated time series of paired Mg/Ca (SST proxy) and δ18O (SST and SSS proxy) variations in planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (white variety) from three multi-cores collected in 2010. Using a Monte Carlo-based technique we produce a stacked record from the three multi-cores and constrain analytical, calibration, chronological, and sampling uncertainties. We apply this technique to existing paired Mg/Ca- δ18O studies in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean to facilitate comparison between time-uncertain proxy reconstructions. The Garrison Basin stack exhibits large centennial-scale variability (σSST~0.6°C; δ18Osw~0.17‰) and indicates a substantially cool (0.9±0.5°C) and fresh (0.26±0.1‰) Little Ice Age (LIA; 1450-1850 A.D.), corroborating extant records from the Gulf of Mexico. Focusing on the last millennium, we analyze a suite of oceanic and terrestrial proxy records to demonstrate a centennial-scale link between salt advection in the Atlantic Ocean, a diagnostic parameter of ocean circulation, and hydroclimate in the adjacent continents. The ensuing multiproxy relationships seem to be consistent with spatial field correlations of limited salinity and rainfall instrumental/reanalysis data, which suggest that NGOM salinity varies with large-scale Atlantic Ocean

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 2. Winter circulation

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Yao, Fengchao; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Pratt, Larry J.; Bower, Amy S.; Köhl, Armin; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Rivas, David

2014-04-01

The shallow winter overturning circulation in the Red Sea is studied using a 50 year high-resolution MITgcm (MIT general circulation model) simulation with realistic atmospheric forcing. The overturning circulation for a typical year, represented by 1980, and the climatological mean are analyzed using model output to delineate the three-dimensional structure and to investigate the underlying dynamical mechanisms. The horizontal model circulation in the winter of 1980 is dominated by energetic eddies. The climatological model mean results suggest that the surface inflow intensifies in a western boundary current in the southern Red Sea that switches to an eastern boundary current north of 24°N. The overturning is accomplished through a cyclonic recirculation and a cross-basin overturning circulation in the northern Red Sea, with major sinking occurring along a narrow band of width about 20 km along the eastern boundary and weaker upwelling along the western boundary. The northward pressure gradient force, strong vertical mixing, and horizontal mixing near the boundary are the essential dynamical components in the model's winter overturning circulation. The simulated water exchange is not hydraulically controlled in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb; instead, the exchange is limited by bottom and lateral boundary friction and, to a lesser extent, by interfacial friction due to the vertical viscosity at the interface between the inflow and the outflow.

Pliocene palaeoceanography of the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas.

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Matthiessen, Jens; Knies, Jochen; Vogt, Christoph; Stein, Ruediger

2009-01-13

The Pliocene is important in the geological evolution of the high northern latitudes. It marks the transition from restricted local- to extensive regional-scale glaciations on the circum-Arctic continents between 3.6 and 2.4Ma. Since the Arctic Ocean is an almost land-locked basin, tectonic activity and sea-level fluctuations controlled the geometry of ocean gateways and continental drainage systems, and exerted a major influence on the formation of continental ice sheets, the distribution of river run-off, and the circulation and water mass characteristics in the Arctic Ocean. The effect of a water mass exchange restricted to the Bering and Fram Straits on the oceanography is unknown, but modelling experiments suggest that this must have influenced the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Cold conditions associated with perennial sea-ice cover might have prevailed in the central Arctic Ocean throughout the Pliocene, whereas colder periods alternated with warmer seasonally ice-free periods in the marginal areas. The most pronounced oceanographic change occurred in the Mid-Pliocene when the circulation through the Bering Strait reversed and low-salinity waters increasingly flowed from the North Pacific into the Arctic Ocean. The excess freshwater supply might have facilitated sea-ice formation and contributed to a decrease in the Atlantic overturning circulation.

Water mass distributions and transports for the 2014 GEOVIDE cruise in the North Atlantic

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M. I. García-Ibáñez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We present the distribution of water masses along the GEOTRACES-GA01 section during the GEOVIDE cruise, which crossed the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea in the summer of 2014. The water mass structure resulting from an extended optimum multiparameter (eOMP analysis provides the framework for interpreting the observed distributions of trace elements and their isotopes. Central Waters and Subpolar Mode Waters (SPMW dominated the upper part of the GEOTRACES-GA01 section. At intermediate depths, the dominant water mass was Labrador Sea Water, while the deep parts of the section were filled by Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW and North-East Atlantic Deep Water. We also evaluate the water mass volume transports across the 2014 OVIDE line (Portugal to Greenland section by combining the water mass fractions resulting from the eOMP analysis with the absolute geostrophic velocity field estimated through a box inverse model. This allowed us to assess the relative contribution of each water mass to the transport across the section. Finally, we discuss the changes in the distribution and transport of water masses between the 2014 OVIDE line and the 2002–2010 mean state. At the upper and intermediate water levels, colder end-members of the water masses replaced the warmer ones in 2014 with respect to 2002–2010, in agreement with the long-term cooling of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre that started in the mid-2000s. Below 2000 dbar, ISOW increased its contribution in 2014 with respect to 2002–2010, with the increase being consistent with other estimates of ISOW transports along 58–59° N. We also observed an increase in SPMW in the East Greenland Irminger Current in 2014 with respect to 2002–2010, which supports the recent deep convection events in the Irminger Sea. From the assessment of the relative water mass contribution to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC across the OVIDE line, we conclude

Impact of realistic future ice sheet discharge on the Atlantic ocean

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van den Berk, Jelle

2015-04-01

Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, The Netherlands A high-end scenario of polar ice loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet is presented with separate projections for different mass-loss sites up to the year 2100. The resultant freshwater forcing is applied to a global climate model and the effects on sea-level rise are discussed. The simulations show strong sea level rise on the Antarctic continental shelves. To separate the effects of atmospheric warming and melt water we then ran four simulations. One without either forcing, one with both and two with one of each separately. Melt water leads to a slight additional depression of the Atlantic overturning circulation, but a strong decrease remains absent. The bulk of the strength reduction is due to higher atmospheric temperatures which inhibits deep water formation in the North Atlantic. The melt water freshens the upper layers of the ocean, but does not strongly impact buoyancy. The balance between North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water must then remain relatively unaffected. Only applying the melt water forcing to the Northern Hemisphere does not lead to a stronger effect. We conclude that the meltwater scenario only impacts the overturning circulation superficially because the deeper ocean is not affected. Transport through Bering Strait and across the zonal section at the latitude of Cape Agulhas is increased by increased atmospheric temperatures and adds some inertia to these transports. Reversing the atmospheric forcing bears this out when the transport then further increases. The freshwater, however, mitigates this inertia somewhat.

Decadal Prediction Skill in the GEOS-5 Forecast System

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Ham, Yoo-Geun; Rienecker, Michele M.; Suarez, Max J.; Vikhliaev, Yury; Zhao, Bin; Marshak, Jelena; Vernieres, Guillaume; Schubert, Siegfried D.

2013-01-01

A suite of decadal predictions has been conducted with the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office's (GMAO's) GEOS-5 Atmosphere-Ocean general circulation model. The hind casts are initialized every December 1st from 1959 to 2010, following the CMIP5 experimental protocol for decadal predictions. The initial conditions are from a multivariate ensemble optimal interpolation ocean and sea-ice reanalysis, and from GMAO's atmospheric reanalysis, the modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications. The mean forecast skill of a three-member-ensemble is compared to that of an experiment without initialization but also forced with observed greenhouse gases. The results show that initialization increases the forecast skill of North Atlantic sea surface temperature compared to the uninitialized runs, with the increase in skill maintained for almost a decade over the subtropical and mid-latitude Atlantic. On the other hand, the initialization reduces the skill in predicting the warming trend over some regions outside the Atlantic. The annual-mean Atlantic meridional overturning circulation index, which is defined here as the maximum of the zonally-integrated overturning stream function at mid-latitude, is predictable up to a 4-year lead time, consistent with the predictable signal in upper ocean heat content over the North Atlantic. While the 6- to 9-year forecast skill measured by mean squared skill score shows 50 percent improvement in the upper ocean heat content over the subtropical and mid-latitude Atlantic, prediction skill is relatively low in the sub-polar gyre. This low skill is due in part to features in the spatial pattern of the dominant simulated decadal mode in upper ocean heat content over this region that differ from observations. An analysis of the large-scale temperature budget shows that this is the result of a model bias, implying that realistic simulation of the climatological fields is crucial for skillful decadal forecasts.

A role for land surface forcing of North Atlantic climate and isotope signals during the 8.2kyr event?

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Hopcroft, Peter; Valdes, Paul

2014-05-01

An important example of abrupt climate change occurred 8200 years ago in the North Atlantic and is generally known as the 8.2kyr event. This abrupt ~160 year cooling appears to coincide with the final drainage of the ice-dammed Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway. The resultant influx of meltwater to the North Atlantic is assumed to have perturbed the Atlantic Meridional Overturning circulation, reducing northward heat transport and causing widespread cooling. Numerous lines of evidence support this theory, with reconstructions showing changes in deep water formation, reductions in salinity and evidence of sea-level rise. Coupled general circulation model (GCM) simulations driven with realistic estimates of the meltwater flux show a regional cooling but fail to replicate the duration or the magnitude of this event in comparison with proxy archives. Meltwater injection was not the only rapid climate forcing in operation at this time. Drainage of the pro-glacial lakes would have had a profound effect on the boundary layer heat fluxes over North America, with potential teleconnections further afield. In this work we use an isotope-enabled version of the coupled GCM HadCM3 with boundary conditions appropriate for the time period of 9kyr (including ice sheets, greenhouse gases and orbital parameters). This model tracks oxygen isotopes throughout the hydrological cycle allowing more robust comparison with proxy archives. We analyse the impact of the removal of a lake area corresponding to Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway at this time and present sensitivity tests designed to analyse the contributions from lake removal, orographic change and the assumed isotopic content of the pro-glacial lakes. The results show a distinct pattern of cooling across North America (in the annual mean) with an apparent teleconnection to the Barents Sea, where there is warming associated with sea-ice reduction. The isotopic implications depend on the initial isotopic content of the pro-glacial lake. Assuming

Understanding variability of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation in CORE-II models

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Downes, S. M.; Spence, P.; Hogg, A. M.

2018-03-01

The current generation of climate models exhibit a large spread in the steady-state and projected Southern Ocean upper and lower overturning circulation, with mechanisms for deep ocean variability remaining less well understood. Here, common Southern Ocean metrics in twelve models from the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiment Phase II (CORE-II) are assessed over a 60 year period. Specifically, stratification, surface buoyancy fluxes, and eddies are linked to the magnitude of the strengthening trend in the upper overturning circulation, and a decreasing trend in the lower overturning circulation across the CORE-II models. The models evolve similarly in the upper 1 km and the deep ocean, with an almost equivalent poleward intensification trend in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. However, the models differ substantially in their eddy parameterisation and surface buoyancy fluxes. In general, models with a larger heat-driven water mass transformation where deep waters upwell at the surface ( ∼ 55°S) transport warmer waters into intermediate depths, thus weakening the stratification in the upper 2 km. Models with a weak eddy induced overturning and a warm bias in the intermediate waters are more likely to exhibit larger increases in the upper overturning circulation, and more significant weakening of the lower overturning circulation. We find the opposite holds for a cool model bias in intermediate depths, combined with a more complex 3D eddy parameterisation that acts to reduce isopycnal slope. In summary, the Southern Ocean overturning circulation decadal trends in the coarse resolution CORE-II models are governed by biases in surface buoyancy fluxes and the ocean density field, and the configuration of the eddy parameterisation.

Connecting Paleo and Modern Oceanographic Data to Understand Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Over Decades to Centuries

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Kilbourne, Hali; Klockmann, Marlene; Moreno-Chamarro, Eduardo; Ortega, Pablo; Romanou, Anastasia; Srokosz, Meric; Szuts, Zoltan; Thirumalai, Kaustubh; Hall, Ian; Heimbach, Patrick;

Parameterized and resolved Southern Ocean eddy compensation

Science.gov (United States)

Poulsen, Mads B.; Jochum, Markus; Nuterman, Roman

2018-04-01

The ability to parameterize Southern Ocean eddy effects in a forced coarse resolution ocean general circulation model is assessed. The transient model response to a suite of different Southern Ocean wind stress forcing perturbations is presented and compared to identical experiments performed with the same model in 0.1° eddy-resolving resolution. With forcing of present-day wind stress magnitude and a thickness diffusivity formulated in terms of the local stratification, it is shown that the Southern Ocean residual meridional overturning circulation in the two models is different in structure and magnitude. It is found that the difference in the upper overturning cell is primarily explained by an overly strong subsurface flow in the parameterized eddy-induced circulation while the difference in the lower cell is mainly ascribed to the mean-flow overturning. With a zonally constant decrease of the zonal wind stress by 50% we show that the absolute decrease in the overturning circulation is insensitive to model resolution, and that the meridional isopycnal slope is relaxed in both models. The agreement between the models is not reproduced by a 50% wind stress increase, where the high resolution overturning decreases by 20%, but increases by 100% in the coarse resolution model. It is demonstrated that this difference is explained by changes in surface buoyancy forcing due to a reduced Antarctic sea ice cover, which strongly modulate the overturning response and ocean stratification. We conclude that the parameterized eddies are able to mimic the transient response to altered wind stress in the high resolution model, but partly misrepresent the unperturbed Southern Ocean meridional overturning circulation and associated heat transports.

Mercury distribution and transport in the North Atlantic Ocean along the GEOTRACES-GA01 transect

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D. Cossa

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We report here the results of total mercury (HgT determinations along the 2014 Geotraces Geovide cruise (GA01 transect in the North Atlantic Ocean (NA from Lisbon (Portugal to the coast of Labrador (Canada. HgT concentrations in unfiltered samples (HgTUNF were log-normally distributed and ranged between 0.16 and 1.54 pmol L−1, with a geometric mean of 0.51 pmol L−1 for the 535 samples analysed. The dissolved fraction (< 0.45 µm of HgT (HgTF, determined on 141 samples, averaged 78 % of the HgTUNF for the entire data set, 84 % for open seawaters (below 100 m and 91 % if the Labrador Sea data are excluded, where the primary production was high (with a winter convection down to 1400 m. HgTUNF concentrations increased eastwards and with depth from Greenland to Europe and from subsurface to bottom waters. The HgTUNF concentrations were similarly low in the subpolar gyre waters ( ∼  0.45 pmol L−1, whereas they exceeded 0.60 pmol L−1 in the subtropical gyre waters. The HgTUNF distribution mirrored that of dissolved oxygen concentration, with highest concentration levels associated with oxygen-depleted zones. The relationship between HgTF and the apparent oxygen utilization confirms the nutrient-like behaviour of Hg in the NA. An extended optimum multiparameter analysis allowed us to characterize HgTUNF concentrations in the different source water types (SWTs present along the transect. The distribution pattern of HgTUNF, modelled by the mixing of SWTs, show Hg enrichment in Mediterranean waters and North East Atlantic Deep Water and low concentrations in young waters formed in the subpolar gyre and Nordic seas. The change in anthropogenic Hg concentrations in the Labrador Sea Water during its eastward journey suggests a continuous decrease in Hg content in this water mass over the last decades. Calculation of the water transport driven by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation across the Portugal�

A Generalized Stability Analysis of the AMOC in Earth System Models: Implication for Decadal Variability and Abrupt Climate Change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fedorov, Alexey V. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States)

2015-01-14

The central goal of this research project was to understand the mechanisms of decadal and multi-decadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as related to climate variability and abrupt climate change within a hierarchy of climate models ranging from realistic ocean models to comprehensive Earth system models. Generalized Stability Analysis, a method that quantifies the transient and asymptotic growth of perturbations in the system, is one of the main approaches used throughout this project. The topics we have explored range from physical mechanisms that control AMOC variability to the factors that determine AMOC predictability in the Earth system models, to the stability and variability of the AMOC in past climates.

Coupled ocean-atmosphere surface variability and its climate impacts in the tropical Atlantic region

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Fontaine, B.; Janicot, Serge; Roucou, P.

This study examines time evolution and statistical relationships involving the two leading ocean-atmosphere coupled modes of variability in the tropical Atlantic and some climate anomalies over the tropical 120°W-60°W region using selected historical files (75-y near global SSTs and precipitation over land), more recent observed data (30-y SST and pseudo wind stress in the tropical Atlantic) and reanalyses from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis System on the period 1968-1997: surface air temperature, sea level pressure, moist static energy content at 850 hPa, precipitable water and precipitation. The first coupled mode detected through singular value decomposition of the SST and pseudo wind-stress data over the tropical Atlantic (30°N-20°S) expresses a modulation in the thermal transequatorial gradient of SST anomalies conducted by one month leading wind-stress anomalies mainly in the tropical north Atlantic during northern winter and fall. It features a slight dipole structure in the meridional plane. Its time variability is dominated by a quasi-decadal signal well observed in the last 20-30 ys and, when projected over longer-term SST data, in the 1920s and 1930s but with shorter periods. The second coupled mode is more confined to the south-equatorial tropical Atlantic in the northern summer and explains considerably less wind-stress/SST cross-covariance. Its time series features an interannual variability dominated by shorter frequencies with increased variance in the 1960s and 1970s before 1977. Correlations between these modes and the ENSO-like Nino3 index lead to decreasing amplitude of thermal anomalies in the tropical Atlantic during warm episodes in the Pacific. This could explain the nonstationarity of meridional anomaly gradients on seasonal and interannual time scales. Overall the relationships between the oceanic component of the coupled modes and the climate anomaly patterns denote thermodynamical

Coastal Microstructure: From Active Overturn to Fossil Turbulence

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Tau Leung, Pak

2011-11-01

The Remote Anthropogenic Sensing Program was a five year effort (2001- 2005) to examine subsurface phenomena related to a sewage outfall off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. This research has implications for basic ocean hydrodynamics, particularly for a greatly improved understanding of the evolution of turbulent patches. It was the first time a microstructure measurement was used to study such a buoyancy-driven turbulence generated by a sea-floor diffuser. In 2004, two stations were selected to represent the near field and ambient conditions. They have nearly identical bathymetrical and hydrographical features and provide an ideal environment for a control experiment. Repeated vertical microstructure measurements were performed at both stations for 20 days. A time series of physical parameters was collected and used for statistical analysis. After comparing the data from both stations, it can be concluded that the turbulent mixing generated by the diffuser contributes to the elevated dissipation rate observed in the pycnocline and bottom boundary layer. To further understand the mixing processes in both regions, data were plotted on a Hydrodynamic Phase Diagram. The overturning stages of the turbulent patches are identified by Hydrodynamic Phase Diagram. This technique provides detailed information on the evolution of the turbulent patches from active overturns to fossilized scalar microstructures in the water column. Results from this study offer new evidence to support the fossil turbulence theory. This study concluded that: 1. Field Data collected near a sea-floor outfall diffuser show that turbulent patches evolve from active (overturning) to fossil (buoyancy-inhibited) stages, consistent with the process of turbulent patch evolution proposed by fossil turbulence theory. 2. The data show that active (overturning) and fossil (buoyancy-inhibited) patches have smaller length scales than the active+fossil (intermediate) stage of patch evolution, consistent with fossil

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 2. Winter circulation

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao

2014-04-01

The shallow winter overturning circulation in the Red Sea is studied using a 50 year high-resolution MITgcm (MIT general circulation model) simulation with realistic atmospheric forcing. The overturning circulation for a typical year, represented by 1980, and the climatological mean are analyzed using model output to delineate the three-dimensional structure and to investigate the underlying dynamical mechanisms. The horizontal model circulation in the winter of 1980 is dominated by energetic eddies. The climatological model mean results suggest that the surface inflow intensifies in a western boundary current in the southern Red Sea that switches to an eastern boundary current north of 24N. The overturning is accomplished through a cyclonic recirculation and a cross-basin overturning circulation in the northern Red Sea, with major sinking occurring along a narrow band of width about 20 km along the eastern boundary and weaker upwelling along the western boundary. The northward pressure gradient force, strong vertical mixing, and horizontal mixing near the boundary are the essential dynamical components in the model\\'s winter overturning circulation. The simulated water exchange is not hydraulically controlled in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb; instead, the exchange is limited by bottom and lateral boundary friction and, to a lesser extent, by interfacial friction due to the vertical viscosity at the interface between the inflow and the outflow. Key Points Sinking occurs in a narrow boundary layer along the eastern boundary Surface western boundary current switches into an eastern boundary current Water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is not hydraulically controlled © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Testing the 231Pa/230Th paleo-circulation proxy: A data versus 2D model comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lippold, Jorg; Gherardi, Jeanne-Marie; Luo, Yiming

2011-01-01

Variations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) are believed to have crucially influenced Earth's climate due to its key role in the inter-hemispheric redistribution of heat and carbon. To assess its past strength, the sedimentary 231 Pa/ 230 Th proxy has been developed and improved but also contested due to its sensitivity to other factors beyond ocean circulation. In order to provide a better basis for the understanding of the Atlantic 231 Pa/ 230 Th system, and therefore to shed light on the controversy, we compare new measurements of Holocene sediments from the north Brazilian margin to water column data and the output of a two-dimensional scavenging-circulation model, based on modern circulation patterns and reversible scavenging parameters. We show that sedimentary 231 Pa/ 230 Th data from one specific area of the Atlantic are in very good agreement with model results suggesting that sedimentary 231 Pa/ 230 Th is predominantly driven by the AMOC. Therefore, 231 Pa/ 230 Th represents an appropriate method to reconstruct past AMOC at least qualitatively along the western margin. (authors)

Chores at Times of Fatal or Serious Injuries Associated with Tractor Overturns with and without Rollover Protection

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Henry P. Cole

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study describes chores when farmers were either fatally or seriously injured and required emergency medical treatment as a result of overturns of tractors with or without rollover protective structures (ROPS. Data from the 2002 Kentucky Farm Tractor Overturn Survey were used for this study. The data were collected by a telephone survey of a population-based random sample of 6063 (7.98% of Kentucky’s 76,017 farm operators as listed in the Kentucky Agricultural Statistics Service database. Of farm operators interviewed, 551 (9.1% reported 603 overturns and 5512 (90.9% reported no overturns in the history of their farm, covering a period from 1925 to February 2002. Only the latest overturn was considered to improve recall accuracy. In addition, since the 1925 to 1959 time period had only 49 (8.1% of the overturns reported, (14 farmers did not provide the year of most recent overturn; only data from the 1960 to 2002 period (approximately 41 years were used. After making these adjustments, incidents evaluated included 25 cases (one fatal and four serious nonfatal injuries that involved ROPS-equipped tractor overturns and 88 cases (24 fatal and 64 serious nonfatal injuries that involved non-ROPS tractor overturns. Chores at highest risk for tractor overturns were identified for which educational and ROPS retrofit interventions could be emphasized. The highest frequency of overturn-related fatalities and nonfatal injuries were associated with hay harvesting, rotary mowing, and on-farm travel chores. These three chores represented 68.2% of fatal events and 50.0% of permanent and 56.6% of temporary disability overturn incidents. Tragically, in countries such as India and China with emerging mechanization, a large majority of tractors are produced without ROPS that can be expected to result in the same overturn-related epidemic of deaths experienced in highly mechanized countries, despite evidence of the protection provided by ROPS.

Do the Atlantic climate modes impact the ventilation of the eastern tropical North Atlantic oxygen minimum zones?

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Burmeister, Kristin; Lübbecke, Joke F.

2017-04-01

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) exist in the upwelling regions of the eastern tropical Atlantic and Pacific at intermediate depth. They are a consequence of high biological productivity in combination with weak ventilation. The flow fields in the tropical Atlantic is characterized by Latitudinally Alternating Zonal Jets (LAZJs) with a large vertical scale. It has been suggested that LAZJs play an important role for the ventilation of the OMZ as eastward currents advect oxygen-rich waters from the western boundary towards the OMZ. In the Eastern Tropical North Atlantic (ETNA), the eastward flowing North Equatorial Undercurrent and North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) provide the main oxygen supply into the OMZ. Variability in the strength and location of the LAZJs is associated with oxygen variability in the ETNA OMZ. We here want to address the question whether the variability in the zonal current field can be partly attributed to the large-scale climate modes of the tropical Atlantic, namely the Atlantic zonal and meridional mode. An influence of these modes on the NECC has been found in previous studies. For the analysis we are using the output of a global ocean circulation model, in which a 1/10° nest covering the tropical Atlantic is embedded into a global 1/2° model, as well as reanalysis products and satellite data. The zonal current field and oxygen distribution from the high resolution model is compared to observational data. The location and intensity of the current bands during positive and negative phases of the Atlantic climate modes are compared by focusing on individual events and via composite analysis. Based on the results, the potential impact of the Atlantic climate modes on the ventilation of the ETNA OMZ is discussed.

Thoughts on why in CESM a more poleward TOA energy imbalance favors more ocean-centric energy transport and weaker ITCZ shift responses

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, S.; Pritchard, M. S.

2017-12-01

The role of different location of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) solar forcing to the annual-mean, zonal-mean ITCZ location is examined in a dynamic ocean coupled Community Earth System Model. We observe a damped ITCZ shift response that is now a familiar response of coupled GCMs, but a new finding is that the damping efficiency is increases monotonically as the latitudinal location of forcing is moved poleward. More Poleward forcing cases exhibit weaker shifts of the annual-mean ITCZ position consistent with a more ocean-centric cross-equatorial energy partitioning response to the forcing, which is in turn linked to changes in ocean circulation, not thermodynamic structure. The ocean's dynamic response is partly due to Ekman-driven shallow overturning circulation responses, as expected from a recent theory, but also contains a significant Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) component--which is in some sense surprising given that it is activated even in near-tropical forcing experiments. Further analysis of the interhemispheric energy budget reveals the surface heating feedback response provides a useful framework for interpreting the cross-equatorial energy transport partitioning between atmosphere and ocean. Overall, the results of this study may help explain the mixed results of the degree of ITCZ shift response to interhemispheric asymmetric forcing documented in coupled GCMs in recent years. Furthermore, the sensitive AMOC response motivates expanding current coupled theoretical frameworks on meridional energy transport partitioning to include effects beyond Ekman transport.

A direct estimate of poleward volume, heat, and freshwater fluxes at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland

Science.gov (United States)

Rossby, T.; Reverdin, Gilles; Chafik, Leon; Søiland, Henrik

2017-07-01

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the North Atlantic plays a major role in the transport of heat from low to high latitudes. In this study, we combine recent measurements of currents from the surface to >700 m from a shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler with Argo profiles (to 2000 m) to estimate poleward volume, heat, and freshwater flux at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland. This is made possible thanks to the vessel Nuka Arctica that operates on a 3 week schedule between Greenland and Denmark. For the period late 2012 to early 2016, the deseasoned mean meridional overturning circulation reaches a 18.4 ± 3.4 Sv maximum at the σθ = 27.55 kg m-3 isopycnal, which varies in depth from near the surface in the western Irminger Sea to 1000 m in Rockall Trough. The total heat and freshwater fluxes across 59.5°N = 399 ± 74 TW and -0.20 ± 0.04 Sv, where the uncertainties are principally due to that of the MOC. Analysis of altimetric sea surface height variations along exactly the same route reveals a somewhat stronger geostrophic flow north during this period compared to the 23 year mean suggesting that for a long-term mean the above flux estimates should be reduced slightly to 17.4 Sv, 377 TW, and -0.19 Sv, respectively, with the same estimate uncertainties. The ADCP program is ongoing.

Seasonal Overturning Circulation in the Red Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, F.; Hoteit, I.; Koehl, A.

2010-12-01

The Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonal overturning circulation. In winter, a typical two-layer exchange structure, with a fresher inflow from the Gulf of Aden on top of an outflow from the Red Sea, is established. In summer months (June to September) this circulation pattern is changed to a three-layer structure: a surface outflow from the Red Sea on top of a subsurface intrusion of the Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water and a weakened deep outflow. This seasonal variability is studied using a general circulation model, MITgcm, with 6 hourly NCEP atmospheric forcing. The model is able to reproduce the observed seasonal variability very well. The forcing mechanisms of the seasonal variability related to seasonal surface wind stress and buoyancy flux, and water mass transformation processes associated with the seasonal overturning circulation are analyzed and presented.

Accelerated sea level rise and Florida Current transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Park

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The Florida Current is the headwater of the Gulf Stream and is a component of the North Atlantic western boundary current from which a geostrophic balance between sea surface height and mass transport directly influence coastal sea levels along the Florida Straits. A linear regression of daily Florida Current transport estimates does not find a significant change in transport over the last decade; however, a nonlinear trend extracted from empirical mode decomposition (EMD suggests a 3 Sv decline in mean transport. This decline is consistent with observed tide gauge records in Florida Bay and the straits exhibiting an acceleration of mean sea level (MSL rise over the decade. It is not known whether this recent change represents natural variability or the onset of the anticipated secular decline in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC; nonetheless, such changes have direct impacts on the sensitive ecological systems of the Everglades as well as the climate of western Europe and eastern North America.

Meridional Flow Observations: Implications for the current Flux Transport Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez Hernandez, Irene; Komm, Rudolf; Kholikov, Shukur; Howe, Rachel; Hill, Frank

2011-01-01

Meridional circulation has become a key element in the solar dynamo flux transport models. Available helioseismic observations from several instruments, Taiwan Oscillation Network (TON), Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) and Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), have made possible a continuous monitoring of the solar meridional flow in the subphotospheric layers for the last solar cycle, including the recent extended minimum. Here we review some of the meridional circulation observations using local helioseismology techniques and relate them to magnetic flux transport models.

Time dependency of the prediction skill for the North Atlantic subpolar gyre in initialized decadal hindcasts

Science.gov (United States)

Brune, Sebastian; Düsterhus, André; Pohlmann, Holger; Müller, Wolfgang A.; Baehr, Johanna

2017-11-01

We analyze the time dependency of decadal hindcast skill in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre within the time period 1961-2013. We compare anomaly correlation coefficients and temporal interquartile ranges of total upper ocean heat content and sea surface temperature for three differently initialized sets of hindcast simulations with the global coupled model MPI-ESM. All initializations use weakly coupled assimilation with the same full value nudging in the atmospheric component and different assimilation techniques for oceanic temperature and salinity: (1) ensemble Kalman filter assimilating EN4 observations and HadISST data, (2) nudging of anomalies to ORAS4 reanalysis, (3) nudging of full values to ORAS4 reanalysis. We find that hindcast skill depends strongly on the evaluation time period, with higher hindcast skill during strong multiyear trends, especially during the warming in the 1990s and lower hindcast skill in the absence of such trends. Differences between the prediction systems are more pronounced when investigating any 20-year subperiod within the entire hindcast period. In the ensemble Kalman filter initialized hindcasts, we find significant correlation skill for up to 5-8 lead years, albeit along with an overestimation of the temporal interquartile range. In the hindcasts initialized by anomaly nudging, significant correlation skill for lead years greater than two is only found in the 1980s and 1990s. In the hindcasts initialized by full value nudging, correlation skill is consistently lower than in the hindcasts initialized by anomaly nudging in the first lead years with re-emerging skill thereafter. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation reacts on the density changes introduced by oceanic nudging, this limits the predictability in the subpolar gyre in the first lead years. Overall, we find that a model-consistent assimilation technique can improve hindcast skill. Further, the evaluation of 20 year subperiods within the full hindcast period

Northern and southern water masses in the equatorial Atlantic: Distribution of nutrients on the WOCE A6 and A7 lines

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Oudot, C.; Morin, P.; Baurand, F.; Wafar, M.V.M.; Le Corre, P.

In the framework of the WOCE Hydrographic Program, two trans-Atlantic CTDO/tracer sections with closely-spaced stations, along 7 degrees 30'N and 4 degrees 30'S (WHP Lines A6 and A7), and two meridional sections, along 3 degrees 50'W and 35 degrees...

Aerosol interactions with African/Atlantic climate dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosseinpour, F; Wilcox, E M

2014-01-01

Mechanistic relationships exist between variability of dust in the oceanic Saharan air layer (OSAL) and transient changes in the dynamics of Western Africa and the tropical Atlantic Ocean. This study provides evidence of possible interactions between dust in the OSAL region and African easterly jet–African easterly wave (AEJ–AEW) system in the climatology of boreal summer, when easterly wave activity peaks. Synoptic-scale changes in instability and precipitation in the African/Atlantic intertropical convergence zone are correlated with enhanced aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the OSAL region in response to anomalous 3D overturning circulations and upstream/downstream thermal anomalies at above and below the mean-AEJ level. Upstream and downstream anomalies are referred to the daily thermal/dynamical changes over the West African monsoon region and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, respectively. Our hypothesis is that AOD in the OSAL is positively correlated with the downstream AEWs and negatively correlated with the upstream waves from climatological perspective. The similarity between the 3D pattern of thermal/dynamical anomalies correlated with dust outbreaks and those of AEWs provides a mechanism for dust radiative heating in the atmosphere to reinforce AEW activity. We proposed that the interactions of OSAL dust with regional climate mainly occur through coupling of dust with the AEWs. (paper)

Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on European tropospheric composition: an observational and modelling study

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, R.; Chipperfield, M.

2017-12-01

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a strong influence on winter-time North Atlantic and European circulation patterns. Under the positive phase of the NAO (NAO+), intensification of the climatological Icelandic low and Azores high pressure systems results in strong westerly flow across the Atlantic into Europe. Under the NAO negative phase (NAO-), there is a weakening of this meridional pressure gradient resulting in a southerly shift in the westerlies flow towards the sub-tropical Atlantic. Therefore, NAO+ and NAO- introduce unstable stormy and drier stable conditions into Europe, respectively. Under NAO+ conditions, the strong westerlies tend to enhance transport of European pollution (e.g. nitrogen oxides) away from anthropogenic source regions. While during NAO-, the more stable conditions lead to a build up of pollutants. However, secondary pollutants (i.e. tropospheric ozone) show the opposite signal where NAO+, while transporting primary pollutants away, introduces Atlantic ozone enriched air into Europe. Here ozone can form downwind of pollution from continental North America and be transported into Europe via the westerly flow. Under NAO-, this westerly ozone transport is reduced yielding lower European ozone concentrations also depleted further by ozone loss through the reaction with NOx, which has accumulated over the continent. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), observed in the upper troposphere - lower stratosphere (UTLS) by satellite, peaks over Iceland/Southern Greenland in NAO-, between 200-100 hPa, consistent with trapping by an anticyclone at this altitude. During NAO+, PAN is enhanced over the sub-tropical Atlantic and Arctic. Model simulations show that enhanced PAN over Iceland/Southern Greenland in NAO- is associated with vertical transport from the troposphere into the UTLS, while peak Arctic PAN in NAO+ is its accumulation given the strong northerly meridional transport in the UTLS. UTLS ozone spatial anomalies, relative to the winter

Tropical Dominance of N2 Fixation in the North Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Marconi, Dario; Sigman, Daniel M.; Casciotti, Karen L.; Campbell, Ethan C.; Alexandra Weigand, M.; Fawcett, Sarah E.; Knapp, Angela N.; Rafter, Patrick A.; Ward, Bess B.; Haug, Gerald H.

2017-10-01

To investigate the controls on N2 fixation and the role of the Atlantic in the global ocean's fixed nitrogen (N) budget, Atlantic N2 fixation is calculated by combining meridional nitrate fluxes across World Ocean Circulation Experiment sections with observed nitrate 15N/14N differences between northward and southward transported nitrate. N2 fixation inputs of 27.1 ± 4.3 Tg N/yr and 3.0 ± 0.5 Tg N/yr are estimated north of 11°S and 24°N, respectively. That is, 90% of the N2 fixation in the Atlantic north of 11°S occurs south of 24°N in a region with upwelling that imports phosphorus (P) in excess of N relative to phytoplankton requirements. This suggests that, under the modern iron-rich conditions of the equatorial and North Atlantic, N2 fixation occurs predominantly in response to P-bearing, N-poor conditions. We estimate a N2 fixation rate of 30.5 ± 4.9 Tg N/yr north of 30°S, implying only 3 Tg N/yr between 30° and 11°S, despite evidence of P-bearing, N-poor surface waters in this region as well; this is consistent with iron limitation of N2 fixation in the South Atlantic. Since the ocean flows through the Atlantic surface in Pacific basins.

Inferences of the deep solar meridional flow

Science.gov (United States)

Böning, Vincent G. A.

2017-10-01

Understanding the solar meridional flow is important for uncovering the origin of the solar activity cycle. Yet, recent helioseismic estimates of this flow have come to conflicting conclusions in deeper layers of the solar interior, i.e., at depths below about 0.9 solar radii. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of the deep solar meridional flow. Time-distance helioseismology is the major method for investigating this flow. In this method, travel times of waves propagating between pairs of locations on the solar surface are measured. Until now, the travel-time measurements have been modeled using the ray approximation, which assumes that waves travel along infinitely thin ray paths between these locations. In contrast, the scattering of the full wave field in the solar interior due to the flow is modeled in first order by the Born approximation. It is in general a more accurate model of the physics in the solar interior. In a first step, an existing model for calculating the sensitivity of travel-time measurements to solar interior flows using the Born approximation is extended from Cartesian to spherical geometry. The results are succesfully compared to the Cartesian ones and are tested for self-consistency. In a second step, the newly developed model is validated using an existing numerical simulation of linear wave propagation in the Sun. An inversion of artificial travel times for meridional flow shows excellent agreement for noiseless data and reproduces many features in the input flow profile in the case of noisy data. Finally, the new method is used to infer the deep meridional flow. I used Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) data that were earlier analyzed using the ray approximation and I employed the same Substractive Optimized Local Averaging (SOLA) inversion technique as in the earlier study. Using an existing formula for the covariance of travel-time measurements, it is shown that the assumption of uncorrelated errors

Geometrical constraint on the localization of deep water formation

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, D.; Marshall, J.

2008-12-01

That deep water formation occurs in the North Atlantic and not North Pacific is one of the most notable features of the present climate. In an effort to build a system able to mimic such basic aspects of climate using a minimal description, we study here the influence of ocean geometry on the localization of deep water formation. Using the MIT GCM, two idealized configurations of an ocean-atmosphere-sea ice climate system are studied: Drake and Double-Drake. In Drake, one narrow barrier extends from the North Pole to 35°S while, in Double-Drake, two such barriers set 90° apart join at the North Pole to delimit a Small and a Large basin. Despite the different continental configurations, the two climates are strikingly similar in the zonal average (almost identical heat and fresh water transports, and meridional overturning circulation). However, regional circulations in the Small and Large basins exhibit distinctive Atlantic-like and Pacific-like characteristics: the Small basin is warmer and saltier than the Large one, concentrates dense water formation and deep overturning circulation and achieve the largest fraction of the northward ocean heat transport. We show that the warmer temperature and higher evaporation over the Small basin is not its distinguishing factor. Rather, it is the width of the basin in relation to the zonal fetch of the precipitation pattern. This generates a deficit/excess of precipitation over the Small/Large basin: a fraction of the moisture evaporated from the Small basin is transported zonally and rains out over the Large basin. This creates a salt contrast between the 2 basins, leading to the localization of deep convection in the salty Small basin. Finally, given on the broad similarities between the Double-Drake and real World, we suggest that many gross features that define the present climate are a consequence of 2 asymmetries: a meridional asymmetry (a zonally unblocked southern/blocked northern ocean) and a zonal one (a small and

Mass, nutrient and oxygen budgets for the northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Maze

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The northeast Atlantic is a key horizontal and vertical crossroads region for the meridional overturning circulation, but basic nutrient and oxygen fluxes are still poorly constrained by observations in the region. A surface to bottom northeast Atlantic Ocean budget for mass, nutrients (nitrate and phosphate and oxygen is determined using an optimization method based on three surveys of the OVIDE transect (from Greenland to Portugal completed with the World Ocean Atlas 2009. Budgets are derived for two communicating boxes representing the northeastern European basin (NEEB and the Irminger Sea.

For the NEEB (Irminger box, it is found that 30% of the mass import (export across the OVIDE section reach (originate from the Nordic Seas, while 70% are redistributed between both boxes through the Reykjanes Ridge (9.3 ± 0.7 × 10⁹ kg s⁻¹.

Net biological source/sink terms of nitrate point to both the Irminger and NEEB boxes as net organic matter production sites (consuming nitrate at a rate of –7.8 ± 6.5 kmol s⁻¹ and –8.4 ± 6.6 kmol s⁻¹, respectively. Using a standard Redfield ratio of C : N = 106 : 16, nitrate consumption rates indicate that about 40 TgC yr⁻¹ of carbon is fixed by organic matter production between the OVIDE transect and the Greenland–Scotland Ridge. Nutrient fluxes also induce a net biological production of oxygen of 73 ± 60 kmol s⁻¹ and 79 ± 62 kmol s⁻¹ in the Irminger and NEEB boxes, which points to the region as being autotrophic.

The abiotic air–sea oxygen flux leads to an oceanic oxygen uptake in the two regions (264 ± 66 kmol s⁻¹ in the north and 443 ± 70 kmol s⁻¹ in the south. The abiotic flux is partitioned into a mixing and a thermal component. It is found that the Irminger Sea oceanic oxygen uptake is driven by an air–sea heat flux cooling increasing the ocean surface

Role of the circulation on the anthropogenic CO2 inventory in the North-East Atlantic: A climatological analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Carracedo, L. I.; Pérez, F. F.; Gilcoto, M.; Velo, A.; Padín, A.; Rosón, G.

2018-02-01

Climatology-based storage rate of anthropogenic CO2 (Cant, referred to year 2000) in the North-East Atlantic (53 ± 9 kmol s-1, 0.020 ± 0.003 Pg-C yr-1) is described on annual mean terms. Cant advection (32 ± 14 kmol s-1) occurs mostly in the upper 1800 m and contributes to 60% of the Cant storage rate. The Azores and Portugal Currents act as 'Cant streams' importing 389 ± 90 kmol s-1, most of which recirculates southwards with the Canary Current (-214 ± 34 kmol s-1). The Azores Counter Current (-79 ± 36 kmol s-1) and the northward-flowing Mediterranean Water advective branch (-31 ± 12 kmol s-1) comprise secondary Cant export routes. By means of Cant transport decomposition, we find horizontal circulation to represent 11% of the Cant storage rate, while overturning circulation is the main driver (48% of the Cant storage rate). Within the domain of this study, overturning circulation is a key mechanism by which Cant in the upper layer (0-500 dbar) is drawdown (74 ± 14 kmol s-1) to intermediate levels (500-2000 dbar), and entrained (37 ± 7 kmol s-1) into the Mediterranean Outflow Water to form Mediterranean Water. This newly formed water mass partly exports Cant to the North Atlantic at a rate of -39 ± 9 kmol s-1 and partly contributes to the Cant storage in the North-East Atlantic (with up to 0.015 ± 0.006 Pg-C yr-1). Closing the Cant budget, 40% of the Cant storage in the North-East Atlantic is attributable to anthropogenic CO2 uptake from the atmosphere (21 ± 10 kmol s-1).

Holocene North Atlantic Overturning in an atmosphere-ocean-sea-ice model compared to proxy-based reconstructions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blaschek, M.; Renssen, H.; Kissel, C.; Thornalley, D.

2015-01-01

Climate and ocean circulation in the North Atlantic region changed over the course of the Holocene, partly because of disintegrating ice sheets and partly because of an orbital-induced insolation trend. In the Nordic Seas, this impact was accompanied by a rather small, but significant, amount of

Reflection of equatorial Kelvin waves at eastern ocean boundaries Part II: Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Soares

1999-06-01

Full Text Available The effect of viscosity, non linearities, incident wave period and realistic eastern coastline geometry on energy fluxes are investigated using a shallow water model with a spatial resolution of 1/4 degree in both meridional and zonal directions. Equatorial and mid-latitude responses are considered. It is found that (1 the influence of the coastline geometry and the incident wave period is more important for the westward energy flux than for the poleward flux, and (2 the effect of the inclination of the eastern ocean boundary on the poleward energy flux, for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, decline as the period of the incident wave increases. Furthermore, the model simulations suggest that the poleward energy fluxes from meridional boundaries give plausible results for motions of seasonal and annual periods. For comparatively shorter periods, a realistic coastline geometry has to be included for more accurate results. It is recommended that any numerical model involving the reflection of baroclinic Rossby waves (of intraseasonal, seasonal or annual periods on the eastern Pacific or Atlantic Oceans, should consider the effect of the coastline geometry in order to improve the accuracy of the results.Key words. Oceanography: general (climate and interannual variability; equatorial oceanography. Oceanography: physical (eastern boundary currents.

THEORY OF SOLAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION AT HIGH LATITUDES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dikpati, Mausumi; Gilman, Peter A.

2012-01-01

We build a hydrodynamic model for computing and understanding the Sun's large-scale high-latitude flows, including Coriolis forces, turbulent diffusion of momentum, and gyroscopic pumping. Side boundaries of the spherical 'polar cap', our computational domain, are located at latitudes ≥ 60°. Implementing observed low-latitude flows as side boundary conditions, we solve the flow equations for a Cartesian analog of the polar cap. The key parameter that determines whether there are nodes in the high-latitude meridional flow is ε = 2ΩnπH 2 /ν, where Ω is the interior rotation rate, n is the radial wavenumber of the meridional flow, H is the depth of the convection zone, and ν is the turbulent viscosity. The smaller the ε (larger turbulent viscosity), the fewer the number of nodes in high latitudes. For all latitudes within the polar cap, we find three nodes for ν = 10 12 cm 2 s –1 , two for 10 13 , and one or none for 10 15 or higher. For ν near 10 14 our model exhibits 'node merging': as the meridional flow speed is increased, two nodes cancel each other, leaving no nodes. On the other hand, for fixed flow speed at the boundary, as ν is increased the poleward-most node migrates to the pole and disappears, ultimately for high enough ν leaving no nodes. These results suggest that primary poleward surface meridional flow can extend from 60° to the pole either by node merging or by node migration and disappearance.

Assessing the sensitivity of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation to freshwater perturbation in various glacial climate states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meerbeeck, Cedric J. van; Renssen, Hans [VU University Amsterdam, Section Climate Change and Landscape Dynamics, Department of Earth Sciences, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Roche, Didier M. [VU University Amsterdam, Section Climate Change and Landscape Dynamics, Department of Earth Sciences, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Laboratoire CEA/INSU-CNRS/UVSQ, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l' Environnement (LSCE/IPSL), Gif sur Yvette (France)

2011-11-15

A striking characteristic of glacial climate in the North Atlantic region is the recurrence of abrupt shifts between cold stadials and mild interstadials. These shifts have been associated with abrupt changes in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) mode, possibly in response to glacial meltwater perturbations. However, it is poorly understood why they were more clearly expressed during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3, {proportional_to}60-27 ka BP) than during Termination 1 (T1, {proportional_to}18-10 ka BP) and especially around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, {proportional_to}23-19 ka BP). One clue may reside in varying climate forcings, making MIS3 and T1 generally milder than LGM. To investigate this idea, we evaluate in a climate model how ice sheet size, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration and orbital insolation changes between 56 ka BP (=56k), 21k and 12.5k affect the glacial AMOC response to additional freshwater forcing. We have performed three ensemble simulations with the earth system model LOVECLIM using those forcings. We find that the AMOC mode in the mild glacial climate type (56k and 12.5k), with deep convection in the Labrador Sea and the Nordic Seas, is more sensitive to a constant 0.15 Sv freshwater forcing than in the cold type (21k), with deep convection mainly south of Greenland and Iceland. The initial AMOC weakening in response to freshwater forcing is larger in the mild type due to an early shutdown of Labrador Sea deep convection, which is completely absent in the 21k simulation. This causes a larger fraction of the freshwater anomaly to remain at surface in the mild type compared to the cold type. After 200 years, a weak AMOC is established in both climate types, as further freshening is compensated by an anomalous salt advection from the (sub-)tropical North Atlantic. However, the slightly fresher sea surface in the mild type facilitates further weakening of the AMOC, which occurs when a surface buoyancy threshold (-0.6 kg

Modelling the Seasonal Overturning Circulation in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Pratt, Larry; Bower, Amy; Koehl, Armin; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh

2015-01-01

The overturning circulation in the Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonally reversing pattern and is studied using 50-year, high-resolution MIT general circulation model simulations. The seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb

The complexity of millennial-scale variability in southwestern Europe during MIS 11

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Dulce; Desprat, Stéphanie; Rodrigues, Teresa; Naughton, Filipa; Hodell, David; Trigo, Ricardo; Rufino, Marta; Lopes, Cristina; Abrantes, Fátima; Sánchez Goñi, Maria Fernanda

2016-11-01

Climatic variability of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 is examined using a new high-resolution direct land-sea comparison from the SW Iberian margin Site U1385. This study, based on pollen and biomarker analyses, documents regional vegetation, terrestrial climate and sea surface temperature (SST) variability. Suborbital climate variability is revealed by a series of forest decline events suggesting repeated cooling and drying episodes in SW Iberia throughout MIS 11. Only the most severe events on land are coeval with SST decreases, under larger ice volume conditions. Our study shows that the diverse expression (magnitude, character and duration) of the millennial-scale cooling events in SW Europe relies on atmospheric and oceanic processes whose predominant role likely depends on baseline climate states. Repeated atmospheric shifts recalling the positive North Atlantic Oscillation mode, inducing dryness in SW Iberia without systematical SST changes, would prevail during low ice volume conditions. In contrast, disruption of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), related to iceberg discharges, colder SST and increased hydrological regime, would be responsible for the coldest and driest episodes of prolonged duration in SW Europe.

Diversity and distribution of hyperiid amphipods along a latitudinal transect in the Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Burridge, Alice K.; Tump, Marloes; Vonk, Ronald; Goetze, Erica; Peijnenburg, Katja T. C. A.

2017-11-01

As commensals and parasitoids of gelatinous plankton, hyperiid amphipods play unique and important ecological roles in pelagic food webs. Because the diversity and biogeography of this group in oceanic waters is poorly known, we examined diversity and distribution patterns of hyperiids along a basin-scale meridional transect in the Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise 22). Hyperiids were collected from epipelagic and upper mesopelagic depths at 27 stations between 39°N and 45°S. A total of 70 species in 36 genera and 17 families were identified, the majority of which belonged to the epipelagic Physocephalata infraorder. We observed maximum species and genus richness in the equatorial upwelling region (up to 35 species, 27 genera per station; 7°N-8°S), which appeared largely driven by increased diversity in the superfamily Platysceloidea, as well as a significant and positive relationship between species richness and sea surface temperature. Cluster analyses of hyperiid species assemblages along the transect broadly supported a division into gyral, equatorial, transitional, and subantarctic assemblages, congruent with Longhurst's biogeochemical provinces. Steepest transitions in hyperiid species composition occurred at the southern subtropical convergence zone (34-38°S). The majority of zooplankton groups show maximal diversity in subtropical waters, and our observations of equatorial maxima in species and genus richness for hyperiids suggest that the mechanisms controlling diversity in this group are distinct from other zooplanktonic taxa. These patterns may be driven by the distribution and diversity of gelatinous hosts for hyperiids, which remain poorly characterized at ocean basin scales. The data reported here provide new distributional records for epipelagic and upper mesopelagic hyperiids across six major oceanic provinces in the Atlantic Ocean.

Rocking motion of structures under earthquakes. Overturning of 2-DOF system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Koichi; Watanabe, Tetsuya; Tanaka, Kihachiro; Tomoda, Akinori

2011-01-01

In recent years, huge earthquakes happen, for example, The South Hyogo prefecture Earthquake in 1995, The Mid Niigata Prefecture Earthquake in 2004, The Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku Earthquake in 2008. In The Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007, hundreds of drums fell down and water spilled out. A lot of studies about rocking behavior of rigid body had been performed from 1960's. However, these studies were only for a specific condition of the structure size or input vibration characteristics. Therefore, generalizes fall condition for earthquake is required. This paper deals with the analytical and the experimental study of the rocking vibration of 1-DOF rocking system, 2-DOF vibration-rocking system and 2-DOF rocking system under earthquakes. In this study, the equation of motion for each rocking systems are developed. The numerical model of 2-DOF rocking system is evaluated by free rocking experiment. In this paper, 'Overturning Map' which can distinguish whether structures falls or not is proposed. The overturning map of each rocking systems excited by the artificial earthquake wave calculated from the design spectrum is shown. As the result, overturning condition of structures is clarified. (author)

The role of deep convection on the dynamics of the North Atlantic phytoplankton community

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindemann, Christian

waters and suggests that it is the convective overturning within the mixed layer, that enables cell to thrive under these conditions. To investigate the role of acclimation during winter and during the onset of the spring bloom, an adaptive Individual-Based-Model (IBM) was developed, allowing to test......, in particular during the onset of thermal stratification in spring. The finding of this thesis have important implication for our understanding of carbon sequestration during winter and for the role of the North Atlantic as a carbon sink, in particular in a scenario of climate change...

Surfactant control of air-sea gas exchange from North Sea coastal waters and the Atlantic Meridional Transect

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, R.

2016-02-01

Suppression of gas transfer velocity (kw) by surfactants are well established, both in laboratory wind flumes and purposeful oceanic releases. However, the effects on kw of time and space varying concentrations of natural surfactant are inadequately studied. We have developed an automated gas exchange tank for simultaneous high precision measurement of kw in unmodified seawater samples. Here we present data from two studies along a coastal North Sea transect during 2012-2013 and the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) 24 from September to November 2014. Measurements of surfactant activity (SA), CDOM absorbance and chlorophyll-a have enabled us to characterize the effects of variable amounts of natural surfactant on kw. North Sea coastal waters range in k660 (kw normalized to the value for CO2 in freshwater at 20oC) was 6.8-24.5 cm hr-1 (n=20), with the ranges of SA, total CDOM absorbance (200-450 nm) and chlorophyll-a measured in the surface microlayer (SML) of our seawater samples were 0.08-0.38 mg l-1 T-X-100, 0.13-4.7 and 0.09-1.54 µg l-1, respectively. The AMT k660 ranged from 7.0-23.9 cm hr-1 (n=22), with SA measured in the SML and subsurface water (SSW) of our seawater samples ranging from 0.15-1.08 mg l-1 T-X-100 and 0.07-0.43 mg l-1 T-X-100, respectively. Importantly, we found 12-45% (North Sea) and 1-43% (AMT) k660 suppression relative to Milli-Q water that relate to seasonal and spatial differences in SA. The North Sea demonstrated notable seasonal influences on k660 suppression that were related to CDOM absorbance and chlorophyll-a. The degree of k660 suppression was highest in summer consistent with k660 control by natural surfactant. The degree of k660 suppression decreased with distance offshore in the North Sea and displayed a strong relationship with SA (r2 = 0.51-0.64, p = 0.02, n = 20). The AMT demonstrated notable differences in k660 suppression between hemispheres and across the Longhurst Provinces but the overall relationship between k660

Modulation of extremes in the Atlantic region by modes of climate variability/change: A mechanistic coupled regional model study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saravanan, Ramalingam [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

2015-01-09

During the course of this project, we have accomplished the following: 1) Explored the parameter space of component models to minimize regional model bias 2) Assessed the impact of air-sea interaction on hurricanes, focusing in particular on the role of the oceanic barrier layer 3) Contributed to the activities of the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group 4) Assessed the impact of lateral and lower boundary conditions on extreme flooding events in the U.S. Midwest in regional model simulations 5) Analyzed the concurrent impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Meridional Mode on Atlantic Hurricane activity using observations and regional model simulations

Variability of the North Atlantic summer storm track: mechanisms and impacts on European climate

OpenAIRE

Dong, Buwen; Sutton, Rowan T.; Woollings, Tim; Hodges, Kevin

2013-01-01

The summertime variability of the extratropical storm track over the Atlantic sector and its links to European climate have been analysed for the period 1948–2011 using observations and reanalyses. The main results are as follows. (1) The dominant mode of the summer storm track density variability is characterized by a meridional shift of the storm track between two distinct paths and is related to a bimodal distribution in the climatology for this region. It is also closely related to the Su...

Interannual Variability in the Meridional Transport of Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Judah L.; Salstein, David A.; Rosen, Richard D.

2000-01-01

The zonal-mean meridional transport of water vapor across the globe is evaluated using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) reanalysis for 1948-97. The shape of the meridional profile of the climatological mean transport closely resembles that of previous mean climate descriptions, but values tend to be notably larger than in climatologies derived from radiosonde-only-based analyses. The unprecedented length of the NCEP-NCAR dataset invites a focus on interannual variations in the zonal-mean moisture transport, and these results for northern winter are highlighted here. Although interannual variability in the transport is typically small at most latitudes, a significant ENSO signal is present, marked by a strengthening of water vapor transports over much of the winter hemisphere during warm events. Because of an increase in tropical sea surface temperatures and in the frequency of warm events relative to cold events in the latter half of the 50-yr record, this interannual signal projects onto an overall trend toward enhanced meridional moisture transports in the global hydrological cycle.

Overturning to the oil sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valenzuela, Luis Carlos

1999-01-01

In only 11 months, the Mines and Energy Sector, especially with concerning to oil politics and to Ecopetrol it has given a total overturn, not only new economic conditions settled down to attract investment in the sector, the politics advanced in the activation of the environmental licenses and the consultations with the community. As for Ecopetrol bottom changes were made that guarantee their passive of pensions, disabling this way a fiscal bomb and the countable system was changed that will make that Ecopetrol counts the raw as a capitalization on the part of the Colombians guaranteeing an appropriate return to the petroleum that is given in administration

The influence of orography on modern ocean circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Maffre, Pierre; Ladant, Jean-Baptiste; Donnadieu, Yannick; Sepulchre, Pierre; Goddéris, Yves

2018-02-01

The effects of orography on climate are investigated with a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (IPSL-CM5). Results are compared with previous investigations in order to dig out robust consequences of the lack of orography on the global scale. Emphasis is made on the thermohaline circulation whose sensitivity to orography has only been subject to a very limited number of studies using coupled models. The removal of the entire orography switches the Meridional Overturning Circulation from the Atlantic to the Pacific, following freshwater transfers from the latter to the former that reverse the salinity gradient between these oceans. This is in part due to the increased freshwater export from the Pacific to the Atlantic through North America in the absence of the Rocky Mountains and the consecutive decreased evaporation in the North Atlantic once the Atlantic MOC weakens, which cools the northern high-latitudes. In addition and unlike previous model studies, we find that tropical freshwater transfers are a major driver of this switch. More precisely, the collapse of the Asian summer monsoon, associated with westward freshwater transfer across Africa, is critical to the freshening of the Atlantic and the increased salt content in the Pacific. Specifically, precipitations are increasing over the Congo catchment area and induce a strong increase in runoff discharging into the tropical Atlantic. In addition, the removal of the Andes shifts the area of strong precipitation toward the Amazonian catchment area and results in a larger runoff discharging into the Tropical Atlantic.

The intertropical convergence zone modulates intense hurricane strikes on the western North Atlantic margin.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hengstum, Peter J; Donnelly, Jeffrey P; Fall, Patricia L; Toomey, Michael R; Albury, Nancy A; Kakuk, Brian

2016-02-24

Most Atlantic hurricanes form in the Main Development Region between 9°N to 20°N along the northern edge of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Previous research has suggested that meridional shifts in the ITCZ position on geologic timescales can modulate hurricane activity, but continuous and long-term storm records are needed from multiple sites to assess this hypothesis. Here we present a 3000 year record of intense hurricane strikes in the northern Bahamas (Abaco Island) based on overwash deposits in a coastal sinkhole, which indicates that the ITCZ has likely helped modulate intense hurricane strikes on the western North Atlantic margin on millennial to centennial-scales. The new reconstruction closely matches a previous reconstruction from Puerto Rico, and documents a period of elevated intense hurricane activity on the western North Atlantic margin from 2500 to 1000 years ago when paleo precipitation proxies suggest that the ITCZ occupied a more northern position. Considering that anthropogenic warming is predicted to be focused in the northern hemisphere in the coming century, these results provide a prehistoric analog that an attendant northern ITCZ shift in the future may again return the western North Atlantic margin to an active hurricane interval.

Escleroplastia meridional: A propósito de un caso en 1999 Meridional scleroplasty: With regard to a case in 1999

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique J. Machado Fernández

2000-06-01

Full Text Available En este artículo se presenta un caso reciente de rechazo al aloplante utilizado para escleroplastia meridional. Se refieren las características del cuadro clínico presentado y su tratamiento. Además, se expresan consideraciones basadas en datos estadísticos y hallazgos anatomopatológicos que fundamentan la suspensión de la práctica de esta técnica en el Centro de Microcirugía Ocular.In present paper, authors present a recent case of rejection to allograft used to meridional scleroplasty. Festures of clinical picture and its treatment are related. Furthermore, we express statistical data based on considerations and anatomic-pathologic findings supporting suspension of practice of this technique in Center of Microsurgery of Eye.

A Numerical Study on the Impeller Meridional Curvature of High Pressure Multistage Pump

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Deok Su; Jean, Sang Gyu; Mamatov, Sanjar [Hyosung Goodsprings, Inc., Busan (Korea, Republic of); Park, Warn Gyu [Pusan Nat’l Univ., Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-07-15

This paper presents the hydraulic design an impeller and radial diffuser of a high-pressure multistage pump for reverse osmosis. The flow distribution and hydraulic performance for the meridional design of the impeller were analyzed numerically. Optimization was conducted based on the response surface method by varying the hub and shroud meridional curvatures, while maintaining the impeller outlet diameter, outlet width, and eye diameter constant. The analysis results of the head and efficiency with the variation in the impeller meridional profile showed that angle of the front shroud near the impeller outlet (εDs) had the highest effect on head increase, while the hub inlet length (d1i) and shroud curvature (Rds) had the highest effect on efficiency. From the meridional profile variation, an approximately 0.5% increase in efficiency was observed compared with the base model (case 25).

Currents, Geostrophic, Aviso, 0.25 degrees, Global, Meridional

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Aviso Meridional Geostrophic Current is inferred from Sea Surface Height Deviation, climatological dynamic height, and basic fluid mechanics.

Toward Improved Estimation of the Dynamic Topography and Ocean Circulation in the High Latitude and Arctic Ocean: The Importance of GOCE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannessen, J. A.; Raj, R. P.; Nilsen, J. E. Ø.

2014-01-01

The Arctic plays a fundamental role in the climate system and shows significant sensitivity to anthropogenic climate forcing and the ongoing climate change. Accelerated changes in the Arctic are already observed, including elevated air and ocean temperatures, declines of the summer sea ice extent...... quantify this. Moreover, changes in the temperature and salinity of surface waters in the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas may also influence the flow of dense water through the Denmark Strait, which are found to be a precursor for changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation with a lead time...... circulation and transport variability in the high latitude and Arctic Ocean. In this respect, this study combines in situ hydrographical data, surface drifter data and direct current meter measurements, with coupled sea ice–ocean models, radar altimeter data and the latest GOCE-based geoid in order...

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 1. Model validation and summer circulation

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Pratt, Larry J.; Bower, Amy S.; Zhai, Ping; Kö hl, Armin; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh

2014-01-01

The overturning circulation in the Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonally reversing pattern and is studied using high-resolution MIT general circulation model simulations. In the first part of this study, the vertical and horizontal structure of the summer overturning circulation and its dynamical mechanisms are presented from the model results. The seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is successfully simulated, and the structures of the intruding subsurface Gulf of Aden intermediate water are in good agreement with summer observations in 2011. The model results suggest that the summer overturning circulation is driven by the combined effect of the shoaling of the thermocline in the Gulf of Aden resulting from remote winds in the Arabian Sea and an upward surface slope from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden set up by local surface winds in the Red Sea. In addition, during late summer two processes associated, respectively, with latitudinally differential heating and increased salinity in the southern Red Sea act together to cause the reversal of the contrast of the vertical density structure and the cessation of the summer overturning circulation. Dynamically, the subsurface northward pressure gradient force is mainly balanced by vertical viscosity resulting from the vertical shear and boundary friction in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. Unlike some previous studies, the three-layer summer exchange flows in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb do not appear to be hydraulically controlled.

Seasonal overturning circulation in the Red Sea: 1. Model validation and summer circulation

KAUST Repository

Yao, Fengchao

2014-04-01

The overturning circulation in the Red Sea exhibits a distinct seasonally reversing pattern and is studied using high-resolution MIT general circulation model simulations. In the first part of this study, the vertical and horizontal structure of the summer overturning circulation and its dynamical mechanisms are presented from the model results. The seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is successfully simulated, and the structures of the intruding subsurface Gulf of Aden intermediate water are in good agreement with summer observations in 2011. The model results suggest that the summer overturning circulation is driven by the combined effect of the shoaling of the thermocline in the Gulf of Aden resulting from remote winds in the Arabian Sea and an upward surface slope from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden set up by local surface winds in the Red Sea. In addition, during late summer two processes associated, respectively, with latitudinally differential heating and increased salinity in the southern Red Sea act together to cause the reversal of the contrast of the vertical density structure and the cessation of the summer overturning circulation. Dynamically, the subsurface northward pressure gradient force is mainly balanced by vertical viscosity resulting from the vertical shear and boundary friction in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. Unlike some previous studies, the three-layer summer exchange flows in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb do not appear to be hydraulically controlled.

A Review of ENSO Influence on the North Atlantic. A Non-Stationary Signal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belén Rodríguez-Fonseca

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The atmospheric seasonal cycle of the North Atlantic region is dominated by meridional movements of the circulation systems: from the tropics, where the West African Monsoon and extreme tropical weather events take place, to the extratropics, where the circulation is dominated by seasonal changes in the jetstream and extratropical cyclones. Climate variability over the North Atlantic is controlled by various mechanisms. Atmospheric internal variability plays a crucial role in the mid-latitudes. However, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO is still the main source of predictability in this region situated far away from the Pacific. Although the ENSO influence over tropical and extra-tropical areas is related to different physical mechanisms, in both regions this teleconnection seems to be non-stationary in time and modulated by multidecadal changes of the mean flow. Nowadays, long observational records (greater than 100 years and modeling projects (e.g., CMIP permit detecting non-stationarities in the influence of ENSO over the Atlantic basin, and further analyzing its potential mechanisms. The present article reviews the ENSO influence over the Atlantic region, paying special attention to the stability of this teleconnection over time and the possible modulators. Evidence is given that the ENSO–Atlantic teleconnection is weak over the North Atlantic. In this regard, the multidecadal ocean variability seems to modulate the presence of teleconnections, which can lead to important impacts of ENSO and to open windows of opportunity for seasonal predictability.

Modeled seasonality of glacial abrupt climate events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flueckiger, Jacqueline [Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Environmental Physics, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zuerich, Zurich (Switzerland); Knutti, Reto [Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zuerich, Zurich (Switzerland); White, James W.C. [Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Renssen, Hans [Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2008-11-15

Greenland ice cores, as well as many other paleo-archives from the northern hemisphere, recorded a series of 25 warm interstadial events, the so-called Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events, during the last glacial period. We use the three-dimensional coupled global ocean-atmosphere-sea ice model ECBILT-CLIO and force it with freshwater input into the North Atlantic to simulate abrupt glacial climate events, which we use as analogues for D-O events. We focus our analysis on the Northern Hemisphere. The simulated events show large differences in the regional and seasonal distribution of the temperature and precipitation changes. While the temperature changes in high northern latitudes and in the North Atlantic region are dominated by winter changes, the largest temperature increases in most other land regions are seen in spring. Smallest changes over land are found during the summer months. Our model simulations also demonstrate that the temperature and precipitation change patterns for different intensifications of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation are not linear. The extent of the transitions varies, and local non-linearities influence the amplitude of the annual mean response as well as the response in different seasons. Implications for the interpretation of paleo-records are discussed. (orig.)

Abrupt millennial variability and interdecadal-interstadial oscillations in a global coupled model: sensitivity to the background climate state

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arzel, Olivier [The University of New South Wales, Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC), Sydney (Australia); Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, Laboratoire de Physique des Oceans (LPO), Brest (France); England, Matthew H. [The University of New South Wales, Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC), Sydney (Australia); Verdiere, Alain Colin de; Huck, Thierry [Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, Laboratoire de Physique des Oceans (LPO), Brest (France)

2012-07-15

The origin and bifurcation structure of abrupt millennial-scale climate transitions under steady external solar forcing and in the absence of atmospheric synoptic variability is studied by means of a global coupled model of intermediate complexity. We show that the origin of Dansgaard-Oeschger type oscillations in the model is caused by the weaker northward oceanic heat transport in the Atlantic basin. This is in agreement with previous studies realized with much simpler models, based on highly idealized geometries and simplified physics. The existence of abrupt millennial-scale climate transitions during glacial times can therefore be interpreted as a consequence of the weakening of the negative temperature-advection feedback. This is confirmed through a series of numerical experiments designed to explore the sensitivity of the bifurcation structure of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to increased atmospheric CO{sub 2} levels under glacial boundary conditions. Contrasting with the cold, stadial, phases of millennial oscillations, we also show the emergence of strong interdecadal variability in the North Atlantic sector during warm interstadials. The instability driving these interdecadal-interstadial oscillations is shown to be identical to that found in ocean-only models forced by fixed surface buoyancy fluxes, that is, a large-scale baroclinic instability developing in the vicinity of the western boundary current in the North Atlantic. Comparisons with modern observations further suggest a physical mechanism similar to that driving the 30-40 years time scale associated with the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. (orig.)

Mesoscale mixing of the Denmark Strait Overflow in the Irminger Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Koszalka, Inga M.; Haine, Thomas W. N.; Magaldi, Marcello G.

2017-04-01

The Denmark Strait Overflow (DSO) is a major export route for dense waters from the Nordic Seas forming the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, an important element of the climate system. Mixing processes along the DSO pathway influence its volume transport and properties contributing to the variability of the deep overturning circulation. They are poorly sampled by observations, however, which hinders development of a proper DSO representation in global circulation models. We employ a high resolution regional ocean model of the Irminger Basin to quantify impact of the mesoscale flows on DSO mixing focusing on geographical localization and the time-modulation of water property changes. The model reproduces the observed bulk warming of the DSO plume 100-200 km downstream of the Denmark Strait sill. It also reveals that mesoscale variability of the overflow ('DSO-eddies', of 20-30 km extent and a time scale of 2-5 day) modulates water property changes and turbulent mixing, diagnosed with the vertical shear of horizontal velocity and the eddy heat flux divergence. The space-time localization of the DSO mixing and warming and the role of coherent mesoscale structures should be explored by turbulence measurements and factored into the coarse circulation models.

Timing of last deglaciation in the Cantabrian Mountains (Iberian Peninsula; North Atlantic Region) based on in situ-produced 10Be exposure dating

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Laura; Jiménez-Sánchez, Montserrat; Domínguez-Cuesta, María José; Rinterknecht, Vincent; Pallàs, Raimon; Aumaître, Georges; Bourlès, Didier L.; Keddadouche, Karim; Aster Team

2017-09-01

The Last Glacial Termination led to major changes in ice sheet coverage that disrupted global patterns of atmosphere and ocean circulation. Paleoclimate records from Iberia suggest that westerly episodes played a key role in driving heterogeneous climate in the North Atlantic Region. We used 10Be Cosmic Ray Exposure (CRE) dating to explore the glacier response of small mountain glaciers (ca. 5 km2) that developed on the northern slope of the Cantabrian Mountains (Iberian Peninsula), an area directly under the influence of the Atlantic westerly winds. We analyzed twenty boulders from three moraines and one rock glacier arranged as a recessional sequence preserved between 1150 and 1540 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the Monasterio valley (Redes Natural Park). Results complement previous chronologic data based on radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence from the Monasterio valley, which suggest a local Glacial Maximum (local GM) prior to 33 ka BP and a long-standing glacier advance at 24 ka coeval to the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Resultant 10Be CRE ages suggest a progressive retreat and thinning of the Monasterio glacier over the time interval 18.1-16.7 ka. This response is coeval with the Heinrich Stadial 1, an extremely cold and dry climate episode initiated by a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Glacier recession continued through the Bølling/Allerød period as indicate the minimum exposure ages obtained from a cirque moraine and a rock glacier nested within this moraine, which yielded ages of 14.0 and 13.0 ka, respectively. Together, they suggest that the Monasterio glacier experienced a gradual transition from glacier to rock glacier activity as the AMOC started to strengthen again. Glacial evidence ascribable to the Younger Dryas cooling was not dated in the Monasterio valley, but might have occurred at higher elevations than evidence dated in this work. The evolution of former glaciers documented in the

Solar wind: A possible factor driving the interannual sea surface temperature tripolar mode over North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Ziniu; Li, Delin

2016-06-01

The effect of solar wind (SW) on the North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) in boreal winter is examined through an analysis of observational data during 1964-2013. The North Atlantic SSTs show a pronounced meridional tripolar pattern in response to solar wind speed (SWS) variations. This pattern is broadly similar to the leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of interannual variations in the wintertime SSTs over North Atlantic. The time series of this leading EOF mode of SST shows a significant interannual period, which is the same as that of wintertime SWS. This response also appears as a compact north-south seesaw of sea level pressure and a vertical tripolar structure of zonal wind, which simultaneously resembles the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the overlying atmosphere. As compared with the typical low SWS winters, during the typical high SWS winters, the stratospheric polar night jet (PNJ) is evidently enhanced and extends from the stratosphere to the troposphere, even down to the North Atlantic Ocean surface. Notably, the North Atlantic Ocean is an exclusive region in which the SW signal spreads downward from the stratosphere to the troposphere. Thus, it seems that the SW is a possible factor for this North Atlantic SST tripolar mode. The dynamical process of stratosphere-troposphere coupling, together with the global atmospheric electric circuit-cloud microphysical process, probably accounts for the particular downward propagation of the SW signal.

The effect of ilmenite viscosity on the dynamics and evolution of an overturned lunar cumulate mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Nan; Dygert, Nick; Liang, Yan; Parmentier, E. M.

2017-07-01

Lunar cumulate mantle overturn and the subsequent upwelling of overturned mantle cumulates provide a potential framework for understanding the first-order thermochemical evolution of the Moon. Upwelling of ilmenite-bearing cumulates (IBCs) after the overturn has a dominant influence on the dynamics and long-term thermal evolution of the lunar mantle. An important parameter determining the stability and convective behavior of the IBC is its viscosity, which was recently constrained through rock deformation experiments. To examine the effect of IBC viscosity on the upwelling of overturned lunar cumulate mantle, here we conduct three-dimensional mantle convection models with an evolving core superposed by an IBC-rich layer, which resulted from mantle overturn after magma ocean solidification. Our modeling shows that a reduction of mantle viscosity by 1 order of magnitude, due to the presence of ilmenite, can dramatically change convective planform and long-term lunar mantle evolution. Our model results suggest a relatively stable partially molten IBC layer that has surrounded the lunar core to the present day.Plain Language SummaryThe Moon's mantle is locally ilmenite rich. Previous models exploring the convective evolution of the lunar mantle did not consider the effects of ilmenite viscosity. Recent rock deformation experiments demonstrate that Fe-Ti oxide (ilmenite) is a low viscosity phase compared to olivine and other silicate minerals. Our modeling shows that ilmenite changes the lunar mantle plume process. An ilmenite-rich layer around the lunar core would be highly stable throughout geologic time, consistent with a partially molten, low viscosity layer around the core inferred from seismic attenuation and tidal dissipation.

Southern Ocean Control of Glacial AMOC Stability and Dansgaard-Oeschger Interstadial Duration

Science.gov (United States)

Buizert, C.; Schmittner, A.

2016-12-01

Glacial periods exhibit abrupt Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) climatic oscillations that are thought to be linked to instabilities in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Great uncertainty remains regarding the dynamics of the DO cycle, as well as controls on the timing and duration of individual events. Using ice core data we show that the duration of warm (interstadial) periods is strongly correlated with Antarctic climate, and presumably with Southern Ocean (SO) temperature and the position of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) westerlies. We propose a SO control on AMOC stability and interstadial duration via the rate of Antarctic bottom water formation, meridional density/pressure gradients, Agulhas Leakage, and SO adiabatic upwelling. This hypothesis is supported by climate model experiments that demonstrate SO warming leads to a stronger AMOC that is less susceptible to freshwater perturbations. In the AMOC stability diagram, SO warming and strengthening of the SH westerlies both shift the vigorous AMOC branch toward higher freshwater values, thus raising the threshold for AMOC collapse. The proposed mechanism could provide a consistent explanation for several diverse observations, including maximum DO activity during intermediate ice volume/SH temperature, and successively shorter DO durations within each Bond cycle. It may further have implications for the fate of the AMOC under future global warming.

Teleconnection between sea ice in the Barents Sea in June and the Silk Road, Pacific-Japan and East Asian rainfall patterns in August

Science.gov (United States)

He, Shengping; Gao, Yongqi; Furevik, Tore; Wang, Huijun; Li, Fei

2018-01-01

In contrast to previous studies that have tended to focus on the influence of the total Arctic sea-ice cover on the East Asian summer tripole rainfall pattern, the present study identifies the Barents Sea as the key region where the June sea-ice variability exerts the most significant impacts on the East Asian August tripole rainfall pattern, and explores the teleconnection mechanisms involved. The results reveal that a reduction in June sea ice excites anomalous upward air motion due to strong near-surface thermal forcing, which further triggers a meridional overturning wave-like pattern extending to midlatitudes. Anomalous downward motion therefore forms over the Caspian Sea, which in turn induces zonally oriented overturning circulation along the subtropical jet stream, exhibiting the east-west Rossby wave train known as the Silk Road pattern. It is suggested that the Bonin high, a subtropical anticyclone predominant near South Korea, shows a significant anomaly due to the eastward extension of the Silk Road pattern to East Asia. As a possible descending branch of the Hadley cell, the Bonin high anomaly ultimately triggers a meridional overturning, establishing the Pacific-Japan pattern. This in turn induces an anomalous anticyclone and cyclone pair over East Asia, and a tripole vertical convection anomaly meridionally oriented over East Asia. Consequently, a tripole rainfall anomaly pattern is observed over East Asia. Results from numerical experiments using version 5 of the Community Atmosphere Model support the interpretation of this chain of events.

Deglacial climate modulated by the storage and release of Arctic sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Condron, A.; Coletti, A. J.; Bradley, R. S.

2017-12-01

Periods of abrupt climate cooling during the last deglaciation (20 - 8 kyr ago) are often attributed to glacial outburst floods slowing the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Here, we present results from a series of climate model simulations showing that the episodic break-up and mobilization of thick, perennial, Arctic sea ice during this time would have released considerable volumes of freshwater directly to the Nordic Seas, where processes regulating large-scale climate occur. Massive sea ice export events to the North Atlantic are generated whenever the transport of sea ice is enhanced, either by changes in atmospheric circulation, rising sea level submerging the Bering land bridge, or glacial outburst floods draining into the Arctic Ocean from the Mackenzie River. We find that the volumes of freshwater released to the Nordic Seas are similar to, or larger than, those estimated to have come from terrestrial outburst floods, including the discharge at the onset of the Younger Dryas. Our results provide the first evidence that the storage and release of Arctic sea ice helped drive deglacial climate change by modulating the strength of the AMOC.

Modelling Greenland icebergs

Science.gov (United States)

Marson, Juliana M.; Myers, Paul G.; Hu, Xianmin

2017-04-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is well known for carrying heat from low to high latitudes, moderating local temperatures. Numerical studies have examined the AMOC's variability under the influence of freshwater input to subduction and deep convections sites. However, an important source of freshwater has often been overlooked or misrepresented: icebergs. While liquid runoff decreases the ocean salinity near the coast, icebergs are a gradual and remote source of freshwater - a difference that affects sea ice cover, temperature, and salinity distribution in ocean models. Icebergs originated from the Greenland ice sheet, in particular, can affect the subduction process in Labrador Sea by decreasing surface water density. Our study aims to evaluate the distribution of icebergs originated from Greenland and their contribution to freshwater input in the North Atlantic. To do that, we use an interactive iceberg module coupled with the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO v3.4), which will calve icebergs from Greenland according to rates established by Bamber et al. (2012). Details on the distribution and trajectory of icebergs within the model may also be of use for understanding potential navigation threats, as shipping increases in northern waters.

Rotational atmospheric circulation during North Atlantic-European winter: the influence of ENSO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Serrano, J. [UCM, Departamento de Geofisica y Meteorologia, Madrid (Spain); Institut Catala de Ciencies del Clima (IC3), Barcelona (Spain); Rodriguez-Fonseca, B.; Zurita-Gotor, P.; Camara, A. de la [UCM, Departamento de Geofisica y Meteorologia, Madrid (Spain); Blade, I. [UB, Departament d' Astronomia i Meteorologia, Barcelona (Spain)

2011-11-15

The dominant variability modes of the North Atlantic-European rotational flow are examined by applying a principal component analysis (PCA/EOF) to the 200 hPa streamfunction mid-winter anomalies (Jan-Feb monthly means). The results reveal that, when this norm is used, the leading mode (EOF1) does not correspond to the traditional North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO, which appears in our analysis as the second leading mode, EOF2) but is the local manifestation of the leading hemispheric streamfunction EOF. The regression of this regional mode onto the global SST field exhibits a clear El Nino signature, with no signal over the Atlantic, while the associated upper height anomalies resemble the Tropical/Northern Hemisphere (TNH) pattern. East of North America, this TNH-like wavetrain produces a meridional dipole-like pattern at lower levels. Although in some ways this pattern resembles the NAO (EOF2), the dynamics of these two modes are very different in that only EOF2 is associated with a latitudinal shift of the North Atlantic stormtrack. Thus, the choice of the streamfunction norm in the EOF analysis allows the separation of two different phenomena that can produce similar dipolar surface pressure anomalies over the North Atlantic but that have different impact on European climate. These two modes also differ on their contribution to variability at lower levels: while NAO-EOF2 is mostly confined to the North Atlantic, TNH-EOF1 has a more annular, global character. At upper levels NAO-EOF2 also produces a global pattern but with no annular structure, reminiscent of the ''circumglobal'' teleconnection. (orig.)

The dependence of the oceans MOC on mesoscale eddy diffusivities: A model study

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, John; Scott, Jeffery R.; Romanou, Anastasia; Kelley, Maxwell; Leboissetier, Anthony

2017-01-01

The dependence of the depth and strength of the ocean's global meridional overturning cells (MOC) on the specification of mesoscale eddy diffusivity (K) is explored in two ocean models. The GISS and MIT ocean models are driven by the same prescribed forcing fields, configured in similar ways, spun up to equilibrium for a range of K 's and the resulting MOCs mapped and documented. Scaling laws implicit in modern theories of the MOC are used to rationalize the results. In all calculations the K used in the computation of eddy-induced circulation and that used in the representation of eddy stirring along neutral surfaces, is set to the same value but is changed across experiments. We are able to connect changes in the strength and depth of the Atlantic MOC, the southern ocean upwelling MOC, and the deep cell emanating from Antarctica, to changes in K.

Competition between global warming and an abrupt collapse of the AMOC in Earth's energy imbalance.

Science.gov (United States)

Drijfhout, Sybren

2015-10-06

A collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) leads to global cooling through fast feedbacks that selectively amplify the response in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). How such cooling competes with global warming has long been a topic for speculation, but was never addressed using a climate model. Here it is shown that global cooling due to a collapsing AMOC obliterates global warming for a period of 15-20 years. Thereafter, the global mean temperature trend is reversed and becomes similar to a simulation without an AMOC collapse. The resulting surface warming hiatus lasts for 40-50 years. Global warming and AMOC-induced NH cooling are governed by similar feedbacks, giving rise to a global net radiative imbalance of similar sign, although the former is associated with surface warming, the latter with cooling. Their footprints in outgoing longwave and absorbed shortwave radiation are very distinct, making attribution possible.

MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION DYNAMICS FROM 3D MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC GLOBAL SIMULATIONS OF SOLAR CONVECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passos, Dário; Charbonneau, Paul; Miesch, Mark

2015-01-01

The form of solar meridional circulation is a very important ingredient for mean field flux transport dynamo models. However, a shroud of mystery still surrounds this large-scale flow, given that its measurement using current helioseismic techniques is challenging. In this work, we use results from three-dimensional global simulations of solar convection to infer the dynamical behavior of the established meridional circulation. We make a direct comparison between the meridional circulation that arises in these simulations and the latest observations. Based on our results, we argue that there should be an equatorward flow at the base of the convection zone at mid-latitudes, below the current maximum depth helioseismic measures can probe (0.75 R ⊙ ). We also provide physical arguments to justify this behavior. The simulations indicate that the meridional circulation undergoes substantial changes in morphology as the magnetic cycle unfolds. We close by discussing the importance of these dynamical changes for current methods of observation which involve long averaging periods of helioseismic data. Also noteworthy is the fact that these topological changes indicate a rich interaction between magnetic fields and plasma flows, which challenges the ubiquitous kinematic approach used in the vast majority of mean field dynamo simulations

THE MEAN-FIELD SOLAR DYNAMO WITH A DOUBLE CELL MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION PATTERN

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Pipin, V. V. [Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, 664033 (Russian Federation); Kosovichev, A. G. [Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2013-10-10

Recent helioseismology findings, as well as advances in direct numerical simulations of global dynamics of the Sun, have indicated that in each solar hemisphere meridional circulation may form more than one cell along the radius in the convection zone. In particular, recent helioseismology results revealed a double-cell structure of the meridional circulation. We investigate properties of a mean-field solar dynamo with such double-cell meridional circulation. The dynamo model also includes the realistic profile of solar differential rotation (including the tachocline and subsurface shear layer) and takes into account effects of turbulent pumping, anisotropic turbulent diffusivity, and conservation of magnetic helicity. Contrary to previous flux-transport dynamo models, we find that the dynamo model can robustly reproduce the basic properties of the solar magnetic cycles for a wide range of model parameters and circulation speeds. The best agreement with observations is achieved when the surface meridional circulation speed is about 12 m s{sup –1}. For this circulation speed, the simulated sunspot activity shows good synchronization with the polar magnetic fields. Such synchronization was indeed observed during previous sunspot Cycles 21 and 22. We compare theoretical and observed phase diagrams of the sunspot number and the polar field strength and discuss the peculiar properties of Cycle 23.

Effects of the Observed Meridional Flow Variations since 1996 on the Sun's Polar Fields

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Hathaway, David H.; Upton, Lisa

2013-01-01

The cause of the low and extended minimum in solar activity between Sunspot Cycles 23 and 24 was the small size of Sunspot Cycle 24 itself - small cycles start late and leave behind low minima. Cycle 24 is small because the polar fields produced during Cycle 23 were substantially weaker than those produced during the previous cycles and those (weak) polar fields are the seeds for the activity of the following cycle. The polar fields are produced by the latitudinal transport of magnetic flux that emerged in low-latitude active regions. The polar fields thus depend upon the details of both the flux emergence and the flux transport. We have measured the flux transport flows (differential rotation, meridional flow, and supergranules) since 1996 and find systematic and substantial variation in the meridional flow alone. Here we present experiments using a Surface Flux Transport Model in which magnetic field data from SOHO/MDI and SDO/HMI are assimilated into the model only at latitudes between 45-degrees north and south of the equator (this assures that the details of the active region flux emergence are well represented). This flux is then transported in both longitude and latitude by the observed flows. In one experiment the meridional flow is given by the time averaged (and north-south symmetric) meridional flow profile. In the second experiment the time-varying and north-south asymmetric meridional flow is used. Differences between the observed polar fields and those produced in these two experiments allow us to ascertain the effects of these meridional flow variations on the Sun s polar fields.

Importance of the autumn overturn and anoxic conditions in the hypolimnion for the annual methane emissions from a temperate lake.

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Encinas Fernández, Jorge; Peeters, Frank; Hofmann, Hilmar

2014-07-01

Changes in the budget of dissolved methane measured in a small temperate lake over 1 year indicate that anoxic conditions in the hypolimnion and the autumn overturn period represent key factors for the overall annual methane emissions from lakes. During periods of stable stratification, large amounts of methane accumulate in anoxic deep waters. Approximately 46% of the stored methane was emitted during the autumn overturn, contributing ∼80% of the annual diffusive methane emissions to the atmosphere. After the overturn period, the entire water column was oxic, and only 1% of the original quantity of methane remained in the water column. Current estimates of global methane emissions assume that all of the stored methane is released, whereas several studies of individual lakes have suggested that a major fraction of the stored methane is oxidized during overturns. Our results provide evidence that not all of the stored methane is released to the atmosphere during the overturn period. However, the fraction of stored methane emitted to the atmosphere during overturn may be substantially larger and the fraction of stored methane oxidized may be smaller than in the previous studies suggesting high oxidation losses of methane. The development or change in the vertical extent and duration of the anoxic hypolimnion, which can represent the main source of annual methane emissions from small lakes, may be an important aspect to consider for impact assessments of climate warming on the methane emissions from lakes.

Response of the Water Cycle of West Africa and Atlantic to Radiative Forcing by Saharan Dust

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, K. M.; Kim, Kyu-Myong; Sud, Yogesh C.; Walker, Gregory L.

2010-01-01

The responses of the atmospheric water cycle and climate of West Africa and the Atlantic to radiative forcing of Saharan dust are studied using the NASA finite volume general circulation model (fvGCM), coupled to a mixed layer ocean. We find evidence in support of the "elevated heat pump" (EHP) mechanism that underlines the responses of the atmospheric water cycle to dust forcing as follow. During the boreal summer, as a result of large-scale atmospheric feed back triggered by absorbing dust aerosols, rainfall and cloudiness are enhanced over the West Africa/Easter Atlantic ITCZ, and suppressed over the West Atlantic and Caribbean. region. Shortwave radiation absorption by dust warms the atmosphere and cools the surface, while long wave has the opposite response. The elevated dust layer warms the air over Nest Africa and the eastern Atlantic. The condensation heating associated with the induced deep convection drives and maintains an anomalous large-scale east-west overturning circulation with rising motion over West Africa/eastern Atlantic, and sinking motion over the Caribbean region. The response also includes a strengthening of the West African monsoon, manifested in northward shift of the West Africa precipitation over land, increased low-level westerlies flow over West Africa at the southern edge of the dust layer, and a near surface energy fluxes, resulting in cooling of the Nest African land and the eastern Atlantic, and a warming in the West Atlantic and Caribbean. The EHP effect is most effective for moderate to highly absorbing dusts, and becomes minimized for reflecting dust with single scattering albedo at 0.95 or higher.

Intra-seasonal Oscillations (ISO of zonal-mean meridional winds and temperatures as measured by UARS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. T. Huang

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Based on an empirical analysis of measurements with the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI on the UARS spacecraft in the upper mesosphere (95km, persistent and regular intra-seasonal oscillations (ISO with periods of about 2 to 4 months have recently been reported in the zonal-mean meridional winds. Similar oscillations have also been discussed independently in a modeling study, and they were attributed to wave-mean-flow interactions. The observed and modeled meridional wind ISOs were largely confined to low latitudes. We report here on an analysis of concurrent UARS temperature measurements, which produces oscillations similar to those seen in the meridional winds. Although the temperature oscillations are observed at lower altitudes (55km, their phase variations with latitude are qualitatively consistent with the inferred properties seen in the meridional winds and thus provide independent evidence for the existence of ISOs in the mesosphere.

The Influence of Ice-Ocean Interactions on Europa's Overturning Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, P.; Manucharyan, G. E.; Thompson, A. F.; Goodman, J. C.; Vance, S.

2016-12-01

Jupiter's moon Europa appears to have a global liquid ocean, which is located beneath an ice shell that covers the moon's entire surface. Linking ocean dynamics and ice-ocean interactions is crucial to understanding observed surface features on Europa as well as other satellite measurements. Ocean properties and circulation may also provide clues as to whether the moon has the potential to support extraterrestrial life through chemical transport governed by ice-ocean interactions. Previous studies have identified a Hadley cell-like overturning circulation extending from the equator to mid latitudes. However, these model simulations do not consider ice-ocean interactions. In this study, our goal is to investigate how the ocean circulation may be affected by ice. We study two ice-related processes by building idealized models. One process is horizontal convection driven by an equator-to-pole buoyancy difference due to latitudinal ice transport at the ocean surface, which is found to be much weaker than the convective overturning circulation. The second process we consider is the freshwater layer formed by ice melting at the equator. A strong buoyancy contrast between the freshwater layer and the underlying water suppresses convection and turbulent mixing, which may modify the surface heat flux from the ocean to the bottom of the ice. We find that the salinity of the ocean below the freshwater layer tends to be homogeneous both vertically and horizontally with the presence of an overturning circulation. Critical values of circulation strength constrain the freshwater layer depth, and this relationship is sensitive to the average salinity of the ocean. Further coupling of temperature and salinity of the ice and the ocean that includes mutual influences between the surface heat flux and the freshwater layer may provide additional insights into the ice-ocean feedback, and its influence on the latitudinal difference of heat transport.

AMOC variations in 1979-2008 simulated by NCEP operational ocean data assimilation system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Boyin [Climate Prediction Center, NOAA, Camp Springs, MD (United States); National Climate Data Center, Asheville, NC (United States); Xue, Yan; Kumar, Arun [Climate Prediction Center, NOAA, Camp Springs, MD (United States); Behringer, David W. [Environmental Modeling Center, NOAA, Camp Springs, MD (United States)

2012-02-15

Variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) between 1979 and 2008 are documented using the operational ocean analysis, the Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (GODAS), at the National Centers for Climate Prediction (NCEP). The maximum AMOC at 40 N is about 16 Sv in average with peak-to-peak variability of 3-4 Sv. The AMOC variations are dominated by an upward trend from 1980 to 1995, and a downward trend from 1995 to 2008. The maximum AMOC at 26.5 N is slightly weaker than hydrographic estimates and observations from mooring array. The dominant variability of the AMOC in 20 -65 N (the first EOF, 51% variance) is highly correlated with that in the subsurface temperature (the first EOF, 33% variance), and therefore, with density (the first EOF, 25% variance) in the North Atlantic, and is consistent with the observational estimates based on the World Ocean Database 2005. The dominant variabilities of AMOC and subsurface temperature are also analyzed in the context of possible links with the net surface heat flux, deep convection, western boundary current, and subpolar gyre. Variation in the net surface heat flux is further linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index which is found to lead AMOC variations by about 5 years. Our results indicate that AMOC variations can be documented based on an ocean analysis system such as GODAS. (orig.)

Asymmetric vibrations of shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature and thickness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Katsuyoshi; Kosawada, Tadashi; Miura, Kazuyuki.

1988-01-01

An exact method using power series expansions is presented for solving asymmetric free vibration problems for shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature and thickness. The gaverning equations of motion and the boundary conditions are derived from the stationary conditions of the Lagrangian of the shells of revolution. The method is demonstrated for shells of revolution having elliptical, cycloidal, parabolical, catenary and hyperbolical meridional curvature. The natural frequencies are numerically calculated for these shells having second degree thickness variation. (author)

Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation footprint on global high cloud cover

Science.gov (United States)

Vaideanu, Petru; Dima, Mihai; Voiculescu, Mirela

2017-12-01

Due to the complexity of the physical processes responsible for cloud formation and to the relatively short satellite database of continuous data records, cloud behavior in a warming climate remains uncertain. Identifying physical links between climate modes and clouds would contribute not only to a better understanding of the physical processes governing their formation and dynamics, but also to an improved representation of the clouds in climate models. Here, we identify the global footprint of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on high cloud cover, with focus on the tropical and North Atlantic, tropical Pacific and on the circum-Antarctic sector. In the tropical band, the sea surface temperature (SST) and high cloud cover (HCC) anomalies are positively correlated, indicating a dominant role played by convection in mediating the influence of the AMO-related SST anomalies on the HCC field. The negative SST-HCC correlation observed in North Atlantic could be explained by the reduced meridional temperature gradient induced by the AMO positive phase, which would be reflected in less storms and negative HCC anomalies. A similar negative SST-HCC correlation is observed around Antarctica. The corresponding negative correlation around Antarctica could be generated dynamically, as a response to the intensified upward motion in the Ferrel cell. Despite the inherent imperfection of the observed and reanalysis data sets, the AMO footprint on HCC is found to be robust to the choice of dataset, statistical method, and specific time period considered.

Sensitivity of the overturning circulation of the Baltic Sea to climate change, a numerical experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Hordoir, Robinson; Höglund, Anders; Pemberton, Per; Schimanke, Semjon

2018-02-01

An ocean model covering the Baltic Sea area is forced by several climate scenarios for a period extending from 1961 to 2100. The Baltic Sea overturning circulation is then analyzed. The analysis shows that this circulation decreases between the end of the 20th century and the end of the 21st century, and that the decrease is amplified in the case of the strongest greenhouse gas emission scenarios, which corresponds with the highest warming cases. The reasons behind this decrease in overturning circulation are investigated. A strong increase of thermal stratification is noticed at the level of the Baltic Sea mixed layer. Based on buoyancy flux considerations, we demonstrate that the decrease in overturning circulation coincides with the increase of thermal stratification. Evidence shows that the underlying process is linked to a smaller erosion of the halocline due to a higher shielding, itself linked with a stronger and longer seasonal thermocline. This theory works if surface wind mixing is not taken into account directly in the computation of buoyancy fluxes.

Relations between overturning length scales at the Spanish planetary boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

López, Pilar; Cano, José L.

2016-04-01

We analyze the behavior of the maximum Thorpe displacement (dT)max and the Thorpe scale LTat the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), extending previous research with new data and improving our studies related to the novel use of the Thorpe method applied to ABL. The maximum Thorpe displacements vary between -900 m and 950 m for the different field campaigns. The maximum Thorpe displacement is always greater under convective conditions than under stable ones, independently of its sign. The Thorpe scale LT ranges between 0.2 m and 680 m for the different data sets which cover different stratified mixing conditions (turbulence shear-driven and convective regions). The Thorpe scale does not exceed several tens of meters under stable and neutral stratification conditions related to instantaneous density gradients. In contrast, under convective conditions, Thorpe scales are relatively large, they exceed hundreds of meters which may be related to convective bursts. We analyze the relation between (dT)max and the Thorpe scale LT and we deduce that they verify a power law. We also deduce that there is a difference in exponents of the power laws for convective conditions and shear-driven conditions. These different power laws could identify overturns created under different mechanisms. References Cuxart, J., Yagüe, C., Morales, G., Terradellas, E., Orbe, J., Calvo, J., Fernández, A., Soler, M., Infante, C., Buenestado, P., Espinalt, Joergensen, H., Rees, J., Vilà, J., Redondo, J., Cantalapiedra, I. and Conangla, L.: Stable atmospheric boundary-layer experiment in Spain (Sables 98). A report, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 96, 337-370, 2000. Dillon, T. M.: Vertical Overturns: A Comparison of Thorpe and Ozmidov Length Scales, J. Geophys. Res., 87(C12), 9601-9613, 1982. Itsweire, E. C.: Measurements of vertical overturns in stably stratified turbulent flow, Phys. Fluids, 27(4), 764-766, 1984. Kitade, Y., Matsuyama, M. and Yoshida, J.: Distribution of overturn induced by internal

Interconverting the matrix and principal-meridional representations of dioptric power and reduced vergence.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, W F

2000-11-01

Converting the traditional representation of power as sphere, cylinder and axis to the dioptric power matrix F is usually performed by means of Long's equations and the reverse process by means of Keating's equations. It is sometimes useful to be able to convert directly between the matrix and power expressed in terms of principal powers F1 and F2 along corresponding principal meridians at angles a1 and a2. The equations for interconverting F and the principal-meridional representation expressed as F1(a1)F2 are presented here. Equivalent equations allow direct interconversion of the reduced vergence matrix L and the principal-meridional representation of vergence L1(a1)L2. Vergence becomes infinite at line and point focuses. Similarly effective power and back- and front-vertex power are infinite for some systems. Nevertheless it is possible unambiguously to represent infinite vergence and vertex power in principal-meridional form. However, information is usually lost in these infinite cases when the principal-meridional representation is converted to the matrix representation, and the former is not recoverable from the latter. As a consequence the matrix representation is usually unsatisfactory for vergences and vertex powers that are infinite. On the other hand, the principal-meridional representation of vergence and power is always satisfactory. If one adopts the position that effective powers and vertex powers are really vergences rather than powers then one concludes that the matrix provides a satisfactory representation for powers of thin systems in general but not for vergences. Implied by a vergence at a point is an interval of Sturm. The equations for characterizing the interval from the reduced vergence are presented.

Reconstruct the past thermocline circulation in the Atlantic: calcification depths and Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations for 6 deep-dwelling planktonic foraminifera

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Cleroux, C.; deMenocal, P.; Arbuszewski, J.; Linsley, B.

2012-04-01

The subtropical cells are shallow meridional overturning circulations driven by the atmospheric circulation and the deep thermohaline circulation. They connect the mid-latitude and the tropic, release latten heat to the atmosphere and impact climate on decadal to longer time scale. The upper water column temperature and salinity structures of the ocean reflect this circulation. We present proxies to study these past structures. We performed stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) and trace element ratio measurements on one surface-dwelling (G. ruber)1 and six deep-dwelling planktonic foraminifera species (N. dutertrei, G. inflata, G. tumida, G. truncatulinoides, G. hirsuta and G. crassaformis) on 66 coretops spanning from 35°N to 20°S along the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Comparison between measured δ18O and predicted δ18O (using water column temperature and seawater δ18O), shows that N. dutertrei, G. tumida, G. hirsuta and G. crassaformis keep the same apparent calcification depth along the transect (respectively: 125m, 150m, 700m and 800m). Calcification at two depth levels was also tested. For the six deep-dwelling species, we establish Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations with both atlas temperature at the calcification depth and isotopic temperature. We present Mg/Ca-temperature equations for species previously very poorly calibrated. The δ18O and temperature (Mg/Ca derived) on the six planktonic foraminifera species faithfully reproduce the modern water column structure of the upper 800 m depth, establishing promising proxies for past subsurface reconstruction. 1 Arbuszewski, J. J., P. B. deMenocal, A. Kaplan, and C. E. Farmer (2010), On the fidelity of shell-derived δ18Oseawater estimates, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 300(3-4), 185-196.

MENTAT: A New Magnetic Meridional Neutral Wind Model for Earth's Thermosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Dandenault, P. B.

2017-12-01

We present a new model of thermosphere winds in the F region obtained from variations in the altitude of the peak density of the ionosphere (hmF2). The new Magnetic mEridional NeuTrAl Thermospheric (MENTAT) wind model produces magnetic-meridional neutral winds as a function of year, day of year, solar local time, solar flux, geographic latitude, and geographic longitude. The winds compare well with Fabry-Pérot Interferometer (FPI) wind observations and are shown to provide accurate specifications in regions outside of the observational database such as the midnight collapse of hmF2 at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The model winds are shown to exhibit the expected seasonal, diurnal, and hourly behavior based on geophysical conditions. The magnetic meridional winds are similar to those from the well-known HWM14 model but there are important differences. For example, Townsville, Australia has a strong midnight collapse similar to that at Arecibo, but winds from HWM14 do not reproduce it. Also, the winds from hmF2 exhibit a moderate solar cycle dependence under certain conditions, whereas, HWM14 has no solar activity dependence. For more information, please visit http://www.mentatwinds.net/.

Comparison of phosphate uptake rates by the smallest plastidic and aplastidic protists in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann, Manuela; Grob, Carolina; Scanlan, David J; Martin, Adrian P; Burkill, Peter H; Zubkov, Mikhail V

2011-11-01

The smallest phototrophic protists (protists meet their inorganic nutrient requirements, we compared the phosphate uptake rates of plastidic and aplastidic protists in the phosphate-depleted subtropical and tropical North Atlantic (4-29°N) using a combination of radiotracers and flow cytometric sorting on two Atlantic Meridional Transect cruises. Plastidic protists were divided into two groups according to their size (protists showed higher phosphate uptake rates per cell than the aplastidic protists. Although the phosphate uptake rates of protist cells were on average seven times (Pprotists were one fourth to one twentieth of an average bacterioplankton cell. The unsustainably low biomass-specific phosphate uptake by both plastidic and aplastidic protists suggests the existence of a common alternative means of phosphorus acquisition - predation on phosphorus-rich bacterioplankton cells. © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asymmetric vibrations of thick shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Katsuyoshi; Kosawada, Tadashi; Yachita, Takumi.

1988-01-01

An exact method using power series expansions is presented for solving asymmetric free vibration problems for thick shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature. Based on the improved thick shell theory, the Lagrangian of the shells of revolution are obtained, and the equations of motion and the boundary conditions are derived from the stationary condition of the Lagrangian. The method is demonstrated for thick shells of revolution having elliptical, cycloidal, parabolical, catenary and hyperbolical meridional curvature. The results by the present method are compared with those by the thin shell theory and the effects of the rotatory inertia and the shear deformation upon the natural frequencies are clarified. (author)

Interannual-to-decadal air-sea interactions in the tropical Atlantic region

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Ruiz-Barradas, Alfredo

2001-09-01

The present research identifies modes of atmosphere-ocean interaction in the tropical Atlantic region and the mechanisms by which air-sea interactions influence the regional climate. Novelties of the present work are (1)the use of relevant ocean and atmosphere variables important to identity coupled variability in the system. (2)The use of new data sets, including realistic diabatic heating. (3)The study of interactions between ocean and atmosphere relevant at interannual-to-decadal time scales. Two tropical modes of variability are identified during the period 1958-1993, the Atlantic Niño mode and the Interhemispheric mode. Those modes have defined structures in both ocean and atmosphere. Anomalous sea surface temperatures and winds are associated to anomalous placement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). They develop maximum amplitude during boreal summer and spring, respectively. The anomalous positioning of the ITCZ produces anomalous precipitation in some places like Nordeste, Brazil and the Caribbean region. Through the use of a diagnostic primitive equation model, it is found that the most important terms controlling local anomalous surface winds over the ocean are boundary layer temperature gradients and diabatic heating anomalies at low levels (below 780 mb). The latter is of particular importance in the deep tropics in producing the anomalous meridional response to the surface circulation. Simulated latent heat anomalies indicate that a thermodynamic feedback establishes positive feedbacks at both sides of the equator and west of 20°W in the deep tropics and a negative feedback in front of the north west coast of Africa for the Interhemispheric mode. This thermodynamic feedback only establishes negative feedbacks for the Atlantic Niño mode. Transients establish some connection between the tropical Atlantic and other basins. Interhemispheric gradients of surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic influence winds in the midlatitude North

Low-frequency variability of meridional transport in the divergence zone of the North Atlantic subtropical and subpolar gyres. The WOCE section A2; Niederfrequente Variabilitaet meridionaler Transporte in der Divergenzzone des nordatlantischen Subtropen- und Subpolarwirbels. Der WOCE-Schnitt A2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lorbacher, K.

2000-07-01

The subinertial, climate relevant variability of the large-scale ocean circulation in the northern North Atlantic and its integral key parameters such as the advective transports of mass (volume), heat and freshwater are determined from observations alone using the hydrographic data from seven realisations of the so-called '48 N'-section between the English Channel and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The data consist of five available sets of the WOCE/A2-section during the Nineties for the years 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and of two previous transatlantic cruises in April of 1957 and 1982. The realisations of the WOCE/A2-section were carried out in the same season (May to July), except for the cruise in October 1994. The '48 N'-section follows the divergence zone of the mainly wind-driven subtropical gyre and the more complex, with respect to the forcing, subpolar gyre. In the central Westeuropean and Newfoundland Basins the section runs a few degrees south of the line of zero wind stress curl (curl{sub z}{tau}). In the West, the WOCE/A2-section turns northwest to cross the boundary current regime perpendicularly. Therefore, this quasi-zonal hydrographic section covers all large-scale circulation elements on the regional scale that contribute essentially to the ocean circulation on the global scale - the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). The transport estimates are given as the sum of the three transport components of a quasi-steady, large-scale ocean circulation: The ageostrophic Ekman-, and the two geostrophic components, the depth-independent, barotropic or Sverdrup- and the baroclinic component. To maintain the mass balance over the plane of the section the compensation of each component is assumed. In the case of the baroclinic component the balance is achieved through a suitable choice for a surface of 'no-motion'. The absolute meridional velocity as a function of the zonal distance along the section and depth is

Status and Impacts of Arctic Freshwater Export

Science.gov (United States)

Haine, T. W. N.

2017-12-01

Large freshwater anomalies clearly exist in the Arctic Ocean. For example, liquid freshwater has accumulated in the Beaufort Gyre in the decade of the 2000s compared to 1980-2000, with an extra ≈5000 km3—about 25%—being stored. The sources of freshwater to the Arctic from precipitation and runoff have increased between these periods (most of the evidence comes from models). Despite flux increases from 2001 to 2011, it is uncertain if the marine freshwater source through Bering Strait for the 2000s has changed, as observations in the 1980s and 1990s are incomplete. The marine freshwater fluxes draining the Arctic through Fram and Davis straits are also insignificantly different. In this way, the balance of sources and sinks of freshwater to the Arctic, Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), and Baffin Bay shifted to about 1200±730 km3yr-1 freshening the region, on average, during the 2000s. The observed accumulation of liquid freshwater is consistent with this increased supply and the loss of freshwater from sea ice (Figure, right). Evidence exists that such discharges can impact the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, and hence Atlantic sector climate. Nevertheless, it appears that the observed AMOC variability since 2004, when high quality measurements began, is not attributable to anthropogenic influence. This work is based on, and updated from, Haine et al. (2015), Carmack et al. (2016), and Haine (2016). Haine, T. W. N. Ocean science: Vagaries of Atlantic overturning. Nature Geoscience, 9, 479-480, 10.1038/ngeo2748, 2016. T. W. N. Haine et al., Arctic Freshwater Export: Status, Mechanisms, and Prospects, Global Planetary Change, 125, 13-35, 10.1016/j.glopacha.2014.11.013, 2015. E. Carmack et al., Fresh water and its role in the Arctic Marine System: sources, disposition, storage, export, and physical and biogeochemical consequences in the Arctic and global oceans. J. G. Res. Biogeosciences, 10.1002/2015JG003140, 2016.

Los testimonios de Marte en la Meseta Meridional

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julián Hurtado Aguña

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Marte, fue una de las más importantes divinidades romanas presentes en Híspanla. Dentro de la Meseta meridional sus testimonios aparecen en algunas localidades de la provincia de Madrid, como Alcalá de Henares, Talamanca del Jarama o Collado Villalba, estando ausentes en otras partes de esta región. Especialmente importante es la presencia de inscripciones dedicadas a Marte en la ciudad romana de Complutum (Alcalá de Henares, donde sus dedicantes pudieran pertenecer en algún caso al grupo social de los libertos.One oí the most important román divinities in Híspanla was Mars. His testimonies in the Meridional Plateau are in some villages of Madrid's province, as Alcalá de Henares, Talamanca del Jarama or Collado Villalba, and they are not in other places of this reglan. Specially important is ttie presence of inscriptions to Mars in ttie román town of Complutum (Alcalá de Henares, wtiere his devotes could belong to the social freedmans group.

Three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation: part II—dynamical equations of horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Shujuan; Cheng, Jianbo; Xu, Ming; Chou, Jifan

2018-04-01

The three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation (TPDGAC) partitions three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric circulation into horizontal, meridional and zonal components to study the 3D structures of global atmospheric circulation. This paper incorporates the three-pattern decomposition model (TPDM) into primitive equations of atmospheric dynamics and establishes a new set of dynamical equations of the horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations in which the operator properties are studied and energy conservation laws are preserved, as in the primitive equations. The physical significance of the newly established equations is demonstrated. Our findings reveal that the new equations are essentially the 3D vorticity equations of atmosphere and that the time evolution rules of the horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations can be described from the perspective of 3D vorticity evolution. The new set of dynamical equations includes decomposed expressions that can be used to explore the source terms of large-scale atmospheric circulation variations. A simplified model is presented to demonstrate the potential applications of the new equations for studying the dynamics of the Rossby, Hadley and Walker circulations. The model shows that the horizontal air temperature anomaly gradient (ATAG) induces changes in meridional and zonal circulations and promotes the baroclinic evolution of the horizontal circulation. The simplified model also indicates that the absolute vorticity of the horizontal circulation is not conserved, and its changes can be described by changes in the vertical vorticities of the meridional and zonal circulations. Moreover, the thermodynamic equation shows that the induced meridional and zonal circulations and advection transport by the horizontal circulation in turn cause a redistribution of the air temperature. The simplified model reveals the fundamental rules between the evolution of the air temperature and the horizontal, meridional

Linking The Atlantic Gyres: Warm, Saline Intrusions From Subtropical Atlantic to the Nordic Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Hakkinen, Sirpa M.; Rhines, P. B.

2010-01-01

Ocean state estimates from SODA assimilation are analyzed to understand how major shifts in the North Atlantic Current path relate to AMOC, and how these shifts are related to large scale ocean circulation and surface forcing. These complement surface-drifter and altimetry data showing the same events. SODA data indicate that the warm water limb of AMOC, reaching to at least 600m depth, expanded in density/salinity space greatly after 1995, and that Similar events occurred in the late 1960s and around 1980. While there were large changes in the upper limb, there was no immediate response in the dense return flow, at least not in SODA, however one would expect a delayed response of increasing AMOC due to the positive feedback from increased salt transport. These upper limb changes are winddriven, involving changes in the eastern subpolar gyre, visible in the subduction of low potential vorticity waters. The subtropical gyre has been weak during the times of the northward intrusions of the highly saline subtropical waters, while the NAO index has been neutral or in a negative phase. The image of subtropical/subpolar gyre exchange through teleconnections within the AMOC overturning cell will be described.

Currents, HF Radio-derived, Ano Nuevo, Normal Model, Meridional, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the meridional component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements, with missing values filled in by a normal...

Currents, HF Radio-derived, Monterey Bay, Normal Model, Meridional, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the meridional component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements, with missing values filled in by a normal...

Interhemispheric Changes in Atlantic Ocean Heat Content and Their Link to Global Monsoons

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, H.; Lee, S. K.; Dong, S.; Goni, G. J.

2015-12-01

This study tested the hypothesis whether low frequency decadal variability of the South Atlantic meridional heat transport (SAMHT) influences decadal variability of the global monsoons. A multi-century run from a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model is used as basis for the analysis. Our findings indicate that multi-decadal variability of the South Atlantic Ocean plays a key role in modulating atmospheric circulation via interhemispheric changes in Atlantic Ocean heat content. Weaker SAMHT produces anomalous ocean heat divergence over the South Atlantic resulting in negative ocean heat content anomaly about 15 years later. This, in turn, forces a thermally direct anomalous interhemispheric Hadley circulation in the atmosphere, transporting heat from the northern hemisphere (NH) to the southern hemisphere (SH) and moisture from the SH to the NH, thereby intensify (weaken) summer (winter) monsoon in the NH and winter (summer) monsoon in the SH. Results also show that anomalous atmospheric eddies, both transient and stationary, transport heat northward in both hemispheres producing eddy heat flux convergence (divergence) in the NH (SH) around 15-30°, reinforcing the anomalous Hadley circulation. The effect of eddies on the NH (SH) poleward of 30° is opposite with heat flux divergence (convergence), which must be balanced by sinking (rising) motion, consistent with a poleward (equatorward) displacement of the jet stream and mean storm track. The mechanism described here could easily be interpreted for the case of strong SAMHT, with the reverse influence on the interhemispheric atmospheric circulation and monsoons. Overall, SAMHT decadal variability leads its atmospheric response by about 15 years, suggesting that the South Atlantic is a potential predictor of global climate variability.

Variability of the North Atlantic summer storm track: mechanisms and impacts on European climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Buwen; Sutton, Rowan T; Woollings, Tim; Hodges, Kevin

2013-01-01

The summertime variability of the extratropical storm track over the Atlantic sector and its links to European climate have been analysed for the period 1948–2011 using observations and reanalyses. The main results are as follows. (1) The dominant mode of the summer storm track density variability is characterized by a meridional shift of the storm track between two distinct paths and is related to a bimodal distribution in the climatology for this region. It is also closely related to the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO). (2) A southward shift is associated with a downstream extension of the storm track and a decrease in blocking frequency over the UK and northwestern Europe. (3) The southward shift is associated with enhanced precipitation over the UK and northwestern Europe and decreased precipitation over southern Europe (contrary to the behaviour in winter). (4) There are strong ocean–atmosphere interactions related to the dominant mode of storm track variability. The atmosphere forces the ocean through anomalous surface fluxes and Ekman currents, but there is also some evidence consistent with an ocean influence on the atmosphere, and that coupled ocean–atmosphere feedbacks might play a role. The ocean influence on the atmosphere may be particularly important on decadal timescales, related to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). (letter)

Currents, HF Radio-derived, SF Bay, 33 hr, Meridional, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 33 hour running average of the meridional component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN...

Currents, HF Radio-derived, SF Bay, 1 hr, Meridional, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 1 hour average of the meridional component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL...

Identification of Holocene millennial-scale forcing in the North Atlantic area: Ocean/atmosphere contribution

Science.gov (United States)

Debret, M.; Masson-Delmotte, V.; Christophe, C.; de Vernal, A.; Massei, N.; Eynaud, F.; Nicolle, M.; Frank, N.; Mary, Y.; Magny, M.

2017-12-01

Millennial (1500-year) cycles were evidenced decades ago from the advance and retreat of glaciers but many subsequent studies failed to demonstrate the unequivocal character of such oscillation from paleoclimate time series. Hence, the identification of a persistent 1500 year periodicity remains controversial both for the last glacial episode and the Holocene. Applying wavelet analysis to Holocene climate records, we have identified synchronous millennial-scale oscillations which permit to establish a North Atlantic millennial variability index (NAV-Index), maximum at 5330 ± 245, 3560 ± 190, 1810 ± 160 cal years BP and minimum at 4430 ± 250, 2640 ± 225 and 970 ± 200 years before present. This NAV-index was compared with the millennial variability of cosmogenic 10Be isotope, a proxy of solar activity. Differences between the two sets of records suggest that an internal mechanism (Ocean/atmosphere) must be at the origin of the North Atlantic millennial scale variability. Our data document an increased coherence and magnitude of the North Atlantic millennial variability since 6000 cal. years BP, with a frequency of 1780 ± 240 years. During the early Holocene, deglacial meltwater fluxes had strong regional impact and the coupling between subpolar gyre migration and Atlantic meridional oceanic circulation observed since afterward seems to be related to the end of the Laurentide and Inuitian ice sheet meltwater discharge. Hence, we may conclude that the evolution of this millennial oscillation in the future will depend upon the Greenland stability or melting.

Modelling size-fractionated primary production in the Atlantic Ocean from remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Brewin, Robert J. W.; Tilstone, Gavin H.; Jackson, Thomas; Cain, Terry; Miller, Peter I.; Lange, Priscila K.; Misra, Ankita; Airs, Ruth L.

2017-11-01

Marine primary production influences the transfer of carbon dioxide between the ocean and atmosphere, and the availability of energy for the pelagic food web. Both the rate and the fate of organic carbon from primary production are dependent on phytoplankton size. A key aim of the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme has been to quantify biological carbon cycling in the Atlantic Ocean and measurements of total primary production have been routinely made on AMT cruises, as well as additional measurements of size-fractionated primary production on some cruises. Measurements of total primary production collected on the AMT have been used to evaluate remote-sensing techniques capable of producing basin-scale estimates of primary production. Though models exist to estimate size-fractionated primary production from satellite data, these have not been well validated in the Atlantic Ocean, and have been parameterised using measurements of phytoplankton pigments rather than direct measurements of phytoplankton size structure. Here, we re-tune a remote-sensing primary production model to estimate production in three size fractions of phytoplankton (10 μm) in the Atlantic Ocean, using measurements of size-fractionated chlorophyll and size-fractionated photosynthesis-irradiance experiments conducted on AMT 22 and 23 using sequential filtration-based methods. The performance of the remote-sensing technique was evaluated using: (i) independent estimates of size-fractionated primary production collected on a number of AMT cruises using 14C on-deck incubation experiments and (ii) Monte Carlo simulations. Considering uncertainty in the satellite inputs and model parameters, we estimate an average model error of between 0.27 and 0.63 for log10-transformed size-fractionated production, with lower errors for the small size class (10 μm), and errors generally higher in oligotrophic waters. Application to satellite data in 2007 suggests the contribution of cells 2 μm to total

QUANTIFYING REGIONAL SEA LEVEL RISE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diandong Ren

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study projects the sea level contribution from the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS through to 2100, using a recently developed ice dynamics model forced by atmospheric parameters derived from three different climate models (CGCMs. The geographical pattern of the near-surface ice warming imposes a divergent flow field favoring mass loss through enhanced ice flow. The calculated average mass loss rate during the latter half of the 21st century is ~0.64±0.06 mm/year eustatic sea level rise, which is significantly larger than the IPCC AR4 estimate from surface mass balance. The difference is due largely to the positive feedbacks from reduced ice viscosity and the basal sliding mechanism present in the ice dynamics model. This inter-model, inter-scenario spread adds approximately a 20% uncertainty to the IPCC ice model estimates. The sea level rise is geographically non-uniform and reaches 1.69±0.24 mm/year by 2100 for the northeast coastal region of the United States, amplified by the expected weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC. In contrast to previous estimates, which neglected the GrIS fresh water input, both sides of the North Atlantic Gyre are projected to experience sea level rises. The impacts on a selection of major cities on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Pacific and southern oceans also are assessed. The other ocean basins are found to be less affected than the Atlantic Ocean.

Climatic impacts of fresh water hosing under Last Glacial Maximum conditions: a multi-model study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kageyama

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Fresh water hosing simulations, in which a fresh water flux is imposed in the North Atlantic to force fluctuations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, have been routinely performed, first to study the climatic signature of different states of this circulation, then, under present or future conditions, to investigate the potential impact of a partial melting of the Greenland ice sheet. The most compelling examples of climatic changes potentially related to AMOC abrupt variations, however, are found in high resolution palaeo-records from around the globe for the last glacial period. To study those more specifically, more and more fresh water hosing experiments have been performed under glacial conditions in the recent years. Here we compare an ensemble constituted by 11 such simulations run with 6 different climate models. All simulations follow a slightly different design, but are sufficiently close in their design to be compared. They all study the impact of a fresh water hosing imposed in the extra-tropical North Atlantic. Common features in the model responses to hosing are the cooling over the North Atlantic, extending along the sub-tropical gyre in the tropical North Atlantic, the southward shift of the Atlantic ITCZ and the weakening of the African and Indian monsoons. On the other hand, the expression of the bipolar see-saw, i.e., warming in the Southern Hemisphere, differs from model to model, with some restricting it to the South Atlantic and specific regions of the southern ocean while others simulate a widespread southern ocean warming. The relationships between the features common to most models, i.e., climate changes over the north and tropical Atlantic, African and Asian monsoon regions, are further quantified. These suggest a tight correlation between the temperature and precipitation changes over the extra-tropical North Atlantic, but different pathways for the teleconnections between the AMOC/North Atlantic region

Response of air-sea carbon fluxes and climate to orbital forcing changes in the Community Climate System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Jochum, M.; Peacock, S.; Moore, K.; Lindsay, K.

2010-07-01

A global general circulation model coupled to an ocean ecosystem model is used to quantify the response of carbon fluxes and climate to changes in orbital forcing. Compared to the present-day simulation, the simulation with the Earth's orbital parameters from 115,000 years ago features significantly cooler northern high latitudes but only moderately cooler southern high latitudes. This asymmetry is explained by a 30% reduction of the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that is caused by an increased Arctic sea ice export and a resulting freshening of the North Atlantic. The strong northern high-latitude cooling and the direct insolation induced tropical warming lead to global shifts in precipitation and winds to the order of 10%-20%. These climate shifts lead to regional differences in air-sea carbon fluxes of the same order. However, the differences in global net air-sea carbon fluxes are small, which is due to several effects, two of which stand out: first, colder sea surface temperature leads to a more effective solubility pump but also to increased sea ice concentration which blocks air-sea exchange, and second, the weakening of Southern Ocean winds that is predicted by some idealized studies occurs only in part of the basin, and is compensated by stronger winds in other parts.

Response of carbon fluxes and climate to orbital forcing changes in the Community Climate System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Jochum, M.; Peacock, S.; Moore, J. K.; Lindsay, K. T.

2009-12-01

A global general circulation model coupled to an ocean ecosystem model is used to quantify the response of carbon fluxes and climate to changes in orbital forcing. Compared to the present-day simulation, the simulation with the Earth's orbital parameters from 115,000 years ago features significantly cooler northern high latitudes, but only moderately cooler southern high latitudes. This asymmetry is explained by a 30% reduction of the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that is caused by an increased Arctic sea-ice export and a resulting freshening of the North Atlantic. The strong northern high-latitude cooling and the direct insolation induced tropical warming lead to global shifts in precipitation and winds to the order of 10-20%. These climate shifts lead to regional differences in air-sea carbon fluxes of the same order. However, the differences in global net carbon fluxes are insignificant. This surprising result is due to several effects, two of which stand out: Firstly, colder sea surface temperature leads to a more effective solubility pump but also to increased sea-ice concentration which blocks air-sea exchange; and secondly, the weakening of Southern Ocean winds, which is predicted by some idealized studies, is small compared to its interannual variability.

Global ocean conveyor lowers extinction risk in the deep sea

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Lea-Anne; Frank, Norbert; Hebbeln, Dierk; Wienberg, Claudia; Robinson, Laura; van de Flierdt, Tina; Dahl, Mikael; Douarin, Mélanie; Morrison, Cheryl L.; López Correa, Matthias; Rogers, Alex D.; Ruckelshausen, Mario; Roberts, J. Murray

2014-06-01

General paradigms of species extinction risk are urgently needed as global habitat loss and rapid climate change threaten Earth with what could be its sixth mass extinction. Using the stony coral Lophelia pertusa as a model organism with the potential for wide larval dispersal, we investigated how the global ocean conveyor drove an unprecedented post-glacial range expansion in Earth's largest biome, the deep sea. We compiled a unique ocean-scale dataset of published radiocarbon and uranium-series dates of fossil corals, the sedimentary protactinium-thorium record of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) strength, authigenic neodymium and lead isotopic ratios of circulation pathways, and coral biogeography, and integrated new Bayesian estimates of historic gene flow. Our compilation shows how the export of Southern Ocean and Mediterranean waters after the Younger Dryas 11.6 kyr ago simultaneously triggered two dispersal events in the western and eastern Atlantic respectively. Each pathway injected larvae from refugia into ocean currents powered by a re-invigorated AMOC that led to the fastest postglacial range expansion ever recorded, covering 7500 km in under 400 years. In addition to its role in modulating global climate, our study illuminates how the ocean conveyor creates broad geographic ranges that lower extinction risk in the deep sea.

Oceanic response to changes in the WAIS and astronomical forcing during the MIS31 superinterglacial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Justino

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Marine Isotope Stage 31 (MIS31, between 1085 and 1055 ka was characterized by higher extratropical air temperatures and a substantial recession of polar glaciers compared to today. Paleoreconstructions and model simulations have increased the understanding of the MIS31 interval, but questions remain regarding the role of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in modifying the climate associated with the variations in Earth's orbital parameters. Multi-century coupled climate simulations, with the astronomical configuration of the MIS31 and modified West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS topography, show an increase in the thermohaline flux and northward oceanic heat transport (OHT in the Pacific Ocean. These oceanic changes are driven by anomalous atmospheric circulation and increased surface salinity in concert with a stronger meridional overturning circulation (MOC. The intensified northward OHT is responsible for up to 85 % of the global OHT anomalies and contributes to the overall reduction in sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere (NH due to Earth's astronomical configuration. The relative contributions of the Atlantic Ocean to global OHT and MOC anomalies are minor compared to those of the Pacific. However, sea ice changes are remarkable, highlighted by decreased (increased cover in the Ross (Weddell Sea but widespread reductions in sea ice across the NH.

Preliminary results of U/Pb geochronology in Meridional Espinhaco Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machado, N.; Schrank, A.; Abreu, F.R. de; Knauer, L.G.; Abreu, P.A.A.

1989-01-01

Some samples of the constituent unities from Meridional Espinhaco Mountain for geochronology determining by U/Pb method are presented. The analytical techniques described by Krogh and the Davis linear regression program are used for treating these samples. (author)

Meridional flow in the solar convection zone. I. Measurements from gong data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kholikov, S. [National Solar Observatories, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Serebryanskiy, A. [Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Uzbek Academy of Science, Tashkent 100052 (Uzbekistan); Jackiewicz, J., E-mail: kholikov@noao.edu [Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States)

2014-04-01

Large-scale plasma flows in the Sun's convection zone likely play a major role in solar dynamics on decadal timescales. In particular, quantifying meridional motions is a critical ingredient for understanding the solar cycle and the transport of magnetic flux. Because the signal of such features can be quite small in deep solar layers and be buried in systematics or noise, the true meridional velocity profile has remained elusive. We perform time-distance helioseismology measurements on several years worth of Global Oscillation Network Group Doppler data. A spherical harmonic decomposition technique is applied to a subset of acoustic modes to measure travel-time differences to try to obtain signatures of meridional flows throughout the solar convection zone. Center-to-limb systematics are taken into account in an intuitive yet ad hoc manner. Travel-time differences near the surface that are consistent with a poleward flow in each hemisphere and are similar to previous work are measured. Additionally, measurements in deep layers near the base of the convection zone suggest a possible equatorward flow, as well as partial evidence of a sign change in the travel-time differences at mid-convection zone depths. This analysis on an independent data set using different measurement techniques strengthens recent conclusions that the convection zone may have multiple 'cells' of meridional flow. The results may challenge the common understanding of one large conveyor belt operating in the solar convection zone. Further work with helioseismic inversions and a careful study of systematic effects are needed before firm conclusions of these large-scale flow structures can be made.

An atmosphere-ocean GCM modelling study of the climate response to changing Arctic seaways in the early Cenozoic.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, C. D.; Legrande, A. N.; Tripati, A. K.

2008-12-01

The report of fossil Azolla (a freshwater aquatic fern) in sediments from the Lomonosov Ridge suggests low salinity conditions occurred in the Arctic Ocean in the early Eocene. Restricted passages between the Arctic Ocean and the surrounding oceans are hypothesized to have caused this Arctic freshening. We investigate this scenario using a water-isotope enabled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model with Eocene boundary conditions including 4xCO2, 7xCH4, altered bathymetry and topography, and an estimated distribution of Eocene vegetational types. In one experiment, oceanic exchange between the Arctic Ocean and other ocean basins was restricted to two shallow (~250 m) seaways, one in the North Atlantic, the Greenland-Norwegian seaway, and the second connecting the Arctic Ocean with the Tethys Ocean, the Turgai Straits. In the restricted configuration, the Greenland-Norwegian seaway was closed and exchange through the Turgai Straits was limited to a depth of ~60 m. The simulations suggest that the severe restriction of Arctic seaways in the early Eocene may have been sufficient to freshen Arctic Ocean surface waters, conducive to Azolla blooms. When exchange with the Arctic Ocean is limited, salinities in the upper several hundred meters of the water column decrease by ~10 psu. In some regions, surface salinity is within 2-3 psu of the reported maximum modern conditions tolerated by Azolla (~5 psu). In the restricted scenario, salt is stored preferentially in the North Atlantic and Tethys oceans, resulting in enhanced meridional overturning, increased poleward heat transport in the North Atlantic western boundary current, and warming of surface and intermediate waters in the North Atlantic by several degrees. Increased sensible and latent heat fluxes from the North Atlantic Ocean, combined with a reduction in cloud albedo, also lead to an increase in surface air temperature of over much of North America, Greenland and Eurasia. Our work is consistent with

Solar-cycle Variations of Meridional Flows in the Solar Convection Zone Using Helioseismic Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chia-Hsien; Chou, Dean-Yi

2018-06-01

The solar meridional flow is an axisymmetric flow in solar meridional planes, extending through the convection zone. Here we study its solar-cycle variations in the convection zone using SOHO/MDI helioseismic data from 1996 to 2010, including two solar minima and one maximum. The travel-time difference between northward and southward acoustic waves is related to the meridional flow along the wave path. Applying the ray approximation and the SOLA inversion method to the travel-time difference measured in a previous study, we obtain the meridional flow distributions in 0.67 ≤ r ≤ 0.96R ⊙ at the minimum and maximum. At the minimum, the flow has a three-layer structure: poleward in the upper convection zone, equatorward in the middle convection zone, and poleward again in the lower convection zone. The flow speed is close to zero within the error bar near the base of the convection zone. The flow distribution changes significantly from the minimum to the maximum. The change above 0.9R ⊙ shows two phenomena: first, the poleward flow speed is reduced at the maximum; second, an additional convergent flow centered at the active latitudes is generated at the maximum. These two phenomena are consistent with the surface meridional flow reported in previous studies. The change in flow extends all the way down to the base of the convection zone, and the pattern of the change below 0.9R ⊙ is more complicated. However, it is clear that the active latitudes play a role in the flow change: the changes in flow speed below and above the active latitudes have opposite signs. This suggests that magnetic fields could be responsible for the flow change.

Variations in the Strength of the North Atlantic Bottom water during Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Kissel, C.; Van Toer, A.; Michel, E.; Cortijo, E.

2012-04-01

centered at about 8.4 kyr (cal. ages) is marked by a pronounced minima in magnetic content and the smaller mean sortable silt sizes, typical for an abrupt reduction in deep flow speed. At the same time, the benthic delta13C values which could be obtained from Cib. wuellerstorfi reach significantly negative values (-0.5‰) providing evidence of a significant change to a major downwelling limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. This event is in phase with the meltwater outbursts from the final drainage of the proglacial lakes associated with the decaying Laurentide Ice Sheet margin. In addition, all through the Holocene, a series of short-term events of lower bottom flow speed and weaker ISOW always illustrated by minima mean size of the sortable silt and in magnetic concentration respectively are observed with a periodicity of 300-600 years between 6 and 2 kyr. These results are compared to those we obtained from other cores located along the Gardar Drift (P.I.C.A.S.S.O cruise in 2003) and the Eirik drift and with recently published results.

Radial Transport and Meridional Circulation in Accretion Disks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philippov, Alexander A. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Rafikov, Roman R., E-mail: sashaph@princeton.edu [Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States)

2017-03-10

Radial transport of particles, elements and fluid driven by internal stresses in three-dimensional (3D) astrophysical accretion disks is an important phenomenon, potentially relevant for the outward dust transport in protoplanetary disks, origin of the refractory particles in comets, isotopic equilibration in the Earth–Moon system, etc. To gain better insight into these processes, we explore the dependence of meridional circulation in 3D disks with shear viscosity on their thermal stratification, and demonstrate a strong effect of the latter on the radial flow. Previous locally isothermal studies have normally found a pattern of the radial outflow near the midplane, switching to inflow higher up. Here we show, both analytically and numerically, that a flow that is inward at all altitudes is possible in disks with entropy and temperature steeply increasing with height. Such thermodynamic conditions may be typical in the optically thin, viscously heated accretion disks. Disks in which these conditions do not hold should feature radial outflow near the midplane, as long as their internal stress is provided by the shear viscosity. Our results can also be used for designing hydrodynamical disk simulations with a prescribed pattern of the meridional circulation.

ESTIMATING THE DEEP SOLAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION USING MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS AND A DYNAMO MODEL: A VARIATIONAL APPROACH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hung, Ching Pui; Jouve, Laurène; Brun, Allan Sacha [Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CEA/IRFU Université Paris-Diderot CNRS/INSU, F-91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette (France); Fournier, Alexandre [Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot UMR 7154 CNRS, F-75005 Paris (France); Talagrand, Olivier [Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique, UMR 8539, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Cedex 05 (France)

2015-12-01

We show how magnetic observations of the Sun can be used in conjunction with an axisymmetric flux-transport solar dynamo model in order to estimate the large-scale meridional circulation throughout the convection zone. Our innovative approach rests on variational data assimilation, whereby the distance between predictions and observations (measured by an objective function) is iteratively minimized by means of an optimization algorithm seeking the meridional flow that best accounts for the data. The minimization is performed using a quasi-Newton technique, which requires knowledge of the sensitivity of the objective function to the meridional flow. That sensitivity is efficiently computed via the integration of the adjoint flux-transport dynamo model. Closed-loop (also known as twin) experiments using synthetic data demonstrate the validity and accuracy of this technique for a variety of meridional flow configurations, ranging from unicellular and equatorially symmetric to multicellular and equatorially asymmetric. In this well-controlled synthetic context, we perform a systematic study of the behavior of our variational approach under different observational configurations by varying their spatial density, temporal density, and noise level, as well as the width of the assimilation window. We find that the method is remarkably robust, leading in most cases to a recovery of the true meridional flow to within better than 1%. These encouraging results are a first step toward using this technique to (i) better constrain the physical processes occurring inside the Sun and (ii) better predict solar activity on decadal timescales.

ESTIMATING THE DEEP SOLAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION USING MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS AND A DYNAMO MODEL: A VARIATIONAL APPROACH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Ching Pui; Jouve, Laurène; Brun, Allan Sacha; Fournier, Alexandre; Talagrand, Olivier

2015-01-01

We show how magnetic observations of the Sun can be used in conjunction with an axisymmetric flux-transport solar dynamo model in order to estimate the large-scale meridional circulation throughout the convection zone. Our innovative approach rests on variational data assimilation, whereby the distance between predictions and observations (measured by an objective function) is iteratively minimized by means of an optimization algorithm seeking the meridional flow that best accounts for the data. The minimization is performed using a quasi-Newton technique, which requires knowledge of the sensitivity of the objective function to the meridional flow. That sensitivity is efficiently computed via the integration of the adjoint flux-transport dynamo model. Closed-loop (also known as twin) experiments using synthetic data demonstrate the validity and accuracy of this technique for a variety of meridional flow configurations, ranging from unicellular and equatorially symmetric to multicellular and equatorially asymmetric. In this well-controlled synthetic context, we perform a systematic study of the behavior of our variational approach under different observational configurations by varying their spatial density, temporal density, and noise level, as well as the width of the assimilation window. We find that the method is remarkably robust, leading in most cases to a recovery of the true meridional flow to within better than 1%. These encouraging results are a first step toward using this technique to (i) better constrain the physical processes occurring inside the Sun and (ii) better predict solar activity on decadal timescales

Dependency of climate change and carbon cycle on CO2 emission pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nohara, Daisuke; Yoshida, Yoshikatsu; Misumi, Kazuhiro; Ohba, Masamichi

2013-01-01

Previous research has indicated that the response of globally average temperature is approximately proportional to cumulative CO 2 emissions, yet evidence of the robustness of this relationship over a range of CO 2 emission pathways is lacking. To address this, we evaluate the dependency of climate and carbon cycle change on CO 2 emission pathways using a fully coupled climate–carbon cycle model. We design five idealized pathways (including an overshoot scenario for cumulative emissions), each of which levels off to final cumulative emissions of 2000 GtC. The cumulative emissions of the overshoot scenario reach 4000 GtC temporarily, subsequently reducing to 2000 GtC as a result of continuous negative emissions. Although we find that responses of climatic variables and the carbon cycle are largely independent of emission pathways, a much weakened Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is projected in the overshoot scenario despite cessation of emissions. This weakened AMOC is enhanced by rapid warming in the Arctic region due to considerable temporary elevation of atmospheric CO 2 concentration and induces the decline of surface air temperature and decrease of precipitation over the northern Atlantic and Europe region. Moreover, the weakened AMOC reduces CO 2 uptake by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. However, the weakened AMOC contributes little to the global carbon cycle. In conclusion, although climate variations have been found to be dependent on emission pathways, the global carbon cycle is relatively independent of these emission pathways, at least superficially. (letter)

A frozen record of density-driven crustal overturn in lava lakes: The example of Kilauea Iki 1959

Science.gov (United States)

Stovall, W.K.; Houghton, Bruce F.; Harris, A.J.L.; Swanson, D.A.

2009-01-01

Lava lakes are found at basaltic volcanoes on Earth and other planetary bodies. Density-driven crustal foundering leading to surface renewal occurs repeatedly throughout the life of a lava lake. This process has been observed and described in a qualitative sense, but due to dangerous conditions, no data has been acquired to evaluate the densities of the units involved. Kilauea Iki pit crater in Hawai'i houses a lava lake erupted during a 2 month period in 1959. Part of the surface of the Kilauea Iki lake now preserves the frozen record of a final, incomplete, crustal-overturn cycle. We mapped this region and sampled portions of the foundering crust, as well as overriding and underlying lava, to constrain the density of the units involved in the overturn process. Overturn is driven by the advance of a flow front of fresh, low-density lava over an older, higher density surface crust. The advance of the front causes the older crust to break up, founder, and dive downwards into the lake to expose new, hot, low-density lava. We find density differences of 200 to 740 kg/m3 between the foundering crust and over-riding and under-lying lava respectively. In this case, crustal overturn is driven by large density differences between the foundering and resurfacing units. These differences lead, inevitably, to frequent crustal renewal: simple density differences between the surface crust and underlying lake lava make the upper layers of the lake highly unstable. ?? Springer-Verlag 2008.

Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions in the southeastern Atlantic: interannual variability

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaoming; Vizy, Edward K.; Cook, Kerry H.

2018-02-01

Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions in the southeastern South Atlantic and their connections to interannual variability are examined using a regional climate model coupled with an intermediate-level ocean model. In austral summer, zonal displacements of the South Atlantic subtropical high (SASH) can induce variations of mixed-layer currents in the Benguela upwelling region through surface wind stress curl anomalies near the Namibian coast, and an eastward shifted SASH is related to the first Pacific-South American mode. When the SASH is meridionally displaced, mixed layer vertically-integrated Ekman transport anomalies are mainly a response to the change of alongshore surface wind stress. The latitudinal shift of the SASH tends to dampen the anomalous alongshore wind by modulating the land-sea thermal contrast, while opposed by oceanic diffusion. Although the position of the SASH is closely linked to the phase of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the southern annular mode (SAM) in austral summer, an overall relationship between Benguela upwelling strength and ENSO or SAM is absent. During austral winter, variations of the mixed layer Ekman transport in the Benguela upwelling region are connected to the strength of the SASH through its impact on both coastal wind stress curl and alongshore surface wind stress. Compared with austral summer, low-level cloud cover change plays a more important role. Although wintertime sea surface temperature fluctuations in the equatorial Atlantic are strong and may act to influence variability over the northern Benguela area, the surface heat budget analysis suggests that local air-sea interactions dominate.

The impact of the subtropical South Atlantic SST on South American precipitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. S. Taschetto

2008-11-01

remote influences, however, are confounded by the large internal variance in the region. During MAM and JJA, the South Atlantic SST anomalies affect the magnitude and the meridional displacement of the ITCZ. In JJA, the ENSO has relatively little influence on the interannual variability of the simulated rainfall. During SON, however, the ENSO seems to counteract the effect of the subtropical South Atlantic SST variations on convection over South America.

The preconditioning role of Tropical Atlantic Variability in the development of the ENSO teleconnection: implications for the prediction of Nordeste rainfall

Science.gov (United States)

Giannini, A.; Saravanan, R.; Chang, P.

A comparison of rainfall variability in the semi-arid Brazilian Nordeste in observations and in two sets of model simulations leads to the conclusion that the evolving interaction between Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon can explain two puzzling features of ENSO's impact on the Nordeste: (1) the event-to-event unpredictability of ENSO's impact; (2) the greater impact of cold rather than warm ENSO events during the past 50 years. The explanation is in the `preconditioning' role of Tropical Atlantic Variability. When, in seasons prior to the mature phase of ENSO, the tropical Atlantic happens to be evolving consistently with the development expected of the ENSO teleconnection, ENSO and TAV add up to force large anomalies in Nordeste rainfall. When it happens to be evolving in opposition to the canonical development of ENSO, then the net outcome is less obvious, but also less anomalous. The more frequent occurrence of tropical Atlantic conditions consistent with those that develop during a cold ENSO event, i.e. of a negative meridional sea surface temperature gradient, explains the weaker warm ENSO and stronger cold ENSO anomalies in Nordeste rainfall of the latter part of the twentieth century. Close monitoring of the evolution of the tropical Atlantic in seasons prior to the mature phase of ENSO should lead to an enhanced forecast potential.

What Can Radiocarbon Depth Profiles Tell Us About The LGM Circulation?

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, A.; Stewart, A.; Adkins, J. F.; Ferrari, R. M.; Thompson, A. F.; Jansen, M. F.

2014-12-01

Published reconstructions of radiocarbon in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean indicate that there is a mid-depth maximum in radiocarbon age during the last glacial maximum (LGM). This is in contrast to the modern ocean where intense mixing between water masses along shared density surfaces (isopycnals) results in a relatively homogenous radiocarbon profile. A recent study (Ferrari et al. 2014) suggested that the extended Antarctic sea ice cover during the LGM necessitated a shallower boundary between the upper and lower branches of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). This shoaled boundary lay above major topographic features and their associated strong diapycnal mixing, which isolated dense southern-sourced water in the lower branch of the overturning circulation. This isolation would have allowed radiocarbon to decay, and thus provides a possible explanation for the mid-depth radiocarbon age bulge. We test this hypothesis using an idealized, 2D, residual-mean dynamical model of the global overturning circulation. Concentration distributions of a decaying tracer that is advected by the simulated overturning are compared to published radiocarbon data. We test the sensitivity of the mid-depth radiocarbon age to changes in sea ice extent, wind strength, and isopycnal and diapycnal diffusion. The mid-depth radiocarbon age bulge is most likely caused by the different circulation geometry, associated with increased sea ice extent. In particular, with an LGM-like sea ice extent the upper and lower branches of the MOC no longer share isopycnals, so radiocarbon-rich northern-sourced water is no longer mixed rapidly into the southern-sourced water. However, this process alone cannot explain the magnitude of the glacial radiocarbon anomalies; additional isolation (e.g. from reduced air-sea gas exchange associated with the increased sea ice) is required. Ferrari, R., M. F. Jansen, J. F. Adkins, A. Burke, A. L. Stewart, and A. F. Thompson (2014), Antarctic sea

Enhanced Influence of the Tropical Atlantic SST on the Western North Pacific Subtropical High after late 1970s

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, C. C.

2015-12-01

The western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) in boreal summer shows a remarkable enhancement after the late 1970s. Whereas the sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Indian Ocean (NIO) and the equatorial eastern Pacific (EEP) had been noted to have remarkable local or remote effects on enhancing the WNPSH, the influence of the Atlantic SST, so far, is hardly explored. This article reports a new finding: enhanced relationship between the tropical Atlantic (TA)-SST and the WNPSH after the late 1970s. Regression study suggests that the warm TA-SST produced a zonally overturning circulation anomaly, with descending over the central equatorial Pacific and ascending over the tropical Atlantic/eastern Pacific. The anomalous descending over the central equatorial Pacific likely induced low-level anticyclonic anomaly to the west and therefore enhanced the WNPSH. One implication of this new finding is for predictability. The well-known "spring predictability barrier" (i.e., the influence of El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) falls dramatically during boreal spring) does not apply to the TA-SST/WNPSH relationship. Conversely, the TA-SST shows consistently high correlation starting from boreal spring when the ENSO influence continues declining. The TA-SST pushes the predictability of the WNPSH in boreal summer approximately one season earlier to boreal spring.

Currents, HF Radio-derived, SF Bay Outlet, 1 hr, Meridional, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 1 hour average of the meridional component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL...

Response of the North Atlantic surface and intermediate ocean structure to climate warming of MIS 11.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandiano, Evgenia S; van der Meer, Marcel T J; Schouten, Stefan; Fahl, Kirsten; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S; Bauch, Henning A

2017-04-10

Investigating past interglacial climates not only help to understand how the climate system operates in general, it also forms a vital basis for climate predictions. We reconstructed vertical stratification changes in temperature and salinity in the North Atlantic for a period some 400 ka ago (MIS11), an interglacial time analogue of a future climate. As inferred from a unique set of biogeochemical, geochemical, and faunal data, the internal upper ocean stratification across MIS 11 shows distinct depth-dependent dynamical changes related to vertical as well as lateral shifts in the upper Atlantic meridional circulation system. Importantly, transient cold events are recognized near the end of the long phase of postglacial warming at surface, subsurface, mid, and deeper water layers. These data demonstrate that MIS 11 coolings over the North Atlantic were initially triggered by freshwater input at the surface and expansion of cold polar waters into the Subpolar Gyre. The cooling signal was then transmitted downwards into mid-water depths. Since the cold events occurred after the main deglacial phase we suggest that their cause might be related to continuous melting of the Greenland ice sheet, a mechanism that might also be relevant for the present and upcoming climate.

Digamacris n. gen. (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae de la region atlantica meridional de Brasil Digamacris n. gen. (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae from the Atlantic Meridional region of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos S. Carbonell

1989-01-01

Full Text Available Digamacris, a new genus of the Dichroplini (Acrididae, Melanoplinae is described for the species Pezotettix amoenus Stal, 1878 and Dichroplus fratemus Carl, 1916, both included at present in the genus Dichroplus. These species live in edges and clearings of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlantica of Brazil. D. fratemus is found in the states of Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro east of the Bay of Guanabara. D. amoenus in the state of Rio de Janeiro W. of the Bay of Guanabara and in the coastal area of the state of São Paulo. The species are illustrated and redescribed. Both have two neatly different chromatic forms of females, while the males are uniform in coloration and closely correspond with one of the female forms.

Meridional transport of salt in the global ocean from an eddy-resolving model

Science.gov (United States)

Treguier, A. M.; Deshayes, J.; Le Sommer, J.; Lique, C.; Madec, G.; Penduff, T.; Molines, J.-M.; Barnier, B.; Bourdalle-Badie, R.; Talandier, C.

2014-04-01

The meridional transport of salt is computed in a global eddy-resolving numerical model (1/12° resolution) in order to improve our understanding of the ocean salinity budget. A methodology is proposed that allows a global analysis of the salinity balance in relation to surface water fluxes, without defining a "freshwater anomaly" based on an arbitrary reference salinity. The method consists of a decomposition of the meridional transport into (i) the transport by the time-longitude-depth mean velocity, (ii) time-mean velocity recirculations and (iii) transient eddy perturbations. Water is added (rainfall and rivers) or removed (evaporation) at the ocean surface at different latitudes, which creates convergences and divergences of mass transport with maximum and minimum values close to ±1 Sv. The resulting meridional velocity effects a net transport of salt at each latitude (±30 Sv PSU), which is balanced by the time-mean recirculations and by the net effect of eddy salinity-velocity correlations. This balance ensures that the total meridional transport of salt is close to zero, a necessary condition for maintaining a quasi-stationary salinity distribution. Our model confirms that the eddy salt transport cannot be neglected: it is comparable to the transport by the time-mean recirculation (up to 15 Sv PSU) at the poleward and equatorial boundaries of the subtropical gyres. Two different mechanisms are found: eddy contributions are localized in intense currents such as the Kuroshio at the poleward boundary of the subtropical gyres, while they are distributed across the basins at the equatorward boundaries. Closer to the Equator, salinity-velocity correlations are mainly due to the seasonal cycle and large-scale perturbations such as tropical instability waves.

Summer monsoon rainfall variability over North East regions of India and its association with Eurasian snow, Atlantic Sea Surface temperature and Arctic Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Prabhu, Amita; Oh, Jaiho; Kim, In-won; Kripalani, R. H.; Mitra, A. K.; Pandithurai, G.

2017-10-01

This observational study during the 29-year period from 1979 to 2007 evaluates the potential role of Eurasian snow in modulating the North East-Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall with a lead time of almost 6 months. This link is manifested by the changes in high-latitude atmospheric winter snow variability over Eurasia associated with Arctic Oscillation (AO). Excessive wintertime Eurasian snow leads to an anomalous cooling of the overlying atmosphere and is associated with the negative mode of AO, inducing a meridional wave-train descending over the tropical north Atlantic and is associated with cooling of this region. Once the cold anomalies are established over the tropical Atlantic, it persists up to the following summer leading to an anomalous zonal wave-train further inducing a descending branch over NE-India resulting in weak summer monsoon rainfall.

Interannual Variability of the Meridional Width of the Baiu Rainband in June and the Associated Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulations

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuji, K.; Tomita, T.

2016-12-01

Baiu front, which is defined as a boundary between tropical and polar air masses in the East Asia-western North Pacific sector in boreal early summer, slowly migrates northward with the daily meridional swings. Thus, the interannual variability of meridional width of the baiu rainband reflects the slow northward migration and the daily meridional swings of the baiu front. This study focuses on the meridional width of baiu rainband only in June when the baiu front extends on Japan, and investigates how the width is related to the rainfall of Japan with discussions of associated anomalous large-scale atmospheric circulations. The meridional width of baiu rainband is defined based on the monthly-mean precipitation rate of June, whose threshold is 5mm day-1 that is averaged in 130°-150°E. There is a significant positive correlation between the variations of southern and northern edges of the baiu rainband in June. However, the interannual variance of the southern edge is almost twice larger than that of the northern one. That is, the interannual variability of the meridional width is chiefly caused by the variations of southern edge, and the contribution of northern ones is small. When the meridonal width is narrow (wide), an anomalous anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulation appears to the south of Japan, and the precipitation rate increases (decreases) in the western part of Japan while decreases (increases) in the counterpart. In other words, a local dipole with a node at 140°E appears around Japan in the baiu rainfall anomalies. The anomalous anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulation to the south of Japan, which controls the interannual variability of meridional width of the baiu rainband, is induced by the strength of Indian summer monsoon. When the convective activity of Indian summer monsoon is strong (week), the Tibetan high in the upper troposphere extends more (less) eastward. The induced stronger (weaker) descent leads stronger (weaker) Bonin high in the western

Causes and impacts of changes in the stratospheric meridional circulation in a chemistry-climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garny, Hella

2011-05-13

The stratospheric meridional circulation is projected to be subject to changes due to enhanced greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere. This study aims to diagnose and explain long-term changes in the stratospheric meridional circulation using the chemistry-climate model E39CA. The diagnosed strengthening of the circulation is found to be driven by increases in tropical sea surface temperatures which lead to a strengthening and upward shift of the subtropical jets. This enables enhanced vertical propagation of large scale waves into the lower stratosphere, and therefore stronger local wave forcing of the meridional circulation in the tropical lower stratosphere. The impact of changes in transport on the ozone layer is analysed using a newly developed method that allows the separation of the effects of transport and chemistry changes on ozone. It is found that future changes of mean stratospheric ozone concentrations are largely determined by changes in chemistry, while changes in transport of ozone play a minor role. (orig.)

A GCM Study of Responses of the Atmospheric Water Cycle of West Africa and the Atlantic to Saharan Dust Radiative Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, K. M.; Kim, K. M.; Sud, Y. C.; Walker, G. K.

2009-01-01

The responses of the atmospheric water cycle and climate of West Africa and the Atlantic to radiative forcing of Saharan dust are studied using the NASA finite volume general circulation model (fvGCM), coupled to a mixed layer ocean. We find evidence of an "elevated heat pump" (EHP) mechanism that underlines the responses of the atmospheric water cycle to dust forcing as follow. During the boreal summerr, as a result of large-scale atmospheric feedback triggered by absorbing dust aerosols, rainfall and cloudiness are ehanIed over the West Africa/Eastern Atlantic ITCZ, and suppressed over the West Atlantic and Caribbean region. Shortwave radiation absorption by dust warms the atmosphere and cools the surface, while longwave has the opposite response. The elevated dust layer warms the air over West Africa and the eastern Atlantic. As the warm air rises, it spawns a large-scale onshore flow carrying the moist air from the eastern Atlantic and the Gulf of Guinea. The onshore flow in turn enhances the deep convection over West Africa land, and the eastern Atlantic. The condensation heating associated with the ensuing deep convection drives and maintains an anomalous large-scale east-west overturning circulation with rising motion over West Africa/eastern Atlantic, and sinking motion over the Caribbean region. The response also includes a strengthening of the West African monsoon, manifested in a northward shift of the West Africa precipitation over land, increased low-level westerlies flow over West Africa at the southern edge of the dust layer, and a near surface westerly jet underneath the dust layer overr the Sahara. The dust radiative forcing also leads to significant changes in surface energy fluxes, resulting in cooling of the West African land and the eastern Atlantic, and warming in the West Atlantic and Caribbean. The EHP effect is most effective for moderate to highly absorbing dusts, and becomes minimized for reflecting dust with single scattering albedo at0

Climate Stability: Pathway to understand abrupt glacial climate shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X.; Knorr, G.; Barker, S.; Lohmann, G.

2017-12-01

Glacial climate is marked by abrupt, millennial-scale climate changes known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles that have been linked to variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The most pronounced stadial coolings, Heinrich Stadials (HSs), are associated with massive iceberg discharges to the North Atlantic. This motivates scientists to consider that the North Atlantic freshwater perturbations is a common trigger of the associated abrupt transitions between weak and strong AMOC states. However, recent studies suggest that the Heinrich ice-surging events are triggered by ocean subsurface warming associated with an AMOC slow-down. Furthermore, the duration of ice-rafting events does not systematically coincide with the beginning and end of the pronounced cold conditions during HSs. In this context, we show that both, changes in atmospheric CO2 and ice sheet configuration can provide important control on the stability of the AMOC, using a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. Our simulations reveal that gradual changes in Northern Hemisphere ice sheet height and atmospheric CO2 can act as a trigger of abrupt glacial/deglacial climate changes. The simulated global climate responses—including abrupt warming in the North Atlantic, a northward shift of the tropical rain belts, and Southern Hemisphere cooling related to the bipolar seesaw—are generally consistent with empirical evidence. We further find that under a delicate configuration of atmospheric CO2 and ice sheet height the AMOC can be characterized by a self-oscillation (resonance) feature (Hopf Bifucation) with a 1000-year cycle that is comparable with observed small DO events during the MIS 3. This provides an alternative explanation for millennial-scale DO variability during glacial periods.

Bi-decadal variability excited in the coupled ocean-atmosphere system by strong tropical volcanic eruptions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zanchettin, D.; Lorenz, S.; Lohmann, K.; Jungclaus, J.H. [Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Ocean in the Earth System Department, Hamburg (Germany); Timmreck, C. [Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Atmosphere in the Earth System Department, Hamburg (Germany); Graf, H.-F. [University of Cambridge, Centre for Atmospheric Science, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Rubino, A. [Ca' Foscari University, Department of Environmental Sciences, Venice (Italy); Krueger, K. [Leibniz-Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel (Germany)

2012-07-15

Decadal and bi-decadal climate responses to tropical strong volcanic eruptions (SVEs) are inspected in an ensemble simulation covering the last millennium based on the Max Planck Institute - Earth system model. An unprecedentedly large collection of pre-industrial SVEs (up to 45) producing a peak annual-average top-of-atmosphere radiative perturbation larger than -1.5 Wm{sup -2} is investigated by composite analysis. Post-eruption oceanic and atmospheric anomalies coherently describe a fluctuation in the coupled ocean-atmosphere system with an average length of 20-25 years. The study provides a new physically consistent theoretical framework to interpret decadal Northern Hemisphere (NH) regional winter climates variability during the last millennium. The fluctuation particularly involves interactions between the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the North Atlantic gyre circulation closely linked to the state of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation. It is characterized by major distinctive details. Among them, the most prominent are: (a) a strong signal amplification in the Arctic region which allows for a sustained strengthened teleconnection between the North Pacific and the North Atlantic during the first post-eruption decade and which entails important implications from oceanic heat transport and from post-eruption sea ice dynamics, and (b) an anomalous surface winter warming emerging over the Scandinavian/Western Russian region around 10-12 years after a major eruption. The simulated long-term climate response to SVEs depends, to some extent, on background conditions. Consequently, ensemble simulations spanning different phases of background multidecadal and longer climate variability are necessary to constrain the range of possible post-eruption decadal evolution of NH regional winter climates. (orig.)

Wind Stress, METOP ASCAT, 0.25 degrees, Global, Near Real Time, Meridional

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes near real time wind stress data in zonal, meridional, modulus, and wind stress curl sets. This data begins with wind velocity...

Reduced connection between the East Asian Summer Monsoon and Southern Hemisphere Circulation on interannual timescales under intense global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Tianlei; Guo, Pinwen; Cheng, Jun; Hu, Aixue; Lin, Pengfei; Yu, Yongqiang

2018-03-01

Previous studies show a close relationship between the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) and Southern Hemisphere (SH) circulation on interannual timescales. In this study, we investigate whether this close relationship will change under intensive greenhouse-gas effect by analyzing simulations under two different climate background states: preindustrial era and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 stabilization from the Community Climate System Model Version 4 (CCSM4). Results show a significantly reduced relationship under stabilized RCP8.5 climate state, such a less correlated EASM with the sea level pressure in the southern Indian Ocean and the SH branch of local Hadley Cell. Further analysis suggests that the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) due to this warming leads to a less vigorous northward meridional heat transport, a decreased intertropical temperature contrast in boreal summer, which produces a weaker cross-equatorial Hadley Cell in the monsoonal region and a reduced Interhemispheric Mass Exchange (IME). Since the monsoonal IME acts as a bridge connecting EASM and SH circulation, the reduced IME weakens this connection. By performing freshwater hosing experiment using the Flexible Global Ocean—Atmosphere—Land System model, Grid-point Version 2 (FGOALS-g2), we show a weakened relationship between the EASM and SH circulation as in CCSM4 when AMOC collapses. Our results suggest that a substantially weakened AMOC is the main driver leading to the EASM, which is less affected by SH circulation in the future warmer climate.

Is a deep one-cell meridional circulation essential for the flux transport solar dynamo?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazra, Gopal; Karak, Bidya Binay; Choudhuri, Arnab Rai

2014-01-01

The solar activity cycle is successfully modeled by the flux transport dynamo, in which the meridional circulation of the Sun plays an important role. Most of the kinematic dynamo simulations assume a one-cell structure of the meridional circulation within the convection zone, with the equatorward return flow at its bottom. In view of the recent claims that the return flow occurs at a much shallower depth, we explore whether a meridional circulation with such a shallow return flow can still retain the attractive features of the flux transport dynamo (such as a proper butterfly diagram, the proper phase relation between the toroidal and poloidal fields). We consider additional cells of the meridional circulation below the shallow return flow—both the case of multiple cells radially stacked above one another and the case of more complicated cell patterns. As long as there is an equatorward flow in low latitudes at the bottom of the convection zone, we find that the solar behavior is approximately reproduced. However, if there is either no flow or a poleward flow at the bottom of the convection zone, then we cannot reproduce solar behavior. On making the turbulent diffusivity low, we still find periodic behavior, although the period of the cycle becomes unrealistically large. In addition, with a low diffusivity, we do not get the observed correlation between the polar field at the sunspot minimum and the strength of the next cycle, which is reproduced when diffusivity is high. On introducing radially downward pumping, we get a more reasonable period and more solar-like behavior even with low diffusivity.

Is a deep one-cell meridional circulation essential for the flux transport solar dynamo?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hazra, Gopal; Karak, Bidya Binay; Choudhuri, Arnab Rai, E-mail: ghazra@physics.iisc.ernet.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India)

2014-02-20

The solar activity cycle is successfully modeled by the flux transport dynamo, in which the meridional circulation of the Sun plays an important role. Most of the kinematic dynamo simulations assume a one-cell structure of the meridional circulation within the convection zone, with the equatorward return flow at its bottom. In view of the recent claims that the return flow occurs at a much shallower depth, we explore whether a meridional circulation with such a shallow return flow can still retain the attractive features of the flux transport dynamo (such as a proper butterfly diagram, the proper phase relation between the toroidal and poloidal fields). We consider additional cells of the meridional circulation below the shallow return flow—both the case of multiple cells radially stacked above one another and the case of more complicated cell patterns. As long as there is an equatorward flow in low latitudes at the bottom of the convection zone, we find that the solar behavior is approximately reproduced. However, if there is either no flow or a poleward flow at the bottom of the convection zone, then we cannot reproduce solar behavior. On making the turbulent diffusivity low, we still find periodic behavior, although the period of the cycle becomes unrealistically large. In addition, with a low diffusivity, we do not get the observed correlation between the polar field at the sunspot minimum and the strength of the next cycle, which is reproduced when diffusivity is high. On introducing radially downward pumping, we get a more reasonable period and more solar-like behavior even with low diffusivity.

Uptake by the Atlantic Ocean of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide and radiocarbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolin, B.; Bjorkstrom, A.

1989-01-01

Inverse methods have been used to deduce water circulation, spatial patterns of turbulent exchange and biological activity in the Atlantic Ocean, by using a set of stationary tracers and a condition of quasi-geostrophic flow. The solution yields a direct meridional circulation cell with descending motion in the northern Atlantic with an intensity of 20-25 Sverdrup, a reasonable distribution of vertical turbulent transfer in the uppermost ocean layers and comparatively large rates of detritus formation, about 4.5 Pg C yr -1 . The solution is used to compute the invasion of tritium 1955-1983, and the uptake of excess radiocarbon and carbon dioxide during the period 1760-1983. A fair agreement between computed and observed changes of tritium and 14 C is obtained, but the period of observations is too short to serve as a conclusive test model. The uptake of carbon dioxide during the 220 years period into the Atlantic Ocean is 33 ± 5 Pg and it is further found that significant variations of the uptake fraction of the CO 2 emissions may have occurred due to varying rates of emissions in gorce of time. The conclusion is drawn that the ocean and its carbonate system may not have been the only sink for anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Means for how to further improve the model and its capability to reproduce the ocean behaviour are discussed. Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and changing land use have changed the global carbon cycle very significant during the last two centuries

SOLAR WAVE-FIELD SIMULATION FOR TESTING PROSPECTS OF HELIOSEISMIC MEASUREMENTS OF DEEP MERIDIONAL FLOWS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartlep, T.; Zhao, J.; Kosovichev, A. G.; Mansour, N. N.

2013-01-01

The meridional flow in the Sun is an axisymmetric flow that is generally directed poleward at the surface, and is presumed to be of fundamental importance in the generation and transport of magnetic fields. Its true shape and strength, however, are debated. We present a numerical simulation of helioseismic wave propagation in the whole solar interior in the presence of a prescribed, stationary, single-cell, deep meridional circulation serving as synthetic data for helioseismic measurement techniques. A deep-focusing time-distance helioseismology technique is applied to the synthetic data, showing that it can in fact be used to measure the effects of the meridional flow very deep in the solar convection zone. It is shown that the ray approximation that is commonly used for interpretation of helioseismology measurements remains a reasonable approximation even for very long distances between 12° and 42° corresponding to depths between 52 and 195 Mm. From the measurement noise, we extrapolate that time-resolved observations on the order of a full solar cycle may be needed to probe the flow all the way to the base of the convection zone.

Variations in the Holocene North Atlantic Bottom Current Strength in the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Kissel, C.; Van Toer, A.; Cortijo, E.; Turon, J.

2011-12-01

speed. Although not exactly at the same age, we note that the pattern in the same as the one observed by Ellison et al. (2006) further north along the Gardar drift with a gradual decrease in the mean sortable silt size followed by a two steps rather fast increase. At the same time, the benthic delta13C values which could be obtained from the few Cib. wuellerstorfi present in the sediment reach significantly negative values (-0.5%) providing evidence of a significant change to a major downwelling limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. This event is in phase with the meltwater outbursts from the final drainage of the proglacial lakes associated with the decaying Laurentide Ice Sheet margin. In addition, all through the Holocene, a series of short-term events of lower bottom flow speed always illustrated by minima in magnetic concentration and mean size of the sortable silt are observed with a periodicity of 900 years between 6 and 2 kyr.

On the Origin of Multidecadal to Centennial Greenland Temperature Anomalies Over the Past 800 yr

Science.gov (United States)

Kobashi, T.; Shindell, D. T.; Kodera, K.; Box, J. E.; Nakaegawa, T.; Kawamura, K.

2013-01-01

The surface temperature of the Greenland ice sheet is among the most important climate variables for assessing how climate change may impact human societies due to its association with sea level rise. However, the causes of multidecadal-to-centennial temperature changes in Greenland temperatures are not well understood, largely owing to short observational records. To examine these, we calculated the Greenland temperature anomalies (GTA[G-NH]) over the past 800 yr by subtracting the standardized northern hemispheric (NH) temperature from the standardized Greenland temperature. This decomposes the Greenland temperature variation into background climate (NH); polar amplification; and regional variability (GTA[G-NH]). The central Greenland polar amplification factor as expressed by the variance ratio Greenland/NH is 2.6 over the past 161 yr, and 3.3-4.2 over the past 800 yr. The GTA[G-NH] explains 31-35%of the variation of Greenland temperature in the multidecadal-to-centennial time scale over the past 800 yr. We found that the GTA[G-NH] has been influenced by solar-induced changes in atmospheric circulation patterns such as those produced by the North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO). Climate modeling and proxy temperature records indicate that the anomaly is also likely linked to solar-paced changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and associated changes in northward oceanic heat transport.

Kawase & McDermott revisited with a proper ocean model.

Science.gov (United States)

Jochum, Markus; Poulsen, Mads; Nuterman, Roman

2017-04-01

A suite of experiments with global ocean models is used to test the hypothesis that Southern Ocean (SO) winds can modify the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). It is found that for 3 and 1 degree resolution models the results are consistent with Toggweiler & Samuels (1995): stronger SO winds lead to a slight increase of the AMOC. In the simulations with 1/10 degree resolution, however, stronger SO winds weaken the AMOC. We show that these different outcomes are determined by the models' representation of topographic Rossby and Kelvin waves. Consistent with previous literature based on theory and idealized models, first baroclinic waves are slower in the coarse resolution models, but still manage to establish a pattern of global response that is similar to the one in the eddy-permitting model. Because of its different stratification, however, the Atlantic signal is transmitted by higher baroclinic modes. In the coarse resolution model these higher modes are dissipated before they reach 30N, whereas in the eddy-permitting model they reach the subpolar gyre undiminished. This inability of non-eddy-permitting ocean models to represent planetary waves with higher baroclinic modes casts doubt on the ability of climate models to represent non-local effects of climate change. Ideas on how to overcome these difficulties will be discussed.

On the origin of multidecadal to centennial Greenland temperature anomalies over the past 800 yr

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Kobashi

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The surface temperature of the Greenland ice sheet is among the most important climate variables for assessing how climate change may impact human societies due to its association with sea level rise. However, the causes of multidecadal-to-centennial temperature changes in Greenland temperatures are not well understood, largely owing to short observational records. To examine these, we calculated the Greenland temperature anomalies (GTA[G-NH] over the past 800 yr by subtracting the standardized northern hemispheric (NH temperature from the standardized Greenland temperature. This decomposes the Greenland temperature variation into background climate (NH; polar amplification; and regional variability (GTA[G-NH]. The central Greenland polar amplification factor as expressed by the variance ratio Greenland/NH is 2.6 over the past 161 yr, and 3.3–4.2 over the past 800 yr. The GTA[G-NH] explains 31–35% of the variation of Greenland temperature in the multidecadal-to-centennial time scale over the past 800 yr. We found that the GTA[G-NH] has been influenced by solar-induced changes in atmospheric circulation patterns such as those produced by the North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO. Climate modeling and proxy temperature records indicate that the anomaly is also likely linked to solar-paced changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC and associated changes in northward oceanic heat transport.

Sea Ice Retreat and its Impact on the Intensity of Open-Ocean Convection in the Greenland and Iceland Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, K.; Våge, K.; Pickart, R. S.; Renfrew, I.

2016-12-01

The air-sea transfer of heat and freshwater plays a critical role in the global climate system. This is particularly true for the Greenland and Iceland Seas, where these fluxes drive ocean convection that contributes to Denmark Strait Overflow Water, the densest component of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This buoyancy transfer is most pronounced during the winter downstream of the ice edge, where the cold and dry Arctic air first comes in contact with the relatively warm ocean surface. Here we show that the wintertime retreat of sea ice in the region, combined with different rates of warming for the atmosphere and sea surface of the Greenland and Iceland Seas, has resulted in statistically significant reductions of approximately 20% in the magnitude of the winter air-sea heat fluxes since 1979. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that modes of climate variability other than the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are required to fully characterize the regional air-sea interaction in this region. Mixed-layer model simulations imply that a continued decrease in atmospheric forcing will exceed a threshold for the Greenland Sea whereby convection will become depth limited, reducing the ventilation of mid-depth waters in the Nordic Seas. In the Iceland Sea, further reductions have the potential to decrease the supply of the densest overflow waters to the AMOC.

Environmental Composites for Bomb Cyclones of the Western North Atlantic in Reanalysis, 1948-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, R.; Sheridan, S. C.

2017-12-01

"Bomb" cyclones represent a small subset of mid-latitude cyclones characterized by rapid intensification and frequently are associated with extreme weather conditions along the eastern coast of North America. Like other extreme phenomena, bomb cyclone predictions are prone to error leading to inadequate or untimely hazard warnings. The rare nature of bomb cyclones and the uniqueness of their evolutions has made it difficult for researchers to make meaningful generalizations on bomb cyclone events. This paper describes bomb cyclone climatology for the western North Atlantic, using data from the NCEP-NCAR Reanalysis for 1948-2016, and uses a synoptic climatological analysis to relate these bombs to their associated atmospheric environments. A self-organizing map (SOM) of 300-hPa geopotential height tendency is created to partition the regional atmospheric environment. Thermodynamic fields are contrasted by each 300-hPa geopotential height tendency pattern for both bomb and non-bomb events in composite difference maps. The SOM patterns most significantly associated with western North Atlantic bomb cyclogenesis are characterized by both strongly and weakly negative height tendencies along the eastern United States. In both cases, these patterns exhibit strong meridional flow, a distinction marked by the weakening and breaking down of the polar vortex in the boreal Winter. The composite maps for each pattern show the mean differences in low-mid level ascent and near surface thermodynamics for bomb environments contrasted with non-bomb environments, resulting in diverse spatiotemporal distributions of bombs in the western North Atlantic.

Potential decadal predictability and its sensitivity to sea ice albedo parameterization in a global coupled model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koenigk, Torben; Caian, Mihaela; Doescher, Ralf; Wyser, Klaus [Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Rossby Centre, Norrkoeping (Sweden); Koenig Beatty, Christof [Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)

2012-06-15

Decadal prediction is one focus of the upcoming 5th IPCC Assessment report. To be able to interpret the results and to further improve the decadal predictions it is important to investigate the potential predictability in the participating climate models. This study analyzes the upper limit of climate predictability on decadal time scales and its dependency on sea ice albedo parameterization by performing two perfect ensemble experiments with the global coupled climate model EC-Earth. In the first experiment, the standard albedo formulation of EC-Earth is used, in the second experiment sea ice albedo is reduced. The potential prognostic predictability is analyzed for a set of oceanic and atmospheric parameters. The decadal predictability of the atmospheric circulation is small. The highest potential predictability was found in air temperature at 2 m height over the northern North Atlantic and the southern South Atlantic. Over land, only a few areas are significantly predictable. The predictability for continental size averages of air temperature is relatively good in all northern hemisphere regions. Sea ice thickness is highly predictable along the ice edges in the North Atlantic Arctic Sector. The meridional overturning circulation is highly predictable in both experiments and governs most of the decadal climate predictability in the northern hemisphere. The experiments using reduced sea ice albedo show some important differences like a generally higher predictability of atmospheric variables in the Arctic or higher predictability of air temperature in Europe. Furthermore, decadal variations are substantially smaller in the simulations with reduced ice albedo, which can be explained by reduced sea ice thickness in these simulations. (orig.)

Ocean circulation drifts in multi-millennial climate simulations: the role of salinity corrections and climate feedbacks

Science.gov (United States)

Dentith, Jennifer E.; Ivanovic, Ruza F.; Gregoire, Lauren J.; Tindall, Julia C.; Smith, Robin S.

2018-05-01

Low-resolution, complex general circulation models (GCMs) are valuable tools for studying the Earth system on multi-millennial timescales. However, slowly evolving salinity drifts can cause large shifts in climatic and oceanic regimes over thousands of years. We test two different schemes for neutralising unforced salinity drifts in the FAMOUS GCM: surface flux correction and volumetric flux correction. Although both methods successfully maintain a steady global mean salinity, local drifts and subsequent feedbacks promote cooling (≈ 4 °C over 6000 years) and freshening (≈ 2 psu over 6000 years) in the North Atlantic Ocean, and gradual warming (≈ 0.2 °C per millennium) and salinification (≈ 0.15 psu per millennium) in the North Pacific Ocean. Changes in the surface density in these regions affect the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), such that, after several millennia, the Atlantic MOC (AMOC) is in a collapsed state, and there is a strong, deep Pacific MOC (PMOC). Furthermore, the AMOC exhibits a period of metastability, which is only identifiable with run lengths in excess of 1500 years. We also compare simulations with two different land surface schemes, demonstrating that small biases in the surface climate may cause regional salinity drifts and significant shifts in the MOC (weakening of the AMOC and the initiation then invigoration of PMOC), even when the global hydrological cycle has been forcibly closed. Although there is no specific precursor to the simulated AMOC collapse, the northwest North Pacific and northeast North Atlantic are important areas that should be closely monitored for trends arising from such biases.

Glacial greenhouse-gas fluctuations controlled by ocean circulation changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmittner, Andreas; Galbraith, Eric D

2008-11-20

Earth's climate and the concentrations of the atmospheric greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) varied strongly on millennial timescales during past glacial periods. Large and rapid warming events in Greenland and the North Atlantic were followed by more gradual cooling, and are highly correlated with fluctuations of N(2)O as recorded in ice cores. Antarctic temperature variations, on the other hand, were smaller and more gradual, showed warming during the Greenland cold phase and cooling while the North Atlantic was warm, and were highly correlated with fluctuations in CO(2). Abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) have often been invoked to explain the physical characteristics of these Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations, but the mechanisms for the greenhouse-gas variations and their linkage to the AMOC have remained unclear. Here we present simulations with a coupled model of glacial climate and biogeochemical cycles, forced only with changes in the AMOC. The model simultaneously reproduces characteristic features of the Dansgaard-Oeschger temperature, as well as CO(2) and N(2)O fluctuations. Despite significant changes in the land carbon inventory, CO(2) variations on millennial timescales are dominated by slow changes in the deep ocean inventory of biologically sequestered carbon and are correlated with Antarctic temperature and Southern Ocean stratification. In contrast, N(2)O co-varies more rapidly with Greenland temperatures owing to fast adjustments of the thermocline oxygen budget. These results suggest that ocean circulation changes were the primary mechanism that drove glacial CO(2) and N(2)O fluctuations on millennial timescales.

The effect of sudden ice sheet melt on ocean circulation and surface climate

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanovic, R. F.; Gregoire, L. J.; Wickert, A. D.; Valdes, P. J.; Burke, A.

2017-12-01

Collapse of ice sheets can cause significant sea-level rise and widespread climate change. Around 14.6 thousand years ago, global mean sea level rose by 15 m in less than 350 years during an event known as Meltwater Pulse 1a. Ice sheet modelling and sea-level fingerprinting has suggested that approximately half of this 50 mm yr-1 sea level rise may have come from a North American ice Saddle Collapse that drained into the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. However, dating uncertainties make it difficult to determine the sequence of events and their drivers, leaving many fundamental questions. For example, was melting from the northern ice sheets responsible for the Older-Dryas or other global-scale cooling events, or did a contribution from Antarctica counteract the climatic effects? What was the role of the abrupt Bølling Warming? And how were all these signals linked to changes in Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation?To address these questions, we examined the effect of the North American ice Saddle Collapse using a high resolution network drainage model coupled to an atmosphere-ocean-vegetation General Circulation Model. Here, we present the quantitative routing estimates of the consequent meltwater discharge and its impact on climate. We also tested a suite of more idealised meltwater forcing scenarios to examine the global influence of Arctic versus Antarctic ice melt. The results show that 50% of the Saddle Collapse meltwater pulse was routed via the Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean, and 50% was discharged directly into the Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico. This meltwater flux, equivalent to a total of 7.3 m of sea-level rise, caused a strong (6 Sv) weakening of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and widespread Northern Hemisphere cooling of 1-5 °C. The greatest cooling is in the Arctic (5-10 °C in the winter), but there is also significant winter warming over eastern North America (1-3 °C). We propose that this robust submillennial mechanism was

Predominant nonlinear atmospheric response to meridional shift of the Gulf Stream path from the WRF atmospheric model simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, H.; Kwon, Y. O.; Joyce, T. M.

2016-02-01

A remarkably strong nonlinear behavior of the atmospheric circulation response to North Atlantic SST anomalies (SSTA) is revealed from a set of large-ensemble, high-resolution, and hemispheric-scale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations. The model is forced with the SSTA associated with meridional shift of the Gulf Stream (GS) path, constructed from a lag regression of the winter SST on a GS Index from observation. Analysis of the systematic set of experiments with SSTAs of varied amplitudes and switched signs representing various GS-shift scenarios provides unique insights into mechanism for emergence and evolution of transient and equilibrium response of atmospheric circulation to extratropical SSTA. Results show that, independent of sign of the SSTA, the equilibrium response is characterized by an anomalous trough over the North Atlantic Ocean and the Western Europe concurrent with enhanced storm track, increased rainfall, and reduced blocking days. To the north of the anomalous low, an anomalous ridge emerges over the Greenland, Iceland, and Norwegian Seas accompanied by weakened storm track, reduced rainfall and increased blocking days. This nonlinear component of the total response dominates the weak and oppositely signed linear response that is directly forced by the SSTA, yielding an anomalous ridge (trough) downstream of the warm (cold) SSTA. The amplitude of the linear response is proportional to that of the SSTA, but this is masked by the overwhelmingly strong nonlinear behavior showing no clear correspondence to the SSTA amplitude. The nonlinear pattern emerges 3-4 weeks after the model initialization in November and reaches its first peak amplitude in December/January. It appears that altered baroclinic wave activity due to the GS SSTA in November lead to low-frequency height responses in December/January through transient eddy vorticity flux convergence.

Southern Ocean overturning across streamlines in an eddying simulation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Treguier

2007-12-01

Full Text Available An eddying global model is used to study the characteristics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC in a streamline-following framework. Previous model-based estimates of the meridional circulation were calculated using zonal averages: this method leads to a counter-intuitive poleward circulation of the less dense waters, and underestimates the eddy effects. We show that on the contrary, the upper ocean circulation across streamlines agrees with the theoretical view: an equatorward mean flow partially cancelled by a poleward eddy mass flux. Two model simulations, in which the buoyancy forcing above the ACC changes from positive to negative, suggest that the relationship between the residual meridional circulation and the surface buoyancy flux is not as straightforward as assumed by the simplest theoretical models: the sign of the residual circulation cannot be inferred from the surface buoyancy forcing only. Among the other processes that likely play a part in setting the meridional circulation, our model results emphasize the complex three-dimensional structure of the ACC (probably not well accounted for in streamline-averaged, two-dimensional models and the distinct role of temperature and salinity in the definition of the density field. Heat and salt transports by the time-mean flow are important even across time-mean streamlines. Heat and salt are balanced in the ACC, the model drift being small, but the nonlinearity of the equation of state cannot be ignored in the density balance.

Wind Stress, QuikSCAT SeaWinds, 0.25 degrees, Global, Science Quality, Meridional

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes science quality wind stress data in zonal, meridional, modulus, and wind stress curl sets. This data begins with wind velocity...

REE and Isotopic Compositions of Lunar Basalts Demonstrate Partial Melting of Hybridized Mantle Sources after Cumulate Overturn is Required

Science.gov (United States)

Dygert, N. J.; Liang, Y.

2017-12-01

Lunar basalts maintain an important record of the composition of the lunar interior. Much of our understanding of the Moon's early evolution comes from studying their petrogenesis. Recent experimental work has advanced our knowledge of major and trace element fractionation during lunar magma ocean (LMO) crystallization [e.g., 1-3], which produced heterogeneous basalt sources in the Moon's mantle. With the new experimental constraints, we can evaluate isotopic and trace element signatures in lunar basalts in unprecedented detail, refining inferences about the Moon's dynamic history. Two petrogenetic models are invoked to explain the compositions of the basalts. The assimilation model argues they formed as primitive melts of early LMO cumulates that assimilated late LMO cumulates as they migrated upward. The cumulate overturn model argues that dense LMO cumulates sank into the lunar interior, producing hybridized sources that melted to form the basalts. Here we compare predicted Ce/Yb and Hf and Nd isotopes of partial melts of LMO cumulates with measured compositions of lunar basalts to evaluate whether they could have formed by end-member petrogenetic models. LMO crystallization models suggest all LMO cumulates have chondrite normalized Ce/Yb 1.5; these could not have formed by assimilation of any LMO cumulate or residual liquid (or KREEP basalt, which has isotopically negative ɛNd and ɛHf). In contrast, basalt REE patterns and isotopes can easily be modeled assuming partial melting of hybridized mantle sources, indicating overturn may be required. A chemical requirement for overturn independently confirms that late LMO cumulates are sufficiently low in viscosity to sink into the lunar interior, as suggested by recent rock deformation experiments [4]. Overturned, low viscosity late LMO cumulates would be relatively stable around the core [5]. High Ce/Yb basalts require that overturned cumulates were mixed back into the overlying mantle by convection within a few

Wind Diffusivity Current, METOP ASCAT, 0.25 degrees, Global, Near Real Time, Meridional

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes near real time Ekman current (in zonal, meridional, and modulus sets) and Ekman upwelling data. This data begins with wind velocity...

On the propagation and decay of North Brazil Current rings

Science.gov (United States)

Jochumsen, Kerstin; Rhein, Monika; Hüttl-Kabus, Sabine; BöNing, Claus W.

2010-10-01

Near the western boundary of the tropical North Atlantic, where the North Brazil Current (NBC) retroflects into the North Equatorial Countercurrent, large anticyclonic rings are shed. After separating from the retroflection region, the so-called NBC rings travel northwestward along the Brazilian coast, until they reach the island chain of the Lesser Antilles and disintegrate. These rings contribute substantially to the upper limb return flow of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation by carrying South Atlantic Water into the northern subtropical gyre. Their relevance for the northward transport of South Atlantic Water depends on the frequency of their generation as well as on their horizontal and vertical structure. The ring shedding and propagation and the complex interaction of the rings with the Lesser Antilles are investigated in the ? Family of Linked Atlantic Model Experiments (FLAME) model. The ring properties simulated in FLAME reach the upper limit of the observed rings in diameter and agree with recent observations on seasonal variability, which indicates a maximum shedding during the first half of the year. When the rings reach the shallow topography of the Lesser Antilles, they are trapped by the island triangle of St. Lucia, Barbados and Tobago and interact with the island chain. The model provides a resolution that is capable of resolving the complex topographic conditions at the islands and illuminates various possible fates for the water contained in the rings. It also reproduces laboratory experiments that indicate that both cyclones and anticyclones are formed after a ring passes through a topographic gap. Trajectories of artificial floats, which were inserted into the modeled velocity field, are used to investigate the pathways of the ring cores and their fate after they encounter the Lesser Antilles. The majority of the floats entered the Caribbean, while the northward Atlantic pathway was found to be of minor importance. No prominent

Agrobiodiversity of cactus pear (Opuntia, Cactaceae in the Meridional Highlands Plateau of Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Antonio Reyes-Agüero

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Mexico is characterized by a remarkable richness of Opuntia, mostly at the Meridional Highlands Plateau; it is also here where the greatest richness of Opuntia variants occurs. Most of these variants have been maintained in homegardens; however, the gathering process which originated these homegardens has been disrupted over the past decades, as a result of social change and the destruction of large wild nopaleras. If the variants still surviving in homegardens are lost, these will be hard to recover, that is, the millenary cultural heritage from the human groups that populated the Mexican Meridional Highland Plateau will be lost forever. This situation motivated the preparation of a catalogue that records the diversity of wild and cultivated Opuntia variants living in the meridional Highlands Plateau. To this end, 379 samples were obtained in 29 localities, between 1998 and 2003. The information was processed through Twinspan. All specimens were identified and preserved in herbaria. Botanical keys and descriptions were elaborated. The catalogue includes information on 126 variants comprising 18 species. There were species with only one variant (Opuntia atropes, O. cochinera, O. jaliscana, O. leucotricha, O. rzedowskii and O. velutina, two (O. durangensis, O. lindheimeri, O. phaeacantha and O. robusta, five (O. joconostle and O. lasiacantha, seven (O. chavena, 12 (O. hyptiacantha and O. streptacantha, 15 (O. ficus-indica, 22 (O. albicarpa, and up to 34 (O. megacantha. Additionally, 267 common cactus pear names were related to those variants.

Meridional-Flow Measurements from 15 Years of GONG Spherical-Harmonic Time Series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kholikov, S; Hernandez, I Gonzalez; Hill, F; Leibacher, J

2011-01-01

We present results of meridional-flow measurements for 1995-2009, using travel-time differences from velocity images reconstructed using GONG spherical harmonic (SH) coefficients after applying phase-velocity and low-m filters. This filtering technique increases the signal-to-noise ratio and thus extends travel-time measurements to relatively high latitudes and deep into the convection zone. Preliminary analyses shows a strong one-year periodicity presumably due to solar pole misalignment and B 0 -angle artifacts, which makes it difficult to see underlying temporal variations. Removing a simple one-year-period sine wave fit reveals long-term temporal variations of the flow on top of this yearly periodicity. High-latitude measurements are affected more stronger by foreshortening and B 0 -angle artifacts. We analyze different B 0 -angle intervals separately, so in each hemisphere better high-latitude visibility comes six months apart. This approach suggests why at high latitudes travel-time measurements of meridional flow shows a tendency to change sign instead of continuing towards the poles.

MERIDIONAL COMA OF NEGATIVE ANASTIGMATIC LENSES AT THE FINAL POSITION OF AN OBJECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Bezrukov

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the findings of negative anastigmatic lenses at the final position of an object. The negative lenses are considered with refraction index n=1.7849 (type of glass is TF12 and thickness d=5 mm, working with paraxial magnifications β=1,1x;1,3x;1,5x with account of the distances from the first lens surface to the object S1=9; 25 mm and the size of the object y=15 mm. Dependences of negative lens forms from the position of anastigmatic pupils and from radii of meridional caustics which are convenient for understanding aberrational properties of anastigmatic lenses. The findings give the possibility to synthesize wide-angle lenses with the corrected aberrations of image curvature and meridional coma without geometrical vignetting of wide sloping bunches.

Simple climatic indices for the tropical Atlantic Ocean and some applications

Science.gov (United States)

Servain, Jacques

1991-08-01

Two indices related to the sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the tropical Atlantic are proposed. One index describes the SST averaged over the whole basin (30°N to 20°S, 60°W to 15°E), and the other illustrates a meridional dipole between the northern and southern hemispheres. The computational method for obtaining these indices is intentionally kept simple, the objective being to reproduce the signature of the main results previously provided from more complicated statistical analyses. Monthly time series for both indices are produced from 1964 up to the present time. The whole basin index exhibits principally a sustained warming which has intensified since about 1975, and it has a significant periodicity close to that of the quasi-biennial oscillation. The dipole index exhibits a decadal-scale variation, and its building up seems to be related to other worldwide climatic changes, as for instance El Niño / Southern Oscillation extreme episodes, rainfall variabilities over the Brazilian Nordeste and African Sahel.

Sensitivity of open-water ice growth and ice concentration evolution in a coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice model

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Xiaoxu; Lohmann, Gerrit

2017-09-01

A coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice model is applied to investigate to what degree the area-thickness distribution of new ice formed in open water affects the ice and ocean properties. Two sensitivity experiments are performed which modify the horizontal-to-vertical aspect ratio of open-water ice growth. The resulting changes in the Arctic sea-ice concentration strongly affect the surface albedo, the ocean heat release to the atmosphere, and the sea-ice production. The changes are further amplified through a positive feedback mechanism among the Arctic sea ice, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and the surface air temperature in the Arctic, as the Fram Strait sea ice import influences the freshwater budget in the North Atlantic Ocean. Anomalies in sea-ice transport lead to changes in sea surface properties of the North Atlantic and the strength of AMOC. For the Southern Ocean, the most pronounced change is a warming along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), owing to the interhemispheric bipolar seasaw linked to AMOC weakening. Another insight of this study lies on the improvement of our climate model. The ocean component FESOM is a newly developed ocean-sea ice model with an unstructured mesh and multi-resolution. We find that the subpolar sea-ice boundary in the Northern Hemisphere can be improved by tuning the process of open-water ice growth, which strongly influences the sea ice concentration in the marginal ice zone, the North Atlantic circulation, salinity and Arctic sea ice volume. Since the distribution of new ice on open water relies on many uncertain parameters and the knowledge of the detailed processes is currently too crude, it is a challenge to implement the processes realistically into models. Based on our sensitivity experiments, we conclude a pronounced uncertainty related to open-water sea ice growth which could significantly affect the climate system sensitivity.

Heinrich event 1: an example of dynamical ice-sheet reaction to oceanic changes

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J. Álvarez-Solas

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Heinrich events, identified as enhanced ice-rafted detritus (IRD in North Atlantic deep sea sediments (Heinrich, 1988; Hemming, 2004 have classically been attributed to Laurentide ice-sheet (LIS instabilities (MacAyeal, 1993; Calov et al., 2002; Hulbe et al., 2004 and assumed to lead to important disruptions of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC and North Atlantic deep water (NADW formation. However, recent paleoclimate data have revealed that most of these events probably occurred after the AMOC had already slowed down or/and NADW largely collapsed, within about a thousand years (Hall et al., 2006; Hemming, 2004; Jonkers et al., 2010; Roche et al., 2004, implying that the initial AMOC reduction could not have been caused by the Heinrich events themselves.

Here we propose an alternative driving mechanism, specifically for Heinrich event 1 (H1; 18 to 15 ka BP, by which North Atlantic ocean circulation changes are found to have strong impacts on LIS dynamics. By combining simulations with a coupled climate model and a three-dimensional ice sheet model, our study illustrates how reduced NADW and AMOC weakening lead to a subsurface warming in the Nordic and Labrador Seas resulting in rapid melting of the Hudson Strait and Labrador ice shelves. Lack of buttressing by the ice shelves implies a substantial ice-stream acceleration, enhanced ice-discharge and sea level rise, with peak values 500–1500 yr after the initial AMOC reduction. Our scenario modifies the previous paradigm of H1 by solving the paradox of its occurrence during a cold surface period, and highlights the importance of taking into account the effects of oceanic circulation on ice-sheets dynamics in order to elucidate the triggering mechanism of Heinrich events.

Fingerprints of changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle in response to large reorganizations in ocean circulation

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A. Bozbiyik

2011-03-01

Full Text Available CO₂ and carbon cycle changes in the land, ocean and atmosphere are investigated using the comprehensive carbon cycle-climate model NCAR CSM1.4-carbon. Ensemble simulations are forced with freshwater perturbations applied at the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean deep water formation sites under pre-industrial climate conditions. As a result, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation reduces in each experiment to varying degrees. The physical climate fields show changes qualitatively in agreement with results documented in the literature, but there is a clear distinction between northern and southern perturbations. Changes in the physical variables, in turn, affect the land and ocean biogeochemical cycles and cause a reduction, or an increase, in the atmospheric CO₂ concentration by up to 20 ppmv, depending on the location of the perturbation. In the case of a North Atlantic perturbation, the land biosphere reacts with a strong reduction in carbon stocks in some tropical locations and in high northern latitudes. In contrast, land carbon stocks tend to increase in response to a southern perturbation. The ocean is generally a sink of carbon although large reorganizations occur throughout various basins. The response of the land biosphere is strongest in the tropical regions due to a shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The carbon fingerprints of this shift, either to the south or to the north depending on where the freshwater is applied, can be found most clearly in South America. For this reason, a compilation of various paleoclimate proxy records of Younger Dryas precipitation changes are compared with our model results. The proxy records, in general, show good agreement with the model's response to a North Atlantic freshwater perturbation.

Earth's oldest stable crust in the Pilbara Craton formed by cyclic gravitational overturns

Science.gov (United States)

Wiemer, Daniel; Schrank, Christoph E.; Murphy, David T.; Wenham, Lana; Allen, Charlotte M.

2018-05-01

During the early Archaean, the Earth was too hot to sustain rigid lithospheric plates subject to Wilson Cycle-style plate tectonics. Yet by that time, up to 50% of the present-day continental crust was generated. Preserved continental fragments from the early Archaean have distinct granite-dome/greenstone-keel crust that is interpreted to be the result of a gravitationally unstable stratification of felsic proto-crust overlain by denser mafic volcanic rocks, subject to reorganization by Rayleigh-Taylor flow. Here we provide age constraints on the duration of gravitational overturn in the East Pilbara Terrane. Our U-Pb ages indicate the emplacement of 3,600-3,460-million-year-old granitoid rocks, and their uplift during an overturn event ceasing about 3,413 million years ago. Exhumation and erosion of this felsic proto-crust accompanied crustal reorganization. Petrology and thermodynamic modelling suggest that the early felsic magmas were derived from the base of thick ( 43 km) basaltic proto-crust. Combining our data with regional geochronological studies unveils characteristic growth cycles on the order of 100 million years. We propose that maturation of the early crust over three of these cycles was required before a stable, differentiated continent emerged with sufficient rigidity for plate-like behaviour.

Wind Diffusivity Current, QuikSCAT SeaWinds, 0.25 degrees, Global, Science Quality, Meridional

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes science quality Ekman current (in zonal, meridional, and modulus sets) and Ekman upwelling data. This data begins with wind velocity...

Improvements in launchings and recipients of PIG in Malha de Gasodutos Nordeste Meridional; Melhorias nos lancamentos e recebedores de PIG da Malha de Gasodutos Nordeste Meridional

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maciel, Jairo A.C.; Lemos, Francisco A.C.; Lima, Artur W.R. de S. [PETROBRAS Transporte S.A. (TRANSPETRO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2012-07-01

This paper describes the study that resulted in the preparation of a project for improvement of launchers and receivers of PIG in facilities maintained and operated by PETROBRAS S.A. (TRANSPETRO) in the Malha de Gasodutos Nordeste Meridional (Malha NEM). The improvements are part of the component in cleaner production system and reduce the risks of accidents and the costs of hazardous waste management.

Do Coupled Climate Models Correctly SImulate the Upward Branch of the Deept Ocean Global Conveyor?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarmiento, Jorge L; Downes, Stephanie; Bianchi, Daniele

2013-01-17

The large-scale meridional overturning circulation (MOC) connects the deep ocean, a major reservoir of carbon, to the other components of the climate system and must therefore be accurately represented in Earth System Models. Our project aims to address the specific question of the pathways and mechanisms controlling the upwelling branch of the MOC, a subject of significant disagreement between models and observational syntheses, and among general circulation models. Observations of these pathways are limited, particularly in regions of complex hydrography such as the Southern Ocean. As such, we rely on models to examine theories of the overturning circulation, both physically and biogeochemically. This grant focused on a particular aspect of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) where there is currently significant disagreement between models and observationally based analyses of the MOC, and amongst general circulation models. In particular, the research focused on addressing the following questions: 1. Where does the deep water that sinks in the polar regions rise to the surface? 2. What processes are responsible for this rise? 3. Do state-of-the-art coupled GCMs capture these processes? Our research had three key components: observational synthesis, model development and model analysis. In this final report we outline the key results from these areas of research for the 2007 to 2012 grant period. The research described here was carried out primarily by graduate student, Daniele Bianchi (now a Postdoc at McGill University, Canada), and Postdoc Stephanie Downes (now a Research Fellow at The Australian national University, Australia). Additional support was provided for programmers Jennifer Simeon as well as Rick Slater.

Role of CO2 and Southern Ocean winds in glacial abrupt climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Montoya

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The study of Greenland ice cores revealed two decades ago the abrupt character of glacial millennial-scale climate variability. Several triggering mechanisms have been proposed and confronted against growing proxy-data evidence. Although the implication of North Atlantic deep water (NADW formation reorganisations in glacial abrupt climate change seems robust nowadays, the final cause of these reorganisations remains unclear. Here, the role of CO2 and Southern Ocean winds is investigated using a coupled model of intermediate complexity in an experimental setup designed such that the climate system resides close to a threshold found in previous studies. An initial abrupt surface air temperature (SAT increase over the North Atlantic by 4 K in less than a decade, followed by a more gradual warming greater than 10 K on centennial timescales, is simulated in response to increasing atmospheric CO2 levels and/or enhancing southern westerlies. The simulated peak warming shows a similar pattern and amplitude over Greenland as registered in ice core records of Dansgaard-Oeschger (D/O events. This is accompanied by a strong Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC intensification. The AMOC strengthening is found to be caused by a northward shift of NADW formation sites into the Nordic Seas as a result of a northward retreat of the sea-ice front in response to higher temperatures. This leads to enhanced heat loss to the atmosphere as well as reduced freshwater fluxes via reduced sea-ice import into the region. In this way, a new mechanism that is consistent with proxy data is identified by which abrupt climate change can be promoted.

The Canary Basin contribution to 26ºN AMOC Seasonality

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Hernández, M. D.; McCarthy, G.; Smeed, D.; Hernandez-Guerra, A.; Vélez-Belchí, P.

2014-12-01

Recent studies have shown that the seasonal transport of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is linked with seasonal density changes in the eastern boundary of the Atlantic. As measured by the RAPID/MOCHA array, the AMOC has a seasonal peak-to-peak value of 6 Sv, with two relative maximums in July and October. The relative maximum in October coincides with the weakest transport of the upper mid-ocean transport (UMO), from the Bahamas to the eastern boundary, whose amplitude is 4 Sv. The seasonally averaged dynamic height indicates that the major source of seasonal variability in the UMO is due to the eastern boundary in fall. Data from the RAPID/MOCHA array at 26ºN is analyzed together with the data from a 15-year mooring between the African coast and the Canary Islands at 28ºN, in the Lanzarote Passage, the so-called Eastern Boundary Current Mooring (EBC4). The seasonal dynamics of the eastern boundary is analyzed: the recirculation of the Canary Current in fall through the Lanzarote Passage, the Rossby wave formation and the wind forcing. Significant correlations are found between the transport through the LP and the UMO. The transport of the North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) as measured by the EBC4 mooring has a correlation of 0.75 at zero lag with the UMO transport, and the transport of the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Mediterranean Water (MW) are correlated 0.77/0.85 respectively, with a lag of one moth with the UMO. The results stress the importance of the eastern boundary in determining the seasonal variability of the AMOC, as measured by the RAPID/MOCHA array.

Sources of multi-decadal variability in Arctic sea ice extent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Day, J J; Hargreaves, J C; Annan, J D; Abe-Ouchi, A

2012-01-01

The observed dramatic decrease in September sea ice extent (SIE) has been widely discussed in the scientific literature. Though there is qualitative agreement between observations and ensemble members of the Third Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3), it is concerning that the observed trend (1979–2010) is not captured by any ensemble member. The potential sources of this discrepancy include: observational uncertainty, physical model limitations and vigorous natural climate variability. The latter has received less attention and is difficult to assess using the relatively short observational sea ice records. In this study multi-centennial pre-industrial control simulations with five CMIP3 climate models are used to investigate the role that the Arctic oscillation (AO), the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation (AMO) and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) play in decadal sea ice variability. Further, we use the models to determine the impact that these sources of variability have had on SIE over both the era of satellite observation (1979–2010) and an extended observational record (1953–2010). There is little evidence of a relationship between the AO and SIE in the models. However, we find that both the AMO and AMOC indices are significantly correlated with SIE in all the models considered. Using sensitivity statistics derived from the models, assuming a linear relationship, we attribute 0.5–3.1%/decade of the 10.1%/decade decline in September SIE (1979–2010) to AMO driven variability. (letter)

Glacial reduction and millennial-scale variations in Drake Passage throughflow.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamy, Frank; Arz, Helge W; Kilian, Rolf; Lange, Carina B; Lembke-Jene, Lester; Wengler, Marc; Kaiser, Jérôme; Baeza-Urrea, Oscar; Hall, Ian R; Harada, Naomi; Tiedemann, Ralf

2015-11-03

The Drake Passage (DP) is the major geographic constriction for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and exerts a strong control on the exchange of physical, chemical, and biological properties between the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean basins. Resolving changes in the flow of circumpolar water masses through this gateway is, therefore, crucial for advancing our understanding of the Southern Ocean's role in global ocean and climate variability. Here, we reconstruct changes in DP throughflow dynamics over the past 65,000 y based on grain size and geochemical properties of sediment records from the southernmost continental margin of South America. Combined with published sediment records from the Scotia Sea, we argue for a considerable total reduction of DP transport and reveal an up to ∼ 40% decrease in flow speed along the northernmost ACC pathway entering the DP during glacial times. Superimposed on this long-term decrease are high-amplitude, millennial-scale variations, which parallel Southern Ocean and Antarctic temperature patterns. The glacial intervals of strong weakening of the ACC entering the DP imply an enhanced export of northern ACC surface and intermediate waters into the South Pacific Gyre and reduced Pacific-Atlantic exchange through the DP ("cold water route"). We conclude that changes in DP throughflow play a critical role for the global meridional overturning circulation and interbasin exchange in the Southern Ocean, most likely regulated by variations in the westerly wind field and changes in Antarctic sea ice extent.

Effect of Global Warming and Increased Freshwater Flux on Northern Hemispheric Cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Girihagama, L. N.; Nof, D.

2016-02-01

We wish to answer the, fairly complicated, question of whether global warming and an increased freshwater flux can cause Northern Hemispheric warming or cooling. Starting from the assumption that the ocean is the primary source of variability in the Northern hemispheric ocean-atmosphere coupled system, we employed a simple non-linear one-dimensional coupled ocean-atmosphere model. The simplicity of the model allows us to analytically predict the evolution of many dynamical variables of interest such as, the strength of the Atlantic Meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), temperatures of the ocean and atmosphere, mass transports, salinity, and ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes. The model results show that a reduced AMOC transport due to an increased freshwater flux causes cooling in both the atmosphere and ocean in the North Atlantic (NA) deep-water formation region. Cooling in both the ocean and atmosphere can cause reduction of the ocean-atmosphere temperature difference, which in turn reduces heat fluxes in both the ocean and atmosphere. For present day climate parameters, the calculated critical freshwater flux needed to arrest AMOC is 0.08 Sv. For a constant atmospheric zonal flow, there is minimal reduction in the AMOC strength, as well as minimal warming of the ocean and atmosphere. This model provides a conceptual framework for a dynamically sound response of the ocean and atmosphere to AMOC variability as a function of increased freshwater flux. The results are qualitatively consistent with numerous realistic coupled numerical models of varying complexity.

A simple mixing explanation for late Pleistocene changes in the Pacific-South Atlantic benthic δ13C gradient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. E. Lisiecki

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The fact that the deep-ocean benthic δ13C minimum shifted from the North Pacific to the South Atlantic during the Last Glacial Maximum is often interpretted as evidence of a change in deep water circulation, such as the development of deep water ventilation in the North Pacific or a decrease in Southern Ocean overturning. This study re-evaluates the implications of changes in benthic δ13C gradients by comparing Pacific Deep Water (PDW δ13C measurements with the values expected for the null hypothesis that PDW ventilation sources remained unchanged throughout the Late Pleistocene. The δ13C compositions of PDW, Northern Component Water (NCW and Southern Component Water (SCW are estimated from regional benthic δ13C stacks of 3–6 sites. Changes in PDW δ13C and PDW-SCW δ13C gradients over the past 800 kyr are found to be well described by a constant mixture of 60% NCW and 40% SCW plus a constant Pacific remineralization offset of −0.5‰. Thus, a change in PDW ventilation cannot be inferred solely on the basis of changes in the Pacific-South Atlantic benthic δ13C gradient.

Consequences of shoaling of the Central American Seaway determined from modeling Nd isotopes

Science.gov (United States)

Sepulchre, P.; Arsouze, T.; Donnadieu, Y.; Dutay, J.-C.; Jaramillo, C.; Le Bras, J.; Martin, E.; Montes, C.; Waite, A. J.

2014-03-01

The Central American Seaway played a pivotal role in shaping global climate throughout the late Cenozoic. Recent geological surveys have provided new constraints on timing of the seaway shoaling, while neodymium isotopic (ɛNd) data measured on fossil teeth, debris, and ferromanganese crusts have helped define the history of water masses in the region. Here we provide the first 3-D simulations of ɛNd responses to the shoaling seaway. Our model suggests that a narrow and shallow seaway is sufficient to affect interoceanic circulation, that inflow/outflow balance between the Caribbean and the Antilles responds nonlinearly to sill depth, and that a seaway narrower than 400 km is consistent with an active Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the late Miocene. Simulated ɛNd values in the Caribbean confirm that inputs from radiogenic Pacific waters in the Caribbean decrease as the seaway shoals. Despite model limitations, a comparison between our results and ɛNd values recorded in the Caribbean helps constrain the depth of the Central American Seaway through time, and we infer that a depth between 50 and 200 m could have been reached 10 Ma ago.

A vigorous Mesoamerican monsoon during the Last Glacial Maximum driven by orbital and oceanic forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Lachniet, M. S.; Asmerom, Y.; Bernal, J. P.; Polyak, V.; Vazquez-Selem, L. V.

2012-12-01

The external forcings on global monsoon strength include summer orbital insolation and ocean circulation changes, both of which are key control knobs on Earth's climate. However, few records of the North American Monsoon (NAM) are available to test its sensitivity to variations in the precession-dominated insolation signal and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 ± 3 cal ka BP) and deglacial periods. In particular, well-dated and high-resolution records from the southern sector of the NAM, referred to informally as the Mesoamerican monsoon to distinguish it from the more northerly 'core' NAM, are needed to better elucidate paleoclimate change in North America. Here, we present a 22 ka (ka = kilo years) rainfall history from absolutely-dated speleothems from tropical southwestern Mexico that documents a vigorous LGM summer monsoon, in contradiction to previous interpretations, and that the monsoon collapsed during the Heinrich stadial 1 and Younger Dryas cold events. We conclude that a strong Mesoamerican monsoon requires both a large ocean-to-land temperature contrast, driven as today by summer insolation, and a proximal latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, forced by active AMOC.

Late Holocene anti-phase change in the East Asian summer and winter monsoons

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Shugang; Wang, Xulong; Roberts, Helen M.; Duller, Geoff A. T.; Cheng, Peng; Lu, Yanchou; An, Zhisheng

2018-05-01

Changes in East Asian summer and winter monsoon intensity have played a pivotal role in the prosperity and decline of society in the past, and will be important for future climate scenarios. However, the phasing of changes in the intensity of East Asian summer and winter monsoons on millennial and centennial timescales during the Holocene is unclear, limiting our ability to understand the factors driving past and future changes in the monsoon system. Here, we present a high resolution (up to multidecadal) loess record for the last 3.3 ka from the southern Chinese Loess Plateau that clearly demonstrates the relationship between changes in the intensity of the East Asian summer and winter monsoons, particularly at multicentennial scales. At multimillennial scales, the East Asian summer monsoon shows a steady weakening, while the East Asian winter monsoon intensifies continuously. At multicentennial scales, a prominent ∼700-800 yr cycle in the East Asian summer and winter monsoon intensity is observed, and here too the two monsoons are anti-phase. We conclude that multimillennial changes are driven by Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, while multicentennial changes can be correlated with solar activity and changing strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

On the Nature of the Mesoscale Variability in Denmark Strait

Science.gov (United States)

Pickart, Robert; von Appen, Wilken; Mastropole, Dana; Valdimarsson, Hedinn; Vage, Kjetil; Jonsson, Steingriumur; Jochumsen, Kerstin; Girton, James

2017-04-01

The dense overflow through Denmark Strait is the largest contributor to the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. As such, it is important to understand the sources of water feeding the overflow and how the water negotiates the sill as it passes into the Irminger Sea. Here we use a large collection of shipboard hydrographic transects occupied across the strait, together with 6-years of mooring data from the sill, to investigate the water masses and mesoscale variability of the overflow water. Two dominant types of mesoscale features were identified, referred to as a "bolus" and a "pulse". The former is a large lens of weakly stratified water corresponding to a slight increase in along-strait velocity. The latter is a thin layer with greater stratification and strongly enhanced along-strait flow. The boluses, which are often noted in the historical literature, are associated with cyclonic circulation, while pulses, which have not been previously identified, are associated with anti-cyclonic circulation. Both features result in increased transport of overflow water. It is argued that these fluctuations at the sill trigger energetic variability downstream in the Deep Western Boundary Current.

Deconstructing the conveyor belt.

Science.gov (United States)

Lozier, M Susan

2010-06-18

For the past several decades, oceanographers have embraced the dominant paradigm that the ocean's meridional overturning circulation operates like a conveyor belt, transporting cold waters equatorward at depth and warm waters poleward at the surface. Within this paradigm, the conveyor, driven by changes in deepwater production at high latitudes, moves deep waters and their attendant properties continuously along western boundary currents and returns surface waters unimpeded to deepwater formation sites. A number of studies conducted over the past few years have challenged this paradigm by revealing the vital role of the ocean's eddy and wind fields in establishing the structure and variability of the ocean's overturning. Here, we review those studies and discuss how they have collectively changed our view of the simple conveyor-belt model.

Mechanisms underlying recent decadal changes in subpolar North Atlantic Ocean heat content

Science.gov (United States)

Piecuch, Christopher G.; Ponte, Rui M.; Little, Christopher M.; Buckley, Martha W.; Fukumori, Ichiro

2017-09-01

The subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA) is subject to strong decadal variability, with implications for surface climate and its predictability. In 2004-2005, SPNA decadal upper ocean and sea-surface temperature trends reversed from warming during 1994-2004 to cooling over 2005-2015. This recent decadal trend reversal in SPNA ocean heat content (OHC) is studied using a physically consistent, observationally constrained global ocean state estimate covering 1992-2015. The estimate's physical consistency facilitates quantitative causal attribution of ocean variations. Closed heat budget diagnostics reveal that the SPNA OHC trend reversal is the result of heat advection by midlatitude ocean circulation. Kinematic decompositions reveal that changes in the deep and intermediate vertical overturning circulation cannot account for the trend reversal, but rather ocean heat transports by horizontal gyre circulations render the primary contributions. The shift in horizontal gyre advection reflects anomalous circulation acting on the mean temperature gradients. Maximum covariance analysis (MCA) reveals strong covariation between the anomalous horizontal gyre circulation and variations in the local wind stress curl, suggestive of a Sverdrup response. Results have implications for decadal predictability.

Tuning facial-meridional isomerisation in monometallic nine-co-ordinate lanthanide complexes with unsymmetrical tridentate ligands.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Borgne, Thierry; Altmann, Peter; André, Nicolas; Bünzli, Jean-Claude G; Bernardinelli, Gérald; Morgantini, Pierre-Yves; Weber, Jacques; Piguet, Claude

2004-03-07

The unsymmetrical tridentate benzimidazole-pyridine-carboxamide units in ligands L1-L4 react with trivalent lanthanides, Ln(III), to give the nine-co-ordinate triple-helical complexes [Ln(Li)3]3+ (i = 1-4) existing as mixtures of C3-symmetrical facial and C1-symmetrical meridional isomers. Although the beta13 formation constants are 3-4 orders of magnitude smaller for these complexes than those found for the D3-symmetrical analogues [Ln(Li)3]3+ (i = 5-6) with symmetrical ligands, their formation at the millimolar scale is quantitative and the emission quantum yield of [Eu(L2)3]3+ is significantly larger. The fac-[Ln(Li)3]3+ mer-[Ln(Li)3]3+ (i = 1-4) isomerisation process in acetonitrile is slow enough for Ln = Lu(III) to be quantified by 1H NMR below room temperature. The separation of enthalpic and entropic contributions shows that the distribution of the facial and meridional isomers can be tuned by the judicious peripheral substitution of the ligands affecting the interstrand interactions. Molecular mechanics (MM) calculations suggest that one supplementary interstrand pi-stacking interaction stabilises the meridional isomers, while the facial isomers benefit from more favourable electrostatic contributions. As a result of the mixture of facial and meridional isomers in solution, we were unable to obtain single crystals of 1:3 complexes, but the X-ray crystal structures of their nine-co-ordinate precursors [Eu(L1)2(CF3SO3)2(H2O)](CF3SO3)(C3H5N)2(H2O) (6, C45H54EuF9N10O13S3, monoclinic, P2(1)/c, Z = 4) and [Eu(L4)2(CF3SO3)2(H2O)](CF3SO3)(C4H4O)(1.5) (7, C51H66EuF9N8O(15.5)S3, triclinic, P1, Z = 2) provide crucial structural information on the binding mode of the unsymmetrical tridentate ligands.

A high-resolution record of Holocene millennial-scale oscillations of surface water, foraminiferal paleoecology and sediment redox chemistry in the SE Brazilian margin

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, B. B.; Barbosa, C. F.; Albuquerque, A. L.; Piotrowski, A. M.

2014-12-01

Holocene millennial-scale oscillations and Bond Events (Bond et al. 1997) are well reported in the North Atlantic as consequence of fresh water input and weaking of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). It has been hypothesized that the effect of weaking of AMOC would lead to warming in the South Atlantic due to "heat piracy", causing surface waters to warm and a reorganization of surface circulation. There are few reconstructions of AMOC strength in the South Atlantic, and none with a high resolution Holocene record of changes of productivity and the biological pump. We reconstruct past changes in the surface water mass hydrography, productivity, and sediment redox changes in high-resolution in the core KCF10-01B, located 128 mbsl water depth off Cabo Frio, Brazil, a location where upwelling is strongly linked to surface ocean hydrography. We use Benthic Foraminiferal Accumulation Rate (BFAR) to reconstruct productivity, which reveals a 1.3kyr cyclicity during the mid- and late-Holocene. The geochemistry of trace and rare earth elements on foraminiferal Fe-Mn oxide coatings show changes in redox-sensitive elements indicating that during periods of high productivity there were more reducing conditions in sediment porewaters, producing a Ce anomaly and reduction and re-precipitation of Mn oxides. Bond events 1-7 were identified by a productivity increase along with reducing sediment conditions which was likely caused by Brazil Current displacement offshore allowing upwelling of the nutritive bottom water South Atlantic Central Waters (SACW) to the euphotic zone and a stronger local biological pump. In a global context, correlation with other records show that this occurred during weakened AMOC and southward displacement of the ITCZ. We conclude that Bond climatic events and millennial-scale variability of AMOC caused sea surface hydrographic changes off the Brazilian Margin leading to biological and geochemical changes recorded in coastal records

The Roles of Climate Change and Climate Variability in the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Young-Kwon; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Kovach, Robin; Molod, Andrea M.; Pawson, Steven

2018-01-01

The 2017 hurricane season was extremely active with six major hurricanes, the third most on record. The sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) over the eastern Main Development Region (EMDR), where many tropical cyclones (TCs) developed during active months of August/September, were approximately 0.96 degrees Centigrade above the 1901-2017 average (warmest on record): about 0.42 degrees Centigrade from a long-term upward trend and the rest (around 80 percent) attributed to the Atlantic Meridional Mode (AMM). The contribution to the SST from the North Atlantic Oscillation over the EMDR was a weak warming, while that from ENSO was negligible. Nevertheless, ENSO, the NAO, and the AMM all contributed to favorable wind shear conditions, while the AMM also produced enhanced atmospheric instability. Compared with the strong hurricane years of 2005-2010, the ocean heat content (OHC) during 2017 was larger across the tropics, with higher SST anomalies over the EMDR and Caribbean Sea. On the other hand, the dynamical/thermodynamical atmospheric conditions, while favorable for enhanced TC activity, were less prominent than in 2005-2010 across the tropics. The results suggest that unusually warm SST in the EMDR together with the long fetch of the resulting storms in the presence of record-breaking OHC were key factors in driving the strong TC activity in 2017.

On the seasonal cycles and variability of Florida Straits, Ekman and Sverdrup transports at 26° N in the Atlantic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. P. Atkinson

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Since April 2004 the RAPID array has made continuous measurements of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC at 26° N. Two key components of this system are Ekman transport zonally integrated across 26° N and western boundary current transport in the Florida Straits. Whilst measurements of the AMOC as a whole are somewhat in their infancy, this study investigates what useful information can be extracted on the variability of the Ekman and Florida Straits transports using the decadal timeseries already available. Analysis is also presented for Sverdrup transports zonally integrated across 26° N.

The seasonal cycles of Florida Straits, Ekman and Sverdrup transports are quantified at 26° N using harmonic analysis of annual and semi-annual constituents. Whilst Sverdrup transport shows clear semi-annual periodicity, calculations of seasonal Florida Straits and Ekman transports show substantial interannual variability due to contamination by variability at non-seasonal frequencies; the mean seasonal cycle for these transports only emerges from decadal length observations. The Florida Straits and Ekman mean seasonal cycles project on the AMOC with a combined peak-to-peak seasonal range of 3.5 Sv. The combined seasonal range for heat transport is 0.40 PW.

The Florida Straits seasonal cycle possesses a smooth annual periodicity in contrast with previous studies suggesting a more asymmetric structure. No clear evidence is found to support significant changes in the Florida Straits seasonal cycle at sub-decadal periods. Whilst evidence of wind driven Florida Straits transport variability is seen at sub-seasonal and annual periods, a model run from the 1/4° eddy-permitting ocean model NEMO is used to identify an important contribution from internal oceanic variability at sub-annual and interannual periods. The Ekman transport seasonal cycle possesses less symmetric structure, due in part to different seasonal transport

The NAO Influence on the Early to Mid-Holocene North Atlantic Coastal Upwelling

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, A.; Cachão, M.; Sousa, P.; Trigo, R. M.; Freitas, M. C.

2017-12-01

Coastal upwelling regions yield some of the oceanic most productive ecosystems, being crucial for the worldwide social and economic development. Most upwelling systems, emerging cold nutrient-rich deep waters, are located in the eastern boundaries of the Atlantic and Pacific basins, and are driven by meridional wind fields parallel to the coastal shore. These winds are associated with the subsiding branch of the large-scale Anticyclonic high pressure systems that dominate the subtropical ocean basins, and therefore can be displaced or intensified within the context of past and future climate changes. However, the role of the current global warming influencing the coastal upwelling is, as yet, unclear. Therefore it is essential to derive a long-term perspective, beyond the era of instrumental measurements, to detect similar warm periods in the past that have triggered changes in the upwelling patterns. In this work, the upwelling dynamics in the Iberian North Atlantic margin during the early and mid-Holocene is reconstructed, using calcareous nannofossils from a decadally resolved estuarine sediment core located in southwestern Portugal. Results suggest that the coastal dynamics reflects changes in winds direction likely related to shifts in the NAO-like conditions. Furthermore, the reconstructed centennial-scale variations in the upwelling are synchronous with changes in solar irradiance, a major external forcing factor of the climate system that is known to exert influence in atmospheric circulation patterns. In addition, these proxy-based data interpretations are in agreement with wind field and solar irradiance simulation modelling for the mid-Holocene. Therefore, the conclusion that the solar activity via the NAO modulation controlled the North Atlantic upwelling of western Iberia during the early and mid-Holocene at decadal to centennial timescales can be derived. The financial support for attending this meeting was possible through FCT project UID/GEO/50019

Viral lysis of marine microbes in relation to vertical stratification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mojica, K.D.A.

2015-01-01

The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate how changes in vertical stratification affect autotrophic and heterotrophic microbial communities along a meridional gradient in the Atlantic Ocean. The Northeast Atlantic Ocean is a key area in global ocean circulation and a important sink for

Evaluation of overturning capacity of low level radioactive waste drum during earthquake. Part 2. Investigation of drum weight distribution effect and drum columns interaction by numerical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tochigi, Hitoshi

2011-01-01

Numerical analysis case study is carried out for three layered and four layered low level radioactive waste drums by numerical models based on the results of shaking table test. First of all, numerical analysis results about drums displacement due to uplift and sliding on pallets during earthquake are compared with the experimental results and it is shown good agreement in both results. By this analytical model effects of drum weight distribution along height direction and drum columns interaction followed by each other drum's collisions on overturning capacity during earthquake are researched. From numerical analysis results the limit acceleration which is minimum value of input acceleration at storage building floor when three layered or four layered waste drums overturn is researched. It is shown that overturning capacity during earthquake decline when height of gravity center of three layered and four layered drums get large. So it is available to get down height of gravity center by controlling drum weight distribution along height direction. And as effect of drum columns interaction it is indicated that overturning capacity of single column arrangement drums is larger than that of many columns arrangement drums because phase deference between drum columns occur and decrease vibration amplitude by each other collisions. (author)

ProAtlantic - The Atlantic Checkpoint - Data Availability and Adequacy in the Atlantic Basin

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, F.

2017-12-01

DG MAREs Atlantic Checkpoint is a basin scale wide monitoring system assessment activity based upon targeted end-user applications. It is designed to be a benchmark for the assessment of hydrographic, geological, habitat, climate and fisheries data existence and availability in the Atlantic basin. DG MAREs Atlantic Checkpoint service will be delivered by the ProAtlantic project. The objective of this project is to investigate, through appropriate methodologies in the framework of 11 key marine challenges, how current international and national data providers - e.g. EMODNet, Copernicus - meet the requirements of the stakeholders and deliver fit for purpose data. By so doing, the main thematic and geographic gaps will be readily identified in the Atlantic basin for future consideration by DG MARE. For each challenge, specific web products in the form of maps, metadata, spreadsheets and reports will be delivered. These products are not an end by themselves but rather a means of showing whether data were available, let alone accessible. For example, the Fisheries Impact Challenge outputs include data grids (VMS/Seabed) and data adequacy reports. Production of gridded data layers in order to show the extent of fisheries impact on the seafloor involved the identification, acquisition and collation of data sources for the required data types (VMS/Seabed/Habitats Data) in the Atlantic basin. The resulting spatial coverage of these grids indicates the relatively low level of data availability and adequacy across the Atlantic basin. Aside from the data delivered by programmes such as EMODNet and Copernicus, there are a lot of initiatives by regional bodies such as OSPAR and ICES that consist of assembling and disseminating data to address specific issues. Several international projects have delivered research, data collection, and networking around several of the Atlantic Checkpoint challenge topics, namely MPAs, renewable energy assessment, seabed mapping, oil spill

Controls on the meridional extent of tropical precipitation and its contraction under global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Donohoe, A.

2017-12-01

A method for decomposing changes and variability in the spatial structure of tropical precipitation into shifting (meridional translation), contracting, and intensifying modes of variability is introduced. We demonstrate that the shifting mode of tropical precipitation explains very little (20%) more of the tropical precipitation changes and variability. Furthermore, the contraction of tropical precipitation is highly correlated (R2 > 0.95) with an intensification of the precipitation in both the observations and forced modeled simulations. These results suggest that the simultaneous contraction and intensification of tropical precipitation is the dominant mode of variability and changes under external forcing. We speculate that tropical surface temperature controls this concurrent variability. Indeed, models robustly predict that tropical precipitation increases and meridionally contracts in response to increased CO2 and is reduced and meridionally expanded under glacial forcing and boundary conditions. In contrast, the directionality of the tropical precipitation shift is both ambiguous and small in magnitude in response to increased CO2. Furthermore, the ratio of the contraction/expansion to intensification/reduction is consistent in the continuum of climate states from the glacial climate to a modern climate to a 4XCO2 climate suggesting that the intensification and contraction are linked together via a single mechanism. We examine two mechanisms responsible for the contraction of the precipitation under global warming : i. the reduction of the seasonal cycle of energy input to the atmosphere due to sea ice retreat that results in the tropical precipitation remaining closer to the equator during the solsticial seasons and; ii. the increased gross moist stability of the tropical atmosphere as the surface warms resulting in a weaker cross-equatorial Hadley circulation during the solsticial seasons.

Atlantic Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elands, B.H.M.; Bell, S.; Blok, J.

2010-01-01

Chapter 2 explores recreation and tourism practices in forest areas in the Atlantic region, which refers to the geographical area close to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic countries described in this section are Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the

Nitrous oxide and methane in the Atlantic Ocean between 50°N and 52°S: Latitudinal distribution and sea-to-air flux

Science.gov (United States)

Forster, Grant; Upstill-Goddard, Rob C.; Gist, Niki; Robinson, Carol; Uher, Gunther; Woodward, E. Malcolm S.

2009-07-01

We discuss nitrous oxide (N 2O) and methane (CH 4) distributions in 49 vertical profiles covering the upper ˜300 m of the water column along two ˜13,500 km transects between ˜50°N and ˜52°S during the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme (AMT cruises 12 and 13). Vertical N 2O profiles were amenable to analysis on the basis of common features coincident with Longhurst provinces. In contrast, CH 4 showed no such pattern. The most striking feature of the latitudinal depth distributions was a well-defined "plume" of exceptionally high N 2O concentrations coincident with very low levels of CH 4, located between ˜23.5°N and ˜23.5°S; this feature reflects the upwelling of deep waters containing N 2O derived from nitrification, as identified by an analysis of N 2O, apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and NO 3-, and presumably depleted in CH 4 by bacterial oxidation. Sea-to-air emissions fluxes for a region equivalent to ˜42% of the Atlantic Ocean surface area were in the range 0.40-0.68 Tg N 2O yr -1 and 0.81-1.43 Tg CH 4 yr -1. Based on contemporary estimates of the global ocean source strengths of atmospheric N 2O and CH 4, the Atlantic Ocean could account for ˜6-15% and 4-13%, respectively, of these source totals. Given that the Atlantic Ocean accounts for around 20% of the global ocean surface, on unit area basis it appears that the Atlantic may be a slightly weaker source of atmospheric N 2O than other ocean regions but it could make a somewhat larger contribution to marine-derived atmospheric CH 4 than previously thought.

Micro-phytoplankton photosynthesis, primary production and potential export production in the Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Tilstone, Gavin H.; Lange, Priscila K.; Misra, Ankita; Brewin, Robert J. W.; Cain, Terry

2017-11-01

Micro-phytoplankton is the >20 μm component of the phytoplankton community and plays a major role in the global ocean carbon pump, through the sequestering of anthropogenic CO2 and export of organic carbon to the deep ocean. To evaluate the global impact of the marine carbon cycle, quantification of micro-phytoplankton primary production is paramount. In this paper we use both in situ data and a satellite model to estimate the contribution of micro-phytoplankton to total primary production (PP) in the Atlantic Ocean. From 1995 to 2013, 940 measurements of primary production were made at 258 sites on 23 Atlantic Meridional Transect Cruises from the United Kingdom to the South African or Patagonian Shelf. Micro-phytoplankton primary production was highest in the South Subtropical Convergence (SSTC ∼ 409 ± 720 mg C m-2 d-1), where it contributed between 38 % of the total PP, and was lowest in the North Atlantic Gyre province (NATL ∼ 37 ± 27 mg C m-2 d-1), where it represented 18 % of the total PP. Size-fractionated photosynthesis-irradiance (PE) parameters measured on AMT22 and 23 showed that micro-phytoplankton had the highest maximum photosynthetic rate (PmB) (∼5 mg C (mg Chl a)-1 h-1) followed by nano- (∼4 mg C (mg Chl a)-1 h-1) and pico- (∼2 mg C (mg Chl a)-1 h-1). The highest PmB was recorded in the NATL and lowest in the North Atlantic Drift Region (NADR) and South Atlantic Gyre (SATL). The PE parameters were used to parameterise a remote sensing model of size-fractionated PP, which explained 84 % of the micro-phytoplankton in situ PP variability with a regression slope close to 1. The model was applied to the SeaWiFS time series from 1998-2010, which illustrated that micro-phytoplankton PP remained constant in the NADR, NATL, Canary Current Coastal upwelling (CNRY), Eastern Tropical Atlantic (ETRA), Western Tropical Atlantic (WTRA) and SATL, but showed a gradual increase in the Benguela Upwelling zone (BENG) and South Subtropical Convergence (SSTC

76 FR 72383 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-23

...-BA17 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures AGENCY: National Marine... plan (FMP) amendment that would consider catch shares for the Atlantic shark fisheries. The comment... potential catch shares programs in the Atlantic shark fisheries. Additionally, NMFS is extending the comment...

Air-Sea CO2 fluxes in the Atlantic as measured during boreal spring and autumn

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. F. Ríos

2010-05-01

Full Text Available A total of fourteen hydrographic cruises from 2000 to 2008 were conducted during the spring and autumn seasons between Spain and the Southern Ocean under the framework of the Spanish research project FICARAM. The underway measurements were processed and analysed to describe the meridional air-sea CO2 fluxes (FCO2 in the covered sector of the Atlantic Ocean. The data has been grouped into different biogeochemical oceanographic provinces based on thermohaline characteristics. The spatial and temporal distributions of FCO2 followed expected distributions and annual trends reproducing the recent climatological ΔfCO2 estimations with a mean difference of −3 ± 18 μatm (Takahashi et al., 2009. The reduction in the CO2 saturation along the meridional FICARAM cruises represented an increase of 0.02 ± 0.14 mol m−2 yr−1 in the ocean uptake of atmospheric CO2. The subtropical waters in both Hemispheres acted as a sink of atmospheric CO2 during the successive spring seasons and as a source in autumn. The coarse reduction of the ocean uptake of atmospheric CO2 observed in the North Atlantic Ocean was linked to conditions of negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation that prevailed during the FICARAM period. Surface waters in the North Equatorial Counter Current revealed a significant long-term decrease of sea surface salinity of −0.16 ± 0.01 yr−1 coinciding with a declination of −3.5 ± 0.9 μatm yr−1 in the air–sea disequilibrium of CO2 fugacity and a rise of oceanic CO2 uptake of −0.09 ± 0.03 mol m−2 yr−1. The largest CO2 source was located in the equatorial upwelling system. These tropical waters that reached emissions of 0.7 ± 0.5 and 1.0 ± 0.7 mol m−2 y−1 in spring and autumn, respectively, showed an interannual warming of 0.11 ± 0.03 °C yr−1 and a wind speed decrease of −0.58 ± 0.14 m s−1 yr−1 in spring cruises which suggest the weakening of upwelling events associated with warm El Niño – Southern

Centennial eolian cyclicity in the Great Plains, USA: A dominant pattern of wind transport over the past 4000 years?

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalb, Antje; Dean, Walter E.; Fritz, C. Sherilyn; Geiss, Christoph E.; Kromer, Bernd

2010-01-01

Proxy evidence at decadal resolution from Late Holocene sediments from Pickerel Lake, northeastern South Dakota, shows distinct centennial cycles (400-700 years) in magnetic susceptibility; contents of carbonate, organic carbon, and major elements; abundance in ostracodes; and delta18O and delta13C values in calcite. Proxies indicate cyclic changes in eolian input, productivity, and temperature. Maxima in magnetic susceptibility are accompanied by maxima in aluminum and iron mass accumulation rates (MARs), and in abundances of the ostracode Fabaeformiscandona rawsoni. This indicates variable windy, and dry conditions with westerly wind dominance, including during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Maxima in carbonates, organic carbon, phosphorous, and high delta13C values of endogenic calcite indicate moister and less windy periods with increased lake productivity, including during the Little Ice Age, and alternate with maxima of eolian transport. Times of the Maunder, Sporer and Wolf sunspot minima are characterized by maxima in delta18O values and aluminum MARs, and minima in delta13C values and organic carbon content. We interpret these lake conditions during sunspot minima to indicate decreases in lake surface water temperatures of up to 4-5 degrees C associated with decreases in epilimnetic productivity during summer. We propose that the centennial cycles are triggered by solar activity, originate in the tropical Pacific, and their onset during the Late Holocene is associated with insolation conditions driven by precession. The cyclic pattern is transmitted from the tropical Pacific into the atmosphere and transported by westerly winds into the North Atlantic realm where they strengthen the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during periods of northern Great Plains wind maxima. This consequently leads to moister climates in Central and Northern Europe. Thus, Pickerel Lake provides evidence for mechanisms of teleconnections including an atmospheric link

A recent perspective of the Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Candela, J.; Ochoa-de-La-Torre, J. L.; Sheinbaum, J.; Perez-Brunius, P.; Pallas-Sanz, E.; Kolodziejczyk, N.

2013-05-01

The flow through the Gulf of Mexico is an integral part of the North Atlantic Ocean Subtropical Gyre Circulation, known to be forced by the wind over the North Atlantic and by an equivalent contribution from the inter-hemispheric Meridional Overturning Cell. To the North Atlantic Circulation, the Gulf represents an important energy and vorticity sink through the particular behavior of the Loop Current within. Comprehending the structure and dynamics of the Loop Current System (which includes the Yucatan Current (YC), Loop Current (LC), the shedding of anticyclonic Loop Current Eddies (LCE) and peripheral cyclonic gyres) is fundamental for understanding the circulation in the entire Gulf. Within the Gulf, the eastern Loop Current and the western Campeche Bay (CB) regions are characterized by persistent eddy structures, with less structured eddy fields in between. Of these later ones, the northwestern Gulf is a geostrophic turbulence area, constantly perturbed by LCE, which represents, at the same time, an important dissipation and circulation forcing region for the Western Gulf. Important processes recently investigated that will be discussed: 1) The generation and maintenance of the Geostrophic Turbulence field in the north western Gulf. 2) The circulation in deep water induced by the surface geostrophic turbulence field. 3) The generation of intensive jets at depth by interaction of +/- gyres. 4) The generation of coastal trap waves by the interaction of LCEs with the western shelf. 5) The generation of deep topographic Roosby waves by topographic interactions of the LCEs with topography. 5) The characteristics of the Bay of Campeche Circulation, The Campeche Gyre and its interaction with LCEs. 6) The Gulf's response to the passage of hurricanes. 7) The trapping of inertial waves by the LCEs and the related enhanced mixing.

78 FR 54195 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Commercial Shark Fisheries

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-03

.... 110831548-3536-02] RIN 0648-XC836 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Commercial Shark Fisheries...) dressed weight (dw) of non-blacknose small coastal shark (SCS) quota from the Atlantic region to the Gulf... Atlantic shark permitted vessels. DATES: The quota transfer is effective from September 2, 2013 until...

SYSTEMATIC CENTER-TO-LIMB VARIATION IN MEASURED HELIOSEISMIC TRAVEL TIMES AND ITS EFFECT ON INFERENCES OF SOLAR INTERIOR MERIDIONAL FLOWS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao Junwei; Nagashima, Kaori; Bogart, R. S.; Kosovichev, A. G. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4085 (United States); Duvall, T. L. Jr. [Solar Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2012-04-10

We report on a systematic center-to-limb variation in measured helioseismic travel times, which must be taken into account for an accurate determination of solar interior meridional flows. The systematic variation, found in time-distance helioseismology analysis using SDO/HMI and SDO/AIA observations, is different in both travel-time magnitude and variation trend for different observables. It is not clear what causes this systematic effect. Subtracting the longitude-dependent east-west travel times, obtained along the equatorial area, from the latitude-dependent north-south travel times, obtained along the central meridian area, gives remarkably similar results for different observables. We suggest this as an effective procedure for removing the systematic center-to-limb variation. The subsurface meridional flows obtained from inversion of the corrected travel times are approximately 10 m s{sup -1} slower than those obtained without removing the systematic effect. The detected center-to-limb variation may have important implications in the derivation of meridional flows in the deep interior and needs to be better understood.

SYSTEMATIC CENTER-TO-LIMB VARIATION IN MEASURED HELIOSEISMIC TRAVEL TIMES AND ITS EFFECT ON INFERENCES OF SOLAR INTERIOR MERIDIONAL FLOWS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Junwei; Nagashima, Kaori; Bogart, R. S.; Kosovichev, A. G.; Duvall, T. L. Jr.

2012-01-01

We report on a systematic center-to-limb variation in measured helioseismic travel times, which must be taken into account for an accurate determination of solar interior meridional flows. The systematic variation, found in time-distance helioseismology analysis using SDO/HMI and SDO/AIA observations, is different in both travel-time magnitude and variation trend for different observables. It is not clear what causes this systematic effect. Subtracting the longitude-dependent east-west travel times, obtained along the equatorial area, from the latitude-dependent north-south travel times, obtained along the central meridian area, gives remarkably similar results for different observables. We suggest this as an effective procedure for removing the systematic center-to-limb variation. The subsurface meridional flows obtained from inversion of the corrected travel times are approximately 10 m s –1 slower than those obtained without removing the systematic effect. The detected center-to-limb variation may have important implications in the derivation of meridional flows in the deep interior and needs to be better understood.

Systematic Center-To-Limb Variation in Measured Helioseismic Travel Times and Its Effect on Inferences of Solar Interior Meridional Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Junwei; Nagashima, Kaori; Bogart, R. S.; Kosovichev, Alexander; Duvall, T. L., Jr.

2012-01-01

We report on a systematic center-to-limb variation in measured helioseismic travel times, which must be taken into account for an accurate determination of solar interior meridional flows. The systematic variation, found in time-distance helioseismology analysis using SDO/HMI and SDO/AIA observations, is different in both travel-time magnitude and variation trend for different observables. It is not clear what causes this systematic effect. Subtracting the longitude-dependent east-west travel times, obtained along the equatorial area, from the latitude-dependent north-south travel times, obtained along the central meridian area, gives remarkably similar results for different observables. We suggest this as an effective procedure for removing the systematic center-to-limb variation. The subsurface meridional flows obtained from inversion of the corrected travel times are approximately 10 m s-1 slower than those obtained without removing the systematic effect. The detected center-to-limb variation may have important implications in the derivation of meridional flows in the deep interior and needs to be better understood.

Numerical analysis of flow in ultra micro centrifugal compressor -influence of meridional configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneko, Masanao; Tsujita, Hoshio; Hirano, Toshiyuki

2013-04-01

A single stage ultra micro centrifugal compressor constituting ultra micro gas turbine is required to operate at high rotational speed in order to achieve the pressure ratio which establishes the gas turbine cycle. As a consequence, the aerodynamic losses can be increased by the interaction of a shock wave with the boundary layer on the blade surface. Moreover, the centrifugal force which exceeds the allowable stress of the impeller material can act on the root of blades. On the other hand, the restrictions of processing technology for the downsizing of impeller not only relatively enlarge the size of tip clearance but also make it difficult to shape the impeller with the three-dimensional blade. Therefore, it is important to establish the design technology for the impeller with the two-dimensional blade which possesses the sufficient aerodynamic performance and enough strength to bear the centrifugal force caused by the high rotational speed. In this study, the flow in two types of impeller with the two-dimensional blade which have different meridional configuration was analyzed numerically. The computed results clarified the influence of the meridional configuration on the loss generations in the impeller passage.

Stagnant lids and mantle overturns: Implications for Archaean tectonics, magmagenesis, crustal growth, mantle evolution, and the start of plate tectonics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean H. Bédard

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The lower plate is the dominant agent in modern convergent margins characterized by active subduction, as negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere sinks into the asthenosphere under its own weight. This is a strong plate-driving force because the slab-pull force is transmitted through the stiff sub-oceanic lithospheric mantle. As geological and geochemical data seem inconsistent with the existence of modern-style ridges and arcs in the Archaean, a periodically-destabilized stagnant-lid crust system is proposed instead. Stagnant-lid intervals may correspond to periods of layered mantle convection where efficient cooling was restricted to the upper mantle, perturbing Earth's heat generation/loss balance, eventually triggering mantle overturns. Archaean basalts were derived from fertile mantle in overturn upwelling zones (OUZOs, which were larger and longer-lived than post-Archaean plumes. Early cratons/continents probably formed above OUZOs as large volumes of basalt and komatiite were delivered for protracted periods, allowing basal crustal cannibalism, garnetiferous crustal restite delamination, and coupled development of continental crust and sub-continental lithospheric mantle. Periodic mixing and rehomogenization during overturns retarded development of isotopically depleted MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalt mantle. Only after the start of true subduction did sequestration of subducted slabs at the core-mantle boundary lead to the development of the depleted MORB mantle source. During Archaean mantle overturns, pre-existing continents located above OUZOs would be strongly reworked; whereas OUZO-distal continents would drift in response to mantle currents. The leading edge of drifting Archaean continents would be convergent margins characterized by terrane accretion, imbrication, subcretion and anatexis of unsubductable oceanic lithosphere. As Earth cooled and the background oceanic lithosphere became denser and stiffer, there would be an increasing

Solar rotation and meridional motions derived from sunspot groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuominen, J.; Tuominen, I.; Kyroelaeinen, J.

1982-01-01

Latitudinal and longitudinal motions of sunspot groups have been studied using the positions of recurrent sunspot groups of 103 years published by Greenwich observatory. In order to avoid any limb effects, only positions close to the central meridian have been used. The data were divided into two parts: those belonging to the years around sunspot maxima and those belonging to the years around sunspot minima. Using several different criteria it was ascertained that sunspot groups show meridional motions and that their drift curves as a function of latitude are different around maxima and around minima. In addition, also the angular velocity, as a function of latitude, was found to be different around maxima and minima. (Auth.)

Subregional characterization of mesoscale eddies across the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Evan; Pascual, Ananda; Gaube, Peter; Ruiz, Simón; Pelegrí, Josep L.; Delepoulle, Antoine

2017-04-01

Horizontal and vertical motions associated with coherent mesoscale structures, including eddies and meanders, are responsible for significant global transports of many properties, including heat and mass. Mesoscale vertical fluxes also influence upper ocean biological productivity by mediating the supply of nutrients into the euphotic layer, with potential impacts on the global carbon cycle. The Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) is a western boundary current region in the South Atlantic with intense mesoscale activity. This region has an active role in the genesis and transformation of water masses and thus is a critical component of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The collision between the Malvinas and Brazil Currents over the Patagonian shelf/slope creates an energetic front that translates offshore to form a vigorous eddy field. Recent improvements in gridded altimetric sea level anomaly fields allow us to track BMC mesoscale eddies with high spatial and temporal resolutions using an automated eddy tracker. We characterize the eddies across fourteen 5° × 5° subregions. Eddy-centric composites of tracers and geostrophic currents diagnosed from a global reanalysis of surface and in situ data reveal substantial subregional heterogeneity. The in situ data are also used to compute the evolving quasi-geostrophic vertical velocity (QG-ω) associated with each instantaneous eddy instance. The QG-ω eddy composites have the expected dipole patterns of alternating upwelling/downwelling, however, the magnitude and sign of azimuthally averaged vertical velocity varies among subregions. Maximum eddy values are found near fronts and sharp topographic gradients. In comparison with regional eddy composites, subregional composites provide refined information about mesoscale eddy heterogeneity.

Mode change of millennial CO2 variability during the last glacial cycle associated with a bipolar marine carbon seesaw.

Science.gov (United States)

Bereiter, Bernhard; Lüthi, Dieter; Siegrist, Michael; Schüpbach, Simon; Stocker, Thomas F; Fischer, Hubertus

2012-06-19

Important elements of natural climate variations during the last ice age are abrupt temperature increases over Greenland and related warming and cooling periods over Antarctica. Records from Antarctic ice cores have shown that the global carbon cycle also plays a role in these changes. The available data shows that atmospheric CO(2) follows closely temperatures reconstructed from Antarctic ice cores during these variations. Here, we present new high-resolution CO(2) data from Antarctic ice cores, which cover the period between 115,000 and 38,000 y before present. Our measurements show that also smaller Antarctic warming events have an imprint in CO(2) concentrations. Moreover, they indicate that during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, the peak of millennial CO(2) variations lags the onset of Dansgaard/Oeschger warmings by 250 ± 190 y. During MIS 3, this lag increases significantly to 870 ± 90 y. Considerations of the ocean circulation suggest that the millennial variability associated with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) undergoes a mode change from MIS 5 to MIS 4 and 3. Ocean carbon inventory estimates imply that during MIS 3 additional carbon is derived from an extended mass of carbon-enriched Antarctic Bottom Water. The absence of such a carbon-enriched water mass in the North Atlantic during MIS 5 can explain the smaller amount of carbon released to the atmosphere after the Antarctic temperature maximum and, hence, the shorter lag. Our new data provides further constraints for transient coupled carbon cycle-climate simulations during the entire last glacial cycle.

Climate bifurcation during the last deglaciation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. M. Lenton

2012-07-01

Full Text Available There were two abrupt warming events during the last deglaciation, at the start of the Bølling-Allerød and at the end of the Younger Dryas, but their underlying dynamics are unclear. Some abrupt climate changes may involve gradual forcing past a bifurcation point, in which a prevailing climate state loses its stability and the climate tips into an alternative state, providing an early warning signal in the form of slowing responses to perturbations, which may be accompanied by increasing variability. Alternatively, short-term stochastic variability in the climate system can trigger abrupt climate changes, without early warning. Previous work has found signals consistent with slowing down during the last deglaciation as a whole, and during the Younger Dryas, but with conflicting results in the run-up to the Bølling-Allerød. Based on this, we hypothesise that a bifurcation point was approached at the end of the Younger Dryas, in which the cold climate state, with weak Atlantic overturning circulation, lost its stability, and the climate tipped irreversibly into a warm interglacial state. To test the bifurcation hypothesis, we analysed two different climate proxies in three Greenland ice cores, from the Last Glacial Maximum to the end of the Younger Dryas. Prior to the Bølling warming, there was a robust increase in climate variability but no consistent slowing down signal, suggesting this abrupt change was probably triggered by a stochastic fluctuation. The transition to the warm Bølling-Allerød state was accompanied by a slowing down in climate dynamics and an increase in climate variability. We suggest that the Bølling warming excited an internal mode of variability in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation strength, causing multi-centennial climate fluctuations. However, the return to the Younger Dryas cold state increased climate stability. We find no consistent evidence for slowing down during the Younger Dryas, or in a longer

Impact of a realistic river routing in coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alkama, Ramdane [IPSL, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l' Environnement, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Structure et fonctionnement des systemes hydriques continentaux (Sisyphe), Paris (France); Kageyama, M.; Ramstein, G.; Marti, O.; Swingedouw, D. [IPSL, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l' Environnement, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Ribstein, P. [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Structure et fonctionnement des systemes hydriques continentaux (Sisyphe), Paris (France)

2008-06-15

The presence of large ice sheets over North America and North Europe at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) strongly impacted Northern hemisphere river pathways. Despite the fact that such changes may significantly alter the freshwater input to the ocean, modified surface hydrology has never been accounted for in coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model simulations of the LGM climate. To reconstruct the LGM river routing, we use the ICE-5G LGM topography. Because of the uncertainties in the extent of the Fennoscandian ice sheet in the Eastern part of the Kara Sea, we consider two more realistic river routing scenarios. The first scenario is characterised by the presence of an ice dammed lake south of the Fennoscandian ice sheet, and corresponds to the ICE-5G topography. This lake is fed by the Ob and Yenisei rivers. In the second scenario, both these rivers flow directly into the Arctic Ocean, which is more consistent with the latest QUEEN ice sheet margin reconstructions. We study the impact of these changes on the LGM climate as simulated by the IPSL{sub C}M4 model and focus on the overturning thermohaline circulation. A comparison with a classical LGM simulation performed using the same model and modern river basins as designed in the PMIP2 exercise leads to the following conclusions: (1) The discharge into the North Atlantic Ocean is increased by 2,000 m{sup 3}/s between 38 and 54 N in both simulations that contain LGM river routing, compared to the classical LGM experiment. (2) The ice dammed lake is shown to have a weak impact, relative to the classical simulation, both in terms of climate and ocean circulation. (3) In contrast, the North Atlantic deep convection and meridional overturning are weaker than during the classical LGM run if the Ob and Yenisei rivers flow directly into the Arctic Ocean. The total discharge into the Arctic Ocean is increased by 31,000 m{sup 3}/s, relative to the classical LGM simulation. Consequentially, northward ocean heat

The role of the meridional sea surface temperature gradient in controlling the Caribbean low-level jet

Science.gov (United States)

Maldonado, Tito; Rutgersson, Anna; Caballero, Rodrigo; Pausata, Francesco S. R.; Alfaro, Eric; Amador, Jorge

2017-06-01

The Caribbean low-level jet (CLLJ) is an important modulator of regional climate, especially precipitation, in the Caribbean and Central America. Previous work has inferred, due to their semiannual cycle, an association between CLLJ strength and meridional sea surface temperature (SST) gradients in the Caribbean Sea, suggesting that the SST gradients may control the intensity and vertical shear of the CLLJ. In addition, both the horizontal and vertical structure of the jet have been related to topographic effects via interaction with the mountains in Northern South America (NSA), including funneling effects and changes in the meridional geopotential gradient. Here we test these hypotheses, using an atmospheric general circulation model to perform a set of sensitivity experiments to examine the impact of both SST gradients and topography on the CLLJ. In one sensitivity experiment, we remove the meridional SST gradient over the Caribbean Sea and in the other, we flatten the mountains over NSA. Our results show that the SST gradient and topography have little or no impact on the jet intensity, vertical, and horizontal wind shears, contrary to previous works. However, our findings do not discount a possible one-way coupling between the SST and the wind over the Caribbean Sea through friction force. We also examined an alternative approach based on barotropic instability to understand the CLLJ intensity, vertical, and horizontal wind shears. Our results show that the current hypothesis about the CLLJ must be reviewed in order to fully understand the atmospheric dynamics governing the Caribbean region.

Storm-time meridional flows: a comparison of CINDI observations and model results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Hairston

2014-06-01

Full Text Available During a large geomagnetic storm, the electric field from the polar ionosphere can expand far enough to affect the mid-latitude and equatorial electric fields. These changes in the equatorial zonal electric field, called the penetration field, will cause changes in the meridional ion flows that can be observed by radars and spacecraft. In general this E × B ion flow near the equator caused by the penetration field during undershielding conditions will be upward on the dayside and downward on the nightside of the Earth. Previous analysis of the equatorial meridional flows observed by CINDI instrument on the C/NOFS spacecraft during the 26 September 2011 storm showed that all of the response flows on the dayside were excess downward flows instead of the expected upward flows. These observed storm-time responses are compared to a prediction from a physics-based coupled model of thermosphere–ionosphere–inner-magnetosphere in an effort to explain these observations. The model results suggest that the equatorial downward flow could be attributed to a combined effect of the overshielding and disturbance dynamo processes. However, some discrepancy between the model and observation indicates a need for improving our understanding of how sensitive the equatorial electric field is to various model input parameters that describe the magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling processes.

Meridional Motions and Reynolds Stress Determined by Using Kanzelhöhe Drawings and White Light Solar Images from 1964 to 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Ruždjak, Domagoj; Sudar, Davor; Brajša, Roman; Skokić, Ivica; Poljančić Beljan, Ivana; Jurdana-Šepić, Rajka; Hanslmeier, Arnold; Veronig, Astrid; Pötzi, Werner

2018-04-01

Sunspot position data obtained from Kanzelhöhe Observatory for Solar and Environmental Research (KSO) sunspot drawings and white light images in the period 1964 to 2016 were used to calculate the rotational and meridional velocities of the solar plasma. Velocities were calculated from daily shifts of sunspot groups and an iterative process of calculation of the differential rotation profiles was used to discard outliers. We found a differential rotation profile and meridional motions in agreement with previous studies using sunspots as tracers and conclude that the quality of the KSO data is appropriate for analysis of solar velocity patterns. By analyzing the correlation and covariance of meridional velocities and rotation rate residuals we found that the angular momentum is transported towards the solar equator. The magnitude and latitudinal dependence of the horizontal component of the Reynolds stress tensor calculated is sufficient to maintain the observed solar differential rotation profile. Therefore, our results confirm that the Reynolds stress is the dominant mechanism responsible for transport of angular momentum towards the solar equator.

A BABCOCK–LEIGHTON SOLAR DYNAMO MODEL WITH MULTI-CELLULAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION IN ADVECTION- AND DIFFUSION-DOMINATED REGIMES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belucz, Bernadett; Forgács-Dajka, Emese [Eötvös University, Department of Astronomy, 1518 Budapest, Pf. 32 (Hungary); Dikpati, Mausumi, E-mail: bbelucz@astro.elte.hu, E-mail: dikpati@ucar.edu [High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3080 Center Green, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 (United States)

2015-06-20

Babcock–Leighton type-solar dynamo models with single-celled meridional circulation are successful in reproducing many solar cycle features. Recent observations and theoretical models of meridional circulation do not indicate a single-celled flow pattern. We examine the role of complex multi-cellular circulation patterns in a Babcock–Leighton solar dynamo in advection- and diffusion-dominated regimes. We show from simulations that the presence of a weak, second, high-latitude reverse cell speeds up the cycle and slightly enhances the poleward branch in the butterfly diagram, whereas the presence of a second cell in depth reverses the tilt of the butterfly wing to an antisolar type. A butterfly diagram constructed from the middle of convection zone yields a solar-like pattern, but this may be difficult to realize in the Sun because of magnetic buoyancy effects. Each of the above cases behaves similarly in higher and lower magnetic diffusivity regimes. However, our dynamo with a meridional circulation containing four cells in latitude behaves distinctly differently in the two regimes, producing solar-like butterfly diagrams with fast cycles in the higher diffusivity regime, and complex branches in butterfly diagrams in the lower diffusivity regime. We also find that dynamo solutions for a four-celled pattern, two in radius and two in latitude, prefer to quickly relax to quadrupolar parity if the bottom flow speed is strong enough, of similar order of magnitude as the surface flow speed.

A BABCOCK–LEIGHTON SOLAR DYNAMO MODEL WITH MULTI-CELLULAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION IN ADVECTION- AND DIFFUSION-DOMINATED REGIMES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belucz, Bernadett; Forgács-Dajka, Emese; Dikpati, Mausumi

2015-01-01

Babcock–Leighton type-solar dynamo models with single-celled meridional circulation are successful in reproducing many solar cycle features. Recent observations and theoretical models of meridional circulation do not indicate a single-celled flow pattern. We examine the role of complex multi-cellular circulation patterns in a Babcock–Leighton solar dynamo in advection- and diffusion-dominated regimes. We show from simulations that the presence of a weak, second, high-latitude reverse cell speeds up the cycle and slightly enhances the poleward branch in the butterfly diagram, whereas the presence of a second cell in depth reverses the tilt of the butterfly wing to an antisolar type. A butterfly diagram constructed from the middle of convection zone yields a solar-like pattern, but this may be difficult to realize in the Sun because of magnetic buoyancy effects. Each of the above cases behaves similarly in higher and lower magnetic diffusivity regimes. However, our dynamo with a meridional circulation containing four cells in latitude behaves distinctly differently in the two regimes, producing solar-like butterfly diagrams with fast cycles in the higher diffusivity regime, and complex branches in butterfly diagrams in the lower diffusivity regime. We also find that dynamo solutions for a four-celled pattern, two in radius and two in latitude, prefer to quickly relax to quadrupolar parity if the bottom flow speed is strong enough, of similar order of magnitude as the surface flow speed

Sensitivity of decadal predictions to the initial atmospheric and oceanic perturbations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Du, H.; Garcia-Serrano, J.; Guemas, V.; Soufflet, Y. [Institut Catala de Ciencies del Clima (IC3), Barcelona (Spain); Doblas-Reyes, F.J. [Institut Catala de Ciencies del Clima (IC3), Barcelona (Spain); Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Barcelona (Spain); Wouters, B. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt (Netherlands)

2012-10-15

A coupled global atmosphere-ocean model is employed to investigate the impact of initial perturbation methods on the behaviour of five-member ensemble decadal re-forecasts. Three initial-condition perturbation strategies, atmosphere only, ocean only and atmosphere-ocean, have been used and the impact on selected variables have been investigated. The impact has been assessed in terms of climate drift, forecast quality and spread. The simulated global means of near-surface air temperature (T2M), sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice area (SIA) for both Arctic and Antarctic show reasonably good quality, in spite of the non-negligible drift of the model. The skill in terms of correlation is not significantly affected by the particular perturbation method employed. The ensemble spread generated for T2M, SST and land surface precipitation (PCP) saturates quickly with any of the perturbation methods. However, for SIA, Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and ocean heat content (OHC), the spread increases substantially during the forecast time when ocean perturbations are applied. Ocean perturbations are particularly important for Antarctic SIA and OHC for the middle and deep layers of the ocean. The results will be helpful in the design of ensemble prediction experiments. (orig.)

Oceanic Transport of Surface Meltwater from the Southern Greenland Ice Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Hao; Castelao, Renato M.; Rennermalm, Asa K.; Tedesco, Marco; Bracco, Annalisa; Yager, Patricia L.; Mote, Thomas L.

2016-01-01

The Greenland ice sheet has undergone accelerating mass losses during recent decades. Freshwater runoff from ice melt can influence fjord circulation and dynamic1 and the delivery of bioavailable micronutrients to the ocean. It can also have climate implications, because stratification in the adjacent Labrador Sea may influence deep convection and the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Yet, the fate of the meltwater in the ocean remains unclear. Here, we use a high-resolution ocean model to show that only 1-15% of the surface meltwater runoff originating from southwest Greenland is transported westwards. In contrast, up to 50-60% of the meltwater runoff originating from southeast Greenland is transported westwards into the northern Labrador Sea, leading to significant salinity and stratification anomalies far from the coast. Doubling meltwater runoff, as predicted in future climate scenarios, results in a more-than-double increase in anomalies offshore that persists further into the winter. Interannual variability in offshore export of meltwater is tightly related to variability in wind forcing. The new insight that meltwaters originating from the west and east coasts have different fates indicates that future changes in mass loss rates and surface runoff will probably impact the ocean differently, depending on their Greenland origins.

The role of land surface dynamics in glacial inception: a study with the UVic Earth System Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meissner, K.J.; Weaver, A.J.; Matthews, H.D. [School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria (Canada); Cox, P.M. [Hadley Centre, Meteorological Office, Bracknell (United Kingdom)

2003-12-01

The first results of the UVic Earth System Model coupled to a land surface scheme and a dynamic global vegetation model are presented in this study. In the first part the present day climate simulation is discussed and compared to observations. We then compare a simulation of an ice age inception (forced with 116 ka BP orbital parameters and an atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration of 240 ppm) with a preindustrial run (present day orbital parameters, atmospheric [CO{sub 2}] = 280 ppm). Emphasis is placed on the vegetation's response to the combined changes in solar radiation and atmospheric CO{sub 2} level. A southward shift of the northern treeline as well as a global decrease in vegetation carbon is observed in the ice age inception run. In tropical regions, up to 88% of broadleaf trees are replaced by shrubs and C{sub 4} grasses. These changes in vegetation cover have a remarkable effect on the global climate: land related feedbacks double the atmospheric cooling during the ice age inception as well as the reduction of the meridional overturning in the North Atlantic. The introduction of vegetation related feedbacks also increases the surface area with perennial snow significantly. (orig.)

Characterizing post-industrial changes in the ocean carbon cycle in an Earth system model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumoto, Katsumi; Tokos, Kathy S.; Chikamoto, Megumi O. (Geology and Geophysics, Univ. of Minnesota, MN (United States)), e-mail: katsumi@umn.edu; Ridgwell, Andy (School of Geographical Sciences, Univ. of Bristol, Bristol (United Kingdom))

2010-10-22

Understanding the oceanic uptake of carbon from the atmosphere is essential for better constraining the global budget, as well as for predicting the air-borne fraction of CO{sub 2} emissions and thus degree of climate change. Gaining this understanding is difficult, because the 'natural' carbon cycle, the part of the global carbon cycle unaltered by CO{sub 2} emissions, also responds to climate change and ocean acidification. Using a global climate model of intermediate complexity, we assess the evolution of the natural carbon cycle over the next few centuries. We find that physical mechanisms, particularly Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and gas solubility, alter the natural carbon cycle the most and lead to a significant reduction in the overall oceanic carbon uptake. Important biological mechanisms include reduced organic carbon export production due to reduced nutrient supply, increased organic carbon production due to higher temperatures and reduced CaCO{sub 3} production due to increased ocean acidification. A large ensemble of model experiments indicates that the most important source of uncertainty in ocean uptake projections in the near term future are the upper ocean vertical diffusivity and gas exchange coefficient. By year 2300, the model's climate sensitivity replaces these two and becomes the dominant factor as global warming continues

Next Generation Climate Change Experiments Needed to Advance Knowledge and for Assessment of CMIP6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katzenberger, John [Aspen Global Change Inst., Basalt, CO (United States); Arnott, James [Aspen Global Change Inst., Basalt, CO (United States); Wright, Alyson [Aspen Global Change Inst., Basalt, CO (United States)

2014-10-30

The Aspen Global Change Institute hosted a technical science workshop entitled, “Next generation climate change experiments needed to advance knowledge and for assessment of CMIP6,” on August 4-9, 2013 in Aspen, CO. Jerry Meehl (NCAR), Richard Moss (PNNL), and Karl Taylor (LLNL) served as co-chairs for the workshop which included the participation of 32 scientists representing most of the major climate modeling centers for a total of 160 participant days. In August 2013, AGCI gathered a high level meeting of representatives from major climate modeling centers around the world to assess achievements and lessons learned from the most recent generation of coordinated modeling experiments known as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – 5 (CMIP5) as well as to scope out the science questions and coordination structure desired for the next anticipated phase of modeling experiments called CMIP6. The workshop allowed for reflection on the coordination of the CMIP5 process as well as intercomparison of model results, such as were assessed in the most recent IPCC 5th Assessment Report, Working Group 1. For example, this slide from Masahiro Watanabe examines performance on a range of models capturing Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

75 FR 57235 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-20

.... 100825390-0431-01] RIN 0648-BA17 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures... on potential adjustments to the regulations governing the U.S. Atlantic shark fishery to address several specific issues currently affecting management of the shark fishery and to identify specific goals...

75 FR 30483 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures; Amendment 3

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-01

... and 635 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures; Amendment 3; Final Rule... and 635 [Docket No. 080519678-0217-02] RIN 0648-AW65 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark... available to rebuild blacknose sharks and end overfishing of blacknose and shortfin mako sharks, consistent...

76 FR 67121 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2012 Atlantic Shark Commercial Fishing Season

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

.... 110913585-1625-01] RIN 0648-BB36 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2012 Atlantic Shark Commercial Fishing... establish opening dates and adjust quotas for the 2012 fishing season for the Atlantic commercial shark... 2011 Atlantic commercial shark fishing seasons. In addition, NMFS proposes season openings based on...

Role of asymmetric meridional circulation in producing north-south asymmetry in a solar cycle dynamo model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belucz, Bernadett [Eötvös University, Department of Astronomy, 1518 Budapest, Pf. 32 (Hungary); Dikpati, Mausumi [High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3080 Center Green, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 (United States)

2013-12-10

Solar cycles in the north and south hemispheres differ in cycle length, amplitude, profile, polar fields, and coronal structure. To show what role differences in meridional flow could play in producing these differences, we present the results of three sets of numerical simulations from a flux transport dynamo in which one property of meridional circulation has been changed in the south only. The changes are in amplitude and the presence of a second cell in latitude or in depth. An ascending phase speedup causes weakening of polar and toroidal fields; a speed decrease in a late descending phase does not change amplitudes. A long-duration speed increase leads to lower toroidal field peaks but unchanged polar field peaks. A second high-latitude circulation cell in an ascending phase weakens the next polar and toroidal field peaks, and the ascending phase is lengthened. A second cell in a late descending phase speeds up the cycle. A long-duration second cell leads to a poleward branch of the butterfly diagram and weaker polar fields. A second cell in depth reverses the tilt of the butterfly wing, decreasing polar fields when added during an ascending phase and increasing them during a late descending phase. A long-duration presence of a second cell in radius evolves the butterfly diagram far away from the observed one, with different dynamo periods in low and high latitudes. Thus, a second cell in depth is unlikely to persist more than a few years if the solar dynamo is advection-dominated. Our results show the importance of time variation and north-south asymmetry in meridional circulation in producing differing cycles in the north and south.

Role of asymmetric meridional circulation in producing north-south asymmetry in a solar cycle dynamo model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belucz, Bernadett; Dikpati, Mausumi

2013-01-01

Solar cycles in the north and south hemispheres differ in cycle length, amplitude, profile, polar fields, and coronal structure. To show what role differences in meridional flow could play in producing these differences, we present the results of three sets of numerical simulations from a flux transport dynamo in which one property of meridional circulation has been changed in the south only. The changes are in amplitude and the presence of a second cell in latitude or in depth. An ascending phase speedup causes weakening of polar and toroidal fields; a speed decrease in a late descending phase does not change amplitudes. A long-duration speed increase leads to lower toroidal field peaks but unchanged polar field peaks. A second high-latitude circulation cell in an ascending phase weakens the next polar and toroidal field peaks, and the ascending phase is lengthened. A second cell in a late descending phase speeds up the cycle. A long-duration second cell leads to a poleward branch of the butterfly diagram and weaker polar fields. A second cell in depth reverses the tilt of the butterfly wing, decreasing polar fields when added during an ascending phase and increasing them during a late descending phase. A long-duration presence of a second cell in radius evolves the butterfly diagram far away from the observed one, with different dynamo periods in low and high latitudes. Thus, a second cell in depth is unlikely to persist more than a few years if the solar dynamo is advection-dominated. Our results show the importance of time variation and north-south asymmetry in meridional circulation in producing differing cycles in the north and south.

77 FR 61562 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2013 Atlantic Shark Commercial Fishing Season

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-10

.... 120706221-2481-01] RIN 0648-XC106 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2013 Atlantic Shark Commercial Fishing... establish opening dates and adjust quotas for the 2013 fishing season for the Atlantic commercial shark... the 2011 and 2012 Atlantic commercial shark fishing seasons. We propose to keep the porbeagle shark...

Alleviating tropical Atlantic sector biases in the Kiel climate model by enhancing horizontal and vertical atmosphere model resolution: climatology and interannual variability

Science.gov (United States)

Harlaß, Jan; Latif, Mojib; Park, Wonsun

2018-04-01

We investigate the quality of simulating tropical Atlantic (TA) sector climatology and interannual variability in integrations of the Kiel climate model (KCM) with varying atmosphere model resolution. The ocean model resolution is kept fixed. A reasonable simulation of TA sector annual-mean climate, seasonal cycle and interannual variability can only be achieved at sufficiently high horizontal and vertical atmospheric resolution. Two major reasons for the improvements are identified. First, the western equatorial Atlantic westerly surface wind bias in spring can be largely eliminated, which is explained by a better representation of meridional and especially vertical zonal momentum transport. The enhanced atmospheric circulation along the equator in turn greatly improves the thermal structure of the upper equatorial Atlantic with much reduced warm sea surface temperature (SST) biases. Second, the coastline in the southeastern TA and steep orography are better resolved at high resolution, which improves wind structure and in turn reduces warm SST biases in the Benguela upwelling region. The strongly diminished wind and SST biases at high atmosphere model resolution allow for a more realistic latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone. Resulting stronger cross-equatorial winds, in conjunction with a shallower thermocline, enable a rapid cold tongue development in the eastern TA in boreal spring. This enables simulation of realistic interannual SST variability and its seasonal phase locking in the KCM, which primarily is the result of a stronger thermocline feedback. Our findings suggest that enhanced atmospheric resolution, both vertical and horizontal, could be a key to achieving more realistic simulation of TA climatology and interannual variability in climate models.

AtlantOS - Optimizing and Enhancing the Integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System

Science.gov (United States)

Reitz, Anja; Visbeck, Martin; AtlantOS Consortium, the

2016-04-01

Atlantic Ocean observation is currently undertaken through loosely-coordinated, in-situ observing networks, satellite observations and data management arrangements of heterogeneous international, national and regional design to support science and a wide range of information products. Thus there is tremendous opportunity to develop the systems towards a fully integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System consistent with the recently developed 'Framework of Ocean Observing'. The vision of AtlantOS is to improve and innovate Atlantic observing by using the Framework of Ocean Observing to obtain an international, more sustainable, more efficient, more integrated, and fit-for-purpose system. Hence, the AtlantOS initiative will have a long-lasting and sustainable contribution to the societal, economic and scientific benefit arising from this integrated approach. This will be delivered by improving the value for money, extent, completeness, quality and ease of access to Atlantic Ocean data required by industries, product supplying agencies, scientist and citizens. The overarching target of the AtlantOS initiative is to deliver an advanced framework for the development of an integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System that goes beyond the state-of -the-art, and leaves a legacy of sustainability after the life of the project. The legacy will derive from the following aims: i) to improve international collaboration in the design, implementation and benefit sharing of ocean observing, ii) to promote engagement and innovation in all aspects of ocean observing, iii) to facilitate free and open access to ocean data and information, iv) to enable and disseminate methods of achieving quality and authority of ocean information, v) to strengthen the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and to sustain observing systems that are critical for the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service and its applications and vi) to contribute to the aims of the Galway Statement on Atlantic

78 FR 59878 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Commercial Atlantic Aggregated Large Coastal Shark (LCS...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-30

... Coastal Shark (LCS), Atlantic Hammerhead Shark, Atlantic Blacknose Shark, and Atlantic Non-Blacknose Small Coastal Shark (SCS) Management Groups AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic... closing the commercial management groups for aggregated LCS and hammerhead sharks in the Atlantic region...

Response of winter North Atlantic storm track to climate change in the CNRM-CM5 simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Chauvin, Fabrice; Oudar, Thomas; Sanchez-Gomez, Emilia; Terray, Laurent

2016-04-01

Climate variability in Europe in winter is largely controlled by North Atlantic storm tracks. These are associated with transport of energy, momentum, and water vapour, between the equator and mid latitudes. Extratropical cyclones have caused severe damages over some regions in north-western Europe, since they can combine extreme precipitation and strong winds. This is why it is relevant to study the impact of climate change on the extratropical cyclones, principally on their intensity, position or lifespan. Indeed, several recent studies have focused on this subject by using atmospheric reanalysis and general circulation models (GCMs). The main conclusions from the CMIP3 simulations showed a decreasing of the total number of cyclones and a poleward shift of their tracks in response to global warming. In the recent CMIP5 exercise, the consensus is not so clear, probably due to more complex feedbacks acting in the different models. Thus, the question of changes in North Atlantic storm-tracks with warming remains open. The main goal of this work is to explore the changes in the North Atlantic storm-tracks in the past and future decades and to analyze the contributions of the different external forcings (natural and anthropogenic) versus the internal variability. On this purpose, we use the Detection and Attribution (D&A) simulations performed with the coupled model CNRM-CM5. To characterize the extratropical cyclones and their tracks, a tracking scheme based on the detection of maximum of relative vorticity at 850 hPa is conducted. We show that the coupled model fairly well reproduces the storm genesis locations as well as the tracks pathways comparing to several atmospheric reanalysis products. In the recent historical period (1950-2005), the model shows a decrease in the number of storms in the southern North-Atlantic, when all the forcings (anthropogenic and natural) are prescribed. Even if the role of internal variability is important in the last decades (the

Meridional distribution and seasonal variation of stable oxygen isotope ratio of precipitation in the Southern Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kayo Nakamura

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The stable oxygen isotope ratio(δ^O in precipitation is known to have important meridional and seasonal variations, but there are almost no measurements of δ^O in precipitation over polar oceans. The present research took advantage of 4 opportunities for in situ observations in summer and winter at high latitudes in the Southern Ocean. In addition, we analyzed samples of precipitation at Syowa Station in 2008 to obtain year-round data. Based on these data, we consider the meridional and seasonal variations of δ^O in precipitation over the Southern Ocean. In general, δ^O decreases with increasing latitude, and is lower in winter than in summer. The latitude gradient is stronger in winter. At 60°S, δ^O is -5.4‰ and -11.3‰ in summer and winter, respectively, while the corresponding figures at 66°S are -10.5‰ and -20.8‰. These results will help us understand the mechanisms of the salinity distribution and its variation in the Antarctic Ocean.

Circulation and teleconnection mechanisms of Northeast Brazil droughts

Science.gov (United States)

Hastenrath, Stefan

2006-08-01

The Northern Nordeste of Brazil has its short rainy season narrowly concentrated around March-April, when the interhemispheric southward gradient of sea surface temperature (SST) is weakest and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which is the main rainbearing system for the Nordeste, reaches its southernmost position in the course of the year. The recurrent Secas (droughts) have a severe socio-economic impact in this semi-arid region. In drought years, the pre-season (October-January) rainfall is scarce, the interhemispheric SST gradient weakened and the basin-wide southerly (northerly) wind component enhanced (reduced), all manifestations of an anomalously far northward ITCZ position. Apart from this ensemble of Atlantic indicators, the Secas also tend to be preceded by anomalously warm equatorial Pacific waters in January. During El Niño years, an upper-tropospheric wave train extends from the equatorial eastern Pacific to the northern tropical Atlantic, affecting the patterns of upper-tropospheric topography and divergence, and hence of vertical motion over the Atlantic. The altered vertical motion leads to a weaker meridional pressure gradient on the equatorward flank of the North Atlantic subtropical high, and thus weaker North Atlantic tradewinds. The concomitant reduction of evaporation and wind stirring allows for warmer surface waters in the tropical North Atlantic and thus steeper interhemispheric meridional thermal gradient. Consequently, the ITCZ stays anomalously far North and the Nordeste rainy season becomes deficient.

Flow-dependent assimilation of sea surface temperature in isopycnal coordinates with the Norwegian Climate Prediction Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

François Counillon

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We document a pilot stochastic re-analysis computed by assimilating sea surface temperature (SST anomalies into the ocean component of the coupled Norwegian Climate Prediction Model (NorCPM for the period 1950–2010 (doi: 10.11582/2016.00002. NorCPM is based on the Norwegian Earth System Model and uses the ensemble Kalman filter for data assimilation (DA. Here, we assimilate SST from the stochastic HadISST2 historical reconstruction. The accuracy, reliability and drift are investigated using both assimilated and independent observations. NorCPM is slightly overdispersive against assimilated observations but shows stable performance through the analysis period. It demonstrates skills against independent measurements: sea surface height, heat and salt content, in particular in the Equatorial and North Pacific, the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (SPG region and the Nordic Seas. Furthermore, NorCPM provides a reliable monitoring of the SPG index and represents the vertical temperature variability there, in good agreement with observations. The monitoring of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is also encouraging. The benefit of using a flow-dependent assimilation method and constructing the covariance in isopycnal coordinates are investigated in the SPG region. Isopycnal coordinates discretisation is found to better capture the vertical structure than standard depth-coordinate discretisation, because it leads to a deeper influence of the assimilated surface observations. The vertical covariance shows a pronounced seasonal and decadal variability that highlights the benefit of flow-dependent DA method. This study demonstrates the potential of NorCPM to compute an ocean re-analysis for the 19th and 20th centuries when SST observations are available.

Overturning dogma: tolerance of insects to mixed-sterol diets is not universal.

Science.gov (United States)

Behmer, Spencer T

2017-10-01

Insects cannot synthesize sterols de novo, but like all eukaryotes they use them as cell membrane inserts where they influence membrane fluidity and rigidity. They also use a small amount for metabolic purposes, most notably as essential precursors for steroid hormones. It has been a long-held view that most insects require a small amount of specific sterol (often cholesterol) for metabolic purposes, but for membrane purposes (where the bulk of sterols are used) specificity in sterol structure was less important. Under this model, it was assumed that insects could tolerate mixed-sterol diets as long as a small amount of cholesterol was available. In the current paper this dogma is overturned, using data from plant-feeding insects that were fed mixed-sterol diets with different amounts and ratios of dietary sterols. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

78 FR 52487 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2014 Atlantic Shark Commercial Fishing Season

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-23

.... 130402317-3707-01] RIN 0648-XC611 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2014 Atlantic Shark Commercial Fishing... establish opening dates and adjust quotas for the 2014 fishing season for the Atlantic commercial shark... management measures to provide, to the extent practicable, fishing opportunities for commercial shark...

Reconstruction of the North Atlantic tropical cyclones in Azores for the last 800 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubio-Ingles, Maria Jesus; Sánchez, Guiomar; Trigo, Ricardo; Francus, Pierre; Gonçalves, Vitor; Raposeiro, Pedro; Freitas, Conceiçao; Borges, Paolo; Hernández, Armand; Bao, Roberto; Vázquez-Loureiro, David; Andrade, Cesar; Sáez, Alberto; Giralt, Santiago

2014-05-01

The variability of North Atlantic tropical storms has been the focus of several studies. Duration and seasonality has been attributed to a number of climate patterns and processes such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation, Atlantic Meridional Mode, African easterly waves, and atmospheric Rossby waves, but their tracks have been widely related to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Several authors have pointed out an increase and track shifting of North Atlantic tropical cyclones since 1995 with increased probability of these turning north far away from the North American continent. However, this cannot be regarded as an infrequent phenomenon as most proxy records from the Atlantic North have shown the existence of similar patterns in the past. Sao Miguel Island (Azores archipelago, Portugal) is settled in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This location makes this island an excellent natural laboratory to record shifts on North Atlantic tropical storms tracks that can reach the archipelago as low intensity hurricanes (e.g. Nadine in 2012) or downgraded to tropical storm (e.g. Grace in 2009). In the present work, lake sediment records have been used as a proxy sensor of tropical storms. Lagoa Azul is located inside Sete Cidades volcanic caldera and its catchment is characterized by stepped and forested caldera walls. Tropical storms and heavy rainfalls produce a flashy and substantial enhancement in the erosion of the catchment, increasing the sediments reaching the lake by rockfalls deposits (in littoral zones) and flood events deposits (in offshore zones). These flood events can be recognized in the sedimentary record as lobe deposits dominated by terrestrial components. It can be found in the sedimentary record and the bathymetry. Instrumental meteorological data and historical records have been compiled to reconstruct the most recent history of the North Atlantic tropical storms that have landed or affected the Sao Miguel Island (Andrade et al., 2008). In addition, a 1

Axisymmetric vibrations of thick shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Katsuyoshi; Kosawada, Tadashi; Takahashi, Shin; Takahashi, Fumiaki.

1987-01-01

An exact method using power series expansions is presented for solving axisymmetric free vibration problems for thick shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature. Based on the improved thick shell theory, the Lagrangian of the shells of revolution are obtained, and the equations of motion and the boundary conditions are derived from the stationary condition of the Lagrangian. The method is applied to thick shells of revolution having their generating curves of ellipse, cycloid, parabola, catenary and hyperbola. The results by the present method are compared with those by the thin shell theory and the effects of rotatory inertia and shear deformation upon the natural frequencies and the mode shapes are clarified. (author)

75 FR 44938 - Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Atlantic Coastal Shark Fishery

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-30

... Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Atlantic Coastal Shark Fishery AGENCY: National... moratorium on fishing for Atlantic coastal sharks in the State waters of New Jersey. NMFS canceled the... Fisheries Commission's (Commission) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks (Coastal...

The Southern Ocean as a driver of centennial to millenial timescale radiocarbon variations

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, K. B.; Bianchi, D.; Galbraith, E.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Iudicone, D.; Mikaloff Fletcher, S.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Slater, R. D.

2009-04-01

Paleo-proxy records reveal large delta-c14 variations for both the atmosphere and the ocean on centennial to millenial timescales. One of the most pronounced examples is the onset phase of the Younger Dryas, when atmospheric delta-c14 rose by 70 per mil in only 200 years. Another is the most recent deglaciation (and the associated "Mystery Interval"). Many of the significant centennial to millenial transients in atmospheric delta-c14 are reflected in ocean interior delta-c14 at intermediate depths in the Pacific over the last 50kyrs. An ocean model has been used to test the idea that only modest perturbations to Southern Ocean winds provides a means to link the oceanic and atmospheric delta-c14 variations. Perturbations to the winds over the Southern Ocean are able to drive sizable decoupling of the fluxes of 14CO2 and 12CO2 over the Southern Ocean, thus modifying atmospheric delta-c14. These same perturbations are able to perturb rapidly the depth of intermediate water horizons in the North Pacific through the passage of baroclinic planetary (Rossby) waves. This sensitivity is significantly stronger than what previous studies have found for perturbations to the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in the North Atlantic. It is suggested that delta-c14 may provide a powerful tracer for understanding past variations in the climate system.

Influence of the Gulf Stream on the troposphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Minobe, Shoshiro; Kuwano-Yoshida, Akira; Komori, Nobumasa; Xie, Shang-Ping; Small, Richard Justin

2008-03-13

The Gulf Stream transports large amounts of heat from the tropics to middle and high latitudes, and thereby affects weather phenomena such as cyclogenesis and low cloud formation. But its climatic influence, on monthly and longer timescales, remains poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear how the warm current affects the free atmosphere above the marine atmospheric boundary layer. Here we consider the Gulf Stream's influence on the troposphere, using a combination of operational weather analyses, satellite observations and an atmospheric general circulation model. Our results reveal that the Gulf Stream affects the entire troposphere. In the marine boundary layer, atmospheric pressure adjustments to sharp sea surface temperature gradients lead to surface wind convergence, which anchors a narrow band of precipitation along the Gulf Stream. In this rain band, upward motion and cloud formation extend into the upper troposphere, as corroborated by the frequent occurrence of very low cloud-top temperatures. These mechanisms provide a pathway by which the Gulf Stream can affect the atmosphere locally, and possibly also in remote regions by forcing planetary waves. The identification of this pathway may have implications for our understanding of the processes involved in climate change, because the Gulf Stream is the upper limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which has varied in strength in the past and is predicted to weaken in response to human-induced global warming in the future.

Future increases in Arctic precipitation linked to local evaporation and sea-ice retreat.

Science.gov (United States)

Bintanja, R; Selten, F M

2014-05-22

Precipitation changes projected for the end of the twenty-first century show an increase of more than 50 per cent in the Arctic regions. This marked increase, which is among the highest globally, has previously been attributed primarily to enhanced poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes. Here we use state-of-the-art global climate models to show that the projected increases in Arctic precipitation over the twenty-first century, which peak in late autumn and winter, are instead due mainly to strongly intensified local surface evaporation (maximum in winter), and only to a lesser degree due to enhanced moisture inflow from lower latitudes (maximum in late summer and autumn). Moreover, we show that the enhanced surface evaporation results mainly from retreating winter sea ice, signalling an amplified Arctic hydrological cycle. This demonstrates that increases in Arctic precipitation are firmly linked to Arctic warming and sea-ice decline. As a result, the Arctic mean precipitation sensitivity (4.5 per cent increase per degree of temperature warming) is much larger than the global value (1.6 to 1.9 per cent per kelvin). The associated seasonally varying increase in Arctic precipitation is likely to increase river discharge and snowfall over ice sheets (thereby affecting global sea level), and could even affect global climate through freshening of the Arctic Ocean and subsequent modulations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

Variability of Indonesian Throughflow and Borneo Runoff During the Last 14 kyr

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrizan, Marfasran; Kuhnt, Wolfgang; Holbourn, Ann

2017-10-01

We present a high-resolution ( 20 to 100 years temporal resolution) reconstruction of hydrological changes in the Makassar Strait over the last 14 kyr from Core SO217-18517 retrieved off the Mahakam Delta (1°32.198'S, 117°33.756'E; 698 m water depth) during the SO217 Makassar-Java Cruise. Sea surface temperatures, based on Mg/Ca of Globigerinoides ruber and alkenone UK'37, and seawater δ18O reconstructions, based on G. ruber δ18O and Mg/Ca, in combination with sortable silt grain size measurements and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanner derived elemental data provide evidence for increased precipitation during the Bølling-Allerød (BA) and early Holocene and for warmer and more saline surface waters and a decrease in the intensity of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) during the Younger Dryas (YD). XRF derived Log (Zr/Rb) records, sortable silt data and increased sedimentation rates indicate decreased winnowing, interpreted as a slowdown of the ITF thermocline flow during the YD. We attribute this decline in ITF intensity to slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the YD. We suggest that changes in Makassar Strait surface hydrology during this interval of Northern Hemisphere cooling and Southern Hemisphere warming were related to a southward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

The Flux-Anomaly-Forced Model Intercomparison Project (FAFMIP contribution to CMIP6: investigation of sea-level and ocean climate change in response to CO2 forcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Gregory

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The Flux-Anomaly-Forced Model Intercomparison Project (FAFMIP aims to investigate the spread in simulations of sea-level and ocean climate change in response to CO2 forcing by atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs. It is particularly motivated by the uncertainties in projections of ocean heat uptake, global-mean sea-level rise due to thermal expansion and the geographical patterns of sea-level change due to ocean density and circulation change. FAFMIP has three tier-1 experiments, in which prescribed surface flux perturbations of momentum, heat and freshwater respectively are applied to the ocean in separate AOGCM simulations. All other conditions are as in the pre-industrial control. The prescribed fields are typical of pattern and magnitude of changes in these fluxes projected by AOGCMs for doubled CO2 concentration. Five groups have tested the experimental design with existing AOGCMs. Their results show diversity in the pattern and magnitude of changes, with some common qualitative features. Heat and water flux perturbation cause the dipole in sea-level change in the North Atlantic, while momentum and heat flux perturbation cause the gradient across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC declines in response to the heat flux perturbation, and there is a strong positive feedback on this effect due to the consequent cooling of sea-surface temperature in the North Atlantic, which enhances the local heat input to the ocean. The momentum and water flux perturbations do not substantially affect the AMOC. Heat is taken up largely as a passive tracer in the Southern Ocean, which is the region of greatest heat input, while the weakening of the AMOC causes redistribution of heat towards lower latitudes. Future analysis of these and other phenomena with the wider range of CMIP6 FAFMIP AOGCMs will benefit from new diagnostics of temperature and salinity tendencies, which will enable

The Flux-Anomaly-Forced Model Intercomparison Project (FAFMIP) Contribution to CMIP6: Investigation of Sea-Level and Ocean Climate Change in Response to CO2 Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Jonathan M.; Bouttes, Nathaelle; Griffies, Stephen M.; Haak, Helmuth; Hurlin, William J.; Jungclaus, Johann; Kelley, Maxwell; Lee, Warren G.; Marshall, John; Romanou, Anastasia;

75 FR 33531 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-14

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 635 RIN 0648-XW79 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries AGENCY: National Marine..., recent Large Pelagics Survey estimates indicate that charter/headboat BFT landings constitute...

Late Glacial and Holocene Flow Dynamics of the Denmark Strait Overflow Water

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, M.; Schmidt, D. N.; Andersen, M. B.; Barker, S.; McCave, I. N. N.

2014-12-01

The overflow of dense water from the Nordic Seas to the North Atlantic across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge forms a major component of the deep branch of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and influences the climate system in Northwest Europe. Research has focused on deep convection of the Iceland Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and its links to climate variability in the North Atlantic. Our understanding of the history of the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) is significantly less constrained and yet it accounts for half of the total overflow production today. We focus on the Eirik Drift south of Greenland in the vicinity of the DSOW. Down-core 230Thxs derived sediment focusing factors (Ψ) and measurements of the mean size of sortable silt reveal winnowed sediments during the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich 1 suggesting an influx of vigorous southern sourced waters and restricted DSOW production. Reduced overflow may be due to glacial isostatic processes which shoaled the Denmark Strait sill combined with a southward shift of deep convection sites in response to enhanced ice cover in the Nordic Seas. Intensification of the DSOW is evident between 9 and 13ka BP indicating initial deepening of the Denmark Strait sill and northward migration of the locus of deep water production. Ψ values for the Holocene suggest an active DSOW with a shift in the flow regime at 6.8 ka BP indicated by a reduction and subsequent stabilization of mean size sortable silt during the mid-late Holocene. This is corroborated by other studies showing a reorganization of the deep water after 7ka. An establishment of the Labrador Sea Water at intermediate depths altered the density structure of the deep western boundary current and weakened the ISOW. Changes in deep water circulation occur as North Atlantic climate entered Neoglacial cooling determined by Mg/Ca derived sea surface temperatures and abundances of the polar planktic foraminifera species N. pachyderma. They

Late Quaternary Hydroclimate of Arid Northeastern Mexico: Response of Millennial-scale Global Climate Change and the Atlantic Warm Pool

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, P. D.; Shanahan, T. M.; Sánchez Zavala, J. L.; Lozano-SantaCruz, R.; Vera-Vera, G.

2017-12-01

Model projections suggest that drought-prone northeastern Mexico could experience an increase of more than 2 ºC in mean annual temperature and precipitation could decrease at least by 10-20% over the 21st century. The combination of drought and warmth would enhance the dryness of this water-stressed region in the coming decades. However, because of the lack of long continuous records from the region, little is known about the past controls on climate variability in northeast Mexico. In order to better understand the susceptibility of this climatically sensitive but data-poor region, we present a new multi-proxy record of past hydrological changes from paleo-lacustrine deposits in the Sandia Basin ( 24°N) over the last 32 cal ka BP. We reconstruct runoff from changes in the abundance of Al-bearing clastic minerals and local hydrological changes from the oxygen isotope composition of lacustrine carbonates, as well as gypsum/calcite abundances. During the cooler Heinrich Stadials (HS3, HS2 and HS1) and Younger Dryas, the basin received less runoff and the lake was more saline, though hydrological conditions varied significantly throughout these stadial events. The wettest interval in the record occurred coincident with the Bølling-Allerød (B/A) interstadial. Arid conditions returned during the Holocene, with low sedimentation rates, reduced proxy runoff indicators, and enhanced gypsum deposition suggesting this was the driest interval of the last 30 ka. Our observations are consistent with a growing number of records from across both northeastern Mexico and the southern Great Plains suggesting dry conditions associated with North Atlantic stadials and a sudden but transient shift to wetter conditions accompanying the strengthening of the overturning circulation during the B/A. We will evaluate the possible influence of Atlantic Warm Pool on hydroclimate of the region by comparing the different proxy records to the sea-surface temperature of Gulf of Mexico

Collaborative Research: Atlantic Ocean Tropical/Subtropical Processes from Seasonal to Decadal Time Scales: Model/Data, Model/Model Comparison and Model/Data Synthesis Through Assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Malannotte-Rizzoli, Paola

2003-01-01

The effort of this first year of research has been focused on the assimilation of TOPEX/Poseidon altimetric data into a primitive equation model of the Atlantic tropical/subtropical circulation. A reduced-rank, stationary Kalman filter has been constructed to assimilate the altimetric sea surface height anomaly (SHA) into the model. The goal is to assess how the inter-hemispheric transports between the Atlantic subtropics and tropics are affected by the assimilation and how the subsurface thermocline structure , and its variability ,is dynamically constrained by the SHA. The model is a reduced-gravity primitive equation GCM of the upper Atlantic Ocean between 30 S and 30 N. The assimilation scheme is an approximation to the extended Kalman filter in which the error covariances of the state estimates are calculated only in a reduced- dimension subspace. The subspace is defined by the leading empirical orthogonal functions calculated from an unconstrained model calculation. Both an identical twin experiment using simulated SHA observations and assimilation of the real TOPEX data were performed. Results from the twin experiments demonstrate the ability of the method to constrain the ocean circulation and the subsurface temperature structure. The impact on the subsurface temperature structure of TOPEX assimilation was assessed using data from expandable bathythermographs. This showed a substantial improvement in the estimated temperature variability only within 13 degrees in latitude around the equator. The impact of TOPEX SHA assimilation on zonally integrated meridional transport across different latitudes was also estimated. Again within 13 degrees from the equator both the mean amplitude and interannual variability of the surface and subsurface transports were significantly enhanced, while the transports were insensitive to the assimilation in the subtropics.

76 FR 23935 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-29

.... 110120049-1144-01] RIN 0648-BA69 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures... retention, transshipping, landing, storing, or selling of hammerhead sharks in the family Sphyrnidae (except for Sphyrna tiburo) and oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) caught in association with...

76 FR 65700 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Advisory Panel for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Southeast...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-24

.... Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and each of the constituent interstate commissions: the Atlantic States... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648-XA776 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Advisory Panel for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Southeast Data, Assessment...

77 FR 8776 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 Atlantic Bluefish...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-15

.... 120201086-2085-01] RIN 0648-XA904 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... comments. SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2012 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including an annual...

Geomagnetic storm effects in ionospheric TEC at an euatorial station: contribution of EXB drifts and meridional neutral winds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dabas, R.S.; Jain, A.R.

1985-01-01

Storm-time variations in TEC measurements at the Indian station Ootacamund with IEC data for four stations in the anomaly region. Variations in Nsub(T)(OOTY) are found to be smaller compared to those observed at anomaly stations. The equatorial electrojet control of Nsub(T)(OOTY) is weaker compared to that of Nsub(m)F2. This result and absence of midday biteout in Nsub(T)(OOTY) are interpreted in terms of plasma exchange between ionosphere and plasmasphere which, to some extent, compensates the loss of plasma in the column due to E x B drifts. The anomaly depth is found to be well correlated with the electrojet strength. It is also noticed that for the same anomaly is weaker on a storm day than for quiet days. This is interpreted in terms of converging equatorward meridional winds. Thus, ionosphere-plasmasphere plasma exchange and, during disturbed period, the converging equatorward meridional winds also have significant effects on the distribution of ionization at these latitudes though the E x B drifts are most important in affecting the ionization distribution at low latitudes. (author)

77 FR 25144 - Fisheries of the South Atlantic; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-27

.... The Council will consider input from the workgroup and workshops during its June meeting in Orlando... Atlantic; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries... public meeting and public workshop. SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will...

77 FR 25100 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 Atlantic Bluefish...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-27

.... 120201086-2418-02] RIN 0648-XA904 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... specifications for the 2012 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including an annual catch limit, total allowable landings...

78 FR 11809 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2013-2014 Atlantic...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-20

.... 130104009-3099-01] RIN 0648-XC432 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2013-2014 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... comments. SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2013 and 2014 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including...

77 FR 21015 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-09

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 635 [Docket No. 110210132-1275-02] RIN 0648-XB116 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries AGENCY... to their ability to attract customers. In addition, 2011 Large Pelagics Survey estimates indicate...

76 FR 18416 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-04

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 635 [Docket No. 100317152-0176-01] RIN 0648-XA327 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries AGENCY... ability to attract customers. In addition, recent Large Pelagics Survey estimates indicate that charter...

Characterization of the Temporal-Spatial Variability of Trans-Atlantic Dust Transport Based on CALIPSO Lidar Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Hongbin

2015-01-01

The trans-Atlantic dust transport has important implications for human and ecosystem health, the terrestrial and oceanic biogeochemical cycle, weather systems, and climate. A reliable assessment of these influences requires the characterization of dust distributions in three dimensions and over long time periods. We provide an observation-based multiyear estimate of trans-Atlantic dust transport by using a 7-year (2007 - 2013) lidar record from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) in both cloud-free and above-cloud conditions. We estimate that on a basis of the 7-year average and integration over 10S - 30N, 182 Tg a-1 dust leaves the coast of North Africa at 15W, of which 132 Tg a-1 and 43 Tg a-1 reaches 35W and 75W, respectively. These flux estimates have an overall known uncertainty of (45 - 70). The 7-year average of dust deposition into the Amazon Basin is estimated to be 28 (8 - 48) Tg a-1 or 29 (8 - 50) kg ha-1 a-1. This imported dust could provide about 0.022 (0.006 - 0.037) Tg P of phosphorus per year, equivalent to 23 (7 - 39) g P ha-1 a-1 to fertilize the Amazon rainforest, which is comparable to the loss of phosphorus to rainfall. Significant seasonal variations are observed in both the magnitude of total dust transport and its meridional and vertical distributions. The observed large interannual variability of annual dust transport is highly anti-correlated with the prior-year Sahel Precipitation Index. Comparisons of CALIPSO measurements with surface-based observations and model simulations will also be discussed.

Vibrations of laminated composite thick shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Katsuyoshi; Shikanai, Genji; Baba, Iwato

1998-01-01

An exact solution is presented for solving free vibrations of laminated composite thick shells of revolution having meridionally varying curvature. Based on the thick lamination theory considering the shear deformation and rotary inertia, equations of motion and boundary conditions are obtained from the stationary conditions of the Lagrangian. The equations of motion are solved exactly by using a power series expansion for symmetrically laminated cross-ply shells. Frequencies and mode shapes of shells of revolution having elliptical and parabolical meridians are presented for both ends clamped, and the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia are discussed by comparing the results from the present theory with those from the thin lamination theory. (author)

78 FR 65974 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Advisory Panel for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Southeast...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-04

... Management Councils, the 18 states in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, both the U.S. Virgin Islands and... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648-XC935 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Advisory Panel for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Southeast Data, Assessment...

76 FR 14378 - Fisheries of the South Atlantic; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-16

... the South Atlantic; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine... the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico... AP will also review Amendment 19 to the Coastal Migratory Pelagics FMP regarding alternatives for bag...

78 FR 20258 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-04

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 635 [Docket No. 120306154-2241-02] RIN 0648-XC593 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries AGENCY... retention limit is vital to their ability to attract customers. In addition, 2012 Large Pelagics Survey...

4M Overturned Pyramid (MOP) Model Utilization: Case Studies on Collision in Indonesian and Japanese Maritime Traffic Systems (MTS)

OpenAIRE

Wanginingastuti Mutmainnah; Masao Furusho

2016-01-01

4M Overturned Pyramid (MOP) model is a new model, proposed by authors, to characterized MTS which is adopting epidemiological model that determines causes of accidents, including not only active failures but also latent failures and barriers. This model is still being developed. One of utilization of MOP model is characterizing accidents in MTS, i.e. collision in Indonesia and Japan that is written in this paper. The aim of this paper is to show the characteristics of ship collision accidents...

Influence of Atlantic SST anomalies on the atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic-European sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Kestenare

2003-06-01

Full Text Available Recent studies of observational data suggest that Sea Surface Temperature (SST anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean have a significant influence on the atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic-European sector in early winter and in spring. After reviewing this work and showing that the spring signal is part of a global air-sea interaction, we analyze for comparison an ensemble of simulations with the ECHAM4 atmospheric general circulation model in T42 resolution forced by the observed distribution of SST and sea ice, and a simulation with the ECHAM4/OPA8 coupled model in T30 resolution. In the two cases, a significant influence of the Atlantic on the atmosphere is detected in the Atlantic-European sector. In the forced mode, ECHAM4 responds to SST anomalies from early spring to late summer, and also in early winter. The forcing involves SST anomalies not only in the tropical Atlantic, but also in the whole tropical band, suggesting a strong ENSO influence. The modeled signal resembles that seen in the observations in spring, but not in early winter. In the coupled mode, the Atlantic SST only has a significant influence on the atmosphere in summer. Although the SST anomaly is confined to the Atlantic, the summer signal shows some similarity with that seen in the forced simulations. However, there is no counterpart in the observations.

Understanding The Behavior Of The Sun'S Large Scale Magnetic Field And Its Relation With The Meridional Flow

Science.gov (United States)

Hazra, Gopal

2018-02-01

In this thesis, various studies leading to better understanding of the 11-year solar cycle and its theoretical modeling with the flux transport dynamo model are performed. Although this is primarily a theoretical thesis, there is a part dealing with the analysis of observational data. The various proxies of solar activity (e.g., sunspot number, sunspot area and 10.7 cm radio flux) from various observatory including the sunspot area records of Kodaikanal Observatory have been analyzed to study the irregular aspects of solar cycles and an analysis has been carried out on the correlation between the decay rate and the next cycle amplitude. The theoretical analysis starts with explaining how the magnetic buoyancy has been treated in the flux transport dynamo models, and advantages and disadvantages of different treatments. It is found that some of the irregular properties of the solar cycle in the decaying phase can only be well explained using a particular treatment of the magnetic buoyancy. Next, the behavior of the dynamo with the different spatial structures of the meridional flow based on recent helioseismology results has been studied. A theoretical model is constructed considering the back reaction due to the Lorentz force on the meridional flows which explains the observed variation of the meridional flow with the solar cycle. Finally, some results with 3D FTD models are presented. This 3D model is developed to handle the Babcock-Leighton mechanism and magnetic buoyancy more realistically than previous 2D models and can capture some important effects connected with the subduction of the magnetic field in polar regions, which are missed in 2D surface flux transport models. This 3D model is further used to study the evolution of the magnetic fields due to a turbulent non-axisymmetric velocity field and to compare the results with the results obtained by using a simple turbulent diffusivity coefficient.

Comparison of high-latitude thermospheric meridional winds I: optical and radar experimental comparisons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Griffin, E.M.; Mueller-Wodarg, I.C.F.; Aruliah, A.; Aylward, A. [Atmospheric Physics Lab., Univ. Coll. London, London (United Kingdom)

2004-07-01

Thermospheric neutral winds at Kiruna, Sweden (67.4 N, 20.4 E) are compared using both direct optical fabry-perot interferometer (FPI) measurements and those derived from European incoherent scatter radar (EISCAT) measurements. This combination of experimental data sets, both covering well over a solar cycle of data, allows for a unique comparison of the thermospheric meridional component of the neutral wind as observed by different experimental techniques. Uniquely in this study the EISCAT measurements are used to provide winds for comparison using two separate techniques: the most popular method based on the work of Salah and Holt (1974) and the meridional wind model (MWM) (Miller et al., 1997) application of servo theory. The balance of forces at this location that produces the observed diurnal pattern are investigated using output from the coupled thermosphere and ionosphere (CTIM) numerical model. Along with detailed comparisons from short periods the climatological behaviour of the winds have been investigated for seasonal and solar cycle dependence using the experimental techniques. While there are features which are consistent between the 3 techniques, such as the evidence of the equinoctial asymmetry, there are also significant differences between the techniques both in terms of trends and absolute values. It is clear from this and previous studies that the high-latitude representation of the thermospheric neutral winds from the empirical horizontal wind model (HWM), though improved from earlier versions, lacks accuracy in many conditions. The relative merits of each technique are discussed and while none of the techniques provides the perfect data set to address model performance at high-latitude, one or more needs to be included in future HWM reformulations. (orig.)

Seasonal varability of the Canary Current

Science.gov (United States)

Vélez-Belchí, P.; Hernandez-Guerra, A.; Pérez-Hernández, M. D.

2016-02-01

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is recognized as an important component of the climate system, contributing to the relatively mild climate of northwest Europe. Due to its importance, the strength of the AMOC is continually monitored along 26ºN with several moorings, east of the Bahamas, in the Middle Atlantic Ridge and south of the Canary islands, known as the RAPID array. The measurements of the RAPID array show a 6 Sv seasonal cycle for the AMOC, and recent studies have pointed out the dynamics of the eastern Atlantic as the main driver for this seasonal cycle, specifically, rossby waves excited south of the Canary Islands.Due to the important role of the eastern Atlantic, in this study we describe the seasonal cycle of the Canary Current (CC) and the Canary Upwelling Current (CUC), using hydrographic data from two cruises carried out in a box around the Canary Islands, the region where the eastern component of the RAPID array is placed. CTD, VMADCP and LADCP data were combined with inverse modeling in order to determine absolute geostrophic transports in the Canary Islands region in fall and spring. During spring, the overall transport of Canary Current and the CUC was southward. In the Lanzarote Passage (LP), between the Canary Islands and Africa, the CUC transported 0.6±0.20 Sv southward, while the Canary Current transported 1.0±0.40 Sv in the oceanic waters of the Canary Islands Archipelago. During fall, the CUC transported 2.8±0.4Sv northward, while the CC transported 2.9±0.60 Sv southward in the oceanic waters of the Canary Islands Archipelago. The seasonal cycle observed has and amplitude of 3.4Sv for the CUC and 1.9Sv for the CC. Data from a mooring in the LP and the hydrographic data was used to calibrate geostrophic transport estimated using altimetry data. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle of the geostrophic transport obtained using the calibrated altimetry data (Figure 1) was quite similar to the seasonal cycle of the

Seasonal cycle of the Canary Current.

Science.gov (United States)

Vélez-Belchí, P.; Hernandez-Guerra, A.; Pérez-Hernández, M. D.

2015-12-01

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is recognized as an important component of the climate system, contributing to the relatively mild climate of northwest Europe. Due to its importance, the strength of the AMOC is continually monitored along 26ºN with several moorings east of the Bahamas, in the Middle Atlantic Ridge and south of the Canary islands, known as the RAPID array. The measurements of the RAPID array show a 6 Sv seasonal cycle for the AMOC, and recent studies have pointed out the dynamics of the eastern Atlantic as the main driver for this seasonal cycle, specifically, rossby waves excited south of the Canary Islands. Due to the important role of the eastern Atlantic, in this study we describe the seasonal cycle of the Canary Current (CC) and the Canary Upwelling Current (CUC) using hydrographic data from two cruises carried out in a box around the Canary Islands, the region where the eastern component of the RAPID array is placed. CTD, VMADCP and LADCP data were combined with inverse modeling in order to determine absolute geostrophic transports in the Canary Islands region in fall and spring. During spring, the overall transport of Canary Current and the CUC was southward. In the Lanzarote Passage (LP), between the Canary Islands and Africa, the CUC transported 0.6±0.20 Sv southward, while the Canary Current transported 1.0±0.40 Sv in the oceanic waters of the Canary Islands Archipelago. During fall, the CUC transported 2.8±0.4Sv northward, while the CC transported 2.9±0.60 Sv southward in the oceanic waters of the Canary Islands Archipelago. The seasonal cycle observed has an amplitude of 3.4Sv for the CUC and 1.9Sv for the CC. Data from a mooring in the LP and the hydrographic data was used to calibrate geostrophic transport estimated using altimetry data. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle of the geostrophic transport obtained using the calibrated altimetry data (Figure 1) was quite similar to the seasonal cycle of the

Simulating the vegetation response in western Europe to abrupt climate changes under glacial background conditions

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M.-N. Woillez

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The last glacial period has been punctuated by two types of abrupt climatic events, the Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO and Heinrich (HE events. These events, recorded in Greenland ice and in marine sediments, involved changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC and led to major changes in the terrestrial biosphere. Here we use the dynamical global vegetation model ORCHIDEE to simulate the response of vegetation to abrupt changes in the AMOC strength. We force ORCHIDEE offline with outputs from the IPSL_CM4 general circulation model, in which the AMOC is forced to change by adding freshwater fluxes in the North Atlantic. We investigate the impact of a collapse and recovery of the AMOC, at different rates, and focus on Western Europe, where many pollen records are available for comparison. The impact of an AMOC collapse on the European mean temperatures and precipitations simulated by the GCM is relatively small but sufficient to drive an important regression of forests and expansion of grasses in ORCHIDEE, in qualitative agreement with pollen data for an HE event. On the contrary, a run with a rapid shift of the AMOC to a hyperactive state of 30 Sv, mimicking the warming phase of a DO event, does not exhibit a strong impact on the European vegetation compared to the glacial control state. For our model, simulating the impact of an HE event thus appears easier than simulating the abrupt transition towards the interstadial phase of a DO. For both a collapse or a recovery of the AMOC, the vegetation starts to respond to climatic changes immediately but reaches equilibrium about 200 yr after the climate equilibrates, suggesting a possible bias in the climatic reconstructions based on pollen records, which assume equilibrium between climate and vegetation. However, our study does not take into account vegetation feedbacks on the atmosphere.

Anatomy of Heinrich Layer 1 and its role in the last deglaciation

Science.gov (United States)

Hodell, David A.; Nicholl, Joseph A.; Bontognali, Tomaso R. R.; Danino, Steffan; Dorador, Javier; Dowdeswell, Julian A.; Einsle, Joshua; Kuhlmann, Holger; Martrat, Belen; Mleneck-Vautravers, Maryline J.; Rodríguez-Tovar, Francisco Javier; Röhl, Ursula

2017-03-01

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning and X-ray computed tomography data were measured every 1 mm to study the structure of Heinrich Event 1 during the last deglaciation at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1308. Heinrich Layer 1 comprises two distinct layers of ice-rafted detritus (IRD), which are rich in detrital carbonate (DC) and poor in foraminifera. Each DC layer consists of poorly sorted, coarse-grained clasts of IRD embedded in a dense, fine-grained matrix of glacial rock flour that is partially cemented. The radiocarbon ages of foraminifera at the base of the two layers indicate a difference of 1400 14C years, suggesting that they are two distinct events, but the calendar ages depend upon assumptions made for surface reservoir ages. The double peak indicates at least two distinct stages of discharge of the ice streams that drained the Laurentide Ice Sheet through Hudson Strait during HE1 or, alternatively, the discharge of two independent ice streams containing detrital carbonate. Heinrich Event 1.1 was the larger of the two events and began at 16.2 ka (15.5-17.1 ka) when the polar North Atlantic was already cold and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) weakened. The younger peak (H1.2) at 15.1 ka (14.3 to 15.9 ka) was a weaker event than H1.1 that was accompanied by minor cooling. Our results support a complex history for Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) with reduction in AMOC during the early part ( 20-16.2 ka) possibly driven by melting of European ice sheets, whereas the Laurentide Ice Sheet assumed a greater role during the latter half ( 16.2-14.7 ka).

The 9.2 ka event in Asian summer monsoon area: the strongest millennial scale collapse of the monsoon during the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenchao; Yan, Hong; Dodson, John; Cheng, Peng; Liu, Chengcheng; Li, Jianyong; Lu, Fengyan; Zhou, Weijian; An, Zhisheng

2018-04-01

Numerous Holocene paleo-proxy records exhibit a series of centennial-millennial scale rapid climatic events. Unlike the widely acknowledged 8.2 ka climate anomaly, the likelihood of a significant climate excursion at around 9.2 cal ka BP, which has been notably recognized in some studies, remains to be fully clarified in terms of its magnitude and intensity, as well as its characteristics and spatial distributions in a range of paleoclimatic records. In this study, a peat sediment profile from the Dajiuhu Basin in central China was collected with several geochemical proxies and a pollen analysis carried out to help improve understanding of the climate changes around 9.2 cal ka BP. The results show that the peat development was interrupted abruptly at around 9.2 cal ka BP, when the chemical weathering strength decreased and the tree-pollen declined. This suggests that a strong drier regional climatic event occurred at around 9.2 cal ka BP in central China, which was, in turn, probably connected to the rapid 9.2 ka climate event co-developing worldwide. In addition, based on the synthesis of our peat records and the other Holocene hydrological records from Asian summer monsoon (ASM) region, we further found that the 9.2 ka event probably constituted the strongest abrupt collapse of the Asian monsoon system during the full Holocene interval. The correlations between ASM and the atmospheric 14C production rate, the North Atlantic drift ice records and Greenland temperature indicated that the weakened ASM event at around 9.2 cal ka BP could be interpreted by the co-influence of external and internal factors, related to the changes of the solar activity and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

Long-term ice sheet-climate interactions under anthropogenic greenhouse forcing simulated with a complex Earth System Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vizcaino, Miren [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); University of California, Department of Geography, Berkeley, CA (United States); Mikolajewicz, Uwe; Maier-Reimer, Ernst [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Groeger, Matthias [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel (Germany); Schurgers, Guy [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Lund University, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystems Analysis, Lund (Sweden); Winguth, Arne M.E. [Center for Climatic Research, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Madison (United States)

2008-11-15

Several multi-century and multi-millennia simulations have been performed with a complex Earth System Model (ESM) for different anthropogenic climate change scenarios in order to study the long-term evolution of sea level and the impact of ice sheet changes on the climate system. The core of the ESM is a coupled coarse-resolution Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model (AOGCM). Ocean biogeochemistry, land vegetation and ice sheets are included as components of the ESM. The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) decays in all simulations, while the Antarctic ice sheet contributes negatively to sea level rise, due to enhanced storage of water caused by larger snowfall rates. Freshwater flux increases from Greenland are one order of magnitude smaller than total freshwater flux increases into the North Atlantic basin (the sum of the contribution from changes in precipitation, evaporation, run-off and Greenland meltwater) and do not play an important role in changes in the strength of the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (NAMOC). The regional climate change associated with weakening/collapse of the NAMOC drastically reduces the decay rate of the GrIS. The dynamical changes due to GrIS topography modification driven by mass balance changes act first as a negative feedback for the decay of the ice sheet, but accelerate the decay at a later stage. The increase of surface temperature due to reduced topographic heights causes a strong acceleration of the decay of the ice sheet in the long term. Other feedbacks between ice sheet and atmosphere are not important for the mass balance of the GrIS until it is reduced to 3/4 of the original size. From then, the reduction in the albedo of Greenland strongly accelerates the decay of the ice sheet. (orig.)

Reconstructing extreme AMOC events through nudging of the ocean surface: a perfect model approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega, Pablo; Guilyardi, Eric; Swingedouw, Didier; Mignot, Juliette; Nguyen, Sébastien

2017-11-01

While the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is thought to be a crucial component of the North Atlantic climate, past changes in its strength are challenging to quantify, and only limited information is available. In this study, we use a perfect model approach with the IPSL-CM5A-LR model to assess the performance of several surface nudging techniques in reconstructing the variability of the AMOC. Special attention is given to the reproducibility of an extreme positive AMOC peak from a preindustrial control simulation. Nudging includes standard relaxation techniques towards the sea surface temperature and salinity anomalies of this target control simulation, and/or the prescription of the wind-stress fields. Surface nudging approaches using standard fixed restoring terms succeed in reproducing most of the target AMOC variability, including the timing of the extreme event, but systematically underestimate its amplitude. A detailed analysis of the AMOC variability mechanisms reveals that the underestimation of the extreme AMOC maximum comes from a deficit in the formation of the dense water masses in the main convection region, located south of Iceland in the model. This issue is largely corrected after introducing a novel surface nudging approach, which uses a varying restoring coefficient that is proportional to the simulated mixed layer depth, which, in essence, keeps the restoring time scale constant. This new technique substantially improves water mass transformation in the regions of convection, and in particular, the formation of the densest waters, which are key for the representation of the AMOC extreme. It is therefore a promising strategy that may help to better constrain the AMOC variability and other ocean features in the models. As this restoring technique only uses surface data, for which better and longer observations are available, it opens up opportunities for improved reconstructions of the AMOC over the last few decades.

Late Pleistocene glacial fluctuations in Cordillera Oriental, subtropical Andes

Science.gov (United States)

Martini, Mateo A.; Kaplan, Michael R.; Strelin, Jorge A.; Astini, Ricardo A.; Schaefer, Joerg M.; Caffee, Marc W.; Schwartz, Roseanne

2017-09-01

The behavior of subtropical glaciers during Middle to Late Pleistocene global glacial maxima and abrupt climate change events, specifically in Earth's most arid low-latitude regions, remains an outstanding problem in paleoclimatology. The present-day climate of Cordillera Oriental, in arid northwestern Argentina, is influenced by shifts in subtropical climate systems, including the South American Summer Monsoon. To understand better past glacier-subtropical climates during the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5-19 ka) and other time periods, we combined geomorphic features with forty-two precise 10Be ages on moraine boulders and reconstructed paleo-equilibrium line altitudes (ELA) at Nevado de Chañi (24°S) in the arid subtropical Andes. We found a major glacial expansion at ∼23 ± 1.6 ka, that is, during the global LGM. Additional glacial expansions are observed before the global LGM (at ∼52-39 ka), and after, at 15 ± 0.5 and 12 ± 0.6 ka. The ∼15 ka glacial event was found on both sides of Chañi and the ∼12 ka event is only recorded on the east side. Reconstructed ELAs of the former glaciers exhibit a rise from east to west that resembles the present subtropical climate trajectory from the Atlantic side of the continent; hence, we infer that this climate pattern must have been present in the past. Based on comparison with other low-latitude paleoclimate records, such as those from lakes and caves, we infer that both temperature and precipitation influenced past glacial occurrence in this sector of the arid Andes. Our findings also imply that abrupt deglacial climate events associated with the North Atlantic, specifically curtailed meridional overturning circulation and regional cooling, may have had attendant impacts on low subtropical Southern Hemisphere latitudes, including the climate systems that affect glacial activity around Nevado de Chañi.

Nematocarcinus Milne Edwards, 1881 (Crustacea, Decapoda) from Southwestern Atlantic, including the Southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge area.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Irene A; Burukovsky, Rudolf N

2014-11-26

The deep sea shrimp genus Nematocarcinus Milne Edwards, 1881 includes 47 species, ten of them have been recorded from the Atlantic Ocean. Herein, material sampled during three scientific projects (REVIZEE Central Fishery project; Campos Basin Deep Sea Environmental Project; Evaluation of Environmental Heterogeneity in the Campos Basin) made in the Southwestern Atlantic, off Brazil, is examined. In addition, material sampled from the South Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR-ECO Project) was also examined. Four species are recorded for the first time to the southwestern Atlantic Ocean including Mid Atlantic Ridge area: Nematocarcinus faxoni Burukovsky, 2001; N. gracilipes Filhol, 1884; N. rotundus Crosnier & Forest, 1973 and N. tenuipes Spence-Bate, 1888.

Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Frieling, Joost; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Middelburg, Jack J.; Röhl, Ursula; Westerhold, Thomas; Bohaty, Steven M.; Sluijs, Appy

2018-01-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 Ma) was a phase of rapid global warming associated with massive carbon input into the ocean-atmosphere system from a 13C-depleted reservoir. Many midlatitude and high-latitude sections have been studied and document changes in salinity, hydrology and sedimentation, deoxygenation, biotic overturning, and migrations, but detailed records from tropical regions are lacking. Here, we study the PETM at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 959 in the equatorial Atlantic using a range of organic and inorganic proxies and couple these with dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblage analysis. The PETM at Site 959 was previously found to be marked by a ˜ 3.8 ‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) and a ˜ 4 °C surface ocean warming from the uppermost Paleocene to peak PETM, of which ˜ 1 °C occurs before the onset of the CIE. We record upper Paleocene dinocyst assemblages that are similar to PETM assemblages as found in extratropical regions, confirming poleward migrations of ecosystems during the PETM. The early stages of the PETM are marked by a typical acme of the tropical genus Apectodinium, which reaches abundances of up to 95 %. Subsequently, dinocyst abundances diminish greatly, as do carbonate and pyritized silicate microfossils. The combined paleoenvironmental information from Site 959 and a close-by shelf site in Nigeria implies the general absence of eukaryotic surface-dwelling microplankton during peak PETM warmth in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, most likely caused by heat stress. We hypothesize, based on a literature survey, that heat stress might have reduced calcification in more tropical regions, potentially contributing to reduced deep sea carbonate accumulation rates, and, by buffering acidification, also to biological carbonate compensation of the injected carbon during the PETM. Crucially, abundant organic benthic foraminiferal linings imply sustained export production, likely driven by prokaryotes. In

Some studies of zonal and meridional wind characteristics at low latitude Indian stations

Science.gov (United States)

Nagpal, O. P.; Kumar, S.

1985-12-01

At the beginning of the Indian Middle Atmosphere Programme (IMAP), it was decided that the preparation of consolidation reports of already available parameters for the middle atmosphere would be useful. Atmospheric wind data obtained by rockets and balloons constituted one such parameter which had to be consolidated. The present paper summaries the results of this consolidation study. Both zonal and meridional components of winds at four low latitude Indian stations namely Thumba, Shar, Hyderabad, and Balasore, have been analyzed to yield reference wind profiles for each month. The montly mean values have been used to bring out the amplitudes and phases of the annual, semiannual and quasi-biennial oscillations.

Some studies of zonal and meridional wind characteristics at low latitude Indian stations

Science.gov (United States)

Nagpal, O. P.; Kumar, S.

1985-01-01

At the beginning of the Indian Middle Atmosphere Programme (IMAP), it was decided that the preparation of consolidation reports of already available parameters for the middle atmosphere would be useful. Atmospheric wind data obtained by rockets and balloons constituted one such parameter which had to be consolidated. The present paper summaries the results of this consolidation study. Both zonal and meridional components of winds at four low latitude Indian stations namely Thumba, Shar, Hyderabad, and Balasore, have been analyzed to yield reference wind profiles for each month. The montly mean values have been used to bring out the amplitudes and phases of the annual, semiannual and quasi-biennial oscillations.

2005 Atlantic Hurricanes Poster

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 2005 Atlantic Hurricanes poster features high quality satellite images of 15 hurricanes which formed in the Atlantic Basin (includes Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean...

Northeast Atlantic blue whiting

OpenAIRE

Heino, Mikko

2010-01-01

Heino, M. 2010. Northeast Atlantic blue whiting. In Life cycle spatial patterns of small pelagic fish in the Northeast Atlantic, pp. 59-64. Ed by P. Petitgas. ICES Cooperative Research Report 306. ICES, Copenhagen.

75 FR 54597 - Fisheries of the South Atlantic; Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR); South Atlantic...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-08

... Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic... are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils; the..., environmentalists, and NGO's; International experts; and staff of Councils, Commissions, and state and federal...

78 FR 26523 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2013 and 2014 Atlantic...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-07

.... 130104009-3416-02] RIN 0648-XC432 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2013 and 2014 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... final specifications for the 2013 and 2014 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including annual catch limits...

Características clínicas da doença diarréica em lactentes na Zona da Mata Meridional do estado de Pernambuco Clinical characteristics of diarrheal disease in suckling children in the Zona da Mata Meridional in the State of Pernambuco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giselia Alves Pontes da Silva

2002-12-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: descrever as características clínicas dos episódios diarréicos apresentados por um grupo de crianças residentes na Zona da Mata Meridional do estado de Pernambuco nos primeiros seis meses de vida. MÉTODOS: o desenho do estudo é uma série de casos dele fazem parte todas as crianças acompanhadas dentro de um estudo de coorte realizado em quatro cidades da Zona da Mata Meridional do estado de Pernambuco e que durante o período de observação apresentaram pelo menos um episódio de doença diarréica. RESULTADOS: foram acompanhados 264 episódios de doença diarréica, que ocorreram em 239 crianças. A duração dos episódios variou entre um e 31 dias, sendo a mediana de dois dias e a moda de um dia. Um total de 93,5% dos episódios se auto-limitou em até sete dias. A maioria das crianças apresentou um episódio de diarréia durante o período de observação. Houve necessidade de hospitalização em 18 episódios (6,8%. Não foi observado nenhum óbito. CONCLUSÕES: a evolução clínica da doença diarréica quando estudada na comunidade é benigna, com episódios diarréicos de curta duração e levando a baixos índices de hospitalização.OBJECTIVES: to describe clinical characteristics of diarrhea episodes in a group of children residing in the Zona da Mata Meridional in the State of Pernambuco during the first six months of life. METHODS: the study's design is a case series comprising all children followed-up within a cohort study accomplished in four cities of the Zona da Mata Meridional of the State of Pernambuco who during observation had at least one episode of diarrheal disease. RESULTS: 264 episodes of diarrhea were followed-up in 239 children. The episodes lasted between one and 31 days, with the median of two days and the mode of one day. 93,5% of the episodes were self-limited to seven days. The majority of the children had one diarrhea episode during observation. Hospitalization was required in 18 episodes

Meridional Modes and Increasing Pacific Decadal Variability Under Anthropogenic Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Liguori, Giovanni; Di Lorenzo, Emanuele

2018-01-01

Pacific decadal variability has strong impacts on the statistics of weather, atmosphere extremes, droughts, hurricanes, marine heatwaves, and marine ecosystems. Sea surface temperature (SST) observations show that the variance of the El Niño-like decadal variability has increased by 30% (1920-2015) with a stronger coupling between the major Pacific climate modes. Although we cannot attribute these trends to global climate change, the examination of 30 members of the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble (LENS) forced with the RCP8.5 radiative forcing scenario (1920-2100) suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in Pacific decadal variance will emerge by 2020 in response to a more energetic North Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM)—a well-known El Niño precursor. The PMM is a key mechanism for energizing and coupling tropical and extratropical decadal variability. In the LENS, the increase in PMM variance is consistent with an intensification of the winds-evaporation-SST thermodynamic feedback that results from a warmer mean climate.

Does δ18O of O2 record meridional shifts in tropical rainfall?

Science.gov (United States)

Seltzer, Alan M.; Buizert, Christo; Baggenstos, Daniel; Brook, Edward J.; Ahn, Jinho; Yang, Ji-Woong; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.

2017-10-01

Marine sediments, speleothems, paleo-lake elevations, and ice core methane and δ18O of O2 (δ18Oatm) records provide ample evidence for repeated abrupt meridional shifts in tropical rainfall belts throughout the last glacial cycle. To improve understanding of the impact of abrupt events on the global terrestrial biosphere, we present composite records of δ18Oatm and inferred changes in fractionation by the global terrestrial biosphere (ΔɛLAND) from discrete gas measurements in the WAIS Divide (WD) and Siple Dome (SD) Antarctic ice cores. On the common WD timescale, it is evident that maxima in ΔɛLAND are synchronous with or shortly follow small-amplitude WD CH4 peaks that occur within Heinrich stadials 1, 2, 4, and 5 - periods of low atmospheric CH4 concentrations. These local CH4 maxima have been suggested as markers of abrupt climate responses to Heinrich events. Based on our analysis of the modern seasonal cycle of gross primary productivity (GPP)-weighted δ18O of terrestrial precipitation (the source water for atmospheric O2 production), we propose a simple mechanism by which ΔɛLAND tracks the centroid latitude of terrestrial oxygen production. As intense rainfall and oxygen production migrate northward, ΔɛLAND should decrease due to the underlying meridional gradient in rainfall δ18O. A southward shift should increase ΔɛLAND. Monsoon intensity also influences δ18O of precipitation, and although we cannot determine the relative contributions of the two mechanisms, both act in the same direction. Therefore, we suggest that abrupt increases in ΔɛLAND unambiguously imply a southward shift of tropical rainfall. The exact magnitude of this shift, however, remains under-constrained by ΔɛLAND.

Does δ18O of O2 record meridional shifts in tropical rainfall?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Seltzer

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Marine sediments, speleothems, paleo-lake elevations, and ice core methane and δ18O of O2 (δ18Oatm records provide ample evidence for repeated abrupt meridional shifts in tropical rainfall belts throughout the last glacial cycle. To improve understanding of the impact of abrupt events on the global terrestrial biosphere, we present composite records of δ18Oatm and inferred changes in fractionation by the global terrestrial biosphere (ΔεLAND from discrete gas measurements in the WAIS Divide (WD and Siple Dome (SD Antarctic ice cores. On the common WD timescale, it is evident that maxima in ΔεLAND are synchronous with or shortly follow small-amplitude WD CH4 peaks that occur within Heinrich stadials 1, 2, 4, and 5 – periods of low atmospheric CH4 concentrations. These local CH4 maxima have been suggested as markers of abrupt climate responses to Heinrich events. Based on our analysis of the modern seasonal cycle of gross primary productivity (GPP-weighted δ18O of terrestrial precipitation (the source water for atmospheric O2 production, we propose a simple mechanism by which ΔεLAND tracks the centroid latitude of terrestrial oxygen production. As intense rainfall and oxygen production migrate northward, ΔεLAND should decrease due to the underlying meridional gradient in rainfall δ18O. A southward shift should increase ΔεLAND. Monsoon intensity also influences δ18O of precipitation, and although we cannot determine the relative contributions of the two mechanisms, both act in the same direction. Therefore, we suggest that abrupt increases in ΔεLAND unambiguously imply a southward shift of tropical rainfall. The exact magnitude of this shift, however, remains under-constrained by ΔεLAND.

The role of Atlantic-Arctic exchange in North Atlantic multidecadal climate variability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frankcombe, L.M.; Dijkstra, H.A.

2011-01-01

It has recently been suggested that multidecadal variability in North Atlantic sea surface temperature occurs with two dominant periods. In this paper we investigate the origin of these two time scales in a 500 year control run of the GFDL CM2.1 model. We focus on the exchange between the Atlantic

77 FR 15721 - Fisheries of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-16

... the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting...), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC... Biological Catch (ABC) values for managed stocks including the effect of revised recreational catch estimates...

Synthesis and characterization of meridional isomer of uns-cis-(ethylenediamine-N-N'-di-3-propionato-(S-norleucinatocobalt(III semihydrate

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SRECKO R. TRIFUNOVIC

2000-07-01

Full Text Available The meridional geometrical isomer of uns-cis-(ethylenediamine-N-N'-di-3-propionato(S-norleucinatocobalt(III complex has been prepared by the reaction of sodium uns-cis-(ethylenediamine-N-N'-di-3-propionato(carbonatocobaltate(III with S-norleucine at 75°C. The complex was isolated choromatographically and characterized by elemental analyses, electron absorption and infrared spectroscopy.

75 FR 7435 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fisheries; 2010 Atlantic...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-19

.... 100105009-0053-01] RIN 0648-AY51 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fisheries; 2010 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specifications AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... comments. SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2010 specifications for the Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery, including...

75 FR 49420 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fisheries; 2010 Atlantic...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-13

.... 100513223-0289-02] RIN 0648-AY88 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fisheries; 2010 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specifications In- season Adjustment AGENCY: National Marine...-sea (DAS) allocation for the Atlantic deep- sea red crab fishery that were implemented in May 2010...

Configuration-specific synthesis of the facial and meridional isomers of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinate)aluminum (Alq3).

Science.gov (United States)

Katakura, Ryo; Koide, Yoshihiro

2006-07-24

Treatment of AlO(OH) with 3 equiv of 8-hydroxyquinolinol in refluxing deionized water provided the meridional and facial isomers of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinate)aluminum (Alq3) with good yields as solid deposits after 1 and 90 h, respectively. X-ray diffraction and solid-state 13C NMR studies revealed that mer-Alq3 is formed in the early stage of the reaction and then gradually converts to fac-Alq3, which is thermodynamically less stable, although no existence of a catalyst substance is implied.

Niche separation and reproduction of Clausocalanus species (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Peralba, Àurea; Mazzocchi, Maria Grazia; Harris, Roger P.

2017-11-01

The distribution and reproductive traits of copepods of the genus Clausocalanus were investigated during the Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise AMT-15, in September-October 2004 to estimate their ecological niches and secondary production in the epipelagic layer along a latitudinal cline (48°N-40°S). The distribution patterns of selected environmental parameters, i.e., temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a concentration, enabled eco-provinces to be identified as described by Longhurst (2006). Clausocalanus represented on average 34% of total copepod abundance, with a large predominance of adult females and copepodites over males. Among the eleven Clausocalanus species found during the survey, eight species showed a wide distributional range, i.e.,C. paululus, C. pergens, C. furcatus, C. arcuicornis, C. jobei, C. parapergens, C. lividus, and C. mastigophorus, while C. ingens, C. brevipes, and C. laticeps were recorded only in the South Atlantic. The smallest C. furcatus, C. paululus, and C. pergens together accounted for 85% of total Clausocalanus adult abundance. The ecological niches were clearly separated among congeners of similar size and largely overlapped in congeners whose size differed. The small- and medium-sized species, which are egg-sac-spawners, had smaller clutch size and lower egg-production rate than the larger broadcaster congeners. Nevertheless, embryo viability was lower in broadcasters, which may explain their low abundance in terms of lower recruitment. A sex ratio largely skewed toward females in all Clausocalanus species and the observation of viable eggs in successive clutches from isolated females seem to indicate that re-mating is not necessary in this genus. Broadcast-spawners showed the highest weight-specific fecundity rates in the genus but similar secondary production to sac-spawners despite the fact that they never occurred at high abundance. In light of their abundant occurrence in oceanic waters and well-defined ecological

'Downward control' of the mean meridional circulation and temperature distribution of the polar winter stratosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Rolando R.; Boville, Byron A.

1994-01-01

According to the 'downward control' principle, the extratropical mean vertical velocity on a given pressure level is approximately proportional to the meridional gradient of the vertically integrated zonal force per unit mass exerted by waves above that level. In this paper, a simple numerical model that includes parameterizations of both planetary and gravity wave breaking is used to explore the influence of gravity wave breaking in the mesosphere on the mean meridional circulation and temperature distribution at lower levels in the polar winter stratosphere. The results of these calculations suggest that gravity wave drag in the mesosphere can affect the state of the polar winter stratosphere down to altitudes below 30 km. The effect is most important when planetary wave driving is relatively weak: that is, during southern winter and in early northern winter. In southern winter, downwelling weakens by a factor of 2 near the stratospause and by 20% at 30 km when gravity wave drag is not included in the calculations. As a consequence, temperatures decrease considerably throughout the polar winter stratosphere (over 20 K above 40 km and as much as 8 K at 30 km, where the effect is enhanced by the long radiative relaxation timescale). The polar winter states obtained when gravity wave drag is omitted in this simple model resemble the results of simulations with some general circulation models and suggest that some of the shortcomings of the latter may be due to a deficit in mesospheric momentum deposition by small-scale gravity waves.

An Atlantic influence on Amazon rainfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Jin-Ho [University of Maryland, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, College Park, MD (United States); Zeng, Ning [University of Maryland, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, College Park, MD (United States); University of Maryland, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, College Park, MD (United States)

2010-02-15

Rainfall variability over the Amazon basin has often been linked to variations in Pacific sea surface temperature (SST), and in particular, to the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, only a fraction of Amazon rainfall variability can be explained by ENSO. Building upon the recent work of Zeng (Environ Res Lett 3:014002, 2008), here we provide further evidence for an influence on Amazon rainfall from the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The strength of the North Atlantic influence is found to be comparable to the better-known Pacific ENSO connection. The tropical South Atlantic Ocean also shows some influence during the wet-to-dry season transition period. The Atlantic influence is through changes in the north-south divergent circulation and the movement of the ITCZ following warm SST. Therefore, it is strongest in the southern part of the Amazon basin during the Amazon's dry season (July-October). In contrast, the ENSO related teleconnection is through anomalous east-west Walker circulation with largely concentrated in the eastern (lower) Amazon. This ENSO connection is seasonally locked to boreal winter. A complication due to the influence of ENSO on Atlantic SST causes an apparent North Atlantic SST lag of Amazon rainfall. Removing ENSO from North Atlantic SST via linear regression resolves this causality problem in that the residual Atlantic variability correlates well and is in phase with the Amazon rainfall. A strong Atlantic influence during boreal summer and autumn is particularly significant in terms of the impact on the hydro-ecosystem which is most vulnerable during the dry season, as highlighted by the severe 2005 Amazon drought. Such findings have implications for both seasonal-interannual climate prediction and understanding the longer-term changes of the Amazon rainforest. (orig.)

Atlantic menhaden adult tagging study

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Atlantic menhaden are a schooling forage fish species, which are subject to a large commercial purse seine fishery. Atlantic menhaden are harvested for reduction...

How does dynamical downscaling affect model biases and future projections of explosive extratropical cyclones along North America's Atlantic coast?

Science.gov (United States)

Seiler, C.; Zwiers, F. W.; Hodges, K. I.; Scinocca, J. F.

2018-01-01

Explosive extratropical cyclones (EETCs) are rapidly intensifying low pressure systems that generate severe weather along North America's Atlantic coast. Global climate models (GCMs) tend to simulate too few EETCs, perhaps partly due to their coarse horizontal resolution and poorly resolved moist diabatic processes. This study explores whether dynamical downscaling can reduce EETC frequency biases, and whether this affects future projections of storms along North America's Atlantic coast. A regional climate model (CanRCM4) is forced with the CanESM2 GCM for the periods 1981 to 2000 and 2081 to 2100. EETCs are tracked from relative vorticity using an objective feature tracking algorithm. CanESM2 simulates 38% fewer EETC tracks compared to reanalysis data, which is consistent with a negative Eady growth rate bias (-0.1 day^{-1}). Downscaling CanESM2 with CanRCM4 increases EETC frequency by one third, which reduces the frequency bias to -22%, and increases maximum EETC precipitation by 22%. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing is projected to decrease EETC frequency (-15%, -18%) and Eady growth rate (-0.2 day^{-1}, -0.2 day^{-1}), and increase maximum EETC precipitation (46%, 52%) in CanESM2 and CanRCM4, respectively. The limited effect of dynamical downscaling on EETC frequency projections is consistent with the lack of impact on the maximum Eady growth rate. The coarse spatial resolution of GCMs presents an important limitation for simulating extreme ETCs, but Eady growth rate biases are likely just as relevant. Further bias reductions could be achieved by addressing processes that lead to an underestimation of lower tropospheric meridional temperature gradients.

Evaluation of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation Impact on Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation in the Atlantic Region in Summer

Science.gov (United States)

Semenov, V. A.; Cherenkova, E. A.

2018-02-01

The influence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on large-scale atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic region in summer for the period of 1950-2015 is investigated. It is shown that the intensification of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) with significant changes in sea level pressure anomalies in the main centers of action (over Greenland and the British Isles) occurred while the North Atlantic was cooler. Sea surface temperature anomalies, which are linked to the AMO in the summer season, affect both the NAO index and fluctuations of the Eastern Atlantic/Western Russia (EAWR) centers of action. The positive (negative) phase of the AMO is characterized by a combination of negative (positive) values of the NAO and EAWR indices. The dominance of the opposite phases of the teleconnection indices in summer during the warm North Atlantic and in its colder period resulted in differences in the regional climate in Europe.

Overflow Water Pathways in the Subpolar North Atlantic Observed with Deep Floats

Science.gov (United States)

Bower, Amy; Furey, Heather; Lozier, Susan

2017-04-01

As part of the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP), a total of 135 acoustically tracked RAFOS floats have been deployed in the deep boundary currents of the Iceland, Irminger and Labrador Basins, and in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, to investigate the pathways of Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW). Floats were released annually in 2014, 2015 and 2016 at depths between 1800 and 2800 m for two-year missions. The array of sound sources used for tracking was expanded from 10 to 13 moorings in 2016 when it was discovered that wintertime surface roughness was negatively impacting acoustic ranges. The floats from the first setting reveal several examples of persistent , deep coherent eddy motion, including a cyclonic eddy spinning off the tip of Eirik Ridge (southwest of Cape Farewell), a cyclonic eddy in the northeastern Labrador Basin near where anticyclonic Irminger Rings are formed, and an anticyclonic eddy under the North Atlantic Current (NAC) in the central Iceland Basin. A consistent region of boundary-interior exchange was observed near Hamilton Bank on the western boundary of the Labrador Sea. Deep cyclonic recirculation gyres are revealed in all three basins. Floats released in the southward-flowing deep boundary current over the eastern flank of the Reykjanes Ridge show that shallower layers of ISOW peel off to the west and cross the Ridge into the Irminger Basin through various gaps south of 60°N, including the Bight Fracture Zone. These floats tend to turn northward and continue along the slope in the Irminger Basin. Interestingly, floats released at the ISOW level in the CGFZ did not turn into the Irminger Basin as often depicted in deep circulation schematics, but rather drifted west-northwestward toward the Labrador Sea, or eddied around west of the CGFZ and (in some cases) turned southward. This result is consistent with some previous hydrographic and high-resolution model results

Predictability of Subsurface Temperature and the AMOC

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Y.; Schubert, S. D.

2013-12-01

GEOS 5 coupled model is extensively used for experimental decadal climate prediction. Understanding the limits of decadal ocean predictability is critical for making progress in these efforts. Using this model, we study the subsurface temperature initial value predictability, the variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and its impacts on the global climate. Our approach is to utilize the idealized data assimilation technology developed at the GMAO. The technique 'replay' allows us to assess, for example, the impact of the surface wind stresses and/or precipitation on the ocean in a very well controlled environment. By running the coupled model in replay mode we can in fact constrain the model using any existing reanalysis data set. We replay the model constraining (nudging) it to the MERRA reanalysis in various fields from 1948-2012. The fields, u,v,T,q,ps, are adjusted towards the 6-hourly analyzed fields in atmosphere. The simulated AMOC variability is studied with a 400-year-long segment of replay integration. The 84 cases of 10-year hindcasts are initialized from 4 different replay cycles. Here, the variability and predictability are examined further by a measure to quantify how much the subsurface temperature and AMOC variability has been influenced by atmospheric forcing and by ocean internal variability. The simulated impact of the AMOC on the multi-decadal variability of the SST, sea surface height (SSH) and sea ice extent is also studied.

Precipitation variability in the winter rainfall zone of South Africa during the last 1400 yr linked to the austral westerlies

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J. C. Stager

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The austral westerlies strongly influence precipitation and ocean circulation in the southern temperate zone, with important consequences for cultures and ecosystems. Global climate models anticipate poleward retreat of the austral westerlies with future warming, but the available paleoclimate records that might test these models have been limited to South America and New Zealand, are not fully consistent with each other and may be complicated by influences from other climatic factors. Here we present the first high-resolution diatom and sedimentological records from the winter rainfall region of South Africa, representing precipitation in the equatorward margin of the westerly wind belt during the last 1400 yr. Inferred rainfall was relatively high ∼1400–1200 cal yr BP, decreased until ∼950 cal yr BP, and rose notably through the Little Ice Age with pulses centred on ∼600, 530, 470, 330, 200, 90, and 20 cal yr BP. Synchronous fluctuations in Antarctic ice core chemistry strongly suggest that these variations were linked to changes in the westerlies. Equatorward drift of the westerlies during the wet periods may have influenced Atlantic meridional overturning circulation by restricting marine flow around the tip of Africa. Apparent inconsistencies among some aspects of records from South America, New Zealand and South Africa warn against the simplistic application of single records to the Southern Hemisphere as a whole. Nonetheless, these findings in general do support model projections of increasing aridity in the austral winter rainfall zones with future warming.

An OSSE Study for Deep Argo Array using the GFDL Ensemble Coupled Data Assimilation System

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, You-Soon; Zhang, Shaoqing; Rosati, Anthony; Vecchi, Gabriel A.; Yang, Xiaosong

2018-03-01

An observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) using an ensemble coupled data assimilation system was designed to investigate the impact of deep ocean Argo profile assimilation in a biased numerical climate system. Based on the modern Argo observational array and an artificial extension to full depth, "observations" drawn from one coupled general circulation model (CM2.0) were assimilated into another model (CM2.1). Our results showed that coupled data assimilation with simultaneous atmospheric and oceanic constraints plays a significant role in preventing deep ocean drift. However, the extension of the Argo array to full depth did not significantly improve the quality of the oceanic climate estimation within the bias magnitude in the twin experiment. Even in the "identical" twin experiment for the deep Argo array from the same model (CM2.1) with the assimilation model, no significant changes were shown in the deep ocean, such as in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the Antarctic bottom water cell. The small ensemble spread and corresponding weak constraints by the deep Argo profiles with medium spatial and temporal resolution may explain why the deep Argo profiles did not improve the deep ocean features in the assimilation system. Additional studies using different assimilation methods with improved spatial and temporal resolution of the deep Argo array are necessary in order to more thoroughly understand the impact of the deep Argo array on the assimilation system.

Internal and forced eddy variability in the Labrador Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Bracco, A.; Luo, H.; Zhong, Y.; Lilly, J.

2009-04-01

Water mass transformation in the Labrador Sea, widely believed to be one of the key regions in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), now appears to be strongly impacted by vortex dynamics of the unstable boundary current. Large interannual variations in both eddy shedding and buoyancy transport from the boundary current have been observed but not explained, and are apparently sensitive to the state of the inflowing current. Heat and salinity fluxes associated with the eddies drive ventilation changes not accounted for by changes in local surface forcing, particularly during occasional years of extreme eddy activity, and constitute a predominant source of "internal" oceanic variability. The nature of this variable eddy-driven restratification is one of the outstanding questions along the northern transformation pathway. Here we investigate the eddy generation mechanism and the associated buoyancy fluxes by combining realistic and idealized numerical modeling, data analysis, and theory. Theory, supported by idealized experiments, provides criteria to test hypotheses as to the vortex formation process (by baroclinic instability linked to the bottom topography). Ensembles of numerical experiments with a high-resolution regional model (ROMS) allow for quantifying the sensitivity of eddy generation and property transport to variations in local and external forcing parameters. For the first time, we reproduce with a numerical simulation the observed interannual variability in the eddy kinetic energy in the convective region of the Labrador Basin and along the West Greenland Current.

Impacts of high-latitude volcanic eruptions on ENSO and AMOC.

Science.gov (United States)

Pausata, Francesco S R; Chafik, Leon; Caballero, Rodrigo; Battisti, David S

2015-11-10

Large volcanic eruptions can have major impacts on global climate, affecting both atmospheric and ocean circulation through changes in atmospheric chemical composition and optical properties. The residence time of volcanic aerosol from strong eruptions is roughly 2-3 y. Attention has consequently focused on their short-term impacts, whereas the long-term, ocean-mediated response has not been well studied. Most studies have focused on tropical eruptions; high-latitude eruptions have drawn less attention because their impacts are thought to be merely hemispheric rather than global. No study to date has investigated the long-term effects of high-latitude eruptions. Here, we use a climate model to show that large summer high-latitude eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere cause strong hemispheric cooling, which could induce an El Niño-like anomaly, in the equatorial Pacific during the first 8-9 mo after the start of the eruption. The hemispherically asymmetric cooling shifts the Intertropical Convergence Zone southward, triggering a weakening of the trade winds over the western and central equatorial Pacific that favors the development of an El Niño-like anomaly. In the model used here, the specified high-latitude eruption also leads to a strengthening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the first 25 y after the eruption, followed by a weakening lasting at least 35 y. The long-lived changes in the AMOC strength also alter the variability of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Dual annual spawning races in Atlantic sturgeon.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew T Balazik

Full Text Available Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, Acipenseridae populations in the United States were listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2012. Because of the endangered/threatened status, a better understanding of Atlantic sturgeon life-history behavior and habitat use is important for effective management. It has been widely documented that Atlantic sturgeon reproduction occurs from late winter to early summer, varying clinally with latitude. However, recent data show Atlantic sturgeon also spawn later in the year. The group that spawns later in the year seems to be completely separate from the spring spawning run. Recognition of the later spawning season has drastically modified estimates of the population status of Atlantic sturgeon in Virginia. With the combination of new telemetry data and historical documentation we describe a dual spawning strategy that likely occurs in various degrees along most, if not all, of the Atlantic sturgeon's range. Using new data combined with historical sources, a new spawning strategy emerges which managers and researchers should note when determining the status of Atlantic sturgeon populations and implementing conservation measures.

75 FR 50715 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures; Amendment 3

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-17

... [Docket No. 080519678-0313-03] RIN 0648-AW65 Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management... for adjusting annual shark quotas based on over- and underharvests. This correction makes a change to...), instruction 12a revised 50 CFR 635.27 (b)(1)(i) through (v), relating to, among other things, pelagic shark...

Role of the meridional dipole of SSTA and associated cross-equatorial flow in the tropical eastern Pacific in terminating the 2014 El Niño development

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yi-Kai; Chen, Lin; Hong, Chi-Cherng; Li, Tim; Chen, Cheng-Ta; Wang, Lu

2018-03-01

In the boreal spring of 2014, the oceanic and atmospheric conditions were favorable for an El Niño's development. It was predicted that in 2014, a super El Niño or at least a regular El Niño with normal magnitude, would initiate. However, the growth rate of the sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in the equatorial eastern Pacific suddenly declined in the boreal summer. The physical processes responsible for the termination of the 2014 El Niño were addressed in this study. We hypothesized that a meridional dipole of SSTA, characterized by a pronounced warm SSTA over the eastern North Pacific (ENP) and cold SSTA over the eastern South Pacific (ESP), played a crucial role in blocking the 2014 El Niño's development. The observational analysis revealed that the meridional dipole of SSTA and the relevant anomalous cross-equatorial flow in the tropical eastern Pacific, induced anomalous westward ({u^' }0) currents in the equatorial eastern Pacific, leading to negative anomalous zonal advection term (- {u^' }partial \\overline T /partial xpartial \\overline T /partial znegative SSTA tendency in the boreal summer, and thus killed off the budding 2014 El Niño. The idealized numerical experiments further confirmed that the 2014 El Niño's development could be suppressed by the meridional dipole of SSTA, and both the ENP pole and ESP pole make a contribution.

Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

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J. Frieling

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 Ma was a phase of rapid global warming associated with massive carbon input into the ocean–atmosphere system from a 13C-depleted reservoir. Many midlatitude and high-latitude sections have been studied and document changes in salinity, hydrology and sedimentation, deoxygenation, biotic overturning, and migrations, but detailed records from tropical regions are lacking. Here, we study the PETM at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP Site 959 in the equatorial Atlantic using a range of organic and inorganic proxies and couple these with dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst assemblage analysis. The PETM at Site 959 was previously found to be marked by a  ∼  3.8 ‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE and a  ∼  4 °C surface ocean warming from the uppermost Paleocene to peak PETM, of which  ∼  1 °C occurs before the onset of the CIE. We record upper Paleocene dinocyst assemblages that are similar to PETM assemblages as found in extratropical regions, confirming poleward migrations of ecosystems during the PETM. The early stages of the PETM are marked by a typical acme of the tropical genus Apectodinium, which reaches abundances of up to 95 %. Subsequently, dinocyst abundances diminish greatly, as do carbonate and pyritized silicate microfossils. The combined paleoenvironmental information from Site 959 and a close-by shelf site in Nigeria implies the general absence of eukaryotic surface-dwelling microplankton during peak PETM warmth in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, most likely caused by heat stress. We hypothesize, based on a literature survey, that heat stress might have reduced calcification in more tropical regions, potentially contributing to reduced deep sea carbonate accumulation rates, and, by buffering acidification, also to biological carbonate compensation of the injected carbon during the PETM. Crucially, abundant organic benthic foraminiferal linings imply

Duration of a Magma Ocean and Subsequent Mantle Overturn in Mars: Evidence from Nakhlites

Science.gov (United States)

Debaille, V.; Brandon, A. D.; Yin, Q.-Z.; Jacobsen, B.

2008-01-01

It is now generally accepted that the heat produced by accretion, short-lived radioactive elements such as Al-26, and gravitational energy from core formation was sufficient to at least partially melt the silicate portions of terrestrial planets resulting in a global-scale magma ocean. More particularly, in Mars, the geochemical signatures displayed by shergottites, are likely inherited from the crystallization of this magma ocean. Using the short-lived chronometer Sm-146 - Nd-142 (t(sup 1/2) = 103 Myr), the duration of the Martian magma ocean (MMO) has been evaluated to being less than 40 Myr, while recent and more precise ND-142/ND-144 data were used to evaluate the longevity of the MMO to approximately 100 Myr after the solar system formation. In addition, it has been proposed that the end of the crystallization of the MMO may have triggered a mantle overturn, as a result of a density gradient in the cumulate layers crystallized at different levels. Dating the mantle overturn could hence provide additional constraint on the duration of the MMO. Among SNC meteorites, nakhlites are characterized by high epsilon W-182 of approximately +3 and an epsilon Nd-142 similar to depleted shergottites of +0.6-0.9. It has hence been proposed that the source of nakhlites was established very early in Mars history (approximately 8-10 Myr). However, the times recorded in HF-182-W-182 isotope system, i.e. when 182Hf became effectively extinct (approximately 50 Myr after solar system formation) are less than closure times recorded in the Sm-146-Nd-142 isotope system (with a full coverage of approximately 500 Myr after solar system formation). This could result in decoupling between the present-day measured epsilon W-182 and epsilon Nd-142 as the SM-146 may have recorded later differentiation events in epsilon ND-142 not observed in epsilon W-182 values. With these potential complexities in short-lived chronological data for SNC's in mind, new Hf-176/Hf-177, Nd-143/Nd-144 and Nd

Reconciling Gases With Glasses: Magma Degassing, Overturn and Mixing at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i