Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations. Part I: Surface fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Josse, P.; Caniaux, G.; Giordani, H.; Planton, S.

1999-04-01

A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer to the atmosphere is

South African seasonal rainfall prediction performance by a coupled ocean-atmosphere model

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Landman, WA

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Evidence is presented that coupled ocean-atmosphere models can already outscore computationally less expensive atmospheric models. However, if the atmospheric models are forced with highly skillful SST predictions, they may still be a very strong...

GFDL CM2.1 Global Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Model Water ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. GFDL CM2.1 Global Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Model Water Hosing Experiment with 1 Sv equivalent of Freshening Control Expt: 100 yrs After Hosing: 300 yrs.

Investigation of hurricane Ivan using the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) model

Science.gov (United States)

Zambon, Joseph B.; He, Ruoying; Warner, John C.

2014-01-01

The coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) model is used to hindcast Hurricane Ivan (2004), an extremely intense tropical cyclone (TC) translating through the Gulf of Mexico. Sensitivity experiments with increasing complexity in ocean–atmosphere–wave coupled exchange processes are performed to assess the impacts of coupling on the predictions of the atmosphere, ocean, and wave environments during the occurrence of a TC. Modest improvement in track but significant improvement in intensity are found when using the fully atmosphere–ocean-wave coupled configuration versus uncoupled (e.g., standalone atmosphere, ocean, or wave) model simulations. Surface wave fields generated in the fully coupled configuration also demonstrates good agreement with in situ buoy measurements. Coupled and uncoupled model-simulated sea surface temperature (SST) fields are compared with both in situ and remote observations. Detailed heat budget analysis reveals that the mixed layer temperature cooling in the deep ocean (on the shelf) is caused primarily by advection (equally by advection and diffusion).

Coupled Regional Ocean-Atmosphere Modeling of the Mount Pinatubo Impact on the Red Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Stenchikov, G. L.; Osipov, S.

2017-12-01

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo had dramatic effects on the regional climate in the Middle East. Though acknowledged, these effects have not been thoroughly studied. To fill this gap and to advance understanding of the mechanisms that control variability in the Middle East's regional climate, we simulated the impact of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption using a regional coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling system set for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) domain. We used the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) framework, which couples the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) model with the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS). We modified the WRF model to account for the radiative effect of volcanic aerosols. Our coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations verified by available observations revealed strong perturbations in the energy balance of the Red Sea, which drove thermal and circulation responses. Our modeling approach allowed us to separate changes in the atmospheric circulation caused by the impact of the volcano from direct regional radiative cooling from volcanic aerosols. The atmospheric circulation effect was significantly stronger than the direct volcanic aerosols effect. We found that the Red Sea response to the Pinatubo eruption was stronger and qualitatively different from that of the global ocean system. Our results suggest that major volcanic eruptions significantly affect the climate in the Middle East and the Red Sea and should be carefully taken into account in assessments of long-term climate variability and warming trends in MENA and the Red Sea.

Atmospheric and oceanic dust fluxes in the northeastern tropical Atlantic Ocean: how close a coupling?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Bory

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric inputs to the ocean of dust originating from Africa are compared with downward dust flux in the oceanic water column. Atmospheric fluxes were estimated using remote-sensing-derived dust optical thickness and parameters from a transport/deposition model (TM2z. Oceanic fluxes were measured directly over/in two regions of contrasting primary productivity of the northeastern tropical Atlantic (one mesotrophic and one oligotrophic, located at about 500 and 1500 km off Mauritania underlying the offshore dust plume. In both regions, estimates of annual atmospheric dust inputs to the ocean surface are lower than, but of the same order of magnitude as, oceanic fluxes (49.5 and 8.8 mg.m-2 .d-1 in the mesotrophic and oligotrophic regions. Part of this mismatch may reflect both a general flaw in the dust grain size distribution used in transport models, which likely underestimates large particles, and/or lateral advection to each region of dustier surface waters from upstream, where dust deposition is higher. Higher-frequency temporal coupling between atmospheric and oceanic fluxes seems to be primary-productivity dependent, as hypothesized in previously reported studies.Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles; geochemical cycles Oceanography: biological and chemical (geochemistry

Autumn atmospheric response to the 2007 low Arctic sea ice extent in coupled ocean-atmosphere hindcasts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Orsolini, Yvan J. [Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), PO BOX 100, Kjeller (Norway); Senan, Retish; Benestad, Rasmus E.; Melsom, Arne [Norwegian Meteorological Institute (met. no), Oslo (Norway)

2012-06-15

The autumn and early winter atmospheric response to the record-low Arctic sea ice extent at the end of summer 2007 is examined in ensemble hindcasts with prescribed sea ice extent, made with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmosphere seasonal forecast model. Robust, warm anomalies over the Pacific and Siberian sectors of the Arctic, as high as 10 C at the surface, are found in October and November. A regime change occurs by December, characterized by weaker temperatures anomalies extending through the troposphere. Geopotential anomalies extend from the surface up to the stratosphere, associated to deeper Aleutian and Icelandic Lows. While the upper-level jet is weakened and shifted southward over the continents, it is intensified over both oceanic sectors, especially over the Pacific Ocean. On the American and Eurasian continents, intensified surface Highs are associated with anomalous advection of cold (warm) polar air on their eastern (western) sides, bringing cooler temperatures along the Pacific coast of Asia and Northeastern North America. Transient eddy activity is reduced over Eurasia, intensified over the entrance and exit regions of the Pacific and Atlantic storm tracks, in broad qualitative agreement with the upper-level wind anomalies. Potential predictability calculations indicate a strong influence of sea ice upon surface temperatures over the Arctic in autumn, but also along the Pacific coast of Asia in December. When the observed sea ice extent from 2007 is prescribed throughout the autumn, a higher correlation of surface temperatures with meteorological re-analyses is found at high latitudes from October until mid-November. This further emphasises the relevance of sea ice for seasonal forecasting in the Arctic region, in the autumn. (orig.)

Coupling atmospheric and ocean wave models for storm simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du, Jianting

the atmosphere must, by conservation, result in the generation of the surface waves and currents. The physics-based methods are sensitive to the choice of wind-input source function (Sin), parameterization of high-frequency wave spectra tail, and numerical cut-off frequencies. Unfortunately, literature survey......This thesis studies the wind-wave interactions through the coupling between the atmospheric model and ocean surface wave models. Special attention is put on storm simulations in the North Sea for wind energy applications in the coastal zones. The two aspects, namely storm conditions and coastal...... shows that in most wind-wave coupling systems, either the Sin in the wave model is different from the one used for the momentum flux estimation in the atmospheric model, or the methods are too sensitive to the parameterization of high-frequency spectra tail and numerical cut-off frequencies. To confront...

Modeling of radiation transport in coupled atmosphere-snow-ice-ocean systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamnes, K.; Hamre, B.; Stamnes, J. J.; Ryzhikov, G.; Biryulina, M.

2009-01-01

A radiative transfer model for coupled atmosphere-snow-ice-ocean systems is used to develop accurate and efficient tools for computing the BRDF of sea ice for a wide range of situations occurring in nature. (authors)

Thermodynamic ocean-atmosphere Coupling and the Predictability of Nordeste rainfall

Science.gov (United States)

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

2003-04-01

The interannual variability of rainfall in the northeastern region of Brazil, or Nordeste, is known to be very strongly correlated with sea surface temperature (SST) variability, of Atlantic and Pacific origin. For this reason the potential predictability of Nordeste rainfall is high. The current generation of state-of-the-art atmospheric models can replicate the observed rainfall variability with high skill when forced with the observed record of SST variability. The correlation between observed and modeled indices of Nordeste rainfall, in the AMIP-style integrations with two such models (NSIPP and CCM3) analyzed here, is of the order of 0.8, i.e. the models explain about 2/3 of the observed variability. Assuming that thermodynamic, ocean-atmosphere heat exchange plays the dominant role in tropical Atlantic SST variability on the seasonal to interannual time scale, we analyze its role in Nordeste rainfall predictability using an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to a slab ocean model. Predictability experiments initialized with observed December SST show that thermodynamic coupling plays a significant role in enhancing the persistence of SST anomalies, both in the tropical Pacific and in the tropical Atlantic. We show that thermodynamic coupling is sufficient to provide fairly accurate forecasts of tropical Atlantic SST in the boreal spring that are significantly better than the persistence forecasts. The consequences for the prediction of Nordeste rainfall are analyzed.

Air-Sea Coupling Over The Equatorial Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gopika, N.

S, where thermocline domes, the ocean is tightly coupled to the atmosphere [Reverdin, 1987; Murtugudde and Busalacchi, 1999; Xie et al, 2002] and therefore expected to influence the regional climate variability. In recent years Saji et al. [1999] showed... the forcing- response pattern of the ocean-atmosphere as a coupled system. For example, the anomalous ocean-atmosphere coupled phenomena like Indian Ocean Dipole mode produces anomalous atmospheric and oceanic condition that influence regional climate...

A Unified Air-Sea Interface in Fully Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Models for Data Assimilation and Ensemble Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuyi; Curcic, Milan; Donelan, Mark; Campbell, Tim; Smith, Travis; Chen, Sue; Allard, Rick; Michalakes, John

2014-05-01

The goals of this study are to 1) better understand the physical processes controlling air-sea interaction and their impact on coastal marine and storm predictions, 2) explore the use of coupled atmosphere-ocean observations in model verification and data assimilation, and 3) develop a physically based and computationally efficient coupling at the air-sea interface that is flexible for use in a multi-model system and portable for transition to the next generation research and operational coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean-land models. We have developed a unified air-sea interface module that couples multiple atmosphere, wave, and ocean models using the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF). This standardized coupling framework allows researchers to develop and test air-sea coupling parameterizations and coupled data assimilation, and to better facilitate research-to-operation activities. It also allows for future ensemble forecasts using coupled models that can be used for coupled data assimilation and assessment of uncertainties in coupled model predictions. The current component models include two atmospheric models (WRF and COAMPS), two ocean models (HYCOM and NCOM), and two wave models (UMWM and SWAN). The coupled modeling systems have been tested and evaluated using the coupled air-sea observations (e.g., GPS dropsondes and AXBTs, drifters and floats) collected in recent field campaigns in the Gulf of Mexico and tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific basins. This talk will provide an overview of the unified air-sea interface model and fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model predictions over various coastal regions and tropical cyclones in the Pacific and Atlantic basins including an example from coupled ensemble prediction of Superstorm Sandy (2012).

A vector radiative transfer model for coupled atmosphere and ocean systems with a rough interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai Pengwang; Hu Yongxiang; Chowdhary, Jacek; Trepte, Charles R.; Lucker, Patricia L.; Josset, Damien B.

2010-01-01

We report on an exact vector (polarized) radiative transfer (VRT) model for coupled atmosphere and ocean systems. This VRT model is based on the successive order of scattering (SOS) method, which virtually takes all the multiple scattering processes into account, including atmospheric scattering, oceanic scattering, reflection and transmission through the rough ocean surface. The isotropic Cox-Munk wave model is used to derive the ref and transmission matrices for the rough ocean surface. Shadowing effects are included by the shadowing function. We validated the SOS results by comparing them with those calculated by two independent codes based on the doubling/adding and Monte Carlo methods. Two error analyses related to the ocean color remote sensing are performed in the coupled atmosphere and ocean systems. One is the scalar error caused by ignoring the polarization in the whole system. The other is the error introduced by ignoring the polarization of the light transmitted through the ocean interface. Both errors are significant for the cases studied. This code fits for the next generation of ocean color study because it converges fast for absorbing medium as, for instance, ocean.

Coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave simulations of a storm event over the Gulf of Lion and Balearic Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Renault, Lionel; Chiggiato, Jacopo; Warner, John C.; Gomez, Marta; Vizoso, Guillermo; Tintore, Joaquin

2012-01-01

The coastal areas of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea are one of the most challenging places for ocean forecasting. This region is exposed to severe storms events that are of short duration. During these events, significant air-sea interactions, strong winds and large sea-state can have catastrophic consequences in the coastal areas. To investigate these air-sea interactions and the oceanic response to such events, we implemented the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport Modeling System simulating a severe storm in the Mediterranean Sea that occurred in May 2010. During this event, wind speed reached up to 25 m.s-1 inducing significant sea surface cooling (up to 2°C) over the Gulf of Lion (GoL) and along the storm track, and generating surface waves with a significant height of 6 m. It is shown that the event, associated with a cyclogenesis between the Balearic Islands and the GoL, is relatively well reproduced by the coupled system. A surface heat budget analysis showed that ocean vertical mixing was a major contributor to the cooling tendency along the storm track and in the GoL where turbulent heat fluxes also played an important role. Sensitivity experiments on the ocean-atmosphere coupling suggested that the coupled system is sensitive to the momentum flux parameterization as well as air-sea and air-wave coupling. Comparisons with available atmospheric and oceanic observations showed that the use of the fully coupled system provides the most skillful simulation, illustrating the benefit of using a fully coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave model for the assessment of these storm events.

Acoustic explorations of the upper ocean boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Vagle, Svein

2005-04-01

The upper ocean boundary layer is an important but difficult to probe part of the ocean. A better understanding of small scale processes at the air-sea interface, including the vertical transfer of gases, heat, mass and momentum, are crucial to improving our understanding of the coupling between atmosphere and ocean. Also, this part of the ocean contains a significant part of the total biomass at all trophic levels and is therefore of great interest to researchers in a range of different fields. Innovative measurement plays a critical role in developing our understanding of the processes involved in the boundary layer, and the availability of low-cost, compact, digital signal processors and sonar technology in self-contained and cabled configurations has led to a number of exciting developments. This talk summarizes some recent explorations of this dynamic boundary layer using both active and passive acoustics. The resonant behavior of upper ocean bubbles combined with single and multi-frequency broad band active and passive devices are now giving us invaluable information on air-sea gas transfer, estimation of biological production, marine mammal behavior, wind speed and precipitation, surface and internal waves, turbulence, and acoustic communication in the surf zone.

Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Modeling of Tropical Cyclones: Progress, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuyi

2015-04-01

It has long been recognized that air-sea interaction plays an important role in tropical cyclones (TC) intensity change. However, most current numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are deficient in predicting TC intensity. The extreme high winds, intense rainfall, large ocean waves, and copious sea spray in TCs push the surface-exchange parameters for temperature, water vapor, and momentum into untested regimes. Parameterizations of air-sea fluxes in NWP models are often crude and create "manmade" energy source/sink that does not exist, especially in the absence of a fully interactive ocean in the model. The erroneous surface heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes can cause compounding errors in the model (e.g., precipitation, water vapor, boundary layer properties). The energy source (heat and moisture fluxes from the ocean) and sink (surface friction and wind-induced upper ocean cooling) are critical to TC intensity. However, observations of air-sea fluxes in TCs are very limited, especially in extreme high wind conditions underneath of the eyewall region. The Coupled Boundary Layer Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST) program was designed to better understand the air-sea interaction, especially in high wind conditions, which included laboratory and coupled model experiments and field campaign in 2003-04 hurricane seasons. Significant progress has been made in better understanding of air-sea exchange coefficients up to 30 m/s, i.e., a leveling off in drag coefficient and relatively invariant exchange coefficient of enthalpy with wind speed. More recently, the Impact of Typhoon on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) field campaign in 2010 has provided an unprecedented data set to study the air-sea fluxes in TCs and their impact on TC structure and intensity. More than 800 GPS dropsondes and 900 AXBTs/AXCTs as well as drifters, floats, and moorings were deployed in TCs, including Typhoons Fanapi and Malakas, and Supertyphoon Megi with a record peak wind speed of more than 80 m

The effect of Coriolis-Stokes forcing on upper ocean circulation in a two-way coupled wave-current model

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

DENG Zeng'an; XIE Li'an; HAN Guijun; ZHANG Xuefeng; WU Kejian

2012-01-01

We investigated the Stokes drift-driven ocean currents and Stokes drift-induced wind energy input into the upper ocean using a two-way coupled wave-current modeling system that consists of the Princeton Ocean Model generalized coordinate system (POMgcs),Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) wave model,and the Model Coupling Toolkit (MCT).The Coriolis-Stokes forcing (CSF) computed using the wave parameters from SWAN was incorporated with the momentum equation of POMgcs as the core coupling process.Experimental results in an idealized setting show that under the steady state,the scale of the speed of CSF-driven current was 0.001 m/s and the maximum reached 0.02 rn/s.The Stokes drift-induced energy rate input into the model ocean was estimated to be 28.5 GW,taking 14％ of the direct wind energy rate input.Considering the Stokes drift effects,the total mechanical energy rate input was increased by approximately 14％,which highlights the importance of CSF in modulating the upper ocean circulation.The actual run conducted in Taiwan Adjacent Sea (TAS) shows that:1) CSF-based wave-current coupling has an impact on ocean surface currents,which is related to the activities of monsoon winds; 2) wave-current coupling plays a significant role in a place where strong eddies present and tends to intensify the eddy's vorticity; 3) wave-current coupling affects the volume transport of the Taiwan Strait (TS) throughflow in a nontrivial degree,3.75％ on average.

Numerical simulation of small-scale mixing processes in the upper ocean and atmospheric boundary layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Druzhinin, O; Troitskaya, Yu; Zilitinkevich, S

2016-01-01

The processes of turbulent mixing and momentum and heat exchange occur in the upper ocean at depths up to several dozens of meters and in the atmospheric boundary layer within interval of millimeters to dozens of meters and can not be resolved by known large- scale climate models. Thus small-scale processes need to be parameterized with respect to large scale fields. This parameterization involves the so-called bulk coefficients which relate turbulent fluxes with large-scale fields gradients. The bulk coefficients are dependent on the properties of the small-scale mixing processes which are affected by the upper-ocean stratification and characteristics of surface and internal waves. These dependencies are not well understood at present and need to be clarified. We employ Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) as a research tool which resolves all relevant flow scales and does not require closure assumptions typical of Large-Eddy and Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations (LES and RANS). Thus DNS provides a solid ground for correct parameterization of small-scale mixing processes and also can be used for improving LES and RANS closure models. In particular, we discuss the problems of the interaction between small-scale turbulence and internal gravity waves propagating in the pycnocline in the upper ocean as well as the impact of surface waves on the properties of atmospheric boundary layer over wavy water surface. (paper)

Some sensitivities of a coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockdale, T.; Latif, M.; Burgers, G.; Wolff, J.O.

1994-01-01

A coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM is being developed for use in seasonal forecasting. As part of the development work, a number of experiments have been made to explore some of the sensitivities of the coupled model system. The overall heat balance of the tropics is found to be very sensitive to convective cloud cover. Adjusting the cloud parameterization to produce stable behaviour of the coupled model also leads to better agreement between model radiative fluxes and satellite data. A further sensitivity is seen to changes in low-level marine stratus, which is under-represented in the initial model experiments. An increase in this cloud in the coupled model produces a small improvement in both the global mean state and the phase of the east Pacific annual cycle. The computational expense of investigating such small changes is emphasized. An indication of model sensitivity to surface albedo is also presented. The sensitivity of the coupled GCM to initial conditions is investigated. The model is very sensitive, with tiny perturbations able to determine El Nino or non-El Nino conditions just six months later. This large sensitivity may be related to the relatively weak amplitude of the model ENSO cycle. (orig.)

Effects of Precipitation on Ocean Mixed-Layer Temperature and Salinity as Simulated in a 2-D Coupled Ocean-Cloud Resolving Atmosphere Model

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaofan; Sui, C.-H.; Lau, K-M.; Adamec, D.

1999-01-01

A two-dimensional coupled ocean-cloud resolving atmosphere model is used to investigate possible roles of convective scale ocean disturbances induced by atmospheric precipitation on ocean mixed-layer heat and salt budgets. The model couples a cloud resolving model with an embedded mixed layer-ocean circulation model. Five experiment are performed under imposed large-scale atmospheric forcing in terms of vertical velocity derived from the TOGA COARE observations during a selected seven-day period. The dominant variability of mixed-layer temperature and salinity are simulated by the coupled model with imposed large-scale forcing. The mixed-layer temperatures in the coupled experiments with 1-D and 2-D ocean models show similar variations when salinity effects are not included. When salinity effects are included, however, differences in the domain-mean mixed-layer salinity and temperature between coupled experiments with 1-D and 2-D ocean models could be as large as 0.3 PSU and 0.4 C respectively. Without fresh water effects, the nocturnal heat loss over ocean surface causes deep mixed layers and weak cooling rates so that the nocturnal mixed-layer temperatures tend to be horizontally-uniform. The fresh water flux, however, causes shallow mixed layers over convective areas while the nocturnal heat loss causes deep mixed layer over convection-free areas so that the mixed-layer temperatures have large horizontal fluctuations. Furthermore, fresh water flux exhibits larger spatial fluctuations than surface heat flux because heavy rainfall occurs over convective areas embedded in broad non-convective or clear areas, whereas diurnal signals over whole model areas yield high spatial correlation of surface heat flux. As a result, mixed-layer salinities contribute more to the density differences than do mixed-layer temperatures.

Radiative transfer in atmosphere-sea ice-ocean system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Z.; Stamnes, K.; Weeks, W.F. [Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States); Tsay, S.C. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)

1996-04-01

Radiative energy is critical in controlling the heat and mass balance of sea ice, which significantly affects the polar climate. In the polar oceans, light transmission through the atmosphere and sea ice is essential to the growth of plankton and algae and, consequently, to the microbial community both in the ice and in the ocean. Therefore, the study of radiative transfer in the polar atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean system is of particular importance. Lacking a properly coupled radiative transfer model for the atmosphere-sea ice-ocean system, a consistent study of the radiative transfer in the polar atmosphere, snow, sea ice, and ocean system has not been undertaken before. The radiative transfer processes in the atmosphere and in the ice and ocean have been treated separately. Because the radiation processes in the atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean depend on each other, this separate treatment is inconsistent. To study the radiative interaction between the atmosphere, clouds, snow, sea ice, and ocean, a radiative transfer model with consistent treatment of radiation in the coupled system is needed and is under development.

Indian Ocean and Indian summer monsoon: relationships without ENSO in ocean-atmosphere coupled simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Crétat, Julien; Terray, Pascal; Masson, Sébastien; Sooraj, K. P.; Roxy, Mathew Koll

2017-08-01

The relationship between the Indian Ocean and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and their respective influence over the Indo-Western North Pacific (WNP) region are examined in the absence of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in two partially decoupled global experiments. ENSO is removed by nudging the tropical Pacific simulated sea surface temperature (SST) toward SST climatology from either observations or a fully coupled control run. The control reasonably captures the observed relationships between ENSO, ISM and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Despite weaker amplitude, IODs do exist in the absence of ENSO and are triggered by a boreal spring ocean-atmosphere coupled mode over the South-East Indian Ocean similar to that found in the presence of ENSO. These pure IODs significantly affect the tropical Indian Ocean throughout boreal summer, inducing a significant modulation of both the local Walker and Hadley cells. This meridional circulation is masked in the presence of ENSO. However, these pure IODs do not significantly influence the Indian subcontinent rainfall despite overestimated SST variability in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean compared to observations. On the other hand, they promote a late summer cross-equatorial quadrupole rainfall pattern linking the tropical Indian Ocean with the WNP, inducing important zonal shifts of the Walker circulation despite the absence of ENSO. Surprisingly, the interannual ISM rainfall variability is barely modified and the Indian Ocean does not force the monsoon circulation when ENSO is removed. On the contrary, the monsoon circulation significantly forces the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal SSTs, while its connection with the western tropical Indian Ocean is clearly driven by ENSO in our numerical framework. Convection and diabatic heating associated with above-normal ISM induce a strong response over the WNP, even in the absence of ENSO, favoring moisture convergence over India.

Secular trends and climate drift in coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation models

Science.gov (United States)

Covey, Curt; Gleckler, Peter J.; Phillips, Thomas J.; Bader, David C.

2006-02-01

Coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation models (coupled GCMs) with interactive sea ice are the primary tool for investigating possible future global warming and numerous other issues in climate science. A long-standing problem with such models is that when different components of the physical climate system are linked together, the simulated climate can drift away from observation unless constrained by ad hoc adjustments to interface fluxes. However, 11 modern coupled GCMs, including three that do not employ flux adjustments, behave much better in this respect than the older generation of models. Surface temperature trends in control run simulations (with external climate forcing such as solar brightness and atmospheric carbon dioxide held constant) are small compared with observed trends, which include 20th century climate change due to both anthropogenic and natural factors. Sea ice changes in the models are dominated by interannual variations. Deep ocean temperature and salinity trends are small enough for model control runs to extend over 1000 simulated years or more, but trends in some regions, most notably the Arctic, differ substantially among the models and may be problematic. Methods used to initialize coupled GCMs can mitigate climate drift but cannot eliminate it. Lengthy "spin-ups" of models, made possible by increasing computer power, are one reason for the improvements this paper documents.

The Double ITCZ Syndrome in GCMs: A Coupled Problem among Convection, Atmospheric and Ocean Circulations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, G. J.; Song, X.

2017-12-01

The double ITCZ bias has been a long-standing problem in coupled atmosphere-ocean models. A previous study indicates that uncertainty in the projection of global warming due to doubling of CO2 is closely related to the double ITCZ biases in global climate models. Thus, reducing the double ITCZ biases is not only important to getting the current climate features right, but also important to narrowing the uncertainty in future climate projection. In this work, we will first review the possible factors contributing to the ITCZ problem. Then, we will focus on atmospheric convection, presenting recent progress in alleviating the double ITCZ problem and its sensitivity to details of convective parameterization, including trigger conditions for convection onset, convective memory, entrainment rate, updraft model and closure in the NCAR CESM1. These changes together can result in dramatic improvements in the simulation of ITCZ. Results based on both atmospheric only and coupled simulations with incremental changes of convection scheme will be shown to demonstrate the roles of convection parameterization and coupled interaction between convection, atmospheric circulation and ocean circulation in the simulation of ITCZ.

On the role of atmospheric forcing on upper ocean physics in the Southern Ocean and biological impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Carranza, Magdalena M.

The Southern Ocean (SO) plays a key role in regulating climate by absorbing nearly half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Both physical and biogeochemical processes contribute to the net CO2 sink. As a result of global warming and ozone depletion, westerly winds have increased, with consequences for upper ocean physics but little is known on how primary producers are expected to respond to changes in atmospheric forcing. This thesis addresses the impact of atmospheric forcing on upper ocean dynamics and phytoplankton bloom development in the SO on synoptic storm scales, combining a broad range of observations derived from satellites, reanalysis, profiling floats and Southern elephant seals. On atmospheric synoptic timescales (2-10 days), relevant for phytoplankton growth and accumulation, wind speed has a larger impact on satellite Chl-a variability than surface heat fluxes or wind stress curl. In summer, strong winds are linked to deep mixed layers, cold sea surface temperatures and enhanced satellite chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), which suggest wind-driven entrainment plays a role in sustaining phytoplankton blooms at the surface. Subsurface bio-optical data from floats and seals reveal deep Chl-a fluorescence maxima (DFM) are ubiquitous in summer and tend to sit at the base of the mixed layer, but can occur in all seasons. The fact that wind speed and Chl-a correlations are maximal at zero lag time (from daily data) and incubation experiments indicate phytoplankton growth occurs 3-4 days after iron addition, suggests high winds in summer entrain Chl-a from a subsurface maximum. Vertical profiles also reveal Chl-a fluorescence unevenness within hydrographically defined mixed layers, suggesting the biological timescales of adaptation through the light gradient (i.e. growth and/or photoacclimation) are often faster than mixing timescales, and periods of quiescence between storms are long enough for biological gradients to form within the homogeneous layer in density

The Role of the Indian Ocean Sector for Prediction of the Coupled Indo-Pacific System: Impact of Atmospheric Coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Hackert, E. C.; Busalacchi, A. J.; Carton, J.; Murtugudde, R.; Arkin, P.; Evans, M. N.

2017-01-01

Indian Ocean (IO) dynamics impact ENSO predictability by influencing wind and precipitation anomalies in the Pacific. To test if the upstream influence of the IO improves ENSO validation statistics, a combination of forced ocean, atmosphere, and coupled models are utilized. In one experiment, the full tropical Indo-Pacific region atmosphere is forced by observed interannual SST anomalies. In the other, the IO is forced by climatological SST. Differences between these two forced atmospheric model experiments spotlight a much richer wind response pattern in the Pacific than previous studies that used idealized forcing and simple linear atmospheric models. Weak westerlies are found near the equator similar to earlier literature. However, at initialization strong easterlies between 30 deg. S to 10 deg. S and 0 deg. N to 25 deg. N and equatorial convergence of the meridional winds across the entire Pacific are unique findings from this paper. The large-scale equatorial divergence west of the dateline and northeasterly-to-northwesterly cross-equatorial flow converging on the equator east of the dateline in the Pacific are generated from interannual IO SST coupling. In addition, off-equatorial downwelling curl impacts large-scale oceanic waves (i.e., Rossby waves reflect as western boundary Kelvin waves). After 3 months, these downwelling equatorial Kelvin waves propagate across the Pacific and strengthen the NINO3 SST. Eventually Bjerknes feedbacks take hold in the eastern Pacific which allows this warm anomaly to grow. Coupled forecasts for NINO3 SST anomalies for 1993-2014 demonstrate that including interannual IO forcing significantly improves predictions for 3-9 month lead times.

The role of the Indian Ocean sector for prediction of the coupled Indo-Pacific system: Impact of atmospheric coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Hackert, E. C.; Busalacchi, A. J.; Carton, J.; Murtugudde, R.; Arkin, P.; Evans, M. N.

2017-04-01

Indian Ocean (IO) dynamics impact ENSO predictability by influencing wind and precipitation anomalies in the Pacific. To test if the upstream influence of the IO improves ENSO validation statistics, a combination of forced ocean, atmosphere, and coupled models are utilized. In one experiment, the full tropical Indo-Pacific region atmosphere is forced by observed interannual SST anomalies. In the other, the IO is forced by climatological SST. Differences between these two forced atmospheric model experiments spotlight a much richer wind response pattern in the Pacific than previous studies that used idealized forcing and simple linear atmospheric models. Weak westerlies are found near the equator similar to earlier literature. However, at initialization strong easterlies between 30°S-10°S and 0°N-25°N and equatorial convergence of the meridional winds across the entire Pacific are unique findings from this paper. The large-scale equatorial divergence west of the dateline and northeasterly-to-northwesterly cross-equatorial flow converging on the equator east of the dateline in the Pacific are generated from interannual IO SST coupling. In addition, off-equatorial downwelling curl impacts large-scale oceanic waves (i.e., Rossby waves reflect as western boundary Kelvin waves). After 3 months, these downwelling equatorial Kelvin waves propagate across the Pacific and strengthen the NINO3 SST. Eventually Bjerknes feedbacks take hold in the eastern Pacific which allows this warm anomaly to grow. Coupled forecasts for NINO3 SST anomalies for 1993-2014 demonstrate that including interannual IO forcing significantly improves predictions for 3-9 month lead times.

The crucial role of ocean-atmosphere coupling on the Indian monsoon anomalous response during dipole events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krishnan, R.; Swapna, P.; Ayantika, D.C.; Mujumdar, M. [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Climate and Global Modelling Division, Pune (India); Sundaram, Suchithra [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Climate and Global Modelling Division, Pune (India); Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut d' Astronomie de Geophysique G. Lemaitre, Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium); Kumar, Vinay [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Climate and Global Modelling Division, Pune (India); Florida State University, Department of Meteorology, Tallahassee, FL (United States)

2011-07-15

This paper examines an issue concerning the simulation of anomalously wet Indian summer monsoons like 1994 which co-occurred with strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions in the tropical Indian Ocean. Contrary to observations it has been noticed that standalone atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM) forced with observed SST boundary condition, consistently depicted a decrease of the summer monsoon rainfall during 1994 over the Indian region. Given the ocean-atmosphere coupling during IOD events, we have examined whether the failure of standalone AGCM simulations in capturing wet Indian monsoons like 1994 can be remedied by including a simple form of coupling that allows the monsoon circulation to dynamically interact with the IOD anomalies. With this view, we have performed a suite of simulations by coupling an AGCM to a slab-ocean model with spatially varying mixed-layer-depth (MLD) specified from observations for the 1994 IOD; as well as four other cases (1983, 1997, 2006, 2007). The specification of spatially varying MLD from observations allows us to constrain the model to observed IOD conditions. It is seen that the inclusion of coupling significantly improves the large-scale circulation response by strengthening the monsoon cross-equatorial flow; leading to precipitation enhancement over the subcontinent and rainfall decrease over south-eastern tropical Indian Ocean - in a manner broadly consistent with observations. A plausible physical mechanism is suggested to explain the monsoonal response in the coupled frame-work. These results warrant the need for improved monsoon simulations with fully coupled models to be able to better capture the observed monsoon interannual variability. (orig.)

Impact of resolving the diurnal cycle in an ocean-atmosphere GCM. Pt. 1: a diurnally forced OGCM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernie, D.J. [University of Reading, National Centre for Atmospheric Science - Climate, Department of Meteorology, Reading (United Kingdom); Laboratoire d' Oceanographie et du Climat, Experimentation et Approches Numeriques, IPSL, Paris (France); Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, EX1 3PB (United Kingdom); Guilyardi, E. [University of Reading, National Centre for Atmospheric Science - Climate, Department of Meteorology, Reading (United Kingdom); Laboratoire d' Oceanographie et du Climat, Experimentation et Approches Numeriques, IPSL, Paris (France); Madec, G. [Laboratoire d' Oceanographie et du Climat, Experimentation et Approches Numeriques, IPSL, Paris (France); Slingo, J.M.; Woolnough, S.J. [University of Reading, National Centre for Atmospheric Science - Climate, Department of Meteorology, Reading (United Kingdom)

2007-11-15

The diurnal cycle is a fundamental time scale in the climate system, at which the upper ocean and atmosphere are routinely observed to vary. Current climate models, however, are not configured to resolve the diurnal cycle in the upper ocean or the interaction of the ocean and atmosphere on these time scales. This study examines the diurnal cycle of the tropical upper ocean and its climate impacts. In the present paper, the first of two, a high vertical resolution ocean general circulation model (OGCM), with modified physics, is developed which is able to resolve the diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature (SST) and current variability in the upper ocean. It is then validated against a satellite derived parameterization of diurnal SST variability and in-situ current observations. The model is then used to assess rectification of the intraseasonal SST response to the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) by the diurnal cycle of SST. Across the equatorial Indo-Pacific it is found that the diurnal cycle increases the intraseasonal SST response to the MJO by around 20%. In the Pacific, the diurnal cycle also modifies the exchange of momentum between equatorially divergent Ekman currents and the meridionally convergent geostrophic currents beneath, resulting in a 10% increase in the strength of the Ekman cells and equatorial upwelling. How the thermodynamic and dynamical impacts of the diurnal cycle effect the mean state, and variability, of the climate system cannot be fully investigated in the constrained design of ocean-only experiments presented here. The second part of this study, published separately, addresses the climate impacts of the diurnal cycle in the coupled system by coupling the OGCM developed here to an atmosphere general circulation model. (orig.)

Atmosphere-ocean feedbacks in a coastal upwelling system

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, J. M. R.; Peliz, A.; Caldeira, R. M. A.; Miranda, P. M. A.

2018-03-01

The COAWST (Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport) modelling system is used in different configurations to simulate the Iberian upwelling during the 2012 summer, aiming to assess the atmosphere-ocean feedbacks in the upwelling dynamics. When model results are compared with satellite measurements and in-situ data, two-way coupling is found to have a moderate impact in data-model statistics. A significant reinforcement of atmosphere-ocean coupling coefficients is, however, observed in the two-way coupled run, and in the WRF and ROMS runs forced by previously simulated SST and wind fields, respectively. The increasing in the coupling coefficient is associated with slight, but potentially important changes in the low-level coastal jet in the atmospheric marine boundary layer. While these results do not imply the need for fully coupled simulations in many applications, they show that in seasonal numerical studies such simulations do not degrade the overall model performance, and contribute to produce better dynamical fields.

On Verifying Currents and Other Features in the Hawaiian Islands Region Using Fully Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System Compared to Global Ocean Model and Ocean Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Jessen, P. G.; Chen, S.

2014-12-01

This poster introduces and evaluates features concerning the Hawaii, USA region using the U.S. Navy's fully Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS-OS™) coupled to the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM). It also outlines some challenges in verifying ocean currents in the open ocean. The system is evaluated using in situ ocean data and initial forcing fields from the operational global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Verification shows difficulties in modelling downstream currents off the Hawaiian islands (Hawaii's wake). Comparing HYCOM to NCOM current fields show some displacement of small features such as eddies. Generally, there is fair agreement from HYCOM to NCOM in salinity and temperature fields. There is good agreement in SSH fields.

Atmosphere-Ocean Coupling through Trace Gases

Science.gov (United States)

Tegtmeier, S.; Atlas, E. L.; Krüger, K.; Lennartz, S. T.; Marandino, C. A.; Patra, P. K.; Quack, B.; Schlundt, C.

2017-12-01

Halogen- and sulfur-containing trace gases, as well as other volatile organic compounds (VOCs, such as isoprene) from biogeochemical marine sources are important constituents of the ocean and the atmosphere. These compounds exert wide-ranging influence on atmospheric chemical processes and climate interactions, as well as on human health in coastal regions. In their reactive form, they can affect the oxidizing capacity of the air and lead to the formation of new particles or the growth of existing ones. In this contribution, marine derived halogen-, sulfur-, and oxygen-containing compounds will be discussed. Their net flux into the atmosphere and their impact on atmospheric processes is analyzed based on observations and model simulations.

North Pacific Mesoscale Coupled Air-Ocean Simulations Compared with Observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koracin, Darko; Cerovecki, Ivana; Vellore, Ramesh; Mejia, John; Hatchett, Benjamin; McCord, Travis; McLean, Julie; Dorman, Clive

2013-04-11

Executive summary The main objective of the study was to investigate atmospheric and ocean interaction processes in the western Pacific and, in particular, effects of significant ocean heat loss in the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension regions on the lower and upper atmosphere. It is yet to be determined how significant are these processes are on climate scales. The understanding of these processes led us also to development of the methodology of coupling the Weather and Research Forecasting model with the Parallel Ocean Program model for western Pacific regional weather and climate simulations. We tested NCAR-developed research software Coupler 7 for coupling of the WRF and POP models and assessed its usability for regional-scale applications. We completed test simulations using the Coupler 7 framework, but implemented a standard WRF model code with options for both one- and two-way mode coupling. This type of coupling will allow us to seamlessly incorporate new WRF updates and versions in the future. We also performed a long-term WRF simulation (15 years) covering the entire North Pacific as well as high-resolution simulations of a case study which included extreme ocean heat losses in the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension regions. Since the extreme ocean heat loss occurs during winter cold air outbreaks (CAO), we simulated and analyzed a case study of a severe CAO event in January 2000 in detail. We found that the ocean heat loss induced by CAOs is amplified by additional advection from mesocyclones forming on the southern part of the Japan Sea. Large scale synoptic patterns with anomalously strong anticyclone over Siberia and Mongolia, deep Aleutian Low, and the Pacific subtropical ridge are a crucial setup for the CAO. It was found that the onset of the CAO is related to the breaking of atmospheric Rossby waves and vertical transport of vorticity that facilitates meridional advection. The study also indicates that intrinsic parameterization of the surface fluxes

Submesoscale features and their interaction with fronts and internal tides in a high-resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave model of the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Tommy G.; Shulman, Igor; Wijesekera, Hemantha W.; Anderson, Stephanie; Ladner, Sherwin

2018-03-01

Large freshwater fluxes into the Bay of Bengal by rainfall and river discharges result in strong salinity fronts in the bay. In this study, a high-resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave model with comprehensive physics is used to model the weather, ocean circulation, and wave field in the Bay of Bengal. Our objective is to explore the submesoscale activity that occurs in a realistic coupled model that resolves mesoscales and allows part of the submesoscale field. Horizontal resolution in the atmosphere varies from 2 to 6 km and is 13 km for surface waves, while the ocean model is submesoscale permitting with resolutions as high as 1.5 km and a vertical resolution of 0.5 m in the upper 10 m. In this paper, three different cases of oceanic submesoscale features are discussed. In the first case, heavy rainfall and intense downdrafts produced by atmospheric convection are found to force submesoscale currents, temperature, and salinity anomalies in the oceanic mixed layer and impact the mesoscale flow. In a second case, strong solitary-like waves are generated by semidiurnal tides in the Andaman Sea and interact with mesoscale flows and fronts and affect submesoscale features generated along fronts. A third source of submesoscale variability is found further north in the Bay of Bengal where river outflows help maintain strong salinity gradients throughout the year. For that case, a comparison with satellite observations of sea surface height anomalies, sea surface temperature, and chlorophyll shows that the model captures the observed mesoscale eddy features of the flow field, but in addition, submesoscale upwelling and downwelling patterns associated with ageostrophic secondary circulations along density fronts are also captured by the model.

Orographic effects on tropical climate in a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Okajima, Hideki

Large-scale mountain modifies the atmospheric circulation directly through dynamic and thermodynamic process, and also indirectly through the interaction with the ocean. To investigate orographic impacts on tropical climate, a fully coupled general circulation model (CGCM) is developed by coupling a state-of-the-art atmospheric general circulation model and an ocean general circulation model. With realistic boundary conditions, the CGCM produces a reasonable climatology of sea surface temperature (SST), surface winds, and precipitation. When global mountains are removed, the model climatology displays substantial changes in both the mean-state and the seasonal cycle. The equatorial eastern Pacific SST acquires a semi-annual component as inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) flips and flops across the equator following the seasonal migration of the sun. Without the Andes, wet air flows into the southeastern tropical Pacific from the humid Amazon, which weakens the meridional asymmetry during the Peruvian warm season (February-April). In addition, the northeasterly trade winds are enhanced north of the equator without the orographic blocking of Central American mountains and cools SST. Triggered by the SST cooling north and moistening south of the equator, the wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedback further weakens the meridional asymmetry and prolongs the southern ITCZ. In the Atlantic Ocean, the equatorial cold tongue is substantially strengthened and develops a pronounced annual cycle in the absence of mountains. The easterly winds are overall enhanced over the equatorial Atlantic without orographic heating over the African highlands, developing a zonal asymmetry strengthened by the Bjerknes feedback. In the Indian Ocean, the thermocline shoals eastward and an equatorial cold tongue appears twice a year. During boreal summer, the Findlater jet is greatly weakened off Somalia and SST warms in the western Indian Ocean, forcing the equatorial easterly winds amplified

Simulating the Holocene climate evolution at northern high latitudes using a coupled atmosphere-sea ice-ocean-vegetation model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renssen, H.; Goosse, H.; Fichefet, T.; Brovkin, V.; Driesschaert, E.; Wolk, F.

2005-01-01

The response of the climate at high northern latitudes to slowly changing external forcings was studied in a 9,000-year long simulation with the coupled atmosphere-sea ice-ocean-vegetation model ECBilt-CLIO-VECODE. Only long-term changes in insolation and atmospheric CO

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.)

Improved Mars Upper Atmosphere Climatology

Science.gov (United States)

Bougher, S. W.

2004-01-01

The detailed characterization of the Mars upper atmosphere is important for future Mars aerobraking activities. Solar cycle, seasonal, and dust trends (climate) as well as planetary wave activity (weather) are crucial to quantify in order to improve our ability to reasonably depict the state of the Mars upper atmosphere over time. To date, our best information is found in the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Accelerometer (ACC) database collected during Phase 1 (Ls = 184 - 300; F10.7 = 70 - 90) and Phase 2 (Ls = 30 - 90; F10.7 = 90 - 150) of aerobraking. This database (100 - 170 km) consists of thermospheric densities, temperatures, and scale heights, providing our best constraints for exercising the coupled Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) and the Mars Thermospheric General Circulation Model (MTGCM). The Planetary Data System (PDS) contains level 0 and 2 MGS Accelerometer data, corresponding to atmospheric densities along the orbit track. Level 3 products (densities, temperatures, and scale heights at constant altitudes) are also available in the PDS. These datasets provide the primary model constraints for the new MGCM-MTGCM simulations summarized in this report. Our strategy for improving the characterization of the Mars upper atmospheres using these models has been three-fold : (a) to conduct data-model comparisons using the latest MGS data covering limited climatic and weather conditions at Mars, (b) to upgrade the 15-micron cooling and near-IR heating rates in the MGCM and MTGCM codes for ad- dressing climatic variations (solar cycle and seasonal) important in linking the lower and upper atmospheres (including migrating tides), and (c) to exercise the detailed coupled MGCM and MTGCM codes to capture and diagnose the planetary wave (migrating plus non-migrating tidal) features throughout the Mars year. Products from this new suite of MGCM-MTGCM coupled simulations are being used to improve our predictions of the structure of the Mars upper atmosphere for the

Matrix formulations of radiative transfer including the polarization effect in a coupled atmosphere-ocean system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ota, Yoshifumi; Higurashi, Akiko; Nakajima, Teruyuki; Yokota, Tatsuya

2010-01-01

A vector radiative transfer model has been developed for a coupled atmosphere-ocean system. The radiative transfer scheme is based on the discrete ordinate and matrix operator methods. The reflection/transmission matrices and source vectors are obtained for each atmospheric or oceanic layer through the discrete ordinate solution. The vertically inhomogeneous system is constructed using the matrix operator method, which combines the radiative interaction between the layers. This radiative transfer scheme is flexible for a vertically inhomogeneous system including the oceanic layers as well as the ocean surface. Compared with the benchmark results, the computational error attributable to the radiative transfer scheme has been less than 0.1% in the case of eight discrete ordinate directions. Furthermore, increasing the number of discrete ordinate directions has produced computations with higher accuracy. Based on our radiative transfer scheme, simulations of sun glint radiation have been presented for wavelengths of 670 nm and 1.6 μm. Results of simulations have shown reasonable characteristics of the sun glint radiation such as the strongly peaked, but slightly smoothed radiation by the rough ocean surface and depolarization through multiple scattering by the aerosol-loaded atmosphere. The radiative transfer scheme of this paper has been implemented to the numerical model named Pstar as one of the OpenCLASTR/STAR radiative transfer code systems, which are widely applied to many radiative transfer problems, including the polarization effect.

Ocean-atmosphere dynamics during Hurricane Ida and Nor'Ida: An application of the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system

Science.gov (United States)

Olabarrieta, Maitane; Warner, John C.; Armstrong, Brandy N.; Zambon, Joseph B.; He, Ruoying

2012-01-01

The coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system was used to investigate atmosphere–ocean–wave interactions in November 2009 during Hurricane Ida and its subsequent evolution to Nor’Ida, which was one of the most costly storm systems of the past two decades. One interesting aspect of this event is that it included two unique atmospheric extreme conditions, a hurricane and a nor’easter storm, which developed in regions with different oceanographic characteristics. Our modeled results were compared with several data sources, including GOES satellite infrared data, JASON-1 and JASON-2 altimeter data, CODAR measurements, and wave and tidal information from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and the National Tidal Database. By performing a series of numerical runs, we were able to isolate the effect of the interaction terms between the atmosphere (modeled with Weather Research and Forecasting, the WRF model), the ocean (modeled with Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)), and the wave propagation and generation model (modeled with Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN)). Special attention was given to the role of the ocean surface roughness. Three different ocean roughness closure models were analyzed: DGHQ (which is based on wave age), TY2001 (which is based on wave steepness), and OOST (which considers both the effects of wave age and steepness). Including the ocean roughness in the atmospheric module improved the wind intensity estimation and therefore also the wind waves, surface currents, and storm surge amplitude. For example, during the passage of Hurricane Ida through the Gulf of Mexico, the wind speeds were reduced due to wave-induced ocean roughness, resulting in better agreement with the measured winds. During Nor’Ida, including the wave-induced surface roughness changed the form and dimension of the main low pressure cell, affecting the intensity and direction of the winds. The combined wave age- and wave steepness

Impact of the configuration of stretching and ocean-atmosphere coupling on tropical cyclone activity in the variable-resolution GCM ARPEGE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daloz, Anne Sophie; Chauvin, Fabrice [CNRM-GAME, Groupe de Modelisation Grande Echelle et Climat, Toulouse Cedex 1 (France); Roux, Frank [Universite de Toulouse, Laboratoire d' Aerologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse (France)

2012-11-15

This study starts by investigating the impact of the configuration of the variable-resolution atmospheric grid on tropical cyclone (TC) activity. The French atmospheric general circulation model ARPEGE, the grid of which is rotated and stretched over the North Atlantic basin, was used with prescribed sea surface temperatures. The study clearly shows that changing the position of the stretching pole strongly modifies the representation of TC activity over the North Atlantic basin. A pole in the centre of the North Atlantic basin provides the best representation of the TC activity for this region. In a second part, the variable-resolution climate model ARPEGE is coupled with the European oceanic global climate model NEMO in order to study the impact of ocean-atmosphere coupling on TC activity over the North Atlantic basin. Two pre-industrial runs, a coupled simulation and a simulation forced by the sea surface temperatures from the coupled one, are compared. The results show that the coupled simulation is more active in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico while the forced simulation is more active over eastern Florida and the eastern Atlantic. The difference in the distribution of TC activity is certainly linked with the location of TC genesis. In the forced simulation, tropical cyclogenesis is closer to the west African coast than in the coupled simulation. Moreover, the difference in TC activity over the eastern Atlantic seems to be related to two different mechanisms: the difference in African easterly wave activity over the west of Africa and the cooling produced, in the coupled simulation, by African easterly waves over the eastern Atlantic. Finally, the last part studies the impact of changing the frequency of ocean-atmosphere coupling on Atlantic TC activity. Increasing the frequency of coupling decreases the density of TC activity over the North Atlantic basin. However, it does not modify the spatial distribution of the TC activity. TC rainfalls are

Role of upper-most crustal composition in the evolution of the Precambrian ocean-atmosphere system

Science.gov (United States)

Large, R. R.; Mukherjee, I.; Zhukova, I.; Corkrey, R.; Stepanov, A.; Danyushevsky, L. V.

2018-04-01

Recent research has emphasized the potential relationships between supercontinent cycles, mountain building, nutrient flux, ocean-atmosphere chemistry and the origin of life. The composition of the Upper-Most Continental Crust (UMCC) also figures prominently in these relationships, and yet little detailed data on each component of this complex relationship has been available for assessment. Here we provide a new set of data on the trace element concentrations, including the Rare Earth Elements (REE), in the matrix of 52 marine black shale formations spread globally through the Archean and Proterozoic. The data support previous studies on the temporal geochemistry of shales, but with some important differences. Results indicate a change in provenance of the black shales (upper-most crustal composition), from more mafic in the Archean prior to 2700 Ma, to more felsic from 2700 to 2200 Ma, followed by a return to mafic compositions from 2200 to 1850 Ma. Around 1850 to 1800 Ma there is a rapid change to uniform felsic compositions, which remained for a billion years to 800 Ma. The shale matrix geochemistry supports the assertion that the average upper-most continental source rocks for the shales changed from a mix of felsic, mafic and ultramafic prior to 2700 Ma to more felsic after 1850 Ma, with an extended transition period between. The return to more mafic UMCC from 2200 to 1850 Ma is supported by the frequency of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) and banded iron formations, which suggest a peak in major mantle-connected plume events and associated Fe-rich hydrothermal activity over this period. Support for the change to felsic UMCC around 1850 Ma is provided by previous geological data which shows that felsic magmas, including, A-type granites and K-Th-U-rich granites intruded vast areas of the continental crust, peaking around 1850 Ma and declining to 1000 Ma. The implications of this change in UMCC are far reaching and may go some way to explain the distinct

A New Coupled Ocean-Waves-Atmosphere Model Designed for Tropical Storm Studies: Example of Tropical Cyclone Bejisa (2013-2014) in the South-West Indian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Pianezze, J.; Barthe, C.; Bielli, S.; Tulet, P.; Jullien, S.; Cambon, G.; Bousquet, O.; Claeys, M.; Cordier, E.

2018-03-01

Ocean-Waves-Atmosphere (OWA) exchanges are not well represented in current Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) systems, which can lead to large uncertainties in tropical cyclone track and intensity forecasts. In order to explore and better understand the impact of OWA interactions on tropical cyclone modeling, a fully coupled OWA system based on the atmospheric model Meso-NH, the oceanic model CROCO, and the wave model WW3 and called MSWC was designed and applied to the case of tropical cyclone Bejisa (2013-2014). The fully coupled OWA simulation shows good agreement with the literature and available observations. In particular, simulated significant wave height is within 30 cm of measurements made with buoys and altimeters. Short-term (right place (in the eyewall of the tropical cyclone) and with the right size distribution, which is critical for cloud microphysics.

Instabilities in the coupled equatorial ocean atmosphere system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, H.A.; Vaart, P.C.F. van der

1999-01-01

The large-scale interaction between the ocean and atmosphere is one of the impor- tant factors of natural climate variability.The El-Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in the Tropical Pacific is one of the most prominent examples of climate variability on interannual time scales.ENSO has

Longitudinal biases in the Seychelles Dome simulated by 35 ocean-atmosphere coupled general circulation models

Science.gov (United States)

Nagura, Motoki; Sasaki, Wataru; Tozuka, Tomoki; Luo, Jing-Jia; Behera, Swadhin K.; Yamagata, Toshio

2013-02-01

Seychelles Dome refers to the shallow climatological thermocline in the southwestern Indian Ocean, where ocean wave dynamics efficiently affect sea surface temperature, allowing sea surface temperature anomalies to be predicted up to 1-2 years in advance. Accurate reproduction of the dome by ocean-atmosphere coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) is essential for successful seasonal predictions in the Indian Ocean. This study examines the Seychelles Dome as simulated by 35 CGCMs, including models used in phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Among the 35 CGCMs, 14 models erroneously produce an upwelling dome in the eastern half of the basin whereas the observed Seychelles Dome is located in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean. The annual mean Ekman pumping velocity in these models is found to be almost zero in the southern off-equatorial region. This result is inconsistent with observations, in which Ekman upwelling acts as the main cause of the Seychelles Dome. In the models reproducing an eastward-displaced dome, easterly biases are prominent along the equator in boreal summer and fall, which result in shallow thermocline biases along the Java and Sumatra coasts via Kelvin wave dynamics and a spurious upwelling dome in the region. Compared to the CMIP3 models, the CMIP5 models are even worse in simulating the dome longitudes.

Impacts of the Mesoscale Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling on the Peru-Chile Ocean Dynamics: The Current-Induced Wind Stress Modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Oerder, V.; Colas, F.; Echevin, V.; Masson, S.; Lemarié, F.

2018-02-01

The ocean dynamical responses to the surface current-wind stress interaction at the oceanic mesoscale are investigated in the South-East Pacific using a high-resolution regional ocean-atmosphere coupled model. Two simulations are compared: one includes the surface current in the wind stress computation while the other does not. In the coastal region, absolute wind velocities are different between the two simulations but the wind stress remains very similar. As a consequence, the mean regional oceanic circulation is almost unchanged. On the contrary, the mesoscale activity is strongly reduced when taking into account the effect of the surface current on the wind stress. This is caused by a weakening of the eddy kinetic energy generation near the coast by the wind work and to intensified offshore eddy damping. We show that, above coherent eddies, the current-stress interaction generates eddy damping through Ekman pumping and eddy kinetic energy dissipation through wind work. This alters significantly the coherent eddy vertical structures compared with the control simulation, weakening the temperature and vorticity anomalies and increasing strongly the vertical velocity anomalies associated to eddies.

Implementation of the vortex force formalism in the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system for inner shelf and surf zone applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Nirnimesh; Voulgaris, George; Warner, John C.; Olabarrieta, Maitane

2012-01-01

The coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport modeling system (COAWST) enables simulations that integrate oceanic, atmospheric, wave and morphological processes in the coastal ocean. Within the modeling system, the three-dimensional ocean circulation module (ROMS) is coupled with the wave generation and propagation model (SWAN) to allow full integration of the effect of waves on circulation and vice versa. The existing wave-current coupling component utilizes a depth dependent radiation stress approach. In here we present a new approach that uses the vortex force formalism. The formulation adopted and the various parameterizations used in the model as well as their numerical implementation are presented in detail. The performance of the new system is examined through the presentation of four test cases. These include obliquely incident waves on a synthetic planar beach and a natural barred beach (DUCK' 94); normal incident waves on a nearshore barred morphology with rip channels; and wave-induced mean flows outside the surf zone at the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO).

AccuRT: A versatile tool for radiative transfer simulations in the coupled atmosphere-ocean system

Science.gov (United States)

Hamre, Børge; Stamnes, Snorre; Stamnes, Knut; Stamnes, Jakob

2017-02-01

Reliable, accurate, and efficient modeling of the transport of electromagnetic radiation in turbid media has important applications in the study of the Earth's climate by remote sensing. For example, such modeling is needed to develop forward-inverse methods used to quantify types and concentrations of aerosol and cloud particles in the atmosphere, the dissolved organic and particulate biogeochemical matter in lakes, rivers, coastal, and open-ocean waters. It is also needed to simulate the performance of remote sensing detectors deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites as well as radiometric detectors deployed on buoys, gliders and other aquatic observing systems. Accurate radiative transfer modeling is also required to compute irradiances and scalar irradiances that are used to compute warming/cooling and photolysis rates in the atmosphere and primary production and warming/cooling rates in the water column. AccuRT is a radiative transfer model for the coupled atmosphere-water system that is designed to be a versatile tool for researchers in the ocean optics and remote sensing communities. It addresses the needs of researchers interested in analyzing irradiance and radiance measurements in the field and laboratory as well as those interested in making simulations of the top-of-the-atmosphere radiance in support of remote sensing algorithm development.

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.)

Treating Sample Covariances for Use in Strongly Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Data Assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Polly J.; Lawless, Amos S.; Nichols, Nancy K.

2018-01-01

Strongly coupled data assimilation requires cross-domain forecast error covariances; information from ensembles can be used, but limited sampling means that ensemble derived error covariances are routinely rank deficient and/or ill-conditioned and marred by noise. Thus, they require modification before they can be incorporated into a standard assimilation framework. Here we compare methods for improving the rank and conditioning of multivariate sample error covariance matrices for coupled atmosphere-ocean data assimilation. The first method, reconditioning, alters the matrix eigenvalues directly; this preserves the correlation structures but does not remove sampling noise. We show that it is better to recondition the correlation matrix rather than the covariance matrix as this prevents small but dynamically important modes from being lost. The second method, model state-space localization via the Schur product, effectively removes sample noise but can dampen small cross-correlation signals. A combination that exploits the merits of each is found to offer an effective alternative.

Atmospheric deposition of methanol over the Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mingxi; Nightingale, Philip D.; Beale, Rachael; Liss, Peter S.; Blomquist, Byron; Fairall, Christopher

2013-01-01

In the troposphere, methanol (CH3OH) is present ubiquitously and second in abundance among organic gases after methane. In the surface ocean, methanol represents a supply of energy and carbon for marine microbes. Here we report direct measurements of air–sea methanol transfer along a ∼10,000-km north–south transect of the Atlantic. The flux of methanol was consistently from the atmosphere to the ocean. Constrained by the aerodynamic limit and measured rate of air–sea sensible heat exchange, methanol transfer resembles a one-way depositional process, which suggests dissolved methanol concentrations near the water surface that are lower than what were measured at ∼5 m depth, for reasons currently unknown. We estimate the global oceanic uptake of methanol and examine the lifetimes of this compound in the lower atmosphere and upper ocean with respect to gas exchange. We also constrain the molecular diffusional resistance above the ocean surface—an important term for improving air–sea gas exchange models. PMID:24277830

Indian Ocean experiments with a coupled model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wainer, I. [Sao Paulo, Univ. (Brazil). Dept. of Oceanography

1997-03-01

A coupled ocean-atmosphere model is used to investigate the equatorial Indian Ocean response to the seasonally varying monsoon winds. Special attention is given to the oceanic response to the spatial distribution and changes in direction of the zonal winds. The Indian Ocean is surrounded by an Asian land mass to the North and an African land mass to the West. The model extends latitudinally between 41 N and 41 S. The asymmetric atmospheric model is driven by a mass source/sink term that is proportional to the sea surface temperature (SST) over the oceans and the heat balance over the land. The ocean is modeled using the Anderson and McCreary reduced-gravity transport model that includes a prognostic equation for the SST. The coupled system is driven by the annual cycle as manifested by zonally symmetric and asymmetric land and ocean heating. They explored the different nature of the equatorial ocean response to various patterns of zonal wind stress forcing in order to isolate the impact of the remote response on the Somali current. The major conclusions are : i) the equatorial response is fundamentally different for easterlies and westerlies, ii) the impact of the remote forcing on the Somali current is a function of the annual cycle, iii) the size of the basin sets the phase of the interference of the remote forcing on the Somali current relative to the local forcing.

Exploring the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone with Fully Coupled Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Way, M.J; Del Genio, A.D.; Kelley, M.; Aleinov, I.; Clune, T.

2015-01-01

The role of rotation in planetary atmospheres plays an important role in regulating atmospheric and oceanic heat flow, cloud formation and precipitation. Using the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) three dimension General Circulation Model (3D-GCM) we demonstrate how varying rotation rate and increasing the incident solar flux on a planet are related to each other and may allow the inner edge of the habitable zone to be much closer than many previous habitable zone studies have indicated. This is shown in particular for fully coupled ocean runs -- some of the first that have been utilized in this context. Results with a 100m mixed layer depth and our fully coupled ocean runs are compared with those of Yang et al. 2014, which demonstrates consistency across models. However, there are clear differences for rotations rates of 1-16x present earth day lengths between the mixed layer and fully couple ocean models, which points to the necessity of using fully coupled oceans whenever possible. The latter was recently demonstrated quite clearly by Hu & Yang 2014 in their aquaworld study with a fully coupled ocean when compared with similar mixed layer ocean studies and by Cullum et al. 2014. Atmospheric constituent amounts were also varied alongside adjustments to cloud parameterizations (results not shown here). While the latter have an effect on what a planet's global mean temperature is once the oceans reach equilibrium they do not qualitatively change the overall relationship between the globally averaged surface temperature and incident solar flux for rotation rates ranging from 1 to 256 times the present Earth day length. At the same time this study demonstrates that given the lack of knowledge about the atmospheric constituents and clouds on exoplanets there is still a large uncertainty as to where a planet will sit in a given star's habitable zone.

Global warming-induced upper-ocean freshening and the intensification of super typhoons.

Science.gov (United States)

Balaguru, Karthik; Foltz, Gregory R; Leung, L Ruby; Emanuel, Kerry A

2016-11-25

Super typhoons (STYs), intense tropical cyclones of the western North Pacific, rank among the most destructive natural hazards globally. The violent winds of these storms induce deep mixing of the upper ocean, resulting in strong sea surface cooling and making STYs highly sensitive to ocean density stratification. Although a few studies examined the potential impacts of changes in ocean thermal structure on future tropical cyclones, they did not take into account changes in near-surface salinity. Here, using a combination of observations and coupled climate model simulations, we show that freshening of the upper ocean, caused by greater rainfall in places where typhoons form, tends to intensify STYs by reducing their ability to cool the upper ocean. We further demonstrate that the strengthening effect of this freshening over the period 1961-2008 is ∼53% stronger than the suppressive effect of temperature, whereas under twenty-first century projections, the positive effect of salinity is about half of the negative effect of ocean temperature changes.

Physical and meteorological delayed-mode full-resolution data from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array in the Equatorial Pacific

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array of moored buoys spans the tropical Pacific. Moorings within the array measure surface meteorological and upper-ocean...

The role of ocean-atmosphere interaction in Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) using a regional coupled data assimilation system

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Akiyoshi; Kunii, Masaru

2017-05-01

For improving analyses of tropical cyclone (TC) and sea surface temperature (SST) and thereby TC simulations, a regional mesoscale strongly coupled atmosphere-ocean data assimilation system was developed with the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) implemented with the Japan Meteorological Agency's nonhydrostatic model (NHM) coupled with a multilayer ocean model and the third-generation ocean wave model. The NHM-LETKF coupled data assimilation system was applied to Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) along with the original NHM-LETKF system to investigate the sensitivity of Sinlaku to SST assimilation with the Level 2 Pre-processed (L2P) standard product of satellite SST. SST calculated in the coupled-assimilation experiment with the coupled data assimilation system and the satellite SST (CPL) showed a better correlation with Optimally Interpolated SST than SST used in the control experiment with the original NHM-LETKF (CNTL) and SST calculated in the succession experiment with the coupled system without satellite SST (SUCC). The time series in the CPL experiment well captured the variation in the SST observed at the Kuroshio Extension Observation buoy site. In addition, TC-induced sea surface cooling was analyzed more realistically in the CPL experiment than that in the CNTL and SUCC experiments. However, the central pressure analyzed in each three experiments was overestimated compared with the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center Tokyo best-track central pressure, mainly due to the coarse horizontal resolution of 15 km. The 96 h TC simulations indicated that the CPL experiment provided more favorable initial and boundary conditions than the CNTL experiment to simulate TC tracks more accurately.

Radiative transfer solutions for coupled atmosphere ocean systems using the matrix operator technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollstein, André; Fischer, Jürgen

2012-01-01

Accurate radiative transfer models are the key tools for the understanding of radiative transfer processes in the atmosphere and ocean, and for the development of remote sensing algorithms. The widely used scalar approximation of radiative transfer can lead to errors in calculated top of atmosphere radiances. We show results with errors in the order of±8% for atmosphere ocean systems with case one waters. Variations in sea water salinity and temperature can lead to variations in the signal of similar magnitude. Therefore, we enhanced our scalar radiative transfer model MOMO, which is in use at Freie Universität Berlin, to treat these effects as accurately as possible. We describe our one-dimensional vector radiative transfer model for an atmosphere ocean system with a rough interface. We describe the matrix operator scheme and the bio-optical model for case one waters. We discuss some effects of neglecting polarization in radiative transfer calculations and effects of salinity changes for top of atmosphere radiances. Results are shown for the channels of the satellite instruments MERIS and OLCI from 412.5 nm to 900 nm.

Analyzing coastal turbidity under complex terrestrial loads characterized by a 'stress connectivity matrix' with an atmosphere-watershed-coastal ocean coupled model

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Takahiro; Nadaoka, Kazuo

2018-04-01

Atmospheric, watershed and coastal ocean models were integrated to provide a holistic analysis approach for coastal ocean simulation. The coupled model was applied to coastal ocean in the Philippines where terrestrial sediment loads provided from several adjacent watersheds play a major role in influencing coastal turbidity and are partly responsible for the coastal ecosystem degradation. The coupled model was validated using weather and hydrologic measurement to examine its potential applicability. The results revealed that the coastal water quality may be governed by the loads not only from the adjacent watershed but also from the distant watershed via coastal currents. This important feature of the multiple linkages can be quantitatively characterized by a "stress connectivity matrix", which indicates the complex underlying structure of environmental stresses in coastal ocean. The multiple stress connectivity concept shows the potential advantage of the integrated modelling approach for coastal ocean assessment, which may also serve for compensating the lack of measured data especially in tropical basins.

Energy loss of solar p modes due to the excitation of magnetic sausage tube waves: Importance of coupling the upper atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gascoyne, A.; Jain, R.; Hindman, B. W.

2014-01-01

We consider damping and absorption of solar p modes due to their energy loss to magnetic tube waves that can freely carry energy out of the acoustic cavity. The coupling of p modes and sausage tube waves is studied in a model atmosphere composed of a polytropic interior above which lies an isothermal upper atmosphere. The sausage tube waves, excited by p modes, propagate along a magnetic fibril which is assumed to be a vertically aligned, stratified, thin magnetic flux tube. The deficit of p-mode energy is quantified through the damping rate, Γ, and absorption coefficient, α. The variation of Γ and α as a function of frequency and the tube's plasma properties is studied in detail. Previous similar studies have considered only a subphotospheric layer, modeled as a polytrope that has been truncated at the photosphere. Such studies have found that the resulting energy loss by the p modes is very sensitive to the upper boundary condition, which, due to the lack of an upper atmosphere, have been imposed in a somewhat ad hoc manner. The model presented here avoids such problems by using an isothermal layer to model the overlying atmosphere (chromosphere, and, consequently, allows us to analyze the propagation of p-mode-driven sausage waves above the photosphere. In this paper, we restrict our attention to frequencies below the acoustic cut off frequency. We demonstrate the importance of coupling all waves (acoustic, magnetic) in the subsurface solar atmosphere with the overlying atmosphere in order to accurately model the interaction of solar f and p modes with sausage tube waves. In calculating the absorption and damping of p modes, we find that for low frequencies, below ≈3.5 mHz, the isothermal atmosphere, for the two-region model, behaves like a stress-free boundary condition applied at the interface (z = –z 0 ).

Energy loss of solar p modes due to the excitation of magnetic sausage tube waves: Importance of coupling the upper atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gascoyne, A.; Jain, R. [Applied Mathematics Department, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom); Hindman, B. W., E-mail: a.d.gascoyne@sheffield.ac.uk, E-mail: r.jain@sheffield.ac.uk [JILA and Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0440 (United States)

2014-07-10

We consider damping and absorption of solar p modes due to their energy loss to magnetic tube waves that can freely carry energy out of the acoustic cavity. The coupling of p modes and sausage tube waves is studied in a model atmosphere composed of a polytropic interior above which lies an isothermal upper atmosphere. The sausage tube waves, excited by p modes, propagate along a magnetic fibril which is assumed to be a vertically aligned, stratified, thin magnetic flux tube. The deficit of p-mode energy is quantified through the damping rate, Γ, and absorption coefficient, α. The variation of Γ and α as a function of frequency and the tube's plasma properties is studied in detail. Previous similar studies have considered only a subphotospheric layer, modeled as a polytrope that has been truncated at the photosphere. Such studies have found that the resulting energy loss by the p modes is very sensitive to the upper boundary condition, which, due to the lack of an upper atmosphere, have been imposed in a somewhat ad hoc manner. The model presented here avoids such problems by using an isothermal layer to model the overlying atmosphere (chromosphere, and, consequently, allows us to analyze the propagation of p-mode-driven sausage waves above the photosphere. In this paper, we restrict our attention to frequencies below the acoustic cut off frequency. We demonstrate the importance of coupling all waves (acoustic, magnetic) in the subsurface solar atmosphere with the overlying atmosphere in order to accurately model the interaction of solar f and p modes with sausage tube waves. In calculating the absorption and damping of p modes, we find that for low frequencies, below ≈3.5 mHz, the isothermal atmosphere, for the two-region model, behaves like a stress-free boundary condition applied at the interface (z = –z{sub 0}).

The LGM surface climate and atmospheric circulation over East Asia and the North Pacific in the PMIP2 coupled model simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Yanase

2007-07-01

Full Text Available The surface conditions and atmospheric circulation over East Asia and the North Pacific during the last glacial maximum have been investigated using outputs from several coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model in the PMIP2 database. During the boreal summer, the weakening of the high pressure system over the North Pacific and less precipitation over East Asia are found in most models. The latter can be attributed to reduced moisture transport. During the boreal winter, an intensification of the Aleutian low and southward shift of the westerly jet stream in the upper troposphere are found in most models.

Some of the results in the present study seem to be consistent with the paleoclimatic reconstructions in the previous studies: pollen and lake-status records suggest dry climate over East Asia during the last glacial maximum, and part of the dust record has a signal that the East Asian winter monsoon was more strong and the westerly jet stream in the upper troposphere was further south during the last glacial maximum than at the present day. This result confirms that a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model is a promising tool to understand not only the global climate but also the regional climate in the past.

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.)

Multi-model attribution of upper-ocean temperature changes using an isothermal approach

Science.gov (United States)

Weller, Evan; Min, Seung-Ki; Palmer, Matthew D.; Lee, Donghyun; Yim, Bo Young; Yeh, Sang-Wook

2016-06-01

Both air-sea heat exchanges and changes in ocean advection have contributed to observed upper-ocean warming most evident in the late-twentieth century. However, it is predominantly via changes in air-sea heat fluxes that human-induced climate forcings, such as increasing greenhouse gases, and other natural factors such as volcanic aerosols, have influenced global ocean heat content. The present study builds on previous work using two different indicators of upper-ocean temperature changes for the detection of both anthropogenic and natural external climate forcings. Using simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, we compare mean temperatures above a fixed isotherm with the more widely adopted approach of using a fixed depth. We present the first multi-model ensemble detection and attribution analysis using the fixed isotherm approach to robustly detect both anthropogenic and natural external influences on upper-ocean temperatures. Although contributions from multidecadal natural variability cannot be fully removed, both the large multi-model ensemble size and properties of the isotherm analysis reduce internal variability of the ocean, resulting in better observation-model comparison of temperature changes since the 1950s. We further show that the high temporal resolution afforded by the isotherm analysis is required to detect natural external influences such as volcanic cooling events in the upper-ocean because the radiative effect of volcanic forcings is short-lived.

Hurricane Matthew (2016) and its Storm Surge Inundation under Global Warming Scenarios: Application of an Interactively Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Model

Science.gov (United States)

Jisan, M. A.; Bao, S.; Pietrafesa, L.; Pullen, J.

2017-12-01

An interactively coupled atmosphere-ocean model was used to investigate the impacts of future ocean warming, both at the surface and the layers below, on the track and intensity of a hurricane and its associated storm surge and inundation. The category-5 hurricane Matthew (2016), which made landfall on the South Carolina coast of the United States, was used for the case study. Future ocean temperature changes and sea level rise (SLR) were estimated based on the projection of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5. After being validated with the present-day observational data, the model was applied to simulate the changes in track, intensity, storm surge and inundation that Hurricane Matthew would cause under future climate change scenarios. It was found that a significant increase in hurricane intensity, storm surge water level, and inundation area for Hurricane Matthew under future ocean warming and SLR scenarios. For example, under the RCP 8.5 scenario, the maximum wind speed would increase by 17 knots (14.2%), the minimum sea level pressure would decrease by 26 hPa (2.85%), and the inundated area would increase by 401 km2 (123%). By including the effect of SLR for the middle-21st-century scenario, the inundated area will further increase by up to 49.6%. The increase in the hurricane intensity and the inundated area was also found for the RCP 2.6 scenario. The response of sea surface temperature was analyzed to investigate the change in intensity. A comparison was made between the impacts when only the sea surface warming is considered versus when both the sea surface and the underneath layers are considered. These results showed that even without the effect of SLR, the storm surge level and the inundated area would be higher due to the increased hurricane intensity under the influence of the future warmer ocean temperature. The coupled effect of ocean warming and SLR would cause the

Surface wave effects in the NEMO ocean model: Forced and coupled experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Breivik, Øyvind; Mogensen, Kristian; Bidlot, Jean-Raymond; Balmaseda, Magdalena Alonso; Janssen, Peter A. E. M.

2015-04-01

The NEMO general circulation ocean model is extended to incorporate three physical processes related to ocean surface waves, namely the surface stress (modified by growth and dissipation of the oceanic wavefield), the turbulent kinetic energy flux from breaking waves, and the Stokes-Coriolis force. Experiments are done with NEMO in ocean-only (forced) mode and coupled to the ECMWF atmospheric and wave models. Ocean-only integrations are forced with fields from the ERA-Interim reanalysis. All three effects are noticeable in the extratropics, but the sea-state-dependent turbulent kinetic energy flux yields by far the largest difference. This is partly because the control run has too vigorous deep mixing due to an empirical mixing term in NEMO. We investigate the relation between this ad hoc mixing and Langmuir turbulence and find that it is much more effective than the Langmuir parameterization used in NEMO. The biases in sea surface temperature as well as subsurface temperature are reduced, and the total ocean heat content exhibits a trend closer to that observed in a recent ocean reanalysis (ORAS4) when wave effects are included. Seasonal integrations of the coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model consisting of NEMO, the wave model ECWAM, and the atmospheric model of ECMWF similarly show that the sea surface temperature biases are greatly reduced when the mixing is controlled by the sea state and properly weighted by the thickness of the uppermost level of the ocean model. These wave-related physical processes were recently implemented in the operational coupled ensemble forecast system of ECMWF.

Techniques for asynchronous and periodically-synchronous coupling of atmosphere and ocean models. Pt. 1. General strategy and application to the cyclo-stationary case

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sausen, R [Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Wessling (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik der Atmosphaere; Voss, R [Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ), Hamburg (Germany)

1995-07-01

Asynchronous and periodically-synchronous schemes for coupling atmosphere and ocean models are presented. The performance of the schemes is tested by simulating the climatic response to a step function forcing and to a gradually increasing forcing with a simple zero-dimensional non-linear energy balance model. Both the initial transient response and the asymptotic approach of the equilibrium state are studied. If no annual cycle is allowed the asynchronous coupling technique proves to be a suitable tool. However, if the annual cycle is retained, the periodically-synchronous coupling technique reproduces the results of the synchronously coupled runs with smaller bias. In this case it is important that the total length of one synchronous period and one ocean only period is not a multiple of 6 months. (orig.)

Mechanism of climate change over South America during the LGM in coupled Ocean- Atmosphere model simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Khodri, M.

2006-12-01

On a regional perspective the database of proxy information for South America during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) shows large and regionally extensive changes of the mean climate and vegetation types over the Amazon basin. In some instances these changes were associated with decrease in the mean precipitation amount (and most probably in moist deep convection) over the Amazonian and South East Brazil monsoon regions and wetter mean conditions in present day drought-prone regions such as Northeast of Brazil (Nordeste). These changes have been interpreted as local responses to shift in the mean position and intensity of the Atlantic ITCZ due to glacial extratropical forcings or to changes in the South American Monsoons. However there are still two issues is the path to further understand the mechanism of climate change over South America during the LGM. The first is incomplete knowledge in both the modeling and observational communities of how the moist deep convection over the Amazonian region respond to glacial boundary condition and how this changes might interact with the meridional shift of rainfall over Nordeste and Atlantic Ocean. The second is our understanding of how ocean-atmosphere changes that do occur in the tropical Pacific region influence the climate of the remainder of the planet and on a regional way over South America. Using PMIP-2 coupled Ocean-Atmosphere simulations for LGM and comparison to paleodata we show that hydrological cycle changes over the Amazon basin might be independent of their Atlantic Ocean counterpart, while teleconnections with Pacific Ocean might have played a significant role in the observed changes over tropical South America.

Japan Meteorological Agency/Meteorological Research Institute-Coupled Prediction System version 2 (JMA/MRI-CPS2): atmosphere-land-ocean-sea ice coupled prediction system for operational seasonal forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Takaya, Yuhei; Hirahara, Shoji; Yasuda, Tamaki; Matsueda, Satoko; Toyoda, Takahiro; Fujii, Yosuke; Sugimoto, Hiroyuki; Matsukawa, Chihiro; Ishikawa, Ichiro; Mori, Hirotoshi; Nagasawa, Ryoji; Kubo, Yutaro; Adachi, Noriyuki; Yamanaka, Goro; Kuragano, Tsurane; Shimpo, Akihiko; Maeda, Shuhei; Ose, Tomoaki

2018-02-01

This paper describes the Japan Meteorological Agency/Meteorological Research Institute-Coupled Prediction System version 2 (JMA/MRI-CPS2), which was put into operation in June 2015 for the purpose of performing seasonal predictions. JMA/MRI-CPS2 has various upgrades from its predecessor, JMA/MRI-CPS1, including improved resolution and physics in its atmospheric and oceanic components, introduction of an interactive sea-ice model and realistic initialization of its land component. Verification of extensive re-forecasts covering a 30-year period (1981-2010) demonstrates that JMA/MRI-CPS2 possesses improved seasonal predictive skills for both atmospheric and oceanic interannual variability as well as key coupled variability such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). For ENSO prediction, the new system better represents the forecast uncertainty and transition/duration of ENSO phases. Our analysis suggests that the enhanced predictive skills are attributable to incremental improvements resulting from all of the changes, as is apparent in the beneficial effects of sea-ice coupling and land initialization on 2-m temperature predictions. JMA/MRI-CPS2 is capable of reasonably representing the seasonal cycle and secular trends of sea ice. The sea-ice coupling remarkably enhances the predictive capability for the Arctic 2-m temperature, indicating the importance of this factor, particularly for seasonal predictions in the Arctic region.

Ocean-atmosphere dynamics during Hurricane Ida and Nor'Ida: An application of the coupled ocean-;atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system

Science.gov (United States)

Olabarrieta, Maitane; Warner, John C.; Armstrong, Brandy N.; Zambon, Joseph B.; He, Ruoying

2012-01-01

The coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system was used to investigate atmosphere–ocean–wave interactions in November 2009 during Hurricane Ida and its subsequent evolution to Nor'Ida, which was one of the most costly storm systems of the past two decades. One interesting aspect of this event is that it included two unique atmospheric extreme conditions, a hurricane and a nor'easter storm, which developed in regions with different oceanographic characteristics. Our modeled results were compared with several data sources, including GOES satellite infrared data, JASON-1 and JASON-2 altimeter data, CODAR measurements, and wave and tidal information from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and the National Tidal Database. By performing a series of numerical runs, we were able to isolate the effect of the interaction terms between the atmosphere (modeled with Weather Research and Forecasting, the WRF model), the ocean (modeled with Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)), and the wave propagation and generation model (modeled with Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN)). Special attention was given to the role of the ocean surface roughness. Three different ocean roughness closure models were analyzed: DGHQ (which is based on wave age), TY2001 (which is based on wave steepness), and OOST (which considers both the effects of wave age and steepness). Including the ocean roughness in the atmospheric module improved the wind intensity estimation and therefore also the wind waves, surface currents, and storm surge amplitude. For example, during the passage of Hurricane Ida through the Gulf of Mexico, the wind speeds were reduced due to wave-induced ocean roughness, resulting in better agreement with the measured winds. During Nor'Ida, including the wave-induced surface roughness changed the form and dimension of the main low pressure cell, affecting the intensity and direction of the winds. The combined wave age- and wave steepness

Ocean acidification impacts bacteria – phytoplankton coupling at low-nutrient conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hornick, T.; Bach, L.T.; Crawfurd, K.J.; Spilling, K.; Achterberg, E.P.; Woodhouse, J.N.; Schulz, K.G.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; Riebesell, U.; Grossart, H.-P.

2017-01-01

The oceans absorb about a quarter of the annuallyproduced anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO2/, resulting in a decrease in surface water pH, aprocess termed ocean acidification (OA). Surprisingly littleis known about how OA affects the physiology of heterotrophicbacteria or the coupling of

Ocean Fertilization for Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Philip W.

The ocean is a major sink for both preindustrial and anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Both physically and biogeochemically driven pumps, termed the solubility and biological pump, respectively Fig.5.1) are responsible for the majority of carbon sequestration in the ocean's interior [1]. The solubility pump relies on ocean circulation - specifically the impact of cooling of the upper ocean at high latitudes both enhances the solubility of carbon dioxide and the density of the waters which sink to great depth (the so-called deepwater formation) and thereby sequester carbon in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon (Fig.5.1). The biological pump is driven by the availability of preformed plant macronutrients such as nitrate or phosphate which are taken up by phytoplankton during photosynthetic carbon fixation. A small but significant proportion of this fixed carbon sinks into the ocean's interior in the form of settling particles, and in order to maintain equilibrium carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is transferred across the air-sea interface into the ocean (the so-called carbon drawdown) thereby decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (Fig.5.1).Fig.5.1

Nudging atmosphere and ocean reanalyses for seasonal climate predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Piontek, Robert; Baehr, Johanna; Kornblueh, Luis; Müller, Wolfgang Alexander; Haak, Helmuth; Botzet, Michael; Matei, Daniela

2010-05-01

Seasonal climate forecasts based on state-of-the-art climate models have been developed recently. Here, we critically discuss the obstacles encountered in the setup of the ECHAM6/MPIOM global coupled climate model to perform climate predictions on seasonal to decadal time scales. We particularly focus on the initialization procedure, especially on the implementation of the nudging scheme, in which different reanalysis products are used in the atmosphere (e.g.ERA40), and the ocean (e.g., GECCO). Nudging in the atmosphere appears to be sensitive to the following choices: limiting the spectral range of nudging, whether or not temperature is nudged, the strength of the nudging coefficient for surface pressure, and the height at which the planetary boundary layer is excluded from nudging. We find that including nudging in both the atmosphere and the ocean gives improved results over nudging only the ocean or the atmosphere. For the implementation of the nudging in the atmosphere, we find the most significant improvements in the solution when either the planetary boundary layer is excluded, or if nudging of temperature is omitted. There are significant improvements in the solution when resolution is increased in both the atmosphere and in the ocean. Our tests form the basis for the prediction system introduced in the abstract of Müller et al., where hindcasts are analysed as well.

The Impacts of Daily Surface Forcing in the Upper Ocean over Tropical Pacific: A Numerical Study

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, C.-H.; Rienecker, Michele M.; Li, Xiaofan; Lau, William K.-M.; Laszlo, Istvan; Pinker, Rachel T.

2001-01-01

Tropical Pacific Ocean is an important region that affects global climate. How the ocean responds to the atmospheric surface forcing (surface radiative, heat and momentum fluxes) is a major topic in oceanographic research community. The ocean becomes warm when more heat flux puts into the ocean. The monthly mean forcing has been used in the past years since daily forcing was unavailable due to the lack of observations. The daily forcing is now available from the satellite measurements. This study investigates the response of the upper ocean over tropical Pacific to the daily atmospheric surface forcing. The ocean surface heat budgets are calculated to determine the important processes for the oceanic response. The differences of oceanic responses between the eastern and western Pacific are intensively discussed.

Intraseasonal variability of upper-ocean currents and photosynthetic primary production along the U.S. west coast associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, B.; Davies, A. R.; Steppe, C. N.; Hackbarth, C.

2017-12-01

In the first part of this study, time-lagged composites of upper-ocean currents from February to May of 1993-2016 were binned by active phase of the leading atmospheric mode of intraseasonal variability, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). Seven days after the convectively active phase of the MJO enters the tropical Indian Ocean, anomalously strong south-southeastward upper-ocean currents are observed along the majority of U.S. west coast. Seven days after the convectively active phase enters the tropical western Pacific Ocean, upper-ocean current anomalies reverse along the U.S. west coast, with weaker southward flow. A physical pathway to the ocean was found for both of these: (a) tropical MJO convection modulates upper-tropospheric heights and circulation over the Pacific Ocean; (b) those anomalous atmospheric heights adjust the strength and position of the Aleutian Low and Hawaiian High; (c) surface winds change in response to the adjusted atmospheric pressure patterns; and (d) those surface winds project onto upper-ocean currents. In the second part of this study, we investigated if the MJO modulated intraseasonal variability of surface wind forcing and upper-ocean currents projected onto phytoplankton abundance along the U.S. west coast. Following a similar methodology, time-lagged, level 3 chlorophyll-a satellite products (a proxy for photosynthetic primary production) were binned by active MJO phase and analyzed for statistical significance using the Student's t test. Results suggest that intraseasonal variability of biological production along the U.S. west coast may be linked to the MJO, particularly since the time scale of the life cycle of phytoplankton is similar to the time scale of the MJO.

Will high-resolution global ocean models benefit coupled predictions on short-range to climate timescales?

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, Helene T.; Bell, Michael J.; Chassignet, Eric P.; Czaja, Arnaud; Ferreira, David; Griffies, Stephen M.; Hyder, Pat; McClean, Julie L.; New, Adrian L.; Roberts, Malcolm J.

2017-12-01

As the importance of the ocean in the weather and climate system is increasingly recognised, operational systems are now moving towards coupled prediction not only for seasonal to climate timescales but also for short-range forecasts. A three-way tension exists between the allocation of computing resources to refine model resolution, the expansion of model complexity/capability, and the increase of ensemble size. Here we review evidence for the benefits of increased ocean resolution in global coupled models, where the ocean component explicitly represents transient mesoscale eddies and narrow boundary currents. We consider lessons learned from forced ocean/sea-ice simulations; from studies concerning the SST resolution required to impact atmospheric simulations; and from coupled predictions. Impacts of the mesoscale ocean in western boundary current regions on the large-scale atmospheric state have been identified. Understanding of air-sea feedback in western boundary currents is modifying our view of the dynamics in these key regions. It remains unclear whether variability associated with open ocean mesoscale eddies is equally important to the large-scale atmospheric state. We include a discussion of what processes can presently be parameterised in coupled models with coarse resolution non-eddying ocean models, and where parameterizations may fall short. We discuss the benefits of resolution and identify gaps in the current literature that leave important questions unanswered.

Exploring the southern ocean response to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Martinson, Douglas G.; Rind, David; Parkinson, Claire

1993-01-01

The purpose of this project was to couple a regional (Southern Ocean) ocean/sea ice model to the existing Goddard Institute for Space Science (GISS) atmospheric general circulation model (GCM). This modification recognizes: the relative isolation of the Southern Ocean; the need to account, prognostically, for the significant air/sea/ice interaction through all involved components; and the advantage of translating the atmospheric lower boundary (typically the rapidly changing ocean surface) to a level that is consistent with the physical response times governing the system evolution (that is, to the base of the fast responding ocean surface layer). The deeper ocean beneath this layer varies on time scales several orders of magnitude slower than the atmosphere and surface ocean, and therefore the boundary between the upper and deep ocean represents a more reasonable fixed boundary condition.

Application of a Reduced Order Kalman Filter to Initialize a Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Model: Impact on the Prediction of El Nino

Science.gov (United States)

Ballabrera-Poy, Joaquim; Busalacchi, Antonio J.; Murtugudde, Ragu

2000-01-01

A reduced order Kalman Filter, based on a simplification of the Singular Evolutive Extended Kalman (SEEK) filter equations, is used to assimilate observed fields of the surface wind stress, sea surface temperature and sea level into the nonlinear coupled ocean-atmosphere model. The SEEK filter projects the Kalman Filter equations onto a subspace defined by the eigenvalue decomposition of the error forecast matrix, allowing its application to high dimensional systems. The Zebiak and Cane model couples a linear reduced gravity ocean model with a single vertical mode atmospheric model of Zebiak. The compatibility between the simplified physics of the model and each observed variable is studied separately and together. The results show the ability of the model to represent the simultaneous value of the wind stress, SST and sea level, when the fields are limited to the latitude band 10 deg S - 10 deg N. In this first application of the Kalman Filter to a coupled ocean-atmosphere prediction model, the sea level fields are assimilated in terms of the Kelvin and Rossby modes of the thermocline depth anomaly. An estimation of the error of these modes is derived from the projection of an estimation of the sea level error over such modes. This method gives a value of 12 for the error of the Kelvin amplitude, and 6 m of error for the Rossby component of the thermocline depth. The ability of the method to reconstruct the state of the equatorial Pacific and predict its time evolution is demonstrated. The method is shown to be quite robust for predictions I up to six months, and able to predict the onset of the 1997 warm event fifteen months before its occurrence.

Effect of Atmospheric Organics on Bioavailable Fe Lifetime in the Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Meskhidze, Nicholas; Hurley, David; Royalty, Taylor Michael; Johnson, Matthew S.

2016-01-01

.e., replenishing rates for Fe-bonding ligands from below. This study suggests that in future ocean biogeochemistry models more attention should be devoted to better quantification of the role of atmospheric organic acids in the lifetime of aerosol sol-Fe after its deposition to the ocean and the improvements of upper ocean turbulence parameterizations.

A Coupled Atmospheric and Wave Modeling System for Storm Simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du, Jianting; Larsén, Xiaoli Guo; Bolanos, R.

2015-01-01

to parametrize z0. The results are validated through QuikScat data and point measurements from an open ocean site Ekosk and a coastal, relatively shallow water site Horns Rev. It is found that the modeling system captures in general better strong wind and strong wave characteristics for open ocean condition than......This study aims at improving the simulation of wind and waves during storms in connection with wind turbine design and operations in coastal areas. For this particular purpose, we investigated the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) Modeling System which couples the Weather...... resolution ranging from 25km to 2km. Meanwhile, the atmospheric forcing data of dierent spatial resolution, with one about 100km (FNL) and the other about 38km (CFSR) are both used. In addition, bathymatry data of diferent resolutions (1arc-minute and 30arc-seconds) are used. We used three approaches...

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.

Modeling of radiation transport in coupled atmosphere-snow-ice-ocean systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamnes, K.; Hamre, B.; Stamnes, J.J.; Ryzhikov, G.; Biryulina, M.; Mahoney, R.; Hauss, B.; Sei, A.

2011-01-01

A radiative transfer model for coupled atmosphere-snow-ice-ocean systems (CASIO-DISORT) is used to develop accurate and efficient tools for computing the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of sea ice for a wide range of situations occurring in nature. These tools include a method to generate sea ice inherent optical properties (IOPs: single-scattering albedo, extinction optical depth, and scattering asymmetry parameter) for any wavelength between 300 and 4000 nm as a function of sea ice physical parameters including real and imaginary parts of the sea ice refractive index, brine pocket concentration and effective brine pocket size, air bubble concentration and effective air bubble size, volume fraction of ice impurities and impurity absorption coefficient, and sea ice thickness. The CASIO-DISORT code was used to compute look-up tables (LUTs) of the Fourier expansion coefficients of the BRDF as a function of angles of illumination and observation, sea ice IOPs, and ocean albedo. By interpolation in the LUTs one efficiently obtains accurate BRDF values. To include snow on the ice we modified DISORT2 to accept Fourier expansion coefficients for the BDRF as input instead of the BRDF itself, thereby reducing the computation time by a factor of about 60. The BRDF computed by CASIO-DISORT or retrieved from the LUTs applies to diffuse light only. To remedy this shortcoming we added a specular Gaussian beam component to the new BRDF tool and verified that it works well for BRDFs for bare and snow-covered sea ice.

A bio-optical model suitable for use in forward and inverse coupled atmosphere-ocean radiative transfer models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Kexin; Li Wei; Eide, Hans; Stamnes, Knut

2007-01-01

A simple, yet complete bio-optical model for the inherent optical properties (IOPs) of oceanic waters is developed. This bio-optical model is specifically designed for use in comprehensive, multiple scattering radiative transfer models for the coupled atmosphere-ocean system. Such models can be used to construct next-generation algorithms for simultaneous retrieval of aerosol and marine parameters. The computed remote sensing reflectance R rs (λ) is validated against field measurements of R rs (λ) compiled in the SeaBASS data base together with simultaneous chlorophyll concentrations (C) ranging from 0.03 to 100mgm -3 . This connection between R rs and C is used to construct a chlorophyll concentration retrieval algorithm that yields reliable results for a large range of chlorophyll concentrations. The overall performance of a MODIS/VIIRS chlorophyll concentration retrieval algorithm is found to be less satisfactory

Assessment of the possible future climatic impact of carbon dioxide increases based on a coupled one-dimensional atmospheric-oceanic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, B.G.; Wells, N.C.

1979-01-01

A radiative-convective equilibrium model of the atmosphere has been coupled with a mixed layer model of the ocean to investigate the response of this one-dimensional system to increasing carbon dioxide amounts in the atmosphere. For global mean conditions a surface temperature rise of about 2 0 K was obtained for a doubling of the carbon dioxide amount, in reasonable agreement with the commonly accepted results of Manabe and Wetherald. This temperature rise was essentially invariant with season and indicates that including a shallow (300 m) ocean slab in this problem does not basically alter previous assessments. While the mixed layer depth of the ocean was only very slightly changed by the temperature increase, which extended throughout the depth of the mixed layer, the impact of this increase on the overall behavior of the ocean warrants further study. A calculation was also made of the temporal variation of the sea surface temperature for three possible carbon dioxide growth rates starting from an initial carbon dioxide content of 300 ppm. This indicated that the thermal inertia of the slab ocean provides a time lag of 8 years in the sea surface temperature response compared to a land situation. This is not considered to be of great significance as regards the likely future climatic impact of carbon dioxide increase

Uncertainty in the ocean-atmosphere feedbacks associated with ENSO in the reanalysis products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Arun; Hu, Zeng-Zhen [NCEP/NWS/NOAA, Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States)

2012-08-15

The evolution of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability can be characterized by various ocean-atmosphere feedbacks, for example, the influence of ENSO related sea surface temperature (SST) variability on the low-level wind and surface heat fluxes in the equatorial tropical Pacific, which in turn affects the evolution of the SST. An analysis of these feedbacks requires physically consistent observational data sets. Availability of various reanalysis data sets produced during the last 15 years provides such an opportunity. A consolidated estimate of ocean surface fluxes based on multiple reanalyses also helps understand biases in ENSO predictions and simulations from climate models. In this paper, the intensity and the spatial structure of ocean-atmosphere feedback terms (precipitation, surface wind stress, and ocean surface heat flux) associated with ENSO are evaluated for six different reanalysis products. The analysis provides an estimate for the feedback terms that could be used for model validation studies. The analysis includes the robustness of the estimate across different reanalyses. Results show that one of the ''coupled'' reanalysis among the six investigated is closer to the ensemble mean of the results, suggesting that the coupled data assimilation may have the potential to better capture the overall atmosphere-ocean feedback processes associated with ENSO than the uncoupled ones. (orig.)

Influence of various forcings on global climate in historical times using a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stendel, Martin; Mogensen, Irene A.; Christensen, Jens H.

2006-01-01

The results of a simulation of the climate of the last five centuries with a state-of-the-art coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model are presented. The model has been driven with most relevant forcings, both natural (solar variability, volcanic aerosol) and anthropogenic (greenhouse...... gases, sulphate aerosol, land-use changes). In contrast to previous GCM studies, we have taken into account the latitudinal dependence of volcanic aerosol and the changing land cover for a period covering several centuries. We find a clear signature of large volcanic eruptions in the simulated...

Role of atmosphere-ocean interactions in supermodeling the tropical Pacific climate

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Mao-Lin; Keenlyside, Noel; Bhatt, Bhuwan C.; Duane, Gregory S.

2017-12-01

The supermodel strategy interactively combines several models to outperform the individual models comprising it. A key advantage of the approach is that nonlinear improvements can be achieved, in contrast to the linear weighted combination of individual unconnected models. This property is found in a climate supermodel constructed by coupling two versions of an atmospheric model differing only in their convection scheme to a single ocean model. The ocean model receives a weighted combination of the momentum and heat fluxes. Optimal weights can produce a supermodel with a basic state similar to observations: a single Intertropical Convergence zone (ITCZ), with a western Pacific warm pool and an equatorial cold tongue. This is in stark contrast to the erroneous double ITCZ pattern simulated by both of the two stand-alone coupled models. By varying weights, we develop a conceptual scheme to explain how combining the momentum fluxes of the two different atmospheric models affects equatorial upwelling and surface wind feedback so as to give a realistic basic state in the tropical Pacific. In particular, we propose a mechanism based on the competing influences of equatorial zonal wind and off-equatorial wind stress curl in driving equatorial upwelling in the coupled models. Our results show how nonlinear ocean-atmosphere interaction is essential in combining these two effects to build different sea surface temperature structures, some of which are realistic. They also provide some insight into observed and modelled tropical Pacific climate.

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.)

The mechanism of upper-oceanic vertical motions forced by a moving typhoon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Shin-ichi; Niino, Hiroshi; Kimura, Ryuji

2011-01-01

The upper-oceanic response to a moving typhoon, and the mechanism of the response, are studied based on linear theory and a numerical experiment. The results of the analysis by linear theory are summarized as follows. Three different processes (Ekman pumping, inertial pumping and 'anti-Ekman' pumping) contribute to the upper-oceanic vertical motions caused by a moving atmospheric disturbance. The dominant process depends on the Coriolis parameter f, the moving speed U of the disturbance and the along-track wavenumber spectrum of the wind stress curl. In the case of a typhoon, when the wavenumber spectrum has a dominant amplitude at k< f/U, Ekman pumping is the dominant mechanism and upwelling occurs at the typhoon center, where k is the along-track wavenumber. When the wavenumber spectrum has a significant amplitude near k∼f/U, inertial pumping is dominant and upwelling occurs to the rear of the typhoon center. The results of the numerical experiments show that linear theory performs well in explaining the horizontal structures of the upper-oceanic vertical motions and their dependence on the moving speed of the typhoon.

Longitudinal Biases in the Seychelles Dome Simulated by 34 Ocean-Atmosphere Coupled General Circulation Models

Science.gov (United States)

Nagura, M.; Sasaki, W.; Tozuka, T.; Luo, J.; Behera, S. K.; Yamagata, T.

2012-12-01

The upwelling dome of the southern tropical Indian Ocean is examined by using simulated results from 34 ocean-atmosphere coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) including those from the phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Among the current set of the 34 CGCMs, 12 models erroneously produce the upwelling dome in the eastern half of the basin while the observed Seychelles Dome is located in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean (Figure 1). The annual mean Ekman pumping velocity is almost zero in the southern off-equatorial region in these models. This is in contrast with the observations that show Ekman upwelling as the cause of the Seychelles Dome. In the models that produce the dome in the eastern basin, the easterly biases are prominent along the equator in boreal summer and fall that cause shallow thermocline biases along the Java and Sumatra coasts via Kelvin wave dynamics and result in a spurious upwelling dome there. In addition, these models tend to overestimate (underestimate) the magnitude of annual (semiannual) cycle of thermocline depth variability in the dome region, which is another consequence of the easterly wind biases in boreal summer-fall. Compared to the CMIP3 models (Yokoi et al. 2009), the CMIP5 models are even worse in simulating the dome longitudes and magnitudes of annual and semiannual cycles of thermocline depth variability in the dome region. Considering the increasing need to understand regional impacts of climate modes, these results may give serious caveats to interpretation of model results and help in further model developments.; Figure 1: The longitudes of the shallowest annual-mean D20 in 5°S-12°S. The open and filled circles are for the observations and the CGCMs, respectively.

The Middle Miocene climate as modelled in an atmosphere-ocean-biosphere model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Krapp

2011-11-01

Full Text Available We present simulations with a coupled atmosphere-ocean-biosphere model for the Middle Miocene 15 million years ago. The model is insofar more consistent than previous models because it captures the essential interactions between ocean and atmosphere and between atmosphere and vegetation. The Middle Miocene topography, which alters both large-scale ocean and atmospheric circulations, causes a global warming of 0.7 K compared to present day. Higher than present-day CO₂ levels of 480 and 720 ppm cause a global warming of 2.8 and 4.9 K. The associated water vapour feedback enhances the greenhouse effect which leads to a polar amplification of the warming. These results suggest that higher than present-day CO₂ levels are necessary to drive the warm Middle Miocene climate, also because the dynamic vegetation model simulates a denser vegetation which is in line with fossil records. However, we do not find a flatter than present-day equator-to-pole temperature gradient as has been suggested by marine and terrestrial proxies. Instead, a compensation between atmospheric and ocean heat transport counteracts the flattening of the temperature gradient. The acclaimed role of the large-scale ocean circulation in redistributing heat cannot be supported by our results. Including full ocean dynamics, therefore, does not solve the problem of the flat temperature gradient during the Middle Miocene.

Poleward upgliding Siberian atmospheric rivers over sea ice heat up Arctic upper air.

Science.gov (United States)

Komatsu, Kensuke K; Alexeev, Vladimir A; Repina, Irina A; Tachibana, Yoshihiro

2018-02-13

We carried out upper air measurements with radiosondes during the summer over the Arctic Ocean from an icebreaker moving poleward from an ice-free region, through the ice edge, and into a region of thick ice. Rapid warming of the Arctic is a significant environmental issue that occurs not only at the surface but also throughout the troposphere. In addition to the widely accepted mechanisms responsible for the increase of tropospheric warming during the summer over the Arctic, we showed a new potential contributing process to the increase, based on our direct observations and supporting numerical simulations and statistical analyses using a long-term reanalysis dataset. We refer to this new process as "Siberian Atmospheric Rivers (SARs)". Poleward upglides of SARs over cold air domes overlying sea ice provide the upper atmosphere with extra heat via condensation of water vapour. This heating drives increased buoyancy and further strengthens the ascent and heating of the mid-troposphere. This process requires the combination of SARs and sea ice as a land-ocean-atmosphere system, the implication being that large-scale heat and moisture transport from the lower latitudes can remotely amplify the warming of the Arctic troposphere in the summer.

The Upper Atmosphere; Threshold of Space.

Science.gov (United States)

Bird, John

This booklet contains illustrations of the upper atmosphere, describes some recent discoveries, and suggests future research questions. It contains many color photographs. Sections include: (1) "Where Does Space Begin?"; (2) "Importance of the Upper Atmosphere" (including neutral atmosphere, ionized regions, and balloon and investigations); (3)…

Description and verification of a U.S. Naval Research Lab's loosely coupled data assimilation system for the Navy's Earth System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, N. P.; Metzger, E. J.; Smedstad, O. M.; Ruston, B. C.; Wallcraft, A. J.; Whitcomb, T.; Ridout, J. A.; Zamudio, L.; Posey, P.; Reynolds, C. A.; Richman, J. G.; Phelps, M.

2017-12-01

The Naval Research Laboratory is developing an Earth System Model (NESM) to provide global environmental information to meet Navy and Department of Defense (DoD) operations and planning needs from the upper atmosphere to under the sea. This system consists of a global atmosphere, ocean, ice, wave, and land prediction models and the individual models include: atmosphere - NAVy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM); ocean - HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM); sea ice - Community Ice CodE (CICE); WAVEWATCH III™; and land - NAVGEM Land Surface Model (LSM). Data assimilation is currently loosely coupled between the atmosphere component using a 6-hour update cycle in the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Atmospheric Variational Data Assimilation System - Accelerated Representer (NAVDAS-AR) and the ocean/ice components using a 24-hour update cycle in the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA) with 3 hours of incremental updating. This presentation will describe the US Navy's coupled forecast model, the loosely coupled data assimilation, and compare results against stand-alone atmosphere and ocean/ice models. In particular, we will focus on the unique aspects of this modeling system, which includes an eddy resolving ocean model and challenges associated with different update-windows and solvers for the data assimilation in the atmosphere and ocean. Results will focus on typical operational diagnostics for atmosphere, ocean, and ice analyses including 500 hPa atmospheric height anomalies, low-level winds, temperature/salinity ocean depth profiles, ocean acoustical proxies, sea ice edge, and sea ice drift. Overall, the global coupled system is performing with comparable skill to the stand-alone systems.

Extension of SCIATRAN by coupling atmospheric and oceanic radiative transfer: First results of comparisons for in-situ and satellite data

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Mirjam; Rozanov, Vladimir; Bracher, Astrid; Burrows, John P.

The radiative transfer model SCIATRAN [V. V. Rozanov et al., 2002; A. Rozanov et al., 2005, 2008] has been developed to model atmospheric radiative transfer. This model is mainly applied to improve the analysis of high spectrally resolved satellite data as, for instance, data of the instrument SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CHar-tographY) onboard the ENVISAT satellite. Within the present study, SCIATRAN has been extended by taking radiative processes as well as at the atmosphere-water interface as within the water into account, which were caused by water itself and its constituents. Comparisons of this extended version of SCIATRAN for in-situ data and for MERIS satellite information yield first results, which will be shown. It is expected that the new version of SCIATRAN, including the coupling of atmospheric and oceanic radiative transfer, will widen the use of high spectrally resolved data in the form of achieving new findings, such as information about ocean biooptics and biogeochemistry like, for example, biomass of different phytoplankton groups or CDOM fluorescence. In addition, it is awaited that the new version improves the retrieval of atmospheric trace gases above oceanic waters. References: 1. V. V. Rozanov, M. Buchwitz, K.-U. Eichmann, R. de Beek, and J. P. Burrows. Sciatran -a new radiative transfer model for geophysical applications in the 240-2400nm spectral region: the pseudo-spherical version. Adv. in Space Res. 29, 1831-1835 (2002) 2. A. Rozanov, V. V. Rozanov, M. Buchwitz, A. Kokhanovsky, and J. P. Burrows. SCIA-TRAN 2.0 -A new radiative tranfer model for geophysical applications in the 175-2400nm spectral region. Adv. in Space Res. 36, 1015-1019 (2005) 3. A. Rozanov. SCIATRAN 2.X: Radiative transfer model and retrieval software package. URL = http://www.iup.physik.uni-bremen.de/sciatran (2008)

Upper Ocean Evolution Across the Beaufort Sea Marginal Ice Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, C.; Rainville, L.; Gobat, J. I.; Perry, M. J.; Freitag, L. E.; Webster, S.

2016-12-01

The observed reduction of Arctic summertime sea ice extent and expansion of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) have profound impacts on the balance of processes controlling sea ice evolution, including the introduction of several positive feedback mechanisms that may act to accelerate melting. Examples of such feedbacks include increased upper ocean warming though absorption of solar radiation, elevated internal wave energy and mixing that may entrain heat stored in subsurface watermasses (e.g., the relatively warm Pacific Summer and Atlantic waters), and elevated surface wave energy that acts to deform and fracture sea ice. Spatial and temporal variability in ice properties and open water fraction impact these processes. To investigate how upper ocean structure varies with changing ice cover, how the balance of processes shift as a function of ice fraction and distance from open water, and how these processes impact sea ice evolution, a network of autonomous platforms sampled the atmosphere-ice-ocean system in the Beaufort, beginning in spring, well before the start of melt, and ending with the autumn freeze-up. Four long-endurance autonomous Seagliders occupied sections that extended from open water, through the marginal ice zone, deep into the pack during summer 2014 in the Beaufort Sea. Gliders penetrated up to 200 km into the ice pack, under complete ice cover for up to 10 consecutive days. Sections reveal strong fronts where cold, ice-covered waters meet waters that have been exposed to solar warming, and O(10 km) scale eddies near the ice edge. In the pack, Pacific Summer Water and a deep chlorophyll maximum form distinct layers at roughly 60 m and 80 m, respectively, which become increasingly diffuse late in the season as they progress through the MIZ and into open water. Stratification just above the Pacific Summer Water rapidly weakens near the ice edge and temperature variance increases, likely due to mixing or energetic vertical exchange associated with strong

The role of nutricline depth in regulating the ocean carbon cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Cermeño, Pedro; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie; Harris, Roger P; Follows, Mick; Schofield, Oscar; Falkowski, Paul G

2008-12-23

Carbon uptake by marine phytoplankton, and its export as organic matter to the ocean interior (i.e., the "biological pump"), lowers the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) in the upper ocean and facilitates the diffusive drawdown of atmospheric CO(2). Conversely, precipitation of calcium carbonate by marine planktonic calcifiers such as coccolithophorids increases pCO(2) and promotes its outgassing (i.e., the "alkalinity pump"). Over the past approximately 100 million years, these two carbon fluxes have been modulated by the relative abundance of diatoms and coccolithophores, resulting in biological feedback on atmospheric CO(2) and Earth's climate; yet, the processes determining the relative distribution of these two phytoplankton taxa remain poorly understood. We analyzed phytoplankton community composition in the Atlantic Ocean and show that the distribution of diatoms and coccolithophorids is correlated with the nutricline depth, a proxy of nutrient supply to the upper mixed layer of the ocean. Using this analysis in conjunction with a coupled atmosphere-ocean intermediate complexity model, we predict a dramatic reduction in the nutrient supply to the euphotic layer in the coming century as a result of increased thermal stratification. Our findings indicate that, by altering phytoplankton community composition, this causal relationship may lead to a decreased efficiency of the biological pump in sequestering atmospheric CO(2), implying a positive feedback in the climate system. These results provide a mechanistic basis for understanding the connection between upper ocean dynamics, the calcium carbonate-to-organic C production ratio and atmospheric pCO(2) variations on time scales ranging from seasonal cycles to geological transitions.

Evolution of Earth-like Extrasolar Planetary Atmospheres: Assessing the Atmospheres and Biospheres of Early Earth Analog Planets with a Coupled Atmosphere Biogeochemical Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Gebauer, S; Grenfell, J L; Stock, J W; Lehmann, R; Godolt, M; von Paris, P; Rauer, H

2017-01-01

Understanding the evolution of Earth and potentially habitable Earth-like worlds is essential to fathom our origin in the Universe. The search for Earth-like planets in the habitable zone and investigation of their atmospheres with climate and photochemical models is a central focus in exoplanetary science. Taking the evolution of Earth as a reference for Earth-like planets, a central scientific goal is to understand what the interactions were between atmosphere, geology, and biology on early Earth. The Great Oxidation Event in Earth's history was certainly caused by their interplay, but the origin and controlling processes of this occurrence are not well understood, the study of which will require interdisciplinary, coupled models. In this work, we present results from our newly developed Coupled Atmosphere Biogeochemistry model in which atmospheric O 2 concentrations are fixed to values inferred by geological evidence. Applying a unique tool (Pathway Analysis Program), ours is the first quantitative analysis of catalytic cycles that governed O 2 in early Earth's atmosphere near the Great Oxidation Event. Complicated oxidation pathways play a key role in destroying O 2 , whereas in the upper atmosphere, most O 2 is formed abiotically via CO 2 photolysis. The O 2 bistability found by Goldblatt et al. ( 2006 ) is not observed in our calculations likely due to our detailed CH 4 oxidation scheme. We calculate increased CH 4 with increasing O 2 during the Great Oxidation Event. For a given atmospheric surface flux, different atmospheric states are possible; however, the net primary productivity of the biosphere that produces O 2 is unique. Mixing, CH 4 fluxes, ocean solubility, and mantle/crust properties strongly affect net primary productivity and surface O 2 fluxes. Regarding exoplanets, different "states" of O 2 could exist for similar biomass output. Strong geological activity could lead to false negatives for life (since our analysis suggests that reducing gases

Models for changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, ocean geochemistry and circulation during the late Pleistocene

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A.; SenGupta, R.

in oceanic alkalinity (and hence a decrease in atmospheric CO@d2@@) due to CaCO@d3@@ compensation. A likely mechanism for this rearrangement could be an orbital-forced insolation related increase in biological production in the Southern Ocean. This, coupled...

The electrical conductivity of the upper mantle and lithosphere from the magnetic signal due to ocean tidal flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schnepf, Neesha Regmi; Kuvshinov, Alexey; Grayver, Alexander

galvanically with Earth’s lithosphere (i.e. by direct coupling of the source currents in the ocean with the underlying substrate), enabling conductivity estimations at shallower depths. Here we present the results of determining a 1-D conductivity-depth profile of oceanic lithosphere and upper mantle using...

Upper atmosphere research at INPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clemesha, B.R.

1984-01-01

Upper atmosphere research at INPE is mainly concerned with the chemistry and dynamics of the stratosphere, upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, and the middle thermosphere. Experimental work includes lidar observations of the stratospheric aerosol, measurements of stratospheric ozone by Dobson spectrophotometers and by balloon and rocket-borne sondes, lidar measurements of atmospheric sodium, and photometric observations of O, O 2 , OH and Na emissions, including interferrometric measurements of the OI6300 emission for the purpose of determing thermospheric winds and temperature. The airglow observations also include measurements of a number of emissions produced by the precipitation of energetic neutral particles generated by charge exchange in the ring current. Some recent results of INPE's upper atmosphere program are presented. (Author) [pt

The atmosphere and ocean: A physical introduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, N.

1986-01-01

The book's contents are: The Earth within the solar system. Composition and physical properties of the ocean and atmosphere. Radiation, temperature and stability. Water in the atmosphere. Global budgets of heat, water and salt. Observations of winds and currents. The influence of the Earth's rotation on fluid motion. Waves and tides. Energy transfer in the ocean-atmosphere system. Climate variability and predictability. The atmosphere and ocean are two different environmental systems, yet both are interdependent, interacting and exchanging energy, heat and matter. This book attempts to bring the study of the atmosphere and ocean together. It is a descriptive account of physical properties, exploring their common bases, similarities, interactions and fundamental differences

Simulation of global oceanic upper layers forced at the surface by an optimal bulk formulation derived from multi-campaign measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Garric, G.; Pirani, A.; Belamari, S.; Caniaux, G.

2006-12-01

order to improve the air/sea interface for the future MERCATOR global ocean operational system, we have implemented the new bulk formulation developed by METEO-FRANCE (French Meteo office) in the MERCATOR 2 degree global ocean-ice coupled model (ORCA2/LIM). A single bulk formulation for the drag, temperature and moisture exchange coefficients is derived from an extended consistent database gathering 10 years of measurements issued from five experiments dedicated to air-sea fluxes estimates (SEMAPHORE, CATCH, FETCH, EQUALANT99 and POMME) in various oceanic basins (from Northern to equatorial Atlantic). The available database (ALBATROS) cover the widest range of atmospheric and oceanic conditions, from very light (0.3 m/s) to very strong (up to 29 m/s) wind speeds, and from unstable to extremely stable atmospheric boundary layer stratification. We have defined a work strategy to test this new formulation in a global oceanic context, by using this multi- campaign bulk formulation to derive air-sea fluxes from base meteorological variables produces by the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium Range and Weather Forecast) atmospheric forecast model, in order to get surface boundary conditions for ORCA2/LIM. The simulated oceanic upper layers forced at the surface by the previous air/sea interface are compared to those forced by the optimal bulk formulation. Consecutively with generally weaker transfer coefficient, the latter formulation reduces the cold bias in the equatorial Pacific and increases the too weak summer sea ice extent in Antarctica. Compared to a recent mixed layer depth (MLD) climatology, the optimal bulk formulation reduces also the too deep simulated MLDs. Comparison with in situ temperature and salinity profiles in different areas allowed us to evaluate the impact of changing the air/sea interface in the vertical structure.

Decadal atmosphere-ocean variations in the Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Trenberth, Kevin E.; Hurrell, James W.

1994-03-01

Considerable evidence has emerged of a substantial decade-long change in the north Pacific atmosphere and ocean lasting from about 1976 to 1988. Observed significant changes in the atmospheric circulation throughout the troposphere revealed a deeper and eastward shifted Aleutian low pressure system in the winter half year which advected warmer and moister air along the west coast of North America and into Alaska and colder air over the north Pacific. Consequently, there were increases in temperatures and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) along the west coast of North America and Alaska but decreases in SSTs over the central north Pacific, as well as changes in coastal rainfall and streamflow, and decreases in sea ice in the Bering Sea. Associated changes occurred in the surface wind stress, and, by inference, in the Sverdrup transport in the north Pacific Ocean. Changes in the monthly mean flow were accompanied by a southward shift in the storm tracks and associated synoptic eddy activity and in the surface ocean sensible and latent heat fluxes. In addition to the changes in the physical environment, the deeper Aleutian low increased the nutrient supply as seen through increases in total chlorophyll in the water column, phytoplankton and zooplankton. These changes, along with the altered ocean currents and temperatures, changed the migration patterns and increased the stock of many fish species. A north Pacific (NP) index is defined to measure the decadal variations, and the temporal variability of the index is explored on daily, annual, interannual and decadal time scales. The dominant atmosphere-ocean relation in the north Pacific is one where atmospheric changes lead SSTs by one to two months. However, strong ties are revealed with events in the tropical Pacific, with changes in tropical Pacific SSTs leading SSTs in the north Pacific by three months. Changes in the storm tracks in the north Pacific help to reinforce and maintain the anomalous circulation in the

Interactions of the tropical oceans. Rev.ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latif, M.; Barnett, T.P.

1994-01-01

We have investigated the interactions of the tropical oceans on interannual time scales by conducting a series of uncoupled atmospheric and oceanic general circulation experiments and hybrid coupled model simulations. Our results illustrate the key role of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in generating interannual variability in all three tropical ocean basins. Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Pacific force via a changed atmospheric circulation SST anomalies of the same sign in the Indian Ocean and SST anomalies of the opposite sign in the Atlantic. However, although air-sea interactions in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans are much weaker than those in the Pacific, they contribute significantly to the variability in these two regions. The role of these air-sea interactions is mainly that of an amplifyer by which the ENSO induced signals are enhanced in ocean and atmosphere. This process is particularly important in the tropical Atlantic region. We investigated also whether ENSO is part of a zonally propagating ''wave'' which travels around the globe with a time scale of several years. Consistent with observations, the upper ocean heat content in the various numerical simulations seems to propagate slowly around the globe. SST anomalies in the Pacific Ocean introduce a global atmospheric response which in turn forces variations in the other tropical oceans. Since the different oceans exhibit different response characteristics to low-frequency wind changes, the individual tropical ocean responses can add up coincidentally to look like a global wave, and that appears to be the situation. In particular, no evidence is found that the Indian Ocean can significantly affect the ENSO cycle in the Pacific. Finally, the potential for climate forecasts in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans appears to be enhanced if one includes, in a coupled way, remote influences from the Pacific. (orig.)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Southern hemisphere ocean CO2 uptake: reconciling atmospheric and oceanic estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, T.; Matear, R.; Rayner, P.; Francey, R.

2003-01-01

Using an atmospheric inversion model we investigate the southern hemisphere ocean CO 2 uptake. From sensitivity studies that varied both the initial ocean flux distribution and the atmospheric data used in the inversion, our inversion predicted a total (ocean and land) uptake of 1.65-1.90 Gt C/yr. We assess the consistency between the mean southern hemisphere ocean uptake predicted by an atmospheric inversion model for the 1991-1997 period and the T99 ocean flux estimate based on observed pCO 2 in Takahashi et al. (2002; Deep-Sea Res II, 49, 1601-1622). The inversion can not match the large 1.8 Gt C/yr southern extratropical (20-90 deg S) uptake of the T99 ocean flux estimate without producing either unreasonable land fluxes in the southern mid-latitudes or by increasing the mismatches between observed and simulated atmospheric CO 2 data. The southern extratropical uptake is redistributed between the mid and high latitudes. Our results suggest that the T99 estimate of the Southern Ocean uptake south of 50 deg S is too large, and that the discrepancy reflects the inadequate representation of wintertime conditions in the T99 estimate

76 FR 65183 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-20

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climate Assessment... Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC). ACTION: Notice of open..., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [FR Doc. 2011-27113 Filed 10-19-11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE...

Hydrodynamics of oceans and atmospheres

CERN Document Server

Eckart, Carl

1960-01-01

Hydrodynamics of Oceans and Atmospheres is a systematic account of the hydrodynamics of oceans and atmospheres. Topics covered range from the thermodynamic functions of an ideal gas and the thermodynamic coefficients for water to steady motions, the isothermal atmosphere, the thermocline, and the thermosphere. Perturbation equations, field equations, residual equations, and a general theory of rays are also presented. This book is comprised of 17 chapters and begins with an introduction to the basic equations and their solutions, with the aim of illustrating the laws of dynamics. The nonlinear

Coupled model of INM-IO global ocean model, CICE sea ice model and SCM OIAS framework

Science.gov (United States)

Bayburin, Ruslan; Rashit, Ibrayev; Konstantin, Ushakov; Vladimir, Kalmykov; Gleb, Dyakonov

2015-04-01

Status of coupled Arctic model of ocean and sea ice is presented. Model consists of INM IO global ocean component of high resolution, Los Alamos National Laboratory CICE sea ice model and a framework SCM OIAS for the ocean-ice-atmosphere-land coupled modeling on massively-parallel architectures. Model is currently under development at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics (INM), Hydrometeorological Center (HMC) and P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (IO). Model is aimed at modeling of intra-annual variability of hydrodynamics in Arctic and. The computational characteristics of the world ocean-sea ice coupled model governed by SCM OIAS are presented. The model is parallelized using MPI technologies and currently can use efficiently up to 5000 cores. Details of programming implementation, computational configuration and physical phenomena parametrization are analyzed in terms of intercoupling complex. Results of five year computational experiment of sea ice, snow and ocean state evolution in Arctic region on tripole grid with horizontal resolution of 3-5 kilometers, closed by atmospheric forcing field from repeating "normal" annual course taken from CORE1 experiment data base are presented and analyzed in terms of the state of vorticity and warm Atlantic water expansion.

Large-Scale Atmosphere-Ocean Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-05-01

atmosphere (INT. -r, i 0) InEkman layer off the coast of Peru eastward) and meridional (y, positive north- the latter case. T, which was assumcd uniform...influence of teleconnectivity of the atmosphere is strongest for diabetic forcing located near the equatorial central Pacific, but much reduced i for ocinp...the monsoon diabetic heat sources during the latter half of the year (July- February, denoted by atching numerals). The extent of the diabetic beat

Impact of Langmuir Turbulence on Upper Ocean Response to Hurricane Edouard: Model and Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, A.; Ginis, I.; Hara, T.; Ulhorn, E.

2017-12-01

Tropical cyclone intensity is strongly affected by the air-sea heat flux beneath the storm. When strong storm winds enhance upper ocean turbulent mixing and entrainment of colder water from below the thermocline, the resulting sea surface temperature cooling may reduce the heat flux to the storm and weaken the storm. Recent studies suggest that this upper ocean turbulence is strongly affected by different sea states (Langmuir turbulence), which are highly complex and variable in tropical cyclone conditions. In this study, the upper ocean response under Hurricane Edouard (2014) is investigated using a coupled ocean-wave model with and without an explicit sea state dependent Langmuir turbulence parameterization. The results are compared with in situ observations of sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth from AXBTs, as well as satellite sea surface temperature observations. Overall, the model results of mixed layer deepening and sea surface temperature cooling under and behind the storm are consistent with observations. The model results show that the effects of sea state dependent Langmuir turbulence can be significant, particularly on the mixed layer depth evolution. Although available observations are not sufficient to confirm such effects, some observed trends suggest that the sea state dependent parameterization might be more accurate than the traditional (sea state independent) parameterization.

Oceanic sources of predictability for MJO propagation across the Maritime Continent in a subset of S2S forecast models

Science.gov (United States)

DeMott, C. A.; Klingaman, N. P.

2017-12-01

Skillful prediction of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) passage across the Maritime Continent (MC) has important implications for global forecasts of high-impact weather events, such as atmospheric rivers and heat waves. The North American teleconnection response to the MJO is strongest when MJO convection is located in the western Pacific Ocean, but many climate and forecast models are deficient in their simulation of MC-crossing MJO events. Compared to atmosphere-only general circulation models (AGCMs), MJO simulation skill generally improves with the addition of ocean feedbacks in coupled GCMs (CGCMs). Using observations, previous studies have noted that the degree of ocean coupling may vary considerably from one MJO event to the next. The coupling mechanisms may be linked to the presence of ocean Equatorial Rossby waves, the sign and amplitude of Equatorial surface currents, and the upper ocean temperature and salinity profiles. In this study, we assess the role of ocean feedbacks to MJO prediction skill using a subset of CGCMs participating in the Subseasonal-to-Seasonal (S2S) Project database. Oceanic observational and reanalysis datasets are used to characterize the upper ocean background state for observed MJO events that do and do not propagate beyond the MC. The ability of forecast models to capture the oceanic influence on the MJO is first assessed by quantifying SST forecast skill. Next, a set of previously developed air-sea interaction diagnostics is applied to model output to measure the role of SST perturbations on the forecast MJO. The "SST effect" in forecast MJO events is compared to that obtained from reanalysis data. Leveraging all ensemble members of a given forecast helps disentangle oceanic model biases from atmospheric model biases, both of which can influence the expression of ocean feedbacks in coupled forecast systems. Results of this study will help identify areas of needed model improvement for improved MJO forecasts.

Swell impact on wind stress and atmospheric mixing in a regional coupled atmosphere-wave model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Lichuan; Rutgersson, Anna; Sahlée, Erik

2016-01-01

Over the ocean, the atmospheric turbulence can be significantly affected by swell waves. Change in the atmospheric turbulence affects the wind stress and atmospheric mixing over swell waves. In this study, the influence of swell on atmospheric mixing and wind stress is introduced into an atmosphere-wave-coupled...... regional climate model, separately and combined. The swell influence on atmospheric mixing is introduced into the atmospheric mixing length formula by adding a swell-induced contribution to the mixing. The swell influence on the wind stress under wind-following swell, moderate-range wind, and near......-neutral and unstable stratification conditions is introduced by changing the roughness length. Five year simulation results indicate that adding the swell influence on atmospheric mixing has limited influence, only slightly increasing the near-surface wind speed; in contrast, adding the swell influence on wind stress...

Ocean eddies and climate predictability.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirtman, Ben P; Perlin, Natalie; Siqueira, Leo

2017-12-01

A suite of coupled climate model simulations and experiments are used to examine how resolved mesoscale ocean features affect aspects of climate variability, air-sea interactions, and predictability. In combination with control simulations, experiments with the interactive ensemble coupling strategy are used to further amplify the role of the oceanic mesoscale field and the associated air-sea feedbacks and predictability. The basic intent of the interactive ensemble coupling strategy is to reduce the atmospheric noise at the air-sea interface, allowing an assessment of how noise affects the variability, and in this case, it is also used to diagnose predictability from the perspective of signal-to-noise ratios. The climate variability is assessed from the perspective of sea surface temperature (SST) variance ratios, and it is shown that, unsurprisingly, mesoscale variability significantly increases SST variance. Perhaps surprising is the fact that the presence of mesoscale ocean features even further enhances the SST variance in the interactive ensemble simulation beyond what would be expected from simple linear arguments. Changes in the air-sea coupling between simulations are assessed using pointwise convective rainfall-SST and convective rainfall-SST tendency correlations and again emphasize how the oceanic mesoscale alters the local association between convective rainfall and SST. Understanding the possible relationships between the SST-forced signal and the weather noise is critically important in climate predictability. We use the interactive ensemble simulations to diagnose this relationship, and we find that the presence of mesoscale ocean features significantly enhances this link particularly in ocean eddy rich regions. Finally, we use signal-to-noise ratios to show that the ocean mesoscale activity increases model estimated predictability in terms of convective precipitation and atmospheric upper tropospheric circulation.

Evaluation of Oceanic Surface Observation for Reproducing the Upper Ocean Structure in ECHAM5/MPI-OM

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Hao; Zheng, Fei; Zhu, Jiang

2017-12-01

Better constraints of initial conditions from data assimilation are necessary for climate simulations and predictions, and they are particularly important for the ocean due to its long climate memory; as such, ocean data assimilation (ODA) is regarded as an effective tool for seasonal to decadal predictions. In this work, an ODA system is established for a coupled climate model (ECHAM5/MPI-OM), which can assimilate all available oceanic observations using an ensemble optimal interpolation approach. To validate and isolate the performance of different surface observations in reproducing air-sea climate variations in the model, a set of observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) was performed over 150 model years. Generally, assimilating sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and sea surface height (SSH) can reasonably reproduce the climate variability and vertical structure of the upper ocean, and assimilating SSH achieves the best results compared to the true states. For the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), assimilating different surface observations captures true aspects of ENSO well, but assimilating SSH can further enhance the accuracy of ENSO-related feedback processes in the coupled model, leading to a more reasonable ENSO evolution and air-sea interaction over the tropical Pacific. For ocean heat content, there are still limitations in reproducing the long time-scale variability in the North Atlantic, even if SSH has been taken into consideration. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of assimilating surface observations in capturing the interannual signal and, to some extent, the decadal signal but still highlight the necessity of assimilating profile data to reproduce specific decadal variability.

Turbidity, SOLAR RADIATION - ATMOSPHERIC and other data from XIANG YANG HONG 05 and SHI YAN 3 in the Philippine Sea, Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1991-11-01 to 1993-11-30 (NODC Accession 9400186)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected as part of the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment. Data were collected from Ships...

Radiative transfer modeling through terrestrial atmosphere and ocean accounting for inelastic processes: Software package SCIATRAN

Science.gov (United States)

Rozanov, V. V.; Dinter, T.; Rozanov, A. V.; Wolanin, A.; Bracher, A.; Burrows, J. P.

2017-06-01

SCIATRAN is a comprehensive software package which is designed to model radiative transfer processes in the terrestrial atmosphere and ocean in the spectral range from the ultraviolet to the thermal infrared (0.18-40 μm). It accounts for multiple scattering processes, polarization, thermal emission and ocean-atmosphere coupling. The main goal of this paper is to present a recently developed version of SCIATRAN which takes into account accurately inelastic radiative processes in both the atmosphere and the ocean. In the scalar version of the coupled ocean-atmosphere radiative transfer solver presented by Rozanov et al. [61] we have implemented the simulation of the rotational Raman scattering, vibrational Raman scattering, chlorophyll and colored dissolved organic matter fluorescence. In this paper we discuss and explain the numerical methods used in SCIATRAN to solve the scalar radiative transfer equation including trans-spectral processes, and demonstrate how some selected radiative transfer problems are solved using the SCIATRAN package. In addition we present selected comparisons of SCIATRAN simulations with those published benchmark results, independent radiative transfer models, and various measurements from satellite, ground-based, and ship-borne instruments. The extended SCIATRAN software package along with a detailed User's Guide is made available for scientists and students, who are undertaking their own research typically at universities, via the web page of the Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen: http://www.iup.physik.uni-bremen.de.

Atmospheric and Oceanic Response to Southern Ocean Deep Convection Oscillations on Decadal to Centennial Time Scales in Climate Models

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, T.; Reintges, A.; Park, W.; Latif, M.

2014-12-01

Many current coupled global climate models simulate open ocean deep convection in the Southern Ocean as a recurring event with time scales ranging from a few years to centennial (de Lavergne et al., 2014, Nat. Clim. Ch.). The only observation of such event, however, was the occurrence of the Weddell Polynya in the mid-1970s, an open water area of 350 000 km2 within the Antarctic sea ice in three consecutive winters. Both the wide range of modeled frequency of occurrence and the absence of deep convection in the Weddell Sea highlights the lack of understanding concerning the phenomenon. Nevertheless, simulations indicate that atmospheric and oceanic responses to the cessation of deep convection in the Southern Ocean include a strengthening of the low-level atmospheric circulation over the Southern Ocean (increasing SAM index) and a reduction in the export of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), potentially masking the regional effects of global warming (Latif et al., 2013, J. Clim.; Martin et al., 2014, Deep Sea Res. II). It is thus of great importance to enhance our understanding of Southern Ocean deep convection and clarify the associated time scales. In two multi-millennial simulations with the Kiel Climate Model (KCM, ECHAM5 T31 atmosphere & NEMO-LIM2 ~2˚ ocean) we showed that the deep convection is driven by strong oceanic warming at mid-depth periodically overriding the stabilizing effects of precipitation and ice melt (Martin et al., 2013, Clim. Dyn.). Sea ice thickness also affects location and duration of the deep convection. A new control simulation, in which, amongst others, the atmosphere grid resolution is changed to T42 (~2.8˚), yields a faster deep convection flip-flop with a period of 80-100 years and a weaker but still significant global climate response similar to CMIP5 simulations. While model physics seem to affect the time scale and intensity of the phenomenon, the driving mechanism is a rather robust feature. Finally, we compare the atmospheric and

The heat and moisture budgets of the atmosphere over central equatorial Indian Ocean during summer monsoon

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sadhuram, Y.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.; RameshBabu, V.; Sastry, J.S.

The heat and moisture budgets of the atmosphere (surface to 100 mb) over the central equatorial Indian Ocean (2 degrees N to 2 degrees S; 76 degrees E to 80 degrees E) have been investigated utilising the surface and upper air data collected...

Comparative Analysis of Upper Ocean Heat Content Variability from Ensemble Operational Ocean Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Yan; Balmaseda, Magdalena A.; Boyer, Tim; Ferry, Nicolas; Good, Simon; Ishikawa, Ichiro; Rienecker, Michele; Rosati, Tony; Yin, Yonghong; Kumar, Arun

2012-01-01

Upper ocean heat content (HC) is one of the key indicators of climate variability on many time-scales extending from seasonal to interannual to long-term climate trends. For example, HC in the tropical Pacific provides information on thermocline anomalies that is critical for the longlead forecast skill of ENSO. Since HC variability is also associated with SST variability, a better understanding and monitoring of HC variability can help us understand and forecast SST variability associated with ENSO and other modes such as Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). An accurate ocean initialization of HC anomalies in coupled climate models could also contribute to skill in decadal climate prediction. Errors, and/or uncertainties, in the estimation of HC variability can be affected by many factors including uncertainties in surface forcings, ocean model biases, and deficiencies in data assimilation schemes. Changes in observing systems can also leave an imprint on the estimated variability. The availability of multiple operational ocean analyses (ORA) that are routinely produced by operational and research centers around the world provides an opportunity to assess uncertainties in HC analyses, to help identify gaps in observing systems as they impact the quality of ORAs and therefore climate model forecasts. A comparison of ORAs also gives an opportunity to identify deficiencies in data assimilation schemes, and can be used as a basis for development of real-time multi-model ensemble HC monitoring products. The OceanObs09 Conference called for an intercomparison of ORAs and use of ORAs for global ocean monitoring. As a follow up, we intercompared HC variations from ten ORAs -- two objective analyses based on in-situ data only and eight model analyses based on ocean data assimilation systems. The mean, annual cycle, interannual variability and longterm trend of HC have

Collaborative project. Ocean-atmosphere interaction from meso-to planetary-scale. Mechanisms, parameterization, and variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Small, Richard [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Bryan, Frank [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Tribbia, Joseph [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Park, Sungsu [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Dennis, John [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Saravanan, R. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Schneider, Niklas [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Kwon, Young-Oh [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

2015-06-11

This project aims to improve long term global climate simulations by resolving ocean mesoscale activity and the corresponding response in the atmosphere. The main computational objectives are; i) to perform and assess Community Earth System Model (CESM) simulations with the new Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) spectral element dynamical core; ii) use static mesh refinement to focus on oceanic fronts; iii) develop a new Earth System Modeling tool to investigate the atmospheric response to fronts by selectively filtering surface flux fields in the CESM coupler. The climate research objectives are 1) to improve the coupling of ocean fronts and the atmospheric boundary layer via investigations of dependency on model resolution and stability functions: 2) to understand and simulate the ensuing tropospheric response that has recently been documented in observations: and 3) to investigate the relationship of ocean frontal variability to low frequency climate variability and the accompanying storm tracks and extremes in high resolution simulations. This is a collaborative multi-institution project consisting of computational scientists, climate scientists and climate model developers. It specifically aims at DOE objectives of advancing simulation and predictive capability of climate models through improvements in resolution and physical process representation.

The atmospheric wet pool: definition and comparison with the oceanic warm pool

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Caiyun; CHEN Ge

2008-01-01

The oceanic warm pool (OWP) defined by sea surface temperature (SST) is known as the "heat reservoir" in the ocean. The warmest portion in the ocean mirrors the fact that the wettest region with the largest accumulation of water vapor (WV) in the atmosphere, termed atmospheric wet pool (AWP), should be identified because of the well-known Clausius-Clapeyron relationship between SST and WV. In this study, we used 14-year simultaneous observations of WV and SST from January 1988 to December 2001 to define the AWP and investigate its coupling and co-variations with the OWP. The joint examination of the area variations, centroid locations, and zonal migrations of the AWP and OWP lead to a number of interesting findings. The results hopefully can contribute to our understanding of the air-sea interaction in general and characterization of El Nifio/La Nina events in particular.

Simulations of future climate with a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stendel, M.; Schmith, T.; Hesselbjerg Christensen, J.

2001-01-01

A coupled atmosphere/ocean general circulation model to study the time-dependent climate response to changing concentrations of greenhouse gases, chlorofluorocarbons and aerosols according to the new IPCC SRES scenarios A2 and B2 has been used. The results of these experiments are compared to an unforced 300-year control experiment. The changes in the last three decades of the scenario simulations (2071-2100) are furthermore compared to the simulation of present-day climate (1961-1990). In accordance with previous experiments we find that greenhouse warming is reduced when aerosol effects are considered. Sulfur emissions, however, are lower than in the IS92a scenario. Consequently, the greenhouse warming effect, which leads to a bigger temperature increase than in the GSDIO experiment can outweigh the aerosol cooling effect. The result shows that there still are serious difficulties and uncertainties in this type of model simulation. Those are partially due to oversimplifications in the model, concerning the radiative properties of aerosols in particular, and therefore the indirect aerosol effect. Another inherent problem, however, is the uncertainty in the scenarios themselves. This is the case for short-lived substances with an inhomogeneous spatial and temporal distribution, such as aerosols. Therefore, on a decadal horizon, changes in the emissions of those substance can exert a significant effect on anthropogenic climate change. (LN)

Monte Carlo climate change forecasts with a global coupled ocean-atmosphere model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cubasch, U.; Santer, B.D.; Hegerl, G.; Hoeck, H.; Maier-Reimer, E.; Mikolajwicz, U.; Stoessel, A.; Voss, R.

1992-01-01

The Monte Carlo approach, which has increasingly been used during the last decade in the field of extended range weather forecasting, has been applied for climate change experiments. Four integrations with a global coupled ocean-atmosphere model have been started from different initial conditions, but with the same greenhouse gas forcing according to the IPCC scenario A. All experiments have been run for a period of 50 years. The results indicate that the time evolution of the global mean warming depends strongly on the initial state of the climate system. It can vary between 6 and 31 years. The Monte Carlo approach delivers information about both the mean response and the statistical significance of the response. While the individual members of the ensemble show a considerable variation in the climate change pattern of temperature after 50 years, the ensemble mean climate change pattern closely resembles the pattern obtained in a 100 year integration and is, at least over most of the land areas, statistically significant. The ensemble averaged sea-level change due to thermal expansion is significant in the global mean and locally over wide regions of the Pacific. The hydrological cycle is also significantly enhanced in the global mean, but locally the changes in precipitation and soil moisture are masked by the variability of the experiments. (orig.)

Multi-Decadal Oscillations of the Ocean Active Upper-Layer Heat Content

Science.gov (United States)

Byshev, Vladimir I.; Neiman, Victor G.; Anisimov, Mikhail V.; Gusev, Anatoly V.; Serykh, Ilya V.; Sidorova, Alexandra N.; Figurkin, Alexander L.; Anisimov, Ivan M.

2017-07-01

Spatial patterns in multi-decadal variability in upper ocean heat content for the last 60 years are examined using a numerical model developed at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of Russia (INM Model) and sea water temperature-salinity data from the World Ocean Database (in: Levitus, NOAA Atlas NESDIS 66, U.S. Wash.: Gov. Printing Office, 2009). Both the model and the observational data show that the heat content of the Active Upper Layer (AUL) in particular regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans have experienced prominent simultaneous variations on multi-decadal (25-35 years) time scales. These variations are compared earlier revealed climatic alternations in the Northern Atlantic region during the last century (Byshev et al. in Doklady Earth Sci 438(2):887-892, 2011). We found that from the middle of 1970s to the end of 1990s the AUL heat content decreased in several oceanic regions, while the mean surface temperature increased on Northern Hemisphere continents according to IPCC (in: Stocker et al. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013). This means that the climate-forcing effect of the ocean-atmosphere interaction in certain energy-active areas determines not only local climatic processes, but also have an influence on global-scale climate phenomena. Here we show that specific regional features of the AUL thermal structure are in a good agreement with climatic conditions on the adjacent continents. Further, the ocean AUL in the five distinctive regions identified in our study have resumed warming in the first decade of this century. By analogy inference from previous climate scenarios, this may signal the onset of more continental climate over mainlands.

Evaluation of a present-day climate simulation with a new coupled atmosphere-ocean model GENMOM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. R. Alder

2011-02-01

Full Text Available We present a new, non-flux corrected AOGCM, GENMOM, that combines the GENESIS version 3 atmospheric GCM (Global Environmental and Ecological Simulation of Interactive Systems and MOM2 (Modular Ocean Model version 2 nominally at T31 resolution. We evaluate GENMOM by comparison with reanalysis products (e.g., NCEP2 and three models used in the IPCC AR4 assessment. GENMOM produces a global temperature bias of 0.6 °C. Atmospheric features such as the jet stream structure and major semi-permanent sea level pressure centers are well simulated as is the mean planetary-scale wind structure that is needed to produce the correct position of stormtracks. Most ocean surface currents are reproduced except where they are not resolvable at T31 resolution. Overall, GENMOM captures reasonably well the observed gradients and spatial distributions of annual surface temperature and precipitation and the simulations are on par with other AOGCMs. Deficiencies in the GENMOM simulations include a warm bias in the surface temperature over the southern oceans, a split in the ITCZ and weaker-than-observed overturning circulation.

Tropical teleconnections via the ocean and atmosphere induced by Southern Ocean deep convective events

Science.gov (United States)

Marinov, I.; Cabre, A.; Gunn, A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2016-12-01

The current generation (CMIP5) of Earth System Models (ESMs) shows a huge variability in their ability to represent Southern Ocean (SO) deep-ocean convection and Antarctic Bottom Water, with a preference for open-sea convection in the Weddell and Ross gyres. A long control simulation in a coarse 3o resolution ESM (the GFDL CM2Mc model) shows a highly regular multi-decadal oscillation between periods of SO open sea convection and non-convective periods. This process also happens naturally, with different frequencies and durations of convection across most CMIP5 models under preindustrial forcing (deLavergne et al, 2014). Here we assess the impact of SO deep convection and resulting sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the tropical atmosphere and ocean via teleconnections, with a focus on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We combine analysis of our low-resolution coupled model with inter-model analysis across historical CMIP5 simulations. SST cooling south of 60S during non-convective decades triggers a stronger, northward shifted SH Hadley cell, which results in intensified northward cross-equatorial moist heat transport and a poleward shift in the ITCZ. Resulting correlations between the cross-equatorial atmospheric heat transport and ITCZ location are in good agreement with recent theories (e.g. Frierson et al. 2013; Donohoe et al. 2014). Lagged correlations between a SO convective index and cross-equatorial heat transports (in the atmosphere and ocean), as well as various tropical (and ENSO) climate indices are analyzed. In the ocean realm, we find that non-convective decades result in weaker AABW formation and weaker ACC but stronger Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) formation, likely as a result of stronger SO westerlies (more positive SAM). The signals of AABW and AAIW are seen in the tropics on short timescales of years to decades in the temperature, heat storage and heat transport anomalies and also in deep and intermediate ocean oxygen. Most

LIGHT SCATTERING FROM EXOPLANET OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zugger, M. E.; Kane, T. J.; Kasting, J. F.; Williams, D. M.; Philbrick, C. R.

2010-01-01

Orbital variation in reflected starlight from exoplanets could eventually be used to detect surface oceans. Exoplanets with rough surfaces, or dominated by atmospheric Rayleigh scattering, should reach peak brightness in full phase, orbital longitude (OL) = 180 0 , whereas ocean planets with transparent atmospheres should reach peak brightness in crescent phase near OL = 30 0 . Application of Fresnel theory to a planet with no atmosphere covered by a calm ocean predicts a peak polarization fraction of 1 at OL = 74 0 ; however, our model shows that clouds, wind-driven waves, aerosols, absorption, and Rayleigh scattering in the atmosphere and within the water column dilute the polarization fraction and shift the peak to other OLs. Observing at longer wavelengths reduces the obfuscation of the water polarization signature by Rayleigh scattering but does not mitigate the other effects. Planets with thick Rayleigh scattering atmospheres reach peak polarization near OL = 90 0 , but clouds and Lambertian surface scattering dilute and shift this peak to smaller OL. A shifted Rayleigh peak might be mistaken for a water signature unless data from multiple wavelength bands are available. Our calculations suggest that polarization alone may not positively identify the presence of an ocean under an Earth-like atmosphere; however, polarization adds another dimension which can be used, in combination with unpolarized orbital light curves and contrast ratios, to detect extrasolar oceans, atmospheric water aerosols, and water clouds. Additionally, the presence and direction of the polarization vector could be used to determine planet association with the star, and constrain orbit inclination.

Atmosphere-Ocean Variations in the Indo-Pacific Sector during ENSO Episodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Ngar-Cheung; Nath, Mary Jo

2003-01-01

The influences of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on air-sea interaction in the Indian-western Pacific (IWP) Oceans have been investigated using a general circulation model. Observed monthly sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the deep tropical eastern/central Pacific (DTEP) have been inserted in the lower boundary of this model through the 1950-99 period. At all maritime grid points outside of DTEP, the model atmosphere has been coupled with an oceanic mixed layer model with variable depth. Altogether 16 independent model runs have been conducted.Composite analysis of selected ENSO episodes illustrates that the prescribed SST anomalies in DTEP affect the surface atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns in IWP through displacements of the near-equatorial Walker circulation and generation of Rossby wave modes in the subtropics. Such atmospheric responses modulate the surface fluxes as well as the oceanic mixed layer depth, and thereby establish a well-defined SST anomaly pattern in the IWP sector several months after the peak in ENSO forcing in DTEP. In most parts of the IWP region, the net SST tendency induced by atmospheric changes has the same polarity as the local composite SST anomaly, thus indicating that the atmospheric forcing acts to reinforce the underlying SST signal.By analyzing the output from a suite of auxiliary experiments, it is demonstrated that the SST perturbations in IWP (which are primarily generated by ENSO-related atmospheric changes) can, in turn, exert notable influences on the atmospheric conditions over that region. This feedback mechanism also plays an important role in the eastward migration of the subtropical anticyclones over the western Pacific in both hemispheres.

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

Response of ocean acidification to a gradual increase and decrease of atmospheric CO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Long; Zhang, Han; Zheng, Meidi; Wang, Shuangjing

2014-01-01

We perform coupled climate–carbon cycle model simulations to examine changes in ocean acidity in response to idealized change of atmospheric CO 2 . Atmospheric CO 2 increases at a rate of 1% per year to four times its pre-industrial level of 280 ppm and then decreases at the same rate to the pre-industrial level. Our simulations show that changes in surface ocean chemistry largely follow changes in atmospheric CO 2 . However, changes in deep ocean chemistry in general lag behind the change in atmospheric CO 2 because of the long time scale associated with the penetration of excess CO 2 into the deep ocean. In our simulations with the effect of climate change, when atmospheric CO 2 reaches four times its pre-industrial level, global mean aragonite saturation horizon (ASH) shoals from the pre-industrial value of 1288 to 143 m. When atmospheric CO 2 returns from the peak value of 1120 ppm to pre-industrial level, ASH is 630 m, which is approximately the value of ASH when atmospheric CO 2 first increases to 719 ppm. At pre-industrial CO 2 9% deep-sea cold-water corals are surrounded by seawater that is undersaturated with aragonite. When atmospheric CO 2 reaches 1120 ppm, 73% cold-water coral locations are surrounded by seawater with aragonite undersaturation, and when atmospheric CO 2 returns to the pre-industrial level, 18% cold-water coral locations are surrounded by seawater with aragonite undersaturation. Our analysis indicates the difficulty for some marine ecosystems to recover to their natural chemical habitats even if atmospheric CO 2 content can be lowered in the future. (paper)

Improved Upper Ocean/Sea Ice Modeling in the GISS GCM for Investigating Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

This project built on our previous results in which we highlighted the importance of sea ice in overall climate sensitivity by determining that for both warming and cooling climates, when sea ice was not allowed to change, climate sensitivity was reduced by 35-40%. We also modified the GISS 8 deg x lO deg atmospheric GCM to include an upper-ocean/sea-ice model involving the Semtner three-layer ice/snow thermodynamic model, the Price et al. (1986) ocean mixed layer model and a general upper ocean vertical advection/diffusion scheme for maintaining and fluxing properties across the pycnocline. This effort, in addition to improving the sea ice representation in the AGCM, revealed a number of sensitive components of the sea ice/ocean system. For example, the ability to flux heat through the ice/snow properly is critical in order to resolve the surface temperature properly, since small errors in this lead to unrestrained climate drift. The present project, summarized in this report, had as its objectives: (1) introducing a series of sea ice and ocean improvements aimed at overcoming remaining weaknesses in the GCM sea ice/ocean representation, and (2) performing a series of sensitivity experiments designed to evaluate the climate sensitivity of the revised model to both Antarctic and Arctic sea ice, determine the sensitivity of the climate response to initial ice distribution, and investigate the transient response to doubling CO2.

Improved Upper Ocean/Sea Ice Modeling in the GISS GCM for Investigating Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

This project built on our previous results in which we highlighted the importance of sea ice in overall climate sensitivity by determining that for both warming and cooling climates, when sea ice was not allowed to change, climate sensitivity was reduced by 35-40%. We also modified the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) 8 deg x lO deg atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM) to include an upper-ocean/sea-ice model involving the Semtner three-layer ice/snow thermodynamic model, the Price et al. (1986) ocean mixed layer model and a general upper ocean vertical advection/diffusion scheme for maintaining and fluxing properties across the pycnocline. This effort, in addition to improving the sea ice representation in the AGCM, revealed a number of sensitive components of the sea ice/ocean system. For example, the ability to flux heat through the ice/snow properly is critical in order to resolve the surface temperature properly, since small errors in this lead to unrestrained climate drift. The present project, summarized in this report, had as its objectives: (1) introducing a series of sea ice and ocean improvements aimed at overcoming remaining weaknesses in the GCM sea ice/ocean representation, and (2) performing a series of sensitivity experiments designed to evaluate the climate sensitivity of the revised model to both Antarctic and Arctic sea ice, determine the sensitivity of the climate response to initial ice distribution, and investigate the transient response to doubling CO2.

The role of Southern Ocean mixing and upwelling in glacial-interglacial atmospheric CO2 change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, Andrew J.; Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.

2006-01-01

Decreased ventilation of the Southern Ocean in glacial time is implicated in most explanations of lower glacial atmospheric CO 2 . Today, the deep (>2000 m) ocean south of the Polar Front is rapidly ventilated from below, with the interaction of deep currents with topography driving high mixing rates well up into the water column. We show from a buoyancy budget that mixing rates are high in all the deep waters of the Southern Ocean. Between the surface and 2000 m depth, water is upwelled by a residual meridional overturning that is directly linked to buoyancy fluxes through the ocean surface. Combined with the rapid deep mixing, this upwelling serves to return deep water to the surface on a short time scale. We propose two new mechanisms by which, in glacial time, the deep Southern Ocean may have been more isolated from the surface. Firstly, the deep ocean appears to have been more stratified because of denser bottom water resulting from intense sea ice formation near Antarctica. The greater stratification would have slowed the deep mixing. Secondly, subzero atmospheric temperatures may have meant that the present-day buoyancy flux from the atmosphere to the ocean surface was reduced or reversed. This in turn would have reduced or eliminated the upwelling (contrary to a common assumption, upwelling is not solely a function of the wind stress but is coupled to the air/sea buoyancy flux too). The observed very close link between Antarctic temperatures and atmospheric CO 2 could then be explained as a natural consequence of the connection between the air/sea buoyancy flux and upwelling in the Southern Ocean, if slower ventilation of the Southern Ocean led to lower atmospheric CO 2 . Here we use a box model, similar to those of previous authors, to show that weaker mixing and reduced upwelling in the Southern Ocean can explain the low glacial atmospheric CO 2 in such a formulation

Numerical studies on the interaction between atmosphere and ocean using different kinds of parallel computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Soon-Hwan; Chino, Masamichi

2000-01-01

The coupling between atmosphere and ocean model has physical and computational difficulties for short-term forecasting of weather and ocean current. In this research, a combination system between high-resolution meso-scale atmospheric model and ocean model has been constructed using a new message-passing library, called Stampi (Seamless Thinking Aid Message Passing Interface), for prediction of particle dispersion at emergency nuclear accident. Stampi, which is based on the MPI (Message Passing Interface) 2 specification, makes us carry out parallel calculations of combination system without parallelization skill to model code. And it realizes dynamic process creation on different machines and communication between spawned one within the scope of MPI semantics. The models included in this combination system are PHYSIC as an atmosphere model, and POM (Princeton Ocean Model) as an ocean model. We applied this combination system to predict sea surface current at Sea of Japan in winter season. Simulation results indicate that the wind stress near the sea surface tends to be a predominant factor to determine surface ocean currents and dispersion of radioactive contamination in the ocean. The surface ocean current is well correspondent with wind direction, induced by high mountains at North Korea. The satellite data of NSCAT (NASA-SCATterometer), which is an image of sea surface current, also agrees well with the results of this system. (author)

77 FR 33443 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-06

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: The panel to review assessment...

The Regional Earth System Model (RegESM) using RegCM4 coupled with the MITgcm ocean model: First assessments over the MED-CORDEX domain

Science.gov (United States)

Mariotti, Laura; Utku Turunçoǧlu, Ufuk; Farneti, Riccardo; Sannino, Gianmaria; Vittoria Struglia, Maria; Carillo, Adriana; Giorgi, Filippo

2016-04-01

In the framework of global climate studies, there is an increasingly growing concern about the vulnerability of the Mediterranean region, where high population density and intense exploitation activities pose severe questions on the sustainability of terrestrial water management, both for the present and the future. Ocean modeling studies suggest that the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation could be weakened in conditions of global greenhouse warming, an event which would undoubtedly affect regional climate, possibly triggering global feedback processes. Experiments with the atmosphere-ocean coupled system confirmed that a good comprehension of Mediterranean processes requires the explicit inclusion of the feedbacks between the atmospheric and the oceanic components, thus achieving a complete, fully coupled description of the Mediterranean hydrological cycle, at the same time gaining new insights in our current ability to reproduce the atmospheric hydrological processes and to close the hydrological balance. These issues are addressed by the upgraded PROTHEUS system which was jointly developed by ENEA and ICTP. Here we present a first evaluation of the performances of the new PROTHEUS system (called PROTHEUS 2.0) composed by the regional climate model RegCM4 (Giorgi et al. 2012) coupled with both the ocean model MITgcm (Marshall J. et al. 1997a,b) and the HD river model (Max-Planck's HD model; Hagemann and Dümenil, 1998) using RegESM (Regional Earth System Model) as a driver. The three-component (atmosphere, ocean and river routing) fully coupled model exchanges sea surface temperature (SST) from the ocean to the atmospheric model, surface wind stress, energy and freshwater fluxes from the atmosphere to the ocean model, surface and sub-surface runoff from the atmospheric component to the river routing model (Max-Planck's HD model; Hagemann and Dümenil, 1998). In order to have water conservation within the system, the river routing component sends the

South African mid-summer seasonal rainfall prediction performance by a coupled ocean-atmosphere model

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Landman, WA

2011-01-01

Full Text Available . 2000; Goddard and Mason, 2002). Such a so-called two-tiered procedure to predict the outcome of the rainfall season has been employed in South Africa for a number of years already (e.g., Landman et al., 2001). The advent of fully coupled ocean...

Mapping Global Ocean Surface Albedo from Satellite Observations: Models, Algorithms, and Datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Fan, X.; Yan, H.; Li, A.; Wang, M.; Qu, Y.

2018-04-01

Ocean surface albedo (OSA) is one of the important parameters in surface radiation budget (SRB). It is usually considered as a controlling factor of the heat exchange among the atmosphere and ocean. The temporal and spatial dynamics of OSA determine the energy absorption of upper level ocean water, and have influences on the oceanic currents, atmospheric circulations, and transportation of material and energy of hydrosphere. Therefore, various parameterizations and models have been developed for describing the dynamics of OSA. However, it has been demonstrated that the currently available OSA datasets cannot full fill the requirement of global climate change studies. In this study, we present a literature review on mapping global OSA from satellite observations. The models (parameterizations, the coupled ocean-atmosphere radiative transfer (COART), and the three component ocean water albedo (TCOWA)), algorithms (the estimation method based on reanalysis data, and the direct-estimation algorithm), and datasets (the cloud, albedo and radiation (CLARA) surface albedo product, dataset derived by the TCOWA model, and the global land surface satellite (GLASS) phase-2 surface broadband albedo product) of OSA have been discussed, separately.

Atmospheric and oceanic impacts of Antarctic glaciation across the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, A T; Farnsworth, A; Lunt, D J; Lear, C H; Markwick, P J

2015-11-13

The glaciation of Antarctica at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (approx. 34 million years ago) was a major shift in the Earth's climate system, but the mechanisms that caused the glaciation, and its effects, remain highly debated. A number of recent studies have used coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models to assess the climatic effects of Antarctic glacial inception, with often contrasting results. Here, using the HadCM3L model, we show that the global atmosphere and ocean response to growth of the Antarctic ice sheet is sensitive to subtle variations in palaeogeography, using two reconstructions representing Eocene and Oligocene geological stages. The earlier stage (Eocene; Priabonian), which has a relatively constricted Tasman Seaway, shows a major increase in sea surface temperature over the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean in response to the ice sheet. This response does not occur for the later stage (Oligocene; Rupelian), which has a more open Tasman Seaway. This difference in temperature response is attributed to reorganization of ocean currents between the stages. Following ice sheet expansion in the earlier stage, the large Ross Sea gyre circulation decreases in size. Stronger zonal flow through the Tasman Seaway allows salinities to increase in the Ross Sea, deep-water formation initiates and multiple feedbacks then occur amplifying the temperature response. This is potentially a model-dependent result, but it highlights the sensitive nature of model simulations to subtle variations in palaeogeography, and highlights the need for coupled ice sheet-climate simulations to properly represent and investigate feedback processes acting on these time scales. © 2015 The Author(s).

Impact on the earth, ocean and atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Ahrens, Thomas J.; O'Keefe, John D.

1987-01-01

On the basis of finite-difference techniques, cratering flow calculations are used to obtain the spatial attenuation of shock pressure with radius along the impact axis for the impact of silicate rock and iron impactors on a silicate half-space at speeds of 5 to 45 km/sec. Upon impact of a 10 to 30 km diameter silicate or water object onto a 5 km deep ocean overlying a silicate half-space planet at 30 km/sec, it is found that from 12 to 15 percent of the incident energy is coupled into the water. The mass of atmosphere lost due to impacts of 1 to 5 km radius projectiles is calculated.

Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction in Climate Changes

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, W. Timothy

1999-01-01

temperature anomalies with the cyclonic wind anomalies toward the coast. The results led to a new study which identifies decadal ocean variations in the Northeast Pacific. Three studies of oceanic responses to wind forcing caused by the seasonal change of monsoons, the passage of a typhoon, and the 1997 El Nino, were successfully conducted. Besides wind forcing, we continue to examine new techniques for estimating thermal and hydrologic fluxes, through the inverse ocean mixed-layer model, through divergence of atmospheric water transport, and by direct retrieval from radiances observed by microwave radiometers. Greenhouse warming has been linked to water vapor measured by two spaceborne sensors in two studies. In the first study, strong baroclinicity and deep convection were found to transport water vapor to the upper atmosphere and increase greenhouse trapping over the storm tracks of the North Pacific and Atlantic. In another study, the annual cycle of greenhouse warming were related to sea surface temperature (SST) and integrated water vapor, and the latitudinal dependence of the magnitudes and phases of the annual cycles were compared.

Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Modulate Irrigation's Climate Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Krakauer, Nir Y.; Puma, Michael J.; Cook, Benjamin I.; Gentine, Pierre; Nazarenko, Larissa

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have focused on the local and regional climate effects of irrigated agriculture and other land cover and land use change (LCLUC) phenomena, but there are few studies on the role of ocean- atmosphere interaction in modulating irrigation climate impacts. Here, we compare simulations with and without interactive sea surface temperatures of the equilibrium effect on climate of contemporary (year 2000) irrigation geographic extent and intensity. We find that ocean-atmosphere interaction does impact the magnitude of global-mean and spatially varying climate impacts, greatly increasing their global reach. Local climate effects in the irrigated regions remain broadly similar, while non-local effects, particularly over the oceans, tend to be larger. The interaction amplifies irrigation-driven standing wave patterns in the tropics and mid-latitudes in our simulations, approximately doubling the global-mean amplitude of surface temperature changes due to irrigation. The fractions of global area experiencing significant annual-mean surface air temperature and precipitation change also approximately double with ocean-atmosphere interaction. Subject to confirmation with other models, these findings imply that LCLUC is an important contributor to climate change even in remote areas such as the Southern Ocean, and that attribution studies should include interactive oceans and need to consider LCLUC, including irrigation, as a truly global forcing that affects climate and the water cycle over ocean as well as land areas.

Ocean acidification in a geoengineering context

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Phillip; Turley, Carol

2012-01-01

Fundamental changes to marine chemistry are occurring because of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Ocean acidity (H+ concentration) and bicarbonate ion concentrations are increasing, whereas carbonate ion concentrations are decreasing. There has already been an average pH decrease of 0.1 in the upper ocean, and continued unconstrained carbon emissions would further reduce average upper ocean pH by approximately 0.3 by 2100. Laboratory experiments, observations and projections indicate that such ocean acidification may have ecological and biogeochemical impacts that last for many thousands of years. The future magnitude of such effects will be very closely linked to atmospheric CO2; they will, therefore, depend on the success of emission reduction, and could also be constrained by geoengineering based on most carbon dioxide removal (CDR) techniques. However, some ocean-based CDR approaches would (if deployed on a climatically significant scale) re-locate acidification from the upper ocean to the seafloor or elsewhere in the ocean interior. If solar radiation management were to be the main policy response to counteract global warming, ocean acidification would continue to be driven by increases in atmospheric CO2, although with additional temperature-related effects on CO2 and CaCO3 solubility and terrestrial carbon sequestration. PMID:22869801

Coupling of magnetospheric electrical effects into the global atmospheric electrical circuit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hays, P.B.; Roble, R.G.

1979-01-01

A quasi-static model of global atmospheric electricity has been constructed (Hays and Roble, 1978) to study the electrical processes in the lower atmosphere and the coupling between solar- and upper- atmosphere-induced variations superimposed upon the global electrical circuit. The paper reviews the essential features of this model and discusses the results obtained thus far on the effects of magnetospheric convection and substorms on the global atmospheric electrical circuit. A schematic diagram of the global quasi-static model is given. It is assumed that thunderstorms act as dipole generators, each with a positive center at the top of the cloud and a negative center a few kilometers lower than the positive center

Middle atmosphere electrical energy coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, L. C.

1989-01-01

The middle atmosphere (MA) has long been known as an absorber of radio waves, and as a region of nonlinear interactions among waves. The region of highest transverse conductivity near the top of the MA provides a common return for global thunderstorm, auroral Birkeland, and ionospheric dynamo currents, with possibilities for coupling among them. Their associated fields and other transverse fields map to lower altitudes depending on scale size. Evidence now exists for motion-driven aerosol generators, and for charge trapped at the base of magnetic field lines, both capable of producing large MA electric fields. Ionospheric Maxwell currents (curl H) parallel to the magnetic field appear to map to lower altitudes, with rapidly time-varying components appearing as displacement currents in the stratosphere. Lightning couples a (primarily ELF and ULF) current transient to the ionosphere and magnetosphere whose wave shape is largely dependent on the MA conductivity profile. Electrical energy is of direct significance mainly in the upper MA, but electrodynamic transport of minor constituents such as smoke particles or CN may be important at other altitudes.

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.

Global response to solar radiation absorbed by phytoplankton in a coupled climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patara, Lavinia [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Bologna (Italy); Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), Kiel (Germany); Vichi, Marcello; Masina, Simona [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Bologna (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Bologna (Italy); Fogli, Pier Giuseppe [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Bologna (Italy); Manzini, Elisa [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Bologna (Italy); Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany)

2012-10-15

The global climate response to solar radiation absorbed by phytoplankton is investigated by performing multi-century simulations with a coupled ocean-atmosphere-biogeochemistry model. The absorption of solar radiation by phytoplankton increases radiative heating in the near-surface ocean and raises sea surface temperature (SST) by overall {approx}0.5 C. The resulting increase in evaporation enhances specific atmospheric humidity by 2-5%, thereby increasing the Earth's greenhouse effect and the atmospheric temperatures. The Hadley Cell exhibits a weakening and poleward expansion, therefore reducing cloudiness at subtropical-middle latitudes and increasing it at tropical latitudes except near the Equator. Higher SST at polar latitudes reduces sea ice cover and albedo, thereby increasing the high-latitude ocean absorption of solar radiation. Changes in the atmospheric baroclinicity cause a poleward intensification of mid-latitude westerly winds in both hemispheres. As a result, the North Atlantic Ocean meridional overturning circulation extends more northward, and the equatorward Ekman transport is enhanced in the Southern Ocean. The combination of local and dynamical processes decreases upper-ocean heat content in the Tropics and in the subpolar Southern Ocean, and increases it at middle latitudes. This study highlights the relevance of coupled ocean-atmosphere processes in the global climate response to phytoplankton solar absorption. Given that simulated impacts of phytoplankton on physical climate are within the range of natural climate variability, this study suggests the importance of phytoplankton as an internal constituent of the Earth's climate and its potential role in participating in its long-term climate adjustments. (orig.)

Global response to solar radiation absorbed by phytoplankton in a coupled climate model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patara, Lavinia; Vichi, Marcello; Masina, Simona; Fogli, Pier Giuseppe; Manzini, Elisa

2012-01-01

The global climate response to solar radiation absorbed by phytoplankton is investigated by performing multi-century simulations with a coupled ocean-atmosphere-biogeochemistry model. The absorption of solar radiation by phytoplankton increases radiative heating in the near-surface ocean and raises sea surface temperature (SST) by overall ∼0.5 C. The resulting increase in evaporation enhances specific atmospheric humidity by 2-5%, thereby increasing the Earth's greenhouse effect and the atmospheric temperatures. The Hadley Cell exhibits a weakening and poleward expansion, therefore reducing cloudiness at subtropical-middle latitudes and increasing it at tropical latitudes except near the Equator. Higher SST at polar latitudes reduces sea ice cover and albedo, thereby increasing the high-latitude ocean absorption of solar radiation. Changes in the atmospheric baroclinicity cause a poleward intensification of mid-latitude westerly winds in both hemispheres. As a result, the North Atlantic Ocean meridional overturning circulation extends more northward, and the equatorward Ekman transport is enhanced in the Southern Ocean. The combination of local and dynamical processes decreases upper-ocean heat content in the Tropics and in the subpolar Southern Ocean, and increases it at middle latitudes. This study highlights the relevance of coupled ocean-atmosphere processes in the global climate response to phytoplankton solar absorption. Given that simulated impacts of phytoplankton on physical climate are within the range of natural climate variability, this study suggests the importance of phytoplankton as an internal constituent of the Earth's climate and its potential role in participating in its long-term climate adjustments. (orig.)

Pleistocene atmospheric CO2 change linked to Southern Ocean nutrient utilization

Science.gov (United States)

Ziegler, M.; Diz, P.; Hall, I. R.; Zahn, R.

2011-12-01

Biological uptake of CO2 by the ocean and its subsequent storage in the abyss is intimately linked with the global carbon cycle and constitutes a significant climatic force1. The Southern Ocean is a particularly important region because its wind-driven upwelling regime brings CO2 laden abyssal waters to the surface that exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. The Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) is a CO2 sink and also drives global primary productivity as unutilized nutrients, advected with surface waters from the south, are exported via Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) as preformed nutrients to the low latitudes where they fuel the biological pump in upwelling areas. Recent model estimates suggest that up to 40 ppm of the total 100 ppm atmospheric pCO2 reduction during the last ice age were driven by increased nutrient utilization in the SAZ and associated feedbacks on the deep ocean alkalinity. Micro-nutrient fertilization by iron (Fe), contained in the airborne dust flux to the SAZ, is considered to be the prime factor that stimulated this elevated photosynthetic activity thus enhancing nutrient utilization. We present a millennial-scale record of the vertical stable carbon isotope gradient between subsurface and deep water (Δδ13C) in the SAZ spanning the past 350,000 years. The Δδ13C gradient, derived from planktonic and benthic foraminifera, reflects the efficiency of biological pump and is highly correlated (rxy = -0.67 with 95% confidence interval [0.63; 0.71], n=874) with the record of dust flux preserved in Antarctic ice cores6. This strongly suggests that nutrient utilization in the SAZ was dynamically coupled to dust-induced Fe fertilization across both glacial-interglacial and faster millennial timescales. In concert with ventilation changes of the deep Southern Ocean this drove ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange and, ultimately, atmospheric pCO2 variability during the late Pleistocene.

The Role of Ocean and Atmospheric Heat Transport in the Arctic Amplification

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas Martes, R. M.; Kwon, Y. O.; Furey, H. H.

2017-12-01

Observational data and climate model projections have suggested that the Arctic region is warming around twice faster than the rest of the globe, which has been referred as the Arctic Amplification (AA). While the local feedbacks, e.g. sea ice-albedo feedback, are often suggested as the primary driver of AA by previous studies, the role of meridional heat transport by ocean and atmosphere is less clear. This study uses the Community Earth System Model version 1 Large Ensemble simulation (CESM1-LE) to seek deeper understanding of the role meridional oceanic and atmospheric heat transports play in AA. The simulation consists of 40 ensemble members with the same physics and external forcing using a single fully coupled climate model. Each ensemble member spans two time periods; the historical period from 1920 to 2005 using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) historical forcing and the future period from 2006 to 2100 using the CMIP5 Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (RCP8.5) scenario. Each of the ensemble members are initialized with slightly different air temperatures. As the CESM1-LE uses a single model unlike the CMIP5 multi-model ensemble, the internal variability and the externally forced components can be separated more clearly. The projections are calculated by comparing the period 2081-2100 relative to the time period 2001-2020. The CESM1-LE projects an AA of 2.5-2.8 times faster than the global average, which is within the range of those from the CMIP5 multi-model ensemble. However, the spread of AA from the CESM1-LE, which is attributed to the internal variability, is 2-3 times smaller than that of the CMIP5 ensemble, which may also include the inter-model differences. CESM1LE projects a decrease in the atmospheric heat transport into the Arctic and an increase in the oceanic heat transport. The atmospheric heat transport is further decomposed into moisture transport and dry static energy transport. Also, the oceanic heat

The dynamics in the upper atmospheres of Mars and Titan

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Jared M.

2008-06-01

This thesis explores the dynamics of two terrestrial bodies: Mars and Titan. At Mars, the coupled Mars General Circulation Model - Mars Thermospheric General Circulation Model (MGCM-MTGCM) is employed to investigate the phenomenon known as Mars winter polar warming. At Titan, a new theoretical model, the Titan Global Ionosphere - Thermosphere Model (T-GITM), is developed, based upon previous work by Ridley et al. [2006]. Using this new model, three separate numerical studies quantify the impacts of solar cycle, seasons, and lower boundary zonal winds on the Titan thermosphere structure and dynamics. At Mars, this thesis investigates thermospheric winter polar warming through three major studies: (1) a systematic analysis of vertical dust mixing in the lower atmosphere and its impact upon the dynamics of the lower thermosphere (100-130 km), (2) an interannual investigation utilizing three years of lower atmosphere infrared (IR) dust optical depth data acquired by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on board Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), and finally (3) a brief study of the MTGCM's response to variations in upward propagating waves and tides from the lower atmosphere. Ultimately, this investigation suggests that an interhemispheric summer-to-winter Hadley circulation, originating in the lower atmosphere and extending into the upper atmosphere, is responsible for thermospheric winter polar warming [ Bell etal. , 2007]. A major branch of this thesis builds upon the previous work of Müller-Wodarg et al. [2000], Müller-Wodarg et al. [2003], M7uuml;ller-Wodarg et al. [2006], and Yelle et al. [2006] as it attempts to explain the structures in Titan's upper atmosphere, between 500-1500 km. Building also upon the recent development of GITM by Ridley et al. [2006], this thesis presents a new theoretical framework, T-GITM. This model is then employed to conduct a series of numerical experiments to quantify the impacts of the solar cycle, the season, and the

Oxygenated volatile organic carbon in the western Pacific convective center: ocean cycling, air-sea gas exchange and atmospheric transport

Science.gov (United States)

Schlundt, Cathleen; Tegtmeier, Susann; Lennartz, Sinikka T.; Bracher, Astrid; Cheah, Wee; Krüger, Kirstin; Quack, Birgit; Marandino, Christa A.

2017-09-01

A suite of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs - acetaldehyde, acetone, propanal, butanal and butanone) were measured concurrently in the surface water and atmosphere of the South China Sea and Sulu Sea in November 2011. A strong correlation was observed between all OVOC concentrations in the surface seawater along the entire cruise track, except for acetaldehyde, suggesting similar sources and sinks in the surface ocean. Additionally, several phytoplankton groups, such as haptophytes or pelagophytes, were also correlated to all OVOCs, indicating that phytoplankton may be an important source of marine OVOCs in the South China and Sulu seas. Humic- and protein-like fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) components seemed to be additional precursors for butanone and acetaldehyde. The measurement-inferred OVOC fluxes generally showed an uptake of atmospheric OVOCs by the ocean for all gases, except for butanal. A few important exceptions were found along the Borneo coast, where OVOC fluxes from the ocean to the atmosphere were inferred. The atmospheric OVOC mixing ratios over the northern coast of Borneo were relatively high compared with literature values, suggesting that this coastal region is a local hotspot for atmospheric OVOCs. The calculated amount of OVOCs entrained into the ocean seemed to be an important source of OVOCs to the surface ocean. When the fluxes were out of the ocean, marine OVOCs were found to be enough to control the locally measured OVOC distribution in the atmosphere. Based on our model calculations, at least 0.4 ppb of marine-derived acetone and butanone can reach the upper troposphere, where they may have an important influence on hydrogen oxide radical formation over the western Pacific Ocean.

Atmospheric and oceanic excitation of decadal-scale Earth orientation variations

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Richard S.; Fukumori, Ichiro; Menemenlis, Dimitris

2005-09-01

The contribution of atmospheric wind and surface pressure and oceanic current and bottom pressure variations during 1949-2002 to exciting changes in the Earth's orientation on decadal timescales is investigated using an atmospheric angular momentum series computed from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis project and an oceanic angular momentum series computed from a near-global ocean model that was forced by surface fluxes from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis project. Not surprisingly, since decadal-scale variations in the length of day are caused mainly by interactions between the mantle and core, the effect of the atmosphere and oceans is found to be only about 14% of that observed. More surprisingly, it is found that the effect of atmospheric and oceanic processes on decadal-scale changes in polar motion is also only about 20% (x component) and 38% (y component) of that observed. Therefore redistribution of mass within the atmosphere and oceans does not appear to be the main cause of the Markowitz wobble. It is also found that on timescales between 10 days and 4 years the atmospheric and oceanic angular momentum series used here have very little skill in explaining Earth orientation variations before the mid to late 1970s. This is attributed to errors in both the Earth orientation observations prior to 1976 when measurements from the accurate space-geodetic techniques became available and to errors in the modeled atmospheric fields prior to 1979 when the satellite era of global weather observing systems began.

Microbes in the upper atmosphere and unique opportunities for astrobiology research.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, David J

2013-10-01

Microbial taxa from every major biological lineage have been detected in Earth's upper atmosphere. The goal of this review is to communicate (1) relevant astrobiology questions that can be addressed with upper atmosphere microbiology studies and (2) available sampling methods for collecting microbes at extreme altitudes. Precipitation, mountain stations, airplanes, balloons, rockets, and satellites are all feasible routes for conducting aerobiology research. However, more efficient air samplers are needed, and contamination is also a pervasive problem in the field. Measuring microbial signatures without false positives in the upper atmosphere might contribute to sterilization and bioburden reduction methods for proposed astrobiology missions. Intriguingly, environmental conditions in the upper atmosphere resemble the surface conditions of Mars (extreme cold, hypobaria, desiccation, and irradiation). Whether terrestrial microbes are active in the upper atmosphere is an area of intense research interest. If, in fact, microbial metabolism, growth, or replication is achievable independent of Earth's surface, then the search for habitable zones on other worlds should be broadened to include atmospheres (e.g., the high-altitude clouds of Venus). Furthermore, viable cells in the heavily irradiated upper atmosphere of Earth could help identify microbial genes or enzymes that bestow radiation resistance. Compelling astrobiology questions on the origin of life (if the atmosphere synthesized organic aerosols), evolution (if airborne transport influenced microbial mutation rates and speciation), and panspermia (outbound or inbound) are also testable in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Underway pressure, temperature, and salinity data from the MOANA WAVE from the Pacific warm pool in support of the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) from 02 February 1993 to 21 February 1993 (NODC Accession 9600090)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pressure, temperature, and salinity data were collected while underway from the MOANA WAVE from the Pacific warm pool. Data were collected in support of the Coupled...

Impact of air-sea drag coefficient for latent heat flux on large scale climate in coupled and atmosphere stand-alone simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Olivier; Braconnot, Pascale; Marti, Olivier; Gential, Luc

2018-05-01

The turbulent fluxes across the ocean/atmosphere interface represent one of the principal driving forces of the global atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Despite decades of effort and improvements, representation of these fluxes still presents a challenge due to the small-scale acting turbulent processes compared to the resolved scales of the models. Beyond this subgrid parameterization issue, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of air-sea interactions on the climate system is still lacking. In this paper we investigates the large-scale impacts of the transfer coefficient used to compute turbulent heat fluxes with the IPSL-CM4 climate model in which the surface bulk formula is modified. Analyzing both atmosphere and coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (AGCM, OAGCM) simulations allows us to study the direct effect and the mechanisms of adjustment to this modification. We focus on the representation of latent heat flux in the tropics. We show that the heat transfer coefficients are highly similar for a given parameterization between AGCM and OAGCM simulations. Although the same areas are impacted in both kind of simulations, the differences in surface heat fluxes are substantial. A regional modification of heat transfer coefficient has more impact than uniform modification in AGCM simulations while in OAGCM simulations, the opposite is observed. By studying the global energetics and the atmospheric circulation response to the modification, we highlight the role of the ocean in dampening a large part of the disturbance. Modification of the heat exchange coefficient modifies the way the coupled system works due to the link between atmospheric circulation and SST, and the different feedbacks between ocean and atmosphere. The adjustment that takes place implies a balance of net incoming solar radiation that is the same in all simulations. As there is no change in model physics other than drag coefficient, we obtain similar latent heat flux

Garnet Signatures in Geophysical and Geochemical Observations: Insights into the Thermo-Petrological Structure of Oceanic Upper Mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Grose, C. J.; Afonso, J. C.

2013-12-01

We have developed new physically comprehensive thermal plate models of the oceanic lithosphere which incorporate temperature- and pressure-dependent heat transport properties and thermal expansivity, melting beneath ridges, hydrothermal circulation near ridge axes, and insulating oceanic crust. These models provide good fits to global databases of seafloor topography and heat flow, and seismic evidence of thermal structure near ridge axes. We couple these thermal plate models with thermodynamic models to predict the petrology of oceanic lithosphere. Geoid height predictions from our models suggest that there is a strong anomaly in geoid slope (over age) above ~25 Ma lithosphere due to the topography of garnet-field mantle. A similar anomaly is also present in geoid data over fracture zones. In addition, we show that a new assessment of a large database of ocean island basalt Sm/Yb systematics indicates that there is an unmistakable step-like increase in Sm/Yb values around 15-20 Ma, indicating the presence of garnet. To explain this feature, we have attempted to couple our thermo-petrological models of oceanic upper mantle with an open system, non-modal, dynamic melting model with diffusion kinetics to investigate trace element partitioning in an ascending mantle column.

One kind of atmosphere-ocean three layer model for calculating the velocity of ocean current

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jing, Z; Xi, P

1979-10-01

A three-layer atmosphere-ocean model is given in this paper to calcuate the velocity of ocean current, particularly the function of the vertical coordinate, taking into consideratiln (1) the atmospheric effect on the generation of ocean current, (2) a calculated coefficient of the eddy viscosity instead of an assumed one, and (3) the sea which actually varies in depth.

Trace-Element Evidence for an Aqueous Atmospheric Origin of Desert Varnish: implications for the aqueous atmospheric input flux into the ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Thiagarajan, N.; Lee, C.

2003-12-01

Desert varnish is a slow-growing dark patina commonly found on rock surfaces in arid environments. Varnishes consist of about 30% Mn and Fe oxides accompanied by oxides of Si, Al, Mg, K and Ca, which occur primarily in the form of clays. Although it is generally agreed that varnishes have an atmospheric origin, their exact formation mechanism remains highly debated. Two endmember hypotheses are gradual accumulation of wind-blown dust followed by diagenesis, and direct chemical precipitation of dissolved elements from atmospheric aerosols. To rule out one of these hypotheses, we investigated the trace-element systematics of varnishes, in particular, focusing on those elements that have contrasting solubilities in aqueous environments. If our trace element analyses are consistent with the varnishes being derived from dissolved atmospheric constituents then the data can be used to quantify the paleofluxes of the soluble fraction of atmospheric aerosols to various depositional environments. For example, this will have implications for the transport of metals to the ocean that are immediately biologically available. We collected varnishes deposited on smooth basaltic lava flow surfaces in the Cima Volcanic Field (Mojave Desert) and in Death Valley, California. The chosen lava flows retain original flow surface structure and are topographical highs; the effects of erosion are hence minimal. Varnishes were scraped off with a quartz rod to minimize trace element contamination and the trace element compositions were then determined by ICP-MS using an external synthetic standard for calibration. Our analyses show that the rare-earth elements (REEs), Co, Ni, and Pb are enriched 1.5 to 10 times relative to the upper continental crust (UCC) and that Nb, Ti, Ta, Hf, Th, Rb and Cs are depleted to varying degrees relative to UCC and the REEs. These fractionations can be explained by their differing chemical behaviors in aqueous environments. The extreme depletion in Rb and Cs

Trends in Upper-Level Cloud Cover and Surface Divergence Over the Tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean Between 1952 And 1997

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Joel R.

2005-01-01

This study investigated the spatial pattern of linear trends in surface-observed upper-level (combined mid-level and High-level) cloud cover, precipitation, and surface divergence over the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean during 1952-1957. Cloud values were obtained from the Extended Edited Cloud Report Archive (EECRA), precipitation values were obtained from the Hulme/Climate Research Unit Data Set, and surface divergence was alternatively calculated from wind reported Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set and from Smith and Reynolds Extended Reconstructed sea level pressure data.

Atmospheric Wind Relaxations and the Oceanic Response in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Fewings, M. R.; Dorman, C. E.; Washburn, L.; Liu, W.

2010-12-01

the Gulf of Alaska influence ocean conditions in central and southern California via these wind relaxations. The ocean response within a few km of the coast involves poleward-flowing currents that transport warm water out of the lees of capes and headlands and counter to the direction of the California Current [Send et al. 1987, Harms and Winant 1998, Winant et al. 2003, Melton et al. 2009]. A similar response occurs in the Benguela and Canary Current coastal upwelling systems. The ocean response involves both barotropic and baroclinic dynamics and is consistent with existing geophysical models of buoyant, coastally-trapped plumes [Washburn et al., in prep]. Our ongoing work includes i) studying the regional ocean response to determine its spatial extent, time evolution, and ocean-atmosphere coupling dynamics; ii) developing an atmospheric index to predict wind relaxations in southern California based on pressure in the Gulf of Alaska; iii) examining the strength and frequency of wind relaxations over the past 30 years for connections to El Niño and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation; and iv) predicting future variations in wind relaxations and the response of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

Modern and ancient geochemical constraints on Proterozoic atmosphere-ocean redox evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Hardisty, D. S.; Horner, T. J.; Wankel, S. D.; Lu, Z.; Lyons, T.; Nielsen, S.

2017-12-01

A detailed understanding of the spatiotemporal oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere-ocean system through the Precambrian has important implications for the environments capable of sustaining early eukaryotic life and the evolving oxidant budget of subducted sediments. Proxy records suggest an anoxic Fe-rich deep ocean through much of the Precambrian and atmospheric and surface-ocean oxygenation that started in earnest at the Paleoproterozoic Great Oxidation Event (GOE). The marine photic zone represented the initial site of oxygen production and accumulation via cyanobacteria, yet our understanding of surface-ocean oxygen contents and the extent and timing of oxygen propagation and exchange between the atmosphere and deeper ocean are limited. Here, we present an updated perspective of the constraints on atmospheric, surface-ocean, and deep-ocean oxygen contents starting at the GOE. Our research uses the iodine content of Proterozoic carbonates as a tracer of dissolved iodate in the shallow ocean, a redox-sensitive species quantitatively reduced in modern oxygen minimum zones. We supplement our understanding of the ancient record with novel experiments examining the rates of iodate production from oxygenated marine environments based on seawater incubations. Combining new data from iodine with published shallow marine (Ce anomaly, N isotopes) and atmospheric redox proxies, we provide an integrated view of the vertical redox structure of the atmosphere and ocean across the Proterozoic.

Classroom Demonstrations Of Atmosphere-ocean Dynamics: Baroclinic Instability

Science.gov (United States)

Aurnou, Jonathan; Nadiga, B. T.

2008-09-01

Here we will present simple hands-on experimental demonstrations that show how baroclinic instabilities develop in rotating fluid dynamical systems. Such instabilities are found in the Earth's oceans and atmosphere as well as in the atmospheres and oceans of planetary bodies throughout the solar system and beyond. Our inexpensive experimental apparatus consists of a vinyl-record player, a wide shallow pan, and a weighted, dyed block of ice. Most directly, these demonstrations can be used to explain winter-time atmospheric weather patterns observed in Earth's mid-latitudes.

North Pacific Mesoscale Coupled Air-Ocean Simulations Compared with Observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cerovecki, Ivana [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography; McClean, Julie [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography; Koracin, Darko [Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States). Division of Atmospheric Sciences

2014-11-14

The overall objective of this study was to improve the representation of regional ocean circulation in the North Pacific by using high resolution atmospheric forcing that accurately represents mesoscale processes in ocean-atmosphere regional (North Pacific) model configuration. The goal was to assess the importance of accurate representation of mesoscale processes in the atmosphere and the ocean on large scale circulation. This is an important question, as mesoscale processes in the atmosphere which are resolved by the high resolution mesoscale atmospheric models such as Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), are absent in commonly used atmospheric forcing such as CORE forcing, employed in e.g. the Community Climate System Model (CCSM).

XUV-exposed, non-hydrostatic hydrogen-rich upper atmospheres of terrestrial planets. Part I: atmospheric expansion and thermal escape.

Science.gov (United States)

Erkaev, Nikolai V; Lammer, Helmut; Odert, Petra; Kulikov, Yuri N; Kislyakova, Kristina G; Khodachenko, Maxim L; Güdel, Manuel; Hanslmeier, Arnold; Biernat, Helfried

2013-11-01

The recently discovered low-density "super-Earths" Kepler-11b, Kepler-11f, Kepler-11d, Kepler-11e, and planets such as GJ 1214b represent the most likely known planets that are surrounded by dense H/He envelopes or contain deep H₂O oceans also surrounded by dense hydrogen envelopes. Although these super-Earths are orbiting relatively close to their host stars, they have not lost their captured nebula-based hydrogen-rich or degassed volatile-rich steam protoatmospheres. Thus, it is interesting to estimate the maximum possible amount of atmospheric hydrogen loss from a terrestrial planet orbiting within the habitable zone of late main sequence host stars. For studying the thermosphere structure and escape, we apply a 1-D hydrodynamic upper atmosphere model that solves the equations of mass, momentum, and energy conservation for a planet with the mass and size of Earth and for a super-Earth with a size of 2 R(Earth) and a mass of 10 M(Earth). We calculate volume heating rates by the stellar soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) and expansion of the upper atmosphere, its temperature, density, and velocity structure and related thermal escape rates during the planet's lifetime. Moreover, we investigate under which conditions both planets enter the blow-off escape regime and may therefore experience loss rates that are close to the energy-limited escape. Finally, we discuss the results in the context of atmospheric evolution and implications for habitability of terrestrial planets in general.

A physiological approach to oceanic processes and glacial-interglacial changes in atmospheric CO2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep L. Pelegrí

2008-03-01

Full Text Available One possible path for exploring the Earth’s far-from-equilibrium homeostasis is to assume that it results from the organisation of optimal pulsating systems, analogous to that in complex living beings. Under this premise it becomes natural to examine the Earth’s organisation using physiological-like variables. Here we identify some of these main variables for the ocean’s circulatory system: pump rate, stroke volume, carbon and nutrient arterial-venous differences, inorganic nutrients and carbon supply, and metabolic rate. The stroke volume is proportional to the water transported into the thermocline and deep oceans, and the arterial-venous differences occur between recently-upwelled deep waters and very productive high-latitudes waters, with atmospheric CO2 being an indicator of the arterial-venous inorganic carbon difference. The metabolic rate is the internal-energy flux (here expressed as flux of inorganic carbon in the upper ocean required by the system’s machinery, i.e. community respiration. We propose that the pump rate is set externally by the annual cycle, at one beat per year per hemisphere, and that the autotrophic ocean adjusts its stroke volume and arterial-venous differences to modify the internal-energy demand, triggered by long-period astronomical insolation cycles (external-energy supply. With this perspective we may conceive that the Earth’s interglacial-glacial cycle responds to an internal organisation analogous to that occurring in living beings during an exercise-recovery cycle. We use an idealised double-state metabolic model of the upper ocean (with the inorganic carbon/nutrients supply specified through the overturning rate and the steady-state inorganic carbon/nutrients concentrations to obtain the temporal evolution of its inorganic carbon concentration, which mimics the glacial-interglacial atmospheric CO2 pattern.

Fast Atmosphere-Ocean Model Runs with Large Changes in CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Gary L.; Lacis, Andrew A.; Rind, David H.; Colose, Christopher; Opstbaum, Roger F.

2013-01-01

How does climate sensitivity vary with the magnitude of climate forcing? This question was investigated with the use of a modified coupled atmosphere-ocean model, whose stability was improved so that the model would accommodate large radiative forcings yet be fast enough to reach rapid equilibrium. Experiments were performed in which atmospheric CO2 was multiplied by powers of 2, from 1/64 to 256 times the 1950 value. From 8 to 32 times, the 1950 CO2, climate sensitivity for doubling CO2 reaches 8 C due to increases in water vapor absorption and cloud top height and to reductions in low level cloud cover. As CO2 amount increases further, sensitivity drops as cloud cover and planetary albedo stabilize. No water vapor-induced runaway greenhouse caused by increased CO2 was found for the range of CO2 examined. With CO2 at or below 1/8 of the 1950 value, runaway sea ice does occur as the planet cascades to a snowball Earth climate with fully ice covered oceans and global mean surface temperatures near 30 C.

Isolating the atmospheric circulation response to Arctic sea-ice loss in the coupled climate system

Science.gov (United States)

Kushner, Paul; Blackport, Russell

2017-04-01

In the coupled climate system, projected global warming drives extensive sea-ice loss, but sea-ice loss drives warming that amplifies and can be confounded with the global warming process. This makes it challenging to cleanly attribute the atmospheric circulation response to sea-ice loss within coupled earth-system model (ESM) simulations of greenhouse warming. In this study, many centuries of output from coupled ocean/atmosphere/land/sea-ice ESM simulations driven separately by sea-ice albedo reduction and by projected greenhouse-dominated radiative forcing are combined to cleanly isolate the hemispheric scale response of the circulation to sea-ice loss. To isolate the sea-ice loss signal, a pattern scaling approach is proposed in which the local multidecadal mean atmospheric response is assumed to be separately proportional to the total sea-ice loss and to the total low latitude ocean surface warming. The proposed approach estimates the response to Arctic sea-ice loss with low latitude ocean temperatures fixed and vice versa. The sea-ice response includes a high northern latitude easterly zonal wind response, an equatorward shift of the eddy driven jet, a weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex, an anticyclonic sea level pressure anomaly over coastal Eurasia, a cyclonic sea level pressure anomaly over the North Pacific, and increased wintertime precipitation over the west coast of North America. Many of these responses are opposed by the response to low-latitude surface warming with sea ice fixed. However, both sea-ice loss and low latitude surface warming act in concert to reduce storm track strength throughout the mid and high latitudes. The responses are similar in two related versions of the National Center for Atmospheric Research earth system models, apart from the stratospheric polar vortex response. Evidence is presented that internal variability can easily contaminate the estimates if not enough independent climate states are used to construct them

Analysis of the Effects of SST and Model Resolutions on the Identification of the 1993 Superstorm Using an Ocean-Atmosphere Coupled Regional System

Science.gov (United States)

Aktas, D.; Velissariou, P.; Chassignet, E.; Bourassa, M. A.

2014-12-01

The non-tropical storm, the 12-14 March 1993 Superstorm, which called the Storm of the Century had a wide reaching effect on the Northern Gulf of Mexico region and the East Coast of the United States. Previous studies show that the initial development of the storm could not be simulated accurately enough to represent the intensity and the evolution of the storm over the Gulf of Mexico region. The aim of this study is to identify the effects of the air-sea fluxes, the sea surface temperature (SST) and the model resolution on determining the intensity and the track of the storm more accurately. To this end, the outputs from two-way coupled model runs were examined to analyze the storm characteristics. Model configurations have been set within a coupled system framework that includes the atmospheric model Weather Research & Forecasting Model (WRF) and the ocean model Regional Ocean Model (ROMS). Three WRF domains assigned 15 km, 5 km and ~1.6 km resolutions, respectively and an 8 km resolution ROMS domain were used in the coupled system. The initial and boundary conditions for WRF were extracted from the NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) products and the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) generated SSTs while, the conditions for ROMS were extracted from HYCOM. Comparisons were performed against NOAA buoys and GridSAT brightness temperatures. Minimum mean sea level pressure (MSLP), maximum wind speed and storm locations were examined. Time series for MSLP and wind speed were used to illustrate how air-sea interaction and resolution changes storm intensity along the track. The results showing the RMS differences on the storm location and intensity of the storm are also presented.

Upper-Ocean Heat Balance Processes and the Walker Circulation in CMIP5 Model Projections

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, F. R.; Roberts, J. B.; Funk, C.; Lyon, B.; Ricciardulli, L.

2012-01-01

Considerable uncertainty remains as to the importance of mechanisms governing decadal and longer variability of the Walker Circulation, its connection to the tropical climate system, and prospects for tropical climate change in the face of anthropogenic forcing. Most contemporary climate models suggest that in response to elevated CO2 and a warmer but more stratified atmosphere, the required upward mass flux in tropical convection will diminish along with the Walker component of the tropical mean circulation as well. Alternatively, there is also evidence to suggest that the shoaling and increased vertical stratification of the thermocline in the eastern Pacific will enable a muted SST increase there-- preserving or even enhancing some of the dynamical forcing for the Walker cell flow. Over the past decade there have been observational indications of an acceleration in near-surface easterlies, a strengthened Pacific zonal SST gradient, and globally-teleconnected dislocations in precipitation. But is this evidence in support of an ocean dynamical thermostat process posited to accompany anthropogenic forcing, or just residual decadal fluctuations associated with variations in warm and cold ENSO events and other stochastic forcing? From a modeling perspective we try to make headway on this question by examining zonal variations in surface energy fluxes and dynamics governing tropical upper ocean heat content evolution in the WCRP CMIP5 model projections. There is some diversity among model simulations; for example, the CCSM4 indicates net ocean warming over the IndoPacific region while the CSIRO model concentrates separate warming responses over the central Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The models, as with observations, demonstrate strong local coupling between variations in column water vapor, downward surface longwave radiation and SST; but the spatial patterns of changes in the sign of this relationship differ among models and, for models as a whole, with

Upper ocean currents and sea surface temperatures (SST) from Satellite-tracked drifting buoys (drifters) as part of the Global Drifter Program for Hawaii region 1980/02/01 - 2009/03/31 (NODC Accession 0063296)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Satellite-tracked drifting buoys ("drifters") collect measurements of upper ocean currents and sea surface temperatures (SST) around the world as part of the Global...

Regional impacts of climate change and atmospheric CO2 on future ocean carbon uptake: A multi-model linear feedback analysis

OpenAIRE

Roy Tilla; Bopp Laurent; Gehlen Marion; Schneider Birgitt; Cadule Patricia; Frölicher Thomas; Segschneider Jochen; Tijputra Jerry; Heinze Christoph; Joos Fortunat

2011-01-01

The increase in atmospheric CO2 over this century depends on the evolution of the oceanic air–sea CO2 uptake which will be driven by the combined response to rising atmospheric CO2 itself and climate change. Here the future oceanic CO2 uptake is simulated using an ensemble of coupled climate–carbon cycle models. The models are driven by CO2 emissions from historical data and the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 high emission scenario. A linear feedback analysis successfully sep...

Electromagnetic Coupling of Ocean Flow with the Earth System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Tyler

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The ocean is electromagnetically coupled with the Earth System. This results in momentum transfer, as well as a participation by the ocean in the _ observable electric and magnetic fields. The coupling is typically quite weak and quantitative analyses indicate that many of these connections may be discounted when considering the transfer of momentum. But because of systematic effects there are also cases where an immediate discount is not justified and electromagnetic transfer of ocean momentum should remain within the realm of consideration. For practical considerations, even if the coupling is weak these effects are phenomenologically important because the electric and magnetic fields associated with this coupling offer an observational means for inferring the ocean flow. While in situ measurements of the electric field have long been used to measure ocean transport, new opportunities for remote sensing ocean flow through ground and space magnetic observatories are now being considered. In this article a brief update of the status of these observational methods is given. Extending beyond these established elements of the _ electromagnetic involvement, an attempt is made to provide a quantitative discussion of lesser considered elements of the _ electromagnetic coupling with the mantle and fluid core.

Observational description of the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers over the Atlantic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo Dourado

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Time evolution of atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers are described for an upwelling region in the Atlantic Ocean located in Cabo Frio, Brazil (23°00'S, 42°08'W. The observations were obtained during a field campaign carried out by the "Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira", on board of the oceanographic ship Antares of the Brazilian Navy, between July 7 and 10 of 1992. The analysis shown here was based on 19 simultaneous vertical soundings of atmosphere and ocean, carried out consecutively every 4 hours. The period of observation was characterized by a passage of a cold front that penetrated in Cabo Frio on July 6. During the cold front passage the vertical extension of atmospheric (and oceanic mixed layer varied from 200 m (and 13 m to 1000 m (and 59 m. These changes occurred in the first day of observation and were followed by an increase of 1.2°C in the oceanic mixed layer temperature and by a decrease of 6 K and 6 g/kg in the virtual potential temperature and specific humidity of the atmospheric mixed layer. The short time scale variations in the ocean can be explained in terms of the substitution of cold upwelling water by warm downwelling water regime, as the surface winds shift from pre-frontal NE to post-frontal SSW during the cold front passage in Cabo Frio. The large vertical extent of the atmospheric mixed layer can be explained in terms of an intensification of the thermal mixing induced by the warming of the oceanic upper layers combined with the cooling of the lower atmospheric layers during the cold front passage. An intensification of the mechanical mixing, observed during the cold front passage, may also be contributing to the observed variations in the vertical extent of both layers.A evolução temporal das camadas limites atmosféricas e oceânicas são descritas para a região de ressurgência do Oceano Atlântico localizada em Cabo Frio. As observações foram obtidas durante a campanha de medidas

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.

Biogeochemical linkage between atmosphere and ocean in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean: Results from the EqPOS research cruise

Science.gov (United States)

Furutani, H.; Inai, Y.; Aoki, S.; Honda, H.; Omori, Y.; Tanimoto, H.; Iwata, T.; Ueda, S.; Miura, K.; Uematsu, M.

2012-12-01

Eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean is a unique oceanic region from several biogeochemical points of view. It is a remote open ocean with relatively high marine biological activity, which would result in limited influence of human activity but enhanced effect of marine natural processes on atmospheric composition. It is also characterized as high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) ocean, in which availability of trace metals such as iron and zinc limits marine primary production and thus atmospheric deposition of these trace elements to the ocean surface is expected to play an important role in regulating marine primary production and defining unique microbial community. High sea surface temperature in the region generates strong vertical air convection which efficiently brings tropospheric atmospheric composition into stratosphere. In this unique eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, EqPOS (Equatorial Pacific Ocean and Stratospheric/Tropospheric Atmospheric Study) research cruise was organized as a part of SOLAS Japan activity to understand biogeochemical ocean-atmospheric interaction in the region. Coordinated atmospheric, oceanic, and marine biological observations including sampling/characterization of thin air-sea interfacial layer (sea surface microlayer: SML) and launching large stratospheric air sampling balloons were carried out on-board R/V Hakuho Maru starting from 29 January for 39 days. Biogeochemically important trace/long-lived gases such as CO2, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and some volatile organic carbons (VOCs) both in the atmosphere and seawater were continuously monitored and their air-sea fluxes were also observed using gradient and eddy-covariance techniques. Atmospheric gas measurement of CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO, H2, Ar and isotopic composition of selected gases were further extended to stratospheric air by balloon-born sampling in addition to a vertical profiling of O3, CO2, and H2O with sounding sondes. Physical and chemical properties of marine

Physical and meteorological data from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array of 55 moored buoys spans the tropical Pacific from longitudes 165°E to 95°W between latitudes of approximately 8°S and...

When a Slowly Rotating Aquaplanet is Coupled to a Dynamical Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Salameh, J.; Marotzke, J.

2017-12-01

Planets orbiting in close distance from their stars have a high probability to be detected, and are expected to be slowly rotating due to strong tidal forces. By increasing the rotation period from 1 Earth-day to 365 Earth-days, we previously found that the global-mean surface temperature of an aquaplanet with a static mixed-layer ocean decreases by up to 27 K. The cooling is attributed to an increase of the planetary albedo with the rotation period, which is associated with the different distributions of the sea ice and the deep convective clouds. However, we had there assumed a fixed mixed-layer depth and a zero oceanic heat transport in the aquaplanet configuration. The limitations of these assumptions in such exotic climates are still unclear. We therefore perform coupled atmosphere-ocean aquaplanet simulations with the general circulation model ICON for various rotation periods ranging from 1 Earth-day to 365 Earth-days. We investigate how the underlying oceanic circulation modifies the mean climate of slowly rotating aquaplanets, and whether the day-to-night oceanic heat transport reduces the surface-temperature gradients and the sea-ice extent.

Stochastic and Statistical Methods in Climate, Atmosphere, and Ocean Science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.T. Crommelin (Daan); B. Khouider; B. Engquist

2015-01-01

htmlabstractIntroduction The behavior of the atmosphere, oceans, and climate is intrinsically uncertain. The basic physical principles that govern atmospheric and oceanic flows are well known, for example, the Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow, thermodynamic properties of moist air, and the

Report Viewgraphs for IC Project: Fully-coupled climate simulations with an eddy-permitting ocean component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veneziani, Carmela [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-07-25

Two sets of simulations were performed within this allocation: 1) a 12-year fully-coupled experiment in pre-industrial conditions, using the CICE4 version of the sea-ice model; 2) a set of multi-decadal ocean-ice-only experiments, forced with CORE-I atmospheric fields and using the CICE5 version of the sea-ice model.

GESAMP Working Group 38, The Atmospheric Input of Chemicals to the Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Duce, Robert; Liss, Peter

2014-05-01

There is growing recognition of the impact of the atmospheric input of both natural and anthropogenic substances on ocean chemistry, biology, and biogeochemistry as well as climate. These inputs are closely related to a number of important global change issues. For example, the increasing input of anthropogenic nitrogen species from the atmosphere to much of the ocean may cause a low level fertilization that could result in an increase in marine 'new' productivity of up to ~3% and thus impact carbon drawdown from the atmosphere. Similarly, much of the oceanic iron, which is a limiting nutrient in significant areas of the ocean, originates from the atmospheric input of minerals as a result of the long-range transport of mineral dust from continental regions. The increased supply of soluble phosphorus from atmospheric anthropogenic sources (through large-scale use of fertilizers) may also have a significant impact on surface-ocean biogeochemistry, but estimates of any effects are highly uncertain. There have been few assessments of the atmospheric inputs of sulfur and nitrogen oxides to the ocean and their impact on the rates of ocean acidification. These inputs may be particularly critical in heavily trafficked shipping lanes and in ocean regions proximate to highly industrialized land areas. Other atmospheric substances may also have an impact on the ocean, in particular lead, cadmium, and POPs. To address these and related issues the United Nations Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) initiated Working Group 38, The Atmospheric Input of Chemicals to the Ocean, in 2008. This Working Group has had four meetings. To date four peer reviewed papers have been produced from this effort, with a least eight others in the process of being written or published. This paper will discuss some of the results of the Working Group's deliberations and its plans for possible future work.

Oceanic Emissions and Atmospheric Depositions of Volatile Organic Compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, M.; Blomquist, B.; Beale, R.; Nightingale, P. D.; Liss, P. S.

2015-12-01

Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect the tropospheric oxidative capacity due to their ubiquitous abundance and relatively high reactivity towards the hydroxyal radical. Over the ocean and away from terrestrial emission sources, oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) make up a large fraction of VOCs as airmasses age and become more oxidized. In addition to being produced or destroyed in the marine atmosphere, OVOCs can also be emitted from or deposited to the surface ocean. Here we first present direct air-sea flux measurements of three of the most abundant OVOCs - methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde, by the eddy covariance technique from two cruises in the Atlantic: the Atlantic Meridional Transect in 2012 and the High Wind Gas Exchange Study in 2013. The OVOC mixing ratios were quantified by a high resolution proton-reaction-transfer mass spectrometer with isotopically labeled standards and their air-sea (net) fluxes were derived from the eddy covariance technique. Net methanol flux was consistently from the atmosphere to the surface ocean, while acetone varied from supersaturation (emission) in the subtropics to undersaturation (deposition) in the higher latitudes of the North Atlantic. The net air-sea flux of acetaldehyde is near zero through out the Atlantic despite the apparent supersaturation of this compound in the surface ocean. Knowing the dissolved concentrations and in situ production rates of these compounds in seawater, we then estimate their bulk atmospheric depositions and oceanic emissions. Lastly, we summarize the state of knowledge on the air-sea transport of a number of organic gasses, and postulate the magnitude and environmental impact of total organic carbon transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Radiative transfer through terrestrial atmosphere and ocean: Software package SCIATRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozanov, V.V.; Rozanov, A.V.; Kokhanovsky, A.A.; Burrows, J.P.

2014-01-01

SCIATRAN is a comprehensive software package for the modeling of radiative transfer processes in the terrestrial atmosphere and ocean in the spectral range from the ultraviolet to the thermal infrared (0.18–40μm) including multiple scattering processes, polarization, thermal emission and ocean–atmosphere coupling. The software is capable of modeling spectral and angular distributions of the intensity or the Stokes vector of the transmitted, scattered, reflected, and emitted radiation assuming either a plane-parallel or a spherical atmosphere. Simulations are done either in the scalar or in the vector mode (i.e. accounting for the polarization) for observations by space-, air-, ship- and balloon-borne, ground-based, and underwater instruments in various viewing geometries (nadir, off-nadir, limb, occultation, zenith-sky, off-axis). All significant radiative transfer processes are accounted for. These are, e.g. the Rayleigh scattering, scattering by aerosol and cloud particles, absorption by gaseous components, and bidirectional reflection by an underlying surface including Fresnel reflection from a flat or roughened ocean surface. The software package contains several radiative transfer solvers including finite difference and discrete-ordinate techniques, an extensive database, and a specific module for solving inverse problems. In contrast to many other radiative transfer codes, SCIATRAN incorporates an efficient approach to calculate the so-called Jacobians, i.e. derivatives of the intensity with respect to various atmospheric and surface parameters. In this paper we discuss numerical methods used in SCIATRAN to solve the scalar and vector radiative transfer equation, describe databases of atmospheric, oceanic, and surface parameters incorporated in SCIATRAN, and demonstrate how to solve some selected radiative transfer problems using the SCIATRAN package. During the last decades, a lot of studies have been published demonstrating that SCIATRAN is a valuable

Tropospheric weather influenced by solar wind through atmospheric vertical coupling downward control

Science.gov (United States)

Prikryl, Paul; Bruntz, Robert; Tsukijihara, Takumi; Iwao, Koki; Muldrew, Donald B.; Rušin, Vojto; Rybanský, Milan; Turňa, Maroš; Šťastný, Pavel

2018-06-01

Occurrence of severe weather in the context of solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere (MIA) system is investigated. It is observed that significant snowfall, wind and heavy rain, particularly if caused by low pressure systems in winter, tend to follow arrivals of high-speed solar wind. Previously published statistical evidence that explosive extratropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere tend to occur within a few days after arrivals of high-speed solar wind streams from coronal holes (Prikryl et al., 2009, 2016) is corroborated for the southern hemisphere. Cases of severe weather events are examined in the context of the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere (MIA) coupling. Physical mechanism to explain these observations is proposed. The leading edge of high-speed solar wind streams is a locus of large-amplitude magneto-hydrodynamic waves that modulate Joule heating and/or Lorentz forcing of the high-latitude lower thermosphere generating medium-scale atmospheric gravity waves that propagate upward and downward through the atmosphere. Simulations of gravity wave propagation in a model atmosphere using the Transfer Function Model (Mayr et al., 1990) reveal that propagating waves originating in the lower thermosphere can excite a spectrum of gravity waves in the lower atmosphere. In spite of significantly reduced amplitudes but subject to amplification upon reflection in the upper troposphere, these gravity waves can provide a lift of unstable air to release instabilities in the troposphere and initiate convection to form cloud/precipitation bands. It is primarily the energy provided by release of latent heat that leads to intensification of storms. These results indicate that vertical coupling in the atmosphere exerts downward control from solar wind to the lower atmospheric levels influencing tropospheric weather development.

Preface "Nonlinear processes in oceanic and atmospheric flows"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. García-Ladona

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Nonlinear phenomena are essential ingredients in many oceanic and atmospheric processes, and successful understanding of them benefits from multidisciplinary collaboration between oceanographers, meteorologists, physicists and mathematicians. The present Special Issue on "Nonlinear Processes in Oceanic and Atmospheric Flows" contains selected contributions from attendants to the workshop which, in the above spirit, was held in Castro Urdiales, Spain, in July 2008. Here we summarize the Special Issue contributions, which include papers on the characterization of ocean transport in the Lagrangian and in the Eulerian frameworks, generation and variability of jets and waves, interactions of fluid flow with plankton dynamics or heavy drops, scaling in meteorological fields, and statistical properties of El Niño Southern Oscillation.

Glacial ocean circulation and stratification explained by reduced atmospheric temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansen, Malte F

2017-01-03

Earth's climate has undergone dramatic shifts between glacial and interglacial time periods, with high-latitude temperature changes on the order of 5-10 °C. These climatic shifts have been associated with major rearrangements in the deep ocean circulation and stratification, which have likely played an important role in the observed atmospheric carbon dioxide swings by affecting the partitioning of carbon between the atmosphere and the ocean. The mechanisms by which the deep ocean circulation changed, however, are still unclear and represent a major challenge to our understanding of glacial climates. This study shows that various inferred changes in the deep ocean circulation and stratification between glacial and interglacial climates can be interpreted as a direct consequence of atmospheric temperature differences. Colder atmospheric temperatures lead to increased sea ice cover and formation rate around Antarctica. The associated enhanced brine rejection leads to a strongly increased deep ocean stratification, consistent with high abyssal salinities inferred for the last glacial maximum. The increased stratification goes together with a weakening and shoaling of the interhemispheric overturning circulation, again consistent with proxy evidence for the last glacial. The shallower interhemispheric overturning circulation makes room for slowly moving water of Antarctic origin, which explains the observed middepth radiocarbon age maximum and may play an important role in ocean carbon storage.

Coherent Multidecadal Atmospheric and Oceanic Variability in the North Atlantic: Blocking Corresponds with Warm Subpolar Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Hakkinen, Sirpa M.; Rhines, P. B.; Worthen, D. L.

2012-01-01

Winters with frequent atmospheric blocking, in a band of latitudes from Greenland to Western Europe, are found to persist over several decades and correspond to a warm North Atlantic Ocean. This is evident in atmospheric reanalysis data, both modern and for the full 20th century. Blocking is approximately in phase with Atlantic multidecadal ocean variability (AMV). Wintertime atmospheric blocking involves a highly distorted jetstream, isolating large regions of air from the westerly circulation. It influences the ocean through windstress-curl and associated air/sea heat flux. While blocking is a relatively high-frequency phenomenon, it is strongly modulated over decadal timescales. The blocked regime (weaker ocean gyres, weaker air-sea heat flux, paradoxically increased transport of warm subtropical waters poleward) contributes to the warm phase of AMV. Atmospheric blocking better describes the early 20thC warming and 1996-2010 warm period than does the NAO index. It has roots in the hemispheric circulation and jet stream dynamics. Subpolar Atlantic variability covaries with distant AMOC fields: both these connections may express the global influence of the subpolar North Atlantic ocean on the global climate system.

Seasonal variations of the upper ocean salinity stratification in the Tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Maes, Christophe; O'Kane, Terence J.

2014-03-01

In comparison to the deep ocean, the upper mixed layer is a region typically characterized by substantial vertical gradients in water properties. Within the Tropics, the rich variability in the vertical shapes and forms that these structures can assume through variation in the atmospheric forcing results in a differential effect in terms of the temperature and salinity stratification. Rather than focusing on the strong halocline above the thermocline, commonly referred to as the salinity barrier layer, the present study takes into account the respective thermal and saline dependencies in the Brunt-Väisälä frequency (N2) in order to isolate the specific role of the salinity stratification in the layers above the main pycnocline. We examine daily vertical profiles of temperature and salinity from an ocean reanalysis over the period 2001-2007. We find significant seasonal variations in the Brunt-Väisälä frequency profiles are limited to the upper 300 m depth. Based on this, we determine the ocean salinity stratification (OSS) to be defined as the stabilizing effect (positive values) due to the haline part of N2 averaged over the upper 300 m. In many regions of the tropics, the OSS contributes 40-50% to N2 as compared to the thermal stratification and, in some specific regions, exceeds it for a few months of the seasonal cycle. Away from the tropics, for example, near the centers of action of the subtropical gyres, there are regions characterized by the permanent absence of OSS. In other regions previously characterized with salinity barrier layers, the OSS obviously shares some common variations; however, we show that where temperature and salinity are mixed over the same depth, the salinity stratification can be significant. In addition, relationships between the OSS and the sea surface salinity are shown to be well defined and quasilinear in the tropics, providing some indication that in the future, analyses that consider both satellite surface salinity

Characterizing the chaotic nature of ocean ventilation

Science.gov (United States)

MacGilchrist, Graeme A.; Marshall, David P.; Johnson, Helen L.; Lique, Camille; Thomas, Matthew

2017-09-01

Ventilation of the upper ocean plays an important role in climate variability on interannual to decadal timescales by influencing the exchange of heat and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and ocean. The turbulent nature of ocean circulation, manifest in a vigorous mesoscale eddy field, means that pathways of ventilation, once thought to be quasi-laminar, are in fact highly chaotic. We characterize the chaotic nature of ventilation pathways according to a nondimensional "filamentation number," which estimates the reduction in filament width of a ventilated fluid parcel due to mesoscale strain. In the subtropical North Atlantic of an eddy-permitting ocean model, the filamentation number is large everywhere across three upper ocean density surfaces—implying highly chaotic ventilation pathways—and increases with depth. By mapping surface ocean properties onto these density surfaces, we directly resolve the highly filamented structure and confirm that the filamentation number captures its spatial variability. These results have implications for the spreading of atmospherically-derived tracers into the ocean interior.

Statistical and dynamical assessment of land-ocean-atmosphere interactions across North Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yan

impacts is evaluated through ensembles of fully coupled CESM dynamical experiments, with modified leaf area index (LAI) and soil moisture across the Sahel or West African Monsoon (WAM) region. The atmospheric responses to oceanic and terrestrial forcings are generally consistent between the dynamical experiments and statistical GEFA, confirming GEFA's capability of isolating the individual impacts of oceanic and terrestrial forcings on North African climate. Furthermore, with the incorporation of stepwise selection, GEFA can now provide reliable estimates of the oceanic and terrestrial impacts on the North African climate with the typical length of observational datasets, thereby enhancing the method's applicability. After the successful validation of GEFA, the key observed oceanic and terrestrial drivers of North African climate are identified through the application of GEFA to gridded observations, remote sensing products, and reanalyses. According to GEFA, oceanic drivers dominate over terrestrial drivers in terms of their observed impacts on North African climate in most seasons. Terrestrial impacts are comparable to, or more important than, oceanic impacts on rainfall during the post-monsoon across the Sahel and WAM region, and after the short rain across the Horn of Africa (HOA). The key ocean basins that regulate North African rainfall are typically located in the tropics. While the observed impacts of SST variability across the tropical Pacific and tropical Atlantic Oceans on the Sahel rainfall are largely consistent with previous model-based findings, minimal impacts from tropical Indian Ocean variability on Sahel rainfall are identified in observations, in contrast to previous modeling studies. The current observational analysis verifies model-hypothesized positive vegetation-rainfall feedback across the Sahel and HOA, which is confined to the post-monsoon and post-short rains season, respectively. However, the observed positive vegetation feedback to rainfall

The role of diatom resting spores in pelagic-benthic coupling in the Southern Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Rembauville, Mathieu; Blain, Stéphane; Manno, Clara; Tarling, Geraint; Thompson, Anu; Wolff, George; Salter, Ian

2018-05-01

Natural iron fertilization downstream of Southern Ocean island plateaus supports large phytoplankton blooms and promotes carbon export from the mixed layer. In addition to sequestering atmospheric CO2, the biological carbon pump also supplies organic matter (OM) to deep-ocean ecosystems. Although the total flux of OM arriving at the seafloor sets the energy input to the system, the chemical nature of OM is also of significance. However, a quantitative framework linking ecological flux vectors to OM composition is currently lacking. In the present study we report the lipid composition of export fluxes collected by five moored sediment traps deployed in contrasting productivity regimes of Southern Ocean island systems (Kerguelen, Crozet and South Georgia) and compile them with quantitative data on diatom and faecal pellet fluxes. At the three naturally iron-fertilized sites, the relative contribution of labile lipids (mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty alcohols) is 2-4 times higher than at low productivity sites. There is a strong attenuation of labile components as a function of depth, irrespective of productivity. The three island systems also display regional characteristics in lipid export. An enrichment of zooplankton dietary sterols, such as C27Δ5, at South Georgia is consistent with high zooplankton and krill biomass in the region and the importance of faecal pellets to particulate organic carbon (POC) flux. There is a strong association of diatom resting spore fluxes that dominate productive flux regimes with energy-rich unsaturated fatty acids. At the Kerguelen Plateau we provide a statistical framework to link seasonal variation in ecological flux vectors and lipid composition over a complete annual cycle. Our analyses demonstrate that ecological processes in the upper ocean, e.g. resting spore formation and grazing, not only impact the magnitude and stoichiometry of the Southern Ocean biological pump, but also regulate the

Understanding the distinctively skewed and heavy tailed character of atmospheric and oceanic probability distributions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sardeshmukh, Prashant D., E-mail: Prashant.D.Sardeshmukh@noaa.gov [CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States); NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado 80305 (United States); Penland, Cécile [NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado 80305 (United States)

2015-03-15

The probability distributions of large-scale atmospheric and oceanic variables are generally skewed and heavy-tailed. We argue that their distinctive departures from Gaussianity arise fundamentally from the fact that in a quadratically nonlinear system with a quadratic invariant, the coupling coefficients between system components are not constant but depend linearly on the system state in a distinctive way. In particular, the skewness arises from a tendency of the system trajectory to linger near states of weak coupling. We show that the salient features of the observed non-Gaussianity can be captured in the simplest such nonlinear 2-component system. If the system is stochastically forced and linearly damped, with one component damped much more strongly than the other, then the strongly damped fast component becomes effectively decoupled from the weakly damped slow component, and its impact on the slow component can be approximated as a stochastic noise forcing plus an augmented nonlinear damping. In the limit of large time-scale separation, the nonlinear augmentation of the damping becomes small, and the noise forcing can be approximated as an additive noise plus a correlated additive and multiplicative noise (CAM noise) forcing. Much of the diversity of observed large-scale atmospheric and oceanic probability distributions can be interpreted in this minimal framework.

Coupling Between The North Indian Ocean And The Monsoons: A Model Based Study Of The Thermal Structure Cycling In The Central Arabian Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nayak, R.K.

To examine the role of various intervening processes in controlling the upper ocean thermal structure in the central Arabian Sea, a 1-D mixed-layer model based on turbulent closure scheme is forced by atmospheric fluxes and advective heat fluxes...

Atmosphere-Ionosphere Electrodynamic Coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Sorokin, V. M.; Chmyrev, V. M.

Numerous phenomena that occur in the mesosphere, ionosphere, and the magnetosphere of the Earth are caused by the sources located in the lower atmosphere and on the ground. We describe the effects produced by lightning activity and by ground-based transmitters operated in high frequency (HF) and very low frequency (VLF) ranges. Among these phenomena are the ionosphere heating and the formation of plasma density inhomogeneities, the excitation of gamma ray bursts and atmospheric emissions in different spectral bands, the generation of ULF/ELF/VLF electromagnetic waves and plasma turbulence in the ionosphere, the stimulation of radiation belt electron precipitations and the acceleration of ions in the upper ionosphere. The most interesting results of experimental and theoretical studies of these phenomena are discussed below. The ionosphere is subject to the action of the conductive electric current flowing in the atmosphere-ionosphere circuit. We present a physical model of DC electric field and current formation in this circuit. The key element of this model is an external current, which is formed with the occurrence of convective upward transport of charged aerosols and their gravitational sedimentation in the atmosphere. An increase in the level of atmospheric radioactivity results in the appearance of additional ionization and change of electrical conductivity. Variation of conductivity and external current in the lower atmosphere leads to perturbation of the electric current flowing in the global atmosphere-ionosphere circuit and to the associated DC electric field perturbation both on the Earth's surface and in the ionosphere. Description of these processes and some results of the electric field and current calculations are presented below. The seismic-induced electric field perturbations produce noticeable effects in the ionosphere by generating the electromagnetic field and plasma disturbances. We describe the generation mechanisms of such experimentally

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Program UARP and Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP): Research Summaries 1994 - 1996. Report to Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, Rose (Compiler); Wolfe, Kathy (Compiler)

1997-01-01

Under the mandate contained in the FY 1976 NASA Authorization Act, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed and is implementing a comprehensive program of research, technology, and monitoring of the Earth's upper atmosphere, with emphasis on the stratosphere. This program aims at expanding our understanding to permit both the quantitative analysis of current perturbations as well as the assessment of possible future changes in this important region of our environment. It is carried out jointly by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP) and the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), both managed within the Science Division in the Office of Mission to Planet Earth at NASA. Significant contributions to this effort are also provided by the Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project (AEAP) of NASA's Office of Aeronautics. The long-term objectives of the present program are to perform research to: understand the physics, chemistry, and transport processes of the upper atmosphere and their effect on the distribution of chemical species in the stratosphere, such as ozone; understand the relationship of the trace constituent composition of the lower stratosphere and the lower troposphere to the radiative balance and temperature distribution of the Earth's atmosphere; and accurately assess possible perturbations of the upper atmosphere caused by human activities as well as by natural phenomena. In compliance with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Public Law 101-549, NASA has prepared a report on the state of our knowledge of the Earth's upper atmosphere, particularly the stratosphere, and on the progress of UARP and ACMAP. The report for the year 1996 is composed of two parts. Part 1 summarizes the objectives, status, and accomplishments of the research tasks supported under NASA UARP and ACMAP in a document entitled, Research Summary 1994-1996. Part 2 is entitled Present State of Knowledge of the Upper Atmosphere

Climate of the upper atmosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Jacobi

2009-06-01

Full Text Available

In the frame of the European COST 296 project (Mitigation of Ionospheric Effects on Radio Systems, MIERS

investigations of the climate of the upper atmosphere have been carried out during the last four years to obtain

new information on the upper atmosphere. Mainly its ionospheric part has been analysed as the ionosphere

most essential for the propagation of radio waves. Due to collaboration between different European partners

many new results have been derived in the fields of long-term trends of different ionospheric and related atmospheric

parameters, the investigations of different types of atmospheric waves and their impact on the ionosphere,

the variability of the ionosphere, and the investigation of some space weather effects on the ionosphere.

Seasonal evolution of the upper-ocean adjacent to the South Orkney Islands, Southern Ocean: Results from a “lazy biological mooring”

Science.gov (United States)

Meredith, Michael P.; Nicholls, Keith W.; Renfrew, Ian A.; Boehme, Lars; Biuw, Martin; Fedak, Mike

2011-07-01

A serendipitous >8-month time series of hydrographic properties was obtained from the vicinity of the South Orkney Islands, Southern Ocean, by tagging a southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) on Signy Island with a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth/Satellite-Relay Data Logger (CTD-SRDL) in March 2007. Such a time series (including data from the austral autumn and winter) would have been extremely difficult to obtain via other means, and it illustrates with unprecedented temporal resolution the seasonal progression of upper-ocean water mass properties and stratification at this location. Sea ice production values of around 0.15-0.4 m month -1 for April to July were inferred from the progression of salinity, with significant levels still in September (around 0.2 m month -1). However, these values presume that advective processes have negligible effect on the salinity changes observed locally; this presumption is seen to be inappropriate in this case, and it is argued that the ice production rates inferred are better considered as "smeared averages" for the region of the northwestern Weddell Sea upstream from the South Orkneys. The impact of such advective effects is illustrated by contrasting the observed hydrographic series with the output of a one-dimensional model of the upper-ocean forced with local fluxes. It is found that the difference in magnitude between local (modelled) and regional (inferred) ice production is significant, with estimates differing by around a factor of two. A halo of markedly low sea ice concentration around the South Orkneys during the austral winter offers at least a partial explanation for this, since it enabled stronger atmosphere/ocean fluxes to persist and hence stronger ice production to prevail locally compared with the upstream region. The year of data collection was an El Niño year, and it is well-established that this phenomenon can impact strongly on the surface ocean and ice field in this sector of the Southern Ocean, thus

Extreme winds and waves for offshore turbines: Coupling atmosphere and wave modeling for design and operation in coastal zones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsén, Xiaoli Guo; Bolanos, Rodolfo; Du, Jianting

modeling for oshore wind farms. This modeling system consists of the atmospheric Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, the wave model SWAN and an interface the Wave Boundary Layer Model WBLM, within the framework of coupled-ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport modeling system COAWST...... (Hereinafter the WRF-WBLM-SWAN model). WBLM is implemented in SWAN, and it calculates stress and kinetic energy budgets in the lowest atmospheric layer where the wave-induced stress is introduced to the atmospheric modeling. WBLM ensures consistent calculation of stress for both the atmospheric and wave......, which can aect the choice of the off-shore wind turbine type. X-WiWa examined various methodologies for wave modeling. The offline coupling system using atmospheric data such as WRF or global reanalysis wind field to the MIKE 21 SW model has been improved with considerations of stability, air density...

HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM): Global

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Global HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and U.S. Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA) 3-day, daily forecast at approximately 9-km (1/12-degree)...

LOSCAR: Long-term Ocean-atmosphere-Sediment CArbon cycle Reservoir Model v2.0.4

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. E. Zeebe

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The LOSCAR model is designed to efficiently compute the partitioning of carbon between ocean, atmosphere, and sediments on time scales ranging from centuries to millions of years. While a variety of computationally inexpensive carbon cycle models are already available, many are missing a critical sediment component, which is indispensable for long-term integrations. One of LOSCAR's strengths is the coupling of ocean-atmosphere routines to a computationally efficient sediment module. This allows, for instance, adequate computation of CaCO₃ dissolution, calcite compensation, and long-term carbon cycle fluxes, including weathering of carbonate and silicate rocks. The ocean component includes various biogeochemical tracers such as total carbon, alkalinity, phosphate, oxygen, and stable carbon isotopes. LOSCAR's configuration of ocean geometry is flexible and allows for easy switching between modern and paleo-versions. We have previously published applications of the model tackling future projections of ocean chemistry and weathering, pCO₂ sensitivity to carbon cycle perturbations throughout the Cenozoic, and carbon/calcium cycling during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. The focus of the present contribution is the detailed description of the model including numerical architecture, processes and parameterizations, tuning, and examples of input and output. Typical CPU integration times of LOSCAR are of order seconds for several thousand model years on current standard desktop machines. The LOSCAR source code in C can be obtained from the author by sending a request to loscar.model@gmail.com.

Emerging pattern of global change in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Laštovička

2008-05-01

Full Text Available In the upper atmosphere, greenhouse gases produce a cooling effect, instead of a warming effect. Increases in greenhouse gas concentrations are expected to induce substantial changes in the mesosphere, thermosphere, and ionosphere, including a thermal contraction of these layers. In this article we construct for the first time a pattern of the observed long-term global change in the upper atmosphere, based on trend studies of various parameters. The picture we obtain is qualitative, and contains several gaps and a few discrepancies, but the overall pattern of observed long-term changes throughout the upper atmosphere is consistent with model predictions of the effect of greenhouse gas increases. Together with the large body of lower atmospheric trend research, our synthesis indicates that anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are affecting the atmosphere at nearly all altitudes between ground and space.

Impacts of dynamical ocean coupling in MJO experiments using NICAM/NICOCO

Science.gov (United States)

Miyakawa, T.

2016-12-01

The cloud-system resolving atmosphereic model NICAM has been successfull in producing Madden-Julian Oscillations(MJOs), having it's prediction skill estimated to be about 4 weeks in a series of hindcast experiments for winter MJO events during 2003-2012 (Miyakawa et al. 2014). A simple mixed-layer ocean model has been applied with nudging towards a prescribed "persistent anomaly SST", which maintains the initial anomaly with a time-varying climatological seasonal cycle. This setup enables the model to interact with an ocean with reasonably realistic SST, and also run in a "forecast mode", without using any observational information after the initial date. A limitation is that under this setup, the model skill drops if the oceanic anomaly rapidly changes after the initial date in the real world. Here we run a recently developed, full 3D-ocean coupled version NICAM-COCO (NICOCO) and explore its impact on MJO simulations. Dynamical ocean models can produce oceanic waves/currents, but will also have a bias and drift away from reality. In a sub-seasonal simulation (an initial problem), it is essential to compare the merit of having better represented oceanic signals and the demerit of bias/drift. A test case simulation series featuring an MJO that triggered the abrupt termination of a major El Nino in 1998 shows that the abrupt termination occurs in all 9 simulation members, highlighting the merit of ocean coupling. However, this is a case where oceanic signals are at its extremes. We carried out an estimation of MJO prediction skill for a preliminary 1-degree mesh ocean version of NICOCO in a similar manner to Miyakawa et al. (2014). The MJO skill was degraded for simulations that was initialized at RMM phases 1 and 2 (corresponding to the Indian Ocean), while those initialized at phase 8 (Africa) was not strongly affected. The tendency of the model ocean to overestimate the Maritime Continent warm pool SST possibly delays the eastward propagation of MJO convective

International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) with Enhanced Trimming, Release 3

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains the latest official release of International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) with Enhanced Trimming, provided in a common...

International Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) And NCEI Global Marine Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — International Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) consists of digital data set DSI-1173, archived at the National Center for Environmental Information...

Global Change in the Upper Atmosphere

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Laštovička, Jan; Akmaev, R. A.; Beig, G.; Bremer, J.; Emmert, J. T.

2006-01-01

Roč. 314, č. 5803 (2006), s. 1253-1254 ISSN 0036-8075 R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC 091 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30420517 Keywords : Global change * Upper Atmosphere * Ionosphere Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 30.028, year: 2006

Surface wave effect on the upper ocean in marine forecast

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Guansuo; Qiao, Fangli; Xia, Changshui; Zhao, Chang

2015-04-01

An Operational Coupled Forecast System for the seas off China and adjacent (OCFS-C) is constructed based on the paralleled wave-circulation coupled model, which is tested with comprehensive experiments and operational since November 1st, 2007. The main feature of the system is that the wave-induced mixing is considered in circulation model. Daily analyses and three day forecasts of three-dimensional temperature, salinity, currents and wave height are produced. Coverage is global at 1/2 degreed resolution with nested models up to 1/24 degree resolution in China Sea. Daily remote sensing sea surface temperatures (SST) are taken to relax to an analytical product as hot restarting fields for OCFS-C by the Nudging techniques. Forecasting-data inter-comparisons are performed to measure the effectiveness of OCFS-C in predicting upper-ocean quantities including SST, mixed layer depth (MLD) and subsurface temperature. The variety of performance with lead time and real-time is discussed as well using the daily statistic results for SST between forecast and satellite data. Several buoy observations and many Argo profiles are used for this validation. Except the conventional statistical metrics, non-dimension skill scores (SS) is taken to estimate forecast skill. Model SST comparisons with more one year-long SST time series from 2 buoys given a large SS value (more than 0.90). And skill in predicting the seasonal variability of SST is confirmed. Model subsurface temperature comparisons with that from a lot of Argo profiles indicated that OCFS-C has low skill in predicting subsurface temperatures between 80m and 120m. Inter-comparisons of MLD reveal that MLD from model is shallower than that from Argo profiles by about 12m. QCFS-C is successful and steady in predicting MLD. The daily statistic results for SST between 1-d, 2-d and 3-d forecast and data is adopted to describe variability of Skill in predicting SST with lead time or real time. In a word QCFS-C shows reasonable

International Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) in Near-Real Time (NRT)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) Near-Real-Time (NRT) product is an extension of the official ICOADS dataset with preliminary...

Using the Model Coupling Toolkit to couple earth system models

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, J.C.; Perlin, N.; Skyllingstad, E.D.

2008-01-01

Continued advances in computational resources are providing the opportunity to operate more sophisticated numerical models. Additionally, there is an increasing demand for multidisciplinary studies that include interactions between different physical processes. Therefore there is a strong desire to develop coupled modeling systems that utilize existing models and allow efficient data exchange and model control. The basic system would entail model "1" running on "M" processors and model "2" running on "N" processors, with efficient exchange of model fields at predetermined synchronization intervals. Here we demonstrate two coupled systems: the coupling of the ocean circulation model Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to the surface wave model Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN), and the coupling of ROMS to the atmospheric model Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Prediction System (COAMPS). Both coupled systems use the Model Coupling Toolkit (MCT) as a mechanism for operation control and inter-model distributed memory transfer of model variables. In this paper we describe requirements and other options for model coupling, explain the MCT library, ROMS, SWAN and COAMPS models, methods for grid decomposition and sparse matrix interpolation, and provide an example from each coupled system. Methods presented in this paper are clearly applicable for coupling of other types of models. ?? 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiative transfer modeling through terrestrial atmosphere and ocean accounting for inelastic processes: Software package SCIATRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozanov, V.V.; Dinter, T.; Rozanov, A.V.; Wolanin, A.; Bracher, A.; Burrows, J.P.

2017-01-01

SCIATRAN is a comprehensive software package which is designed to model radiative transfer processes in the terrestrial atmosphere and ocean in the spectral range from the ultraviolet to the thermal infrared (0.18–40 μm). It accounts for multiple scattering processes, polarization, thermal emission and ocean–atmosphere coupling. The main goal of this paper is to present a recently developed version of SCIATRAN which takes into account accurately inelastic radiative processes in both the atmosphere and the ocean. In the scalar version of the coupled ocean–atmosphere radiative transfer solver presented by Rozanov et al. we have implemented the simulation of the rotational Raman scattering, vibrational Raman scattering, chlorophyll and colored dissolved organic matter fluorescence. In this paper we discuss and explain the numerical methods used in SCIATRAN to solve the scalar radiative transfer equation including trans-spectral processes, and demonstrate how some selected radiative transfer problems are solved using the SCIATRAN package. In addition we present selected comparisons of SCIATRAN simulations with those published benchmark results, independent radiative transfer models, and various measurements from satellite, ground-based, and ship-borne instruments. The extended SCIATRAN software package along with a detailed User's Guide is made available for scientists and students, who are undertaking their own research typically at universities, via the web page of the Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen: (http://www.iup.physik.uni-bremen.de). - Highlights: • A new version of the software package SCIATRAN is presented. • Inelastic scattering in water and atmosphere is implemented in SCIATRAN. • Raman scattering and fluorescence can be included in radiative transfer calculations. • Comparisons to other radiative transfer models show excellent agreement. • Comparisons to observations show consistent results.

Intraseasonal variability in the atmosphere-ocean climate system. 2. ed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lau, William K.M. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States). Lab. for Atmospheres; Waliser, Duane E. [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States). Earth Science and Technology Directorate, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

2012-07-01

This updated multi-author, comprehensive and authoritative review of intra-seasonal variability (ISV), has a balance of observation, theory and modeling and provides a single source of reference for all those interested in this important, multi-faceted natural phenomenon and its relation to major short-term climatic variations. All the original chapters are updated, where appropriate. The book opens with an overview of ISV and observations from an historical perspective. Successive chapters then deal with the role of ISV in monsoon variability in the South Asian, East Asian and South American monsoon regions, in North America and in the oceans. The coupling between ocean and atmosphere is considered, together with the function of angular momentum and Earth rotation. Later chapters deal with modeling ISV in the atmosphere and oceans, and the connection between the Madden and Julian Oscillation (MJO). Specifically updated in this second edition is the chapter on modeling with recent development in global high-resolution modeling of the fine structures of the MJO. The El Nino/Southern Oscillation with short-term climate change is also considered. The authors consider how knowledge of ISV may be harnessed into improving long range forecasts of severe weather, and a new chapter on substantial new development of ISV research is added. This includes five subject areas: a) new theories of the MJO; b) vertical structures of the MJO, including latent heating profile derived from satellite data; c) extratropical-tropical interaction associated with MJO; d) linkage of ISV to transport of biogeochemical species; and e) possible impact of ISV on West Africa and Middle East region. (orig.)

Can oceanic reanalyses be used to assess recent anthropogenic changes and low-frequency internal variability of upper ocean temperature?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corre, L.; Terray, L.; Weaver, A. [Cerfacs-CNRS, Toulouse (France); Balmaseda, M. [E.C.M.W.F, Reading (United Kingdom); Ribes, A. [CNRM-GAME, Meteo France-CNRS, Toulouse (France)

2012-03-15

A multivariate analysis of the upper ocean thermal structure is used to examine the recent long-term changes and decadal variability in the upper ocean heat content as represented by model-based ocean reanalyses and a model-independent objective analysis. The three variables used are the mean temperature above the 14 C isotherm, its depth and a fixed depth mean temperature (250 m mean temperature). The mean temperature above the 14 C isotherm is a convenient, albeit simple, way to isolate thermodynamical changes by filtering out dynamical changes related to thermocline vertical displacements. The global upper ocean observations and reanalyses exhibit very similar warming trends (0.045 C per decade) over the period 1965-2005, superimposed with marked decadal variability in the 1970s and 1980s. The spatial patterns of the regression between indices (representative of anthropogenic changes and known modes of internal decadal variability), and the three variables associated with the ocean heat content are used as fingerprint to separate out the different contributions. The choice of variables provides information about the local heat absorption, vertical distribution and horizontal redistribution of heat, this latter being suggestive of changes in ocean circulation. The discrepancy between the objective analysis and the reanalyses, as well as the spread among the different reanalyses, are used as a simple estimate of ocean state uncertainties. Two robust findings result from this analysis: (1) the signature of anthropogenic changes is qualitatively different from those of the internal decadal variability associated to the Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation and the Atlantic Meridional Oscillation, and (2) the anthropogenic changes in ocean heat content do not only consist of local heat absorption, but are likely related with changes in the ocean circulation, with a clear shallowing of the tropical thermocline in the Pacific and Indian oceans. (orig.)

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP) and Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP): Research Summaries 1997-1999

Science.gov (United States)

Kurylo, M. J.; DeCola, P. L.; Kaye, J. A.

2000-01-01

Under the mandate contained in the FY 1976 NASA Authorization Act, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed and is implementing a comprehensive program of research, technology development, and monitoring of the Earth's upper atmosphere, with emphasis on the upper troposphere and stratosphere. This program aims at expanding our chemical and physical understanding to permit both the quantitative analysis of current perturbations as well as the assessment of possible future changes in this important region of our environment. It is carried out jointly by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP) and the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), both managed within the Research Division in the Office of Earth Science at NASA. Significant contributions to this effort have also been provided by the Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project (AEAP) of NASA's Office of Aero-Space Technology. The long-term objectives of the present program are to perform research to: understand the physics, chemistry, and transport processes of the upper troposphere and the stratosphere and their control on the distribution of atmospheric chemical species such as ozone; assess possible perturbations to the composition of the atmosphere caused by human activities and natural phenomena (with a specific emphasis on trace gas geographical distributions, sources, and sinks and the role of trace gases in defining the chemical composition of the upper atmosphere); understand the processes affecting the distributions of radiatively active species in the atmosphere, and the importance of chemical-radiative-dynamical feedbacks on the meteorology and climatology of the stratosphere and troposphere; and understand ozone production, loss, and recovery in an atmosphere with increasing abundances of greenhouse gases. The current report is composed of two parts. Part 1 summarizes the objectives, status, and accomplishments of the research tasks supported

Satellite Observations of Imprint of Oceanic Current on Wind Stress by Air-Sea Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Renault, Lionel; McWilliams, James C; Masson, Sebastien

2017-12-18

Mesoscale eddies are present everywhere in the ocean and partly determine the mean state of the circulation and ecosystem. The current feedback on the surface wind stress modulates the air-sea transfer of momentum by providing a sink of mesoscale eddy energy as an atmospheric source. Using nine years of satellite measurements of surface stress and geostrophic currents over the global ocean, we confirm that the current-induced surface stress curl is linearly related to the current vorticity. The resulting coupling coefficient between current and surface stress (s τ [N s m -3 ]) is heterogeneous and can be roughly expressed as a linear function of the mean surface wind. s τ expresses the sink of eddy energy induced by the current feedback. This has important implications for air-sea interaction and implies that oceanic mean and mesoscale circulations and their effects on surface-layer ventilation and carbon uptake are better represented in oceanic models that include this feedback.

DIAS Project: The establishment of a European digital upper atmosphere server

Science.gov (United States)

Belehaki, A.; Cander, Lj.; Zolesi, B.; Bremer, J.; Juren, C.; Stanislawska, I.; Dialetis, D.; Hatzopoulos, M.

2005-08-01

The main objective of DIAS (European Digital Upper Atmosphere Server) project is to develop a pan-European digital data collection on the state of the upper atmosphere, based on real-time information and historical data collections provided by most operating ionospheric stations in Europe. A DIAS system will distribute information required by various groups of users for the specification of upper atmospheric conditions over Europe suitable for nowcasting and forecasting purposes. The successful operation of the DIAS system will lead to the development of new European added-value products and services, to the effective use of observational data in operational applications and consequently to the expansion of the relevant European market.

How ocean color can steer Pacific tropical cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

Gnanadesikan, Anand; Emanuel, Kerry; Vecchi, Gabriel A.; Anderson, Whit G.; Hallberg, Robert

2010-09-01

Because ocean color alters the absorption of sunlight, it can produce changes in sea surface temperatures with further impacts on atmospheric circulation. These changes can project onto fields previously recognized to alter the distribution of tropical cyclones. If the North Pacific subtropical gyre contained no absorbing and scattering materials, the result would be to reduce subtropical cyclone activity in the subtropical Northwest Pacific by 2/3, while concentrating cyclone tracks along the equator. Predicting tropical cyclone activity using coupled models may thus require consideration of the details of how heat moves into the upper thermocline as well as biogeochemical cycling.

Use of Ocean Remote Sensing Data to Enhance Predictions with a Coupled General Circulation Model

Science.gov (United States)

Rienecker, Michele M.

1999-01-01

Surface height, sea surface temperature and surface wind observations from satellites have given a detailed time sequence of the initiation and evolution of the 1997/98 El Nino. The data have beet complementary to the subsurface TAO moored data in their spatial resolution and extent. The impact of satellite observations on seasonal prediction in the tropical Pacific using a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model will be presented.

International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surface marine observational records from ships, buoys, and other platform types are processed and binned creating monthly global and regional grids of the...

Preconditioning of Antarctic maximum sea-ice extent by upper-ocean stratification on a seasonal timescale

OpenAIRE

Su, Zhan

2017-01-01

This study uses an observationally constrained and dynamically consistent ocean and sea ice state estimate. The author presents a remarkable agreement between the location of the edge of Antarctic maximum sea ice extent, reached in September, and the narrow transition band for the upper ocean (0–100 m depths) stratification, as early as April to June. To the south of this edge, the upper ocean has high stratification, which forbids convective fluxes to cross through; consequently, the ocean h...

Ocean-atmosphere interaction and synoptic weather conditions in ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

turbances over oceans. On the other hand, these disturbances have an impact on the oceanic mixed layer, causing changes in the SST. This complex feed back process between the sea surface and the atmospheric disturbances is important in deter- mining the life span of the synoptic scale events. (Paul et al 1992). In view ...

Effect of Modulation of ENSO by Decadal and Multidecadal Ocean-Atmospheric Oscillations on Continental US Streamflows

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, S.; Abebe, A.; Srivastava, P.; Chaubey, I.

2017-12-01

Evaluation of the influences of individual and coupled oceanic-atmospheric oscillations on streamflow at a regional scale in the United States is the focus of this study. The main climatic oscillations considered in this study are: El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Unimpacted or minimally impacted by water management streamflow data from the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) were used in this study. Two robust and novel non-parametric tests, namely, the rank based partial least square (PLS) and the Joint Rank Fit (JRFit) procedures were used to identify the individual and coupled effect of oscillations on streamflow across continental U.S. (CONUS), respectively. Moreover, the interactive effects of ENSO with decadal and multidecadal cycles were tested and quantified using the JRFit interaction test. The analysis of ENSO indicated higher streamflows during La Niña phase compared to the El Niño phase in Northwest, Northeast and the lower part of Ohio Valley while the opposite occurs for rest of the climatic regions in US. Two distinct climate regions (Northwest and Southeast) were identified from the PDO analysis where PDO negative phase results in increased streamflow than PDO positive phase. Consistent negative and positive correlated regions around the CONUS were identified for AMO and NAO, respectively. The interaction test of ENSO with decadal and multidecadal oscillations showed that El Niño is modulated by the negative phase of PDO and NAO, and the positive phase of AMO, respectively, in the Upper Midwest. However, La Niña is modulated by the positive phase of AMO and PDO in Ohio Valley and Northeast while in Southeast and the South it is modulated by AMO negative phase. Results of this study will assist water managers to understand the streamflow change patterns across the CONUS at decadal and multi-decadal time scales. The

Long-term trends in the ionosphere and upper atmosphere parameters

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bremer, J.; Alfonsi, L.; Pal, B.; Laštovička, Jan; Mikhailov, A. V.; Rogers, N.

47 /suppl./, 2/3 (2004), s. 1009-1029 ISSN 1593-5213. [Final Meeting COST271 Action. Effects of the upper atmosphere on terrestrial and Earth-space communications (EACOS). Abingdon, 26.08.2004-27.08.2004] R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC 271.10 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3042911 Keywords : long-term trends * ionosphere * upper atmosphere Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 0.413, year: 2004

Scaling laws for perturbations in the ocean-atmosphere system following large CO2 emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Towles, N.; Olson, P.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2015-07-01

Scaling relationships are found for perturbations to atmosphere and ocean variables from large transient CO2 emissions. Using the Long-term Ocean-atmosphere-Sediment CArbon cycle Reservoir (LOSCAR) model (Zeebe et al., 2009; Zeebe, 2012b), we calculate perturbations to atmosphere temperature, total carbon, ocean temperature, total ocean carbon, pH, alkalinity, marine-sediment carbon, and carbon-13 isotope anomalies in the ocean and atmosphere resulting from idealized CO2 emission events. The peak perturbations in the atmosphere and ocean variables are then fit to power law functions of the form of γ DαEβ, where D is the event duration, E is its total carbon emission, and γ is a coefficient. Good power law fits are obtained for most system variables for E up to 50 000 PgC and D up to 100 kyr. Although all of the peak perturbations increase with emission rate E/D, we find no evidence of emission-rate-only scaling, α + β = 0. Instead, our scaling yields α + β ≃ 1 for total ocean and atmosphere carbon and 0 < α + β < 1 for most of the other system variables.

Mercury biogeochemical cycling in the ocean and policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Robert P; Choi, Anna L; Fitzgerald, William F; Hammerschmidt, Chad R; Lamborg, Carl H; Soerensen, Anne L; Sunderland, Elsie M

2012-11-01

Anthropogenic activities have enriched mercury in the biosphere by at least a factor of three, leading to increases in total mercury (Hg) in the surface ocean. However, the impacts on ocean fish and associated trends in human exposure as a result of such changes are less clear. Here we review our understanding of global mass budgets for both inorganic and methylated Hg species in ocean seawater. We consider external inputs from atmospheric deposition and rivers as well as internal production of monomethylmercury (CH₃Hg) and dimethylmercury ((CH₃)₂Hg). Impacts of large-scale ocean circulation and vertical transport processes on Hg distribution throughout the water column and how this influences bioaccumulation into ocean food chains are also discussed. Our analysis suggests that while atmospheric deposition is the main source of inorganic Hg to open ocean systems, most of the CH₃Hg accumulating in ocean fish is derived from in situ production within the upper waters (ocean basins are changing at different rates due to differences in atmospheric loading and that the deeper waters of the oceans are responding slowly to changes in atmospheric Hg inputs. Most biological exposures occur in the upper ocean and therefore should respond over years to decades to changes in atmospheric mercury inputs achieved by regulatory control strategies. Migratory pelagic fish such as tuna and swordfish are an important component of CH₃Hg exposure for many human populations and therefore any reduction in anthropogenic releases of Hg and associated deposition to the ocean will result in a decline in human exposure and risk. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multiple climate and sea ice states on a coupled Aquaplanet

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, B.; Ferreira, D.; Marshall, J.

2010-12-01

A fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice GCM is used to explore the climates of Earth-like planets with no continents and idealized ocean basin geometries. We find three qualitatively different stable equilibria under identical external forcing: an equable ice-free climate, a cold climate with ice caps extending into mid-latitudes, and a completely ice-covered "Snowball" state. These multiple states persist for millennia with no drift despite a full seasonal cycle and vigorous internal variability of the system on all time scales. The behavior of the coupled system is rationalized through an extension of the Budyko-Sellers model to include explicit ocean heat transport (OHT), and the insulation of the ice-covered sea surface. Sensitivity tests are also conducted with a slab ocean GCM with prescribed OHT. From these we conclude that albedo feedback and ocean circulation both play essential roles in the maintenance of the multiple states. OHT in the coupled system is dominated by a wind-driven subtropical cell carrying between 2 and 3 PW of thermal energy out of the deep tropics, most of which converges in the subtropics to lower mid-latitudes. This convergence pattern (similar to modern Earth) is robust to changes in the ocean basin geometry, and is directly responsible for the stabilization of the large ice cap. OHT also plays an essential but indirect role in the maintenance of the ice-free pole in the warm states, by driving an enhanced poleward atmospheric latent heat flux. The hysteresis loop for transitions between the warm and large ice cap states spans a much smaller range of parameter space (e.g. ±1.8% variations in solar constant) than the transitions in and out of the Snowball. Three qualitatively different climate states for the same external forcing in a coupled GCM: ice-free, large ice cap, and Snowball. SST and sea ice thickness are plotted. Similar results are found in a pure Aquaplanet (lower) and a "RidgeWorld" with a global-scale ocean basin

Magnetization of lower oceanic crust and upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Kikawa, E.

2004-05-01

The location of the magnetized rocks of the oceanic crust that are responsible for sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies has been a long-standing problem in geophysics. The recognition of these anomalies was a key stone in the development of the theory of plate tectonics. Our present concept of oceanic crustal magnetization is much more complex than the original, uniformly magnetized model of Vine-Matthews-Morley Hypothesis. Magnetic inversion studies indicated that the upper oceanic extrusive layer (Layer 2A of 0.5km thick) was the only magnetic layer and that it was not necessary to postulate any contribution from deeper parts of oceanic crust. Direct measurements of the magnetic properties of the rocks recovered from the sea floor, however, have shown that the magnetization of Layer 2A, together with the observations that this layer could record geomagnetic field reversals within a vertical section, is insufficient to give the required size of observed magnetic anomalies and that some contribution from lower intrusive rocks is necessary. Magnetization of oceanic intrusive rocks were observed to be reasonably high enough to contribute to sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies, but were considered somewhat equivocal until late 1980Os, in part because studies had been conducted on unoriented dredged and ophiolite samples and on intermittent DSDP/ODP cores. Since ODP Leg 118 that cored and recovered continuous 500m of oceanic intrusive layer at Site 735B, Southwest Indian Ridge with an extremely high recovery of 87 percent, there have been several ODP Legs (legs 147, 153, 176, 179 and 209) that were devoted to drilling gabbroic rocks and peridotites. In terms of the magnetization intensities, all of the results obtained from these ODP Legs were supportive of the model that a significant contribution must come from gabbros and peridotites and the source of the lineated magnetic anomalies must reside in most of the oceanic crust as well as crust-mantle boundary

Causes and consequences of mid–21st-century rapid ice loss events simulated by the Rossby centre regional atmosphere-ocean model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Philippe Paquin

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Recent observations and modelling studies suggest that the Arctic climate is undergoing important transition. One manifestation of this change is seen in the rapid sea-ice cover decrease as experienced in 2007 and 2012. Although most numerical climate models cannot adequately reproduce the recent changes, some models produce similar Rapid Ice Loss Events (RILEs during the mid–21st-century. This study presents an analysis of four specific RILEs clustered around 2040 in three transient climate projections performed with the coupled Rossby Centre regional Atmosphere-Ocean model (RCAO. The analysis shows that long-term thinning causes increased vulnerability of the Arctic Ocean sea-ice cover. In the Atlantic sector, pre-conditioning (thinning of sea ice combined with anomalous atmospheric and oceanic heat transport causes large ice loss, while in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean sea-ice albedo feedback appears important, particularly along the retreating sea-ice margin. Although maximum sea-ice loss occurs in the autumn, response in surface air temperature occurs in early winter, caused by strong increase in ocean-atmosphere surface energy fluxes, mainly the turbulent fluxes. Synchronicity of the events around 2040 in the projections is caused by a strong large-scale atmospheric circulation anomaly at the Atlantic lateral boundary of the regional model. The limited impact on land is caused by vertical propagation of the surface heat anomaly rather than horizontal, caused by the absence of low-level temperature inversion over the ocean.

Development and validation of a regional coupled forecasting system for S2S forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, R.; Subramanian, A. C.; Hoteit, I.; Miller, A. J.; Ralph, M.; Cornuelle, B. D.

2017-12-01

Accurate and efficient forecasting of oceanic and atmospheric circulation is essential for a wide variety of high-impact societal needs, including: weather extremes; environmental protection and coastal management; management of fisheries, marine conservation; water resources; and renewable energy. Effective forecasting relies on high model fidelity and accurate initialization of the models with observed state of the ocean-atmosphere-land coupled system. A regional coupled ocean-atmosphere model with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and the MITGCM ocean model coupled using the ESMF (Earth System Modeling Framework) coupling framework is developed to resolve mesoscale air-sea feedbacks. The regional coupled model allows oceanic mixed layer heat and momentum to interact with the atmospheric boundary layer dynamics at the mesoscale and submesoscale spatiotemporal regimes, thus leading to feedbacks which are otherwise not resolved in coarse resolution global coupled forecasting systems or regional uncoupled forecasting systems. The model is tested in two scenarios in the mesoscale eddy rich Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean region as well as mesoscale eddies and fronts of the California Current System. Recent studies show evidence for air-sea interactions involving the oceanic mesoscale in these two regions which can enhance predictability on sub seasonal timescale. We will present results from this newly developed regional coupled ocean-atmosphere model for forecasts over the Red Sea region as well as the California Current region. The forecasts will be validated against insitu observations in the region as well as reanalysis fields.

The atmospheric boundary layer response to the dynamic new Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, D. L.; Ganeshan, M.

2016-12-01

The increasing ice-free area in the Arctic Ocean has transformed its climate system to one with more dynamic boundary layer clouds and seasonal sea ice. During the fall freeze season, the surface sensible heat flux (SSHF) is a crucial mechanism for the loss of excessive ocean heat to the atmosphere, and it has been speculated to play an important role in the recent cloud cover increase and boundary layer (BL) instability observed in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Based on multi-year Japanese cruise ship observations from the ice-strengthened R/V Mirai, we are able to characterize the late summer and early fall ocean-BL interactions in this region. Although the BL is found to be well-mixed more than 90% of the time, the SSHF can explain only 10% of the mixed layer height variability. It is the cloud-generated convective turbulence that apparently dominates BL mixing in this ice-free region, which is similar to previous in-situ observations (SHEBA, ASCOS) over sea ice. The SSHF, however, may contribute to BL instability during conditions of uplift (low-pressure), and the presence of the highly stable stratus cloud regime. The efficiency of sensible heat exchange is low during cold air advection (associated with the stratocumulus cloud regime) despite an enhanced ocean-atmosphere temperature difference (ΔT). In general, surface-generated mixing is favored during episodes of high surface wind speeds as opposed to pronounced ΔT. Our analysis suggests a weak local response of the boundary layer stability to the loss of sea ice cover during late summer, which is masked by the strong influence of the large-scale circulation (and clouds). Apart from the fall season, we also studied the Arctic Ocean BL properties during the cold months (Nov-Apr) using multi-year satellite measurements (COSMIC RO). As the boundary layer is typically stable at this time, one might expect major differences in the nature of surface-atmosphere coupling compared to that observed during late

Future projections of the surface heat and water budgets of the Mediterranean Sea in an ensemble of coupled atmosphere-ocean regional climate models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubois, C.; Somot, S.; Deque, M.; Sevault, F. [CNRM-GAME, Meteo-France, CNRS, Toulouse (France); Calmanti, S.; Carillo, A.; Dell' Aquilla, A.; Sannino, G. [ENEA, Rome (Italy); Elizalde, A.; Jacob, D. [Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Gualdi, S.; Oddo, P.; Scoccimarro, E. [INGV, Bologna (Italy); L' Heveder, B.; Li, L. [Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Paris (France)

2012-10-15

Within the CIRCE project ''Climate change and Impact Research: the Mediterranean Environment'', an ensemble of high resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean regional climate models (AORCMs) are used to simulate the Mediterranean climate for the period 1950-2050. For the first time, realistic net surface air-sea fluxes are obtained. The sea surface temperature (SST) variability is consistent with the atmospheric forcing above it and oceanic constraints. The surface fluxes respond to external forcing under a warming climate and show an equivalent trend in all models. This study focuses on the present day and on the evolution of the heat and water budget over the Mediterranean Sea under the SRES-A1B scenario. On the contrary to previous studies, the net total heat budget is negative over the present period in all AORCMs and satisfies the heat closure budget controlled by a net positive heat gain at the strait of Gibraltar in the present climate. Under climate change scenario, some models predict a warming of the Mediterranean Sea from the ocean surface (positive net heat flux) in addition to the positive flux at the strait of Gibraltar for the 2021-2050 period. The shortwave and latent flux are increasing and the longwave and sensible fluxes are decreasing compared to the 1961-1990 period due to a reduction of the cloud cover and an increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) and SSTs over the 2021-2050 period. The AORCMs provide a good estimates of the water budget with a drying of the region during the twenty-first century. For the ensemble mean, he decrease in precipitation and runoff is about 10 and 15% respectively and the increase in evaporation is much weaker, about 2% compared to the 1961-1990 period which confirm results obtained in recent studies. Despite a clear consistency in the trends and results between the models, this study also underlines important differences in the model set-ups, methodology and choices of some physical parameters inducing

Upper ocean circulation modulation by phytoplankton concentration in the Equatorial Pacific and the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nakamoto, S.; PrasannaKumar, S.; Oberhuber, J.M.; Sammarco, P.; Muneyama, K.; Sato, T.; AjoyKumar, A.; Frouin, R.

gradient in the upper ocean. This strengthens the geostrophically balanced westward currents in both side of the equatorial wave-guide (within 5 degree bands). Once these currents reach the western Pacific coast, they feed the Equatorial undercurrent (EUC...

A HPC “Cyber Wind Facility” Incorporating Fully-Coupled CFD/CSD for Turbine-Platform-Wake Interactions with the Atmosphere and Ocean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brasseur, James G. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

2017-05-09

The central aims of the DOE-supported “Cyber Wind Facility” project center on the recognition that wind turbines over land and ocean generate power from atmospheric winds that are inherently turbulent and strongly varying, both spatially over the rotor disk and in temporally as the rotating blades pass through atmospheric eddies embedded within the mean wind. The daytime unstable atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is particularly variable in space time as solar heating generates buoyancy-driven motions that interact with strong mean shear in the ABL “surface layer,” the lowest 200 - 300 m where wind turbines reside in farms. With the “Cyber Wind Facility” (CWF) program we initiate a research and technology direction in which “cyber data” are generated from “computational experiments” within a “facility” akin to a wind tunnel, but with true space-time atmospheric turbulence that drive utility-scale wind turbines at full-scale Reynolds numbers. With DOE support we generated the key “modules” within a computational framework to create a first generation Cyber Wind Facility (CWF) for single wind turbines in the daytime ABL---both over land where the ABL globally unstable and over water with closer-to-neutral atmospheric conditions but with time response strongly affected by wave-induced forcing of the wind turbine platform (here a buoy configuration). The CWF program has significantly improved the accuracy of actuator line models, evaluated with the Cyber Wind Facility in full blade-boundary-layer-resolved mode. The application of the CWF made in this program showed the existence of important ramp-like response events that likely contribute to bearing fatigue failure on the main shaft and that the advanced ALM method developed here captures the primary nonsteady response characteristics. Long-time analysis uncovered distinctive key dynamics that explain primary mechanisms that underlie potentially deleterious load transients. We also showed

Estimation of the Atmosphere-Ocean Fluxes of Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols at the Finer Resolution of the Coastal Ocean

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vieira, V.; Sahlée, E.; Juruš, Pavel; Clementi, E.; Pettersson, H.; Mateus, M.

2016-01-01

Roč. 18 (2016), EGU2016-1990-1 ISSN 1607-7962. [EGU General Assembly 2016. 17.04.2016-22.04.2016, Vienna] Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : greenhouse gases * carbon cycle * atmosphere- ocean interaction * atmosphere modelling * ocean modelling Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology

Upper Atmosphere Research Report Number 2

Science.gov (United States)

1946-12-30

as a whol,. The history of the program was given in some detail in the first report*. The part of the Naval Research Laboratory in upper atmosphere...5B and 6. The third gage was installed as a service to the spectroscopy program. The gago elements were simply 6 watt, 110 volt Mazda pilot *1 lamps

Entropy budget of the earth,atmosphere and ocean system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

GAN Zijun; YAN Youfangand; QI Yiquan

2004-01-01

The energy budget in the system of the earth, atmosphere and ocean conforms to the first law of thermodynamics, namely the law of conservation of energy, and it is balanced when the system is in a steady-state condition. However, the entropy budget following the second law of thermodynamics is unbalanced. In this paper, we deduce the expressions of entropy flux and re-estimate the earth, atmosphere and ocean annual mean entropy budget with the updated climatologically global mean energy budget and the climatologically air-sea flux data. The calculated results show that the earth system obtains a net influx of negative entropy (-1179.3 mWm-2K-1) from its surroundings, and the atmosphere and the ocean systems obtain a net input of negative entropy at about -537.4 mWm-2K-1 and -555.6 mWm-2K-1, respectively. Calculations of the entropy budget can provide some guidance for further understanding the spatial-temporal change of the local entropy flux, and the entropy production resulting from all kinds of irreversible processes inside these systems.

Space fireworks for upper atmospheric wind measurements by sounding rocket experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, M.

2016-01-01

Artificial meteor trains generated by chemical releases by using sounding rockets flown in upper atmosphere were successfully observed by multiple sites on ground and from an aircraft. We have started the rocket experiment campaign since 2007 and call it "Space fireworks" as it illuminates resonance scattering light from the released gas under sunlit/moonlit condition. By using this method, we have acquired a new technique to derive upper atmospheric wind profiles in twilight condition as well as in moonlit night and even in daytime. Magnificent artificial meteor train images with the surrounding physics and dynamics in the upper atmosphere where the meteors usually appear will be introduced by using fruitful results by the "Space firework" sounding rocket experiments in this decade.

Satellite observations of middle atmosphere-thermosphere vertical coupling by gravity waves

Science.gov (United States)

Trinh, Quang Thai; Ern, Manfred; Doornbos, Eelco; Preusse, Peter; Riese, Martin

2018-03-01

Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) are essential for the dynamics of the middle atmosphere. Recent studies have shown that these waves are also important for the thermosphere/ionosphere (T/I) system. Via vertical coupling, GWs can significantly influence the mean state of the T/I system. However, the penetration of GWs into the T/I system is not fully understood in modeling as well as observations. In the current study, we analyze the correlation between GW momentum fluxes observed in the middle atmosphere (30-90 km) and GW-induced perturbations in the T/I. In the middle atmosphere, GW momentum fluxes are derived from temperature observations of the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite instrument. In the T/I, GW-induced perturbations are derived from neutral density measured by instruments on the Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) and CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) satellites. We find generally positive correlations between horizontal distributions at low altitudes (i.e., below 90 km) and horizontal distributions of GW-induced density fluctuations in the T/I (at 200 km and above). Two coupling mechanisms are likely responsible for these positive correlations: (1) fast GWs generated in the troposphere and lower stratosphere can propagate directly to the T/I and (2) primary GWs with their origins in the lower atmosphere dissipate while propagating upwards and generate secondary GWs, which then penetrate up to the T/I and maintain the spatial patterns of GW distributions in the lower atmosphere. The mountain-wave related hotspot over the Andes and Antarctic Peninsula is found clearly in observations of all instruments used in our analysis. Latitude-longitude variations in the summer midlatitudes are also found in observations of all instruments. These variations and strong positive correlations in the summer midlatitudes suggest that GWs with origins related to convection also propagate up to the T

Impacts of atmospheric anthropogenic nitrogen on the open ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duce, R.A.; LaRoche, J.; Altieri, K.; Arrigo, K.R.; Baker, A.R.; Capone, D.G.; Cornell, S.; Dentener, F.; Galloway, J.; Ganeshram, R.S.; Geider, R.J.; Jickells, T.; Kuypers, M.M.; Langlois, R.; Liss, P.S.; Liu, S.; Middelburg, J.J.; Moore, C.M.; Nickovic, S.; Oschlies, A.; Pedersen, T.; Prospero, J.; Schlitzer, R.; Seitzinger, S.; Sorensen, L.L.; Uematsu, M.; Ulloa, O.; Voss, M.; Ward, B.; Zamora, L.

2008-01-01

Increasing quantities of atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen entering the open ocean could account for up to about a third of the ocean's external (nonrecycled) nitrogen supply and up to 3% of the annual new marine biological production, 0.3 petagram of carbon per year. This input could account

Response of upper ocean cooling off northeastern Taiwan to typhoon passages

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Zhe-Wen; Zheng, Quanan; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Kuo, Yi-Chun; Yeh, Ting-Kuang

2017-07-01

A comprehensive investigation of the typhoon induced upper ocean processes and responses off northeastern Taiwan was conducted. Using the Regional Ocean Modeling System, the upper ocean responses of all typhoons striking Taiwan between 2005 and 2013 were simulated. In addition to Kuroshio intrusion, the present study demonstrates another important mechanism of typhoon induced near-inertial currents over the continental shelf of East China Sea, which can also trigger a distinct cooling (through entrainment mixing) within this region. Results indicate that the processes of typhoon inducing distinct cooling off northeastern Taiwan are conditional phenomena (only ∼12% of typhoons passing Taiwan triggered extreme cooling there). Subsequently, by executing a series of sensitivity experiments and systematic analyses on the behaviors and background conditions of all those typhoon cases, key criteria determining the occurrences of cooling through both mechanisms were elucidated. Occurrences of cooling through the Kuroshio intrusion mechanism are determined mainly by the strength of the local wind over northeastern Taiwan. A distinct cooling triggered by enhanced near-inertial currents is shown to be associated with the process of wind-current resonance. Both processes of Kuroshio intrusion and enhanced near-inertial currents are dominated by wind forcing rather than upper oceanic conditions. Based on the recent findings on the possible dynamic linkage between sea surface temperature near northeast Taiwan and local weather systems, the results elucidated in this study lay the foundation for further improvement in the regional weather prediction surrounding northeast Taiwan.

Large Abundances of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Titan's Upper Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Puertas, M.; Dinelli, B. M.; Adriani, A.; Funke, B.; Garcia-Comas, M.; Moriconi, M. L.; D'Aversa, E.; Boersma, C.; Allamandola, L. J.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we analyze the strong unidentified emission near 3.28 micron in Titan's upper daytime atmosphere recently discovered by Dinelli et al.We have studied it by using the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), after absorbing UV solar radiation, are able to emit strongly near 3.3 micron. By using current models for the redistribution of the absorbed UV energy, we have explained the observed spectral feature and have derived the vertical distribution of PAH abundances in Titan's upper atmosphere. PAHs have been found to be present in large concentrations, about (2-3) × 10(exp 4) particles / cubic cm. The identified PAHs have 9-96 carbons, with a concentration-weighted average of 34 carbons. The mean mass is approx 430 u; the mean area is about 0.53 sq. nm; they are formed by 10-11 rings on average, and about one-third of them contain nitrogen atoms. Recently, benzene together with light aromatic species as well as small concentrations of heavy positive and negative ions have been detected in Titan's upper atmosphere. We suggest that the large concentrations of PAHs found here are the neutral counterpart of those positive and negative ions, which hence supports the theory that the origin of Titan main haze layer is located in the upper atmosphere.

New constraints on terrestrial and oceanic sources of atmospheric methanol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. B. Millet

2008-12-01

Full Text Available We use a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem to interpret new aircraft, surface, and oceanic observations of methanol in terms of the constraints that they place on the atmospheric methanol budget. Recent measurements of methanol concentrations in the ocean mixed layer (OML imply that in situ biological production must be the main methanol source in the OML, dominating over uptake from the atmosphere. It follows that oceanic emission and uptake must be viewed as independent terms in the atmospheric methanol budget. We deduce that the marine biosphere is a large primary source (85 Tg a⁻¹ of methanol to the atmosphere and is also a large sink (101 Tg a⁻¹, comparable in magnitude to atmospheric oxidation by OH (88 Tg a⁻¹. The resulting atmospheric lifetime of methanol in the model is 4.7 days. Aircraft measurements in the North American boundary layer imply that terrestrial plants are a much weaker source than presently thought, likely reflecting an overestimate of broadleaf tree emissions, and this is also generally consistent with surface measurements. We deduce a terrestrial plant source of 80 Tg a⁻¹, comparable in magnitude to the ocean source. The aircraft measurements show a strong correlation with CO (R²=0.51−0.61 over North America during summer. We reproduce this correlation and slope in the model with the reduced plant source, which also confirms that the anthropogenic source of methanol must be small. Our reduced plant source also provides a better simulation of methanol observations over tropical South America.

Skill Assessment of a Spectral Ocean-Atmosphere Radiative Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Watson, W.; Casey, Nancy W.

2009-01-01

Ocean phytoplankton, detrital material, and water absorb and scatter light spectrally. The Ocean- Atmosphere Spectral Irradiance Model (OASIM) is intended to provide surface irradiance over the oceans with sufficient spectral resolution to support ocean ecology, biogeochemistry, and heat exchange investigations, and of sufficient duration to support inter-annual and decadal investigations. OASIM total surface irradiance (integrated 200 nm to 4 microns) was compared to in situ data and three publicly available global data products at monthly 1-degree resolution. OASIM spectrally-integrated surface irradiance had root mean square (RMS) difference= 20.1 W/sq m (about 11%), bias=1.6 W/sq m (about 0.8%), regression slope= 1.01 and correlation coefficient= 0.89, when compared to 2322 in situ observations. OASIM had the lowest bias of any of the global data products evaluated (ISCCP-FD, NCEP, and ISLSCP 11), and the best slope (nearest to unity). It had the second best RMS, and the third best correlation coefficient. OASIM total surface irradiance compared well with ISCCP-FD (RMS= 20.7 W/sq m; bias=-11.4 W/sq m, r=0.98) and ISLSCP II (RMS =25.2 W/sq m; bias= -13.8 W/sq m; r=0.97), but less well with NCEP (RMS =43.0 W/sq m ;bias=-22.6 W/sq m; x=0.91). Comparisons of OASIM photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) with PAR derived from SeaWiFS showed low bias (-1.8 mol photons /sq m/d, or about 5%), RMS (4.25 mol photons /sq m/d ' or about 12%), near unity slope (1.03) and high correlation coefficient (0.97). Coupled with previous estimates of clear sky spectral irradiance in OASIM (6.6% RMS at 1 nm resolution), these results suggest that OASIM provides reasonable estimates of surface broadband and spectral irradiance in the oceans, and can support studies on ocean ecosystems, carbon cycling, and heat exchange.

Tropical Cyclone Induced Air-Sea Interactions Over Oceanic Fronts

Science.gov (United States)

Shay, L. K.

2012-12-01

Recent severe tropical cyclones underscore the inherent importance of warm background ocean fronts and their interactions with the atmospheric boundary layer. Central to the question of heat and moisture fluxes, the amount of heat available to the tropical cyclone is predicated by the initial mixed layer depth and strength of the stratification that essentially set the level of entrainment mixing at the base of the mixed layer. In oceanic regimes where the ocean mixed layers are thin, shear-induced mixing tends to cool the upper ocean to form cold wakes which reduces the air-sea fluxes. This is an example of negative feedback. By contrast, in regimes where the ocean mixed layers are deep (usually along the western part of the gyres), warm water advection by the nearly steady currents reduces the levels of turbulent mixing by shear instabilities. As these strong near-inertial shears are arrested, more heat and moisture transfers are available through the enthalpy fluxes (typically 1 to 1.5 kW m-2) into the hurricane boundary layer. When tropical cyclones move into favorable or neutral atmospheric conditions, tropical cyclones have a tendency to rapidly intensify as observed over the Gulf of Mexico during Isidore and Lili in 2002, Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005, Dean and Felix in 2007 in the Caribbean Sea, and Earl in 2010 just north of the Caribbean Islands. To predict these tropical cyclone deepening (as well as weakening) cycles, coupled models must have ocean models with realistic ocean conditions and accurate air-sea and vertical mixing parameterizations. Thus, to constrain these models, having complete 3-D ocean profiles juxtaposed with atmospheric profiler measurements prior, during and subsequent to passage is an absolute necessity framed within regional scale satellite derived fields.

Modelling the mid-Pliocene Warm Period climate with the IPSL coupled model and its atmospheric component LMDZ5A

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Contoux

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the experimental design and model results of the climate simulations of the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP, ca. 3.3–3 Ma using the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace model (IPSLCM5A, in the framework of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP. We use the IPSL atmosphere ocean general circulation model (AOGCM, and its atmospheric component alone (AGCM, to simulate the climate of the mPWP. Boundary conditions such as sea surface temperatures (SSTs, topography, ice-sheet extent and vegetation are derived from the ones imposed by the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP, described in Haywood et al. (2010, 2011. We first describe the IPSL model main features, and then give a full description of the boundary conditions used for atmospheric model and coupled model experiments. The climatic outputs of the mPWP simulations are detailed and compared to the corresponding control simulations. The simulated warming relative to the control simulation is 1.94 °C in the atmospheric and 2.07 °C in the coupled model experiments. In both experiments, warming is larger at high latitudes. Mechanisms governing the simulated precipitation patterns are different in the coupled model than in the atmospheric model alone, because of the reduced gradients in imposed SSTs, which impacts the Hadley and Walker circulations. In addition, a sensitivity test to the change of land-sea mask in the atmospheric model, representing a sea-level change from present-day to 25 m higher during the mid-Pliocene, is described. We find that surface temperature differences can be large (several degrees Celsius but are restricted to the areas that were changed from ocean to land or vice versa. In terms of precipitation, impact on polar regions is minor although the change in land-sea mask is significant in these areas.

The impact on atmospheric CO2 of iron fertilization induced changes in the ocean's biological pump

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, X.; Gruber, N.; Frenzel, H.; Doney, S. C.; McWilliams, J. C.

2008-03-01

Using numerical simulations, we quantify the impact of changes in the ocean's biological pump on the air-sea balance of CO2 by fertilizing a small surface patch in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll region of the eastern tropical Pacific with iron. Decade-long fertilization experiments are conducted in a basin-scale, eddy-permitting coupled physical/biogeochemical/ecological model. In contrast to previous studies, we find that most of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) removed from the euphotic zone by the enhanced biological export is replaced by uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. Atmospheric uptake efficiencies, the ratio of the perturbation in air-sea CO2 flux to the perturbation in export flux across 100 m, integrated over 10 years, are 0.75 to 0.93 in our patch size-scale experiments. The atmospheric uptake efficiency is insensitive to the duration of the experiment. The primary factor controlling the atmospheric uptake efficiency is the vertical distribution of the enhanced biological production and export. Iron fertilization at the surface tends to induce production anomalies primarily near the surface, leading to high efficiencies. In contrast, mechanisms that induce deep production anomalies (e.g. altered light availability) tend to have a low uptake efficiency, since most of the removed DIC is replaced by lateral and vertical transport and mixing. Despite high atmospheric uptake efficiencies, patch-scale iron fertilization of the ocean's biological pump tends to remove little CO2 from the atmosphere over the decadal timescale considered here.

Is tropospheric weather influenced by solar wind through atmospheric vertical coupling downward control?

Science.gov (United States)

Prikryl, Paul; Tsukijihara, Takumi; Iwao, Koki; Muldrew, Donald B.; Bruntz, Robert; Rušin, Vojto; Rybanský, Milan; Turňa, Maroš; Šťastný, Pavel; Pastirčák, Vladimír

2017-04-01

More than four decades have passed since a link between solar wind magnetic sector boundary structure and mid-latitude upper tropospheric vorticity was discovered (Wilcox et al., Science, 180, 185-186, 1973). The link has been later confirmed and various physical mechanisms proposed but apart from controversy, little attention has been drawn to these results. To further emphasize their importance we investigate the occurrence of mid-latitude severe weather in the context of solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere (MIA) system. It is observed that significant snowstorms, windstorms and heavy rain, particularly if caused by low pressure systems in winter, tend to follow arrivals of high-speed solar wind. Previously published statistical evidence that explosive extratropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere tend to occur after arrivals of high-speed solar wind streams from coronal holes (Prikryl et al., Ann. Geophys., 27, 1-30, 2009; Prikryl et al., J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 149, 219-231, 2016) is corroborated for the southern hemisphere. A physical mechanism to explain these observations is proposed. The leading edge of high-speed solar wind streams is a locus of large-amplitude magneto-hydrodynamic waves that modulate Joule heating and/or Lorentz forcing of the high-latitude lower thermosphere generating medium-scale atmospheric gravity waves that propagate upward and downward through the atmosphere. Simulations of gravity wave propagation in a model atmosphere using the Transfer Function Model (Mayr et al., Space Sci. Rev., 54, 297-375, 1990) show that propagating waves originating in the thermosphere can excite a spectrum of gravity waves in the lower atmosphere. In spite of significantly reduced amplitudes but subject to amplification upon reflection in the upper troposphere, these gravity waves can provide a lift of unstable air to release instabilities in the troposphere thus initiating convection to form cloud/precipitation bands

Ocean surface waves in Hurricane Ike (2008) and Superstorm Sandy (2012): Coupled model predictions and observations

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuyi S.; Curcic, Milan

2016-07-01

Forecasting hurricane impacts of extreme winds and flooding requires accurate prediction of hurricane structure and storm-induced ocean surface waves days in advance. The waves are complex, especially near landfall when the hurricane winds and water depth varies significantly and the surface waves refract, shoal and dissipate. In this study, we examine the spatial structure, magnitude, and directional spectrum of hurricane-induced ocean waves using a high resolution, fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model and observations. The coupled model predictions of ocean surface waves in Hurricane Ike (2008) over the Gulf of Mexico and Superstorm Sandy (2012) in the northeastern Atlantic and coastal region are evaluated with the NDBC buoy and satellite altimeter observations. Although there are characteristics that are general to ocean waves in both hurricanes as documented in previous studies, wave fields in Ike and Sandy possess unique properties due mostly to the distinct wind fields and coastal bathymetry in the two storms. Several processes are found to significantly modulate hurricane surface waves near landfall. First, the phase speed and group velocities decrease as the waves become shorter and steeper in shallow water, effectively increasing surface roughness and wind stress. Second, the bottom-induced refraction acts to turn the waves toward the coast, increasing the misalignment between the wind and waves. Third, as the hurricane translates over land, the left side of the storm center is characterized by offshore winds over very short fetch, which opposes incoming swell. Landfalling hurricanes produce broader wave spectra overall than that of the open ocean. The front-left quadrant is most complex, where the combination of windsea, swell propagating against the wind, increasing wind-wave stress, and interaction with the coastal topography requires a fully coupled model to meet these challenges in hurricane wave and surge prediction.

A distributed atmosphere-sea ice-ocean observatory in the central Arctic Ocean: concept and first results

Science.gov (United States)

Hoppmann, Mario; Nicolaus, Marcel; Rabe, Benjamin; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Katlein, Christian; Scholz, Daniel; Valcic, Lovro

2017-04-01

To understand the current evolution of the Arctic Ocean towards a less extensive, thinner and younger sea ice cover is one of the biggest challenges in climate research. Especially the lack of simultaneous in-situ observations of sea ice, ocean and atmospheric properties leads to significant knowledge gaps in their complex interactions, and how the associated processes impact the polar marine ecosystem. Here we present a concept for the implementation of a long-term strategy to monitor the most essential climate- and ecosystem parameters in the central Arctic Ocean, year round and synchronously. The basis of this strategy is the development and enhancement of a number of innovative autonomous observational platforms, such as rugged weather stations, ice mass balance buoys, ice-tethered bio-optical buoys and upper ocean profilers. The deployment of those complementing platforms in a distributed network enables the simultaneous collection of physical and biogeochemical in-situ data on basin scales and year round, including the largely undersampled winter periods. A key advantage over other observatory systems is that the data is sent via satellite in near-real time, contributing to numerical weather predictions through the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) and to the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP). The first instruments were installed on ice floes in the Eurasian Basin in spring 2015 and 2016, yielding exceptional records of essential climate- and ecosystem-relevant parameters in one of the most inaccessible regions of this planet. Over the next 4 years, and including the observational periods of the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP, 2017-2019) and the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of the Arctic Climate (MOSAiC, 2020), the distributed observatory will be maintained by deployment of additional instruments in the central Arctic each year, benefitting from international logistical efforts.

Sensitivity of upper atmospheric emissions calculations to solar/stellar UV flux

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barthelemy Mathieu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The solar UV (UltraViolet flux, especially the EUV (Extreme UltraViolet and FUV (Far UltraViolet components, is one of the main energetic inputs for planetary upper atmospheres. It drives various processes such as ionization, or dissociation which give rise to upper atmospheric emissions, especially in the UV and visible. These emissions are one of the main ways to investigate the upper atmospheres of planets. However, the uncertainties in the flux measurement or modeling can lead to biased estimates of fundamental atmospheric parameters, such as concentrations or temperatures in the atmospheres. We explore the various problems that can be identified regarding the uncertainties in solar/stellar UV flux by considering three examples. The worst case appears when the solar reflection component is dominant in the recorded spectrum as is seen for outer solar system measurements from HST (Hubble Space Telescope. We also show that the estimation of some particular line parameters (intensity and shape, especially Lyman α, is crucial, and that both total intensity and line profile are useful. In the case of exoplanets, the problem is quite critical since the UV flux of their parent stars is often very poorly known.

Interdecadal variability in a global coupled model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Storch, J.S. von.

1994-01-01

Interdecadal variations are studied in a 325-year simulation performed by a coupled atmosphere - ocean general circulation model. The patterns obtained in this study may be considered as characteristic patterns for interdecadal variations. 1. The atmosphere: Interdecadal variations have no preferred time scales, but reveal well-organized spatial structures. They appear as two modes, one is related with variations of the tropical easterlies and the other with the Southern Hemisphere westerlies. Both have red spectra. The amplitude of the associated wind anomalies is largest in the upper troposphere. The associated temperature anomalies are in thermal-wind balance with the zonal winds and are out-of-phase between the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. 2. The Pacific Ocean: The dominant mode in the Pacific appears to be wind-driven in the midlatitudes and is related to air-sea interaction processes during one stage of the oscillation in the tropics. Anomalies of this mode propagate westward in the tropics and the northward (southwestward) in the North (South) Pacific on a time scale of about 10 to 20 years. (orig.)

Ionization Efficiency in the Dayside Martian Upper Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, J.; Wu, X.-S.; Xu, S.-S.; Wang, X.-D.; Wellbrock, A.; Nordheim, T. A.; Cao, Y.-T.; Wang, W.-R.; Sun, W.-Q.; Wu, S.-Q.; Wei, Y.

2018-04-01

Combining the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution measurements of neutral atmospheric density, solar EUV/X-ray flux, and differential photoelectron intensity made during 240 nominal orbits, we calculate the ionization efficiency, defined as the ratio of the secondary (photoelectron impact) ionization rate to the primary (photon impact) ionization rate, in the dayside Martian upper atmosphere under a range of solar illumination conditions. Both the CO2 and O ionization efficiencies tend to be constant from 160 km up to 250 km, with respective median values of 0.19 ± 0.03 and 0.27 ± 0.04. These values are useful for fast calculation of the ionization rate in the dayside Martian upper atmosphere, without the need to construct photoelectron transport models. No substantial diurnal and solar cycle variations can be identified, except for a marginal trend of reduced ionization efficiency approaching the terminator. These observations are favorably interpreted by a simple scenario with ionization efficiencies, as a first approximation, determined by a comparison between relevant cross sections. Our analysis further reveals a connection between regions with strong crustal magnetic fields and regions with high ionization efficiencies, which are likely indicative of more efficient vertical transport of photoelectrons near magnetic anomalies.

Report Viewgraphs for IC project: Fully-coupled climate simulations with an eddy-permitting ocean component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veneziani, Carmela [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-02-06

Two sets of simulations were performed within this allocation: 1) a 12-year fully-coupled experiment in preindustrial conditions, using the CICE4 version of the sea-ice model; 2) a set of multi-decadal ocean-ice-only experiments, forced with CORE-I atmospheric fields and using the CICE5 version of the sea-ice model. Results from simulation 1) are presented in Figures 1-3, and specific results from a simulation in 2) with tracer releases are presented in Figure 4.

Thermodynamic Upper Bound on Broadband Light Coupling with Photonic Structures

KAUST Repository

Yu, Zongfu

2012-10-01

The coupling between free space radiation and optical media critically influences the performance of optical devices. We show that, for any given photonic structure, the sum of the external coupling rates for all its optical modes are subject to an upper bound dictated by the second law of thermodynamics. Such bound limits how efficient light can be coupled to any photonic structure. As one example of application, we use this upper bound to derive the limit of light absorption in broadband solar absorbers. © 2012 American Physical Society.

International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) Release 3.0 - Monthly Summary Groups (MSG)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset, the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS), is the most widely-used freely available collection of surface marine observations,...

Predicted net efflux of radiocarbon from the ocean and increase in atmospheric radiocarbon content

Science.gov (United States)

Caldeira, Ken; Rau, Greg H.; Duffy, Philip B.

Prior to changes introduced by man, production of radiocarbon (14C) in the stratosphere nearly balanced the flux of 14C from the atmosphere to the ocean and land biosphere, which in turn nearly balanced radioactive decay in these 14C reservoirs. This balance has been altered by land-use changes, fossil-fuel burning, and atmospheric nuclear detonations. Here, we use a model of the global carbon cycle to quantify these radiocarbon fluxes and make predictions about their magnitude in the future. Atmospheric nuclear detonations increased atmospheric 14C content by about 80% by the mid-1960's. Since that time, the 14C content of the atmosphere has been diminishing as this bomb radiocarbon has been entering the oceans and terrestrial biosphere. However, we predict that atmospheric 14C content will reach a minimum and start to increase within the next few years if fossil-fuel burning continues according to a “business-as-usual” scenario, even though fossil fuels are devoid of 14C. This will happen because fossil-fuel carbon diminishes the net flux of 14C from the atmosphere to the oceans and land biosphere, forcing 14C to accumulate in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the net flux of both bomb and natural 14C into the ocean are predicted to continue to slow and then, in the middle of the next century, to reverse, so that there will be a net flux of 14C from the ocean to the atmosphere. The predicted reversal of net 14C fluxes into the ocean is a further example of human impacts on the global carbon cycle.

A view of the upper atmosphere from Antarctica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rycroft, M.

1985-01-01

The paper reviews the phenomena associated with the earth's upper atmosphere, as detected from field stations on the Antarctic continent. A description is given of the earth's atmosphere, including the auroral regions, the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Geospace phenomena investigated from the Antarctic are described, and include whistlers, chorus and trimpi events. The earth's geomagnetic field is measured at several Antarctic stations. Possibilities for future projects in Antarctica are also discussed. (U.K.)

The ocean-atmosphere response to wind-induced thermocline changes in the tropical South Western Indian Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Manola, Iris; Selten, F. M.; De Ruijter, W. P M; Hazeleger, W.

2014-01-01

In the Indian Ocean basin the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are most sensitive to changes in the oceanic depth of the thermocline in the region of the Seychelles Dome. Observational studies have suggested that the strong SST variations in this region influence the atmospheric evolution around the

Global Modeling Study of the Bioavailable Atmospheric Iron Supply to the Global Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Myriokefalitakis, S.; Krol, M. C.; van Noije, T.; Le Sager, P.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric deposition of trace constituents acts as a nutrient source to the open ocean and affect marine ecosystem. Dust is known as a major source of nutrients to the global ocean, but only a fraction of these nutrients is released in a bioavailable form that can be assimilated by the marine biota. Iron (Fe) is a key micronutrient that significantly modulates gross primary production in the High-Nutrient-Low-Chlorophyll (HNLC) oceans, where macronutrients like nitrate are abundant, but primary production is limited by Fe scarcity. The global atmospheric Fe cycle is here parameterized in the state-of-the-art global Earth System Model EC-Earth. The model takes into account the primary emissions of both insoluble and soluble Fe forms, associated with mineral dust and combustion aerosols. The impact of atmospheric acidity and organic ligands on mineral dissolution processes, is parameterized based on updated experimental and theoretical findings. Model results are also evaluated against available observations. Overall, the link between the labile Fe atmospheric deposition and atmospheric composition changes is here demonstrated and quantified. This work has been financed by the Marie-Curie H2020-MSCA-IF-2015 grant (ID 705652) ODEON (Online DEposition over OceaNs; modeling the effect of air pollution on ocean bio-geochemistry in an Earth System Model).

Atmospheric radiocarbon as a Southern Ocean wind proxy over the last 1000 years

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, K. B.; Mikaloff Fletcher, S.; Galbraith, E.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Slater, R. D.; Naegler, T.

2009-04-01

Measurements of radiocarbon in tree rings over the last 1000 years indicate that there was a pre-industrial latitudinal gradient of atmospheric radiocarbon of 3.9-4.5 per mail and that this gradient had temporal variability of order 6 per mil. Here we test the idea that the mean gradient as well as variability in he gradient is dominated by the strength of the winds over the Southern Ocean. This is done using an ocean model and an atmospheric transport model. The ocean model is used to derive fluxes of 12CO2 and 14CO2 at the sea surface, and these fluxes are used as a lower boundary condition for the transport model. For the mean state, strong winds in the Southern Ocean drive significant upwelling of radiocarbon-depleted Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), leading to a net flux of 14CO2 relative to 12CO2 into the ocean. This serves to maintain a hemispheric gradient in pre-anthropogenic atmospheric delta-c14. For perturbations, increased/decreased Southern Ocean winds drive increased/decreased uptake of 14CO2 relative to 12CO2, thus increasing/decreasing the hemispheric gradient in atmospheric delta-c14. The tree ring data is interpreted to reveal a decrease in the strength of the Southern Ocean winds at the transition between the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period.

Simulation of a Large Wildfire in a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Baptiste Filippi

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The Aullene fire devastated more than 3000 ha of Mediterranean maquis and pine forest in July 2009. The simulation of combustion processes, as well as atmospheric dynamics represents a challenge for such scenarios because of the various involved scales, from the scale of the individual flames to the larger regional scale. A coupled approach between the Meso-NH (Meso-scale Non-Hydrostatic atmospheric model running in LES (Large Eddy Simulation mode and the ForeFire fire spread model is proposed for predicting fine- to large-scale effects of this extreme wildfire, showing that such simulation is possible in a reasonable time using current supercomputers. The coupling involves the surface wind to drive the fire, while heat from combustion and water vapor fluxes are injected into the atmosphere at each atmospheric time step. To be representative of the phenomenon, a sub-meter resolution was used for the simulation of the fire front, while atmospheric simulations were performed with nested grids from 2400-m to 50-m resolution. Simulations were run with or without feedback from the fire to the atmospheric model, or without coupling from the atmosphere to the fire. In the two-way mode, the burnt area was reproduced with a good degree of realism at the local scale, where an acceleration in the valley wind and over sloping terrain pushed the fire line to locations in accordance with fire passing point observations. At the regional scale, the simulated fire plume compares well with the satellite image. The study explores the strong fire-atmosphere interactions leading to intense convective updrafts extending above the boundary layer, significant downdrafts behind the fire line in the upper plume, and horizontal wind speeds feeding strong inflow into the base of the convective updrafts. The fire-induced dynamics is induced by strong near-surface sensible heat fluxes reaching maximum values of 240 kW m − 2 . The dynamical production of turbulent kinetic

Delaware River and Upper Bay Sediment Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The area of coverage consists of 192 square miles of benthic habitat mapped from 2005 to 2007 in the Delaware River and Upper Delaware Bay. The bottom sediment map...

Flexible global ocean-atmosphere-land system model. A modeling tool for the climate change research community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Tianjun; Yu, Yongqiang; Liu, Yimin; Wang, Bin

2014-01-01

First book available on systematic evaluations of the performance of the global climate model FGOALS. Covers the whole field, ranging from the development to the applications of this climate system model. Provide an outlook for the future development of the FGOALS model system. Offers brief introduction about how to run FGOALS. Coupled climate system models are of central importance for climate studies. A new model known as FGOALS (the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model), has been developed by the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LASG/IAP, CAS), a first-tier national geophysical laboratory. It serves as a powerful tool, both for deepening our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of the climate system and for making decadal prediction and scenario projections of future climate change. ''Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model: A Modeling Tool for the Climate Change Research Community'' is the first book to offer systematic evaluations of this model's performance. It is comprehensive in scope, covering both developmental and application-oriented aspects of this climate system model. It also provides an outlook of future development of FGOALS and offers an overview of how to employ the model. It represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working within the related areas of climate variability and change.

Remote SST Forcing and Local Land-Atmosphere Moisture Coupling as Drivers of Amazon Temperature and Carbon Cycle Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, P. A.; Xu, M.; Chen, Y.; Randerson, J. T.; Hoffman, F. M.

2017-12-01

results from both SST and SM anomalies. As with T, SM anomalies affect NEP at a much longer lag time than SST anomalies. These results highlight the role of land-atmosphere coupling in driving climate variability within the Amazon, and suggest that land atmospheric coupling may amplify and delay carbon cycle responses to ocean-atmosphere teleconnections.

The impact on atmospheric CO2 of iron fertilization induced changes in the ocean's biological pump

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. McWilliams

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Using numerical simulations, we quantify the impact of changes in the ocean's biological pump on the air-sea balance of CO2 by fertilizing a small surface patch in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll region of the eastern tropical Pacific with iron. Decade-long fertilization experiments are conducted in a basin-scale, eddy-permitting coupled physical/biogeochemical/ecological model. In contrast to previous studies, we find that most of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC removed from the euphotic zone by the enhanced biological export is replaced by uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. Atmospheric uptake efficiencies, the ratio of the perturbation in air-sea CO2 flux to the perturbation in export flux across 100 m, integrated over 10 years, are 0.75 to 0.93 in our patch size-scale experiments. The atmospheric uptake efficiency is insensitive to the duration of the experiment. The primary factor controlling the atmospheric uptake efficiency is the vertical distribution of the enhanced biological production and export. Iron fertilization at the surface tends to induce production anomalies primarily near the surface, leading to high efficiencies. In contrast, mechanisms that induce deep production anomalies (e.g. altered light availability tend to have a low uptake efficiency, since most of the removed DIC is replaced by lateral and vertical transport and mixing. Despite high atmospheric uptake efficiencies, patch-scale iron fertilization of the ocean's biological pump tends to remove little CO2 from the atmosphere over the decadal timescale considered here.

Improving model biases in an ESM with an isopycnic ocean component by accounting for wind work on oceanic near-inertial motions.

Science.gov (United States)

de Wet, P. D.; Bentsen, M.; Bethke, I.

2016-02-01

It is well-known that, when comparing climatological parameters such as ocean temperature and salinity to the output of an Earth System Model (ESM), the model exhibits biases. In ESMs with an isopycnic ocean component, such as NorESM, insufficient vertical mixing is thought to be one of the causes of such differences between observational and model data. However, enhancing the vertical mixing of the model's ocean component not only requires increasing the energy input, but also sound physical reasoning for doing so. Various authors have shown that the action of atmospheric winds on the ocean's surface is a major source of energy input into the upper ocean. However, due to model and computational constraints, oceanic processes linked to surface winds are incompletely accounted for. Consequently, despite significantly contributing to the energy required to maintain ocean stratification, most ESMs do not directly make provision for this energy. In this study we investigate the implementation of a routine in which the energy from work done on oceanic near-inertial motions is calculated in an offline slab model. The slab model, which has been well-documented in the literature, runs parallel to but independently from the ESM's ocean component. It receives wind fields with a frequency higher than that of the coupling frequency, allowing it to capture the fluctuations in the winds on shorter time scales. The additional energy calculated thus is then passed to the ocean component, avoiding the need for increased coupling between the components of the ESM. Results show localised reduction in, amongst others, the salinity and temperature biases of NorESM, confirming model sensitivity to wind-forcing and points to the need for better representation of surface processes in ESMs.

The ocean quasi-homogeneous layer model and global cycle of carbon dioxide in system of atmosphere-ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Glushkov, Alexander; Glushkov, Alexander; Loboda, Nataliya; Khokhlov, Valery; Serbov, Nikoly; Svinarenko, Andrey

The purpose of this paper is carrying out the detailed model of the CO2 global turnover in system of "atmosphere-ocean" with using the ocean quasi-homogeneous layer model. Practically all carried out models are functioning in the average annual regime and accounting for the carbon distribution in bio-sphere in most general form (Glushkov et al, 2003). We construct a modified model for cycle of the carbon dioxide, which allows to reproduce a season dynamics of carbon turnover in ocean with account of zone ocean structure (up quasi-homogeneous layer, thermocline and deepest layer). It is taken into account dependence of the CO2 transfer through the bounder between atmosphere and ocean upon temperature of water and air, wind velocity, buffer mechanism of the CO2 dissolution. The same program is realized for atmosphere part of whole system. It is obtained a tempo-ral and space distribution for concentration of non-organic carbon in ocean, partial press of dissolute CO2 and value of exchange on the border between atmosphere and ocean. It is estimated a role of the wind intermixing of the up ocean layer. The increasing of this effect leads to increasing the plankton mass and further particles, which are transferred by wind, contribute to more quick immersion of microscopic shells and organic material. It is fulfilled investigation of sen-sibility of the master differential equations system solutions from the model parameters. The master differential equa-tions system, describing a dynamics of the CO2 cycle, is numerically integrated by the four order Runge-Cutt method under given initial values of valuables till output of solution on periodic regime. At first it is indicated on possible real-zation of the chaos scenario in system. On our data, the difference of the average annual values for the non-organic car-bon concentration in the up quasi-homogeneous layer between equator and extreme southern zone is 0.15 mol/m3, be-tween the equator and extreme northern zone is 0

Temperature variations in Titan's upper atmosphere: Impact on Cassini/Huygens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Kazeminejad

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Temperature variations of Titan's upper atmosphere due to the plasma interaction of the satellite with Saturn's magnetosphere and Titan's high altitude monomer haze particles can imply an offset of up to ±30K from currently estimated model profiles. We incorporated these temperature uncertainties as an offset into the recently published Vervack et al. (2004 (Icarus, Vol. 170, 91-112 engineering model and derive extreme case (i.e. minimum and maximum profiles temperature, pressure, and density profiles. We simulated the Huygens probe hypersonic entry trajectory and obtain, as expected, deviations of the probe trajectory for the extreme atmosphere models compared to the simulation based on the nominal one. These deviations are very similar to the ones obtained with the standard Yelle et al. (1997 (ESA SP-1177 profiles. We could confirm that the difference in aerodynamic drag is of an order of magnitude that can be measured by the probe science accelerometer. They represent an important means for the reconstruction of Titan's upper atmospheric properties. Furthermore, we simulated a Cassini low Titan flyby trajectory. No major trajectory deviations were found. The atmospheric torques due to aerodynamic drag, however, are twice as high for our high temperature profile as the ones obtained with the Yelle maximum profile and more than 5 times higher than the worst case estimations from the Cassini project. We propose to use the Cassini atmospheric torque measurements during its low flybys to derive the atmospheric drag and to reconstruct Titan's upper atmosphere density, pressure, and temperature. The results could then be compared to the reconstructed profiles obtained from Huygens probe measurements. This would help to validate the probe measurements and decrease the error bars.

SPURS: Salinity Processes in the Upper-Ocean Regional Study: THE NORTH ATLANTIC EXPERIMENT

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, Eric; Bryan, Frank; Schmitt, Ray

2015-01-01

In this special issue of Oceanography, we explore the results of SPURS-1, the first part of the ocean process study Salinity Processes in the Upper-ocean Regional Study (SPURS). The experiment was conducted between August 2012 and October 2013 in the subtropical North Atlantic and was the first of two experiments (SPURS come in pairs!). SPURS-2 is planned for 20162017 in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean.

Role of solar influences on geomagnetosphere and upper atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar Tripathi, Arvind

The Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere can be greatly perturbed by variations in the solar luminosity caused by disturbances on the solar surface. The state of near-Earth space environment is governed by the Sun and is very dynamic on all spatial and temporal scale. The geomagnetic field which protects the Earth from solar wind and cosmic rays is also essential to the evolution of life; its variations can have either direct or indirect effect on human physiology and health state even if the magnitude of the disturbance is small. Geomagnetic disturbances are seen at the surface of the Earth as perturbations in the components of the geomagnetic field, caused by electric currents flowing in the magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. Ionospheric and thermospheric storms also result from the redistribution of particles and fields. Global thermospheric storm winds and composition changes are driven by energy injection at high latitudes. These storm effects may penetrate downwards to the lower thermosphere and may even perturb the mesosphere. Many of the ionospheric changes at mid-latitude can be understood as a response to thermospheric perturbations. The transient bursts of solar energetic particles, often associated with large solar transients, have been observed to have effects on the Earth's middle and lower atmosphere, including the large-scale destruction of polar stratospheric and tropospheric ozone. In the present, we have discussed effect of solar influences on earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere that are useful to space weather and global warming, on the basis of various latest studies.

Glacial ocean circulation and stratification explained by reduced atmospheric temperature

OpenAIRE

Jansen, Malte F.

2016-01-01

To understand climatic swings between glacial and interglacial climates we need to explain the observed fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), which in turn are most likely driven by changes in the deep ocean circulation. This study presents a model for differences in the deep ocean circulation between glacial and interglacial climates consistent with both our physical understanding and various proxy observations. The results suggest that observed changes in ocean circulation and s...

Real-Time Ocean Prediction System for the East Coast of India

Science.gov (United States)

Warrior, H. V.

2016-02-01

The primary objective of the research work reported in this abstract was to develop a Realtime Environmental model for Ocean Dispersion and Impact (as part of an already in-place Decision Support System) for the purpose of radiological safety for the area along Kalpakkam (East Indian) coast. This system involves combining real-time ocean observations with numerical models of ocean processes to provide hindcasts, nowcasts and forecasts of currents, tides and waves. In this work we present the development of an Automated Coupled Atmospheric - Ocean Model (we call it IIT-CAOM) used to forecast the sea surface currents, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity etc of the Bay of Bengal region under the influence of transient and unsteady atmospheric conditions. This method uses a coupling of Atmosphere and Ocean model. The models used here are the WRF for atmospheric simulations and POM for the ocean counterpart. It has a 3 km X 3 km resolution. This Coupled Model uses GFS (Global Forecast System) Data or FNL (Final Analyses) Data as initial conditions for jump-starting the atmospheric model. The Atmospheric model is run first thus extracting air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity. The heat flux subroutine computes the net heat flux, using above mentioned parameters data. The net heat flux feeds to the ocean model by simply adding net heat flux subroutine to the ocean model code without changing the model original structure. The online forecast of the IIT-CAOM is currently available in the web. The whole system has been automized and runs without any more manual support. The IIT-CAOM simulations have been carried out for Kalpakkam region, which is located on the East coast of India, about 70 km south of Chennai in Tamilnadu State and a three day forecast of sea surface currents, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity, etc have been obtained.

Bacteria in the greenhouse: Modeling the role of oceanic plankton in the global carbon cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ducklow, H.W.; Fasham, M.J.R.

1992-01-01

To plan effectively to deal with the greenhouse effect, a fundamental understanding is needed of the biogeochemical and physical machinery that cycles carbon in the global system; in addition, models are needed of the carbon cycle to project the effects of increasing carbon dioxide. In this chapter, a description is given of efforts to simulate the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the upper ocean, concentrating on the model's treatment of marine phytoplankton, and what it reveals of their role in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere. The focus is on the upper ocean because oceanic uptake appears to regulate the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

A fully coupled Mediterranean regional climate system model: design and evaluation of the ocean component for the 1980–2012 period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florence Sevault

2014-11-01

Full Text Available A fully coupled regional climate system model (CNRM-RCSM4 dedicated to the Mediterranean region is described and evaluated using a multidecadal hindcast simulation (1980–2012 driven by global atmosphere and ocean reanalysis. CNRM-RCSM4 includes the regional representation of the atmosphere (ALADIN-Climate model, land surface (ISBA model, rivers (TRIP model and the ocean (NEMOMED8 model, with a daily coupling by the OASIS coupler. This model aims to reproduce the regional climate system with as few constraints as possible: there is no surface salinity, temperature relaxation, or flux correction; the Black Sea budget is parameterised and river runoffs (except for the Nile are fully coupled. The atmospheric component of CNRM-RCSM4 is evaluated in a companion paper; here, we focus on the air–sea fluxes, river discharges, surface ocean characteristics, deep water formation phenomena and the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation. Long-term stability, mean seasonal cycle, interannual variability and decadal trends are evaluated using basin-scale climatologies and in-situ measurements when available. We demonstrate that the simulation shows overall good behaviour in agreement with state-of-the-art Mediterranean RCSMs. An overestimation of the shortwave radiation and latent heat loss as well as a cold Sea Surface Temperature (SST bias and a slight trend in the bottom layers are the primary current deficiencies. Further, CNRM-RCSM4 shows high skill in reproducing the interannual to decadal variability for air–sea fluxes, river runoffs, sea surface temperature and salinity as well as open-sea deep convection, including a realistic simulation of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. We conclude that CNRM-RCSM4 is a mature modelling tool allowing the climate variability of the Mediterranean regional climate system to be studied and understood. It is used in hindcast and scenario modes in the HyMeX and Med-CORDEX programs.

Completing the Feedback Loop: The Impact of Chlorophyll Data Assimilation on the Ocean State

Science.gov (United States)

Borovikov, Anna; Keppenne, Christian; Kovach, Robin

2015-01-01

In anticipation of the integration of a full biochemical model into the next generation GMAO coupled system, an intermediate solution has been implemented to estimate the penetration depth (1Kd_PAR) of ocean radiation based on the chlorophyll concentration. The chlorophyll is modeled as a tracer with sources-sinks coming from the assimilation of MODIS chlorophyll data. Two experiments were conducted with the coupled ocean-atmosphere model. In the first, climatological values of Kpar were used. In the second, retrieved daily chlorophyll concentrations were assimilated and Kd_PAR was derived according to Morel et al (2007). No other data was assimilated to isolate the effects of the time-evolving chlorophyll field. The daily MODIS Kd_PAR product was used to validate the skill of the penetration depth estimation and the MERRA-OCEAN re-analysis was used as a benchmark to study the sensitivity of the upper ocean heat content and vertical temperature distribution to the chlorophyll input. In the experiment with daily chlorophyll data assimilation, the penetration depth was estimated more accurately, especially in the tropics. As a result, the temperature bias of the model was reduced. A notably robust albeit small (2-5 percent) improvement was found across the equatorial Pacific ocean, which is a critical region for seasonal to inter-annual prediction.

Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean

KAUST Repository

Arrieta, J M; Duarte, Carlos M.; Sala, M. Montserrat; Dachs, Jordi

2016-01-01

Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Arrieta, Jesús M; Duarte, Carlos M; Sala, M Montserrat; Dachs, Jordi

2015-01-01

Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

Out of thin air: Microbial utilization of atmospheric gaseous organics in the surface ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesus M Arrieta

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 to 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidising marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean

KAUST Repository

Arrieta, Jesus

2016-01-20

Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

Coupled atmosphere-wildland fire modelling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Henri Balbi

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Simulating the interaction between fire and atmosphere is critical to the estimation of the rate of spread of the fire. Wildfire’s convection (i.e., entire plume can modify the local meteorology throughout the atmospheric boundary layer and consequently affect the fire propagation speed and behaviour. In this study, we use for the first time the Méso-NH meso-scale numerical model coupled to the point functional ForeFire simplified physical front-tracking wildfire model to investigate the differences introduced by the atmospheric feedback in propagation speed and behaviour. Both numerical models have been developed as research tools for operational models and are currently used to forecast localized extreme events. These models have been selected because they can be run coupled and support decisions in wildfire management in France and Europe. The main originalities of this combination reside in the fact that Méso-NH is run in a Large Eddy Simulation (LES configuration and that the rate of spread model used in ForeFire provides a physical formulation to take into account the effect of wind and slope. Simulations of typical experimental configurations show that the numerical atmospheric model is able to reproduce plausible convective effects of the heat produced by the fire. Numerical results are comparable to estimated values for fire-induced winds and present behaviour similar to other existing numerical approaches.

Comprehensive Ocean - Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) LMRF Arctic Subset

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Comprehensive Ocean - Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) LMRF Arctic subset contains marine surface weather reports for the region north of 65 degrees N from ships,...

Climate variability and predictability associated with the Indo-Pacific Oceanic Channel Dynamics in the CCSM4 Coupled System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Dongliang; Xu, Peng; Xu, Tengfei

2017-01-01

An experiment using the Community Climate System Model (CCSM4), a participant of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase-5 (CMIP5), is analyzed to assess the skills of this model in simulating and predicting the climate variabilities associated with the oceanic channel dynamics across the Indo-Pacific Oceans. The results of these analyses suggest that the model is able to reproduce the observed lag correlation between the oceanic anomalies in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean and those in the cold tongue in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean at a time lag of 1 year. This success may be largely attributed to the successful simulation of the interannual variations of the Indonesian Throughflow, which carries the anomalies of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) into the western equatorial Pacific Ocean to produce subsurface temperature anomalies, which in turn propagate to the eastern equatorial Pacific to generate ENSO. This connection is termed the "oceanic channel dynamics" and is shown to be consistent with the observational analyses. However, the model simulates a weaker connection between the IOD and the interannual variability of the Indonesian Throughflow transport than found in the observations. In addition, the model overestimates the westerly wind anomalies in the western-central equatorial Pacific in the year following the IOD, which forces unrealistic upwelling Rossby waves in the western equatorial Pacific and downwelling Kelvin waves in the east. This assessment suggests that the CCSM4 coupled climate system has underestimated the oceanic channel dynamics and overestimated the atmospheric bridge processes.

Upper Oceanic Energy Response to Tropical Cyclone Passage

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-15

lagged SST cooling is approximately 0.78C for a ‘‘typical’’ TC at 308 latitude, whereas the same storm results in 10-day (30-day) lagged decreases of...during tropical to extratropical transition). The scenario above led to the development of the TC potential intensity (PI) thesis, an important...is approximately 0.78C for a ??typical?? TC at 308 latitude, whereas the same storm results in 10-day (30-day) lagged decreases of upper oceanic

Turbidity, SOLAR RADIATION - ATMOSPHERIC and other data from FRANKLIN from 1992-11-25 to 1993-02-03 (NODC Accession 9500002)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other SEASOAR data were collected as part of Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere and Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response...

Simulated effect of calcification feedback on atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Han; Cao, Long

2016-01-01

Ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2 reduces pH and saturation state of calcium carbonate materials of seawater, which could reduce the calcification rate of some marine organisms, triggering a negative feedback on the growth of atmospheric CO2. We quantify the effect of this CO2-calcification feedback by conducting a series of Earth system model simulations that incorporate different parameterization schemes describing the dependence of calcification rate on saturation state of CaCO3. In a scenario with SRES A2 CO2 emission until 2100 and zero emission afterwards, by year 3500, in the simulation without CO2-calcification feedback, model projects an accumulated ocean CO2 uptake of 1462 PgC, atmospheric CO2 of 612 ppm, and surface pH of 7.9. Inclusion of CO2-calcification feedback increases ocean CO2 uptake by 9 to 285 PgC, reduces atmospheric CO2 by 4 to 70 ppm, and mitigates the reduction in surface pH by 0.003 to 0.06, depending on the form of parameterization scheme used. It is also found that the effect of CO2-calcification feedback on ocean carbon uptake is comparable and could be much larger than the effect from CO2-induced warming. Our results highlight the potentially important role CO2-calcification feedback plays in ocean carbon cycle and projections of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations. PMID:26838480

Earth orientation and its excitations by atmosphere, oceans, and geomagnetic jerks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vondrák J.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In addition to torques exerted by the Moon, Sun, and planets, changes of the Earth orientation parameters (EOP are known to be caused also by excitations by the atmosphere and oceans. Recently appeared studies, hinting that geomagnetic jerks (GMJ, rapid changes of geomagnetic field might be associated with sudden changes of phase and amplitude of EOP (Holme and de Viron 2005, 2013, Gibert and Le Mouёl 2008, Malkin 2013. We (Ron et al. 2015 used additional excitations applied at the epochs of GMJ to derive its influence on motion of the spin axis of the Earth in space (precession-nutation. We demonstrated that this effect, if combined with the influence of the atmosphere and oceans, improves substantially the agreement with celestial pole offsets observed by Very Long-Baseline Interferometry. Here we concentrate our efforts to study possible influence of GMJ on temporal changes of all five Earth orientation parameters defining the complete Earth orientation in space. Numerical integration of Brzeziński's broad-band Liouville equations (Brzeziński 1994 with atmospheric and oceanic excitations, combined with expected GMJ effects, is used to derive EOP and compare them with their observed values. We demonstrate that the agreement between all five Earth orientation parameters integrated by this method and those observed by space geodesy is improved substantially if the influence of additional excitations at GMJ epochs is added to excitations by the atmosphere and oceans.

Earth Orientation and Its Excitations by Atmosphere, Oceans, and Geomagnetic Jerks

Science.gov (United States)

Vondrák, J.; Ron, C.

2015-12-01

In addition to torques exerted by the Moon, Sun, and planets, changes of the Earth orientation parameters (EOP) are known to be caused also by excitations by the atmosphere and oceans. Recently appeared studies, hinting that geomagnetic jerks (GMJ, rapid changes of geomagnetic field) might be associated with sudden changes of phase and amplitude of EOP (Holme and de Viron 2005, 2013, Gibert and Le Mouël 2008, Malkin 2013). We (Ron et al. 2015) used additional excitations applied at the epochs of GMJ to derive its influence on motion of the spin axis of the Earth in space (precession-nutation). We demonstrated that this effect, if combined with the influence of the atmosphere and oceans, improves substantially the agreement with celestial pole offsets observed by Very Long-Baseline Interferometry. Here we concentrate our efforts to study possible influence of GMJ on temporal changes of all five Earth orientation parameters defining the complete Earth orientation in space. Numerical integration of Brzeziński's broad-band Liouville equations (Brzeziński 1994) with atmospheric and oceanic excitations, combined with expected GMJ effects, is used to derive EOP and compare them with their observed values. We demonstrate that the agreement between all five Earth orientation parameters integrated by this method and those observed by space geodesy is improved substantially if the influence of additional excitations at GMJ epochs is added to excitations by the atmosphere and oceans.

Highly relativistic magnetospheric electrons: A role in coupling to the middle atmosphere?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, D.N.; Blake, J.B.; Gorney, D.J.; Higbie, P.R.; Klebesadel, R.W.; King, J.H.

1987-01-01

Long-term (1979-present) observations of relativistic electrons (2--15 MeV) at geostationary orbit show a strong solar cycle dependence. Such electrons were largely absent near the last solar maximum (1979--80), while they were prominent during the approach to solar minimum (1983--85). This population now is dwindling as solar minimum has been reached. The strong magnetospheric presence of high-speed solar wind streams which results from solar coronal hole structures during the approach to solar activity (sunspot) minimum. We clearly observe 27-day periodic enhancements of the relativistic electrons in association with concurrently measured solar wind streams (V/sub S//sub W/approx. >600 km/s). We have used a numerical transport code to study the coupling of these high-energy electrons to earth's upper and middle atmosphere. We calculate using the observed energy spectra of the electrons that, when precipitated, these electrons show a large (maximum of ∼100 keV/cm 3 -s) energy deposition at 40--60 km altitude, which is 3--4 orders of magnitude greater than the galactic cosmic ray or solar EUV energy deposition at these altitudes. We also find that the global energy deposition in the mid-latitudes totals nearly 10 21 ergs for a typical 2--3 day event period. We conclude that this previously unrecognized electron population could play an important role in coupling solar wind and magnetospheric variability (on 27--day and 11--year cycles) to the middle atmosphere through a modulating effect on lower D-region ionization and, possibly, on upper level ozone chemistry. These electrons also may contribute to the recent Antarctic polar ozone depletion phenomenon. copyright American Geophysical Union 1987

Flexible global ocean-atmosphere-land system model. A modeling tool for the climate change research community

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Tianjun; Yu, Yongqiang; Liu, Yimin; Wang, Bin (eds.) [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, (China). Inst. of Atmospheric Physics

2014-04-01

First book available on systematic evaluations of the performance of the global climate model FGOALS. Covers the whole field, ranging from the development to the applications of this climate system model. Provide an outlook for the future development of the FGOALS model system. Offers brief introduction about how to run FGOALS. Coupled climate system models are of central importance for climate studies. A new model known as FGOALS (the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model), has been developed by the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LASG/IAP, CAS), a first-tier national geophysical laboratory. It serves as a powerful tool, both for deepening our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of the climate system and for making decadal prediction and scenario projections of future climate change. ''Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model: A Modeling Tool for the Climate Change Research Community'' is the first book to offer systematic evaluations of this model's performance. It is comprehensive in scope, covering both developmental and application-oriented aspects of this climate system model. It also provides an outlook of future development of FGOALS and offers an overview of how to employ the model. It represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working within the related areas of climate variability and change.

How ocean lateral mixing changes Southern Ocean variability in coupled climate models

Science.gov (United States)

Pradal, M. A. S.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Thomas, J. L.

2016-02-01

The lateral mixing of tracers represents a major uncertainty in the formulation of coupled climate models. The mixing of tracers along density surfaces in the interior and horizontally within the mixed layer is often parameterized using a mixing coefficient ARedi. The models used in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 exhibit more than an order of magnitude range in the values of this coefficient used within the Southern Ocean. The impacts of such uncertainty on Southern Ocean variability have remained unclear, even as recent work has shown that this variability differs between different models. In this poster, we change the lateral mixing coefficient within GFDL ESM2Mc, a coarse-resolution Earth System model that nonetheless has a reasonable circulation within the Southern Ocean. As the coefficient varies from 400 to 2400 m2/s the amplitude of the variability varies significantly. The low-mixing case shows strong decadal variability with an annual mean RMS temperature variability exceeding 1C in the Circumpolar Current. The highest-mixing case shows a very similar spatial pattern of variability, but with amplitudes only about 60% as large. The suppression of mixing is larger in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean relatively to the Pacific sector. We examine the salinity budgets of convective regions, paying particular attention to the extent to which high mixing prevents the buildup of low-saline waters that are capable of shutting off deep convection entirely.

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.

Climate change feedbacks on future oceanic acidification

OpenAIRE

McNeil, Ben I.; Matear, Richard J.

2011-01-01

Oceanic anthropogenic CO2 uptake will decrease both the pH and the aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) of seawater leading to an oceanic acidification. However, the factors controlling future changes in pH and Ωarag are independent and will respond differently to oceanic climate change feedbacks such as ocean warming, circulation and biological changes. We examine the sensitivity of these two CO2-related parameters to climate change feedbacks within a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The ocean ...

Interhemispheric gradient of atmospheric radiocarbon reveals natural variability of Southern Ocean winds

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, K. B.; Mikaloff-Fletcher, S. E.; Bianchi, D.; Beaulieu, C.; Galbraith, E. D.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Hogg, A. G.; Iudicone, D.; Lintner, B. R.; Naegler, T.; Reimer, P. J.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Slater, R. D.

2011-10-01

Tree ring Δ14C data (Reimer et al., 2004; McCormac et al., 2004) indicate that atmospheric Δ14C varied on multi-decadal to centennial timescales, in both hemispheres, over the period between AD 950 and 1830. The Northern and Southern Hemispheric Δ14C records display similar variability, but from the data alone is it not clear whether these variations are driven by the production of 14C in the stratosphere (Stuiver and Quay, 1980) or by perturbations to exchanges between carbon reservoirs (Siegenthaler et al., 1980). As the sea-air flux of 14CO2 has a clear maximum in the open ocean regions of the Southern Ocean, relatively modest perturbations to the winds over this region drive significant perturbations to the interhemispheric gradient. In this study, model simulations are used to show that Southern Ocean winds are likely a main driver of the observed variability in the interhemispheric gradient over AD 950-1830, and further, that this variability may be larger than the Southern Ocean wind trends that have been reported for recent decades (notably 1980-2004). This interpretation also implies that there may have been a significant weakening of the winds over the Southern Ocean within a few decades of AD 1375, associated with the transition between the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. The driving forces that could have produced such a shift in the winds at the Medieval Climate Anomaly to Little Ice Age transition remain unknown. Our process-focused suite of perturbation experiments with models raises the possibility that the current generation of coupled climate and earth system models may underestimate the natural background multi-decadal- to centennial-timescale variations in the winds over the Southern Ocean.

Interhemispheric gradient of atmospheric radiocarbon reveals natural variability of Southern Ocean winds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. B. Rodgers

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Tree ring Δ¹⁴C data (Reimer et al., 2004; McCormac et al., 2004 indicate that atmospheric Δ¹⁴C varied on multi-decadal to centennial timescales, in both hemispheres, over the period between AD 950 and 1830. The Northern and Southern Hemispheric Δ¹⁴C records display similar variability, but from the data alone is it not clear whether these variations are driven by the production of ¹⁴C in the stratosphere (Stuiver and Quay, 1980 or by perturbations to exchanges between carbon reservoirs (Siegenthaler et al., 1980. As the sea-air flux of ¹⁴CO₂ has a clear maximum in the open ocean regions of the Southern Ocean, relatively modest perturbations to the winds over this region drive significant perturbations to the interhemispheric gradient. In this study, model simulations are used to show that Southern Ocean winds are likely a main driver of the observed variability in the interhemispheric gradient over AD 950–1830, and further, that this variability may be larger than the Southern Ocean wind trends that have been reported for recent decades (notably 1980–2004. This interpretation also implies that there may have been a significant weakening of the winds over the Southern Ocean within a few decades of AD 1375, associated with the transition between the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. The driving forces that could have produced such a shift in the winds at the Medieval Climate Anomaly to Little Ice Age transition remain unknown. Our process-focused suite of perturbation experiments with models raises the possibility that the current generation of coupled climate and earth system models may underestimate the natural background multi-decadal- to centennial-timescale variations in the winds over the Southern Ocean.

Initialization and Predictability of a Coupled ENSO Forecast Model

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dake; Zebiak, Stephen E.; Cane, Mark A.; Busalacchi, Antonio J.

1997-01-01

The skill of a coupled ocean-atmosphere model in predicting ENSO has recently been improved using a new initialization procedure in which initial conditions are obtained from the coupled model, nudged toward observations of wind stress. The previous procedure involved direct insertion of wind stress observations, ignoring model feedback from ocean to atmosphere. The success of the new scheme is attributed to its explicit consideration of ocean-atmosphere coupling and the associated reduction of "initialization shock" and random noise. The so-called spring predictability barrier is eliminated, suggesting that such a barrier is not intrinsic to the real climate system. Initial attempts to generalize the nudging procedure to include SST were not successful; possible explanations are offered. In all experiments forecast skill is found to be much higher for the 1980s than for the 1970s and 1990s, suggesting decadal variations in predictability.

Geographical Distribution and Sources of Nutrients in Atmospheric Aerosol Over the Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Uematsu, M.

2016-12-01

The Pacific Ocean, the world's largest (occupying about 30% of the Earth's total surface area) has several distinguishing biogeochemical features. In the western Pacific, dust particles originating from arid and semi-arid regions in Asia and Australia are transported to the north and south, respectively. Biomass burning emissions from Southeast Asia are exported to the tropical Pacific, and anthropogenic substances flowing out of Asia and Eurasia spread both regionally and globally. Over high primary productive areas such as the subarctic North Pacific, the equatorial Pacific and the Southern Ocean, biogenic gasses are released to the atmosphere and transported to other areas. These processes may affect cloud and rainfall patterns, air quality, and the radiative balance of downwind regions. The deposition of atmospheric aerosols containing iron and other essential nutrients is important for biogeochemical cycles in the oceans because this source of nutrients helps sustain primary production and affects food-web structure; these effects in turn influence the chemical properties of marine atmosphere. From an atmospheric chemistry standpoint, sea-salt aerosols produced by strong winds and marine biogenic gases emitted from highly productive waters affect the physicochemical characteristics of marine aerosols. As phytoplankton populations are patchy and atmospheric processes sporadic, the interactions between atmospheric chemical constituents and marine biota vary for different regions as well as seasonally and over longer timescales. To address these and other emerging issues, and more generally to better understand the important biogeochemical processes and interactions occurring over the open oceans, more long-term recurrent research cruises with standardized atmospheric shipboard measurements will be needed in the future.

Impact of ocean model resolution on CCSM climate simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirtman, Ben P.; Rousset, Clement; Siqueira, Leo [University of Miami, Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, Coral Gables, FL (United States); Bitz, Cecilia [University of Washington, Department of Atmospheric Science, Seattle, WA (United States); Bryan, Frank; Dennis, John; Hearn, Nathan; Loft, Richard; Tomas, Robert; Vertenstein, Mariana [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Collins, William [University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA (United States); Kinter, James L.; Stan, Cristiana [Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States); George Mason University, Fairfax, VA (United States)

2012-09-15

The current literature provides compelling evidence suggesting that an eddy-resolving (as opposed to eddy-permitting or eddy-parameterized) ocean component model will significantly impact the simulation of the large-scale climate, although this has not been fully tested to date in multi-decadal global coupled climate simulations. The purpose of this paper is to examine how resolved ocean fronts and eddies impact the simulation of large-scale climate. The model used for this study is the NCAR Community Climate System Model version 3.5 (CCSM3.5) - the forerunner to CCSM4. Two experiments are reported here. The control experiment is a 155-year present-day climate simulation using a 0.5 atmosphere component (zonal resolution 0.625 meridional resolution 0.5 ; land surface component at the same resolution) coupled to ocean and sea-ice components with zonal resolution of 1.2 and meridional resolution varying from 0.27 at the equator to 0.54 in the mid-latitudes. The second simulation uses the same atmospheric and land-surface models coupled to eddy-resolving 0.1 ocean and sea-ice component models. The simulations are compared in terms of how the representation of smaller scale features in the time mean ocean circulation and ocean eddies impact the mean and variable climate. In terms of the global mean surface temperature, the enhanced ocean resolution leads to a ubiquitous surface warming with a global mean surface temperature increase of about 0.2 C relative to the control. The warming is largest in the Arctic and regions of strong ocean fronts and ocean eddy activity (i.e., Southern Ocean, western boundary currents). The Arctic warming is associated with significant losses of sea-ice in the high-resolution simulation. The sea surface temperature gradients in the North Atlantic, in particular, are better resolved in the high-resolution model leading to significantly sharper temperature gradients and associated large-scale shifts in the rainfall. In the extra-tropics, the

Thermodynamic Upper Bound on Broadband Light Coupling with Photonic Structures

KAUST Repository

Yu, Zongfu; Raman, Aaswath; Fan, Shanhui

2012-01-01

to an upper bound dictated by the second law of thermodynamics. Such bound limits how efficient light can be coupled to any photonic structure. As one example of application, we use this upper bound to derive the limit of light absorption in broadband solar

Coupled interactions of organized deep convection over the tropical western pacific

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, X.; Raman, S. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)

1996-04-01

The relationship between sea surface temperature (SST) and deep convection is complex. In general, deep convection occurs more frequently and with more intensity as SSTs become higher. This theory assumes that the atmospheric stability is sufficiently reduced to allow the onset of moist convection. However, the amount and intensity of convection observed tends to decrease with increasing SST because very warm SSTs. A reason for such decrease is the enhancements to surface fluxes of heat and moisture out of the ocean surface because of the vertical overturning associated with deep convection. Early studies used the radiative-convective models of the atmosphere to examine the role of the convective exchange of heat and moisture in maintaining the vertical temperature profile. In this paper we use a Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) to simulate a squall line over a tropical ocean global atmosphere/coupled ocean atmosphere response experiment (TOGA/COARE) area and to investigate how the ocean cooling mechanisms associated with organized deep convection act to limit tropical SSTs.

Diurnal variability of upper ocean temperature and heat budget in ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Time-series data on upper-ocean temperature, Vessel-Mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (VM-ADCP) measured currents and surface meteorological parameters have been obtained for the first time in the southern Bay of Bengal at 7° N, 10° N, and 13° N locations along 87° E during October - November, 1998 ...

Using an atmospheric boundary layer model to force global ocean models

Science.gov (United States)

Abel, Rafael; Böning, Claus

2014-05-01

Current practices in the atmospheric forcing of ocean model simulations can lead to unphysical behaviours. The problem lies in the bulk formulation of the turbulent air-sea fluxes in the conjunction with a prescribed, and unresponsive, atmospheric state (as given by reanalysis products). This can have impacts both on mesoscale processes as well as on the dynamics of the large-scale circulation. First, a possible local mismatch between the given atmospheric state and evolving sea surface temperature (SST) signatures can occur, especially for mesoscale features such as frontal areas, eddies, or near the sea ice edge. Any ocean front shift or evolution of mesoscale anomalies results in excessive, unrealistic surface fluxes due to the lack of atmospheric adaptation. Second, a subtle distortion in the sensitive balance of feedback processes being critical for the thermohaline circulation. Since the bulk formulations assume an infinite atmospheric heat capacity, resulting SST anomalies are strongly damped even on basin-scales (e.g. from trends in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation). In consequence, an important negative feedback is eliminated, rendering the system excessively susceptible to small anomalies (or errors) in the freshwater fluxes. Previous studies (Seager et al., 1995, J. Clim.) have suggested a partial forcing issue remedy that aimed for a physically more realistic determination of air-sea fluxes by allowing some (thermodynamic) adaptation of the atmospheric boundary layer to SST changes. In this study a modernized formulation of this approach (Deremble et al., 2013, Mon. Weather Rev.; 'CheapAML') is implemented in a global ocean-ice model with moderate resolution (0.5°; ORCA05). In a set of experiments we explore the solution behaviour of this forcing approach (where only the winds are prescribed, while atmospheric temperature and humidity are computed), contrasting it with the solution obtained from the classical bulk formulation with a non

Energy Dissipation in the Upper Atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1 Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Ofer; Glocer, Alex; Garraffo, Cecilia; Drake, Jeremy J.; Bell, Jared M.

2018-03-01

We present a method to quantify the upper limit of the energy transmitted from the intense stellar wind to the upper atmospheres of three of the TRAPPIST-1 planets (e, f, and g). We use a formalism that treats the system as two electromagnetic regions, where the efficiency of the energy transmission between one region (the stellar wind at the planetary orbits) to the other (the planetary ionospheres) depends on the relation between the conductances and impedances of the two regions. Since the energy flux of the stellar wind is very high at these planetary orbits, we find that for the case of high transmission efficiency (when the conductances and impedances are close in magnitude), the energy dissipation in the upper planetary atmospheres is also very large. On average, the Ohmic energy can reach 0.5–1 W m‑2, about 1% of the stellar irradiance and 5–15 times the EUV irradiance. Here, using constant values for the ionospheric conductance, we demonstrate that the stellar wind energy could potentially drive large atmospheric heating in terrestrial planets, as well as in hot Jupiters. More detailed calculations are needed to assess the ionospheric conductance and to determine more accurately the amount of heating the stellar wind can drive in close-orbit planets.

Atmospheric correction using near-infrared bands for satellite ocean color data processing in the turbid western Pacific region.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Menghua; Shi, Wei; Jiang, Lide

2012-01-16

A regional near-infrared (NIR) ocean normalized water-leaving radiance (nL(w)(λ)) model is proposed for atmospheric correction for ocean color data processing in the western Pacific region, including the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea. Our motivation for this work is to derive ocean color products in the highly turbid western Pacific region using the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) onboard South Korean Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS). GOCI has eight spectral bands from 412 to 865 nm but does not have shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands that are needed for satellite ocean color remote sensing in the turbid ocean region. Based on a regional empirical relationship between the NIR nL(w)(λ) and diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm (K(d)(490)), which is derived from the long-term measurements with the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite, an iterative scheme with the NIR-based atmospheric correction algorithm has been developed. Results from MODIS-Aqua measurements show that ocean color products in the region derived from the new proposed NIR-corrected atmospheric correction algorithm match well with those from the SWIR atmospheric correction algorithm. Thus, the proposed new atmospheric correction method provides an alternative for ocean color data processing for GOCI (and other ocean color satellite sensors without SWIR bands) in the turbid ocean regions of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea, although the SWIR-based atmospheric correction approach is still much preferred. The proposed atmospheric correction methodology can also be applied to other turbid coastal regions.

Hydrographic changes in the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean with focus on an upper ocean freshwater anomaly between 2007 and 2010

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Steur, L.; Steele, M.; Hansen, E.; Morison, J.; Polyakov, I.; Olsen, S.M.; Melling, H.; McLaughlin, F.A.; Kwok, R.; Smethie Jr., W.M.; Schlosser, P.

2013-01-01

Hydrographic data from the Arctic Ocean show that freshwater content in the Lincoln Sea, north of Greenland, increased significantly from 2007 to 2010, slightly lagging changes in the eastern and central Arctic. The anomaly was primarily caused by a decrease in the upper ocean salinity. In 2011

A Shuttle Upper Atmosphere Mass Spectrometer /SUMS/ experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, R. C.; Duckett, R. J.; Hinson, E. W.

1982-01-01

A magnetic mass spectrometer is currently being adapted to the Space Shuttle Orbiter to provide repeated high altitude atmosphere data to support in situ rarefied flow aerodynamics research, i.e., in the high velocity, low density flight regime. The experiment, called Shuttle Upper Atmosphere Mass Spectrometer (SUMS), is the first attempt to design mass spectrometer equipment for flight vehicle aerodynamic data extraction. The SUMS experiment will provide total freestream atmospheric quantitites, principally total mass density, above altitudes at which conventional pressure measurements are valid. Experiment concepts, the expected flight profile, tradeoffs in the design of the total system and flight data reduction plans are discussed. Development plans are based upon a SUMS first flight after the Orbiter initial development flights.

The sequestration switch. Removing industrial CO2 by direct ocean absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ametistova, Lioudmila; Briden, James; Twidell, John

2002-01-01

This review paper considers direct injection of industrial CO 2 emissions into the mid-water oceanic column below 500 m depth. Such a process is a potential candidate for switching atmospheric carbon emissions directly to long term sequestration, thereby relieving the intermediate atmospheric burden. Given sufficient research justification, the argument is that harmful impact in both the Atmosphere and the biologically rich upper marine layer could be reduced. The paper aims to estimate the role that active intervention, through direct ocean CO 2 storage, could play and to outline further research and assessment for the strategy to be a viable option for climate change mitigation. The attractiveness of direct ocean injection lies in its bypassing of the Atmosphere and upper marine region, its relative permanence, its practicability using existing technologies and its quantification. The difficulties relate to the uncertainty of some fundamental scientific issues, such as plume dynamics, lowered pH of the exposed waters and associated ecological impact, the significant energy penalty associated with the necessary engineering plant and the uncertain costs. Moreover, there are considerable uncertainties regarding related international marine law. Development of the process would require acceptance of the evidence for climate change, strict requirements for large industrial consumers of fossil fuel to reduce CO 2 emissions into the Atmosphere and scientific evidence for the overall beneficial impact of ocean sequestration

Turbidity, SOLAR RADIATION - ATMOSPHERIC and other data from JOHN V. VICKERS from 1992-11-18 to 1993-02-22 (NODC Accession 9500060)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data set was collected as part of Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere and Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response...

Ocean climate coupling in the tropical Pacific Ocean over the past fifty years: implications and feedbacks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xiujun; Murtugudde, Ragu; Busalacchi, Antonio J.

2007-01-01

Full text: The tropical Pacific plays an important role in climate because of its significant air-sea exchanges of heat, freshwater, and carbon dioxide (C02), and because of its direct linkage to climate variability. There are two dominant modes of climate variability in the Tropics: the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). There has been strong evidence of ENSO and PDO impacts on tropical Pacific physics and biogeochemistry, including heat content, ocean circulation (McPhaden and Zhang 2002), and carbon fluxes (Feely ef al. 2006; Wang ef al. 2006). In this study, we apply a basin-scale ocean circulation-ecosystem-carbon model (Wang ef al. 2006) to study the responses of the tropical Pacific ecosystem, biogeochemistry and carbon cycle to climate forcing over the past 50 years. The model produces strong spatial and temporal variability in surface nutrient concentration, phytoplankton biomass, carbon uptake, and sea-to-air C02 flux, which are largely associated with the ENSO phenomenon. In particular, the size of the tropical Pacific C02 source is large during the ENSO cold phase but small during the ENSO warm phase. There are significant decadal variations in tropical Pacific carbon fluxes, reflecting physical and biogeochemical changes associated with the 1977 and 1997/98 PDO shifts. The 1977 regime shift caused 1 0 C warming in sea surface temperature and -50% reduction in surface iron concentration in the Niho3.4 area, leading to decreased biological activity. While there is a large decrease in phytoplankton growth and biomass, reduction in carbon uptake is smaller than expected, due to phytoplankton photoadaption, which increases the carbon to chlorophyll ratio in the upper euphotic zone and enhances sub-surface production. Photoadaption also results in clearer water near the surface, leading to less heating near the ocean surface and allowing more solar radiation to penetrate the subsurface. Our studies

Ocean-atmosphere interactions during cyclone Nargis

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mc; Foltz, G.R.; Lee, T.; Murty, V.S.N.; Ravichandran, M.; Vecchi, G.A.; Vialard, J.; Wiggert, J.D.; Yu, L.

=UTF-8 Author version: EOS: Trans. Am. Geophys. Union: 90(7); 2009; 53-60; doi:10.1029/2009EO070001 Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions During Cyclone Nargis M. J. McPhaden (1) , G. R. Foltz (2) , T. Lee (3) , V. S. N. Murty (4) , M... Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction; McPhaden et al, 2008) designed to complement a constellation of earth observing satellites for key environmental parameters such as winds, sea surface temperature (SST), and sea...

Fiber-coupling efficiency of Gaussian-Schell model beams through an ocean to fiber optical communication link

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Beibei; Shi, Haifeng; Zhang, Yixin

2018-06-01

We theoretically study the fiber-coupling efficiency of Gaussian-Schell model beams propagating through oceanic turbulence. The expression of the fiber-coupling efficiency is derived based on the spatial power spectrum of oceanic turbulence and the cross-spectral density function. Our work shows that the salinity fluctuation has a greater impact on the fiber-coupling efficiency than temperature fluctuation does. We can select longer λ in the "ocean window" and higher spatial coherence of light source to improve the fiber-coupling efficiency of the communication link. We also can achieve the maximum fiber-coupling efficiency by choosing design parameter according specific oceanic turbulence condition. Our results are able to help the design of optical communication link for oceanic turbulence to fiber sensor.

Coupled assimilation for an intermediated coupled ENSO prediction model

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Fei; Zhu, Jiang

2010-10-01

The value of coupled assimilation is discussed using an intermediate coupled model in which the wind stress is the only atmospheric state which is slavery to model sea surface temperature (SST). In the coupled assimilation analysis, based on the coupled wind-ocean state covariance calculated from the coupled state ensemble, the ocean state is adjusted by assimilating wind data using the ensemble Kalman filter. As revealed by a series of assimilation experiments using simulated observations, the coupled assimilation of wind observations yields better results than the assimilation of SST observations. Specifically, the coupled assimilation of wind observations can help to improve the accuracy of the surface and subsurface currents because the correlation between the wind and ocean currents is stronger than that between SST and ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific. Thus, the coupled assimilation of wind data can decrease the initial condition errors in the surface/subsurface currents that can significantly contribute to SST forecast errors. The value of the coupled assimilation of wind observations is further demonstrated by comparing the prediction skills of three 12-year (1997-2008) hindcast experiments initialized by the ocean-only assimilation scheme that assimilates SST observations, the coupled assimilation scheme that assimilates wind observations, and a nudging scheme that nudges the observed wind stress data, respectively. The prediction skills of two assimilation schemes are significantly better than those of the nudging scheme. The prediction skills of assimilating wind observations are better than assimilating SST observations. Assimilating wind observations for the 2007/2008 La Niña event triggers better predictions, while assimilating SST observations fails to provide an early warning for that event.

A 1260-year control integration with the coupled ECHAM1/LSG general circulation model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Storch, J.S. von [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Meteorologisches Inst.; Kharin, V [Canadian Climate Centre, Victoria, BC (Canada); Cubasch, U [Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ), Hamburg (Germany); Hegerl, G C [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Schriever, D [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Storch, H von [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Hydrophysik; Zorita, E [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Hydrophysik

1996-05-01

A 1260-year integration generated by the ECHAM1/LSG coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model is analyzed in this paper. The analysis focuses on the time evolution of the model atmosphere and the model ocean, and on the variations of the final quasi-stationary atmosphere-ocean system. The evolution of the coupled system is affected by the globally integrated fluxes of heat and fresh water, the coupling shock induced by different types of fluxes prior to and after the coupling, and the insufficient spin-up of the deep ocean prior to the coupling. It is suggested that the flux correction with its unsatisfactory formulation over sea ice areas does not play the crucial role in causing the initial drift of the system. The main question concerning the atmospheric variations is whether the spatial structures of variations on short time scales are similar to those on long time scales. The answer to this question is yes. The questions concerning the oceanic variations are what are their dominant modes and to what extent are variations of different parts of the oceanic circulation related to each other. It is shown that the dominant oceanic variations are located in the North Pacific and at the southern flank of the mean position of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and in the areas where deep water from three oceans meets the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. A correlation analysis indicates further that an anomalous outflow from (inflow into) the deep Atlantic is related to an anomalous outflow from (inflow into) the deep Indian Ocean and an anomalous eastward (westward) flow along the Antarctic coast. (orig.)

Upper atmospheric gravity wave details revealed in nightglow satellite imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Steven D.; Straka, William C.; Yue, Jia; Smith, Steven M.; Alexander, M. Joan; Hoffmann, Lars; Setvák, Martin; Partain, Philip T.

2015-01-01

Gravity waves (disturbances to the density structure of the atmosphere whose restoring forces are gravity and buoyancy) comprise the principal form of energy exchange between the lower and upper atmosphere. Wave breaking drives the mean upper atmospheric circulation, determining boundary conditions to stratospheric processes, which in turn influence tropospheric weather and climate patterns on various spatial and temporal scales. Despite their recognized importance, very little is known about upper-level gravity wave characteristics. The knowledge gap is mainly due to lack of global, high-resolution observations from currently available satellite observing systems. Consequently, representations of wave-related processes in global models are crude, highly parameterized, and poorly constrained, limiting the description of various processes influenced by them. Here we highlight, through a series of examples, the unanticipated ability of the Day/Night Band (DNB) on the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership environmental satellite to resolve gravity structures near the mesopause via nightglow emissions at unprecedented subkilometric detail. On moonless nights, the Day/Night Band observations provide all-weather viewing of waves as they modulate the nightglow layer located near the mesopause (∼90 km above mean sea level). These waves are launched by a variety of physical mechanisms, ranging from orography to convection, intensifying fronts, and even seismic and volcanic events. Cross-referencing the Day/Night Band imagery with conventional thermal infrared imagery also available helps to discern nightglow structures and in some cases to attribute their sources. The capability stands to advance our basic understanding of a critical yet poorly constrained driver of the atmospheric circulation. PMID:26630004

TITAN’S UPPER ATMOSPHERE FROM CASSINI/UVIS SOLAR OCCULTATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capalbo, Fernando J.; Bénilan, Yves [Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR 7583 du CNRS, Universités Paris Est Créteil (UPEC) and Paris Diderot - UPD, 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, F-94010, Créteil Cédex (France); Yelle, Roger V.; Koskinen, Tommi T., E-mail: fernando.capalbo@lisa.u-pec.fr [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2015-12-01

Titan’s atmosphere is composed mainly of molecular nitrogen, methane being the principal trace gas. From the analysis of 8 solar occultations measured by the Extreme Ultraviolet channel of the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) on board Cassini, we derived vertical profiles of N{sub 2} in the range 1100–1600 km and vertical profiles of CH{sub 4} in the range 850–1300 km. The correction of instrument effects and observational effects applied to the data are described. We present CH{sub 4} mole fractions, and average temperatures for the upper atmosphere obtained from the N{sub 2} profiles. The occultations correspond to different times and locations, and an analysis of variability of density and temperature is presented. The temperatures were analyzed as a function of geographical and temporal variables, without finding a clear correlation with any of them, although a trend of decreasing temperature toward the north pole was observed. The globally averaged temperature obtained is (150 ± 1) K. We compared our results from solar occultations with those derived from other UVIS observations, as well as studies performed with other instruments. The observational data we present confirm the atmospheric variability previously observed, add new information to the global picture of Titan’s upper atmosphere composition, variability, and dynamics, and provide new constraints to photochemical models.

International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) R3.0 netCDF version

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This collection contains observations of global ocean meteorological and oceanographic variables, such as sea surface and air temperatures, wind, pressure, humidity,...

Processes analysis of ocean-atmosphere interaction in Colombian marine areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melo, Jeimmy; Pabon Caicedo, Jose Daniel

2002-01-01

This document shows the importance to understanding the processes of interaction ocean-atmosphere by means of the knowledge of the behavior of the physical and biological processes in the Colombian marine areas. For such aim, it was studied the production of the pigment concentration (chlorophyll-a) by means the state of the sea surface temperature and the atmospheric dynamics for year 2001

Historical and future trends in ocean climate and biogeochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doney, Scott C.; Bopp, Laurent; Long, Matthew C.

2014-01-01

Changing atmospheric composition due to human activities, primarily carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from fossil fuel burning, is already impacting ocean circulation, biogeochemistry, and ecology, and model projections indicate that observed trends will continue or even accelerate over this century. Elevated atmospheric CO 2 alters Earth's radiative balance, leading to global-scale warming and climate change. The ocean stores the majority of resulting anomalous heat, which in turn drives other physical, chemical, and biological impacts. Sea surface warming and increased ocean vertical stratification are projected to reduce global-integrated primary production and export flux as well as to lower subsurface dissolved oxygen concentrations. Upper trophic levels will be affected both directly by warming and indirectly from changes in productivity and expanding low oxygen zones. The ocean also absorbs roughly one-quarter of present-day anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. The resulting changes in seawater chemistry, termed ocean acidification, include declining pH and saturation state for calcium carbon minerals that may have widespread impacts on many marine organisms. Climate warming will likely slow ocean CO 2 uptake but is not expected to significantly reduce upper ocean acidification. Improving the accuracy of future model projections requires better observational constraints on current rates of ocean change and a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling key physical and biogeochemical processes. (authors)

A model of the primordial lunar atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Prabal; Elkins-Tanton, Lindy; Petro, Noah; Mandell, Avi

2017-09-01

We create the first quantitative model for the early lunar atmosphere, coupled with a magma ocean crystallization model. Immediately after formation, the moon's surface was subject to a radiative environment that included contributions from the early Sun, a post-impact Earth that radiated like a mid-type M dwarf star, and a cooling global magma ocean. This radiative environment resulted in a largely Earth-side atmosphere on the Moon, ranging from ∼104 to ∼102 pascals, composed of heavy volatiles (Na and SiO). This atmosphere persisted through lid formation and was additionally characterized by supersonic winds that transported significant quantities of moderate volatiles and likely generated magma ocean waves. The existence of this atmosphere may have influenced the distribution of some moderate volatiles and created temperature asymmetries which influenced ocean flow and cooling. Such asymmetries may characterize young, tidally locked rocky bodies with global magma oceans and subject to intense irradiation.

Hydrogen isotopic fractionation during crystallization of the terrestrial magma ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Pahlevan, K.; Karato, S. I.

2016-12-01

Models of the Moon-forming giant impact extensively melt and partially vaporize the silicate Earth and deliver a substantial mass of metal to the Earth's core. The subsequent evolution of the terrestrial magma ocean and overlying vapor atmosphere over the ensuing 105-6 years has been largely constrained by theoretical models with remnant signatures from this epoch proving somewhat elusive. We have calculated equilibrium hydrogen isotopic fractionation between the magma ocean and overlying steam atmosphere to determine the extent to which H isotopes trace the evolution during this epoch. By analogy with the modern silicate Earth, the magma ocean-steam atmosphere system is often assumed to be chemically oxidized (log fO2 QFM) with the dominant atmospheric vapor species taken to be water vapor. However, the terrestrial magma ocean - having held metallic droplets in suspension - may also exhibit a much more reducing character (log fO2 IW) such that equilibration with the overlying atmosphere renders molecular hydrogen the dominant H-bearing vapor species. This variable - the redox state of the magma ocean - has not been explicitly included in prior models of the coupled evolution of the magma ocean-steam atmosphere system. We find that the redox state of the magma ocean influences not only the vapor speciation and liquid-vapor partitioning of hydrogen but also the equilibrium isotopic fractionation during the crystallization epoch. The liquid-vapor isotopic fractionation of H is substantial under reducing conditions and can generate measurable D/H signatures in the crystallization products but is largely muted in an oxidizing magma ocean and steam atmosphere. We couple equilibrium isotopic fractionation with magma ocean crystallization calculations to forward model the behavior of hydrogen isotopes during this epoch and find that the distribution of H isotopes in the silicate Earth immediately following crystallization represents an oxybarometer for the terrestrial

Biological and physical controls in the Southern Ocean on past millennial-scale atmospheric CO2 changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschalk, Julia; Skinner, Luke C; Lippold, Jörg; Vogel, Hendrik; Frank, Norbert; Jaccard, Samuel L; Waelbroeck, Claire

2016-05-17

Millennial-scale climate changes during the last glacial period and deglaciation were accompanied by rapid changes in atmospheric CO2 that remain unexplained. While the role of the Southern Ocean as a 'control valve' on ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange has been emphasized, the exact nature of this role, in particular the relative contributions of physical (for example, ocean dynamics and air-sea gas exchange) versus biological processes (for example, export productivity), remains poorly constrained. Here we combine reconstructions of bottom-water [O2], export production and (14)C ventilation ages in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic, and show that atmospheric CO2 pulses during the last glacial- and deglacial periods were consistently accompanied by decreases in the biological export of carbon and increases in deep-ocean ventilation via southern-sourced water masses. These findings demonstrate how the Southern Ocean's 'organic carbon pump' has exerted a tight control on atmospheric CO2, and thus global climate, specifically via a synergy of both physical and biological processes.

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

Sea-to-air flux of dimethyl sulfide in the South and North Pacific Ocean as measured by proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry coupled with the gradient flux technique

Science.gov (United States)

Omori, Yuko; Tanimoto, Hiroshi; Inomata, Satoshi; Ikeda, Kohei; Iwata, Toru; Kameyama, Sohiko; Uematsu, Mitsuo; Gamo, Toshitaka; Ogawa, Hiroshi; Furuya, Ken

2017-07-01

Exchange of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) between the surface ocean and the lower atmosphere was examined by using proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry coupled with the gradient flux (PTR-MS/GF) system. We deployed the PTR-MS/GF system and observed vertical gradients of atmospheric DMS just above the sea surface in the subtropical and transitional South Pacific Ocean and the subarctic North Pacific Ocean. In total, we obtained 370 in situ profiles, and of these we used 46 data sets to calculate the sea-to-air flux of DMS. The DMS flux determined was in the range from 1.9 to 31 μmol m-2 d-1 and increased with wind speed and biological activity, in reasonable accordance with previous observations in the open ocean. The gas transfer velocity of DMS derived from the PTR-MS/GF measurements was similar to either that of DMS determined by the eddy covariance technique or that of insoluble gases derived from the dual tracer experiments, depending on the observation sites located in different geographic regions. When atmospheric conditions were strongly stable during the daytime in the subtropical ocean, the PTR-MS/GF observations captured a daytime versus nighttime difference in DMS mixing ratios in the surface air overlying the ocean surface. The difference was mainly due to the sea-to-air DMS emissions and stable atmospheric conditions, thus affecting the gradient of DMS. This indicates that the DMS gradient is strongly controlled by diurnal variations in the vertical structure of the lower atmosphere above the ocean surface.

NIR-driven Moist Upper Atmospheres of Synchronously Rotating Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujii, Yuka; Del Genio, Anthony D.; Amundsen, David S.

2017-01-01

H 2 O is a key molecule in characterizing atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets, and observations of transmission spectra are expected to play a primary role in detecting its signatures in the near future. The detectability of H 2 O absorption features in transmission spectra depends on the abundance of water vapor in the upper part of the atmosphere. We study the three-dimensional distribution of atmospheric H 2 O for synchronously rotating Earth-sized aquaplanets using the general circulation model (GCM) ROCKE-3D, and examine the effects of total incident flux and stellar spectral type. We observe a more gentle increase of the water vapor mixing ratio in response to increased incident flux than one-dimensional models suggest, in qualitative agreement with the climate-stabilizing effect of clouds around the substellar point previously observed in GCMs applied to synchronously rotating planets. However, the water vapor mixing ratio in the upper atmosphere starts to increase while the surface temperature is still moderate. This is explained by the circulation in the upper atmosphere being driven by the radiative heating due to absorption by water vapor and cloud particles, causing efficient vertical transport of water vapor. Consistently, the water vapor mixing ratio is found to be well-correlated with the near-infrared portion of the incident flux. We also simulate transmission spectra based on the GCM outputs, and show that for the more highly irradiated planets, the H 2 O signatures may be strengthened by a factor of a few, loosening the observational demands for a H 2 O detection.

LARGE ABUNDANCES OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN TITAN'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez-Puertas, M.; Funke, B.; Garcia-Comas, M. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), E-18080 Granada (Spain); Dinelli, B. M. [ISAC-CNR, I-40129 Bologna (Italy); Adriani, A.; D' Aversa, E. [IAPS-INAF, I-00133 Rome (Italy); Moriconi, M. L. [ISAC-CNR, I-00133 Rome (Italy); Boersma, C.; Allamandola, L. J., E-mail: puertas@iaa.es [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 (United States)

2013-06-20

In this paper, we analyze the strong unidentified emission near 3.28 {mu}m in Titan's upper daytime atmosphere recently discovered by Dinelli et al. We have studied it by using the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), after absorbing UV solar radiation, are able to emit strongly near 3.3 {mu}m. By using current models for the redistribution of the absorbed UV energy, we have explained the observed spectral feature and have derived the vertical distribution of PAH abundances in Titan's upper atmosphere. PAHs have been found to be present in large concentrations, about (2-3) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} particles cm{sup -3}. The identified PAHs have 9-96 carbons, with a concentration-weighted average of 34 carbons. The mean mass is {approx}430 u; the mean area is about 0.53 nm{sup 2}; they are formed by 10-11 rings on average, and about one-third of them contain nitrogen atoms. Recently, benzene together with light aromatic species as well as small concentrations of heavy positive and negative ions have been detected in Titan's upper atmosphere. We suggest that the large concentrations of PAHs found here are the neutral counterpart of those positive and negative ions, which hence supports the theory that the origin of Titan main haze layer is located in the upper atmosphere.

Sensitivity of simulated regional Arctic climate to the choice of coupled model domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dmitry V. Sein

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The climate over the Arctic has undergone changes in recent decades. In order to evaluate the coupled response of the Arctic system to external and internal forcing, our study focuses on the estimation of regional climate variability and its dependence on large-scale atmospheric and regional ocean circulations. A global ocean–sea ice model with regionally high horizontal resolution is coupled to an atmospheric regional model and global terrestrial hydrology model. This way of coupling divides the global ocean model setup into two different domains: one coupled, where the ocean and the atmosphere are interacting, and one uncoupled, where the ocean model is driven by prescribed atmospheric forcing and runs in a so-called stand-alone mode. Therefore, selecting a specific area for the regional atmosphere implies that the ocean–atmosphere system can develop ‘freely’ in that area, whereas for the rest of the global ocean, the circulation is driven by prescribed atmospheric forcing without any feedbacks. Five different coupled setups are chosen for ensemble simulations. The choice of the coupled domains was done to estimate the influences of the Subtropical Atlantic, Eurasian and North Pacific regions on northern North Atlantic and Arctic climate. Our simulations show that the regional coupled ocean–atmosphere model is sensitive to the choice of the modelled area. The different model configurations reproduce differently both the mean climate and its variability. Only two out of five model setups were able to reproduce the Arctic climate as observed under recent climate conditions (ERA-40 Reanalysis. Evidence is found that the main source of uncertainty for Arctic climate variability and its predictability is the North Pacific. The prescription of North Pacific conditions in the regional model leads to significant correlation with observations, even if the whole North Atlantic is within the coupled model domain. However, the inclusion of the

Magnetospheric energy inputs into the upper atmospheres of the giant planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. G. A. Smith

2005-07-01

Full Text Available We revisit the effects of Joule heating upon the upper atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. We show that in addition to direct Joule heating there is an additional input of kinetic energy – ion drag energy – which we quantify relative to the Joule heating. We also show that fluctuations about the mean electric field, as observed in the Earth's ionosphere, may significantly increase the Joule heating itself. For physically plausible parameters these effects may increase previous estimates of the upper atmospheric energy input at Saturn from ~10 TW to ~20 TW.

Keywords. Ionosphere (Electric fields and currents; Planetary ionosphere – Magnetospheric physics (Auroral phenomena

Effects of atmospheric inorganic nitrogen deposition on ocean biogeochemistry

OpenAIRE

Krishnamurthy, Aparna; Moore, J. Keith; Zender, Charles S; Luo, Chao

2007-01-01

 We perform a sensitivity study with the Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC) ocean model to understand the impact of atmospheric inorganic nitrogen deposition on marine biogeochemistry and air-sea CO2 exchange. Simulations involved examining the response to three different atmospheric inorganic nitrogen deposition scenarios namely, Pre-industrial (22 Tg N/year), 1990s (39 Tg N/year), and an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prediction for 2100, IPCC-A1FI (69 Tg N/year). Glob...

Climatology and seasonality of upper ocean salinity: a three-dimensional view from argo floats

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ge; Peng, Lin; Ma, Chunyong

2018-03-01

Primarily due to the constraints of observation technologies (both field and satellite measurements), our understanding of ocean salinity is much less mature compared to ocean temperature. As a result, the characterizations of the two most important properties of the ocean are unfortunately out of step: the former is one generation behind the latter in terms of data availability and applicability. This situation has been substantially changed with the advent of the Argo floats which measure the two variables simultaneously on a global scale since early this century. The first decade of Argo-acquired salinity data are analyzed here in the context of climatology and seasonality, yielding the following main findings for the global upper oceans. First, the six well-defined "salty pools" observed around ±20° in each hemisphere of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans are found to tilt westward vertically from the sea surface to about 600 m depth, forming six saline cores within the subsurface oceans. Second, while potential temperature climatology decreases monotonically to the bottom in most places of the ocean, the vertical distribution of salinity can be classified into two categories: A double-halocline type forming immediately above and below the local salinity maximum around 100-150 m depths in the tropical and subtropical oceans, and a single halocline type existing at about 100 m depth in the extratropical oceans. Third, in contrast to the midlatitude dominance for temperature, seasonal variability of salinity in the oceanic mixed layer has a clear tropical dominance. Meanwhile, it is found that a two-mode structure with annual and semiannual periodicities can effectively penetrate through the upper ocean into a depth of 2000 m. Fourth, signature of Rossby waves is identified in the annual phase map of ocean salinity within 200-600 m depths in the tropical oceans, revealing a strongly co-varying nature of ocean temperature and salinity at specific depths

Effects of hypoxia and ocean acidification on the upper thermal niche boundaries of coral reef fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ern, Rasmus; Johansen, Jacob L; Rummer, Jodie L; Esbaugh, Andrew J

2017-07-01

Rising ocean temperatures are predicted to cause a poleward shift in the distribution of marine fishes occupying the extent of latitudes tolerable within their thermal range boundaries. A prevailing theory suggests that the upper thermal limits of fishes are constrained by hypoxia and ocean acidification. However, some eurythermal fish species do not conform to this theory, and maintain their upper thermal limits in hypoxia. Here we determine if the same is true for stenothermal species. In three coral reef fish species we tested the effect of hypoxia on upper thermal limits, measured as critical thermal maximum (CT max ). In one of these species we also quantified the effect of hypoxia on oxygen supply capacity, measured as aerobic scope (AS). In this species we also tested the effect of elevated CO 2 (simulated ocean acidification) on the hypoxia sensitivity of CT max We found that CT max was unaffected by progressive hypoxia down to approximately 35 mmHg, despite a substantial hypoxia-induced reduction in AS. Below approximately 35 mmHg, CT max declined sharply with water oxygen tension ( P w O 2 ). Furthermore, the hypoxia sensitivity of CT max was unaffected by elevated CO 2 Our findings show that moderate hypoxia and ocean acidification do not constrain the upper thermal limits of these tropical, stenothermal fishes. © 2017 The Author(s).

Investigation of land ice-ocean interaction with a fully coupled ice-ocean model: 1. Model description and behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, D. N.; Little, C. M.; Sergienko, O. V.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Hallberg, R.; Oppenheimer, M.

2012-06-01

Antarctic ice shelves interact closely with the ocean cavities beneath them, with ice shelf geometry influencing ocean cavity circulation, and heat from the ocean driving changes in the ice shelves, as well as the grounded ice streams that feed them. We present a new coupled model of an ice stream-ice shelf-ocean system that is used to study this interaction. The model is capable of representing a moving grounding line and dynamically responding ocean circulation within the ice shelf cavity. Idealized experiments designed to investigate the response of the coupled system to instantaneous increases in ocean temperature show ice-ocean system responses on multiple timescales. Melt rates and ice shelf basal slopes near the grounding line adjust in 1-2 years, and downstream advection of the resulting ice shelf thinning takes place on decadal timescales. Retreat of the grounding line and adjustment of grounded ice takes place on a much longer timescale, and the system takes several centuries to reach a new steady state. During this slow retreat, and in the absence of either an upward-or downward-sloping bed or long-term trends in ocean heat content, the ice shelf and melt rates maintain a characteristic pattern relative to the grounding line.

A numerical investigation of the atmosphere-ocean thermal contrast over the coastal upwelling region of Cabo Frio, Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dourado, M. [Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas RS (Brazil)]. E-mail: marcelo_dourado@ufpel.edu.br; Pereira de Oliveira, A. [Departamento de Ciencias Atmosfericas, Instituto de Astronomia, Geofisica e Ciencias Atmosfericas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, (Brazil)

2008-01-15

An one-dimensional atmospheric second order closure model, coupled to an oceanic mixed layer model, is used to investigate the short term variation of the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers in the coastal upwelling area of Cabo Frio, Brazil (23 degrees Celsius S, 42 degrees Celsius 08' W). The numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate the impact caused by the thermal contrast between atmosphere and ocean on the vertical extent and other properties of both atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers. The numerical simulations were designed taking as reference the observations carried out during the passage of a cold front that disrupted the upwelling regime in Cabo Frio in July of 1992. The simulations indicated that in 10 hours the mechanical mixing, sustained by a constant background flow of 10 m s-1, increases the atmospheric boundary layer in 214 m when the atmosphere is initially 2 K warmer than the ocean (positive thermal contrast observed during upwelling regime). For an atmosphere initially -2 K colder than the ocean (negative thermal contrast observed during passage of the cold front), the incipient thermal convection intensifies the mechanical mixing increasing the vertical extent of the atmospheric boundary layer in 360 m. The vertical evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer is consistent with the observations carried out in Cabo Frio during upwelling condition. When the upwelling is disrupted, the discrepancy between the simulated and observed atmospheric boundary layer heights in Cabo Frio during July of 1992 increases considerably. During the period of 10 hours, the simulated oceanic mixed layer deepens 2 m and 5.4 m for positive and negative thermal contrasts of 2 K and -2 K, respectively. In the latter case, the larger vertical extent of the oceanic mixed layer is due to the presence of thermal convection in the atmospheric boundary layer, which in turn is associated to the absence of upwelling caused by the passage of cold fronts

Coupled processes and the tropical climatology : part III : instabilities of the fully coupled climatology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, H.A.; Neelin, J.D.

1998-01-01

Coupled processes between the equatorial ocean and atmosphere control the spatial structure of the annual mean state in the Pacific region,in particular the warm-pool/cold- tongue structure.At the same time,coupled processes are known to be responsible for the variability about this mean state,in

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Ocean Near Surface Atmospheric Properties, Version 2

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Ocean Surface Bundle (OSB) Climate Data Record (CDR) consist of three parts: sea surface temperature; near-surface wind speed, air temperature, and specific...

XUV-exposed, non-hydrostatic hydrogen-rich upper atmospheres of terrestrial planets. Part II: hydrogen coronae and ion escape.

Science.gov (United States)

Kislyakova, Kristina G; Lammer, Helmut; Holmström, Mats; Panchenko, Mykhaylo; Odert, Petra; Erkaev, Nikolai V; Leitzinger, Martin; Khodachenko, Maxim L; Kulikov, Yuri N; Güdel, Manuel; Hanslmeier, Arnold

2013-11-01

We studied the interactions between the stellar wind plasma flow of a typical M star, such as GJ 436, and the hydrogen-rich upper atmosphere of an Earth-like planet and a "super-Earth" with a radius of 2 R(Earth) and a mass of 10 M(Earth), located within the habitable zone at ∼0.24 AU. We investigated the formation of extended atomic hydrogen coronae under the influences of the stellar XUV flux (soft X-rays and EUV), stellar wind density and velocity, shape of a planetary obstacle (e.g., magnetosphere, ionopause), and the loss of planetary pickup ions on the evolution of hydrogen-dominated upper atmospheres. Stellar XUV fluxes that are 1, 10, 50, and 100 times higher compared to that of the present-day Sun were considered, and the formation of high-energy neutral hydrogen clouds around the planets due to the charge-exchange reaction under various stellar conditions was modeled. Charge-exchange between stellar wind protons with planetary hydrogen atoms, and photoionization, lead to the production of initially cold ions of planetary origin. We found that the ion production rates for the studied planets can vary over a wide range, from ∼1.0×10²⁵ s⁻¹ to ∼5.3×10³⁰ s⁻¹, depending on the stellar wind conditions and the assumed XUV exposure of the upper atmosphere. Our findings indicate that most likely the majority of these planetary ions are picked up by the stellar wind and lost from the planet. Finally, we estimated the long-time nonthermal ion pickup escape for the studied planets and compared them with the thermal escape. According to our estimates, nonthermal escape of picked-up ionized hydrogen atoms over a planet's lifetime within the habitable zone of an M dwarf varies between ∼0.4 Earth ocean equivalent amounts of hydrogen (EO(H)) to <3 EO(H) and usually is several times smaller in comparison to the thermal atmospheric escape rates.

Trends in the Neutral and Ionized Upper Atmosphere

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Laštovička, Jan; Solomon, S.C.; Qian, L.

2012-01-01

Roč. 168, 1-4 (2012), s. 113-145 ISSN 0038-6308 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/10/1792 Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : Global change * Long-term trends * Ionosphere * Upper atmosphere Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 5.519, year: 2012 http://www.springerlink.com/content/d4015w2q031q5048/fulltext.pdf

Composition and structure of the martian upper atmosphere: analysis of results from viking.

Science.gov (United States)

McElroy, M B; Kong, T Y; Yung, Y L; Nier, A O

1976-12-11

Densities for carbon dioxide measured by the upper atmospheric mass spectrometers on Viking 1 and Viking 2 are analyzed to yield height profiles for the temperature of the martian atmosphere between 120 and 200 kilometers. Densities for nitrogen and argon are used to derive vertical profiles for the eddy diffusion coefficient over the same height range. The upper atmosphere of Mars is surprisingly cold with average temperatures for both Viking 1 and Viking 2 of less than 200 degrees K, and there is significant vertical structure. Model calculations are presented and shown to be in good agreement with measured concentrations of carbon monoxide, oxygen, and nitric oxide.

Atmospheric noble gases in Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts: Identification of atmospheric contamination processes

Science.gov (United States)

Roubinet, Claire; Moreira, Manuel A.

2018-02-01

Noble gases in oceanic basalts always show the presence in variable proportions of a component having elemental and isotopic compositions that are similar to those of the atmosphere and distinct from the mantle composition. Although this component could be mantle-derived (e.g. subduction of air or seawater-derived noble gases trapped in altered oceanic crust and sediments), it is most often suggested that this air component is added after sample collection and probably during storage at ambient air, although the mechanism remains unknown. In an attempt to reduce this atmospheric component observed in MORBs, four experimental protocols have been followed in this study. These protocols are based on the hypothesis that air can be removed from the samples, as it appears to be sheltered in distinct vesicles compared to those filled with mantle gases. All of the protocols involve a glove box filled with nitrogen, and in certain cases, the samples are stored under primary vacuum (lower than 10-2 mbar) to pump air out or, alternatively, under high pressure of N2 to expel atmospheric noble gases. In all protocols, three components are observed: atmospheric, fractionated atmospheric and magmatic. The fractionated air component seems to be derived from the non-vitreous part of the pillow-lava, which has cooled more slowly. This component is enriched in Ne relative to Ar, reflecting a diffusive process. This contaminant has already been observed in other studies and thus seems to be relatively common. Although it is less visible, unfractionated air has also been detected in some crushing steps, which tends to indicate that despite the experiments, air is still present in the vesicles. This result is surprising, since studies have demonstrated that atmospheric contamination could be limited if samples were stored under nitrogen quickly after their recovery from the seafloor. Thus, the failure of the protocols could be explained by the insufficient duration of these protocols or

The electrical conductivity of the upper mantle and lithosphere from satellite magnetic signal due to ocean tidal flow

Science.gov (United States)

Schnepf, N. R.; Kuvshinov, A. V.; Grayver, A.; Sabaka, T. J.; Olsen, N.

2015-12-01

Global electromagnetic (EM) studies provide information on mantle electrical conductivity with the ultimate aim of understanding the composition, structure, and dynamics of Earth's interior. There is great much interest in mapping the global conductivity of the lithosphere and upper mantle (i.e., depths of 10-400 km) because recent laboratory experiments demonstrate that the electrical conductivity of minerals in these regions are greatly affected by small amounts of water or by partial melt. For decades, studies of lithospheric/mantle conductivity were based on interpretation of magnetic data from a global network of observatories. The recent expansion in magnetic data from low-Earth orbiting satellite missions (Ørsted, CHAMP, SAC-C, and Swarm) has led to a rising interest in probing Earth from space. The largest benefit of using satellite data is much improved spatial coverage. Additionally, and in contrast to ground-based data, satellite data are overall uniform and very high quality. Probing the conductivity of the lithosphere and upper mantle requires EM variations with periods of a few hours. This is a challenging period range for global EM studies since the ionospheric (Sq) source dominates these periods and has a much more complex spatial structure compared to the magnetospheric ring current. Moreover, satellite-based EM induction studies in principle cannot use Sq data since the satellites fly above the Sq source causing the signals to be seen by the satellite as a purely internal source, thus precluding the separation of satellite Sq signals into internal and external parts. Lastly, magnetospheric and ionospheric sources interact inductively with Earth's conducting interior. Fortunately, there exists an alternative EM source in the Sq period range: electric currents generated by oceanic tides. Tides instead interact galvanically with the lithosphere (i.e. by direct coupling of the source currents in the ocean with the underlying substrate), enabling

Evolving Oxygen Landscape of the Early Atmosphere and Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, T. W.; Reinhard, C. T.; Planavsky, N. J.

2013-12-01

The past decade has witnessed remarkable advances in our understanding of oxygen on the early Earth, and a new framework, the topic of this presentation, is now in place to address the controls on spatiotemporal distributions of oxygen and their potential relationships to deep-Earth processes. Recent challenges to the Archean biomarker record have put an added burden on inorganic geochemistry to fingerprint and quantify the early production, accumulation, and variation of biospheric oxygen. Fortunately, a wide variety of techniques now point convincingly to photosynthetic oxygen production and dynamic accumulation well before the canonical Great Oxidation Event (GOE). Recent modeling of sulfur recycling over this interval allows for transient oxygen accumulation in the atmosphere without the disappearance of non-mass-dependent (NMD) sulfur isotope anomalies from the stratigraphic record and further allows for persistent accumulation in the atmosphere well before the permanent disappearance of NMD signals. This recent work suggests that the initial rise of oxygen may have occurred in fits and starts rather than a single step, and that once permanently present in the atmosphere, oxygen likely rose to high levels and then plummeted, in phase with the Paleoproterozoic Lomagundi positive carbon isotope excursion. More than a billion years of oxygen-free conditions in the deep ocean followed and set a challenging course for life, including limited abundances and diversity of eukaryotic organisms. Despite this widespread anoxia, sulfidic (euxinic) conditions were likely limited to productive ocean margins. Nevertheless, euxinia was sufficiently widespread to impact redox-dependent nutrient relationships, particularly the availability of bioessential trace metals critical in the nitrogen cycle, which spawned feedbacks that likely maintained oxygen at very low levels in the ocean and atmosphere and delayed the arrival of animals. Then, in the mid, pre-glacial Neoproterozoic

Stable "Waterbelt" climates controlled by tropical ocean heat transport: A nonlinear coupled climate mechanism of relevance to Snowball Earth

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Brian E. J.

2015-02-01

Ongoing controversy about Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth events motivates a theoretical study of stability and hysteresis properties of very cold climates. A coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice general circulation model (GCM) has four stable equilibria ranging from 0% to 100% ice cover, including a "Waterbelt" state with tropical sea ice. All four states are found at present-day insolation and greenhouse gas levels and with two idealized ocean basin configurations. The Waterbelt is stabilized against albedo feedback by intense but narrow wind-driven ocean overturning cells that deliver roughly 100 W m-2 heating to the ice edges. This requires three-way feedback between winds, ocean circulation, and ice extent in which circulation is shifted equatorward, following the baroclinicity at the ice margins. The thermocline is much shallower and outcrops in the tropics. Sea ice is snow-covered everywhere and has a minuscule seasonal cycle. The Waterbelt state spans a 46 W m-2 range in solar constant, has a significant hysteresis, and permits near-freezing equatorial surface temperatures. Additional context is provided by a slab ocean GCM and a diffusive energy balance model, both with prescribed ocean heat transport (OHT). Unlike the fully coupled model, these support no more than one stable ice margin, the position of which is slaved to regions of rapid poleward decrease in OHT convergence. Wide ranges of different climates (including the stable Waterbelt) are found by varying the magnitude and spatial structure of OHT in both models. Some thermodynamic arguments for the sensitivity of climate, and ice extent to OHT are presented.

How do Greenhouse Gases Warm the Ocean? Investigation of the Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Air-Sea Surface Heat Fluxes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, E.; Minnett, P. J.

2016-12-01

There is much evidence that the ocean is heating due to an increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere from human activities. GHGs absorbs infrared (IR) radiation and re-emits the radiation back to the ocean's surface which is subsequently absorbed resulting in a rise in the ocean heat content. However, the incoming longwave radiation, LWin, is absorbed within the top micrometers of the ocean's surface, where the thermal skin layer (TSL) exists and does not directly heat the upper few meters of the ocean. We are therefore motivated to investigate the physical mechanism between the absorption of IR radiation and its effect on heat transfer at the air-sea boundary. The hypothesis is that since heat lost through the air-sea interface is controlled by the TSL, which is directly influenced by the absorption and emission of IR radiation, the heat flow through the TSL adjusts to maintain the surface heat loss, and thus modulates the upper ocean heat content. This hypothesis is investigated through utilizing clouds to represent an increase in LWin and analyzing retrieved TSL vertical profiles from a shipboard IR spectrometer from two research cruises. The data is limited to night-time, no precipitation and low winds of heat from the absorption of the cloud infrared irradiance back into the atmosphere through processes such as evaporation. Instead, we observe the surplus energy, from absorbing increasing levels of LWin, adjusts the curvature of the TSL such that there is a lower gradient at the interface between the TSL and the mixed layer. The release of heat stored within the mixed layer is therefore hindered while the additional energy within the TSL is cycled back into the atmosphere. This results in heat beneath the TSL, which is a product of the absorption of solar radiation during the day, to be retained and cause an increase in upper ocean heat content.

The Southern Oscillation in a coupled GCM: Implications for climate sensitivity and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meehl, G.A.

1990-01-01

Results are presented from a global coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation climate model developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The atmospheric part of the coupled model is a global spectral (R15, 4.5 degree latitude by 7.5 degree longitude, 9 layers in the vertical) general circulation model. The ocean is coarse-grid (5 degree latitude by 5 degree longitude, 4 layers in the vertical) global general circulation model. The coupled model includes a simple thermodynamic sea-ice model. Due mainly to inherent limitations in the ocean model, the coupled model simulates sea surface temperatures that are too low in the tropics and too high in the extratropics in the mean. In spite of these limitations, the coupled model simulates active interannual variability of the global climate system involving signals in the tropical Pacific that resemble, in some respects, the observed Southern Oscillation. These signals in the tropics are associated with teleconnections to the extratropics of both hemispheres. The implications of this model-simulated interannual variability of the coupled system relating to climate sensitivity and climate change due to an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide are discussed

The Southern Oscillation in a coupled GCM: Implications for climate sensitivity and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meehl, G.A.

1991-01-01

Results are presented from a global coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation climate model developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The atmospheric part of the coupled model is a global spectral (R15, 4.5 degree latitude by 7.5 degree longitude, 9 layers in the vertical) general circulation model. The ocean is coarse-grid (5 degree latitude by 5 degree longitude, 4 layers in the vertical) global general circulation model. The coupled model includes a simple thermodynamic sea-ice model. Due mainly to inherent limitations in the ocean model, the coupled model simulates sea surface temperatures that are too low in the tropics and too high in the extratropics in the mean. In spite of these limitations, the coupled model simulates active interannual variability of the global climate system involving signals in the tropical Pacific that resemble, in some respects, the observed Southern Oscillation. These signals in the tropics are associated with teleconnections to the extratropics of both hemispheres. The implications of this model-simulated interannual variability of the coupled system relating to climate sensitivity and climate change due to an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide are discussed. 25 refs.; 9 figs

NIR-driven Moist Upper Atmospheres of Synchronously Rotating Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujii, Yuka; Del Genio, Anthony D.; Amundsen, David S. [NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY (United States)

2017-10-20

H{sub 2}O is a key molecule in characterizing atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets, and observations of transmission spectra are expected to play a primary role in detecting its signatures in the near future. The detectability of H{sub 2}O absorption features in transmission spectra depends on the abundance of water vapor in the upper part of the atmosphere. We study the three-dimensional distribution of atmospheric H{sub 2}O for synchronously rotating Earth-sized aquaplanets using the general circulation model (GCM) ROCKE-3D, and examine the effects of total incident flux and stellar spectral type. We observe a more gentle increase of the water vapor mixing ratio in response to increased incident flux than one-dimensional models suggest, in qualitative agreement with the climate-stabilizing effect of clouds around the substellar point previously observed in GCMs applied to synchronously rotating planets. However, the water vapor mixing ratio in the upper atmosphere starts to increase while the surface temperature is still moderate. This is explained by the circulation in the upper atmosphere being driven by the radiative heating due to absorption by water vapor and cloud particles, causing efficient vertical transport of water vapor. Consistently, the water vapor mixing ratio is found to be well-correlated with the near-infrared portion of the incident flux. We also simulate transmission spectra based on the GCM outputs, and show that for the more highly irradiated planets, the H{sub 2}O signatures may be strengthened by a factor of a few, loosening the observational demands for a H{sub 2}O detection.

Do vibrationally excited OH molecules affect middle and upper atmospheric chemistry?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. von Clarmann

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Except for a few reactions involving electronically excited molecular or atomic oxygen or nitrogen, atmospheric chemistry modelling usually assumes that the temperature dependence of reaction rates is characterized by Arrhenius' law involving kinetic temperatures. It is known, however, that in the upper atmosphere the vibrational temperatures may exceed the kinetic temperatures by several hundreds of Kelvins. This excess energy has an impact on the reaction rates. We have used upper atmospheric OH populations and reaction rate coefficients for OH(v=0...9+O₃ and OH(v=0...9+O to estimate the effective (i.e. population weighted reaction rates for various atmospheric conditions. We have found that the effective rate coefficient for OH(v=0...9+O₃ can be larger by a factor of up to 1470 than that involving OH in its vibrational ground state only. At altitudes where vibrationally excited states of OH are highly populated, the OH reaction is a minor sink of O_x and O₃ compared to other reactions involving, e.g., atomic oxygen. Thus the impact of vibrationally excited OH on the ozone or O_x sink remains small. Among quiescent atmospheres under investigation, the largest while still small (less than 0.1% effect was found for the polar winter upper stratosphere and mesosphere. The contribution of the reaction of vibrationally excited OH with ozone to the OH sink is largest in the upper polar winter stratosphere (up to 4%, while its effect on the HO₂ source is larger in the lower thermosphere (up to 1.5% for polar winter and 2.5% for midlatitude night conditions. For OH(v=0...9+O the effective rate coefficients are lower by up to 11% than those involving OH in its vibrational ground state. The effects on the odd oxygen sink are negative and can reach −3% (midlatitudinal nighttime lowermost thermosphere, i.e. neglecting vibrational excitation overestimates the odd

Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) Model - An Unified Concept for Earthquake Precursors Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Pulinets, S.; Ouzounov, D.

2010-01-01

The paper presents a conception of complex multidisciplinary approach to the problem of clarification the nature of short-term earthquake precursors observed in atmosphere, atmospheric electricity and in ionosphere and magnetosphere. Our approach is based on the most fundamental principles of tectonics giving understanding that earthquake is an ultimate result of relative movement of tectonic plates and blocks of different sizes. Different kind of gases: methane, helium, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide leaking from the crust can serve as carrier gases for radon including underwater seismically active faults. Radon action on atmospheric gases is similar to the cosmic rays effects in upper layers of atmosphere: it is the air ionization and formation by ions the nucleus of water condensation. Condensation of water vapor is accompanied by the latent heat exhalation is the main cause for observing atmospheric thermal anomalies. Formation of large ion clusters changes the conductivity of boundary layer of atmosphere and parameters of the global electric circuit over the active tectonic faults. Variations of atmospheric electricity are the main source of ionospheric anomalies over seismically active areas. Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) model can explain most of these events as a synergy between different ground surface, atmosphere and ionosphere processes and anomalous variations which are usually named as short-term earthquake precursors. A newly developed approach of Interdisciplinary Space-Terrestrial Framework (ISTF) can provide also a verification of these precursory processes in seismically active regions. The main outcome of this paper is the unified concept for systematic validation of different types of earthquake precursors united by physical basis in one common theory.

76 FR 64327 - Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Draft Strategic Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-18

...: 111003608-1608-01] Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Draft Strategic Plan AGENCY: Office of Oceanic... notice announces that OAR's draft Strategic Plan (FY12- 18) is available for public review and comment... next six years. These goals and objectives will provide guidance and strategic direction for program...

The Abundance of Atmospheric CO{sub 2} in Ocean Exoplanets: a Novel CO{sub 2} Deposition Mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levi, A.; Sasselov, D. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Podolak, M., E-mail: amitlevi.planetphys@gmail.com [Dept. of Geosciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 (Israel)

2017-03-20

We consider super-Earth sized planets which have a water mass fraction large enough to form an external mantle composed of high-pressure water-ice polymorphs and also lack a substantial H/He atmosphere. We consider such planets in their habitable zone, so that their outermost condensed mantle is a global, deep, liquid ocean. For these ocean planets, we investigate potential internal reservoirs of CO{sub 2}, the amount of CO{sub 2} dissolved in the ocean for the various saturation conditions encountered, and the ocean-atmosphere exchange flux of CO{sub 2}. We find that, in a steady state, the abundance of CO{sub 2} in the atmosphere has two possible states. When wind-driven circulation is the dominant CO{sub 2} exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of tens of bars of CO{sub 2} results, where the exact value depends on the subtropical ocean surface temperature and the deep ocean temperature. When sea-ice formation, acting on these planets as a CO{sub 2} deposition mechanism, is the dominant exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of a few bars of CO{sub 2} is established. The exact value depends on the subpolar surface temperature. Our results suggest the possibility of a negative feedback mechanism, unique to water planets, where a reduction in the subpolar temperature drives more CO{sub 2} into the atmosphere to increase the greenhouse effect.

Complete synthetic seismograms based on a spherical self-gravitating Earth model with an atmosphere-ocean-mantle-core structure

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rongjiang; Heimann, Sebastian; Zhang, Yong; Wang, Hansheng; Dahm, Torsten

2017-09-01

A hybrid method is proposed to calculate complete synthetic seismograms based on a spherically symmetric and self-gravitating Earth with a multilayered structure of atmosphere, ocean, mantle, liquid core and solid core. For large wavelengths, a numerical scheme is used to solve the geodynamic boundary-value problem without any approximation on the deformation and gravity coupling. With decreasing wavelength, the gravity effect on the deformation becomes negligible and the analytical propagator scheme can be used. Many useful approaches are used to overcome the numerical problems that may arise in both analytical and numerical schemes. Some of these approaches have been established in the seismological community and the others are developed for the first time. Based on the stable and efficient hybrid algorithm, an all-in-one code QSSP is implemented to cover the complete spectrum of seismological interests. The performance of the code is demonstrated by various tests including the curvature effect on teleseismic body and surface waves, the appearance of multiple reflected, teleseismic core phases, the gravity effect on long period surface waves and free oscillations, the simulation of near-field displacement seismograms with the static offset, the coupling of tsunami and infrasound waves, and free oscillations of the solid Earth, the atmosphere and the ocean. QSSP is open source software that can be used as a stand-alone FORTRAN code or may be applied in combination with a Python toolbox to calculate and handle Green's function databases for efficient coding of source inversion problems.

Regional impacts of climate change and atmospheric CO2 on future ocean carbon uptake: a multi model linear feedback analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Tilla; Bopp, Laurent; Gehlen, Marion; Cadule, Patricia; Schneider, Birgit; Frolicher, Thomas L.; Segschneider, Joachim; Tjiputra, Jerry; Heinze, Christoph; Joos, Fortunat

2011-01-01

The increase in atmospheric CO 2 over this century depends on the evolution of the oceanic air-sea CO 2 uptake, which will be driven by the combined response to rising atmospheric CO 2 itself and climate change. Here, the future oceanic CO 2 uptake is simulated using an ensemble of coupled climate-carbon cycle models. The models are driven by CO 2 emissions from historical data and the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 high-emission scenario. A linear feedback analysis successfully separates the regional future (2010-2100) oceanic CO 2 uptake into a CO 2 -induced component, due to rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, and a climate-induced component, due to global warming. The models capture the observation based magnitude and distribution of anthropogenic CO 2 uptake. The distributions of the climate-induced component are broadly consistent between the models, with reduced CO 2 uptake in the sub polar Southern Ocean and the equatorial regions, owing to decreased CO 2 solubility; and reduced CO 2 uptake in the mid-latitudes, owing to decreased CO 2 solubility and increased vertical stratification. The magnitude of the climate-induced component is sensitive to local warming in the southern extra-tropics, to large freshwater fluxes in the extra-tropical North Atlantic Ocean, and to small changes in the CO 2 solubility in the equatorial regions. In key anthropogenic CO 2 uptake regions, the climate-induced component offsets the CO 2 - induced component at a constant proportion up until the end of this century. This amounts to approximately 50% in the northern extra-tropics and 25% in the southern extra-tropics and equatorial regions. Consequently, the detection of climate change impacts on anthropogenic CO 2 uptake may be difficult without monitoring additional tracers, such as oxygen. (authors)

Regional impacts of climate change and atmospheric CO2 on future ocean carbon uptake: a multi model linear feedback analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Tilla; Bopp, Laurent; Gehlen, Marion; Cadule, Patricia

2011-01-01

The increase in atmospheric CO 2 over this century depends on the evolution of the oceanic air-sea CO 2 uptake, which will be driven by the combined response to rising atmospheric CO 2 itself and climate change. Here, the future oceanic CO 2 uptake is simulated using an ensemble of coupled climate-carbon cycle models. The models are driven by CO 2 emissions from historical data and the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 high-emission scenario. A linear feedback analysis successfully separates the regional future (2010-2100) oceanic CO 2 uptake into a CO 2 -induced component, due to rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, and a climate-induced component, due to global warming. The models capture the observation based magnitude and distribution of anthropogenic CO 2 uptake. The distributions of the climate-induced component are broadly consistent between the models, with reduced CO 2 uptake in the sub-polar Southern Ocean and the equatorial regions, owing to decreased CO 2 solubility; and reduced CO 2 uptake in the mid latitudes, owing to decreased CO 2 solubility and increased vertical stratification. The magnitude of the climate-induced component is sensitive to local warming in the southern extra tropics, to large freshwater fluxes in the extra tropical North Atlantic Ocean, and to small changes in the CO 2 solubility in the equatorial regions. In key anthropogenic CO 2 uptake regions, the climate-induced component offsets the CO 2 - induced component at a constant proportion up until the end of this century. This amounts to approximately 50% in the northern extra tropics and 25% in the southern extra tropics and equatorial regions. Consequently, the detection of climate change impacts on anthropogenic CO 2 uptake may be difficult without monitoring additional tracers, such as oxygen. (authors)