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Sample records for north pacific subtropical

  1. Abundance and ecological implications of microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

    OpenAIRE

    Goldstein, Miriam Chanita

    2012-01-01

    Plastic pollution in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), dubbed the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," has been the subject of substantial public concern. However, there is relatively limited scientific understanding of how microplastic affects pelagic ecosystems. The motivation for this dissertation is to provide scientific information on the extent and impact of microplastic in the NPSG. The dissertation is organized around two central questions : 1) What are the abundance, distribution,...

  2. Enhanced or Weakened Western North Pacific Subtropical High under Global Warming?

    OpenAIRE

    He, Chao; Zhou, Tianjun; Lin, Ailan; Wu, Bo; Gu, Dejun; Li, Chunhui; Zheng, Bin

    2015-01-01

    The Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) regulates East Asian climate in summer. Anomalous WNPSH causes floods, droughts and heat waves in China, Japan and Korea. The potential change of the WNPSH under global warming is concerned by Asian people, but whether the WNPSH would be enhanced or weakened remains inconclusive. Based on the multi-model climate change projection from the 5th phase of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), we show evidences that the WNPSH tends to wea...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, C. C.

    2015-12-01

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

  4. Causes of decadal climate variability over the North Pacific and North America

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Latif, M.; Barnett, T.P.

    1994-01-01

    The cause of decadal climate variability over the North Pacific and North America is investigated by analyzing data from a multi-decadal integration with a state of the art coupled ocean-atmosphere model and observations. About one third of the low-frequency climate variability in the region of interest can be attributed to a cycle involving unstable air-sea interactions between the subtropical gyre circulation in the North Pacific and the Aleutian low pressure system. The existence of this cycle provides a basis for long-range climate forecasting over the western United States at decadal time scales. (orig.)

  5. Gooseneck barnacles (Lepas spp. ingest microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

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    Miriam C. Goldstein

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Substantial quantities of small plastic particles, termed “microplastic,” have been found in many areas of the world ocean, and have accumulated in particularly high densities on the surface of the subtropical gyres. While plastic debris has been documented on the surface of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG since the early 1970s, the ecological implications remain poorly understood. Organisms associated with floating objects, termed the “rafting assemblage,” are an important component of the NPSG ecosystem. These objects are often dominated by abundant and fast-growing gooseneck barnacles (Lepas spp., which predate on plankton and larval fishes at the sea surface. To assess the potential effects of microplastic on the rafting community, we examined the gastrointestinal tracts of 385 barnacles collected from the NPSG for evidence of plastic ingestion. We found that 33.5% of the barnacles had plastic particles present in their gastrointestinal tract, ranging from one plastic particle to a maximum of 30 particles. Particle ingestion was positively correlated to capitulum length, and no blockage of the stomach or intestines was observed. The majority of ingested plastic was polyethylene, with polypropylene and polystyrene also present. Our results suggest that barnacle ingestion of microplastic is relatively common, with unknown trophic impacts on the rafting community and the NPSG ecosystem.

  6. Microbiome of Trichodesmium Colonies from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

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    Mary R. Gradoville

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Filamentous diazotrophic Cyanobacteria of the genus Trichodesmium, often found in colonial form, provide an important source of new nitrogen to tropical and subtropical marine ecosystems. Colonies are composed of several clades of Trichodesmium in association with a diverse community of bacterial and eukaryotic epibionts. We used high-throughput 16S rRNA and nifH gene sequencing, carbon (C and dinitrogen (N2 fixation assays, and metagenomics to describe the diversity and functional potential of the microbiome associated with Trichodesmium colonies collected from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG. The 16S rRNA and nifH gene sequences from hand-picked colonies were predominantly (>99% from Trichodesmium Clade I (i.e., T. thiebautii, which is phylogenetically and ecologically distinct from the Clade III IMS101 isolate used in most laboratory studies. The bacterial epibiont communities were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Alphaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria, including several taxa with a known preference for surface attachment, and were relatively depleted in the unicellular Cyanobacteria and small photoheterotrophic bacteria that dominate NPSG surface waters. Sequencing the nifH gene (encoding a subcomponent of the nitrogenase enzyme identified non-Trichodesmium diazotrophs that clustered predominantly among the Cluster III nifH sequence-types that includes putative anaerobic diazotrophs. Trichodesmium colonies may represent an important habitat for these Cluster III diazotrophs, which were relatively rare in the surrounding seawater. Sequence analyses of nifH gene transcripts revealed several cyanobacterial groups, including heterocystous Richelia, associated with the colonies. Both the 16S rRNA and nifH datasets indicated strong differences between Trichodesmium epibionts and picoplankton in the surrounding seawater, and also between the epibionts inhabiting Trichodesmium puff and tuft colony morphologies. Metagenomic and 16S r

  7. Climate-driven changes to the atmospheric CO2 sink in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dore, John E; Lukas, Roger; Sadler, Daniel W; Karl, David M

    2003-08-14

    The oceans represent a significant sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Variability in the strength of this sink occurs on interannual timescales, as a result of regional and basin-scale changes in the physical and biological parameters that control the flux of this greenhouse gas into and out of the surface mixed layer. Here we analyse a 13-year time series of oceanic carbon dioxide measurements from station ALOHA in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, and find a significant decrease in the strength of the carbon dioxide sink over the period 1989-2001. We show that much of this reduction in sink strength can be attributed to an increase in the partial pressure of surface ocean carbon dioxide caused by excess evaporation and the accompanying concentration of solutes in the water mass. Our results suggest that carbon dioxide uptake by ocean waters can be strongly influenced by changes in regional precipitation and evaporation patterns brought on by climate variability.

  8. Identifying role of subtropical southeast Pacific SST anomalies on precipitation dynamics in Central Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkurt, D.; Garreaud, R.

    2014-12-01

    Central Chile (CC, western South America coasts, 28°S- 38°S) is the heartland of Chile with the highest population and important economic activities. The region is characterized by semiarid Mediterranean climate with a marked precipitation gradient along the coast from north to south, mostly due to the positioning of the South Pacific Subtropical Anticyclone and the midlatitude westerlies belt. Although there are several diagnostic studies that focus on the impact of tropical Pacific SST on CC precipitation variability via atmospheric teleconnections, less attention has been placed on impacts of subtropical southeast (SE) Pacific SST on precipitation. The later region is immediately adjacent to CC and it interferes with the overpassing atmospheric systems. In particular we want to assess the impact of a consistent cooling over the SE Pacific during the last 30 years. This study is being tackled by a combination of observational and reanalysis datasets together with numerical simulations. Observational dataset includes gridded dataset of CRU, TRMM and GPCP. Moreover, Reynolds SST data V2 based on AVHRR infrared satellite SST data is used for analyzing spatial and temporal changes in SST. Current modelling experiment includes a control simulation, used as reference, and sensitivity simulation that involves perturbations to SST over subtropical SE Pacific for a normal year austral winter (2001) season. A number of simulations with different initial conditions have been carried out by employing ICTP-RegCM4. The domain for simulations was centered at 82oW and 32oW with 288x288 grid cells on 20 km spatial resolution. Preliminary results indicate that the response of precipitation in CC to SST anomalies in the subtropical SE Pacific exhibits more or less linear behavior. In the colder SST experiments, drier conditions dominate over CC, which is possibly related with the intensification of South Pacific Subtropical Anticyclone (SPSA) or a reduction in the available

  9. Long-term variabilities of meridional geostrophic volumn transport in North Pacific Ocean

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    Zhou, H.; Yuan, D.; Dewar, W. K.

    2016-02-01

    The meridional geostrophic volumn transport (MGVT) by the ocean plays a very important role in the climatic water mass and heat balance because of its large heat capacity which enables the oceans to store the large amount of radiation received in the summer and to release it in winter. Better understanding of the role of the oceans in climate variability is essential to assess the likely range of future climate fluctuations. In the last century the North Pacific Ocean experienced considerable climate variability, especially on decadal time scale. Some studies have shown that the North Pacific Ocean is the origin of North Pacific multidecadal variability (Latif and Barnett, 1994; Barnett et al., 1999). These fluctuations were associated with large anomalies in sea level, temperature, storminess and rainfall, the heat transport and other extremes are changing as well. If the MGVT of the ocean is well-determined, it can be used as a test of the validity of numerical, global climate models. In this paper, we investigate the long-term variability of the MGVT in North Pacific ocean based on 55 years long global ocean heat and salt content data (Levitus et al., 2012). Very clear inter-decadal variations can be seen in tropical , subtropical and subpolar regions of North Pacific Ocean. There are very consistent variations between the MGVT anomalies and the inter-decadal pacific oscillation (IPO) index in the tropical gyre with cold phase of IPO corresponding to negative MGVT anomalies and warm phase corresponding to positive MGVT anomalies. The subtropical gyre shows more complex variations, and the subpolar gyre shows a negative MGVT anomaly before late 1970's and a positive anomaly after that time. The geostrophic velocities of North Pacific Ocean show significantly different anomalies during the two IPO cold phases of 1955-1976 and 1999 to present, which suggests a different mechanism of the two cold phases. The long term variations of Sverdrup transport compares well

  10. Distribution and sources of dissolved black carbon in surface waters of the Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea, and the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakane, Motohiro; Ajioka, Taku; Yamashita, Youhei

    2017-05-01

    Pyrogenic carbon, also called black carbon (BC), is an important component in the global carbon cycle. BC produced by biomass burning or fossil fuel combustion is transported to oceans by the atmosphere or rivers. However, environmental dynamics (i.e., major sources and sinks) of BC in marine environments have not been well documented. In this study, dissolved BC (DBC) collected from surface waters of the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, and the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific were analyzed using the benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method. The DBC concentration and the ratio of B5CA and B6CA to all BPCAs (an index of the DBC condensation degree) ranged from 4.8 to 15.5 µg-C L-1 and from 0.20 to 0.43, respectively, in surface waters of the Chukchi/Bering Seas and the North Pacific Ocean. The concentration and condensation degree of DBC in the Chukchi/Bering Seas were higher and more variable than those in the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific, which implies that the major factors controlling DBC distribution were different in these marine provinces. In the Chukchi/Bering Seas, the DBC concentration was negatively correlated to salinity but positively correlated to chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) quantity and total dissolved lignin phenol concentration estimated by CDOM parameters. These correlations indicated that the possible major source of DBC in the Chukchi/Bering Seas was Arctic rivers. However, in the North Pacific, where riverine inputs are negligible for most sampling sites, DBC was possibly derived from the atmosphere. Although spectral slopes of CDOM at 275-295 nm (an index of the photodegradation degree of CDOM) differed widely between the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific, the concentration and condensation degrees of DBC were similar between the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific, which suggests that photodegradation was not the only major factor controlling DBC distribution. Therefore, DBC distributions of the

  11. Variability in the correlation between Asian dust storms and chlorophyll a concentration from the North to Equatorial Pacific.

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    Sai-Chun Tan

    Full Text Available A long-term record of Asian dust storms showed seven high-occurrence-frequency centers in China. The intrusion of Asian dust into the downwind seas, including the China seas, the Sea of Japan, the subarctic North Pacific, the North Pacific subtropical gyre, and the western and eastern Equatorial Pacific, has been shown to add nutrients to ocean ecosystems and enhance their biological activities. To explore the relationship between the transported dust from various sources to the six seas and oceanic biological activities with different nutrient conditions, the correlation between monthly chlorophyll a concentration in each sea and monthly dust storm occurrence frequencies reaching the sea during 1997-2007 was examined in this study. No correlations were observed between dust and chlorophyll a concentration in the 50 m China seas and the North Pacific subtropical gyre, the correlation coefficients were in the range 0.32-0.57. The correlation coefficients for the western and eastern Equatorial Pacific were relatively low (<0.36. These correlation coefficients were further interpreted in terms of the geographical distributions of dust sources, the transport pathways, the dust deposition, the nutrient conditions of oceans, and the probability of dust storms reaching the seas.

  12. Multifaceted intra-seasonal modes over the East Asia-western North Pacific summer monsoon region

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    Ha, K. J.; Oh, H.

    2017-12-01

    Intra-seasonal monsoon prediction is the most imperative task due to high impact on 2/3 of world populations' daily life, but there remains an enduring challenge in climate science. The present study aims to provide a physical understanding of the sources for prediction of dominant intra-seasonal modes in the East Asian-western North Pacific summer monsoon (EA-WNPSM): preMeiyu&Baiu, Changma&Meiyu, WNPSM, and monsoon gyre modes classified by the self-organizing map analysis. The preMeiyu-Baiu mode is strongly linked to both the anomalous low-level convergence and vertical wind shear through baroclinic instability, and the Changma&Meiyu mode has a strengthened tropic-subtropics connection along the western north Pacific subtropical high, which induces vertical destabilization and strong convective instability. The WNPSM and monsoon gyre modes are characterized by anomalous southeasterly flow of warm and moist air from western north Pacific monsoon, and low-level easterly flow, respectively. Prominent difference in response to the ENSO leads to different effects of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific thermal state, and consequently, the distinct moisture supply and instability variations for the EASM intra-seasonal modes. We attempt to determine the predictability sources for the four modes in the EA-WNPSM using physical-empirical model. The selected predictors are based on the persistent and tendency signals of the SST/2m air temperature and sea level pressure fields, which reflect the asymmetric response to the ENSO and the ocean and land surface anomalous conditions. For the preMeiyu&Baiu mode, the SST cooling tendency over the WNP, which persists into summer, is the distinguishing contributor which is causative of north-south thermal contrast. Since the Changma&Meiyu mode is strongly related to the WNP subtropical high, a major precursor is the persistent SST difference between the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. The WNPSM mode is mostly affected by the

  13. The response of the North Pacific Decadal Variability to strong tropical volcanic eruptions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Tao [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nansen-Zhu International Research Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing (China); Otteraa, Odd Helge [Uni Bjerknes Centre, Uni Research, Bergen (Norway); Bjerknes Center for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway); Gao, Yongqi [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nansen-Zhu International Research Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing (China); Bjerknes Center for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway); Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen (Norway); Wang, Huijun [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nansen-Zhu International Research Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing (China); Chinese Academy of Sciences, Climate Change Research Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing (China)

    2012-12-15

    In this study, the effects of volcanic forcing on North Pacific climate variability, on interannual to decadal time scales, are examined using climate model simulations covering the last 600 years. The model used is the Bergen Climate Model, a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model. It is found that natural external forcings, such as tropical strong volcanic eruptions (SVEs) and variations in total solar irradiance, play an important role in regulating North Pacific Decadal Variability (NPDV). In response to tropical SVEs the lower stratospheric pole-to-equator temperature gradient is enhanced. The North polar vortex is strengthened, which forces a significant positive Arctic Oscillation. At the same time, dipole zonal wind anomalies associated with strong polar vortex propagate downward from the lower stratosphere. Through positive feedbacks in the troposphere, the surface westerly winds across the central North Pacific are significantly weakened, and positive sea level pressure anomalies are formed in the North Pacific. This anomalous surface circulation results in changes in the net heat fluxes and the oceanic advection across the North Pacific. As a result of this, warm water converges in the subtropical western North Pacific, where the surface waters in addition are heated by significantly reduced latent and sensible heat fluxes from the ocean. In the eastern and high-latitude North Pacific the ocean loses more heat, and large-scale decreases in sea surface temperatures are found. The overall response of this chain of events is that the North Pacific enters a negative phase of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), and this negative phase of the PDO is maintained for several years. It is thus concluded that the volcanic forcing plays a key role in the phasing of the PDO. The model results furthermore highlight the important role of troposphere-stratosphere coupling, tropical-extratropical teleconnections and extratropical ocean

  14. Spring Arctic Oscillation-East Asian summer monsoon connection through circulation changes over the western North Pacific

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gong, Dao-Yi; Yang, Jing; Hu, Miao [Beijing Normal University, State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing (China); Kim, Seong-Joong [Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Gao, Yongqi [Nansen-Zhu International Research Center, IAP/CAS, Beijing (China); Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center/Bjerknes Center for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway); Guo, Dong [Beijing Normal University, State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing (China); Nansen-Zhu International Research Center, IAP/CAS, Beijing (China); Zhou, Tianjun [State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), IAP/CAS, Beijing (China)

    2011-12-15

    In the present study the links between spring Arctic Oscillation (AO) and East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) was investigated with focus on the importance of the North Pacific atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature (SST). To reduce the statistical uncertainty, we analyzed high-pass filtered data with the inter-annual time scales, and excluded the El Nino/Southern Oscillation signals in the climate fields using a linear fitting method. The significant relationship between spring AO and EASM are supported by the changes of multi-monsoon components, including monsoon indices, precipitation, and three-dimensional atmospheric circulations. Following a stronger positive spring AO, an anomalous cyclonic circulation at 850 hPa appears in southeastern Asia and the western North Pacific in summer, with the easterly anomalies spanning from the Pacific to Asian continent along 25 N-30 N and the westerly anomalies south of 15 N. At the same time, the summer western North Pacific subtropical high becomes weaker. Consistently, the positive precipitation anomalies are developed over a broad region south of 30 N stretching from southern China to the western Pacific and the negative precipitation anomalies appear in the lower valley of the Yangtze River and southern Japan. The anomalous cyclone in the western North Pacific persisting from spring to summer plays a key role in modulating EASM and monsoon precipitation by a positive air-sea feedback mechanism. During spring the AO-associated atmospheric circulation change produces warmer SSTs between 150 E-180 near the equator. The anomalous sensible and latent heating, in turn, intensifies the cyclone through a Gill-type response of the atmosphere. Through this positive feedback, the tropical atmosphere and SST patterns sustain their strength from spring to summer, that consequently modifies the monsoon trough and the western North Pacific subtropical high and eventually the EASM precipitation. Moreover, the SST response to

  15. Comparisons between POC and zooplankton swimmer flux from sediment traps in the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific

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    Yokoi, Naoya; Abe, Yoshiyuki; Kitamura, Minoru; Honda, Makio C.; Yamaguchi, Atsushi

    2018-03-01

    Seasonal changes in zooplankton swimmer (ZS) abundance, biomass and community structure were evaluated based on samples collected by moored sediment traps at a depth of 200 m in the subarctic (SA) and subtropical (ST) western North Pacific. Based on these samples, we made comparisons on two topics: 1) latitudinal (subarctic vs. subtropical) changes in ZS abundance, biomass and community and 2) quantitative differences between the ZS and particle organic carbon (POC) fluxes based on data from moored or drifting sediment traps. The results showed that the ZS flux was greater in the SA (annual mean: 311 ind. m-2 day-1 or 258 mg C m-2 day-1) than in the ST (135 ind. m-2 day-1 or 38 mg C m-2 day-1). The peak ZS flux was observed from July-August in the SA and from April-May in the ST. The dominant taxa were Copepoda and Chaetognatha in the SA and Ostracoda and Mollusca in the ST. These latitudinal differences are likely related to the dominance of large-sized Copepoda in the SA, regional differences in the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom, and the magnitude and size structure of primary producers. The percent composition of ZS to the total C flux (= ZS+POC flux) varied by region: 85-95% in the SA and 47-75% in the ST. These differences between the ZS composition and the total C flux are most likely caused by the dominance of large-sized Copepoda (Neocalanus spp. and Eucalanus bungii) in the SA.

  16. Western tropical Pacific multidecadal variability forced by the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation

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    Kucharski, F.; Sun, C.; Li, J.; Jin, F. F.; Kang, I. S.; Ding, R.

    2017-12-01

    Observational analysis suggests that the western tropical Pacific (WTP) sea surface temperature (SST) shows predominant variability over multidecadal time scales, which is unlikely to be explained by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation. Here we show that this variability is largely explained by the remote Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). A suite of Atlantic Pacemaker experiments successfully reproduces the WTP multidecadal variability and the AMO-WTP SST connection. The AMO warm SST anomaly generates an atmospheric teleconnection to the North Pacific, which weakens the Aleutian low and subtropical North Pacific westerlies. The wind changes induce a subtropical North Pacific SST warming through wind-evaporation-SST effect, and in response to this warming, the surface winds converge towards the subtropical North Pacific from the tropics, leading to anomalous cyclonic circulation and low pressure over the WTP region. The warm SST anomaly further develops due to the SST-sea level pressure-cloud-longwave radiation positive feedback. Our findings suggest that the Atlantic Ocean acts as a key pacemaker for the western Pacific decadal climate variability.

  17. Interannual variability of western North Pacific SST anomalies and its impact on North Pacific and North America

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    Park, Jae-Heung; An, Soon-Il; Kug, Jong-Seong

    2017-12-01

    In this study, the interannual variability of sea surface temperature (SST) and its atmospheric teleconnection over the western North Pacific (WNP) toward the North Pacific/North America during boreal winter are investigated. First, we defined the WNP mode as the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of SST anomalies over the WNP region (100-165°E, 0-35°N), of which the principle component time-series are significantly correlated with several well-known climate modes such as the warm pool mode which is the second EOF mode of the tropical to North Pacific SST anomalies, North Pacific oscillation (NPO), North Pacific gyre oscillation (NPGO), and central Pacific (CP)-El Niño at 95% confidence level, but not correlated with the eastern Pacific (EP)-El Niño. The warm phase of the WNP mode (sea surface warming) is initiated by anomalous southerly winds through reduction of wind speed with the background of northerly mean winds over the WNP during boreal winter, i.e., reduced evaporative cooling. Meanwhile, the atmospheric response to the SST warming pattern and its diabatic heating further enhance the southerly wind anomaly, referred to the wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedback. Thus, the WNP mode is developed and maintained through winter until spring, when the northerly mean wind disappears. Furthermore, it is also known that anomalous upper-level divergence associated with WNP mode leads to the NPO-like structure over the North Pacific and the east-west pressure contrast pattern over the North America through Rossby wave propagation, impacting the climate over the North Pacific and North America.

  18. Seasonal resource conditions favor a summertime increase in North Pacific diatom-diazotroph associations.

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    Follett, Christopher L; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie; Karl, David M; Inomura, Keisuke; Follows, Michael J

    2018-02-15

    In the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), an annual pulse of sinking organic carbon is observed at 4000 m between July and August, driven by large diatoms found in association with nitrogen fixing, heterocystous, cyanobacteria: Diatom-Diazotroph Associations (DDAs). Here we ask what drives the bloom of DDAs and present a simplified trait-based model of subtropical phototroph populations driven by observed, monthly averaged, environmental characteristics. The ratio of resource supply rates favors nitrogen fixation year round. The relative fitness of DDA traits is most competitive in early summer when the mixed layer is shallow, solar irradiance is high, and phosphorus and iron are relatively abundant. Later in the season, as light intensity drops and phosphorus is depleted, the traits of small unicellular diazotrophs become more competitive. The competitive transition happens in August, at the time when the DDA export event occurs. This seasonal dynamic is maintained when embedded in a more complex, global-scale, ecological model, and provides predictions for the extent of the North Pacific DDA bloom. The model provides a parsimonious and testable hypothesis for the stimulation of DDA blooms.

  19. Coordinated gene expression between Trichodesmium and its microbiome over day-night cycles in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frischkorn, Kyle R; Haley, Sheean T; Dyhrman, Sonya T

    2018-04-01

    Trichodesmium is a widespread, N 2 fixing marine cyanobacterium that drives inputs of newly fixed nitrogen and carbon into the oligotrophic ecosystems where it occurs. Colonies of Trichodesmium ubiquitously occur with heterotrophic bacteria that make up a diverse microbiome, and interactions within this Trichodesmium holobiont could influence the fate of fixed carbon and nitrogen. Metatranscriptome sequencing was performed on Trichodesmium colonies collected during high-frequency Lagrangian sampling in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) to identify possible interactions between the Trichodesmium host and microbiome over day-night cycles. Here we show significantly coordinated patterns of gene expression between host and microbiome, many of which had significant day-night periodicity. The functions of the co-expressed genes suggested a suite of interactions within the holobiont linked to key resources including nitrogen, carbon, and iron. Evidence of microbiome reliance on Trichodesmium-derived vitamin B12 was also detected in co-expression patterns, highlighting a dependency that could shape holobiont community structure. Collectively, these patterns of expression suggest that biotic interactions could influence colony cycling of resources like nitrogen and vitamin B12, and decouple activities, like N 2 fixation, from typical abiotic drivers of Trichodesmium physiological ecology.

  20. Statistical Characteristics of Mesoscale Eddies in the North Pacific Derived from Satellite Altimetry

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    Yu-Hsin Cheng

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The sea level anomaly data derived from satellite altimetry are analyzed to investigate statistical characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the North Pacific. Eddies are detected by a free-threshold eddy identification algorithm. The results show that the distributions of size, amplitude, propagation speed, and eddy kinetic energy of eddy follow the Rayleigh distribution. The most active regions of eddies are the Kuroshio Extension region, the Subtropical Counter Current zone, and the Northeastern Tropical Pacific region. By contrast, eddies are seldom observed around the center of the eastern part of the North Pacific Subarctic Gyre. The propagation speed and kinetic energy of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are almost the same, but anticyclonic eddies possess greater lifespans, sizes, and amplitudes than those of cyclonic eddies. Most eddies in the North Pacific propagate westward except in the Oyashio region. Around the northeastern tropical Pacific and the California currents, cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies propagate westward with slightly equatorward (197° average azimuth relative to east and poleward (165° deflection, respectively. This implies that the background current may play an important role in formation of the eddy pathway patterns.

  1. Decadal fluctuations in the western Pacific recorded by long precipitation records in Taiwan

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    Huang, Wan-Ru; Wang, S.-Y. Simon; Guan, Biing T.

    2018-03-01

    A 110-year precipitation record in Taiwan, located at the western edge of the subtropical North Pacific, depicts a pronounced quasi-decadal oscillation (QDO). The QDO in Taiwan exhibits a fluctuating relationship with the similar decadal variations of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific, known as the Pacific QDO. A regime change was observed around 1960, such that the decadal variation of Taiwan's precipitation became more synchronized with the Pacific QDO's coupled evolutions of SST and atmospheric circulation than before, while the underlying pattern of the Pacific QOD did not change. Using long-term reanalysis data and CMIP5 single-forcing experiments, the presented analysis suggests that increased SST in the subtropical western Pacific and the strengthened western extension of the North Pacific subtropical anticyclone may have collectively enhanced the relationship between the Taiwan precipitation and the Pacific QDO. This finding provides possible clues to similar regime changes in quasi-decadal variability observed around the western Pacific rim.

  2. Wind and sunlight shape microbial diversity in surface waters of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Jessica A; Aylward, Frank O; Eppley, John M; Karl, David M; Church, Matthew J; DeLong, Edward F

    2016-06-01

    Few microbial time-series studies have been conducted in open ocean habitats having low seasonal variability such as the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), where surface waters experience comparatively mild seasonal variation. To better describe microbial seasonal variability in this habitat, we analyzed rRNA amplicon and shotgun metagenomic data over two years at the Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA. We postulated that this relatively stable habitat might reveal different environmental factors that influence planktonic microbial community diversity than those previously observed in more seasonally dynamic habitats. Unexpectedly, the data showed that microbial diversity at 25 m was positively correlated with average wind speed 3 to 10 days prior to sampling. In addition, microbial community composition at 25 m exhibited significant correlations with solar irradiance. Many bacterial groups whose relative abundances varied with solar radiation corresponded to taxa known to exhibit strong seasonality in other oceanic regions. Network co-correlation analysis of 25 m communities showed seasonal transitions in composition, and distinct successional cohorts of co-occurring phylogenetic groups. Similar network analyses of metagenomic data also indicated distinct seasonality in genes originating from cyanophage, and several bacterial clades including SAR116 and SAR324. At 500 m, microbial community diversity and composition did not vary significantly with any measured environmental parameters. The minimal seasonal variability in the NPSG facilitated detection of more subtle environmental influences, such as episodic wind variation, on surface water microbial diversity. Community composition in NPSG surface waters varied in response to solar irradiance, but less dramatically than reported in other ocean provinces.

  3. The role of the cold Okhotsk Sea in strengthening of the Pacific subtropical high and Baiu precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawasaki, K.; Tachibana, Y.; Nakamura, T.; Yamazaki, K.; Kodera, K.

    2016-12-01

    It is commonly known that the formation of a stationery precipitation zone in association with the Baiu front is influenced by the existence of the warm Tibetan Plateau. Some GCM studies in which the Tibetan Plateau is removed pointed out that without the Tibetan Plateau, the Baiu front wound not appear. The cold Okhotsk Sea, which is located to the north of Japan, is also important in forming cold air for the Bai front. This study focused on the role of the Okhotsk Sea in the formation of the Baiu front by using an atmospheric GCM. One GCM is executed without the Okhotsk Sea, in which was changed to an eastern part of the Eurasian continent as if the Okhotsk Sea was totally landfilled (land run). The other (sea run) is a control run under the boundary condition of climatic seasonal changes of the SST over the globe. The comparison of the land run with the sea run showed that precipitation over Japan would weaken in the Baiu season without the Okhotsk Sea, indicating that the existence of the Okhotsk Sea has an impact on the increase in precipitation. The precipitation increase in the sea run is directly accounted by the strengthening of southeast wind in association with the strengthening of the subtropical high located over the Pacific Ocean (Fig. 1). The westerly jet, which is located at the northern part of the subtropical high, was also accelerated in the sea run. The subtropical high in association with the accelerated jet was strengthened by meridional atmospheric thermal gradient caused by underlying cold Okhotsk Sea and the warm Pacific Ocean. The strengthened thermal gradient also activated the storm track that extends zonally over the Okhotsk Sea, and the activated storm track further strengthened the jet and subtropical high by wave-mean flow feedback. This feedback loop could further strengthen the Baiu precipitation. In consequence, the Okhotsk plays a significant role in the strengthening the subtropical high and its associated Baiu precipitation.

  4. Environmental Effects on Mesozooplankton Size Structure and Export Flux at Station ALOHA, North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valencia, Bellineth; Décima, Moira; Landry, Michael R.

    2018-02-01

    Using size-fractionated mesozooplankton biomass data collected over 23 years (1994-2016) of increasing primary production (PP) at station ALOHA (A Long-Term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment), we evaluate how changing environmental conditions affect mesozooplankton size structure, trophic cycling, and export fluxes in the subtropical North Pacific. From generalized additive model analysis, size structure is significantly influenced by a nonlinear relationship with sea surface temperature that is mainly driven by the strong 1997-1998 El Niño and a positive and linear relationship with PP. Increasing PP has more strongly enhanced the biomass of smaller (0.2-0.5 mm) and larger (>5 mm) mesozooplankton, increasing evenness of the biomass spectra, while animals of 2-5 mm, the major size class for vertically migrating mesozooplankton, show no long-term trend. Measured PP is sufficient to meet feeding requirements that satisfy mesozooplankton respiration and growth rates, as determined by commonly used empirical relationships based on animal size and temperature, consistent with a tightly coupled food web with one intermediate level for protistan consumers. Estimated fecal pellet production suggests an enhanced contribution of mesozooplankton to passive particle export relative to the material collected in 150 m sediment traps. In contrast, the biomass of vertically migrants does not vary systematically with PP due to the varying responses of the different size classes. These results illustrate some complexities in understanding how varying environmental conditions can affect carbon cycling and export processes at the community level in open-ocean oligotrophic systems, which need to be confirmed and better understood by process-oriented mechanistic study.

  5. Using eddy geopotential height to measure the western North Pacific subtropical high in a warming climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Chao; Lin, Ailan; Gu, Dejun; Li, Chunhui; Zheng, Bin; Wu, Bo; Zhou, Tianjun

    2018-01-01

    The western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) is crucial to the East Asian summer climate, and geopotential height ( H) is widely used to measure the WPNSH. However, a rapidly rising trend of H in the future is projected by the models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Diagnoses based on the hypsometric equation suggest that more than 80% of the rise in H are attributable to zonal uniform warming. Because circulation is determined by the gradient of H rather than its absolute magnitude, the spatially uniform rising trend of H gives rise to difficulties when measuring the WNPSH with H. These difficulties include an invalid western boundary of WNPSH in the future and spurious information regarding long-term trends and interannual variability of WNPSH. Using CMIP5 model simulations and reanalysis data, the applicability of a metric based on eddy geopotential height ( H e ) to the warming climate is investigated. The results show that the H e metric outperforms the H metric under warming climate conditions. First, the mean state rainfall- H e relationship is more robust than the rainfall- H relationship. Second, the area, intensity, and western boundary indices of WNPSH can be effectively defined by the H e = 0-m contour in future warming climate scenarios without spurious trends. Third, the interannual variability of East Asian summer rainfall is more closely related to the H e -based WNPSH indices. We recommend that the H e metric be adopted as an operational metric on the WNPSH under the current warming climate.

  6. 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.

  7. Impact of the intraseasonal variability of large-scale circulation over the Western North Pacific on the characteristics of tropical cyclone track

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, T. C.; Wang, Shih-Yu (Simon); Yen, M. C.; Clark, A. J.

    2009-01-01

    The life cycle of the Southeast Asian–western North Pacific monsoon circulation is established by the northward migrations of the monsoon trough and the western Pacific subtropical anticyclone, and is reflected by the intraseasonal variations of mo nsoon westerlies and trad e easterlies in the form of an east–west seesaw oscillation. In this paper, an effort is made to disclose the influence of this monsoon circulation on tropical cyclone tracks during its different ph ases using composite ch...

  8. Transport and Thermohaline Structure in the Western Tropical North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schonau, Martha Coakley

    Transport and thermohaline structure of water masses and their respective variability are observed and modeled in the western tropical North Pacific using autonomous underwater gliders, Argo climatology and a numerical ocean state estimate. The North Equatorial Current (NEC) advects subtropical and subpolar water masses into the region that are transported equatorward by the Mindanao Current (MC). Continuous glider observations of these two currents from June 2009 to December 2013 provide absolute geostrophic velocity, water mass structure, and transport. The observations are compared to Argo climatology (Roemmich and Gilson, 2009), wind and precipitation to assess forcing, and annual and interannual variability. Observations are assimilated into a regional ocean state estimate (1/6°) to examine regional transport variability and its relationship to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomena (ENSO). The NEC, described in Chapter 1, is observed along 134.3°E, from 8.5°N to 16.5°N. NEC thermocline transport is relatively constant, with a variable subthermocline transport that is distinguished by countercurrents centered at 9.6°N and 13.1°N. Correlation between thermocline and subthermocline transport is strong. Isopycnals with subducted water masses, the North Pacific Tropical Water and North Pacific Intermediate Water, have the greatest fine-scale thermohaline variance. The NEC advects water masses into the MC, described in Chapter 2, that flows equatorward along the coast of Mindanao. Gliders observed the MC at a mean latitude of 8.5°N. The Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC) persists in the subthermocline offshore of the MC, with a net poleward transport of intermediate water typical of South Pacific origin. The variable subthermocline transport in the MC/MUC has an inverse linear relationship with the Nino 3.4 index and strongly impacts total transport variability. For each the MC and NEC, surface salinity and thermocline depth have a strong relationship with ENSO

  9. The role of tropical cyclones in precipitation over the tropical and subtropical North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominguez, Christian; Magaña, Victor

    2018-03-01

    Tropical cyclones (TCs) are essential elements of the hydrological cycle in tropical and subtropical regions. In the present study, the contribution of TCs to seasonal precipitation around the tropical and subtropical North America is examined. When TC activity over the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP) or the Intra Americas Seas (IAS) is below (above-normal), regional precipitation may be below (above-normal). However, it is not only the number of TCs what may change seasonal precipitation, but the trajectory of the systems. TCs induce intense precipitation over continental regions if they are close enough to shorelines, for instance, if the TC center is located, on average, less than 500 km-distant from the coast. However, if TCs are more remote than this threshold distance, the chances of rain over continental regions decrease, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In addition, a distant TC may induce subsidence or produce moisture divergence that inhibits, at least for a few days, convective activity farther away than the threshold distance. An analysis of interannual variability in the TCs that produce precipitation over the tropical and subtropical North America shows that some regions in northern Mexico, which mostly depend on this effect to undergo wet years, may experience seasonal negative anomalies in precipitation if TCs trajectories are remote. Therefore, TCs (activity and trajectories) are important modulators of climate variability on various time scales, either by producing intense rainfall or by inhibiting convection at distant regions from their trajectory. The impact of such variations on water availability in northern Mexico may be relevant, since water availability in dams recovers under the effects of TC rainfall. Seasonal precipitation forecasts or climate change scenarios for these regions should take into account the effect of TCs, if regional adaptation strategies are implemented.

  10. Asymmetric response of tropical cyclone activity to global warming over the North Atlantic and western North Pacific from CMIP5 model projections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Doo-Sun R; Ho, Chang-Hoi; Chan, Johnny C L; Ha, Kyung-Ja; Kim, Hyeong-Seog; Kim, Jinwon; Kim, Joo-Hong

    2017-01-30

    Recent improvements in the theoretical understanding of the relationship between tropical cyclones (TCs) and their large-scale environments have resulted in significant improvements in the skill for forecasting TC activity at daily and seasonal time-scales. However, future changes in TC activity under a warmer climate remain uncertain, particularly in terms of TC genesis locations and subsequent pathways. Applying a track-pattern-based statistical model to 22 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model runs for the historical period and the future period corresponding to the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 emissions scenarios, this study shows that in future climate conditions, TC passage frequency will decrease over the North Atlantic, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, but will increase over the western North Pacific, especially that hits Korea and Japan. Unlike previous studies based on fine-resolution models, an ensemble mean of CMIP5 models projects an increase in TC activity in the western North Pacific, which is owing to enhanced subtropical deep convection and favorable dynamic conditions therein in conjunction with the expansion of the tropics and vice versa for the North Atlantic. Our results suggest that North America will experience less TC landfalls, while northeast Asia will experience more TCs than in the present-day climate.

  11. Variability of the subtropical mode water in the Southwest Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Denise; Sutton, Philip; Bowen, Melissa

    2017-09-01

    The variability of Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) in the Southwest Pacific is investigated using a 28 year-long time series (1986-2014) of high-resolution expendable bathythermograph data north of New Zealand (PX06) and a shorter time series, the Roemmich-Gilson monthly Argo optimal interpolation for the 2004-2014 period. The variability in STMW inventories is compared to the variability in air-sea heat fluxes, mixed layer depths and transport of the East Auckland Current (EAUC) to assess both the atmospheric and oceanic roles influencing the formation and decay of STMW. The STMW north of New Zealand has a short lifespan with little persistence of the water mass from 1 year to the next one. Deeper mixed layers and negative anomalies in surface heat fluxes are correlated with increased formation of STMW. The heat content of the STMW layer is anticorrelated with inventories, particularly during the El Niño years. This suggests that large volumes of STMW are coincident with cooler conditions in the prior winter and less oceanic heat storage. There is significant seasonal and interannual variability in STMW inventories, however there are no trends in STMW properties, including its core layer temperature over the last decade. The variability of the winter EAUC transport is highly correlated with the STMW inventories and thermocline depth in the following spring, suggesting ocean dynamics deepen the thermocline and precondition for deeper mixed layers.

  12. Silicate:nitrate ratios of upwelled waters control the phytoplankton community sustained by mesoscale eddies in sub-tropical North Atlantic and Pacific

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. S. Bibby

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Mesoscale eddies in sub-tropical gyres physically perturb the water column and can introduce macronutrients to the euphotic zone, stimulating a biological response in which phytoplankton communities can become dominated by large phytoplankton. Mesoscale eddies may therefore be important in driving export in oligotrophic regions of the modern ocean. However, the character and magnitude of the biological response sustained by eddies is variable. Here we present data from mesoscale eddies in the Sargasso Sea (Atlantic and the waters off Hawai'i (Pacific, alongside mesoscale events that affected the Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study (BATS over the past decade. From this analysis, we suggest that the phytoplankton community structure sustained by mesoscale eddies is predetermined by the relative abundance of silicate over nitrate (Si* in the upwelled waters. We present data that demonstrate that mode-water eddies (MWE in the Sargasso Sea upwell locally formed waters with relatively high Si* to the euphotic zone, and that cyclonic eddies in the Sargasso Sea introduce waters with relatively low Si*, a signature that originated in the iron-limited Southern Ocean. We propose that this phenomenon can explain the observed dominance of the phytoplankton community by large-diatom species in MWE and by small prokaryotic phytoplankton in cyclonic features. In contrast to the Atlantic, North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW with high Si* may influence the cyclonic eddies in waters off Hawai'i, which also appear capable of sustaining diatom populations. These observations suggest that the structure of phytoplankton communities sustained by eddies may be related to the chemical composition of the upwelled waters in addition to the physical nature of the eddy.

  13. Millennial-scale plankton regime shifts in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Kelton W; McCarthy, Matthew D; Sherwood, Owen A; Larsen, Thomas; Guilderson, Thomas P

    2015-12-18

    Climate change is predicted to alter marine phytoplankton communities and affect productivity, biogeochemistry, and the efficacy of the biological pump. We reconstructed high-resolution records of changing plankton community composition in the North Pacific Ocean over the past millennium. Amino acid-specific δ(13)C records preserved in long-lived deep-sea corals revealed three major plankton regimes corresponding to Northern Hemisphere climate periods. Non-dinitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria dominated during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (950-1250 Common Era) before giving way to a new regime in which eukaryotic microalgae contributed nearly half of all export production during the Little Ice Age (~1400-1850 Common Era). The third regime, unprecedented in the past millennium, began in the industrial era and is characterized by increasing production by dinitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. This picoplankton community shift may provide a negative feedback to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  14. Changes in atmospheric rivers and moisture transport over the Northeast Pacific and western North America in response to ENSO diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hye-Mi; Zhou, Yang; Alexander, Michael A.

    2017-03-01

    The year-to-year changes in atmospheric rivers (ARs) and moisture transport over the northeast Pacific and western North America are investigated during December to February (DJF) from 1979/80 to 2015/16. Changes in AR frequency, intensity, and landfall characteristics are compared between three ENSO phases: central Pacific El Niño (CPEN), eastern Pacific El Niño (EPEN), and La Niña (NINA). During EPEN events, the subtropical jet extends to the south and east with an anomalous cyclonic flow around a deeper Aleutian Low. More moisture is transported towards North America and AR frequency is increased over western North America. In CPEN events, the Aleutian low shifts further southward relative to its position in EPEN, resulting in an increase in the frequency and intensity of landfalling ARs over the southwestern US. In NINA events, the landfalling AR frequency is reduced associated with anomalous anticyclonic circulation over the eastern North Pacific. We diagnose the contribution of multiple factors to the seasonal mean moisture transport using moisture budgets. During the three ENSO phases, the change in low-frequency circulation (dynamical process) is the leading contributor to the seasonal mean moisture flux divergence, while the contributions of the synoptic anomalies and the change in moisture anomaly (thermodynamic process) are not significant along the west coast of North America.

  15. Evaluation of performance of CMIP5 models in simulating the North Pacific Oscillation and El Niño Modoki

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin; Chen, Mengyan; Wang, Chunzai; Yeh, Sang-Wook; Tan, Wei

    2018-04-01

    Previous observational studies have documented that the occurrence frequency of El Niño Modoki is closely linked to the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO). The present paper evaluates the relationships between the frequency of El Niño Modoki and the NPO in the historical runs of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and examines the related physical processes. It is found that six of 25 CMIP5 models can reproduce both the spatial patterns of the NPO and El Niño Modoki. Four of these six models exhibit good performance in simulating the positive correlation between the NPO index and the frequency of El Niño Modoki. The analyses further show that the key physical processes determining the relationships between the NPO and the frequency of El Niño Modoki are the intensity of wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedback in the subtropical northeastern North Pacific. This study enhances the understanding of the connections between the North Pacific mid-latitude climate system and El Niño Modoki, and has an important implication for the change of El Niño Modoki under global warming. If global warming favors to produce an oceanic and atmospheric pattern similar to the positive phase of the NPO in the North Pacific, more El Niño Modoki events will occur in the tropical Pacific with the assistance of the WES feedback processes.

  16. Vertical gradients in species richness and community composition across the twilight zone in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommer, Stephanie A; Van Woudenberg, Lauren; Lenz, Petra H; Cepeda, Georgina; Goetze, Erica

    2017-11-01

    Although metazoan animals in the mesopelagic zone play critical roles in deep pelagic food webs and in the attenuation of carbon in midwaters, the diversity of these assemblages is not fully known. A metabarcoding survey of mesozooplankton diversity across the epipelagic, mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic zones (0-1500 m) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre revealed far higher estimates of species richness than expected given prior morphology-based studies in the region (4,024 OTUs, 10-fold increase), despite conservative bioinformatic processing. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness of the full assemblage peaked at lower epipelagic-upper mesopelagic depths (100-300 m), with slight shoaling of maximal richness at night due to diel vertical migration, in contrast to expectations of a deep mesopelagic diversity maximum as reported for several plankton groups in early systematic and zoogeographic studies. Four distinct depth-stratified species assemblages were identified, with faunal transitions occurring at 100 m, 300 m and 500 m. Highest diversity occurred in the smallest zooplankton size fractions (0.2-0.5 mm), which had significantly lower % OTUs classified due to poor representation in reference databases, suggesting a deep reservoir of poorly understood diversity in the smallest metazoan animals. A diverse meroplankton assemblage also was detected (350 OTUs), including larvae of both shallow and deep living benthic species. Our results provide some of the first insights into the hidden diversity present in zooplankton assemblages in midwaters, and a molecular reappraisal of vertical gradients in species richness, depth distributions and community composition for the full zooplankton assemblage across the epipelagic, mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic zones. © 2017 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Interannual Variations in Synoptic-Scale Disturbances over the Western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xingyan; Lu, Riyu; Chen, Guanghua; Wu, Liang

    2018-05-01

    The present study investigates the interannual variation of June-November synoptic disturbance activity over the western North Pacific (WNP) and its relationship with large-scale circulation for the period 1958-2014. Two leading modes of eddy kinetic energy for the disturbance variability over the WNP are obtained by EOF analysis, characterized by anomalous eddy kinetic energy over the subtropical WNP and around the Philippines, respectively. These modes explain a large portion of the interannual variance of synoptic disturbance activity over the WNP. Both are associated with lower-level cyclonic anomalies, but with different locations: over the subtropical WNP for the first mode and over the South China Sea for the second mode. Considering the impact of ENSO on synoptic disturbance activity over the WNP, we repeat the analyses after removing the effect of ENSO, which is simply defined as the components linearly regressed onto the Niño3.4 index, and find similar results, suggesting that the leading modes and their relationships with large-scale circulation exist without SST effects. Further analyses suggest that the meridional shear of zonal winds caused by cyclonic anomalies is crucial for maintaining the leading modes through barotropic conversion.

  18. Inter-Relationship Between Subtropical Pacific Sea Surface Temperature, Arctic Sea Ice Concentration, and the North Atlantic Oscillation in Recent Summers and Winters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Young-Kwon; Cullather, Richard I.; Nowicki, Sophie M.; Kim, Kyu-Myong

    2017-01-01

    The inter-relationship between subtropical western-central Pacific sea surface temperatures (STWCPSST), sea ice concentration in the Beaufort Sea (SICBS), and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are investigated for the last 37 summers and winters (1980-2016). Lag-correlation of the STWCPSST×(-1) in spring with the NAO phase and SICBS in summer increases over the last two decades, reaching r = 0.4-0.5 with significance at 5 percent, while winter has strong correlations in approximately 1985-2005. Observational analysis and the atmospheric general circulation model experiments both suggest that STWCPSST warming acts to increase the Arctic geopotential height and temperature in the following season. This atmospheric response extends to Greenland, providing favorable conditions for developing the negative phase of the NAO. SIC and surface albedo tend to decrease over the Beaufort Sea in summer, linked to the positive surface net shortwave flux. Energy balance considering radiative and turbulent fluxes reveal that available energy that can heat surface is larger over the Arctic and Greenland and smaller over the south of Greenland, in response to the STWCPSST warming in spring. XXXX Arctic & Atlantic: Positive upper-level height/T anomaly over the Arctic and Greenland, and a negative anomaly over the central-eastern Atlantic, resembling the (-) phase of the NAO. Pacific: The negative height/T anomaly over the mid-latitudes, along with the positive anomaly over the STWCP, where 1degC warming above climatology is prescribed. Discussion: It is likely that the Arctic gets warm and the NAO is in the negative phase in response to the STWCP warming. But, there are other factors (e.g., internal variability) that contribute to determination of the NAO phase: not always the negative phase of the NAO in the event of STWCP warming (e.g.: recent winters and near neutral NAO in 2017 summer).

  19. Millennial-scale precipitation variability over Easter Island (South Pacific) during MIS 3: inter-hemispheric teleconnections with North Atlantic abrupt cold events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margalef, O.; Cacho, I.; Pla-Rabes, S.; Cañellas-Boltà, N.; Pueyo, J. J.; Sáez, A.; Pena, L. D.; Valero-Garcés, B. L.; Rull, V.; Giralt, S.

    2015-04-01

    Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, 59.4-27.8 kyr BP) is characterized by the occurrence of rapid millennial-scale climate oscillations known as Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles (DO) and by abrupt cooling events in the North Atlantic known as Heinrich events. Although both the timing and dynamics of these events have been broadly explored in North Atlantic records, the response of the tropical and subtropical latitudes to these rapid climatic excursions, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, still remains unclear. The Rano Aroi peat record (Easter Island, 27° S) provides a unique opportunity to understand atmospheric and oceanic changes in the South Pacific during these DO cycles because of its singular location, which is influenced by the South Pacific Anticyclone (SPA), the Southern Westerlies (SW), and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) linked to the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). The Rano Aroi sequence records 6 major events of enhanced precipitation between 38 and 65 kyr BP. These events are compared with other hydrological records from the tropical and subtropical band supporting a coherent regional picture, with the dominance of humid conditions in Southern Hemisphere tropical band during Heinrich Stadials (HS) 5, 5a and 6 and other Stadials while dry conditions prevailed in the Northern tropics. This antiphased hydrological pattern between hemispheres has been attributed to ITCZ migration, which in turn might be associated with an eastward expansion of the SPCZ storm track, leading to an increased intensity of cyclogenic storms reaching Easter Island. Low Pacific Sea Surface Temperature (SST) gradients across the Equator were coincident with the here-defined Rano Aroi humid events and consistent with a reorganization of Southern Pacific atmospheric and oceanic circulation also at higher latitudes during Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials.

  20. Detecting the progression of ocean acidification from the saturation state of CaCO3 in the subtropical South Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murata, Akihiko; Hayashi, Kazuhiko; Kumamoto, Yuichiro; Sasaki, Ken-ichi

    2015-04-01

    Progression of ocean acidification in the subtropical South Pacific was investigated by using high-quality data from trans-Pacific zonal section at 17°S (World Ocean Circulation Experiment section P21) collected in 1994 and 2009. During this 15 year period, the CaCO3 saturation state of seawater with respect to calcite (Ωcal) and aragonite (Ωarg) in the upper water column (Pacific Ocean.

  1. Estimate of radiocaesium derived FNPP1 accident in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inomata, Yayoi; Aoyama, Michio; Tsubono, Takaki; Tsumune, Daisuke; Yamada, Masatoshi

    2017-04-01

    134Cs and 137Cs (radiocaesium) were released to the North Pacific Ocean by direct discharge and atmospheric deposition released from the TEPCO Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident in 2011. After the FNPP1 accident, measurements of 134Cs and 137Cs were conducted by many researches. However, those results are only snapshots in order to interpret the distribution and transport of the released radiocaesium on a basin scale. It is recognized that estimation of the total amount of released 134Cs and 137Cs is necessary to assess the radioecological impacts of their release on the environment. It was reported that the inventory of 134Cs or 137Cs on the North Pacific Ocean after the FNPP1 accident was 15.2-18.3 PBq based on the observations (Aoyama et al., 2016a), 15.3±1.6 PBq by OI analysis (Inomata et al., 2016), 16.1±1.64 PBq by global ocean model (Tsubono et al., 2016). These suggest that more than 75 % of the atmospheric-released radiocaesium (15.2-20.4 PBq; Aoyama et al., 2016a) were deposited on the North Pacific Ocean. The radiocaesium from the atmospheric fallout and direct discharge were expected to mixing as well as diluting near the coastal region and transported eastward across the North Pacific Ocean in the surface layer. Furthermore, radicaesium were rapidly mixed and penetrated into the subsurface water in the North Pacific Ocean in winter. It was revealed that these radiocaesium existed in the Subtropical Mode Water (STMW, Aoyama et al., 2016b; Kaeriyama et al., 2016) and Central Mode Water (CMW, Aoyama et al., 2016b), suggesting that mode water formation and subduction are efficient pathway for the transport of FNPP1 derived radiocaesium into the ocean interior within 1-year timescale. Kaeriyama et al. (2016) estimated the total amount of FNPP1 derived radiocaesium in the STMW was 4.2 ± 1.1 PBq in October-November 2012. However, there is no estimation of the amount of radiocaesium in the CMW. Therefore, it is impossible to discuss

  2. Pacific-North American teleconnection and North Pacific Oscillation: historical simulation and future projection in CMIP5 models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zheng; Gan, Bolan; Wu, Lixin; Jia, Fan

    2017-09-01

    Based on reanalysis datasets and as many as 35 CMIP5 models, this study evaluates the capability of climate models to simulate the spatiotemporal features of Pacific-North American teleconnection (PNA) and North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) in the twentieth century wintertime, and further investigates their responses to greenhouse warming in the twenty-first century. Analysis reveals that while the majority (80%) of models reasonably simulate either the geographical distribution or the amplitude of PNA/NPO pattern, only half of models can well capture both features in space. As for the temporal features, variabilities of PNA and NPO in most models are biased toward higher amplitude. Additionally, most models simulate the interannual variabilities of PNA and NPO, qualitatively consistent with the observation, whereas models generally lack the capability to reproduce the decadal (20-25 years) variability of PNA. As the climate warms under the strongest future warming scenario, the PNA intensity is found to be strengthened, whereas there is no consensus on the direction of change in the NPO intensity among models. The intensification of positive PNA is primarily manifested in the large deepening of the North Pacific trough, which is robust as it is 2.3 times the unforced internal variability. By focusing on the tropical Pacific Ocean, we find that the multidecadal evolution of the North Pacific trough intensity (dominating the PNA intensity evolution) is closely related to that of the analogous trough in the PNA-like teleconnection forced by sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTa) in the tropical central Pacific (CP) rather than the tropical eastern Pacific (EP). Such association is also found to act under greenhouse warming: that is, the strengthening of the PNA-like teleconnection induced by the CP SSTa rather than the EP SSTa is a driving force for the intensification of PNA. This is in part owing to the robust enhancement of the tropical precipitation response to

  3. Pacific-North American teleconnection and North Pacific Oscillation: historical simulation and future projection in CMIP5 models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zheng; Gan, Bolan; Wu, Lixin; Jia, Fan

    2018-06-01

    Based on reanalysis datasets and as many as 35 CMIP5 models, this study evaluates the capability of climate models to simulate the spatiotemporal features of Pacific-North American teleconnection (PNA) and North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) in the twentieth century wintertime, and further investigates their responses to greenhouse warming in the twenty-first century. Analysis reveals that while the majority (80%) of models reasonably simulate either the geographical distribution or the amplitude of PNA/NPO pattern, only half of models can well capture both features in space. As for the temporal features, variabilities of PNA and NPO in most models are biased toward higher amplitude. Additionally, most models simulate the interannual variabilities of PNA and NPO, qualitatively consistent with the observation, whereas models generally lack the capability to reproduce the decadal (20-25 years) variability of PNA. As the climate warms under the strongest future warming scenario, the PNA intensity is found to be strengthened, whereas there is no consensus on the direction of change in the NPO intensity among models. The intensification of positive PNA is primarily manifested in the large deepening of the North Pacific trough, which is robust as it is 2.3 times the unforced internal variability. By focusing on the tropical Pacific Ocean, we find that the multidecadal evolution of the North Pacific trough intensity (dominating the PNA intensity evolution) is closely related to that of the analogous trough in the PNA-like teleconnection forced by sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTa) in the tropical central Pacific (CP) rather than the tropical eastern Pacific (EP). Such association is also found to act under greenhouse warming: that is, the strengthening of the PNA-like teleconnection induced by the CP SSTa rather than the EP SSTa is a driving force for the intensification of PNA. This is in part owing to the robust enhancement of the tropical precipitation response to

  4. Projected sea level rise, gyre circulation and water mass formation in the western North Pacific: CMIP5 inter-model analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terada, Mio; Minobe, Shoshiro

    2018-06-01

    Future changes in the dynamic sea level (DSL), which is defined as sea-level deviation from the global mean sea level, is investigated over the North Pacific, by analyzing data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. The analysis provides more comprehensive descriptions of DSL responses to the global warming in this region than available from previous studies, by using surface and subsurface data until the year 2300 under middle and high greenhouse-gas emission scenarios. The DSL changes in the North Pacific are characterized by a DSL rise in the western North Pacific around the Kuroshio Extension (KE), as also reported by previous studies. Subsurface density analysis indicates that DSL rise around the KE is associated with decrease in density of subtropical mode water (STMW) and with northward KE migration, the former (latter) of which is relatively strong between 2000 and 2100 for both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 (between 2100 and 2300 for RCP8.5). The STMW density decrease is related to large heat uptake to the south and southeast of Japan, while the northward KE migration is associated with the poleward shift of the wind stress field. These features are commonly found in multi-model ensemble means and the relations among representative quantities produced by different climate models.

  5. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) East Pacific/ North Pacific Teleconnection Pattern Index

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Monthly tabulated index of the East Pacific/ North Pacific teleconnection pattern. The data spans the period 1950 to present. The index is derived from a rotated...

  6. Insight into the Pacific Sea Surface Temperature- North American Hydroclimate Connection from an Eastern Tropical North Pacific Coral Record

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, S. C.; Charles, C. D.; Carriquiry, J. D.

    2015-12-01

    The last few years of record-breaking climate anomalies across North America--a resilient atmospheric ridge and extreme drought over the West Coast, and severe winters across the Midwest and East Coast regions--have been linked to anomalous Pacific sea surface temperatures (Seager et al. 2014, Wang et al. 2014, Hartmann 2015). The synoptic associations prompt important questions on the relation between these unusual phenomena and extreme expressions of known Pacific decadal modes, such as the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO). These questions motivate our pursuit to document multiple realizations of decadal variability in the Pacific-North American region through periods of varied radiative forcing. Here we introduce a 178 year, seasonally resolved Porites coral record from Clarion Island (18N, 115W), the westernmost island of the Revillagigedo Archipelago, a region both highly influenced by NPGO SST and SSS variability and critical for NPGO tropical-extratropical communication via the Seasonal Footprinting Mechanism (Vimont et al. 2003). When coupled with tree ring records from the western United States (Griffin and Anchukaitis 2014, MacDonald and Case 2005) and coral records from the central tropical Pacific (Cobb et al. 2001), the δ18O signal from the Clarion coral offers an extended framework of coherent continental hydroclimate and oceanic variability across the Pacific basin beyond the instrumental record. Over the last 200 years, we find clear commonality in the timing, magnitude and spatial expression of variability (illustrated through the NADA Atlas, Cook et al. 2004) amongst the proxy records. The strong relationship between Northeastern Pacific Clarion and the Central Pacific Palmyra record with the North American hydroclimate records can be viewed within the mechanistic framework of the NPGO; this framework is then explored over the last millennium across intervals of varied radiative forcing.

  7. Basin scale variability of active diazotrophs and nitrogen fixation in the North Pacific, from the tropics to the subarctic Bering Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiozaki, Takuhei; Bombar, Deniz; Riemann, Lasse; Hashihama, Fuminori; Takeda, Shigenobu; Yamaguchi, Tamaha; Ehama, Makoto; Hamasaki, Koji; Furuya, Ken

    2017-06-01

    Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) provide biologically available nitrogen to plankton communities and thereby greatly influence the productivity in many marine regions. Various cyanobacterial groups have traditionally been considered the major oceanic diazotrophs, but later noncyanobacterial and presumably heterotrophic diazotrophs were also found to be widespread and potentially important in nitrogen fixation. However, the distribution and activity of different diazotroph groups is still poorly constrained for most oceanic ecosystems. Here we examined diazotroph community structure and activity along a 7500 km south-north transect between the central equatorial Pacific and the Bering Sea. Nitrogen fixation contributed up to 84% of new production in the upper waters of the subtropical gyre, where the diazotroph community included the gammaproteobacterium γ-24774A11 and highly active cyanobacterial phylotypes (>50% of total nifH transcript abundance). Nitrogen fixation was sometimes detectable down to 150 m depth and extended horizontally to the edge of the gyre at around 35°N. Nitrogen fixation was even detected far north on the Bering Sea shelf. In the Alaskan Coastal Waters on the Bering Sea shelf, low nitrate together with high dissolved iron concentrations seemed to foster diazotroph growth, including a prominent role of UCYN-A2, which was abundant near the surface (1.2×105 nifH gene copies L-1). Our study provides evidence for nitrogen fixation in the Bering Sea and suggests a clear contrast in the composition of diazotrophs between the tropical/subtropical gyre and the separate waters in the cold northern regions of the North Pacific.

  8. Marine proxy evidence linking decadal North Pacific and Atlantic climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hetzinger, S. [University of Toronto Mississauga, CPS-Department, Mississauga, ON (Canada); Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel (Germany); Halfar, J. [University of Toronto Mississauga, CPS-Department, Mississauga, ON (Canada); Mecking, J.V.; Keenlyside, N.S. [Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel (Germany); University of Bergen, Geophysical Institute and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway); Kronz, A. [University of Goettingen, Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum, Goettingen (Germany); Steneck, R.S. [University of Maine, Darling Marine Center, Walpole, ME (United States); Adey, W.H. [Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany, Washington, DC (United States); Lebednik, P.A. [ARCADIS U.S. Inc., Walnut Creek, CA (United States)

    2012-09-15

    Decadal- to multidecadal variability in the extra-tropical North Pacific is evident in 20th century instrumental records and has significant impacts on Northern Hemisphere climate and marine ecosystems. Several studies have discussed a potential linkage between North Pacific and Atlantic climate on various time scales. On decadal time scales no relationship could be confirmed, potentially due to sparse instrumental observations before 1950. Proxy data are limited and no multi-centennial high-resolution marine geochemical proxy records are available from the subarctic North Pacific. Here we present an annually-resolved record (1818-1967) of Mg/Ca variations from a North Pacific/Bering Sea coralline alga that extends our knowledge in this region beyond available data. It shows for the first time a statistically significant link between decadal fluctuations in sea-level pressure in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. The record is a lagged proxy for decadal-scale variations of the Aleutian Low. It is significantly related to regional sea surface temperature and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index in late boreal winter on these time scales. Our data show that on decadal time scales a weaker Aleutian Low precedes a negative NAO by several years. This atmospheric link can explain the coherence of decadal North Pacific and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, as suggested by earlier studies using climate models and limited instrumental data. (orig.)

  9. 77 FR 53179 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-31

    .... SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) Crab Plan Team (CPT) will meet in Seattle... Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS..., WA. Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 306...

  10. Decadal Variation of the Relationship between Western Pacific Subtropical High and Summer Heatwaves in East China Modulated by Pacific Decadal Oscillation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Q.; Fu, C.; Zhou, T.

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates the relationship between Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) and summer heatwaves over Eastern China in interannual scale during the period of 1959-2016. Based on surface daily maximum temperature of 654 monitoring stations over China and meteorological variables in reanalysis data, we calculate the number of heatwave days (NHD) (one heatwave day was defined as one day with its daily maximum temperature greater than 35 degrees centigrade) as well as WPSH index and then examine their interannual relationship. Although the high-NHD-related 850hPa horizontal wind structure was shared by that of high WPSH and decaying El Niño summer, a decadal oscillation emerges for the correlation between interannual WPSH and NHD after removing their interdecadal variability by Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) method. The correlation coefficient can reach up to as high as 0.69 and as low as 0.17 and assembles the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) pretty well. Compositing analysis demonstrates that unstable WPSH-NHD relationship is mainly attributed to the spatial structure distinction of WPSH and surface warming in the El Niño decaying summer of different PDO phases. In the El Niño decaying summer of positive PDO phases, remarkable enhanced warming over majority of Southeastern China matches well with the noticeable westward extension of WPSH, which seems to be forced by the cyclonic circulation anomaly over Japan. The warmer Pacific-Indian Ocean Warm Pool intensifies the Matsuno-Gill pattern over Maritime Continent, stimulating this cyclonic circulation anomaly via the northward propagation of Rossby wave. In the El Niño decaying summer of negative PDO phases, the cooler East China Sea enhances WPSH in North China and South China Sea, and thereby leads to a local cyclonic circulation anomaly over Eastern China, which would cause a large scope of cooling and out-of-phase WPSH-NHD relationship.

  11. A Reassessment of the Integrated Impact of Tropical Cyclones on Surface Chlorophyll in the Western Subtropical North Atlantic

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foltz, Gregory R.; Balaguru, Karthik; Leung, Lai-Yung R.

    2015-02-28

    The impact of tropical cyclones on surface chlorophyll concentration is assessed in the western subtropical North Atlantic Ocean during 1998–2011. Previous studies in this area focused on individual cyclones and gave mixed results regarding the importance of tropical cyclone-induced mixing for changes in surface chlorophyll. Using a more integrated and comprehensive approach that includes quantification of cyclone-induced changes in mixed layer depth, here it is shown that accumulated cyclone energy explains 22% of the interannual variability in seasonally-averaged (June–November) chlorophyll concentration in the western subtropical North Atlantic, after removing the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The variance explained by tropical cyclones is thus about 70% of that explained by the NAO, which has well-known impacts in this region. It is therefore likely that tropical cyclones contribute significantly to interannual variations of primary productivity in the western subtropical North Atlantic during the hurricane season.

  12. 75 FR 20985 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-22

    .... SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Crab Plan Team (CPT) will meet in Alaska on May 10... Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... Room - May 14. Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 306...

  13. Explosive development of winter storm Xynthia over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. L. R. Liberato

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In winter of 2009–2010 south-western Europe was hit by several destructive windstorms. The most important was Xynthia (26–28 February 2010, which caused 64 reported casualties and was classified as the 2nd most expensive natural hazard event for 2010 in terms of economic losses. In this work we assess the synoptic evolution, dynamical characteristics and the main impacts of storm Xynthia, whose genesis, development and path were very uncommon. Wind speed gusts observed at more than 500 stations across Europe are evaluated as well as the wind gust field obtained with a regional climate model simulation for the entire North Atlantic and European area. Storm Xynthia was first identified on 25 February around 30° N, 50° W over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. Its genesis occurred on a region characterized by warm and moist air under the influence of a strong upper level wave embedded in the westerlies. Xynthia followed an unusual SW–NE path towards Iberia, France and central Europe. The role of moist air masses on the explosive development of Xynthia is analysed by considering the evaporative sources. A lagrangian model is used to identify the moisture sources, sinks and moisture transport associated with the cyclone during its development phase. The main supply of moisture is located over an elongated region of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean with anomalously high SST, confirming that the explosive development of storm Xynthia had a significant contribution from the subtropics.

  14. Anthropogenic CO2 distribution in the North Pacific ocean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, C [National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung (Taiwan, Province of China)

    1993-06-01

    This paper discusses the penetration depth of anthropogenic CO2 in the North Pacific Ocean based on carbonate data in the literature. The carbonate data in the literature were used to supplement the tracer data showing oceanic mixing features for waters formed in the last 140 years. The deepest penetration over 2,000m was found in the northwest North Pacific. On the other hand, the shallowest penetration to less than 400m was found in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Consequently, it was suggested that penetration depth of anthropogenic CO2 has been controlled by such factors as deep water formation in the Northwest Pacific, upwelling in the equatorial Pacific, and vertical mixing in the western boundary areas. It was revealed that these results are in harmony well with results implied from tritium, C-14, and freons distributions. The total inventory of excess carbon in the North Pacific was 14.7[plus minus]4[times]10[sup 15]g around 1980. 48 refs., 10 figs.

  15. CO2 and circulation in the deglacial North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, B.; Rae, J. W. B.; Gray, W. R.; Rees-Owen, R. L.; Burke, A.

    2017-12-01

    The North Pacific is the largest carbon reservoir in the global ocean, but has not typically been thought to play an active role in deglacial CO2 rise based on its modern stratified state. Recent studies (Okazaki et al., 2010; Rae et al., 2014; Max et al., 2017), however, have suggested that a more dynamic circulation regime operated in the glacial and deglacial North Pacific and, as such, the role of the North Pacific in deglacial CO2 rise may have been underestimated. We present two new high-resolution boron isotope records of surface water pCO2 from the North West and North East Pacific spanning the last 22 kyrs. The two records show remarkable coherence over key intervals during the last deglaciation and highlight major changes over a number of abrupt climate events. At both sites, following the LGM, pCO2(sw) rises, coincident with a younging of North Pacific intermediate and deep waters. This suggests that increased local overturning mixed CO2-rich deep waters throughout the water column, likely contributing to CO2 outgassing during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). Both records exhibit decreases in pCO2(sw) during the latter stages of HS1, which are immediately followed by a rapid increase in pCO2(sw) at the onset of the Bølling-Allerød (B/A). Radiocarbon and δ13C data indicate a collapse in North Pacific Intermediate Water formation at the onset of the B/A, which, combined with enhanced wind stress curl, would have allowed CO2-rich waters to mix into the surface ocean from intermediate-depths. The combination of high nutrient availability and a seasonally well-stratified mixed layer likely led to the abrupt increase in export productivity across the region; the excess surface water CO2 shows that alleviation of iron or light limitation could not have been its primary cause. Our new records highlight the importance of overturning circulation in the North Pacific in controlling productivity and CO2 release on glacial/interglacial timescales.

  16. Atmospheric Mercury Deposition to a Remote Islet in the Subtropical Northwest Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheu, G.; Lin, N.

    2013-12-01

    Thirty-four weekly rainwater samples were collected in 2009 at Pengjiayu, a remote islet in the subtropical Northwest (NW) Pacific Ocean with an area of 1.14 km^2, to study the distribution of rainwater mercury (Hg) concentrations and associated wet deposition fluxes. This is the first study concerning wet Hg deposition to the subtropical NW Pacific Ocean downwind of the East Asian continent, which is the major source region for Hg emissions worldwide. Sample Hg concentrations ranged from 2.25 to 22.33 ng L^-1, with a volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentration of 8.85 ng L^-1. The annual wet Hg deposition flux was 10.18 μg m^-2, about 2.5 times the fluxes measured at sites on the Pacific coast of the USA, supporting the hypothesis that deposition is higher in the western than in the eastern Pacific. Seasonal VWM concentrations were 7.23, 11.58, 7.82, and 9.84 ng L^-1, whereas seasonal wet deposition fluxes were 2.14, 3.45, 2.38, and 2.21 μg m^-2, for spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively. Higher summer wet Hg deposition was a function of both higher rainwater Hg concentration and greater rainfall. The seasonal pattern of rainwater Hg concentrations was the opposite of the general seasonal pattern of the East Asian air pollutant export. Since there is no significant anthropogenic Hg emission source on the islet of Pengjiayu, the observed high summertime rainwater Hg concentration hints at the importance of Hg(0) oxidation and/or scavenging of upper-altitude reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) by deep convection. Direct anthropogenic RGM emissions from the East Asian continent may not contribute significantly to the rainwater Hg concentrations, but anthropogenic Hg(0) emissions could be transported to the upper troposphere or marine boundary layer where they can be oxidized to produce RGM, which will then be effectively scavenged by cloud water and rainwater.

  17. Biological data assimilation for parameter estimation of a phytoplankton functional type model for the western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoshiba, Yasuhiro; Hirata, Takafumi; Shigemitsu, Masahito; Nakano, Hideyuki; Hashioka, Taketo; Masuda, Yoshio; Yamanaka, Yasuhiro

    2018-06-01

    Ecosystem models are used to understand ecosystem dynamics and ocean biogeochemical cycles and require optimum physiological parameters to best represent biological behaviours. These physiological parameters are often tuned up empirically, while ecosystem models have evolved to increase the number of physiological parameters. We developed a three-dimensional (3-D) lower-trophic-level marine ecosystem model known as the Nitrogen, Silicon and Iron regulated Marine Ecosystem Model (NSI-MEM) and employed biological data assimilation using a micro-genetic algorithm to estimate 23 physiological parameters for two phytoplankton functional types in the western North Pacific. The estimation of the parameters was based on a one-dimensional simulation that referenced satellite data for constraining the physiological parameters. The 3-D NSI-MEM optimized by the data assimilation improved the timing of a modelled plankton bloom in the subarctic and subtropical regions compared to the model without data assimilation. Furthermore, the model was able to improve not only surface concentrations of phytoplankton but also their subsurface maximum concentrations. Our results showed that surface data assimilation of physiological parameters from two contrasting observatory stations benefits the representation of vertical plankton distribution in the western North Pacific.

  18. Subtropical Low Cloud Responses to Central and Eastern Pacific El Nino Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, A. D.; Bennartz, R.; Jiang, J. H.; Kato, S.; Olson, W. S.; Pinker, R. T.; Su, H.; Taylor, P. C.

    2014-12-01

    The eastern Pacific El Niño event in 2006-2007 and the central Pacific El Niño event during 2009-2010 exhibit opposite responses in the top of atmosphere (TOA) cloud radiative effects. These responses are driven by differences in large-scale circulation that result in significant low cloud anomalies in the subtropical southeastern Pacific. Both the vertical profile of cloud fraction and cloud water content are reduced during the eastern Pacific El Niño; however, the shift in the distribution of cloud characteristics and the physical processes underlying these changes need further analysis. The NASA Energy and Water Cycle Study (NEWS) Clouds and Radiation Working Group will use a synthesis of NEWS data products, A-Train satellite measurements, reanalysis, and modeling approaches to further explore the differences in the low cloud response to changes in the large-scale forcing, as well as try to understand the physical mechanism driving the observed changes in the low clouds for the 2006/07 and 2009/10 distinct El Niño events. The distributions of cloud macrophysical, microphysical, and radiative properties over the southeast Pacific will first be compared for these two events using a combination of MODIS, CloudSat/CALIPSO, and CERES data. Satellite and reanalysis estimates of changes in the vertical temperature and moisture profiles, lower tropospheric stability, winds, and surface heat fluxes are then used to identify the drivers for observed differences in the clouds and TOA radiative effects.

  19. 75 FR 68756 - Eastern North Pacific Gray Whale; Notice of Petition Availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-09

    ... North Pacific Gray Whale; Notice of Petition Availability AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... petition to designate the Eastern North Pacific population of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) as a... Eastern North Pacific gray whales is available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.nmfs...

  20. Trans-Pacific and trans-Arctic pathways of the intertidal macroalga Fucus distichus L. reveal multiple glacial refugia and colonizations from the North Pacific to the North Atlantic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coyer, James A.; Hoarau, Galice; Van Schaik, Jaap; Luijckx, Pepijn; Olsen, Jeanine L.

    Aim We examined the phylogeography of the cold-temperate macroalgal species Fucus distichus L., a key foundation species in rocky intertidal shores and the only Fucus species to occur naturally in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. Location North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans (42

  1. Enhanced biennial variability in the Pacific due to Atlantic capacitor effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lei; Yu, Jin-Yi; Paek, Houk

    2017-03-20

    The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the variability in the Pacific subtropical highs (PSHs) have major impacts on social and ecological systems. Here we present an Atlantic capacitor effect mechanism to suggest that the Atlantic is a key pacemaker of the biennial variability in the Pacific including that in ENSO and the PSHs during recent decades. The 'charging' (that is, ENSO imprinting the North Tropical Atlantic (NTA) sea surface temperature (SST) via an atmospheric bridge mechanism) and 'discharging' (that is, the NTA SST triggering the following ENSO via a subtropical teleconnection mechanism) processes alternate, generating the biennial rhythmic changes in the Pacific. Since the early 1990s, a warmer Atlantic due to the positive phase of Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and global warming trend has provided more favourable background state for the Atlantic capacitor effect, giving rise to enhanced biennial variability in the Pacific that may increase the occurrence frequency of severe natural hazard events.

  2. Northerly surface winds over the eastern North Pacific Ocean in spring and summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, S.V.; Cayan, D.R.; Graham, N.E.; Georgakakos, K.P.

    2008-01-01

    Persistent spring and summer northerly surface winds are the defining climatological feature of the western coast of North America, especially south of the Oregon coast. Northerly surface winds are important for upwelling and a vast array of other biological, oceanic, and atmospheric processes. Intermittence in northerly coastal surface wind is characterized and wind events are quantitatively defined using coastal buoy data south of Cape Mendocino on the northern California coast. The defined wind events are then used as a basis for composites in order to explain the spatial evolution of various atmospheric and oceanic processes. Wind events involve large-scale changes in the three-dimensional atmospheric circulation including the eastern North Pacific subtropical anticyclone and southeast trade winds. Composites of QSCAT satellite scatterometer wind estimates from 1999 to 2005 based on a single coastal buoy indicate that wind events typically last 72-96 h and result in anomalies in surface wind and Ekman pumping that extend over 1000 kin from the west coast of North America. It may be useful to consider ocean circulation and dependent ecosystem dynamics and the distribution of temperature, moisture, and aerosols in the atmospheric boundary layer in the context of wind events defined herein. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

  3. The role of the subtropical North Atlantic water cycle in recent US extreme precipitation events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Laifang; Schmitt, Raymond W.; Ummenhofer, Caroline C.

    2018-02-01

    The role of the oceanic water cycle in the record-breaking 2015 warm-season precipitation in the US is analyzed. The extreme precipitation started in the Southern US in the spring and propagated northward to the Midwest and the Great Lakes in the summer of 2015. This seasonal evolution of precipitation anomalies represents a typical mode of variability of US warm-season precipitation. Analysis of the atmospheric moisture flux suggests that such a rainfall mode is associated with moisture export from the subtropical North Atlantic. In the spring, excessive precipitation in the Southern US is attributable to increased moisture flux from the northwestern portion of the subtropical North Atlantic. The North Atlantic moisture flux interacts with local soil moisture which enables the US Midwest to draw more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico in the summer. Further analysis shows that the relationship between the rainfall mode and the North Atlantic water cycle has become more significant in recent decades, indicating an increased likelihood of extremes like the 2015 case. Indeed, two record-high warm-season precipitation events, the 1993 and 2008 cases, both occurred in the more recent decades of the 66 year analysis period. The export of water from the North Atlantic leaves a marked surface salinity signature. The salinity signature appeared in the spring preceding all three extreme precipitation events analyzed in this study, i.e. a saltier-than-normal subtropical North Atlantic in spring followed by extreme Midwest precipitation in summer. Compared to the various sea surface temperature anomaly patterns among the 1993, 2008, and 2015 cases, the spatial distribution of salinity anomalies was much more consistent during these extreme flood years. Thus, our study suggests that preseason salinity patterns can be used for improved seasonal prediction of extreme precipitation in the Midwest.

  4. Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksen, Marcus; Maximenko, Nikolai; Thiel, Martin; Cummins, Anna; Lattin, Gwen; Wilson, Stiv; Hafner, Jan; Zellers, Ann; Rifman, Samuel

    2013-03-15

    Plastic marine pollution in the open ocean of the southern hemisphere is largely undocumented. Here, we report the result of a (4489 km) 2424 nautical mile transect through the South Pacific subtropical gyre, carried out in March-April 2011. Neuston samples were collected at 48 sites, averaging 50 nautical miles apart, using a manta trawl lined with a 333 μm mesh. The transect bisected a predicted accumulation zone associated with the convergence of surface currents, driven by local winds. The results show an increase in surface abundance of plastic pollution as we neared the center and decrease as we moved away, verifying the presence of a garbage patch. The average abundance and mass was 26,898 particles km(-2) and 70.96 g km(-2), respectively. 88.8% of the plastic pollution was found in the middle third of the samples with the highest value of 396,342 particles km(-2) occurring near the center of the predicted accumulation zone. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Mesoscale cyclogenesis over the western north Pacific Ocean during TPARC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher A. Davis

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Three cases of mesoscale marine cyclogenesis over the subtropics of the Western Pacific Ocean are investigated. Each case occurred during the THORPEX Pacific Asia Regional Campaign and Tropical Cyclone Structure (TCS-08 field phases in 2008. Each cyclone developed from remnants of disturbances that earlier showed potential for tropical cyclogenesis within the tropics. Two of the cyclones produced gale-force surface winds, and one, designated as a tropical cyclone, resulted in a significant coastal storm over eastern Japan. Development was initiated by a burst of organized mesoscale convection that consolidated and intensified the surface cyclonic circulation over a period of 12–24 h. Upper-tropospheric potential vorticity anomalies modulated the vertical wind shear that, in turn, influenced the periods of cyclone intensification and weakening. Weak baroclinicity associated with vertical shear was also deemed important in organizing mesoscale ascent and the convection outbreaks. The remnant tropical disturbances contributed exceptional water vapour content to higher latitudes that led to strong diabatic heating, and the tropical remnants contributed vorticity that was the seed of the development in the subtropics. Predictability of these events more than three days in advance appears to be minimal.

  6. 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

  7. Modeling the drift of massive icebergs to the subtropical North Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Condron, A.; Hill, J. C.

    2013-12-01

    New evidence from high-resolution seafloor bathymetry data indicates that massive (>300m thick) icebergs from the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) drifted south to the tip of Florida during the last deglaciation. This finding is particularly exciting as it contradicts evidence from marine sediments that icebergs were mainly confined to the subpolar North Atlantic (50 - 70N) at this time. Indeed, the freshwater released from icebergs melting in the subpolar gyre is repeatedly cited as a main trigger for a slow-down of the Atlantic MOC in the past, and the possible cause of any climate cooling related to the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the future. Using a sophisticated iceberg model (MITberg), coupled to a high (18-km; 1/6 deg.) resolution ocean model (MITgcm), we investigate the ocean circulation dynamics required to allow icebergs to drift to the southern tip of Florida. We find that icebergs only reach this location if they turn right at the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and stay inshore of the Gulf Stream all the way to Florida. Modern-day circulation dynamics do not readily allow this to happen as cold, southward flowing, Labrador Current Water (important for iceberg survival) has little penetration south of Cape Hatteras. However, when a liquid meltwater flood is released from Hudson Bay at the same time, icebergs are rapidly transported (inshore of the Gulf Stream) in a narrow, buoyant, coastal current all the way to southern Florida. The meltwater and icebergs result in a significant freshening of the subtropical North Atlantic and weaken the strength of the Gulf Stream, suggesting such an event would have a large cooling effect on climate. We are only able to simulate the flow of meltwater and icebergs to the subtropics by modeling ocean circulation at a resolution that is 5 - 10 times higher than the majority of existing paleoclimate models; at lower resolutions the narrow, coastal boundary currents important for iceberg transport to the subtropics are

  8. 76 FR 58472 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-21

    ... North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pacific Northwest Crab Industry Advisory Committee. SUMMARY: The Pacific Northwest Crab Industry Advisory Committee will meet October 13, 2011 at the Leif...: (907) 271-2809. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda--Alaska Department of Fish & Game/ NMFS scientists...

  9. Decreasing pH trend estimated from 25-yr time series of carbonate parameters in the western North Pacific

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Midorikawa, Takashi; Ishii, Masao; Sasano, Daisuke; Kosugi, Naohiro (Geochemical Research Dept., Meteorological Research Institute Tsukuba (Japan)), e-mail: midorika@mri-jma.go.jp; Saito, Shu (Geochemical Research Dept., Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan); Institute of Observational Research for Global Change (IORGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka (Japan)); Motoi, Tatsuo (Oceanographic Research Dept., Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan)); Kamiya, Hitomi; Nakadate, Akira; Nemoto, Kazuhiro (Global Environment and Marine Dept., Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo (Japan)); Inoue, Hisayuki Y. (Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo (Japan))

    2010-11-15

    We estimated long-term trends of ocean acidification in surface waters in latitudinal zones from 3 deg N to 33 deg N along the repeat hydrographic line at 137 deg E in the western North Pacific Ocean. Estimates were based on the observational records of oceanic CO{sub 2} partial pressure and related surface properties over the last two decades. The computed pH time series both for 25 yr in winter (late January to early February) and for 21 yr in summer (June-July) exhibited significant decreasing trends in the extensive subtropical to equatorial zones, with interannual variations that were larger in summer. The calculated rates of pH decrease ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0021 yr-1 (average, 0.0018 +- 0.0002 yr-1) in winter and from 0.0008 to 0.0019 yr-1 (average, 0.0013 +- 0.0005 yr-1 ) in summer. The thermodynamic effects of rising sea surface temperature (SST) accounted for up to 44% (average, 15%) of the trend of pH decrease in the subtropical region in winter, whereas a trend of decreasing SST slowed the pH decrease in the northern subtropical region (around 25 deg N) in summer. We used the results from recent trends to evaluate future possible thermodynamic changes in the upper ocean carbonate system

  10. Latitudinal distribution of zooplankton communities in the Western Pacific along 160°E during summer 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Dong; Wang, Chunsheng

    2017-05-01

    A total of 51 mesozooplankton samples collected with a WP2 net from 0 to 200 m depth along 160°E (4°S-46°N) in the Western Pacific from June to July 2014 were analyzed. The latitudinal distribution of mesozooplankton community structure was analyzed. The average biomass and abundance in different provinces generally increased with latitude: the biomass of zooplankton ranged from 1.18 mg DW m- 3 (11°N) to 97.81 mg DW m- 3 (45°N), and the abundance of zooplankton ranged from 45.11 ind. m- 3 (3°S) to 439.84 ind. m- 3 (41°N). The community structure of zooplankton also showed a significant latitudinal variation. At lower latitudes, calanoid copepods were the most abundant group, while cyclopoid copepods were the most abundant group at higher latitudes. Multidimensional scaling analysis of community structure and other physical/chemical/biological characteristics supported five ecological provinces in the northwestern Pacific: the Western Pacific Warm Pool Province (WARM), the North Pacific Tropical Gyre (NPTG), the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPST), the Kuroshio Current Province (KURO) and the Pacific Subarctic Gyres Province (PSAG). The Kuroshio Current Province can be regarded as a transitional zone between the subarctic and northern subtropical area, and this transitional zone corresponds much more closely to the ecocline concept, rather than the ecotone concept.

  11. Estimating historical eastern North Pacific blue whale catches using spatial calling patterns.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cole C Monnahan

    Full Text Available Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus were exploited extensively around the world and remain endangered. In the North Pacific their population structure is unclear and current status unknown, with the exception of a well-studied eastern North Pacific (ENP population. Despite existing abundance estimates for the ENP population, it is difficult to estimate pre-exploitation abundance levels and gauge their recovery because historical catches of the ENP population are difficult to separate from catches of other populations in the North Pacific. We collated previously unreported Soviet catches and combined these with known catches to form the most current estimates of North Pacific blue whale catches. We split these conflated catches using recorded acoustic calls from throughout the North Pacific, the knowledge that the ENP population produces a different call than blue whales in the western North Pacific (WNP. The catches were split by estimating spatiotemporal occurrence of blue whales with generalized additive models fitted to acoustic call patterns, which predict the probability a catch belonged to the ENP population based on the proportion of calls of each population recorded by latitude, longitude, and month. When applied to the conflated historical catches, which totaled 9,773, we estimate that ENP blue whale catches totaled 3,411 (95% range 2,593 to 4,114 from 1905-1971, and amounted to 35% (95% range 27% to 42% of all catches in the North Pacific. Thus most catches in the North Pacific were for WNP blue whales, totaling 6,362 (95% range 5,659 to 7,180. The uncertainty in the acoustic data influence the results substantially more than uncertainty in catch locations and dates, but the results are fairly insensitive to the ecological assumptions made in the analysis. The results of this study provide information for future studies investigating the recovery of these populations and the impact of continuing and future sources of anthropogenic

  12. Long-term trends of typhoon-induced rainfall over Taiwan: in situ evidence of poleward shift of typhoons in western North Pacific in recent decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Ting-Yu; Oey, Leo; Huang, Shiming; Chou, Simon

    2017-04-01

    Tracks of tropical cyclones or typhoons in the western North Pacific have recently been shown to shift northward in the past several decades; the poleward shift has been attributed to the expansion of the tropics due to climate warming. Here we use 64-year, hourly rainfall observations around Taiwan, and take advantage of the unique terrain and geographic location of the island with respect to typhoon tracks, to show that since 1950 the typhoon-related rainfalls have been rising on the western side of the island, but decreasing on the eastern side. We show that these extraordinary rainfall patterns, despite the smallness of Taiwan, are indicative of a northward shift of typhoons related to the changes in the wind fields and surface warming over the Indian and Pacific tropical/subtropical regions.

  13. Modulation of the intraseasonal Indo-western Pacific convection oscillation to tropical cyclogenesis location and frequency over the Indo-western North Pacific during boreal extended summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiuyun; Li, Jianping; Li, Yanjie; Zhang, Jingwen

    2017-04-01

    The influence of the intraseasonal Indo-western Pacific convection oscillation (IPCO) on the tropical cyclone (TC) genesis location and frequency over the Indo-western North Pacific during the boreal extended summer (May-October) is explored in this paper. Observational analysis shows that the impacts of the intraseasonal IPCO on TCs over the Indo-western North Pacific features in evident "locational phase lock of TC genesis" and distinct differences in TC frequency. In term of the WNP, when the intraseasonal IPCO is positive phase, there tends to be much more TCs, especially in the South China Sea (SCS), and more TCs generate in the west of the WNP and lower latitude (around 5°-20°N); vice versa. At the positive intraseasonal IPCO phase, the atmosphere gains heat through both sea-air interaction and the latent heat release of cumulus convective condensation, and the anomalous cyclonic circulation weakens the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), these conditions do favor the TC genesis. Moreover, the shrinking WPSH, the enhanced heat transfer from sea to air at the lower latitude as well as the westward shifts of heating center and anomalous cyclonic circulation lock TC genesis locations in the west of the WNP and lower latitude. The opposite situation occurs at negative phase. As for the North Indian Ocean (NIO), the TC genesis locations at the positive intraseasonal IPCO phase mainly situate in 13°-20°N and distribute closer to Indian Peninsula, particularly in the Arabian Sea (ARB), in contrast, the spatial distribution is more dispersed at the negative intraseasonal IPCO phase. However, the total TC frequencies at two intraseasonal IPCO phases are similar. These features come largely from the differences in the area featuring conditions between the northern and southern regions of 13°N in the NIO: at the positive intraseasonal IPCO phase, to the northern region of 13°N, the environmental conditions are similar to the case of the WNP except without the

  14. Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nokleberg, Warren J.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Monger, James W.H.; Norton, Ian O.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Stone, David B.; Scotese, Christopher R.; Scholl, David W.; Fujita, Kazuya

    2000-01-01

    The Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific is recorded mainly in the orogenic collages of the Circum-North Pacific mountain belts that separate the North Pacific from the eastern part of the North Asian Craton and the western part of the North American Craton. These collages consist of tectonostratigraphic terranes that are composed of fragments of igneous arcs, accretionary-wedge and subduction-zone complexes, passive continental margins, and cratons; they are overlapped by continental-margin-arc and sedimentary-basin assemblages. The geologic history of the terranes and overlap assemblages is highly complex because of postaccretionary dismemberment and translation during strike-slip faulting that occurred subparallel to continental margins.We analyze the complex tectonics of this region by the following steps. (1) We assign tectonic environments for the orogenic collages from regional compilation and synthesis of stratigraphic and faunal data. The types of tectonic environments include cratonal, passive continental margin, metamorphosed continental margin, continental-margin arc, island arc, oceanic crust, seamount, ophiolite, accretionary wedge, subduction zone, turbidite basin, and metamorphic. (2) We make correlations between terranes. (3) We group coeval terranes into a single tectonic origin, for example, a single island arc or subduction zone. (4) We group igneous-arc and subduction- zone terranes, which are interpreted as being tectonically linked, into coeval, curvilinear arc/subduction-zone complexes. (5) We interpret the original positions of terranes, using geologic, faunal, and paleomagnetic data. (6) We construct the paths of tectonic migration. Six processes overlapping in time were responsible for most of the complexities of the collage of terranes and overlap assemblages around the Circum-North Pacific, as follows. (1) During the Late Proterozoic, Late Devonian, and Early Carboniferous, major periods of rifting occurred along

  15. Trends and Variability of North Pacific Polar Lows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Chen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The 6-hourly 1948–2010 NCEP 1 reanalyses have been dynamically downscaled for the region of the North Pacific. With a detecting-and-tracking algorithm, the climatology of North Pacific Polar Lows has been constructed. This derived climatology is consistent with the limited observational evidence in terms of frequency and spatial distribution. The climatology exhibits strong year-to-year variability but weak decadal variability and a small positive trend. A canonical correlation analysis describes the conditioning of the formation of Polar Lows by characteristic seasonal mean flow regimes, which favor, or limit, cold air outbreaks and upper air troughs.

  16. Will the western Pacific subtropical high constantly intensify in the future?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yanyan; Li, Xiaofan; Wang, Huijun

    2016-07-01

    The western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) features lower-level southerlies or southwesterlies at its western and southern edges that transport amount of water vapor into East Asia, and it exerts a large influence on the East Asian summer climate. This paper evaluates the historical (1950-2005) spatial distribution and variability in the summer WPSH at 850 hPa using 28 general circulation models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) relative to the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis data. To avoid the artificial influence caused by global warming, this study primarily investigates the 850-hPa eddy geopotential height and the horizontal winds. The results show that most of the CMIP5 models reliably reproduce the geographical distribution and spatial variability in the WPSH. Four models (bcc-csm1-1, CESM1-CAM5, GFDL-ESM2G and inmcm4) generally perform well in simulating the eastward-recessed interdecadal variation in the WPSH during 1979-2005 relative to 1950-1978, with a significant cyclone anomaly appearing over the western Pacific and a decreasing trend in the WPSH index. Based on these four models, a multi-model ensemble projects a weaker WPSH during 2026-2070 relative to 2010-2025 and 2071-2100 under the representative concentration pathway 8.5 scenario.

  17. Neodymium isotopic variations in Northwest Pacific waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amakawa, Hiroshi; Nozaki, Yoshiyuki; Alibo, Dia Sotto; Zhang, Jing; Fukugawa, Kiyotaka; Nagai, Hisao

    2004-02-01

    Four vertical profiles of the concentration and isotopic composition of Nd in seawater were obtained in the western North Pacific. Two profiles from the Kuroshio Current regime showed congruently that although the Nd concentration increases gradually with depth, its isotopic composition varies significantly with depth depending upon the water mass occupying the water column. The high-salinity Kuroshio waters originating from the North Pacific Tropical Water (NPTW) carry the least radiogenic Nd (ɛ Nd = -7.4 to -8.7) to this region at ˜250 m from the western margin continental shelves, most likely from the East China Sea. The Nd isotopic compositions in the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) that occurs at 600 to 1000 m in the subtropical region are fairly uniform at ɛ Nd = -3.7. The profile data from the ˜38° to 40°N Kuroshio/Oyashio mixed water region off Sanriku of Honshu, Japan, also suggest that the newest NPIW with ɛ Nd = -3.2 is formed there by the mixing of various source waters, and the radiogenic component of Nd is derived mainly from the Oyashio waters. In the Pacific Deep Water (PDW) below ˜1000 m, the Nd isotopic composition is neither vertically nor horizontally homogeneous, suggesting that it serves as a useful tracer for sluggish deep water circulation as well. Two profiles from the Izu-Ogasawara Trench showed a minimum ɛ Nd value at ˜2000 m, suggesting that there exists a horizontal advective flow in the vicinity of Honshu, Japan. There is some evidence from other chemical properties to support this observation. The waters below 4000 m including those within the trench in the subtropical region have ɛ Nd values of around -5, suggesting that the deep waters are fed from the south along the western boundary, ultimately from the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the South Pacific. This extends up to ˜40°N along the Japanese Islands. In the subarctic region (>˜42°N), the waters have more radiogenic Nd with ɛ Nd > -4.0 throughout the

  18. SeaWiFS: North Pacific Storm

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    An extratropical storm can be seen swirling over the North Pacific just south of Alaska. This SeaWiFS image was collected yesterday at 23:20 GMT. Credit: Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

  19. Characterizations of wet mercury deposition to a remote islet (Pengjiayu) in the subtropical Northwest Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheu, Guey-Rong; Lin, Neng-Huei

    2013-10-01

    Thirty-four weekly rainwater samples were collected in 2009 at Pengjiayu, a remote islet in the subtropical Northwest (NW) Pacific Ocean, to study the distribution of rainwater mercury (Hg) concentrations and associated wet deposition fluxes. This is the first study concerning wet Hg deposition to the subtropical NW Pacific Ocean downwind of the East Asian continent, which is the major source region for Hg emissions worldwide. Sample Hg concentrations ranged from 2.25 to 22.33 ng L-1, with a volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentration of 8.85 ng L-1. The annual wet Hg deposition flux was 10.18 μg m-2, about 2.5 times the fluxes measured at sites on the Pacific coast of the USA, supporting the hypothesis that deposition is higher in the western than in the eastern Pacific. Seasonal VWM concentrations were 7.23, 11.58, 7.82, and 9.84 ng L-1, whereas seasonal wet deposition fluxes were 2.14, 3.45, 2.38, and 2.21 μg m-2, for spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively. Higher summer wet Hg deposition was a function of both higher rainwater Hg concentration and greater rainfall. The seasonal pattern of rainwater Hg concentrations was the opposite of the general seasonal pattern of the East Asian air pollutant export. Since there is no significant anthropogenic Hg emission source on the islet of Pengjiayu, the observed high summertime rainwater Hg concentration hints at the importance of Hg0 oxidation and/or scavenging of upper-altitude reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) by deep convection. Direct anthropogenic RGM emissions from the East Asian continent may not contribute significantly to the rainwater Hg concentrations, but anthropogenic Hg0 emissions could be transported to the upper troposphere or marine boundary layer (MBL) where they can be oxidized to produce RGM, which will then be effectively scavenged by cloud water and rainwater.

  20. Characteristics and Mechanisms of Zonal Oscillation of Western Pacific Subtropical High in Summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, W.; Ren, X.; Hu, H.

    2017-12-01

    The zonal oscillation of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) influences the weather and climate over East Asia significantly. This study investigates the features and mechanisms of the zonal oscillation of the WPSH during summer on subseasonal time scales. The zonal oscillation index of the WPSH is defined by normalized subseasonal geopotential height anomaly at 500hPa averaged over the WPSH's western edge (110° - 140°E, 10° - 30°N). The index shows a predominant oscillation with a period of 10-40 days. Large positive index indicates a strong anticyclonic anomaly over East Asia and its coastal region south of 30°N at both 850hPa and 500hPa. The WPSH stretches more westward accompanied by warmer SST anomalies beneath the western edge of the WPSH. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation is seen over the Yangtze-Huaihe river basin and below-normal precipitation over the south of the Yangtze River. Negative index suggests a more eastward position of WPSH. The anomalies in circulation and SST for negative index are almost the mirror image of those for the positive index. In early summer, the zonal shift of the WPSH is affected by both the East Asia/Pacific (EAP) teleconnection pattern and the Silk road pattern (SRP). The positive (negative) phase of the EAP pattern is characterized by a low-level anticyclonic (cyclonic) anomaly over the subtropical western Pacific, indicating the western extension (eastward retreat) of the WPSH. Comparing with the EAP pattern, the SRP forms an upper-level anticyclonic (cyclonic) anomaly in mid-latitudes of East Asia, and then leads to the westward (eastward) movement of the WPSH. In late summer, the zonal shift of the WPSH is mainly affected by the EAP pattern, because the EAP pattern in late summer is stronger than that in early summer. The zonal shift of the WPSH is also influenced by the subseasonal air-sea interaction locally. During the early stage of WPSH's westward stretch, the local SST anomaly in late summer is

  1. Overview of surface ozone variability in East Asia-North Pacific region during IGAC/APARE (1994--1996).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, K S; Wang, T J; Wang, T; Tang, J; Kajii, Y; Liu, C M; Shim, S G

    2004-01-01

    Surface ozone (O3) was measured at Oki Island (Japan), Cheju Island (South Korea), Lanyu Island (Taiwan Province, China), Cape D'Aguilar (Hong Kong SAR) and Lin'an, Longfenshan, Waliguan (China mainland) during January 1994--December 1996 as a component of IGAC/APARE (International Global Atmospheric Chemistry/East Asia-North Pacific Regional Experiment). This paper gave a joint discussion on the observational results at these stations over the study region. Investigations showed that the average of surface O3 mixing ratios at the seven sites are 47.9+/-15.8, 48.1+/-17.9, 30.2+/-16.4, 31.6+/-17.5, 36.3+/-17.5, 34.8+/-11.5 and 48.2+/-9.5 ppbv, respectively. Significant diurnal variations of surface O3 have been observed at Oki, Cheju, D'Aguilar, Lin'an and Longfenshan. Their annual averaged diurnal differences range from 8 to 23 ppbv and differ in each season. Surface O3 at Lanyu and Waliguan do not show strong diurnal variability. Seasonal cycles of surface O3 showed difference at the temperate and the subtropical remote sites. Oki has a summer minimum-spring maximum, while Lanyu has a summer minimum-autumn maximum. The suburban sites at D'Aguilar and Lin'an report high-level O3 in autumn and low level O3 in summer. Surface O3 remains-high in autumn and low in winter at the rural site Longfenshan. For the global background station Waliguan, surface O3 exhibits a broad spring-summer maximum and autumn-winter minimum. The backward air trajectories to these sites have shown different pathways of long-range transport of air pollution from East Asia Continent to North Pacific Ocean. Surface O3 was found to be strongly and positively correlated with CO at Oki and Lanyu, especially in spring and autumn, reflecting the substantial photochemical buildup of O3 on a regional scale. It is believed that the regional sources of pollution in East Asia have enhanced the average surface O3 concentrations in the background atmosphere of North Pacific.

  2. Decadal Variability of Total Alkalinity in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, J. N.; Carter, B. R.; Siedlecki, S. A.; Alin, S. R.; Dickson, A. G.; Feely, R. A.; Mathis, J. T.; Wanninkhof, R. H.; Macdonald, A. M.; Mecking, S.; Talley, L. D.

    2016-02-01

    Recent observations of acidification-driven shoaling of the calcium carbonate saturation horizon in the North Pacific have prompted new interest in carbonate cycling in this region, particularly related to impacts on biogenic calcification at the surface layer. Some estimates project that the impacts of OA on alkalinity cycling are beginning to emerge. Here, we present total alkalinity concentrations along a meridional transect of the North Pacific (WOCE, CLIVAR, and US GO-SHIP line P16N; 152 °W) over a period of three decades. The largest source of variability in alkalinity concentrations is related to North Pacific circulation, particularly in the surface mixed layer. Precise normalization of these data reveal some small spatial and temporal variability in the background. We explore these decadal trends in the context of decadal oscillations, ocean biogeochemical cycles, and global change processes such as ocean acidification.

  3. Changes in the influence of the western Pacific subtropical high on Asian summer monsoon rainfall in the late 1990s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yanyan; Wang, Bin; Li, Xiaofan; Wang, Huijun

    2017-10-01

    The Year-to-year variability of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) is primarily controlled by atmosphere-ocean interaction (AOI) between the WPSH and the Indo-Pacific warm pool dipole SST anomalies (AOI mode) and the anomalous SST forcing from the equatorial central Pacific (the CP forcing mode). In this study, we show that the impacts of the WPSH variability on Asian summer monsoon rainfall have changed after the late 1990s. Before the late 1990s (the PRE epoch), the WPSH primarily affects East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and had little influence on Indian summer monsoon (ISM), whereas after the late 1990s (the POST epoch), the WPSH has strengthened its linkage to the ISM while weakened its relationship with the EASM. This epochal change is associated with a change in the leading circulation mode in the Asia-WP region. During the PRE (POST) epoch the WPSH variation is mainly controlled by the AOI (CP forcing) that mainly affects EASM (ISM). The epochal change of the leading mode may be attributed to the change of the ENSO properties in late 1990s: the CP types of El Nino become a leading ENSO mode in the POST epoch. This work provides a new perspective for understanding decadal changes of the ENSO-monsoon relationship through subtropical dynamics.

  4. Conservation of native Pacific trout diversity in western North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penaluna, Brooke E.; Abadía-Cardoso, Alicia; Dunham, Jason B.; García de León, Francisco J; Gresswell, Robert E.; Luna, Arturo Ruiz; Taylor, Eric B.; Shepard, Bradley B.; Al-Chokhachy, Robert K.; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Bestgen, Kevin R.; Rogers, Kevin H.; Escalante, Marco A; Keeley, Ernest R; Temple, Gabriel; Williams, Jack E.; Matthews, Kathleen; Pierce, Ron; Mayden, Richard L.; Kovach, Ryan; Garza, John Carlos; Fausch, Kurt D.

    2016-01-01

    Pacific trout Oncorhynchus spp. in western North America are strongly valued in ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural views, and have been the subject of substantial research and conservation efforts. Despite this, the understanding of their evolutionary histories, overall diversity, and challenges to their conservation is incomplete. We review the state of knowledge on these important issues, focusing on Pacific trout in the genus Oncorhynchus. Although most research on salmonid fishes emphasizes Pacific salmon, we focus on Pacific trout because they share a common evolutionary history, and many taxa in western North America have not been formally described, particularly in the southern extent of their ranges. Research in recent decades has led to the revision of many hypotheses concerning the origin and diversification of Pacific trout throughout their range. Although there has been significant success at addressing past threats to Pacific trout, contemporary and future threats represented by nonnative species, land and water use activities, and climate change pose challenges and uncertainties. Ultimately, conservation of Pacific trout depends on how well these issues are understood and addressed, and on solutions that allow these species to coexist with a growing scope of human influences.

  5. Composite and case study analyses of the large-scale environments associated with West Pacific Polar and subtropical vertical jet superposition events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handlos, Zachary J.

    Though considerable research attention has been devoted to examination of the Northern Hemispheric polar and subtropical jet streams, relatively little has been directed toward understanding the circumstances that conspire to produce the relatively rare vertical superposition of these usually separate features. This dissertation investigates the structure and evolution of large-scale environments associated with jet superposition events in the northwest Pacific. An objective identification scheme, using NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis 1 data, is employed to identify all jet superpositions in the west Pacific (30-40°N, 135-175°E) for boreal winters (DJF) between 1979/80 - 2009/10. The analysis reveals that environments conducive to west Pacific jet superposition share several large-scale features usually associated with East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) northerly cold surges, including the presence of an enhanced Hadley Cell-like circulation within the jet entrance region. It is further demonstrated that several EAWM indices are statistically significantly correlated with jet superposition frequency in the west Pacific. The life cycle of EAWM cold surges promotes interaction between tropical convection and internal jet dynamics. Low potential vorticity (PV), high theta e tropical boundary layer air, exhausted by anomalous convection in the west Pacific lower latitudes, is advected poleward towards the equatorward side of the jet in upper tropospheric isentropic layers resulting in anomalous anticyclonic wind shear that accelerates the jet. This, along with geostrophic cold air advection in the left jet entrance region that drives the polar tropopause downward through the jet core, promotes the development of the deep, vertical PV wall characteristic of superposed jets. West Pacific jet superpositions preferentially form within an environment favoring the aforementioned characteristics regardless of EAWM seasonal strength. Post-superposition, it is shown that the west Pacific

  6. Assessment of atmospheric processes driving ozone variations in the subtropical North Atlantic free troposphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Cuevas

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available An analysis of the 22-yr ozone (O3 series (1988–2009 at the subtropical high mountain Izaña~station (IZO; 2373 m a.s.l., representative of free troposphere (FT conditions, is presented. Diurnal and seasonal O3 variations as well as the O3 trend (0.19 ± 0.05 % yr−1 or 0.09 ppbv yr−1, are assessed. A climatology of O3 transport pathways using backward trajectories shows that higher O3 values are associated with air masses travelling above 4 km altitude from North America and North Atlantic Ocean, while low O3 is transported from the Saharan continental boundary layer (CBL. O3 data have been compared with PM10, 210Pb, 7Be, potential vorticity (PV and carbon monoxide (CO. A clear negative logarithmic relationship was observed between PM10 and surface O3 for all seasons. A similar relationship was found between O3 and 210Pb. The highest daily O3 values (90th percentile are observed in spring and in the first half of summer time. A positive correlation between O3 and PV, and between O3 and 7Be is found throughout the year, indicating that relatively high surface O3 values at IZO originate from the middle and upper troposphere. We find a good correlation between O3 and CO in winter, supporting the hypothesis of long-range transport of photochemically generated O3 from North America. Aged air masses, in combination with sporadic inputs from the upper troposphere, are observed in spring, summer and autumn. In summer time high O3 values seem to be the result of stratosphere-to-troposphere (STT exchange processes in regions neighbouring the Canary Islands. Since 1995–1996, the North Atlantic Oscillation has changed from a predominantly high positive phase to alternating between negative

  7. A dipole pattern in the Indian and Pacific oceans and its relationship with the East Asian summer monsoon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, Jiayu; Feng, Juan; Li, Jianping

    2014-01-01

    This study demonstrates a robust relationship between the Indo-Pacific warm pool (IPWP) and North Pacific Ocean dipole (IPOD) and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) using observational datasets and sensitivity tests from the Community Atmosphere Model version 3.1 of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The IPOD, which is a significant pattern of boreal summer SSTA in the Indian and Pacific oceans characterized by positive (negative) sea-surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the North Pacific and negative (positive) SSTA in the IPWP, appears around May, intensifies in the following months, and weakens in September. In summers with a positive IPOD phase, the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) weakens and shrinks with the axis of the WPSH ridge moving northwards, which favours an intensified EASM and a decrease in summer rainfall in the Yangtze River valley, and vice versa. (letter)

  8. Development of the North Pacific Ocean model for the assessment of the distribution of the radioactive materials. Improvement for formation of the North Pacific intermediate water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsubono, Takaki; Misumi, Kazuhiro; Tsumune, Daisuke; Bryan, Frank

    2014-01-01

    The radioactive materials such as 137 Cs were released to the North Pacific Ocean (NP) through the major pathway; direct release from the accident site and atmospheric deposition, after the accidents at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the earthquake and tsunami. The behavior of the materials in the NP has been paid great attention after the accident. The North Pacific Model for the calculation of the distribution of radionuclides has been developed using Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The model domain is NP with an eddy-resolving grid. A series of numerical experiments conducted by models suggests that the computational diffusivity caused by the advection scheme and the topography roughness are critical in representing the separation of Kuroshio, the Kuroshio Extension, the mixed-water region between Kuroshio Extension and Oyashio front and the formation of the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW). The model requires the forth order scheme in the tracer advection and the smoothing of topography for these problems. Moreover the tidal mixing process around the straits in the North Pacific Ocean and the sea ice play important roles to reproduce the formation of lon salinity around the NPIW as well as the isopycnal mixing process represented by an eddy-resolving model. (author)

  9. Elevational and Spatial Gradients of Atmospheric Metal Pollution in the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jongebloed, U. A.; Osterberg, E. C.; Kreutz, K. J.; Ferris, D. G.; Campbell, S.; Saylor, P. L.; Winski, D.; Handley, M.

    2017-12-01

    The industrial revolution has led to a several-fold increase in the atmospheric concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids including Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Hg and As. Modern emissions inventories identify Asia as the largest emitter of many of these toxic pollutants, which are subsequently transported eastwards across the North Pacific Ocean by prevailing westerly winds in the mid-upper troposphere. Previous ice cores collected from the Yukon Territory in the eastern North Pacific reveal evolution-dependent metal pollution histories; the highest (5300 m elevation) core from Mt. Logan records a nearly pure trans-Pacific Asian pollution record, whereas cores from lower sites like the Eclipse Icefield (3017 m) record a complex combination of Asian and more local North American emission. However, it is unclear if this elevation gradient of pollution sources is found in other regions of the North Pacific. Furthermore, the previous ice core records end in the late 1990's, before efforts by some Asian nations to reduce metal pollution, and it is unknown if North Pacific atmospheric metal concentrations have declined in response to these efforts. Here we investigate metal and metalloid concentrations and sources recorded in ice core and snow pit samples recovered from a vertical transect spanning 2200 - 5242 m within Denali National Park in the Central Alaska Range. We compare these metal concentrations and crustal enrichment factors to data from the Yukon Territory to investigate North Pacific regional metal gradients. We also present preliminary results from a new 60 m ice core from the Eclipse Icefield to evaluate recent trends in metal concentrations since the end of the Mt. Logan and original Eclipse records in 1998, and compare this to the recent metal pollution history recorded in the 2013 Denali Ice Core collected from the summit plateau (3900 m) of Mt. Hunter.

  10. Deglacial upwelling, productivity and CO2 outgassing in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, William R.; Rae, James W. B.; Wills, Robert C. J.; Shevenell, Amelia E.; Taylor, Ben; Burke, Andrea; Foster, Gavin L.; Lear, Caroline H.

    2018-05-01

    The interplay between ocean circulation and biological productivity affects atmospheric CO2 levels and marine oxygen concentrations. During the warming of the last deglaciation, the North Pacific experienced a peak in productivity and widespread hypoxia, with changes in circulation, iron supply and light limitation all proposed as potential drivers. Here we use the boron-isotope composition of planktic foraminifera from a sediment core in the western North Pacific to reconstruct pH and dissolved CO2 concentrations from 24,000 to 8,000 years ago. We find that the productivity peak during the Bølling-Allerød warm interval, 14,700 to 12,900 years ago, was associated with a decrease in near-surface pH and an increase in pCO2, and must therefore have been driven by increased supply of nutrient- and CO2-rich waters. In a climate model ensemble (PMIP3), the presence of large ice sheets over North America results in high rates of wind-driven upwelling within the subpolar North Pacific. We suggest that this process, combined with collapse of North Pacific Intermediate Water formation at the onset of the Bølling-Allerød, led to high rates of upwelling of water rich in nutrients and CO2, and supported the peak in productivity. The respiration of this organic matter, along with poor ventilation, probably caused the regional hypoxia. We suggest that CO2 outgassing from the North Pacific helped to maintain high atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the Bølling-Allerød and contributed to the deglacial CO2 rise.

  11. The Effect of ENSO on Phytoplankton Composition in the Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseaux, Cecile

    2012-01-01

    The effect of climate variability on phytoplankton communities was assessed for the tropical and sub-tropical Pacific Ocean between 1998 and 2005 using an established biogeochemical assimilation model. The phytoplankton communities exhibited wide range of responses to climate variability, from radical shifts in the Equatorial Pacific, to changes of only a couple of phytoplankton groups in the North Central Pacific, to no significant changes in the South Pacific. In the Equatorial Pacific, climate variability dominated the variability of phytoplankton. Here, nitrate, chlorophyll and all but one of the 4 phytoplankton types (diatoms, cyanobacteria and coccolithophores) were strongly correlated (p less than 0.01) with the Multivariate El Nino Southern Oscillation Index (MEI). In the North Central Pacific, MEI and chlorophyll were significantly (pphytoplankton groups (chlorophytes and coccolithophores). Ocean biology in the South Pacific was not significantly correlated with MEI. During La Ni a events, diatoms increased and expanded westward along the cold tongue (correlation with MEI, r=-0.81), while cyanobacteria concentrations decreased significantly (r=0.78). El Nino produced the reverse pattern, with cyanobacteria populations increasing while diatoms plummeted. The diverse response of phytoplankton in the different major basins of the Pacific suggests the different roles climate variability can play in ocean biology.

  12. Climate Variability and Phytoplankton in the Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseaux, Cecile

    2012-01-01

    The effect of climate variability on phytoplankton communities was assessed for the tropical and sub-tropical Pacific Ocean between 1998 and 2005 using an established biogeochemical assimilation model. The phytoplankton communities exhibited wide range of responses to climate variability, from radical shifts in the Equatorial Pacific, to changes of only a couple of phytoplankton groups in the North Central Pacific, to no significant changes in the South Pacific. In the Equatorial Pacific, climate variability dominated the variability of phytoplankton. Here, nitrate, chlorophyll and all but one of the 4 phytoplankton types (diatoms, cyanobacteria and coccolithophores) were strongly correlated (pphytoplankton groups (chlorophytes and coccolithophores). Ocean biology in the South Pacific was not significantly correlated with MEI. During La Nina events, diatoms increased and expanded westward along the cold tongue (correlation with MEI, r=-0.81), while cyanobacteria concentrations decreased significantly (r=0.78). El Nino produced the reverse pattern, with cyanobacteria populations increasing while diatoms plummeted. The diverse response of phytoplankton in the different major basins of the Pacific suggests the different roles climate variability can play in ocean biology.

  13. Indicators of Marine Pollution in the North Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Tanya M; Takada, Hideshige

    2017-08-01

    The complex nature of ocean pollution underscores the utility in identifying and characterizing a limited number of "indicators" that enables scientists and managers to track trends over space and time. This paper introduces a special issue on indicators of marine pollution in the North Pacific Ocean and builds on a scientific session that was held at the North Pacific Marine Science Organization. The special issue highlights studies using a variety of indicators to provide insight into the identification of legacy and emerging contaminants, the ranking of priority pollutants from various sources, and the effects of contaminants on ecosystem health in the North Pacific Ocean. Examples include the use of mussels to illustrate spatial and temporal trends of a number of contaminants following the 2011 tsunami in Japan, the use of molecular marker (linear alkylbenzenes, hopanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) profiles to identify pollution sources, and the use of plastic resin pellets to illustrate spatial trends of petroleum pollution around the world. Stable isotopes were used to strengthen the utility of the Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) as an indicator of marine pollution. Examples also demonstrate the development and application of biomarker approaches, including gene transcripts, oxidative stress, estradiol, hatchability, and respiration and swimming behavior abnormalities, as a function of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, sulfur-diesel, Pinghu crude oil, galaxolide and antifouling biocides. We provide a brief review of indicators of marine pollution, identify research gaps, and summarize key findings from the articles published within the issue. This special issue represents the first compilation of research pertaining to marine pollution indicators in the North Pacific Ocean and provides guidance to inform mitigation and monitoring efforts of contaminants in the region.

  14. A Pacific hydrographic section at 88°W: Water-property distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuchiya, Mizuki; Talley, Lynne D.

    1998-06-01

    Full-depth conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)/hydrographic measurements with high horizontal and vertical resolution were made in February-April 1993 along a line lying at a nominal longitude of 88°W and extending from southern Chile (54°S) to Guatemala (14°N). It crossed five major deep basins (Southeast Pacific, Chile, Peru, Panama, and Guatemala basins) east of the East Pacific Rise. Vertical sections of potential temperature, salinity, potential density, oxygen, silica, phosphate, nitrate, and nitrite are presented to illustrate the structure of the entire water column. Some features of interest found in the sections are described, and an attempt is made to interpret them in terms of the isopycnal property distributions associated with the large-scale ocean circulation. These features include: various near-surface waters observed in the tropical and subtropical regions and the fronts that mark the boundaries of these waters; the possible importance of salt fingering to the downward salt transfer from the high-salinity subtropical water; a shallow thermostad (pycnostad) developed at 16°-18.5°C in the subtropical water; low-salinity surface water in the subantarctic zone west of southern Chile; large domains of extremely low oxygen in the subpycnocline layer on both sides of the equator and a secondary nitrite maximum associated with a nitrate minimum in these low-oxygen domains; high-salinity, low-oxygen, high-nutrient subpycnocline water that is carried poleward along the eastern boundary by the Peru-Chile Undercurrent; the Subantarctic Mode and Antarctic Intermediate waters; middepth isopycnal property extrema observed at the crest of the Sala y Gomez Ridge; influences of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic upon deep waters along the section; and the characteristics and sources of the bottom waters in the five deep basins along the section.

  15. Deglacial Millennial-scale Calcium Carbonate Spikes in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chikamoto, M. O.; Timmermann, A.; Harada, N.; Okazaki, Y.

    2015-12-01

    Numerous paleoproxy records from the subarctic Pacific Ocean show two very pronounced deglacial peaks in calcium carbonate content for the Heinrich 1/ Bolling-Allerod (H1-BA) transition (at 14 ka) and for the Younger Dryas/Preboreal transition (at 11 ka). Focusing on the H1-BA transition, some model simulations capture the North Pacific shift from ventilated to stratified conditions and from cooling to warming conditions via oceanic and atmospheric connections between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. To test the impact of these physical scenarios (variations in ocean stratification and temperature during the H1-BA transition) on calcite production or preservation, we conduct a series of idealized experiments using the Earth System Model Intermediate Complexity LOVECLIM. The variations in North Pacific Ocean stratification by anomalous freshwater forcing show low calcite productivity in associated with the subsurface nutrient decline. On the other hand, the rapid H1-BA warming of the North Pacific Ocean induced by anomalous heat forcing in turn increases calcite productivity due to the temperature-dependent growth rate of phytoplankton. These results suggest the possibility that the millennial-scale calcium carbonate peaks are the result of surface biogeochemical responses to the climate transition, not by the deep circulation response.

  16. Coupling between marine boundary layer clouds and summer-to-summer sea surface temperature variability over the North Atlantic and Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Timothy A.; Mechoso, Carlos R.; DeFlorio, Michael J.

    2018-02-01

    Climate modes of variability over the Atlantic and Pacific may be amplified by a positive feedback between sea-surface temperature (SST) and marine boundary layer clouds. However, it is well known that climate models poorly simulate this feedback. Does this deficiency contribute to model-to-model differences in the representation of climate modes of variability? Over both the North Atlantic and Pacific, typical summertime interannual to interdecadal SST variability exhibits horseshoe-like patterns of co-located anomalies of shortwave cloud radiative effect (CRE), low-level cloud fraction, SST, and estimated inversion strength over the subtropics and midlatitudes that are consistent with a positive cloud feedback. During winter over the midlatitudes, this feedback appears to be diminished. Models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 that simulate a weak feedback between subtropical SST and shortwave CRE produce smaller and less realistic amplitudes of summertime SST and CRE variability over the northern oceans compared to models with a stronger feedback. The change in SST amplitude per unit change in CRE amplitude among the models and observations may be understood as the temperature response of the ocean mixed layer to a unit change in radiative flux over the course of a season. These results highlight the importance of boundary layer clouds in interannual to interdecadal atmosphere-ocean variability over the northern oceans during summer. The results also suggest that deficiencies in the simulation of these clouds in coupled climate models contribute to underestimation in their simulation of summer-to-summer SST variability.

  17. 20-50-day oscillation of summer Yangtze rainfall in response to intraseasonal variations in the subtropical high over the western North Pacific and South China Sea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mao, Jiangyu; Wu, Guoxiong [Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), P.O. Box 9804, Beijing (China); Sun, Zhang [Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), P.O. Box 9804, Beijing (China); Zhejiang Meteorological Observatory, Hangzhou (China)

    2010-04-15

    The spatio-temporal variability in summer rainfall within eastern China is identified based on empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of daily rain-gauge precipitation data for the period 1979-2003. Spatial coherence of rainfall is found in the Yangtze Basin, and a wavelet transform is applied to the corresponding principal component to capture the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) of Yangtze rainfall. The ensemble mean wavelet spectrum, representing statistically significant intraseasonal variability, shows a predominant oscillation in summer Yangtze rainfall with a period of 20-50 days; a 10-20-day oscillation is pronounced during June and July. This finding suggests that the 20-50-day oscillation is a major agent in regulating summer Yangtze rainfall. Composite analyses reveal that the 20-50-day oscillation of summer Yangtze rainfall arises in response to intraseasonal variations in the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH), which in turn is modulated by a Rossby wave-like coupled circulation-convection system that propagates northward and northwestward from the equatorial western Pacific. When an anomalous cyclone associated with this Rossby wave-like system reaches the South China Sea (SCS) and Philippine Sea, the WNPSH retreats northeastward due to a reduction in local pressure. Under these conditions, strong monsoonal southwesterlies blow mainly toward the SCS-Philippine Sea, while dry conditions form in the Yangtze Basin, with a pronounced divergent flow pattern. In contrast, the movement of an anomalous anticyclone over the SCS-Philippine Sea results in the southwestward extension of the WNPSH; consequently, the tropical monsoonal southwesterlies veer to the northeast over the SCS and then converge toward the Yangtze Basin, producing wet conditions. Therefore, the 20-50-day oscillation of Yangtze rainfall is also manifest as a seesaw pattern in convective anomalies between the Yangtze Basin and the SCS-Philippine Sea. A considerable zonal

  18. 78 FR 34347 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plan for the North Pacific Right Whale

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-07

    ... and Threatened Species; Recovery Plan for the North Pacific Right Whale AGENCY: National Marine... Recovery Plan (Plan) for the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica). ADDRESSES: Electronic copies...

  19. The Variation of Tropical Cyclone Rainfall within the North Atlantic and Pacific as Observed from Satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Edward; Pierce, Harold; Adler, Robert

    1999-01-01

    Tropical cyclone monthly rainfall amounts are estimated from passive microwave satellite observations in the North Atlantic and in three equal geographical regions of the North Pacific (i.e., Western, Central, and Eastern North Pacific). These satellite-derived rainfall amounts are used to assess the impact of tropical cyclone rainfall in altering the geographical, seasonal, and inter-annual distribution of the 1987-1989, 1991-1998 North Atlantic and Pacific rainfall during June-November when tropical cyclones are most abundant. To estimate these tropical cyclone rainfall amounts, mean monthly rain rates are derived from the Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave/ Radiometer (SSM/I) observations within 444 km radius of the center of those North Atlantic and Pacific tropical cyclones that reached storm stage and greater. These rain rate observations are then multiplied by the number of hours in a given month. Mean monthly rainfall amounts are also constructed for all the other North Atlantic and Pacific raining systems during this eleven year period for the purpose of estimating the geographical distribution and intensity of rainfall contributed by non-tropical cyclone systems. Further, the combination of the non-tropical cyclone and tropical cyclone (i.e., total) rainfall is constructed to delineate the fractional amount that tropical cyclones contributed to the total North Pacific rainfall.

  20. Rising climate variability and synchrony in North Pacific ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Bryan

    2017-04-01

    Rising climate variability and synchrony in North Pacific ecosystems Evidence is growing that climate variability of the northeast Pacific Ocean has increased over the last century, culminating in such events as the record-breaking El Niño years 1983, 1998, and 2016 and the unusually persistent 2014/15 North Pacific Ocean heat wave known as "The Blob." Of particular concern is that rising variability could increase synchrony within and among North Pacific ecosystems, which could reduce the diversity of biological responses to climate (i.e. the "portfolio effect"), diminish resilience, and leave populations more prone to extirpation. To test this phenomenon, we use a network of multidecadal fish otolith growth-increment chronologies that were strongly correlated to records of winter (Jan-Mar) sea level. These biological and physical datasets spanned the California Current through the Gulf of Alaska. Synchrony was quantified as directional changes in running (31-year window) mean pairwise correlation within sea level and then within otolith time series. Synchrony in winter sea level at the nine stations with the longest records has increased by more than 40% over the 1950-2015 interval. Likewise, synchrony among the eight longest otolith chronologies has increased more than 100% over a comparable time period. These directional changes in synchrony are highly unlikely due to chance alone, as confirmed by comparing trends in observed data to those in simulated data (n = 10,000 iterations) with time series of identical number, length, and autocorrelation. Ultimately, this trend in rising synchrony may be linked to increased impacts of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on mid-latitude ecosystems of North America, and may therefore reflect a much broader, global-scale signature.

  1. The isotopic signature of fallout plutonium in the North Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buesseler, K.O.

    1997-01-01

    Plutonium analyses of a dated coral record from the French Frigate Shoals in the central North Pacific indicate that there are two major sources of Pu in this basin: close-in (tropospheric) fallout from nuclear weapons testing at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands in the 1950s and global (stratospheric) fallout which peaked in 1962. Furthermore, the 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratio of fallout from the Pacific Proving Grounds is characteristically higher (0.24) than that of global fallout Pu (0.18-0.19). Seawater and sediment samples from the North Pacific exhibit a wide range of 240 Pu/ 239 Pu values (0.19-0.34), with a trend towards higher ratios in the subsurface waters and sediment. Deep water 240 Pu/ 239 Pu ratios are higher in the vicinity of the Marshall Islands relative to stations further from this close-in fallout source. These preliminary data suggest that fallout Pu from the Pacific Proving Grounds is more rapidly removed from the surface waters than is global fallout Pu. Plutonium geochemistry appears to be related to the physical/chemical form of Pu-bearing particles generated by different fallout sources. (author)

  2. Numbers of Calling Whales in the North Pacific

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Watkins, William

    2001-01-01

    Since November 1995, the U.S. Navy's Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) and other hydrophone arrays were used to regularly sample the occurrence of whale sounds in four regions bordering the continental margins across the North Pacific...

  3. Northern North Pacific Regional Climatology (NCEI Accession 0156768)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Northern North Pacific (NNP) plays a significant role in long-term earth and ocean climate change. It is also a region of high importance for regional marine...

  4. 50 CFR 226.215 - Critical habitat for the North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica). 226.215 Section 226.215 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE... DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITAT § 226.215 Critical habitat for the North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica). (a) Primary Constituent Elements. The primary constituent elements of the North Pacific right whale...

  5. Relationship of boreal summer 10-20-day and 30-60-day intraseasonal oscillation intensity over the tropical western North Pacific to tropical Indo-Pacific SST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Renguang; Cao, Xi

    2017-06-01

    The present study contrasts interannual variations in the intensity of boreal summer 10-20-day and 30-60-day intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) over the tropical western North Pacific and their factors. A pronounced difference is found in the relationship of the two ISOs to El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The 10-20-day ISO intensity is enhanced during El Niño developing summer, whereas the 30-60-day ISO intensity is enhanced during La Niña decaying summer. The above different relationship is interpreted as follows. The equatorial central and eastern Pacific SST anomalies modify vertical wind shear, lower-level moisture, and vertical motion in a southeast-northwest oriented band from the equatorial western Pacific to the tropical western North Pacific where the 10-20-day ISOs originate and propagate. These background field changes modulate the amplitude of 10-20-day ISOs. Preceding equatorial central and eastern Pacific SST anomalies induce SST anomalies in the North Indian Ocean in summer, which in turn modify vertical wind shear and vertical motion over the tropical western North Pacific. The modified background fields influence the amplitude of the 30-60-day ISOs when they reach the tropical western North Pacific from the equatorial region. A feedback of ISO intensity on local SST change is identified in the tropical western North Pacific likely due to a net effect of ISOs on surface heat flux anomalies. This feedback is more prominent from the 10-20-day than the 30-60-day ISO intensity change.

  6. Impact of the Winter North Pacific Oscillation on the Surface Air Temperature over Eurasia and North America: Sensitivity to the Index Definition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shangfeng; Song, Linye

    2018-06-01

    This study analyzes the impact of the winter North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) on the surface air temperature (SAT) variations over Eurasia and North America based on six different NPO indices. Results show that the influences of the winter NPO on the SAT over Eurasia and North America are sensitive to the definition of the NPO index. The impact of the winter NPO on the SAT variations over Eurasia (North America) is significant (insignificant) when the anticyclonic anomaly associated with the NPO index over the North Pacific midlatitudes shifts westward and pronounced northerly wind anomalies appear around Lake Baikal. By contrast, the impact of the winter NPO on the SAT variations over Eurasia (North America) is insignificant (significant) when the anticyclonic anomaly over the North Pacific related to the NPO index shifts eastward and the associated northerly wind anomalies to its eastern flank extend to North America. The present study suggests that the NPO definition should be taken into account when analyzing the impact of the winter NPO on Eurasian and North American SAT variations.

  7. North Pacific Process Study (JGOFS) (NODC Accession 0001873)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NPPS Data Set is comprised of JGOFS data set obtained during the JGOFS NPPS as well as the JGOFS related data sets in the North Pacific. All of these data were...

  8. Contribution of Tropical Cyclones to the North Pacific Climatological Rainfall as Observed from Satellites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Edward B.; Adler, Robert F.; Pierce, Harold F.

    2000-10-01

    Tropical cyclone monthly rainfall amounts are estimated from passive microwave satellite observations for an 11-yr period. These satellite-derived rainfall amounts are used to assess the impact of tropical cyclone rainfall in altering the geographical, seasonal, and interannual distribution of the North Pacific Ocean total rainfall during June-November when tropical cyclones are most important.To estimate these tropical cyclone rainfall amounts, mean monthly rain rates are derived from passive microwave satellite observations within 444-km radius of the center of those North Pacific tropical cyclones that reached storm stage and greater. These rain-rate observations are converted to monthly rainfall amounts and then compared with those for nontropical cyclone systems.The main results of this study indicate that 1) tropical cyclones contribute 7% of the rainfall to the entire domain of the North Pacific during the tropical cyclone season and 12%, 3%, and 4% when the study area is limited to, respectively, the western, central, and eastern third of the ocean; 2) the maximum tropical cyclone rainfall is poleward (5°-10° latitude depending on longitude) of the maximum nontropical cyclone rainfall; 3) tropical cyclones contribute a maximum of 30% northeast of the Philippine Islands and 40% off the lower Baja California coast; 4) in the western North Pacific, the tropical cyclone rainfall lags the total rainfall by approximately two months and shows seasonal latitudinal variation following the Intertropical Convergence Zone; and 5) in general, tropical cyclone rainfall is enhanced during the El Niño years by warm SSTs in the eastern North Pacific and by the monsoon trough in the western and central North Pacific.

  9. The isotopic signature of fallout plutonium in the North Pacific

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buesseler, K.O. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (United States)

    1997-07-01

    Plutonium analyses of a dated coral record from the French Frigate Shoals in the central North Pacific indicate that there are two major sources of Pu in this basin: close-in (tropospheric) fallout from nuclear weapons testing at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands in the 1950s and global (stratospheric) fallout which peaked in 1962. Furthermore, the {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratio of fallout from the Pacific Proving Grounds is characteristically higher (0.24) than that of global fallout Pu (0.18-0.19). Seawater and sediment samples from the North Pacific exhibit a wide range of {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu values (0.19-0.34), with a trend towards higher ratios in the subsurface waters and sediment. Deep water {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu ratios are higher in the vicinity of the Marshall Islands relative to stations further from this close-in fallout source. These preliminary data suggest that fallout Pu from the Pacific Proving Grounds is more rapidly removed from the surface waters than is global fallout Pu. Plutonium geochemistry appears to be related to the physical/chemical form of Pu-bearing particles generated by different fallout sources. (author).

  10. 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).

  11. CCSM3 simulation of pacific multi-decadal climate variability: the role of subpolar North Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong, Y; Liu, Z

    2008-01-01

    Previous analyses of the CCSM3 standard integration have revealed pronounced multidecadal variability in the Pacific climate system. The purpose of the present work is to investigate the physical mechanism underlying the Pacific multidecadal variability (PMV) using specifically designed sensitivity experiments. A novel mechanism is advanced, characterized by a crucial role of the subpolar North Pacific Ocean. The multidecadal signal in ocean temperature and salinity fields is found to originate from the subsurface of the subpolar North Pacific, as result of the wave adjustment to the preceding basin-scale wind curl forcing. The multidecadal signal then ascends to the surface and is amplified through local temperature/salinity convective feedback. Along the southward Oyashio current, the anomaly travels to the Kuroshio Extension (KOE) region and is further intensified through a similar convective feedback in addition to the wind-evaporation-sea surface temperature feedback. The temperature anomaly in the KOE is able to feed back to the large-scale atmospheric circulation, inducing wind curl anomaly over the subpolar region, which in turn generates anomalous oceanic circulation and causes temperature/salinty variability in the subpolar subsurface. Thereby, a closed loop of PMV is established, in the form of a subpolar delayed oscillator

  12. Evolutionary of history of North Pacific Humpback Whales

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verkuil, Yvonne; Bérubé, Martine; Urban-R, Jorge; Darling, J; Mattila, David; Yamaguchi, M; Pastene, Luis A.; Palsboll, Per

    North Pacific Humpback Whales breed on winter grounds at Hawaii, Mexico and Okinawa, and summer on feeding grounds in northern Temperate and sub-Arctic waters. Re-sighting records of photographically identified individual humpback whales suggest that breeding grounds are not isolated. Later genetic

  13. Impacts of Interannual Ocean Circulation Variability on Japanese Eel Larval Migration in the Western North Pacific Ocean.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Lin Chang

    Full Text Available The Japanese eel larvae hatch near the West Mariana Ridge seamount chain and travel through the North Equatorial Current (NEC, the Kuroshio, and the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC region during their shoreward migration toward East Asia. The interannual variability of circulation over the subtropical and tropical regions of the western North Pacific Ocean is affected by the Philippines-Taiwan Oscillation (PTO. This study examines the effect of the PTO on the Japanese eel larval migration routes using a three-dimensional (3D particle tracking method, including vertical and horizontal swimming behavior. The 3D circulation and hydrography used for particle tracking are from the ocean circulation reanalysis produced by the Japan Coastal Ocean Predictability Experiment 2 (JCOPE2. Our results demonstrate that bifurcation of the NEC and the strength and spatial variation of the Kuroshio affect the distribution and migration of eel larvae. During the positive phase of PTO, more virtual eels ("v-eels" can enter the Kuroshio to reach the south coast of Japan and more v-eels reach the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait; the stronger and more offshore swing of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea leads to fewer eels entering the East China Sea and the onshore movement of the Kuroshio to the south of Japan brings the eels closer to the Japanese coast. Significant differences in eel migration routes and distributions regulated by ocean circulation in different PTO phases can also affect the otolith increment. The estimated otolith increment suggests that eel age tends to be underestimated after six months of simulation due to the cooler lower layer temperature. Underestimation is more significant in the positive PTO years due to the wide distribution in higher latitudes than in the negative PTO years.

  14. Impacts of Interannual Ocean Circulation Variability on Japanese Eel Larval Migration in the Western North Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yu-Lin; Sheng, Jinyu; Ohashi, Kyoko; Béguer-Pon, Mélanie; Miyazawa, Yasumasa

    2015-01-01

    The Japanese eel larvae hatch near the West Mariana Ridge seamount chain and travel through the North Equatorial Current (NEC), the Kuroshio, and the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) region during their shoreward migration toward East Asia. The interannual variability of circulation over the subtropical and tropical regions of the western North Pacific Ocean is affected by the Philippines-Taiwan Oscillation (PTO). This study examines the effect of the PTO on the Japanese eel larval migration routes using a three-dimensional (3D) particle tracking method, including vertical and horizontal swimming behavior. The 3D circulation and hydrography used for particle tracking are from the ocean circulation reanalysis produced by the Japan Coastal Ocean Predictability Experiment 2 (JCOPE2). Our results demonstrate that bifurcation of the NEC and the strength and spatial variation of the Kuroshio affect the distribution and migration of eel larvae. During the positive phase of PTO, more virtual eels ("v-eels") can enter the Kuroshio to reach the south coast of Japan and more v-eels reach the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait; the stronger and more offshore swing of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea leads to fewer eels entering the East China Sea and the onshore movement of the Kuroshio to the south of Japan brings the eels closer to the Japanese coast. Significant differences in eel migration routes and distributions regulated by ocean circulation in different PTO phases can also affect the otolith increment. The estimated otolith increment suggests that eel age tends to be underestimated after six months of simulation due to the cooler lower layer temperature. Underestimation is more significant in the positive PTO years due to the wide distribution in higher latitudes than in the negative PTO years.

  15. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Daily Pacific North American Index

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Pacific-North American pattern (PNA) is one of the leading teleconnection patterns in the Northern Hemisphere circulation. It is calculated as a Rotated...

  16. Observation-based estimate of the Fukushima radionuclide in the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Sachiko; Jayne, Steven; Macdonald, Alison; Buesseler, Ken; Rypina, Irina

    2014-05-01

    Contaminated waters from Fukushima nuclear power plant (FNPP) were discharged directly into the North Pacific Ocean in March 2011. Coastal current system in this region and time scale of the water exchange with the open ocean is not well understood, however both observational evidence and numerical model simulation results indicate relatively rapid advection of contaminants eastward into the highly energetic mixed water region in the confluence of the Kuroshio and Oyashio. Surface drifters deployed near the FNPP in early summer 2011 show trajectories crossing the North Pacific generally following the large scale ocean circulation after one year. Previously obtained cesium (Cs) samples from multiple cruises near FNPP and off shore region between 2011 and 2013 are collected and evaluated to diagnose the propagating Cs signal crossing North Pacific Ocean. In this presentation, we use radionuclides of Fukushima origin as a tracer to understand the North Pacific circulation and mixing process after two years of release. Large numbers of the observation are repeatedly took place near shore where Cs shows still relatively higher about 10-30 Bq/m3 in 2013. Temperature-salinity (T-S) properties for the available hydrographic data indicate that the majority of the samples were obtained in the region where the water is highly influenced by the warm-salty Kuroshio origin water. Depth profiles of 35N section in March-May 2013 cruise of the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability and Carbon (CLIVAR) repeat Hydrography sections are examined to track the radionuclide penetration into the subsurface ocean and the subduction pathways along isopycnal surfaces. Available large drifter datasets that accumulated over decades of field work can guide us in estimating the spread of these radionuclides. By applying an innovative statistical analysis to the drifter data, we investigate the spreading of radionuclides in the Pacific Ocean over 5-year time scales.

  17. AFSC/NMML: North Pacific Right Whale Photo-ID Catalog

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The eastern population of the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) is the most endangered stock of whales in the world, with recent abundance estimates...

  18. Weak Thermocline Mixing in the North Pacific Low-Latitude Western Boundary Current System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhiyu; Lian, Qiang; Zhang, Fangtao; Wang, Lei; Li, Mingming; Bai, Xiaolin; Wang, Jianing; Wang, Fan

    2017-10-01

    Despite its potential importance in the global climate system, mixing properties of the North Pacific low-latitude western boundary current system (LLWBC) remained unsampled until very recently. We report here on the first measurements of turbulence microstructure associated with these currents, made in the western boundary region of the tropical North Pacific east of the Philippines. The results suggest that thermocline mixing in the North Pacific LLWBC is generally weak with the diapycnal diffusivity κρ˜O(10-6) m2 s-1. This is consistent with predictions from internal wave-wave interaction theory that mixing due to internal wave breaking is significantly reduced at low latitudes. Enhanced mixing is found to be associated with a permanent cyclonic eddy, the Mindanao Eddy, but mainly at its south and north flanks. There, κρ is elevated by an order of magnitude due to eddy-induced geostrophic shear. Mixing in the eddy core is at the background level with no indication of enhancement.

  19. Ocean-Atmosphere CO2 Fluxes in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre: Association with Biochemical and Physical Factors during Spring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Macarena Burgos

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2 was measured continuously in a transect of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (18.1° N, 68.5° W and Vigo, Spain (41.9° N, 11.8° W during spring 2011. Additional biogeochemical and physical variables measured to identify factors controlling the surface pCO2 were analyzed in discrete samples collected at 16 sites along the transect at the surface and to a depth of 200 m. Sea surface pCO2 varied between 309 and 662 μatm, and showed differences between the western and eastern subtropical gyre. The subtropical gyre acted as a net CO2 sink, with a mean flux of −5.5 ± 2.2 mmol m−2 day−1. The eastern part of the transect, close to the North Atlantic Iberian upwelling off the Galician coast, was a CO2 source with an average flux of 33.5 ± 9.0 mmol m−2 day−1. Our results highlight the importance of making more surface pCO2 observations in the area located east of the Azores Islands since air-sea CO2 fluxes there are poorly studied.

  20. Northern fulmars as biological monitors of trends of plastic pollution in the eastern North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avery-Gomm, Stephanie; O'Hara, Patrick D; Kleine, Lydia; Bowes, Victoria; Wilson, Laurie K; Barry, Karen L

    2012-09-01

    Marine plastic debris is a global issue, which highlights the need for internationally standardized methods of monitoring plastic pollution. The stomach contents of beached northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) have proven a cost-effective biomonitor in Europe. However, recent information on northern fulmar plastic ingestion is lacking in the North Pacific. We quantified the stomach contents of 67 fulmars from beaches in the eastern North Pacific in 2009-2010 and found that 92.5% of fulmars had ingested an average of 36.8 pieces, or 0.385 g of plastic. Plastic ingestion in these fulmars is among the highest recorded globally. Compared to earlier studies in the North Pacific, our findings indicate an increase in plastic ingestion over the past 40 years. This study substantiates the use of northern fulmar as biomonitors of plastic pollution in the North Pacific and suggests that the high levels of plastic pollution in this region warrant further monitoring. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. AFSC/RACE/GAP/Conrath: Delayed discard mortality of the North Pacific giant octopus

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The majority of octopus bycatch occurs in Pacific cod pot fisheries and recent data collected by North Pacific Groundfish Observers indicate that immediate mortality...

  2. Recent Progresses in Impacts of Indo-Western Pacific Ocean on East Asian Monsoon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jianping

    2016-04-01

    Some progresses in impacts of Western Pacific Ocean (WPO) on East Asian monsoon and stratosphere climate are reviewed from the following aspects. (1) Impact of the IPOD (a cross-basin dipole pattern of SSTA variability between the Indo-Pacific warm pool (IPWP) and North Pacific Ocean) on the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM).The IPOD exhibits a considerable correlation with the EASM. In summers with a positive IPOD phase, the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) weakens and shrinks with WPSH ridge moving northwards, which favours an intensified EASM and a decrease in summer rainfall in the Yangtze River valley, and vice versa. (2) TheIndo-Western Pacific convection oscillation (IPCO),which is an out-of-phase fluctuation in convection anomalies between the north Indian Ocean and the western North Pacific region,is closely related to the EASM.Negative IPCO phases, which exhibit an enhanced convection over the north Indian Ocean and a suppressed convection over the western North Pacific, favor a weakened EASM and an increase of summer rainfall in the Yangtze River valley with the joint actions of the stronger than normal Ural and Okhotsk blocking highs and the subtropical western Pacific high, and vice versa.(3) Asymmetric influence of the two types of ENSO on summer rainfall in China. The two types of ENSO have asymmetric impacts on summer rainfall over the Yangtze River Valley. The relation between summer rainfall over this valley and the cold tongue (CT) El Niño is significantly positive, while the relation with the CT La Niña is not significant. The negative phase of the warm pool (WP) ENSO has a significant positive influence, whereas no significant relation with the positive phase. They indicated that this asymmetric response of the EASM is likely to be linked to the different spatial patterns of the two types of ENSO.(4) Linkage between recent winter precipitation increase in the middle-lower Yangtze River valley (MLY) since the late 1970s andwarming in the

  3. Present and future connection of Asian-Pacific Oscillation to large-scale atmospheric circulations and East Asian rainfall: results of CMIP5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Botao; Xu, Ying; Shi, Ying

    2018-01-01

    The summer Asian-Pacific oscillation (APO), one of the major modes of climate variability over the Asian-Pacific sector, has a pronounced effect on variations of large-scale atmospheric circulations and climate. This study evaluated the capability of 30 state-of-the-art climate models among the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) in simulating its association with the atmospheric circulations over the Asian-Pacific region and the precipitation over East Asia. Furthermore, their future connections under the RCP8.5 scenario were examined. The evaluation results show that 5 out of 30 climate models can well capture the observed APO-related features in a comprehensive way, including the strengthened South Asian high (SAH), deepened North Pacific trough (NPT) and northward East Asian jet (EAJ) in the upper troposphere; an intensification of the Asian low and the North Pacific subtropical high (NPSH) as well as a northward shift of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) in the lower troposphere; and a decrease in East Asian summer rainfall (EASR) under the positive APO phase. Based on the five CMIP5 models' simulations, the dynamic linkages of the APO to the SAH, NPT, AL, and NPSH are projected to maintain during the second half of the twenty-first century. However, its connection with the EASR tends to reduce significantly. Such a reduction might result from the weakening of the linkage of the APO to the meridional displacement of the EAJ and WPSH as a response to the warming scenario.

  4. Rapid shift and millennial-scale variations in Holocene North Pacific Intermediate Water ventilation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lembke-Jene, Lester; Tiedemann, Ralf; Nürnberg, Dirk; Gong, Xun; Lohmann, Gerrit

    2018-05-22

    The Pacific hosts the largest oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the world ocean, which are thought to intensify and expand under future climate change, with significant consequences for marine ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, and fisheries. At present, no deep ventilation occurs in the North Pacific due to a persistent halocline, but relatively better-oxygenated subsurface North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) mitigates OMZ development in lower latitudes. Over the past decades, instrumental data show decreasing oxygenation in NPIW; however, long-term variations in middepth ventilation are potentially large, obscuring anthropogenic influences against millennial-scale natural background shifts. Here, we use paleoceanographic proxy evidence from the Okhotsk Sea, the foremost North Pacific ventilation region, to show that its modern oxygenated pattern is a relatively recent feature, with little to no ventilation before six thousand years ago, constituting an apparent Early-Middle Holocene (EMH) threshold or "tipping point." Complementary paleomodeling results likewise indicate a warmer, saltier EMH NPIW, different from its modern conditions. During the EMH, the Okhotsk Sea switched from a modern oxygenation source to a sink, through a combination of sea ice loss, higher water temperatures, and remineralization rates, inhibiting ventilation. We estimate a strongly decreased EMH NPIW oxygenation of ∼30 to 50%, and increased middepth Pacific nutrient concentrations and carbon storage. Our results ( i ) imply that under past or future warmer-than-present conditions, oceanic biogeochemical feedback mechanisms may change or even switch direction, and ( ii ) provide constraints on the high-latitude North Pacific's influence on mesopelagic ventilation dynamics, with consequences for large oceanic regions. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  5. Analysis of longitudinal variations in North Pacific alkalinity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fry, C.; Tyrrell, T.; Achterberg, E. P.

    2016-02-01

    Carbon measurements in the ocean lack the coverage of physical measurements, so approximate alkalinity is predicted where data is unavailable. Surface alkalinity in the North Pacific is poorly characterised by predictive algorithms. Understanding the processes affecting alkalinity in this area can improve the equations. We investigated the causes of regional variations in alkalinity using GLODAPv2. We tested different hypotheses for the causes of three longitudinal phenomena in surface ocean values of Alk*, a tracer of calcium carbonate cycling. These phenomena are: (a) an increase in Alk* from east to west at 50°N, (b) an increase in Alk* from west to east at 30°N, and (c) a lack of a strong increase in Alk* from west to east in the equatorial upwelling area. We found that the most likely cause of higher Alk* on the western side of the subpolar North Pacific (at 50°N) is that denser isopycnals with higher Alk* lie at shallower depths on the western side than the eastern side. At 30°N, the main cause of higher Alk* on the eastern side of the basin is upwelling along the continental shelf of southwestern North America. Along the equator, our analyses suggest that the absence of a strong east-west trend is because the more intense upwelling on the eastern side of the basin does not, under normal conditions, lead to strong elevation of Alk*. However, surface Alk* is more strongly elevated in the eastern Equatorial Pacific during negative phases of the El-Nino-Southern Oscillation, probably because the upwelled water comes from greater depth at these times.

  6. North America and Asia Pacific LNG markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pirie, J.D.

    1997-01-01

    The liquefied natural gas (LNG) export opportunities in the Asia Pacific market were reviewed. Some of the differences that affect a North American LNG projects compared to more typical LNG projects were also outlined. The two main aspects of the LNG market in North America include the establishment of LNG import terminals on the east and southern coasts of the United States and the development of export oriented LNG projects. The Pac-Rim LNG project calls for initial delivery to South Korea of 4.0 MTPA by the end of 2000. A large LNG project has also been proposed for the year 2005 which would use Prudhoe Bay gas. Generally, in North America, there is little use for large scale LNG import projects because of the vast pipeline network that delivers gas reliably and at low cost anywhere in North America. However, LNG remains a good alternative for the Asia Pacific region because of the lack of a pipeline network. Also, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the three main centers for LNG demand, have no domestic energy supplies and rely on imported energy sources. China is another major market opportunity for LNG. The Pac-Rim LNG project differs from others of its kind in that usually, an LNG project is based on the availability of large reservoirs of natural gas owned by state governments and involves production agreements with multi-national oil and gas companies. This scenario is simply not possible in Canada's deregulated environment. In contrast, the existence of upstream facilities, technical expertise, and low capital costs, hence reduced risks and time to develop an LNG project, gives Canada significant advantages. 3 tabs., 3 figs

  7. 77 FR 47356 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Essential Fish Habitat Amendments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-08

    ...-XA500 North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Essential Fish Habitat Amendments AGENCY: National... Pacific Fishery Management Council submitted the following essential fish habitat (EFH) amendments to NMFS... Scallop Fishery off Alaska; and Amendment 1 to the FMP for Fish Resources of the Arctic Management Area...

  8. Temporal variation of 137Cs water column inventory in the North Pacific since the 1960s

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoyama, M.; Hirose, K.

    2003-01-01

    The temporal variation of water column inventories of 137 Cs in the North Pacific since the 1960s was examined based on the analysis of the 137 Cs profiles in HAM database. 137 Cs in seawater in the North Pacific have originated mainly from global fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, which occurred in the early 1960s. In the 1960s, both the meridional distribution of 137 Cs inventory in the North Pacific and that of fallout on land stations showed mid-latitude maximum. The region with higher deposition at land stations, however, was more northern than the latitudes where the 137 Cs inventory in the North Pacific showed a maximum. The difference of the latitude where maximum 137 Cs deposition/inventory was observed reflects the difference of the geographical distribution of the precipitation amount in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans followed by the different warm current systems in each ocean. A good positive relation between 137 Cs inventory and annual precipitation amount was discovered in the ocean stations at the middle latitude in the North Pacific. The horizontal distribution of 137 Cs inventories at the middle latitudes in the North Pacific is characterized as west-high and east-low in the early 1960s, which was basically controlled by the distribution of annual precipitation amount. Eastward advection, then, modified it to be less difference in 1966-1967 after the highest deposition periods in 1963-1965. In the 1970s and 1980s, increases of the 137 Cs inventory at the lower latitude of 10-20 deg. N are found. Surface and subsurface southward transports are considered as the source of this increasing 137 Cs inventory

  9. A database of paleoceanographic sediment cores from the North Pacific, 1951-2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borreggine, Marisa; Myhre, Sarah E.; Mislan, K. Allison S.; Deutsch, Curtis; Davis, Catherine V.

    2017-09-01

    We assessed sediment coring, data acquisition, and publications from the North Pacific (north of 30° N) from 1951 to 2016. There are 2134 sediment cores collected by American, French, Japanese, Russian, and international research vessels across the North Pacific (including the Pacific subarctic gyre, Alaskan gyre, Japan margin, and California margin; 1391 cores), the Sea of Okhotsk (271 cores), the Bering Sea (123 cores), and the Sea of Japan (349 cores) reported here. All existing metadata associated with these sediment cores are documented here, including coring date, location, core number, cruise number, water depth, vessel metadata, and coring technology. North Pacific sediment core age models are built with isotope stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, magnetostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, tephrochronology, % opal, color, and lithological proxies. Here, we evaluate the iterative generation of each published age model and provide comprehensive documentation of the dating techniques used, along with sedimentation rates and age ranges. We categorized cores according to the availability of a variety of proxy evidence, including biological (e.g., benthic and planktonic foraminifera assemblages), geochemical (e.g., major trace element concentrations), isotopic (e.g., bulk sediment nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon isotopes), and stratigraphic (e.g., preserved laminations) proxies. This database is a unique resource to the paleoceanographic and paleoclimate communities and provides cohesive accessibility to sedimentary sequences, age model development, and proxies. The data set is publicly available through PANGAEA at PANGAEA.875998" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.875998.

  10. Anomalous western Pacific subtropical high during El Niño developing summer in comparison with decaying summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Feng; Dong, Xiao; Fan, Fangxing

    2018-03-01

    The anomalous behavior of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) in El Niño developing summer is studied based on the composite results of eight major El Niño events during 1979-2013. It is shown that the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards with weak intensity during the developing summer. The anomaly exhibits an intraseasonal variation with a weaker anomaly in June and July and a stronger anomaly in August, indicating that different underlying physical mechanisms may be responsible for the anomalous WPSH during early and late summer periods. In June and July, owing to the cold advection anomaly characterized as a weak northerly anomaly from high latitudes, geopotential height in East Asia is reduced and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards slightly. By contrast, enhanced convection over the warm pool in August makes the atmosphere more sensitive to El Niño forcing. Consequently, a cyclonic anomaly in the western Pacific is induced, which is consistent with the seasonal march of atmospheric circulation from July to August. Accordingly, geopotential height in the western Pacific is reduced significantly, and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards remarkably in August. Different from the developing summer, geopotential height in the decaying summer over East Asia and the western Pacific tends to enhance and extend northwards from June to August consistently, reaching the maximum anomaly in August. Therefore, the seasonal march plays an important role in the WPSH anomaly for both the developing and decaying summer.

  11. A change in the relationship between tropical central Pacific SST variability and the extratropical atmosphere around 1990

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Jin-Yi; Kim, Seon Tae; Lu, Mong-Ming

    2012-01-01

    A newly released reanalysis dataset covering the period 1979–2009 is analyzed to show that the sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the tropical central Pacific is more closely related to the SST variability in the tropical eastern Pacific before 1990 but more closely related to sea level pressure (SLP) variations associated with the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) after 1990. Only during the period after 1990 can the NPO excite large SST variability in the tropical central Pacific. Related to this change, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) SST anomalies tend to spread from the eastern to central tropical Pacific before 1990 in a pattern resembling that associated with the Eastern Pacific (EP) type of ENSO, but are more closely connected to SST variability in the subtropical north Pacific after 1990 with a pattern resembling that of the Central Pacific (CP) type of ENSO. This study concludes that the increased influence of the NPO on the tropical Pacific is a likely reason for the increasing occurrence of the CP type of ENSO since 1990. An analysis of the mean atmospheric circulation during these two periods suggests that the increased NPO influence is associated with a strengthening Hadley circulation after 1990. (letter)

  12. Multiple nutrient stresses at intersecting Pacific Ocean biomes detected by protein biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Mak A; McIlvin, Matthew R; Moran, Dawn M; Goepfert, Tyler J; DiTullio, Giacomo R; Post, Anton F; Lamborg, Carl H

    2014-09-05

    Marine primary productivity is strongly influenced by the scarcity of required nutrients, yet our understanding of these nutrient limitations is informed by experimental observations with sparse geographical coverage and methodological limitations. We developed a quantitative proteomic method to directly assess nutrient stress in high-light ecotypes of the abundant cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus across a meridional transect in the central Pacific Ocean. Multiple peptide biomarkers detected widespread and overlapping regions of nutritional stress for nitrogen and phosphorus in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and iron in the equatorial Pacific. Quantitative protein analyses demonstrated simultaneous stress for these nutrients at biome interfaces. This application of proteomic biomarkers to diagnose ocean metabolism demonstrated Prochlorococcus actively and simultaneously deploying multiple biochemical strategies for low-nutrient conditions in the oceans. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  13. Subtropical westerly jet waveguide and winter persistent heavy rainfall in south China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Feng; Li, Chun

    2017-07-01

    Using observed daily precipitation and National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data, what induced winter large spatial persistent heavy rainfall (PHR) events in south China was examined, based on composite analyses of 30 large spatial PHR events during 1951-2015. The results showed that wave trains within North Africa-Asia (NAA) westerly jet existed in upper troposphere during these PHR processes. The wave trains shared the characteristic of a Rossby wave. The Rossby wave originated from northwest Europe, entered into the NAA jet through strong cold air advection to form convergence over the Mediterranean, and then propagated eastward along subtropical NAA jet. The Rossby wave propagated toward Southeast Asia and caused strong divergence in the upper troposphere. The strong divergence in the upper troposphere induced vertical convection and favored large spatial PHR events in south China. In addition, the enhanced India-Burma trough and subtropical high in the northwestern Pacific supplied enough water vapor transportation. This mechanism would be useful to the medium-range forecast of such winter rainfall processes over south China.

  14. Constraining recent lead pollution sources in the North Pacific using ice core stable lead isotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, B. H.; Kreutz, K. J.; Osterberg, E. C.; McConnell, J. R.; Handley, M.; Wake, C. P.; Yalcin, K.

    2012-08-01

    Trends and sources of lead (Pb) aerosol pollution in the North Pacific rim of North America from 1850 to 2001 are investigated using a high-resolution (subannual to annual) ice core record recovered from Eclipse Icefield (3017 masl; St. Elias Mountains, Canada). Beginning in the early 1940s, increasing Pb concentration at Eclipse Icefield occurs coevally with anthropogenic Pb deposition in central Greenland, suggesting that North American Pb pollution may have been in part or wholly responsible in both regions. Isotopic ratios (208Pb/207Pb and 206Pb/207Pb) from 1970 to 2001 confirm that a portion of the Pb deposited at Eclipse Icefield is anthropogenic, and that it represents a variable mixture of East Asian (Chinese and Japanese) emissions transported eastward across the Pacific Ocean and a North American component resulting from transient meridional atmospheric flow. Based on comparison with source material Pb isotope ratios, Chinese and North American coal combustion have likely been the primary sources of Eclipse Icefield Pb over the 1970-2001 time period. The Eclipse Icefield Pb isotope composition also implies that the North Pacific mid-troposphere is not directly impacted by transpolar atmospheric flow from Europe. Annually averaged Pb concentrations in the Eclipse Icefield ice core record show no long-term trend during 1970-2001; however, increasing208Pb/207Pb and decreasing 206Pb/207Pb ratios reflect the progressive East Asian industrialization and increase in Asian pollutant outflow. The post-1970 decrease in North American Pb emissions is likely necessary to explain the Eclipse Icefield Pb concentration time series. When compared with low (lichen) and high (Mt. Logan ice core) elevation Pb data, the Eclipse ice core record suggests a gradual increase in pollutant deposition and stronger trans-Pacific Asian contribution with rising elevation in the mountains of the North Pacific rim.

  15. 78 FR 78824 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-27

    ...-17 at the Hilton Hotel, 500 West Third Avenue, Katmai/King Salmon, Anchorage, AK. DATES: The workshop... Anchorage Hilton Hotel, 500 West Third Avenue, Anchorage, AK. Council address: North Pacific Fishery...

  16. Organic carbon budget for the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre: major role of DOC in mesopelagic respiration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santana-Falcón, Yeray; Álvarez-Salgado, Xosé Antón; Pérez-Hernández, María Dolores; Hernández-Guerra, Alonso; Mason, Evan; Arístegui, Javier

    2017-08-31

    Transports of suspended particulate (POC susp ) and dissolved (DOC) organic carbon are inferred from a box-model covering the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Corresponding net respiration rates (R) are obtained from a net organic carbon budget that is based on the transport estimates, and includes both vertical and lateral fluxes. The overall R in the mesopelagic layer (100-1500 m) is 1.6 ± 0.4 mmol C m -2 d -1 . DOC accounts for up to 53% of R as a result of drawdown of organic carbon within Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) that is entrained into sinking Mediterranean Overflow Water (MOW) that leads to formation of Mediterranean water (MW) at intermediate depths (~900 m). DOC represents 90% of the respired non-sinking organic carbon. When converted into oxygen units, the computed net respiration rate represents less than half the oxygen utilization rates (OUR) reported for the mesopelagic waters of the subtropical North Atlantic. Mesoscale processes in the area, not quantified with our approach, could account in part for the OUR differences observed between our carbon budget and other published studies from the North Atlantic, although seasonal or interannual variability could also be responsible for the difference in the estimates.

  17. Late Holocene variations in Pacific surface circulation and biogeochemistry inferred from proteinaceous deep-sea corals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. P. Guilderson

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available δ15N and δ13C data obtained from samples of proteinaceous deep-sea corals collected from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (Hawaiian Archipelago and the central equatorial Pacific (Line Islands document multidecadal to century-scale variability in the isotopic composition of surface-produced particulate organic matter exported to the deep sea. Comparison of the δ13C data, where Line Islands samples are 0.6‰ more positive than the Hawaiian samples, supports the contention that the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is more efficient than the tropical upwelling system at trapping and/or recycling nutrients within the mixed layer. δ15N values from the Line Islands samples are also more positive than those from the central gyre, and within the Hawaiian samples there is a gradient with more positive δ15N values in samples from the main Hawaiian Islands versus the French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The gradient in the Hawaiian samples likely reflects the relative importance of algal acquisition of metabolic N via dissolved seawater nitrate uptake versus nitrogen fixation. The Hawaiian sample set also exhibits a strong decrease in δ15N values from the mid-Holocene to present. We hypothesize that this decrease is most likely the result of decreasing trade winds, and possibly a commensurate decrease in entrainment of more positive δ15N-NO3 subthermocline water masses.

  18. The role of the Indonesian Throughflow in equatorial Pacific thermocline ventilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Keith B.; Cane, Mark A.; Naik, Naomi H.; Schrag, Daniel P.

    1999-09-01

    The role of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) in the thermocline circulation of the low-latitude Pacific Ocean is explored using a high-resolution primitive equation ocean circulation model. Seasonally forced runs for a domain with an open Indonesian passage are compared with seasonally forced runs for a closed Pacific domain. Three cases are considered: one with no throughflow, one with 10 Sv of imposed ITF transport, and one with 20 Sv of ITF transport. Two idealized tracers, one that tags northern component subtropical water and another that tags southern component subtropical water, are used to diagnose the mixing ratio of northern and southern component waters in the equatorial thermocline. It is found that the mixing ratio of north/south component waters in the equatorial thermocline is highly sensitive to whether the model accounts for an ITF. Without an ITF, the source of equatorial undercurrent water is primarily of North Pacific origin, with the ratio of northern to southern component water being approximately 2.75 to 1. The ratio of northern to southern component water in the Equatorial Undercurrent with 10 Sv of ITF is approximately 1.4 to 1, and the ratio with 20 Sv of imposed ITF is 1 to 1.25. Estimates from data suggest a mean mixing ratio of northern to southern component water of less than 1 to 1. Assuming that the mixing ratio changes approximately linearly as the ITF transport varies between 10 and 20 Sv, an approximate balance between northern and southern component water is reached when the ITF transport is approximately 16 Sv. It is also shown that for the isopycnal surfaces within the core of the equatorial undercurrent, a 2°C temperature front exists across the equator in the western equatorial Pacific, beneath the warm pool. The implications of the model results and the temperature data for the heat budget of the equatorial Pacific are considered.

  19. The influence of boreal spring Arctic Oscillation on the subsequent winter ENSO in CMIP5 models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shangfeng; Chen, Wen; Yu, Bin

    2017-05-01

    This study examines the influence of boreal spring Arctic Oscillation (AO) on the subsequent winter El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) using 15 climate model outputs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Results show that, out of the 15 CMIP5 models, CCSM4 and CNRM-CM5 can well reproduce the significant AO-ENSO connection. These two models capture the observed spring AO related anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) over the subtropical western-central North Pacific, and westerly (easterly) winds over the tropical western-central Pacific. In contrast, the spring AO-related anomalous circulation over the subtropical North Pacific is insignificant in the other 13 models, and the simulations in these models cannot capture the significant influence of the spring AO on ENSO. Further analyses indicate that the performance of the CMIP5 simulations in reproducing the AO-ENSO connection is related to the ability in simulating the spring North Pacific synoptic eddy intensity and the spring AO's Pacific component. Strong synoptic-scale eddy intensity results in a strong synoptic eddy feedback on the mean flow, leading to strong cyclonic circulation anomalies over the subtropical North Pacific, which contributes to a significant AO-ENSO connection. In addition, a strong spring AO's Pacific component and associated easterly wind anomalies to its south may provide more favorable conditions for the development of spring AO-related cyclonic circulation anomalies over the subtropical North Pacific.

  20. Bathymetric Atlas of the North Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1978-01-01

    U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey provided nearshore from Novel Oceenoglphic Office neutical chert of various detils around islands and reefs. Nautical...Easter Islands , 1961. Middle America Trench: Topography and struc- Bernice P. Bishop Mus. Bull. 110, p. 1-44. ture, Geol. Sec. Amer. Bull., v. 72, p...of volcanic ash layers and turbidito% ini 1956. Clipperton fracture zone in the northeastern equa- the north Pacific, Gal. Soc. Amer. Bull., v. 80, p

  1. A database of paleoceanographic sediment cores from the North Pacific, 1951–2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Borreggine

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available We assessed sediment coring, data acquisition, and publications from the North Pacific (north of 30° N from 1951 to 2016. There are 2134 sediment cores collected by American, French, Japanese, Russian, and international research vessels across the North Pacific (including the Pacific subarctic gyre, Alaskan gyre, Japan margin, and California margin; 1391 cores, the Sea of Okhotsk (271 cores, the Bering Sea (123 cores, and the Sea of Japan (349 cores reported here. All existing metadata associated with these sediment cores are documented here, including coring date, location, core number, cruise number, water depth, vessel metadata, and coring technology. North Pacific sediment core age models are built with isotope stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, magnetostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, tephrochronology, % opal, color, and lithological proxies. Here, we evaluate the iterative generation of each published age model and provide comprehensive documentation of the dating techniques used, along with sedimentation rates and age ranges. We categorized cores according to the availability of a variety of proxy evidence, including biological (e.g., benthic and planktonic foraminifera assemblages, geochemical (e.g., major trace element concentrations, isotopic (e.g., bulk sediment nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon isotopes, and stratigraphic (e.g., preserved laminations proxies. This database is a unique resource to the paleoceanographic and paleoclimate communities and provides cohesive accessibility to sedimentary sequences, age model development, and proxies. The data set is publicly available through PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.875998.

  2. Shifting Pacific storm tracks as stressors to ecosystems of western North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dannenberg, Matthew P; Wise, Erika K

    2017-11-01

    Much of the precipitation delivered to western North America arrives during the cool season via midlatitude Pacific storm tracks, which may experience future shifts in response to climate change. Here, we assess the sensitivity of the hydroclimate and ecosystems of western North America to the latitudinal position of cool-season Pacific storm tracks. We calculated correlations between storm track variability and three hydroclimatic variables: gridded cool-season standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index, April snow water equivalent, and water year streamflow from a network of USGS stream gauges. To assess how historical storm track variability affected ecosystem processes, we derived forest growth estimates from a large network of tree-ring widths and land surface phenology and wildfire estimates from remote sensing. From 1980 to 2014, cool-season storm tracks entered western North America between approximately 41°N and 53°N. Cool-season moisture supply and snowpack responded strongly to storm track position, with positive correlations to storm track latitude in eastern Alaska and northwestern Canada but negative correlations in the northwestern U.S. Ecosystems of the western United States were greener and more productive following winters with south-shifted storm tracks, while Canadian ecosystems were greener in years when the cool-season storm track was shifted to the north. On average, larger areas of the northwestern United States were burned by moderate to high severity wildfires when storm tracks were displaced north, and the average burn area per fire also tended to be higher in years with north-shifted storm tracks. These results suggest that projected shifts of Pacific storm tracks over the 21st century would likely alter hydroclimatic and ecological regimes in western North America, particularly in the northwestern United States, where moisture supply and ecosystem processes are highly sensitive to the position of cool-season storm tracks.

  3. Analysis of longitudinal variations in North Pacific alkalinity to improve predictive algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fry, Claudia H.; Tyrrell, Toby; Achterberg, Eric P.

    2016-10-01

    The causes of natural variation in alkalinity in the North Pacific surface ocean need to be investigated to understand the carbon cycle and to improve predictive algorithms. We used GLODAPv2 to test hypotheses on the causes of three longitudinal phenomena in Alk*, a tracer of calcium carbonate cycling. These phenomena are (a) an increase from east to west between 45°N and 55°N, (b) an increase from west to east between 25°N and 40°N, and (c) a minor increase from west to east in the equatorial upwelling region. Between 45°N and 55°N, Alk* is higher on the western than on the eastern side, and this is associated with denser isopycnals with higher Alk* lying at shallower depths. Between 25°N and 40°N, upwelling along the North American continental shelf causes higher Alk* in the east. Along the equator, a strong east-west trend was not observed, even though the upwelling on the eastern side of the basin is more intense, because the water brought to the surface is not high in Alk*. We created two algorithms to predict alkalinity, one for the entire Pacific Ocean north of 30°S and one for the eastern margin. The Pacific Ocean algorithm is more accurate than the commonly used algorithm published by Lee et al. (2006), of similar accuracy to the best previously published algorithm by Sasse et al. (2013), and is less biased with longitude than other algorithms in the subpolar North Pacific. Our eastern margin algorithm is more accurate than previously published algorithms.

  4. 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.

  5. Potential role of resurfacing Subtropical Underwater in ENSO evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, T.; Chi, J.

    2017-12-01

    Results from a model of the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) have shown that the resurfacing of high salinity Subtropical Underwater contributes to the sea surface salinity variability in the equatorial Pacific. On interannual time scale, this contribution can account for as much as 25% of the surface freshwater flux anomalies and is believed to play a role in ENSO evolution. Having these results in mind, this study investigates the surface salinity budget and its primary controls in the equatorial Pacific using ECCO output for the period 1993-2016. Particular attention is paid to 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. Preliminary analyses of the model results suggest that enhanced subsurface processes and in particular enhanced entrainment of Subtropical Underwater are primarily responsible for the positive sea surface salinity anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific during 2014/2015, which represents an opposite phase of El Niño. These subsurface processes weakened during 2015/2016, diretly contributing to the development of the 2015/2016 El Niño. The mechanisms controlling these subsurface processes are discussed.

  6. Impact of surface sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau on the western Pacific subtropical high: A land-air-sea interaction perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Anmin; Sun, Ruizao; He, Jinhai

    2017-02-01

    The impact of surface sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau (SHTP) on the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) with and without air-sea interaction was investigated in this study. Data analysis indicated that SHTP acts as a relatively independent factor in modulating the WPSH anomaly compared with ENSO events. Stronger spring SHTP is usually followed by an enhanced and westward extension of the WPSH in summer, and vice versa. Numerical experiments using both an AGCM and a CGCM confirmed that SHTP influences the large-scale circulation anomaly over the Pacific, which features a barotropic anticyclonic response over the northwestern Pacific and a cyclonic response to the south. Owing to different background circulation in spring and summer, such a response facilitates a subdued WPSH in spring but an enhanced WPSH in summer. Moreover, the CGCM results showed that the equatorial low-level westerly at the south edge of the cyclonic anomaly brings about a warm SST anomaly (SSTA) in the equatorial central Pacific via surface warm advection. Subsequently, an atmospheric Rossby wave is stimulated to the northwest of the warm SSTA, which in turn enhances the atmospheric dipole anomalies over the western Pacific. Therefore, the air-sea feedbacks involved tend to reinforce the effect of SHTP on the WPSH anomaly, and the role of SHTP on general circulation needs to be considered in a land-air-sea interaction framework.

  7. The bomb 14C transient in the Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Keith B.; Schrag, Daniel P.; Cane, Mark A.; Naik, Naomi H.

    2000-04-01

    A modeling study of the bomb 14C transient is presented for the Pacific Ocean. A primitive equation ocean circulation model has been configured for a high-resolution domain that accounts for the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). Four separate runs were performed: (1) seasonal forcing with 20 Sv of ITF transport, (2) seasonal forcing with 10 Sv of ITF transport, (3) seasonal forcing with no ITF transport, and (4) interannual forcing with 15 Sv of ITF transport. This study has two main objectives. First, it is intended to describe the time evolution of the bomb 14C transient. This serves as a tool with which one can identify the physical processes controlling the evolving bomb 14C distribution in the Pacific thermocline and thus provides an interpretive framework for the database of Δ14C measurements in the Pacific. Second, transient tracers are applied to the physical oceanographic problem of intergyre exchange. This is of importance in furthering our understanding of the potential role of the upper Pacific Ocean in climate variability. We use bomb 14C as a dye tracer of intergyre exchange between the subtropical gyres and the equatorial upwelling regions of the equatorial Pacific. Observations show that while the atmospheric Δ14C signal peaked in the early to mid-1960s, the Δ14C levels in the surface water waters of the subtropical gyres peaked near 1970, and the Δ14C of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific continued to rise through the 1980s. It is shown that the model exhibits skill in representing the large-scale observed features observed for the bomb 14C transient in the Pacific Ocean. The model successfully captures the basin-scale inventories of bomb 14C in the tropics as well as in the extratropics of the North Pacific. For the equatorial Pacific this is attributed to the model's high meridional resolution. The discrepancies in the three-dimensional distribution of bomb 14C between the model and data are discussed within the context of the dynamical

  8. Feeding ecology of mesopelagic zooplankton of the subtropical and subarctic North Pacific Ocean determined with fatty acid biomarkers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, S. E.; Steinberg, D. K.; Chu, F.-L. E.; Bishop, J. K. B.

    2010-10-01

    Mesopelagic zooplankton may meet their nutritional and metabolic requirements in a number of ways including consumption of sinking particles, carnivory, and vertical migration. How these feeding modes change with depth or location, however, is poorly known. We analyzed fatty acid (FA) profiles to characterize zooplankton diet and large particle (>51 μm) composition in the mesopelagic zone (base of euphotic zone -1000 m) at two contrasting time-series sites in the subarctic (station K2) and subtropical (station ALOHA) Pacific Ocean. Total FA concentration was 15.5 times higher in zooplankton tissue at K2, largely due to FA storage by seasonal vertical migrators such as Neocalanus and Eucalanus. FA biomarkers specific to herbivory implied a higher plant-derived food source at mesotrophic K2 than at oligotrophic ALOHA. Zooplankton FA biomarkers specific to dinoflagellates and diatoms indicated that diatoms, and to a lesser extent, dinoflagellates were important food sources at K2. At ALOHA, dinoflagellate FAs were more prominent. Bacteria-specific FA biomarkers in zooplankton tissue were used as an indicator of particle feeding, and peaks were recorded at depths where known particle feeders were present at ALOHA (e.g., ostracods at 100-300 m). In contrast, depth profiles of bacterial FA were relatively constant with depth at K2. Diatom, dinoflagellate, and bacterial biomarkers were found in similar proportions in both zooplankton and particles with depth at both locations, providing additional evidence that mesopelagic zooplankton consume sinking particles. Carnivory indices were higher and increased significantly with depth at ALOHA, and exhibited distinct peaks at K2, representing an increase in dependence on other zooplankton for food in deep waters. Our results indicate that feeding ecology changes with depth as well as by location. These changes in zooplankton feeding ecology from the surface through the mesopelagic zone, and between contrasting environments

  9. Anthropogenic {sup 129}I in the North Pacific, Bering and Chukchi Seas, and Arctic Ocean in 2012–2013

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagai, H., E-mail: hnagai@chs.nihon-u.ac.jp [Department of Chemistry, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo 156-8550 (Japan); Hasegawa, A. [Graduate School of Integrated Basic Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo 156-8550 (Japan); Yamagata, T. [Department of Chemistry, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo 156-8550 (Japan); Kumamoto, Y.; Nishino, S. [Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa 237-0061 (Japan); Matsuzaki, H. [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032 (Japan)

    2015-10-15

    Most of anthropogenic {sup 129}I in marine environment are due to discharge from the nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (U.K.) and La Hague (France) for past few decades. The discharge raised {sup 129}I concentration in seawaters in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans to more than 10{sup 9} atoms L{sup −1}, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that in other region. Recently, in March 2011, a large quantity of {sup 129}I was released into the western North Pacific due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP) accident. To evaluate the influence of these events, we have measured {sup 129}I concentration in seawaters in the northern North Pacific Ocean, Bering and Chukchi Seas, and Arctic Ocean in 2012–2013. The {sup 129}I concentrations were 1.0–1.8 × 10{sup 7} atoms L{sup −1} in the surface waters in the vicinity of 47°N 150°E–130°W North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea (<74°N), which are equal to or lower than the {sup 129}I concentration level in surface water in the North Pacific Ocean before the F1NPP accident. The vertical profiles in the North Pacific were almost same as that observed in the western North Pacific before the F1NPP accident. The {sup 129}I distribution in seawater in the North Pacific to the Chukchi Sea revealed no significant increase of {sup 129}I concentration caused by the F1NPP accident. The {sup 129}I concentrations were 13–14 × 10{sup 7} atoms L{sup −1} in surface waters and 80 × 10{sup 7} atoms L{sup −1} at depths of 300 and 800 m in the Arctic Ocean.

  10. 78 FR 13867 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-01

    .... SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Ecosystem Committee will meet by... Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation regarding gold dredging in crab habitat in Nome; (2) Report on NOAA progress with implementing Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) science throughout the regions; and (3...

  11. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Monthly Pacific North American Teleconnection Pattern Index

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Monthly tabulated index of the Pacific/ North American teleconnection pattern. The data spans the period 1950 to present. The index is derived from a rotated...

  12. Organic tracers of primary biological aerosol particles at subtropical Okinawa Island in the western North Pacific Rim

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Chunmao; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Kunwar, Bhagawati

    2015-06-01

    Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) play an important role in affecting atmospheric physical and chemical properties. Aerosol samples were collected at Cape Hedo, Okinawa Island, Japan, from October 2009 to February 2012 and analyzed for five primary saccharides and four sugar alcohols as PBAP tracers. We detected high levels of sucrose in spring when blossoming of plants happens and prolifically emits pollen to the air. Concentrations of glucose, fructose, and trehalose showed levels higher than the other saccharides in spring in 2010. In comparison, primary saccharide levels were mutually comparable in spring, summer, and autumn in 2011, indicating the interannual variability of their local production in subtropical forests, which is driven by local temperature and radiation. High trehalose events were found to be associated with Asian dust outflows, indicating that Asian dust also contributes to PBAPs at Okinawa. Sugar alcohols peaked in summer and correlated with local precipitation and temperature, indicating high microbial activities. Positive matrix factorization analysis confirmed that the PBAPs are mainly derived from local vegetation, pollen, and fungal spores. A higher contribution of PBAP tracers to water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was found in summer (14.9%). The annual mean ambient loadings of fungal spores and PBAPs were estimated as 0.49 µg m-3 and 4.12 µg m-3, respectively, using the tracer method. We report, for the first time, year-round biomarkers of PBAP and soil dust and their contributions to WSOC in the subtropical outflow region of the Asian continent.

  13. Conservation of native Pacific trout diversity in Western North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooke E. Penaluna; Alicia Abadía-Cardoso; Jason B. Dunham; Francisco J. García-Dé León; Robert E. Gresswell; Arturo Ruiz Luna; Eric B. Taylor; Bradley B. Shepard; Robert Al-Chokhachy; Clint C. Muhlfeld; Kevin R. Bestgen; Kevin Rogers; Marco A. Escalante; Ernest R. Keeley; Gabriel M. Temple; Jack E. Williams; Kathleen R. Matthews; Ron Pierce; Richard L. Mayden; Ryan P. Kovach; John Carlos Garza; Kurt D. Fausch

    2016-01-01

    Pacific trout Oncorhynchus spp. in western North America are strongly valued in ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural views, and have been the subject of substantial research and conservation efforts. Despite this, the understanding of their evolutionary histories, overall diversity, and challenges to their conservation is incomplete. We review...

  14. Circum-North Pacific tectonostratigraphic terrane map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nokleberg, Warren J.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Monger, James W.H.; Baranov, Boris B.; Byalobzhesky, Stanislav G.; Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Feeney, Tracey D.; Fujita, Kazuya; Gordey, Steven P.; Grantz, Arthur; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Natal'in, Boris A.; Natapov, Lev M.; Norton, Ian O.; Patton, William W.; Plafker, George; Scholl, David W.; Sokolov, Sergei D.; Sosunov, Gleb M.; Stone, David B.; Tabor, Rowland W.; Tsukanov, Nickolai V.; Vallier, Tracy L.; Wakita, Koji

    1994-01-01

    The companion tectonostratigraphic terrane and overlap assemblage of map the Circum-North Pacific presents a modern description of the major geologic and tectonic units of the region. The map illustrates both the onshore terranes and overlap volcanic assemblages of the region, and the major offshore geologic features. The map is the first collaborative compilation of the geology of the region at a scale of 1:5,000,000 by geologists of the Russian Far East, Japanese, Alaskan, Canadian, and U.S.A. Pacific Northwest. The map is designed to be a source of geologic information for all scientists interested in the region, and is designed to be used for several purposes, including regional tectonic analyses, mineral resource and metallogenic analyses (Nokleberg and others, 1993, 1994a), petroleum analyses, neotectonic analyses, and analyses of seismic hazards and volcanic hazards. This text contains an introduction, tectonic definitions, acknowledgments, descriptions of postaccretion stratified rock units, descriptions and stratigraphic columns for tectonostratigraphic terranes in onshore areas, and references for the companion map (Sheets 1 to 5). This map is the result of extensive geologic mapping and associated tectonic studies in the Russian Far East, Hokkaido Island of Japan, Alaska, the Canadian Cordillera, and the U.S.A. Pacific Northwest in the last few decades. Geologic mapping suggests that most of this region can be interpreted as a collage of fault-bounded tectonostratigraphic terranes that were accreted onto continental margins around the Circum-

  15. 75 FR 70903 - Eastern North Pacific Gray Whale; Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period on Marine Mammal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-19

    ... North Pacific Gray Whale; Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period on Marine Mammal Protection Act... whales (Eschrichtius robustus) as a depleted stock under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and... report for Eastern North Pacific gray whales is available on the Internet at the following address: http...

  16. 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.

  17. Marine boundary layer over the subtropical southeast Pacific during VOCALS-REx – Part 2: Synoptic variability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. A. Rahn

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available In the second part of this work we study the day-to-day variability of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MBL over the subtropical southeast Pacific using primarily results from a numerical simulation that covered the whole VOCALS-REx period (October–November 2008. In situ and satellite-derived observations of the MBL height in the offshore region indicate rapid, significant variations (from 500 m to 1700 m a.s.l. over a few days during October. These MBL changes are connected with the passage of midlatitude troughs that altered the large-scale environment over the VOCALS-REx region. In contrast, the synoptic forcing and MBL changes were less prominent during November. Modelled and observed MBL depth at Point Omega (20° S, 85° W compare quite well during October (but the simulation is on average 200 m lower while in November the simulation does not perform as well.

    In the prognostic local MBL height equation the height change, the horizontal MBL height advection, and the large scale vertical velocity at MBL top are calculated explicitly from the simulation. The entrainment velocity is calculated as the residual of the other terms in the equation. While the vertical velocity and residual terms are opposing and generally have the largest magnitude on average, it is the variability in the advection that explains most of the large changes in the MBL depth. Examination of several cases during VOCALS-REx suggests that the advective term is in turn largely controlled by changes in wind direction, driven by midlatitude activity, acting on a MBL that generally slopes down toward the coast. In one phase, the subtropical anticyclone is reinforced and extends toward the Chilean coast, leading to easterly wind that advects low MBL heights from the coast as far as Point Omega. The opposite phase occurs after the passage of an extratropical cyclone over southern Chile, leading to southwesterly wind that advects a deeper MBL towards subtropical

  18. Tritium and radiocarbon in the western North Pacific waters: post-Fukushima situation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaizer, Jakub; Aoyama, Michio; Kumamoto, Yuichiro; Molnár, Mihály; Palcsu, László; Povinec, Pavel P

    2018-04-01

    Impact of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident on tritium ( 3 H) and radiocarbon ( 14 C) levels in the water column of the western North Pacific Ocean in winter 2012 is evaluated and compared with radiocesium ( 134,137 Cs) data collected for the same region. Tritium concentrations in surface seawater, varying between 0.4 and 2.0 TU (47.2-236 Bq m -3 ), follow the Fukushima radiocesium trend, however, some differences in the vertical profiles were observed, namely in depths of 50-400 m. No correlation was visible in the case of 14 C, whose surface Δ 14 C levels raised from negative values (about -40‰) in the northern part of transect, to positive values (∼68‰) near the equator. Homogenously mixed 14 C levels in the subsurface layers were observed at all stations. Sixteen surface (from 30 in total) and 6 water profile (from 7) stations were affected by the Fukushima tritium. Surface and vertical profile data together with the calculated water column inventories indicate that the total amount of the FNPP1-derived tritium deposited to the western North Pacific Ocean was 0.7 ± 0.3 PBq. No clear impact of the Fukushima accident on 14 C levels in the western North Pacific was observed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Dissolved phosphorus pools and alkaline phosphatase activity in the euphotic zone of the western North Pacific Ocean.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masahiro eSuzumura

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available We measured pools of dissolved phosphorus (P, including dissolved inorganic P (DIP, dissolved organic P (DOP and alkaline phosphatase (AP-hydrolyzable labile DOP (L-DOP, and kinetic parameters of AP activity (APA in the euphotic zone in the western North Pacific Ocean. Samples were collected from one coastal station in Sagami Bay, Japan, and three offshore stations between the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG and the Kuroshio region. Although DIP concentrations in the euphotic zone at all stations were equally low, around the nominal method detection limit of 20 nmol L−1, chlorophyll a (Chl a concentrations were one order of magnitude greater at the coastal station. DOP was the dominant P pool, comprising 62–92% of total dissolved P at and above the Chl a maximum layer (CML. L-DOP represented 22–39% of the total DOP at the offshore stations, whereas it accounted for a much higher proportion (about 85% in the coastal surface layers. Significant correlations between maximum potential AP hydrolysis rates and DIP concentrations or bacterial cell abundance in the offshore euphotic zone suggest that major APA in the oligotrophic surface ocean is from bacterial activity and regulated largely by DIP availability. Although the range of maximum potential APA was comparable among the environmental conditions, the in situ hydrolysis rate of L-DOP in the coastal station was 10 times those in the offshore stations. L-DOP turnover time at the CML ranged from 4.5 d at the coastal station to 84.4 d in the NPSG. The ratio of the APA half saturation constant to the ambient L-DOP concentration decreased markedly from the NPSG to the coastal station. There were substantial differences in the rate end efficiency of DOP remineralization and its contribution as the potential P source between the low-phosphate/high biomass coastal ecosystem and the low-phosphate/low biomass oligotrophic ocean.

  20. Impact of effective ocean optical properties on the Pacific subtropical cell: a CGCM study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamanaka, G.; Tsujino, H.; Ishizaki, H.; Nakano, H.; Hirabara, M.

    2012-12-01

    The choice of ocean radiant scheme is important for modeling the upper ocean. According to the ocean-only simulation (Yamanaka et al., 2012), introduction of the chlorophyll-a dependent ocean radiant scheme results in the decreased mixed layer depth (MLD), the enhanced subtropical cell (STC), and the cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST). They also found that the enhanced STC results from the velocity profile change associated with the decreased Ekman boundary layer. However, the impact is not well understood when the air-sea feedback process is at work. This study examines the impact of the effective ocean optical properties on the Pacific mean fields, especially focusing on the STC, using a coupled general circulation model (CGCM). The CGCM we employed is the Meteorological Research Institute Earth System Model (MRI-ESM1). The atmospheric model is TL159L48, and the ocean model has a horizontal resolution of 1 x 0.5 deg. with 51 levels in vertical. Experimental design basically follows the CMIP5 protocol. Two experiments (CTL and SLR runs) are performed to investigate the impact of the effective ocean optical properties. In the CTL run, a conventional ocean radiant heating scheme (Paul and Simpson, 1977) is used, whereas a new ocean radiant heating scheme is used in the SLR run, where the satellite-derived chlorophyll-a distribution is taken into consideration based on Morel and Antoine (1994) as well as the effect of the varying solar angle (Ishizaki and Yamanaka, 2010). Each experiment is integrated during the period from 1985 to 2005. It is found that introduction of the new ocean radiant scheme (SLR run) changes the long-term mean wind pattern in the Pacific: easterly winds are strengthened in the equatorial Pacific, but weakened in the off-equatorial region. In the tropical Pacific, the enhanced equatorial upwelling cools the equatorial SST and the MLD becomes shallower. This is similar to the ocean-only simulation, but is more

  1. Changes in size and trends of North American sea duck populations associated with North Pacific oceanic regime shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flint, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    Broad-scale multi-species declines in populations of North American sea ducks for unknown reasons is cause for management concern. Oceanic regime shifts have been associated with rapid changes in ecosystem structure of the North Pacific and Bering Sea. However, relatively little is known about potential effects of these changes in oceanic conditions on marine bird populations at broad scales. I examined changes in North American breeding populations of sea ducks from 1957 to 2011 in relation to potential oceanic regime shifts in the North Pacific in 1977, 1989, and 1998. There was strong support for population-level effects of regime shifts in 1977 and 1989, but little support for an effect of the 1998 shift. The continental-level effects of these regime shifts differed across species groups and time. Based on patterns of sea duck population dynamics associated with regime shifts, it is unclear if the mechanism of change relates to survival or reproduction. Results of this analysis support the hypothesis that population size and trends of North American sea ducks are strongly influenced by oceanic conditions. The perceived population declines appear to have halted >20 years ago, and populations have been relatively stable or increasing since that time. Given these results, we should reasonably expect dramatic changes in sea duck population status and trends with future oceanic regime shifts.

  2. Dynamical and thermodynamical coupling between the North Atlantic subtropical high and the marine boundary layer clouds in boreal summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei; Li, Wenhong; Deng, Yi; Yang, Song; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Huang, Lei; Liu, W. Timothy

    2018-04-01

    This study investigates dynamical and thermodynamical coupling between the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH), marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds, and the local sea surface temperatures (SSTs) over the North Atlantic in boreal summer for 1984-2009 using NCEP/DOE Reanalysis 2 dataset, various cloud data, and the Hadley Centre sea surface temperature. On interannual timescales, the summer mean subtropical MBL clouds to the southeast of the NASH is actively coupled with the NASH and local SSTs: a stronger (weaker) NASH is often accompanied with an increase (a decrease) of MBL clouds and abnormally cooler (warmer) SSTs along the southeast flank of the NASH. To understand the physical processes between the NASH and the MBL clouds, the authors conduct a data diagnostic analysis and implement a numerical modeling investigation using an idealized anomalous atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). Results suggest that significant northeasterly anomalies in the southeast flank of the NASH associated with an intensified NASH tend to induce stronger cold advection and coastal upwelling in the MBL cloud region, reducing the boundary surface temperature. Meanwhile, warm advection associated with the easterly anomalies from the African continent leads to warming over the MBL cloud region at 700 hPa. Such warming and the surface cooling increase the atmospheric static stability, favoring growth of the MBL clouds. The anomalous diabatic cooling associated with the growth of the MBL clouds dynamically excites an anomalous anticyclone to its north and contributes to strengthening of the NASH circulation in its southeast flank. The dynamical and thermodynamical couplings and their associated variations in the NASH, MBL clouds, and SSTs constitute an important aspect of the summer climate variability over the North Atlantic.

  3. Soluble and colloidal iron in the oligotrophic North Atlantic and North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, J; Boyle, E; Sunda, W; Wen, L S

    2001-08-03

    In the oligotrophic North Atlantic and North Pacific, ultrafiltration studies show that concentrations of soluble iron and soluble iron-binding organic ligands are much lower than previously presumed "dissolved" concentrations, which were operationally defined as that passing through a 0.4-micrometer pore filter. Our studies indicate that substantial portions of the previously presumed "dissolved" iron (and probably also iron-binding ligands) are present in colloidal size range. The soluble iron and iron-binding organic ligands are depleted at the surface and enriched at depth, similar to distributions of major nutrients. By contrast, colloidal iron shows a maximum at the surface and a minimum in the upper nutricline. Our results suggest that "dissolved" iron may be less bioavailable to phytoplankton than previously thought and that iron removal through colloid aggregation and settling should be considered in models of the oceanic iron cycle.

  4. Pu isotopes in the western North Pacific Ocean before the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, M.; Zheng, J.; Aono, T.

    2011-12-01

    Anthropogenic radionuclides such as Pu-239 (half-life: 24100 yr), Pu-240 (half-life: 6560 yr) and Pu-241 (half-life: 14.325 yr) mainly have been released into the environment as the result of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. In the North Pacific Ocean, two distinct sources of Pu isotopes can be identified; i.e., the global stratospheric fallout and close-in tropospheric fallout from nuclear weapons testing at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands. The atom ratio of Pu-240/Pu-239 is a powerful fingerprint to identify the sources of Pu in the ocean. The Pu-240/Pu-239 atom ratios in seawater and marine sediment samples collected in the western North Pacific before the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station will provide useful background data for understanding the process controlling Pu transport and for distinguishing future Pu sources. The atom ratios of Pu-240/Pu-239 in water columns from the Yamato and Tsushima Basins in the Japan Sea were significantly higher than the mean global fallout ratio of 0.18; however, there were no temporal variation of atom ratios during the period from 1984 to 1993 in the Japan Sea. The total Pu-239+240 inventories in the whole water columns were approximately doubled during the period from 1984 to 1993 in the two basins. The atom ratio of Pu-240/Pu-239 in surface water from Sagami Bay, western North Pacific Ocean, was 0.224 and showed no notable variation from the surface to the bottom with the mean atom ratio being 0.234. The atom ratios for the Pacific coast, near the Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, were approximately the same as the 0.224 ratio obtained from Sagami Bay, western North Pacific margin. The atom ratios in the surficial sediments from Sagami Bay ranged from 0.229 to 0.247. The mean atom ratio in the sediment columns in the East China Sea ranged from 0.248 for the Changjiang estuary to 0.268 for the shelf edge. The observed atom ratios were significantly higher than the mean

  5. Impacts of winter NPO on subsequent winter ENSO: sensitivity to the definition of NPO index

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shangfeng; Wu, Renguang

    2018-01-01

    This study investigates the linkage between boreal winter North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) and subsequent winter El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) based on seven different NPO indices. Results show that the influence of winter NPO on the subsequent winter El Niño is sensitive to how the NPO is defined. A significant NPO-El Niño connection is obtained when the NPO-related anomalous cyclone over the subtropical North Pacific extends to near-equatorial regions. The anomalous cyclone induces warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies through modulating surface heat fluxes. These warm SST anomalies are able to maintain into the following spring and summer through an air-sea coupled process and in turn induce significant westerly wind anomalies over the tropical western Pacific. In contrast, the NPO-El Niño relationship is unclear when the NPO-related anomalous cyclone over the subtropical North Pacific is confined to off-equatorial regions and cannot induce significant warm SST anomalies over the subtropical North Pacific. The present study suggests that definitions of NPO should be taken into account when using NPO to predict ENSO. In particular, we recommend defining the NPO index based on the empirical orthogonal function technique over appropriate region that does not extend too far north.

  6. The Eurasia-North Pacific Oscillation in atmospheric mass variations independent of both IHO and AO and its possible impacts on winter climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qian; Guan, Zhaoyong; Li, Minggang

    2017-09-01

    Using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, we have investigated the features of migrations of atmospheric mass (AM) between land and ocean in Eurasia-North Pacific domain in boreal winter after having both signals of Inter-hemispheric Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation removed from the physical quantities. It is found that there is a Eurasia-North Pacific Oscillation (ENPO) in surface air pressure anomalies. This ENPO pattern characterizes with two oppositely signed anomalous surface pressure centers over Eurasia and North Pacific respectively, indicating strong connections between Siberian high and Aleutian low during period 1979-2012. The maintenance of this ENPO teleconnection is significantly associated with three factors including the anomalous AM flows and zonal circulation cell over Eurasia-North Pacific domain, the Rossby wave energy propagations, and the thermal forcing contrasts near the surface between Eurasia and North Pacific during boreal winter. The variations of both wintertime rainfall and temperature over Eurasia may be strongly affected by ENPO. When the ENPO index is positive (negative), there occurs the AM accumulation (depletion) over Eurasia with simultaneous depletion (accumulation) over mid-latitude North-Pacific. Correspondingly, this anomalous surface pressure pattern along with the related circulation anomalies at different isobaric levels possibly results in winter precipitation decreases (increases) over Siberian Plain and East China, whereas increases (decreases) over southeastern Europe, Xinjiang of China, and the west coast of Sea of Okhotsk. On the other hand, surface air temperature decreases (increases) over large areas of Eurasia. These results are helpful for our better understanding the mechanisms behind circulation and winter climate variations over Eurasia-North Pacific region.

  7. The Eurasia-North Pacific Oscillation in atmospheric mass variations independent of both IHO and AO and its possible impacts on winter climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qian; Guan, Zhaoyong; Li, Minggang

    2018-06-01

    Using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, we have investigated the features of migrations of atmospheric mass (AM) between land and ocean in Eurasia-North Pacific domain in boreal winter after having both signals of Inter-hemispheric Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation removed from the physical quantities. It is found that there is a Eurasia-North Pacific Oscillation (ENPO) in surface air pressure anomalies. This ENPO pattern characterizes with two oppositely signed anomalous surface pressure centers over Eurasia and North Pacific respectively, indicating strong connections between Siberian high and Aleutian low during period 1979-2012. The maintenance of this ENPO teleconnection is significantly associated with three factors including the anomalous AM flows and zonal circulation cell over Eurasia-North Pacific domain, the Rossby wave energy propagations, and the thermal forcing contrasts near the surface between Eurasia and North Pacific during boreal winter. The variations of both wintertime rainfall and temperature over Eurasia may be strongly affected by ENPO. When the ENPO index is positive (negative), there occurs the AM accumulation (depletion) over Eurasia with simultaneous depletion (accumulation) over mid-latitude North-Pacific. Correspondingly, this anomalous surface pressure pattern along with the related circulation anomalies at different isobaric levels possibly results in winter precipitation decreases (increases) over Siberian Plain and East China, whereas increases (decreases) over southeastern Europe, Xinjiang of China, and the west coast of Sea of Okhotsk. On the other hand, surface air temperature decreases (increases) over large areas of Eurasia. These results are helpful for our better understanding the mechanisms behind circulation and winter climate variations over Eurasia-North Pacific region.

  8. Physical nutrient transport in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, W.; Lott, D. E.

    2009-04-01

    Use of the helium-3 flux gauge to estimate the physically mediated flux of new nutrients to the euphotic zone of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre broadly suggests a pathway whereby inorganic nutrients that have been remineralized within the main thermocline may be returned to the seasonally accessible layer in the Sargasso Sea: the so-called "Nutrient Spiral" (Jenkins and Doney (2003), Glob. Biog. Cyc., 17(4), doi:1110.1029/2003GB002085.) The challenge, however, is identifying the exact mechanism whereby this occurs. One possible process is that of "obduction", whereby the combination of strong advection and rapidly deepening winter mixed layers result in the effective outcropping of substantial amounts of thermocline nutrients and tritiugenic helium-3. We present here a quantitative estimate based on hydrographic sections and geostrophic transports of the fluxes and transformations of both tritugenic helium-3 and nitrate within the basin, and attempt to relate these estimates to the specific shallow-water behaviors of these tracers, and their global and regional physical transports. An important constraint for these estimates lies in the evolving distributions of the transient tracers tritium and helium-3. We compare these results with other tracer-based estimates of new, net-community, and export production.

  9. How well do climate models simulate atmospheric teleconnctions over the North Pacific and East Asia associated with ENSO?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sunyong; Son, Hye-Young; Kug, Jong-Seong

    2017-02-01

    During the El Niño and La Niña mature phase, atmospheric teleconnections over the North Pacific and East Asia vary considerably on sub-seasonal time scales, and are strongly phase-locked to the sub-seasonal evolution. In this study, we investigate how well climate models that participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulate the sub-seasonal evolution of teleconnections over the North Pacific and East Asia associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In the observations, there is a prominent anticyclone anomaly over the Kuroshio extension region (i.e. Kuroshio anticyclone), which significantly affects East Asian climate in the early winter (November-December) of El Niño years. However, in January, the Kuroshio anticyclone suddenly disappears, and a cyclonic flow dominates over the North Pacific. It is found here that the CMIP5 models simulate the overall extratropical teleconnection patterns, but they fail to reproduce some of these sub-seasonally-varying features in atmospheric circulation. For example, the models tend to simulate a weaker Kuroshio anticyclone in the early winter during El Niño phases, and fail to capture the abrupt decay of the Kuroshio anticyclone in the late winter. We demonstrate here that these systematic errors in ENSO teleconnection can be explained by systematic errors in tropical precipitation associated with ENSO. That is, negative precipitation anomalies over the western North Pacific (WNP) are too weak in the models compared to that in the observations, and their amplitude tends to be strengthened from December to the following January, while they are weakened in the observations. In addition, analyses on the inter-model diversity strongly support that relative magnitudes of WNP and central Pacific precipitation anomalies are critical for determining sub-seasonal evolution of ENSO teleconnections over the North Pacific and East Asia.

  10. Quantifying dust input to the Subarctic North Pacific - Results from surface sediments and sea water thorium isotope measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winckler, G.; Serno, S.; Hayes, C.; Anderson, R. F.; Gersonde, R.; Haug, G. H.

    2012-12-01

    The Subarctic North Pacific is one of the three primary high-nutrient-low chlorophyll regions of the modern ocean, where the biological pump is relatively inefficient at transferring carbon from the atmosphere to the deep sea. The system is thought to be iron-limited. Aeolian dust is a significant source of iron and other nutrients that are essential for the health of marine ecosystems and potentially a controlling factor of the high-nutrient-low chlorophyll status of the Subarctic North Pacific. However, constraining the size of the dust flux to the surface ocean remains difficult. Here we apply two different approaches, based on surface sediment and water column samples, respectively, obtained during the SO202/INOPEX research cruise to the Subarctic North Pacific in 2009. We map the spatial patterns of Th/U isotopes, helium isotopes and rare earth elements across surface sediments from 37 multi-core core-top sediments across the Subarctic North Pacific. In order to deconvolve the detrital endmembers in regions of the North Pacific affected by volcanic material, IRD and hemipelagic input, we use a combination of trace elements with distinct characteristics in the different endmembers. This approach allows us to calculate the relative aeolian fraction, and in combination with Thorium230-normalized mass flux data, to quantify the dust supply. Secondly, we present an innovative approach to use paired Thorium-232 and Thorium-230 concentrations of upper-ocean seawater at 7 stations along the INOPEX track. Thorium-232 in the upper water column is dominantly derived from dissolution of aeolian dust, whereas Thorium-230 data provide a measure of the thorium removal from the surface waters and, thus, allow us to derive Thorium-232 fluxes. Combined with a mean Thorium-232 concentration in dust and estimate of the thorium solubility, the Thorium-232 flux can be translated in a dust flux to the surface ocean. Dust flux estimates for the Subarctic North Pacific will be

  11. Simulation of heat storages and associated heat budgets in the Pacific Ocean: 2. Interdecadal timescale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auad, Guillermo; Miller, Arthur J.; White, Warren B.

    1998-11-01

    We use a primitive equation isopycnal model of the Pacific Ocean to simulate and diagnose the anomalous heat balance on interdecadal timescales associated with heat storage changes observed from 1970-1988 in the expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data set. Given the smallness of the interdecadal signals compared to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal, the agreement between model and observations is remarkably good. The total anomalous heat balance is made up of two parts, the diabatic part (from the model temperature equation) and the adiabatic part (from the model mass conservation equation) due to thermocline heave. We therefore describe our analysis of both the total and diabatic anomalous heat balances in four areas of the tropical and subtropical North Pacific Ocean in the upper 400 m. The interdecadal total (diabatic plus adiabatic) heat balance in the North Pacific Ocean is characterized by a complicated interplay of different physical processes, especially revealed in basin-scale averages of the heat budget components that have comparable amounts of variance. In smaller subregions, simpler balances hold. For example, in the western equatorial Pacific (area 1) the total heat content tendency term is nearly zero, so that a simple balance exists between surface heat flux, vertical heat transport, and horizontal mixing. In the western subtropical Pacific the total heat content tendency balances the three-dimensional divergence of the heat flux. We speculate that this complexity is indicative of multiple physical mechanisms involved in the generation of North Pacific interdecadal variability. The diabatic heat balance north of 24°N, a region of special interest to The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), can be simplified to a balance between the tendency term, surface heat flux, and meridional advection, the last term dominated by anomalous advection of mean temperature gradients. For the western equatorial region the diabatic heat content

  12. Centennial changes in North Pacific anoxia linked to tropical trade winds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Curtis; Berelson, William; Thunell, Robert; Weber, Thomas; Tems, Caitlin; McManus, James; Crusius, John; Ito, Taka; Baumgartner, Timothy; Ferreira, Vicente; Mey, Jacob; van Geen, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    Climate warming is expected to reduce oxygen (O2) supply to the ocean and expand its oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). We reconstructed variations in the extent of North Pacific anoxia since 1850 using a geochemical proxy for denitrification (δ15N) from multiple sediment cores. Increasing δ15N since ~1990 records an expansion of anoxia, consistent with observed O2 trends. However, this was preceded by a longer declining δ15N trend that implies that the anoxic zone was shrinking for most of the 20th century. Both periods can be explained by changes in winds over the tropical Pacific that drive upwelling, biological productivity, and O2 demand within the OMZ. If equatorial Pacific winds resume their predicted weakening trend, the ocean’s largest anoxic zone will contract despite a global O2 decline.

  13. Synchronous seasonal change in fin whale song in the North Pacific.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin M Oleson

    Full Text Available Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus song consists of down-swept pulses arranged into stereotypic sequences that can be characterized according to the interval between successive pulses. As in blue (B. musculus and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae, these song sequences may be geographically distinct and may correlate with population boundaries in some regions. We measured inter-pulse intervals of fin whale songs within year-round acoustic datasets collected between 2000 and 2006 in three regions of the eastern North Pacific: Southern California, the Bering Sea, and Hawaii. A distinctive song type that was recorded in all three regions is characterized by singlet and doublet inter-pulse intervals that increase seasonally, then annually reset to the same shorter intervals at the beginning of each season. This song type was recorded in the Bering Sea and off Southern California from September through May and off Hawaii from December through April, with the song interval generally synchronized across all monitoring locations. The broad geographic and seasonal occurrence of this particular fin whale song type may represent a single population broadly distributed throughout the eastern Pacific with no clear seasonal migratory pattern. Previous studies attempting to infer population structure of fin whales in the North Pacific using synchronous individual song samples have been unsuccessful, likely because they did not account for the seasonal lengthening in song intervals observed here.

  14. Distribution of Iodine-129 in off the coast of Fukushima and North Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, A.; Yamagata, T.; Nagai, H.; Aoyama, M.; Matsuzaki, H.

    2013-01-01

    We measured "1"2"9I concentration in seawater samples which were collected in off Fukushima and North Pacific. High "1"2"9I concentrations were observed in samples from stations off Fukushima (BD02, 03) located 30 km away from Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP). In these stations, "1"2"9I inventory down to 100 m water depth was not decrease since three month after the F1NPP accident. In adjacent stations off Fukushima (BD01, 04), "1"2"9I concentrations were almost identical to those observed in seawater collected in the Kuroshio region before the F1NPP accident. In the North Pacific (BD05∼17), "1"2"9I concentrations in surface seawater were 2 times higher than those in the Kuroshio region. (author)

  15. Mercury in tunas and blue marlin in the North Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drevnick, Paul E; Brooks, Barbara A

    2017-05-01

    Models and data from the North Pacific Ocean indicate that mercury concentrations in water and biota are increasing in response to (global or hemispheric) anthropogenic mercury releases. In the present study, we provide an updated record of mercury in yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) caught near Hawaii that confirms an earlier conclusion that mercury concentrations in these fish are increasing at a rate similar to that observed in waters shallower than 1000 m. We also compiled and reanalyzed data from bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) caught near Hawaii in the 1970s and 2000s. Increases in mercury concentrations in bigeye tuna are consistent with the trend found in yellowfin tuna, in both timing and magnitude. The data available for blue marlin do not allow for a fair comparison among years, because mercury concentrations differ between sexes for this species, and sex was identified (or reported) in only 3 of 7 studies. Also, mercury concentrations in blue marlin may be insensitive to modest changes in mercury exposure, because this species appears to have the ability to detoxify mercury. The North Pacific Ocean is a region of both relatively high rates of atmospheric mercury deposition and capture fisheries production. Other data sets that allow temporal comparisons in mercury concentrations, such as pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in Alaskan waters and albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) off the US Pacific coast, should be explored further, to aid in understanding human health and ecological risks and to develop additional baseline knowledge for assessing changes in a region expected to respond strongly to reductions in anthropogenic mercury emissions. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1365-1374. © 2017 SETAC. © 2017 SETAC.

  16. Interannual variability of the North Pacific winter storm track and its relationship with extratropical atmospheric circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xiaojiao; Zhang, Yaocun

    2018-01-01

    Interannual variability of the North Pacific storm track and the three-dimensional atmosphere circulation during winter are investigated using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data during 1950-2015. Results show that year-to-year variations of the storm track exhibit two principal modes, i.e. the monopole intensity change and the meridional shift of the storm track, respectively. The intensity change mode is linked to weakening of the Siberian high, northward shift of the western Pacific jet stream and Aleutian Low, and well corresponding to the Western Pacific teleconnection. The meridional shift mode is related to intensification and south-eastward extension of western Pacific jet stream and Aleutian Low, and linked to the Pacific-North America teleconnection. The internal atmospheric dynamics responsible for the storm track variability is further investigated from the perspective of wave-flow energy conversion. For the intensity change mode, accompanied by the enhanced baroclinity over the entrance region of the storm track, more energy is converted from mean available potential energy to eddy available potential energy and then transferred to eddy kinetic energy, which is favorable for the overall enhancement of the storm track intensity. For the meridional shift mode, more energy is transformed from mean available potential energy to eddy available potential energy and further transferred to eddy kinetic energy over the southern (northern) areas of the storm track, contributing to the southward (northward) shift of the storm track. Additionally, the increased (decreased) conversion from mean-flow kinetic energy to eddy kinetic energy over the north-eastern Pacific region is also in favor of the southward (northward) shift of the storm track.

  17. Two millennia of Mesoamerican monsoon variability driven by Pacific and Atlantic synergistic forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lachniet, Matthew S.; Asmerom, Yemane; Polyak, Victor; Bernal, Juan Pablo

    2017-01-01

    The drivers of Mesoamerican monsoon variability over the last two millennia remain poorly known because of a lack of precisely-dated and climate-calibrated proxy records. Here, we present a new high resolution (∼2 yrs) and precisely-dated (± 4 yr) wet season hydroclimate reconstruction for the Mesoamerican sector of the North American Monsoon over the past 2250 years based on two aragonite stalagmites from southwestern Mexico which replicate oxygen isotope variations over the 950-1950 CE interval. The reconstruction is quantitatively calibrated to instrumental rainfall variations in the Basin of Mexico. Comparisons to proxy indices of ocean-atmosphere circulation show a synergistic forcing by the North Atlantic and El Niño/Southern Oscillations, whereby monsoon strengthening coincided with a La Niña-like mode and a negative North Atlantic Oscillation, and vice versa for droughts. Our data suggest that weak monsoon intervals are associated with a strong North Atlantic subtropical high pressure system and a weak Intertropical convergence zone in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Population expansions at three major highland Mexico civilization of Teotihuacan, Tula, and Aztec Tenochtitlan were all associated with drought to pluvial transitions, suggesting that urban population growth was favored by increasing freshwater availability in the semi-arid Mexican highlands, and that this hydroclimatic change was controlled by Pacific and Atlantic Ocean forcing.

  18. The impact of summertime north Indian Ocean SST on tropical cyclone genesis over the western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Jiayu; Wu, Qiaoyan; Guo, Yipeng; Zhao, Sen

    2017-04-01

    In this study, we investigate the impact of interannual variability of boreal summertime (June-September) north Indian Ocean (NIO) sea surface temperature (SST) on the distribution of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis over the western North Pacific (WNP) using observational datasets. In the boreal summers with warm (cold) SST in the NIO, fewer (more) than normal TCs form over the entire WNP, with fewer (more) TCs forming north of 10°N and more (fewer) TCs forming south of 10°N. The warm (cold) SST in the NIO induces anomalous anticyclonic (cyclonic) vorticity north of 10°N and cyclonic (anticyclonic) vorticity south of 10°N, which contributes to the meridional seesaw-like distribution of WNP TC genesis. This study provides a new perspective to understand TC activities over the WNP and may help seasonal TC prediction.

  19. Interdecadal Change in the Relationship Between the North Pacific Oscillation and the Pacific Meridional Mode and Its Impact on ENSO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, So-Jung; An, Soon-Il

    2018-02-01

    Two leading but independent modes of Northern Pacific atmospheric circulation: the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) and the Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM), are known external triggers of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) by the sequential migration of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies into the tropics possibly by means of wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedbacks. Because of the similar roles of NPO and PMM, most previous studies have explored them with no separation. Here, we investigate their independent and combined effects in triggering ENSO, and find that when the NPO and PMM occur simultaneously during spring, ENSO or ENSO-like SST anomalies are generated during the following winter; whereas when either the NPO or PMM occur alone, ENSO events rarely occur. Furthermore, the relationship between NPO and PMM shows noticeable interdecadal variability, which is related to decadal changes in the mean upper-level jet stream over the North Pacific. Changes in the upper-level jet stream modify the location of the center of the Aleutian Low, which plays a role in bridging the NPO and PMM processes, especially when it migrates to the southwest. The period when NPO and PMM are well correlated coincides somewhat with the active ENSO period, and vice versa, indicating that a more efficient trigger due to combined NPO-PMM processes results in a higher variation of ENSO. Finally, analysis of the coupled model control simulations strongly supports our observational analysis results.

  20. Plastic ingestion in oceanic-stage loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) off the North Atlantic subtropical gyre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Christopher K; Rodríguez, Yasmina; Dauphin, Axelle; Carriço, Rita; Frias, João P G L; Vandeperre, Frederic; Otero, Vanessa; Santos, Marco R; Martins, Helen R; Bolten, Alan B; Bjorndal, Karen A

    2017-08-15

    Juvenile oceanic-stage sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to the increasing quantity of plastic coming into the oceans. In this study, we analysed the gastrointestinal tracts of 24 juvenile oceanic-stage loggerheads (Caretta caretta) collected off the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, in the Azores region, a key feeding ground for juvenile loggerheads. Twenty individuals were found to have ingested marine debris (83%), composed exclusively of plastic items (primarily polyethylene and polypropylene) identified by μ-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Large microplastics (1-5mm) represented 25% of the total number of debris and were found in 58% of the individuals sampled. Average number of items was 15.83±6.09 (±SE) per individual, corresponding to a mean dry mass of 1.07±0.41g. The results of this study demonstrate that plastic pollution acts as another stressor for this critical life stage of loggerhead turtles in the North Atlantic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Water mass spreading in the warm water sphere of the eastern subtropical North Atlantic. Wassermassenausbreitung in der Warmwassersphaere des subtropischen Nordostatlantiks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stramma, L

    1984-01-01

    Geostrophic transports in the eastern subtropical North Atlantic computed from historic hydrographic data and recent CTD measurements show a mean transport in the subtropical gyre of 11(+-1.6) x 10/sup 6/m/sup 3/s/sup -1/ in the upper 1000 m between 35/sup 0/W and the African coast. The dynamic method was used in conjunction with a conservation of mass scheme to determine the level of no motion. This level lies at the 1200 m depth near the Azores and drops to 1500 m in the tropics. The main inflow enters south of the Azores as a relatively narrow current, turns southward at the latitude of Madeira and then widens. Three current bands transport the water southward. North of the Cape Verde Islands, the current turns westwards. This part of the North Equatorial Current extends more to the south in the upper 200 m than in the 200-800 m layer. The Portugal current, between the Azores and the Portuguese coast, which is thought by some authors to be strong, is seen here as a relatively weak flow. Maps of potential vorticity derived from smoothed density profiles are consistent with the general pattern of geostrophic transport. At 24/sup 0/N one third of the total geostrophic southward transport of the recirculation and one third of the temperature flux is transported in the eastern Atlantic east of 35/sup 0/W.

  2. Impacts of SST anomalies on the North Atlantic atmospheric circulation: a case study for the northern winter 1995/1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Losada, T.; Rodriguez-Fonseca, B. [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Departmento de Geofisica y Meteorologia, Madrid (Spain); Mechoso, C.R.; Ma, H.Y. [University of California Los Angeles, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    2007-12-15

    The present paper selects the northern winter of December 1995-February 1996 for a case study on the impact of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic and Western Europe. In the Atlantic, the selected winter was characterized by positive SST anomalies over the northern subtropics and east of Newfoundland, and negative anomalies along the US coast. A weak La Nina event developed in the Pacific. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index was low, precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa was anomalously high, and precipitation over northern Europe was anomalously low. The method of study consists of assessing the sensitivity of ensemble simulations by the UCLA atmospheric general circulation model (UCLA AGCM) to SST anomalies from the observation, which are prescribed either in the World Oceans, the Atlantic Ocean only, or the subtropical North Atlantic only. The results obtained are compared with a control run that uses global, time-varying climatological SST. The ensemble simulations with global and Atlantic-only SST anomalies both produce results that resemble the observations over the North Atlantic and Western Europe. It is suggested that the anomalous behavior of the atmosphere in the selected winter over those regions, therefore, was primarily determined by conditions within the Atlantic basin. The simulated fields in the tropical North Atlantic show anomalous upward motion and lower (upper) level convergence (divergence) in the atmosphere overlying the positive SST anomalies. Consistently, the subtropical jet intensifies and its core moves equatorward, and precipitation increases over northern Africa and southern Europe. The results also suggest that the SST anomalies in the tropical North Atlantic only do not suffice to produce the atmospheric anomalies observed in the basin during the selected winter. The extratropical SST anomalies would provide a key contribution through increased

  3. 77 FR 66564 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Essential Fish Habitat Amendments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-06

    ...-XA500 North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Essential Fish Habitat Amendments AGENCY: National... Scallop Fishery off Alaska (Scallop FMP); and Amendment 1 to the FMP for Fish Resources of the Arctic Management Area (Arctic FMP). These amendments update the existing essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions in...

  4. The plastic-associated microorganisms of the North Pacific Gyre

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carson, Henry S.; Nerheim, Magnus S.; Carroll, Katherine A.; Eriksen, Marcus

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Microorganisms mediate processes affecting the fate and impacts of marine plastic. • North Pacific Gyre (NPG) plastics were examined with scanning-electron microscopy. • Bacillus bacteria and pennate diatoms dominated the NPG plastic fouling community. • Bacterial abundance was patchily distributed but increased on foamed polystyrene. • Diatom abundance increased on rough surfaces and at sites with high plastic density. -- Abstract: Microorganisms likely mediate processes affecting the fate and impacts of marine plastic pollution, including degradation, chemical adsorption, and colonization or ingestion by macroorganisms. We investigated the relationship between plastic-associated microorganism communities and factors such as location, temperature, salinity, plankton abundance, plastic concentration, item size, surface roughness, and polymer type. Small plastic items from the surface of the North Pacific Gyre in 2011 were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Bacillus bacteria (mean 1664 ± 247 individuals mm −2 ) and pennate diatoms (1097 ± 154 mm −2 ) were most abundant, with coccoid bacteria, centric diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and radiolarians present. Bacterial abundance was patchy, but increased on foamed polystyrene. Diatom abundance increased on items with rough surfaces and at sites with high plastic concentrations. Morphotype richness increased slightly on larger fragments, and a biogeographic transition occurred between pennate diatom groups. Better characterizing this community will aid in understanding how it interacts with plastic pollution

  5. Magnitudes and sources of precipitation and dry deposition fluxes of industrial and natural leads to the North Pacific at Enewetak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Settle, D.M.; Patterson, C.C.

    1982-01-01

    A total atmospheric PB input flux of 7 ng Pb cm - 2 yr - 1 was measured in the North Pacific Easterlies at Enewetak. Parameters used to measure this flux were ratio of dry deposition flux to precipitation flux; Pb/ 210 Pb in precipitation and seawater; 210 Pb flux; washout factor; and Pb concentrations in air, rain, and dry deposition deposits. Relations among these parameters estabilished at Enewetak were used to recompute and comfirm previous estimates of lead fluxes to the oceans (ng Pb cm - 2 yr - 1 ) at the following locations: North Altantic Westerlies, 170; North Pacific Westerlies, 50; and South Pacific Easterlies, 3. Prehistoric lead output fluxes to sediments (ng Pb cm - 2 yr - 1 ) at these locations have been previously measured and were 4 (Enewetak); 30 North Atlantic Westerlies; 3 North Pacific Westerlies; 4 South Pacific Easterlies. These data show that the rates of atmospheric imputs of lead to the oceans vary directly with variations in rates of upwind emission of industrial lead from urban complexes on land. In the North Pacific and North Atlantic, present rates of atmospheric lead inputs are 10-fold greater than prehistoric outputs. In equatorial regions, present inputs and past outputs are more nearly equal. These observations disclose the effects of intense industrial atmospheric emissions of lead in the northern hemisphere westerlies which have overwhelmed prehistoric natural fluxes of lead to the oceans. The average concentration of lead in marine air at Enewetak is 170n pg m - 3 and varies less than a factor of 2 from that mean. One to 15% of this lead comes from seaspray, while the remainder comes from sources on land. About 90% of the seaspray lead is industrial, while 80 to 99% of that originating from land sources is industrial. Concentrations of lead in rain at Enewetak range from 6 to 63 pg/g with a mean value of 28

  6. Export production in the subarctic North Pacific over the last 800 kyrs: No evidence for iron fertilization?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kienast, S.S.; Hendy, I.L.; Crusius, J.; Pedersen, Thomas F.; Calvert, S.E.

    2004-01-01

    The subarctic North Pacific is a high nitrate-low chlorophyll (HNLC) region, where phytoplankton growth rates, especially those of diatoms, are enhanced when micro-nutrient Fe is added. Accordingly, it has been suggested that glacial Fe-laden dust might have increased primary production in this region. This paper reviews published palaeoceanographic records of export production over the last 800 kyrs from the open North Pacific (north of ???35??N). We find different patterns of export production change over time in the various domains of the North Pacific (NW and NE subarctic gyres, the marginal seas and the transition zone). However, there is no compelling evidence for an overall increase in productivity during glacials in the subarctic region, challenging the paradigm that dust-born Fe fertilization of this region has contributed to the glacial draw down of atmospheric CO2. Potential reasons for the lack of increased glacial export production include the possibility that Fe-fertilization rapidly drives the ecosystem towards limitation by another nutrient. This effect would have been exacerbated by an even more stable mixed layer compared to today. ?? The Oceanographic Society of Japan.

  7. Air Refueling Operations in the North Pacific: Is There a More Efficient Method?

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rauenhorst, Michael

    1998-01-01

    ... in new mission areas and optimizing the reverse associate unit. The best location to attempt either a KC-135 reverse associate unit or a non-traditional Air National Guard KC-135 squadron might be in the North Pacific Theater...

  8. Taxonomy Icon Data: North Pacific right whale [Taxonomy Icon

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica Chordata/Vertebrata/Mammalia/Theria/Eu...theria/Cetacea Eubalaena_japonica_L.png Eubalaena_japonica_NL.png Eubalaena_japonica_S.png Eubalaena_japonic...a_NS.png http://biosciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Eubalaena+japonica&t=L http://biosciencedbc.jp/tax...onomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Eubalaena+japonica&t=NL http://biosciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_ic...on/icon.cgi?i=Eubalaena+japonica&t=S http://biosciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Eubalaena+japonica&t=NS ...

  9. Variability of Atmospheric CO2 over the western North Pacific: Influence of Asian outflow during March-April 2001

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vay, S. A.; Woo, J.; Anderson, B. E.; Thornhill, K. L.; Kiley, C.; Avery, M. A.; Sachse, G. W.; Blake, D. R.; Streets, D. G.; Nolf, S. R.

    2002-12-01

    We report here tropospheric CO2 measurements made as part of the airborne component of NASA's Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) Mission during March and April in 2001. CO2 mixing ratios, sampled in the subtropics (23.5-45.5° N) west of 150° E, exhibited a decreasing trend with height (0.5-12 km), were highly correlated with latitude showing a distinct north to south gradient, and peaked between 35-40° N within the planetary boundary layer. Near the Asian continent, discrete plumes encountered below 4 km contained up to 393.6 ppmv CO2 and were augmented with the combustion and industrial tracers CO, C2H6, C3H8, CH3Cl, C2Cl4, and C6H6. A chemically based air mass classification scheme using the combustion products CO and C2H2 as tracers of continental source emissions was employed in this analysis. Results show an excellent positive correlation for CO2 (r2=0.98) with respect to this ratio in the lower to mid free troposphere (4-8 km) providing evidence of continental outflow. South of the Tropic of Cancer, mean and median CO2 values derived from samples obtained below 8 km are less than those calculated for the subtropics. However, within the upper troposphere (UT) of both regions, similar values were determined and enhancements in combustion-derived species in the 8-12 km altitude range were observed. The relationship revealed between CO2 and the C2H2/CO ratio, particularly for the tropics, suggests recent inputs from the surface to the UT. In order to elucidate the processes determining the variations of CO2 in the Asian Pacific rim region during TRACE-P, a CO2 emissions data base developed for Asia was examined in conjunction with the chemistry and 5 day backward trajectories in an attempt to link CO2 enhancements observed in pollution plumes to source regions. From these data acquired downwind of the Asian continent when CO2 concentrations at the surface were approaching their seasonal maximum, we estimate a net export flux on the

  10. Hazardous chemicals in marine mammals from the western North Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyazaki, N.; Tanabe, S.

    1999-01-01

    Marine mammals have long-term life and occupy the highest ecological niche in the marine ecosystem. Thus, higher concentration of hazardous chemicals are expected in marine mammals. In the present study, we review contamination of organochlorine compounds (DDTs, PCBs, HCHs, etc.), heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, etc.) and butyltin (TBT, DBT and MBT) in marine mammals collected from the western North Pacific, and discuss the worldwide contamination of these chemicals

  11. Ecological patterns, distribution and population structure of Prionace glauca (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) in the tropical-subtropical transition zone of the north-eastern Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vögler, Rodolfo; Beier, Emilio; Ortega-García, Sofía; Santana-Hernández, Heriberto; Valdez-Flores, J Javier

    2012-02-01

    Regional ecological patterns, distribution and population structure of Prionace glauca were analyzed based on samples collected on-board two long-line fleets operating in oceanic waters (1994-96/2000-02) and in coastal oceanic waters (2003-2009) of the eastern tropical Pacific off México. Generalized additive models were applied to catch per unit of effort data to evaluate the effect of spatial, temporal and environmental factors on the horizontal distribution of the life stages (juvenile, adult) and the sexes at the estimated depth of catch. The presence of breeding areas was explored. The population structure was characterized by the presence of juveniles' aggregations and pregnant females towards coastal waters and the presence of adult males' aggregations towards oceanic waters. The species exhibited horizontal segregation by sex-size and vertical segregation by sex. Distribution of the sex-size groups at oceanic waters was seasonally affected by the latitude; however, at coastal oceanic waters mainly females were influenced by the longitude. Latitudinal changes on the horizontal distribution were coupled to the seasonal forward and backward of water masses through the study area. Adult males showed positive relationship with high temperatures and high-salinities waters (17.0°-20.0 °C; 34.2-34.4) although they were also detected in low-salinities waters. The distribution of juvenile males mainly occurred beyond low temperatures and low-salinities waters (14.0°-15.0 °C; 33.6-34.1), suggesting a wide tolerance of adult males to explore subartic and subtropical waters. At oceanic areas, adult females were aggregated towards latitudes ecological key region to the reproductive cycle of P. glauca. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Spatio-temporal distributions of dicarboxylic acids, ω-oxocarboxylic acids, pyruvic acid, α-dicarbonyls and fatty acids in the marine aerosols from the North and South Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoque, Mir Md. Mozammal; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Uematsu, Mitsuo

    2017-03-01

    Aerosol samples (TSP) were collected during a cruise in the North (3°05‧N-34°02‧N) and South (6°59‧S-25°46‧S) Pacific to investigate the spatio-temporal distributions of water-soluble dicarboxylic acids and related compounds. The molecular distributions of diacids were characterized by the predominance of oxalic (C2) acid followed by malonic (C3) and then succinic (C4) acid. However, we found a predominance of C4 over C3 in the aerosol sample that was collected in the western North Pacific Rim with a heavy influence from continental air masses. Atmospheric abundances of short chain diacids (C2-C4) are 2-3 times higher in the North Pacific than in the South Pacific. During the cruise, abundances of C2 in the western North Pacific are 5 times higher than those in the rest of the samples collected. Moreover, the aerosol samples collected in the western North Pacific demonstrated that glyoxylic (ωC2) acid and methylglyoxal (MeGly) were dominant together with C2. We found a strong correlation between C2 and ωC2 (r = 0.87) and C2 and MeGly (r = 0.97) in the western North Pacific aerosols but the correlations are significantly weak in the samples from the central North Pacific and Southern Ocean. Diacids were found to account for 1.6 to 14% of organic carbon with higher values in the western North Pacific. These results, together with 7-day backward air mass trajectories, indicate that ωC2 and MeGly are both originated from the photochemical oxidation of continent-derived organic precursors including isoprene, which can serve as precursors for the production of C2 during long-range atmospheric transport.

  13. Upper temperature tolerance of North Atlantic and North Pacific geographical isolates of Chondrus species (Rhodophyta)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lüning, K.; Guiry, M. D.; Masuda, M.

    1987-09-01

    The upper survival temperature for most isolates of Chondrus crispus from localities ranging from northern Norway and Iceland to Spain, and for an isolate from Nova Scotia, was 28 °C after 2 weeks of exposure to temperatures of 20 31 °C at intervals of 1 °C. An upper survival limit of 29 °C was exhibited by a few European isolates from the English Channel, the North Sea, and one Irish isolate from the upper intertidal. The warm-temperate Japanese species C. nipponicus and C. giganteus forma flabellatus survived 30 °C, whereas 29 °C was the upper survival limit for the coldtemperature C. pinnulatus forma pinnulatus from northern Japan. A possible origin of C. crispus in the north Pacific is discussed.

  14. Asian industrial lead inputs to the North Pacific evidenced by lead concentrations and isotopic compositions in surface waters and aerosols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallon, Céline; Ranville, Mara A; Conaway, Christopher H; Landing, William M; Buck, Clifton S; Morton, Peter L; Flegal, A Russell

    2011-12-01

    Recent trends of atmospheric lead deposition to the North Pacific were investigated with analyses of lead in aerosols and surface waters collected on the fourth Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Contaminant Baseline Survey from May to June, 2002. Lead concentrations of the aerosols varied by 2 orders of magnitude (0.1-26.4 pmol/m(3)) due in part to variations in dust deposition during the cruise. The ranges in lead aerosol enrichment factors relative to iron (1-119) and aluminum (3-168) were similar, evidencing the transport of Asian industrial lead aerosols across the North Pacific. The oceanic deposition of some of those aerosols was substantiated by the gradient of lead concentrations of North Pacific waters, which varied 3-fold (32.7-103.5 pmol/kg), were highest along with the Asian margin of the basin, and decreased eastward. The hypothesized predominance of Asian industrial lead inputs to the North Pacific was further corroborated by the lead isotopic composition of ocean surface waters ((206)Pb/(207)Pb = 1.157-1.169; (208)Pb/(206)Pb = 2.093-2.118), which fell within the range of isotopic ratios reported in Asian aerosols that are primarily attributed to Chinese industrial lead emissions.

  15. Pre-bomb marine reservoir ages in the western north Pacific: Preliminary result on Kyoto University collection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoneda, Minoru; Kitagawa, Hiroyuki; Plicht, Johannes van der; Uchida, Masao; Tanaka, Atsushi; Uehiro, Takashi; Shibata, Yasuyuki; Morita, Masatoshi; Ohno, Terufumi

    2000-01-01

    The calibration of radiocarbon dates on marine materials involves a global marine calibration with regional corrections. The marine reservoir ages in the Western North Pacific have not been discussed, while it is quite important to determine the timing of palaeo-environmental changes as well as archaeological interpretation around this region. The lack of adequate collection of the pre-bomb shell from western north Pacific was the biggest problem. Recently we had a chance to examine specimens from an old shell collection stored in Kyoto University, including shell specimens from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the Micronesia of 1920s and 1930s. We explored the possibility for usage of specimen without clear evidence of live collection by measuring 30 apparent radiocarbon ages of pre-bomb mollusk shells from 18 sites in Western North Pacific. The preliminary results showed several discrepancies with previously reported results and with each other. We have to carefully select the shell specimen that has biological signs such as articulating fulcrum. In order to exploit this big resource of pre-bomb shell collection, the new technique to distinguish fossils from live collected samples should be developed by using chemical and physical methods

  16. Dynamic computer model for the metallogenesis and tectonics of the Circum-North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scotese, Christopher R.; Nokleberg, Warren J.; Monger, James W.H.; Norton, Ian O.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Dawson, Kenneth M.; Eremin, Roman A.; Frolov, Yuri F.; Fujita, Kazuya; Goryachev, Nikolai A.; Pozdeev, Anany I.; Ratkin, Vladimir V.; Rodinov, Sergey M.; Rozenblum, Ilya S.; Scholl, David W.; Shpikerman, Vladimir I.; Sidorov, Anatoly A.; Stone, David B.

    2001-01-01

    The digital files on this report consist of a dynamic computer model of the metallogenesis and tectonics of the Circum-North Pacific, and background articles, figures, and maps. The tectonic part of the dynamic computer model is derived from a major analysis of the tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific which is also contained in directory tectevol. The dynamic computer model and associated materials on this CD-ROM are part of a project on the major mineral deposits, metallogenesis, and tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera. The project provides critical information on bedrock geology and geophysics, tectonics, major metalliferous mineral resources, metallogenic patterns, and crustal origin and evolution of mineralizing systems for this region. The major scientific goals and benefits of the project are to: (1) provide a comprehensive international data base on the mineral resources of the region that is the first, extensive knowledge available in English; (2) provide major new interpretations of the origin and crustal evolution of mineralizing systems and their host rocks, thereby enabling enhanced, broad-scale tectonic reconstructions and interpretations; and (3) promote trade and scientific and technical exchanges between North America and Eastern Asia.

  17. Upper ocean heat budget of western-north Pacific using satellite and ship observations

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Pankajakshan, T.; Sugimori, Y.; Akiyama, M.

    Surface layer (0-17~'C isotherm depth) heat balance of a closed rectangular system (the Kuroshio system) in the North-West Pacific has been examined for a period of 10 days (from 16th to 25th, October, 1991), by considering the residual of net...

  18. Vertical distributions of particulate plutonium in the western North Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okubo, Ayako; Zheng, Jian; Aono, Tatsuo; Kaeriyama, Hideki; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Yamada, Masatoshi; Kusakabe, Masashi

    2007-01-01

    We examined the vertical distributions of 239+240 Pu activity and 240 Pu / 239 Pu atom ratio in particles collected by large volume water in-situ pump in the western North Pacific Ocean (off Rokkasho, Japan). This is the first information of vertical distribution of plutonium activity and Plutonium atom ratio in small particle (1-70 μm) and large particle (>70 μm). (author)

  19. The aluminosilicate fraction of North Pacific manganese nodules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bischoff, J.L.; Piper, D.Z.; Leong, K.

    1981-01-01

    Nine nodules collected from throughout the deep North Pacific were analyzed for their mineralogy and major-element composition before and after leaching with Chester-Hughes solution. Data indicate that the mineral phillipsite accounts for the major part (> 75%) of the aluminosilicate fraction of all nodules. It is suggested that formation of phillipsite takes place on growing nodule surfaces coupled with the oxidation of absorbed manganous ion. All the nodules could be described as ternary mixtures of amorphous iron fraction (Fe-Ti-P), manganese oxide fraction (Mn-Mg Cu-Ni), and phillipsite fraction (Al-Si-K-Na), these fractions accounting for 96% of the variability of the chemical composition. ?? 1981.

  20. Eddy-induced salinity pattern in the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, H.; Ebuchi, N.; Ueno, H.; Ishiyama, H.; Matsumura, Y.

    2017-12-01

    This research examines spatio-temporal behavior of sea surface salinity (SSS) after intense rainfall events using observed data from Aquarius. Aquarius SSS in the North Pacific reveals one notable event in which SSS is locally freshened by intense rainfall. Although SSS pattern shortly after the rainfall reflects atmospheric pattern, its final form reflects ocean dynamic structure; an anticyclonic eddy. Since this anticyclonic eddy was located at SSS front created by precipitation, this eddy stirs the water in a clockwise direction. This eddy stirring was visible for several months. It is expected horizontal transport by mesoscale eddies would play significant role in determining upper ocean salinity structure.

  1. Inter and Intra Basin Scale Transport of {sup 137}Cs in the Pacific Ocean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aoyama, M. [Geochemical Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan); Fukasawa, M.; Kawano, T. [Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka (Japan); Hamajima, Y. [Low-Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Nomi (Japan); Hirose, K. [Faculty of Science and Technology, Sophia University, Chiyoda-ku (Japan); Nakano, H. [Oceanographic Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan); Povinec, P. P. [Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovakia); Sanchez-Cabeza, J. A. [Institut de Ciencia i Tecnologia Ambientals, and Departament de Fisica, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Spain); Tsumune, D. [Environmental Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Abiko (Japan)

    2013-07-15

    The anthropogenic radionuclides, such as ''1''3''7Cs, ''9''0Sr, and some of the transuranic nuclides, are important tracers of transport and biogeochemical processes in the ocean. {sup 137}Cs, a major fission product present in a dissolved form in seawater, is a good tracer of oceanic circulation on a time scale of several decades. In the Pacific Ocean, 7 cruises were conducted and the 3-D distribution of {sup 137}Cs concentration in the 2000's was observed. Two types of ocean general circulation models were also used to conduct hindcasts of the {sup 137}Cs concentration. Both results allowed the drawing of a detailed picture of the {sup 137}Cs 3-D structure. The deposition of {sup 137}Cs mainly occurred in the northern subtropical gyre of the North Pacific Ocean and was later transported into the ocean interior, and a core structure of {sup 137}Cs was found along the Central Mode Water. After crossing the Equator, {sup 137}Cs spreads to the South Pacific through the Ekman transports at the surface. (author)

  2. Oceanography. Centennial changes in North Pacific anoxia linked to tropical trade winds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Curtis; Berelson, William; Thunell, Robert; Weber, Thomas; Tems, Caitlin; McManus, James; Crusius, John; Ito, Taka; Baumgartner, Timothy; Ferreira, Vicente; Mey, Jacob; van Geen, Alexander

    2014-08-08

    Climate warming is expected to reduce oxygen (O2) supply to the ocean and expand its oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). We reconstructed variations in the extent of North Pacific anoxia since 1850 using a geochemical proxy for denitrification (δ(15)N) from multiple sediment cores. Increasing δ(15)N since ~1990 records an expansion of anoxia, consistent with observed O2 trends. However, this was preceded by a longer declining δ(15)N trend that implies that the anoxic zone was shrinking for most of the 20th century. Both periods can be explained by changes in winds over the tropical Pacific that drive upwelling, biological productivity, and O2 demand within the OMZ. If equatorial Pacific winds resume their predicted weakening trend, the ocean's largest anoxic zone will contract despite a global O2 decline. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  3. Integrated Bird Conservation along the Pacific Coast of North America: An Action Agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregg Elliott; Bob Altman; Wendy Easton; Ricardo Estrella; Geoffrey Geupel; Mary Chase; Ellie Cohen; Ann Chrisney

    2005-01-01

    Scientists and managers representing the continental bird conservation plans explored the status of conservation planning and implementation for birds along the Pacific coast of North America. The theme of the session, "using common currencies to advance bird conservation," emphasized the components of bird conservation shared among the major initiatives,...

  4.  Climate change may trigger broad shifts in North America's Pacific Coastal rainforests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominick A. DellaSala; Patric Brandt; Marni   Koopman; Jessica Leonard; Claude Meisch; Patrick Herzog; Paul Alaback; Michael I. Goldstein; Sarah Jovan; Andy MacKinnon; Henrik von Wehrden

    2015-01-01

    Climate change poses significant threats to Pacific coastal rainforests of North America. Land managers currently lack a coordinated climate change adaptation approach with which to prepare the region's globally outstanding biodiversity for accelerating change. We provided analyses intended to inform coordinated adaptation for eight focal rainforest tree species...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-12-01

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

  6. Anomalous winter climate conditions in the Pacific rim during recent El Nino Modoki and El Nino events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weng, Hengyi; Behera, Swadhin K. [Climate Variations Research Program, Frontier Research Center for Global Change/JAMSTEC, Yokohama (Japan); Yamagata, Toshio [Climate Variations Research Program, Frontier Research Center for Global Change/JAMSTEC, Yokohama (Japan)]|[University of Tokyo, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Sciences, Tokyo (Japan)

    2009-04-15

    Present work compares impacts of El Nino Modoki and El Nino on anomalous climate in the Pacific rim during boreal winters of 1979-2005. El Nino Modoki (El Nino) is associated with tripole (dipole) patterns in anomalies of sea-surface temperature, precipitation, and upper-level divergent wind in the tropical Pacific, which are related to multiple 'boomerangs' of ocean-atmosphere conditions in the Pacific. Zonal and meridional extents of those 'boomerangs' reflect their independent influences, which are seen from lower latitudes in the west to higher latitudes in the east. In the central Pacific, more moisture is transported from the tropics to higher latitudes during El Nino Modoki owing to displacement of the wet 'boomerang' arms more poleward toward east. Discontinuities at outer 'boomerang' arms manifest intense interactions between tropical and subtropical/extratropical systems. The Pacific/North American pattern and related climate anomalies in North America found in earlier studies are modified in very different ways by the two phenomena. The seesaw with the dry north and the wet south in the western USA is more likely to occur during El Nino Modoki, while much of the western USA is wet during El Nino. The moisture to the southwestern USA is transported from the northward shifted ITCZ during El Nino Modoki, while it is carried by the storms traveling along the southerly shifted polar front jet during El Nino. The East Asian winter monsoon related anticyclone is over the South China Sea during El Nino Modoki as compared to its position over the Philippine Sea during El Nino, causing opposite precipitation anomalies in the southern East Asia between the two phenomena. (orig.)

  7. Seasonal Climate Associated with Major Shipping Routes in the North Pacific and North Atlantic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jau-Ming Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The major shipping routes in the North Pacific (NP and North Atlantic (NA are analyzed via ship-reported records compiled by the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS. The shipping route seasonal characteristics and associated climatic features are also examined. In the NP, the dominant cross-basin route takes a great-circle path between East Asia and North America along 54°N north of the Aleutian Islands throughout the year. This route penetrates the Aleutian low center where ocean waves and winds are relatively weaker than those in the low¡¦s southern section south of 50°N. Moreover, the Earth¡¦s spherical shape makes a higher-latitude route shorter in navigational distance across the NP than a lower-latitude route. Two additional mid-latitude routes through the 40° - 50°N region appear in summer when the Aleutian low vanishes. In the NA, the major shipping routes form an X-shaped pattern in the oceans south of 40°N to connect North America/the Panama Canal and the Mediterranean Sea/the British Isles and Europe. These major shipping routes are far from the influence of the Icelandic low and thus are used throughout the year due to the stability in marine conditions and their general efficiency. A third and more zonal route appears to the north of the X-shaped routes in the 40° - 50°N region. Weak influence from the Icelandic low on marine conditions during summer and spring means that more ships take this route in summer and spring than in winter and fall.

  8. Motion of the Rivera plate since 10 Ma relative to the Pacific and North American plates and the mantle

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeMets, Charles; Traylen, Stephen

    2000-03-01

    To better understand the influence of Rivera plate kinematics on the geodynamic evolution of western Mexico, we use more than 1400 crossings of seafloor spreading magnetic lineations along the Pacific-Rivera rise and northern Mathematician ridge to solve for rotations of the Rivera plate relative to the underlying mantle and the Pacific and North American plates at 14 times since 9.9 Ma. Our comparison of magnetic anomaly crossings from the undeformed Pacific plate to their counterparts on the Rivera plate indicates that significant areas of the Rivera plate have deformed since 9.9 Ma. Dextral shear along the southern edge of the plate from 3.3-2.2 Ma during a regional plate boundary reorganization deformed the Rivera plate farther into its interior than previously recognized. In addition, seafloor located north of two rupture zones within the Rivera plate sutured to North America after 1.5 Ma. Anomaly crossings from these two deformed regions thus cannot be used to reconstruct motion of the Rivera plate. Finite rotations that best reconstruct Pacific plate anomaly crossings onto their undeformed counterparts on the Rivera plate yield stage spreading rates that decrease gradually by 10% between 10 and 3.6 Ma, decrease rapidly by 20% after ˜3.6 Ma, and recover after 1 Ma. The slowdown in Pacific-Rivera seafloor spreading at 3.6 Ma coincided with the onset of dextral shear across the then-incipient southern boundary of the Rivera plate with the Pacific plate. The available evidence indicates that the Rivera plate has been an independent microplate since at least 10 Ma, contrary to published assertions that it fragmented from the Cocos plate at ˜5 Ma. Motion of the Rivera plate relative to North America has changed significantly since 10 Ma, in concert with significant changes in Pacific-Rivera motion. A significant and robust feature of Rivera-North America motion not previously recognized is the cessation of margin-normal convergence and thus subduction from 2

  9. Sources and processes affecting the distribution of dissolved Nd isotopes and concentrations in the West Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behrens, Melanie K.; Pahnke, Katharina; Schnetger, Bernhard; Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen

    2018-02-01

    In the Atlantic, where deep circulation is vigorous, the dissolved neodymium (Nd) isotopic composition (expressed as ɛNd) is largely controlled by water mass mixing. In contrast, the factors influencing the ɛNd distribution in the Pacific, marked by sluggish circulation, is not clear yet. Indication for regional overprints in the Pacific is given based on its bordering volcanic islands. Our study aims to clarify the impact and relative importance of different Nd sources (rivers, volcanic islands), vertical (bio)geochemical processes and lateral water mass transport in controlling dissolved ɛNd and Nd concentration ([Nd]) distributions in the West Pacific between South Korea and Fiji. We find indication for unradiogenic continental input from South Korean and Chinese rivers to the East China Sea. In the tropical West Pacific, volcanic islands supply Nd to surface and subsurface waters and modify their ɛNd to radiogenic values of up to +0.7. These radiogenic signatures allow detailed tracing of currents flowing to the east and differentiation from westward currents with open ocean Pacific ɛNd composition in the complex tropical Pacific zonal current system. Modified radiogenic ɛNd of West Pacific intermediate to bottom waters upstream or within our section also indicates non-conservative behavior of ɛNd due to boundary exchange at volcanic island margins, submarine ridges, and with hydrothermal particles. Only subsurface to deep waters (3000 m) in the open Northwest Pacific show conservative behavior of ɛNd. In contrast, we find a striking correlation of extremely low (down to 2.77 pmol/kg Nd) and laterally constant [Nd] with the high-salinity North and South Pacific Tropical Water, indicating lateral transport of preformed [Nd] from the North and South Pacific subtropical gyres into the study area. This observation also explains the previously observed low subsurface [Nd] in the tropical West Pacific. Similarly, Western South Pacific Central Water, Antarctic

  10. AFSC/NMML: North Pacific Right Whale Vessel Surveys in the Southeastern Bering Sea, 2007 - 2011

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The North Pacific right whale (NPRW) was heavily hunted between the 17th and the 20th centuries. Protection was supposedly afforded by international treaties in the...

  11. Sources and transformation of dissolved and particulate organic nitrogen in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre indicated by compound-specific δ15N analysis of amino acids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Yasuhiko T.; McCarthy, Matthew D.

    2018-01-01

    This study explores the use of compound-specific nitrogen isotopes of amino acids (δ15NAA) of coupled dissolved and particulate organic nitrogen (DON, PON) samples as a new approach to examine relative sources, transformation processes, and the potential coupling of these two major forms of N cycle in the ocean water column. We measured δ15NAA distributions in high-molecular-weight dissolved organic nitrogen (HMW DON) and suspended PON in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) from surface to mesopelagic depths. A new analytical approach achieved far greater δ15NAA measurement precision for DON than earlier work, allowing us to resolve previously obscured differences in δ15NAA signatures, both with depth and between ON pools. We propose that δ15N values of total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA) represents a proxy for proteinaceous ON δ15N values in DON and PON. Together with bulk δ15N values, this allows δ15N values and changes in bulk, proteinaceous, and ;other-N; to be directly evaluated. These novel measurements suggest three main conclusions. First, the δ15NAA signatures of both surface and mesopelagic HMW DON suggest mainly heterotrophic bacterial sources, with mesopelagic HMW DON bearing signatures of far more degraded material compared to surface material. These results contrast with a previous proposal that HMW DON δ15NAA patterns are essentially ;pre-formed; by cyanobacteria in the surface ocean, undergo little change with depth. Second, different δ15NAA values and patterns of HMW DON vs. suspended PON in the surface NPSG suggest that sources and cycling of these two N reservoirs are surpisingly decoupled. Based on molecular δ15N signatures, we propose a new hypothesis that production of surface HMW DON is ultimately derived from subsurface nitrate, while PON in the mixed layer is strongly linked to N2 fixation and N recycling. In contrast, the comparative δ15NAA signatures of HMW DON vs. suspended PON in the mesopelagic also suggest a

  12. Effect of boreal spring precipitation anomaly pattern change in the late 1990s over tropical Pacific on the atmospheric teleconnection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yuanyuan; Wen, Zhiping; Chen, Ruidan; Li, Xiuzhen; Yang, Xiu-Qun

    2018-02-01

    Observational evidence showed that the leading mode of precipitation variability over the tropical Pacific during boreal spring experienced a pronounced interdecadal change around the late 1990s, characterized by a precipitation pattern shift from an eastern Pacific (EP) type to a central Pacific (CP) type. The distinct impacts of such a precipitation pattern shift on the extratropical atmospheric teleconnection were examined. An apparent poleward teleconnection extending from the tropics to the North Atlantic region was observed after 1998, while, there was no significant teleconnection before 1998. To understand why only the CP-type precipitation mode is associated with a striking atmospheric teleconnection after 1998, diagnostic analyses with the Eliassen-Palm flux and Rossby wave source (RWS) based on the barotropic vorticity equation were performed. The results show that for the EP-type precipitation mode, no significant RWS anomalies appeared over the subtropical Pacific due to the opposite effect of the vortex stretching and absolute vorticity advection processes. For the CP-type precipitation mode, however, there are both significant vorticity forcing source over the subtropical CP and clear poleward-propagation of Rossby wave. The spatial distribution of the CP-type precipitation pattern tends to excite a conspicuous anomalous southerly and a well-organized negative vorticity center over the subtropical CP where both the mean absolute vorticity gradient and mean divergence flow are large, hence, the interaction between the heating-induced anomalous circulation and the basic state made the generation of Rossby waves conceivable and effective. Such corresponding teleconnection responses to the prescribed heating were also examined by using a Linear Baroclinic Model (LBM). It turned out that significant poleward teleconnection pattern is only caused by the CP-type precipitation mode, rather than by the EP-type precipitation mode. Further sensitive experiments

  13. Iodine monoxide in the north subtropical free troposphere

    OpenAIRE

    O. Puentedura; M. Gil; A. Saiz-Lopez; T. Hay; M. Navarro-Comas; A. Gómez-Pelaez; E. Cuevas; J. Iglesias; L. Gomez

    2012-01-01

    Iodine monoxide (IO) differential slant column densities (DSCD) have been retrieved from a new multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instrument deployed at the Izaña subtropical observatory as part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) programme. The station is located at 2370 m a.s.l., well above the trade wind inversion that limits the top of the marine boundary layer, and hence is representative of the free troposphere. We r...

  14. Decadal Drought and Wetness Reconstructed for Subtropical North America in the Mexican Drought Atlas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnette, D. J.; Stahle, D. W.; Cook, E. R.; Villanueva Diaz, J.; Griffin, D.; Cook, B.

    2014-12-01

    A new drought atlas has been developed for subtropical North America, including the entire Republic of Mexico. This Mexican Drought Atlas (MXDA) is based on 251 tree-ring chronologies, including 82 from Mexico and another 169 from the southern U.S. and western Guatemala. Point-by-point principal components regression was used to reconstruct the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for June-August. Calibration and verification statistics were improved over what was previously possible with the North American Drought Atlas, which was based on fewer chronologies only in Mexico. The MXDA will be served on the web with analytical tools for composite, correlation, and congruence analyses. The new PDSI reconstructions provide a more detailed estimation of decadal moisture regimes over the past 2000 years, but are most robust after 1400 AD, when several chronologies are available across Mexico. Droughts previously identified in a subset of chronologies are confirmed and their spatial impact quantified in the new reconstructions. This includes the intense drought of the mid-15th Century described in Aztec legend, the 16th Century megadrought, and "El Año del Hambre", one of the worst famines in Mexican history. We also use the best replicated portion of the MXDA in the 18th and 19th Centuries to reconstruct moisture anomalies during key time periods of Mexican turmoil (e.g., the Mexican War of Independence).

  15. WAVE DIRECTION and Other Data from FIXED PLATFORM From North Pacific Ocean and Others from 19810817 to 19940323 (NODC Accession 9400105)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains Wave Energy (wave height and wave period) Data from Hawaiian coast collected over 13 years in North Pacific Ocean, NE Pacific (limit-180)....

  16. North Pacific deglacial hypoxic events linked to abrupt ocean warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praetorius, Summer K; Mix, Alan C.; Davies, Maureen H.; Wolhowe, Matthew D; Addison, Jason A.; Prahl, Frederick G

    2015-01-01

    Marine sediments from the North Pacific document two episodes of expansion and strengthening of the subsurface oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) accompanied by seafloor hypoxia during the last deglacial transition1, 2, 3, 4. The mechanisms driving this hypoxia remain under debate1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. We present a new high-resolution alkenone palaeotemperature reconstruction from the Gulf of Alaska that reveals two abrupt warming events of 4–5 degrees Celsius at the onset of the Bølling and Holocene intervals that coincide with sudden shifts to hypoxia at intermediate depths. The presence of diatomaceous laminations and hypoxia-tolerant benthic foraminiferal species, peaks in redox-sensitive trace metals12, 13, and enhanced 15N/14N ratio of organic matter13, collectively suggest association with high export production. A decrease in 18O/16O values of benthic foraminifera accompanying the most severe deoxygenation event indicates subsurface warming of up to about 2 degrees Celsius. We infer that abrupt warming triggered expansion of the North Pacific OMZ through reduced oxygen solubility and increased marine productivity via physiological effects; following initiation of hypoxia, remobilization of iron from hypoxic sediments could have provided a positive feedback on ocean deoxygenation through increased nutrient utilization and carbon export. Such a biogeochemical amplification process implies high sensitivity of OMZ expansion to warming.

  17. Decadal oscillation of autumn precipitation in Central Vietnam modulated by the East Pacific–North Pacific (EP–NP) teleconnection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, R; Wang, S-Y; Gillies, R R; Cho, C; Buckley, B M; Truong, L H

    2015-01-01

    Autumn precipitation over Central Vietnam is associated with an increase in the occurrence of tropical cyclones that lead to frequent flooding and pose a significant threat to lives and property. The present analyses reveal a pronounced decadal oscillation of autumn precipitation in Central Vietnam within the 8–11 year frequency band that is modulated by the East Pacific–North Pacific (EP–NP) teleconnection. The negative phase of the EP–NP pattern is associated with a positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the South China Sea (SCS) that induces low-level convergence, enhances convection, and increases precipitation over Central Vietnam and adjacent islands including Hainan (China) and the Philippines. This circulation feature around the SCS is embedded in a large-scale circulation associated with SST anomalies across the Pacific Ocean—i.e., cooling in the Eastern and Central tropical Pacific sandwiched by warming in the North and South Pacific as well as the Western Pacific Ocean. The positive phase of the EP–NP features opposite SST and circulation anomalies, with the result being reduced rainfall in Central Vietnam. This out-of-phase relationship and shared decadal spectral coherence between the EP–NP index and autumn precipitation in Central Vietnam might be useful for future climate predictions and flood management. (letter)

  18. PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs in albatross from the North Pacific and Southern Oceans: levels, patterns, and toxicological implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanabe, Shinsuke; Watanabe, Mafumi; Minh, Tu Binh; Kunisue, Tatsuya; Nakanishi, Shigeyuki; Ono, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Hiroyuki

    2004-01-15

    Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (coplanar PCBs) were determined in five albatross species collected from the North Pacific and Southern Oceans to assess the north-south differences in residue levels, accumulation patterns, and toxic potential. Black-footed and Laysan albatrosses from the North Pacific Ocean contained higher levels of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs than albatrosses from the Southern Ocean, indicating that emission sources of these contaminants were predominant in the northern hemisphere. Residue levels in albatrosses from the remote North Pacific Ocean far from the point source of pollution were comparable to or higher than those in terrestrial and coastal birds from contaminated areas in developed nations, suggesting the specific exposure and accumulation of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs in albatross. The long life span and ingestion of plastic resin pellets by albatrosses could be the plausible explanations for the elevated accumulation of persistent and lipophilic contaminants including PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs in these birds. Relative proportions of PCDFs and coplanar PCBs in albatross were higher than those observed in birds inhabiting terrestrial and coastal areas, suggesting that these toxic chemicals may have higher transportability by air and water than PCDDs. Congener patterns of PCDD/Fs in albatross showed less variability as compared to those in terrestrial species, indicating that contamination patterns of PCDD/Fs were similar within the open ocean environment. Contributions of PCDD/Fs to total TEQs in albatrosses from the open ocean were generally lower than those in terrestrial birds, suggesting different toxic potency of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs on animals inhabiting open ocean and terrestrial environment. Whereas albatrosses from southern oceans retained lower TEQ concentrations, possible adverse effects of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs

  19. Coherent mesoscale eddies in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre: 3-D structure and transport with application to the salinity maximum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amores, Angel; Melnichenko, Oleg; Maximenko, Nikolai

    2017-01-01

    The mean vertical structure and transport properties of mesoscale eddies are investigated in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre by combining historical records of Argo temperature/salinity profiles and satellite sea level anomaly data in the framework of the eddy tracking technique. The study area is characterized by a low eddy kinetic energy and sea surface salinity maximum. Although eddies have a relatively weak signal at surface (amplitudes around 3-7 cm), the eddy composites reveal a clear deep signal that penetrates down to at least 1200 m depth. The analysis also reveals that the vertical structure of the eddy composites is strongly affected by the background stratification. The horizontal patterns of temperature/salinity anomalies can be reconstructed by a linear combination of a monopole, related to the elevation/depression of the isopycnals in the eddy core, and a dipole, associated with the horizontal advection of the background gradient by the eddy rotation. A common feature of all the eddy composites reconstructed is the phase coherence between the eddy temperature/salinity and velocity anomalies in the upper ˜300 m layer, resulting in the transient eddy transports of heat and salt. As an application, a box model of the near-surface layer is used to estimate the role of mesoscale eddies in maintaining a quasi-steady state distribution of salinity in the North Atlantic subtropical salinity maximum. The results show that mesoscale eddies are able to provide between 4 and 21% of the salt flux out of the area required to compensate for the local excess of evaporation over precipitation.

  20. Decrease of tropical cyclone genesis frequency in the western North Pacific since 1960s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Feng; Li, Tim; Liu, Jia; Bi, Mingyu; Peng, Melinda

    2018-03-01

    Tropical cyclone (TC) genesis frequency in the western North Pacific (WNP) during 1960-2014 shows a step-by-step decrease on interdecadal timescale, in accordance to the phase of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO). The environmental parameters responsible for the interdecadal change of TC genesis frequency were investigated. It was found that vertical wind shear especially the zonal wind shear plays a critical role, while other parameters such as sea surface temperature (SST), vertical velocity, divergence, humidity and maximum potential intensity cannot explain the step-by-step decrease of TC genesis frequency. A further diagnosis shows that the interdecadal change of vertical wind shear is caused by SST and associated rainfall pattern changes across the Indo-Pacific Ocean. A stronger warming in the Indian Ocean/western Pacific from 1960-1976 to 1977-1998 led to enhanced convection over the Maritime Continent and thus strengthened vertical shear over the key TC genesis region in the WNP. A La Nina-like SST pattern change from 1977-1998 to 1999-2014 led to a strengthened Walker circulation in the tropical Pacific, which further enhanced the vertical shear and decreased TC genesis frequency in the WNP.

  1. Tropical and Subtropical Cloud Transitions in Weather and Climate Prediction Models: The GCSS/WGNE Pacific Cross-Section Intercomparison (GPCI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, J.; Cardoso, S.; Bonazzola, M.; Cole, J.; DeGenio, A.; DeMott, C.; Franklin, C.; Hannay, C.; Jakob, C.; Jiao, Y.; hide

    2011-01-01

    A model evaluation approach is proposed in which weather and climate prediction models are analyzed along a Pacific Ocean cross section, from the stratocumulus regions off the coast of California, across the shallow convection dominated trade winds, to the deep convection regions of the ITCZ the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Cloud System Study/Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (GCSS/ WGNE) Pacific Cross-Section Intercomparison (GPCI). The main goal of GPCI is to evaluate and help understand and improve the representation of tropical and subtropical cloud processes in weather and climate prediction models. In this paper, a detailed analysis of cloud regime transitions along the cross section from the subtropics to the tropics for the season June July August of 1998 is presented. This GPCI study confirms many of the typical weather and climate prediction model problems in the representation of clouds: underestimation of clouds in the stratocumulus regime by most models with the corresponding consequences in terms of shortwave radiation biases; overestimation of clouds by the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) in the deep tropics (in particular) with the corresponding impact in the outgoing longwave radiation; large spread between the different models in terms of cloud cover, liquid water path and shortwave radiation; significant differences between the models in terms of vertical cross sections of cloud properties (in particular), vertical velocity, and relative humidity. An alternative analysis of cloud cover mean statistics is proposed where sharp gradients in cloud cover along the GPCI transect are taken into account. This analysis shows that the negative cloud bias of some models and ERA-40 in the stratocumulus regions [as compared to the first International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP)] is associated not only with lower values of cloud cover in these regimes, but also with a stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition that occurs too

  2. Nutrients and other data from bottle, MBT, XBT, and CTD casts in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean from 08 May 1956 to 14 December 1999 (NODC Accession 0000717)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Nutrients and other data were collected using bottle, MBT, XBT, and CTD casts in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean from 08 May 1956 to 14 December 1999....

  3. Nutrients and other data from bottle, MBT, XBT, and CTD casts in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean from 03 January 1972 to 16 June 1996 (NODC Accession 0000751)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Nutrients and other data were collected using bottle, MBT, XBT, and CTD casts in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean from 03 January 1972 to 12 June 1996....

  4. Cryptococcus gattii: Emergence in Western North America: Exploitation of a Novel Ecological Niche

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kausik Datta

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The relatively uncommon fungal pathogen Cryptococcus gattii recently emerged as a significant cause of cryptococcal disease in human and animals in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Although genetic studies indicated its possible presence in the Pacific Northwest for more than 30 years, C. gattii as an etiological agent was largely unknown in this region prior to 1999. The recent emergence may have been encouraged by changing conditions of climate or land use and/or host susceptibility, and predictive ecological niche modeling indicates a potentially wider spread. C. gattii can survive wide climatic variations and colonize the environment in tropical, subtropical, temperate, and dry climates. Long-term climate changes, such as the significantly elevated global temperature in the last 100 years, influence patterns of disease among plants and animals and create niche microclimates habitable by emerging pathogens. C. gattii may have exploited such a hitherto unrecognized but clement environment in the Pacific Northwest to provide a wider exposure and risk of infection to human and animal populations.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2011-12-15

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

  6. Dynamics of the transition zone in coastal zone color scanner-sensed ocean color in the North Pacific during oceanographic spring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glover, David M.; Wroblewski, J. S.; Mcclain, Charles R.

    1994-01-01

    A transition zone in phytoplankton concentration running across the North Pacific basin at 30 deg to 40 deg north latitude corresponds to a basin-wide front in surface chlorophyll observed in a composite of coastal zone color scanner (CZCS) images for May, June, and July 1979-1986. This transition zone with low chlorophyll to the south and higher chlorophyll to the north can be simulated by a simple model of the concentration of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and dissolved nutrient (nitrate) in the surface mixed layer of the ocean applied to the North Pacific basin for the climatological conditions during oceanographic springtime (May, June, and July). The model is initialized with a 1 deg x 1 deg gridded estimate of wintertime (February, March, and April) mixed layer nitrate concentrations calculated from an extensive nutrient database and a similarly gridded mixed layer depth data set. Comparison of model predictions with CZCS data provides a means of evaluating the dynamics of the transition zone. We conclude that in the North Pacific, away from major boundary currents and coastal upwelling zones, wintertime vertical mixing determines the total nutrient available to the plankton ecosystem in the spring. The transition zone seen in basin-scale CZCS images is a reflection of the geographic variation in the wintertime mixed layer depth and the nitracline, leading to a latitudinal gradient in phytoplankton chlorophyll.

  7. Numerical simulation on the southern flood and northern drought in summer 2014 over Eastern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lianlian; He, Shengping; Li, Fei; Ma, Jiehua; Wang, Huijun

    2017-12-01

    In summer 2014, Eastern China suffered a typical "southern flood and northern drought" anomalous climate. Observational analyses indicated that the anomalous vertical motion, East Asian subtropical westerly jet stream, and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) played important roles in the formation of such precipitation anomaly. Furthermore, using the climate model (IAP-AGCM-4.1) perturbed by simultaneous observed sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in global scale and four different regions (North Pacific, Indian Ocean, North Atlantic, and Equatorial Pacific), this study investigated the potential contribution of ocean to such "southern flood and northern drought" over Eastern China in summer 2014. The simulations forced by global-scale SSTAs or North Pacific SSTAs displayed the most similarity to the observed "southern flood and northern drought" over Eastern China. It was revealed that the global-scale and North Pacific SSTAs influenced the rainfall over Eastern China via modulating the EASM. The related simulations successfully reproduced the associated atmospheric circulation anomalies. The experiment driven by Indian Ocean SSTAs could also reproduce the similar precipitation anomaly pattern and suggested that the Indian Ocean exerted pronounced influence on the North Pacific Subtropical High. Additionally, the simulations forced by SSTAs in the North Atlantic and Equatorial Pacific successfully reproduced the northern drought but failed to capture the southern flood. The simulations suggested that precipitation anomaly over Eastern China in summer 2014 was a comprehensive effect of global SSTAs and the dominant contribution to the "southern flood and northern drought" pattern came from the North Pacific and Indian Ocean.

  8. Extreme winds in the Western North Pacific

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ott, Søren

    2006-01-01

    satellite images is discussed with emphasis on the empirical basis, which, unfortunately, is not very strong. This is stressed by the fact that Japanese and US agencies arrive at markedly different estimates. Onthe other hand, best track data records cover a long period of time and if not perfect......A statistical model for extreme winds in the western North Pacific is developed, the region on the Planet where tropical cyclones are most common. The model is based on best track data derived mostly from satellite images of tropical cyclones. The methodsused to estimate surface wind speeds from...... they are at least coherent over time in their imperfections. Applying the the Holland model to the best track data, wind profiles can be assigned along the tracks. Fromthis annual wind speed maxima at any particular point in the region can be derived. The annual maxima, in turn, are fitted to a Gumbel distribution...

  9. A synthesis of the environmental response of the North and South Atlantic Sub-Tropical Gyres during two decades of AMT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aiken, Jim; Brewin, Robert J. W.; Dufois, Francois; Polimene, Luca; Hardman-Mountford, Nick J.; Jackson, Thomas; Loveday, Ben; Hoya, Silvana Mallor; Dall'Olmo, Giorgio; Stephens, John; Hirata, Takafumi

    2017-11-01

    Anthropogenically-induced global warming is expected to decrease primary productivity in the subtropical oceans by strengthening stratification of the water column and reducing the flux of nutrients from deep-waters to the sunlit surface layers. Identification of such changes is hindered by a paucity of long-term, spatially-resolved, biological time-series data at the basin scale. This paper exploits Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) data on physical and biogeochemical properties (1995-2014) in synergy with a wide range of remote-sensing (RS) observations from ocean colour, Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) and altimetry (surface currents), combined with different modelling approaches (both empirical and a coupled 1-D Ecosystem model), to produce a synthesis of the seasonal functioning of the North and South Atlantic Sub-Tropical Gyres (STGs), and assess their response to longer-term changes in climate. We explore definitive characteristics of the STGs using data of physical (SST, SSS and peripheral current systems) and biogeochemical variables (chlorophyll and nitrate), with inherent criteria (permanent thermal stratification and oligotrophy), and define the gyre boundary from a sharp gradient in these physical and biogeochemical properties. From RS data, the seasonal cycles for the period 1998-2012 show significant relationships between physical properties (SST and PAR) and gyre area. In contrast to expectations, the surface layer chlorophyll concentration from RS data (CHL) shows an upward trend for the mean values in both subtropical gyres. Furthermore, trends in physical properties (SST, PAR, gyre area) differ between the North and South STGs, suggesting the processes responsible for an upward trend in CHL may vary between gyres. There are significant anomalies in CHL and SST that are associated with El Niño events. These conclusions are drawn cautiously considering the short length of the time-series (1998-2012), emphasising the need

  10. Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Eastern North Pacific and Adjacent Arctic Waters: A Guide to Their Identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leatherwood, Stephen; And Others

    This field guide is designed to permit observers to identify the cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) they see in the waters of the eastern North Pacific, including the Gulf of California, Hawaii, and the western Arctic of North America. The animals described are grouped not by scientific relationships but by similarities in appearance in…

  11. Diagnostic Analysis of Contributions of the North Atlantic Subtropical High to Sub-Seasonal Predictability of Summertime Drought and Flood in the Eastern US.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, E.; Steinschneider, S.

    2017-12-01

    The North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH)—a semi-permanent anticyclone established under the descending branch of the Hadley cell in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean—has been identified as a primary driver of summertime precipitation in the Eastern US. Characteristic patterns of precipitation across the region are associated with variations in the location and intensity of the NASH western ridge, and recently these characteristics have been identified as potential sources of predictability for precipitation at sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) timescales. In this work, we show that the location and intensity of the NASH also directly control atmospheric variables that contribute to variability in moisture demand (PET), such as surface wind speed and solar insolation. Using surface climate and NASH characteristics from observational and reanalysis datasets, we will examine the relationship between NASH intensity and the location of its western ridge and both precipitation and PET at various seasonal to sub-seasonal (S2S) timescales. Particular focus will be given to how the strength of these relationships varies across space and through time. The goal is to identify the S2S time-scales where the NASH contributes to maximum predictability of atmospheric drivers of both agricultural drought and regional flooding. Results will help support the development of both drought and flood forecasting tools for different regions in the Eastern United States.

  12. Operational Prediction of the Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) Distribution for Neon Flying Squid in Central North Pacific by Using FORA Dataset and a New Data Assimilation System SKUIDS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igarashi, H.; Ishikawa, Y.; Wakamatsu, T.; Tanaka, Y.; Nishikawa, S.; Nishikawa, H.; Kamachi, M.; Kuragano, T.; Takatsuki, Y.; Fujii, Y.; Usui, N.; Toyoda, T.; Hirose, N.; Sakai, M.; Saitoh, S. I.; Imamura, Y.

    2016-02-01

    The neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) has a wide-spread distribution in subtropical and temperate waters in the North Pacific, which plays an important role in the pelagic ecosystem and is one of the major targets in Japanese squid fisheries. The main fishing areas for Japanese commercial vessels are located in the central North Pacific (35-45N, around the date line) in summer. In this study, we have developed several kinds of habitat suitability index (HSI) models of the neon flying squid for investigating the relationship between its potential habitat and the ocean state variations in the target area. For developing HSI models, we have used a new ocean reanalysis dataset FORA (4-dimensional variational Ocean Re-Analysis) produced by JAMSTEC/CEIST and MRI-JMA. The horizontal resolution is 0.1*0.1 degree of latitude and longitude with 54 vertical levels, which can provide realistic fields of 3-dimensional ocean circulation and environmental structures including meso-scale eddies. In addition, we have developed a new 4D-VAR (4-dimensional variational) ocean data assimilation system for predicting ocean environmental changes in the main fishing grounds. We call this system "SKUIDS" (Scalable Kit of Under-sea Information Delivery System). By using these prediction fields of temperature, salinity, sea surface height, horizontal current velocity, we produced daily HSI maps of the neon flying squid, and provided them to the Japanese commercial vessels in operation. Squid fishermen can access the web site for delivering the information of ocean environments in the fishing ground by using Inmarsat satellite communication on board, and show the predicted fields of subsurface temperatures and HSI. Here, we present the details of SKUIDS and the web-delivery system for squid fishery, and some preliminary results of the operational prediction.

  13. North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory: Analysis of Shadow Zone Arrivals and Acoustic Propagation in Numerical Ocean Models

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dushaw, Brian

    2009-01-01

    ... depth of the receiver lies well below the depths of the predicted cusps. Several models for the temperature and salinity in the North Pacific Ocean were obtained and processed to enable simulations of acoustic propagation for comparison to the observations...

  14. Decadal changes in the aragonite and calcite saturation state of the Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feely, Richard A.; Sabine, Christopher L.; Byrne, Robert H.; Millero, Frank J.; Dickson, Andrew G.; Wanninkhof, Rik; Murata, Akihiko; Miller, Lisa A.; Greeley, Dana

    2012-09-01

    Based on measurements from the WOCE/JGOFS global CO2 survey, the CLIVAR/CO2 Repeat Hydrography Program and the Canadian Line P survey, we have observed an average decrease of 0.34% yr-1 in the saturation state of surface seawater in the Pacific Ocean with respect to aragonite and calcite. The upward migrations of the aragonite and calcite saturation horizons, averaging about 1 to 2 m yr-1, are the direct result of the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the oceans and regional changes in circulation and biogeochemical processes. The shoaling of the saturation horizon is regionally variable, with more rapid shoaling in the South Pacific where there is a larger uptake of anthropogenic CO2. In some locations, particularly in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and in the California Current, the decadal changes in circulation can be the dominant factor in controlling the migration of the saturation horizon. If CO2 emissions continue as projected over the rest of this century, the resulting changes in the marine carbonate system would mean that many coral reef systems in the Pacific would no longer be able to sustain a sufficiently high rate of calcification to maintain the viability of these ecosystems as a whole, and these changes perhaps could seriously impact the thousands of marine species that depend on them for survival.

  15. Condensation heating of the Asian summer monsoon and the subtropical anticyclone in the Eastern Hemisphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Y.M.; Wu, G.X.; Liu, H.; Liu, P. [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). Inst. of Atmospheric Physics

    2001-02-01

    The effects of condensation heating on the formation of the subtropical anticyclone in the Eastern Hemisphere (EH) are studied by means of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The complete vorticity equation is employed for the analysis. It is found that, due to the vertical gradient of strong condensation heating, the distribution of cyclone and anticyclone in the upper troposphere is out of phase with that in the middle and lower troposphere. This is confirmed by a series of numerical experiments. The horizontal gradient of the condensation heating also affects the configuration of the subtropical anticyclone. It is concluded that condensation heating is a key factor for the formation and location of the summer subtropical anticyclone in the EH. The latent heating released by the Asian monsoon rainfall contributes to the formation of the 200 hPa South Asian anticyclone on the western side of the heating center and the 500 hPa western Pacific subtropical anticyclone on the eastern side of the center. Such configurations are modified to some extent by surface sensible heating and orography. The circulation in mid-latitudes is also affected by the latent heating in the subtropical area through the propagation of Rossby waves. (orig.)

  16. Denali Ice Core Record of North Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures and Marine Primary Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polashenski, D.; Osterberg, E. C.; Kreutz, K. J.; Winski, D.; Wake, C. P.; Ferris, D. G.; Introne, D.; Campbell, S. W.

    2016-12-01

    Chemical analyses of precipitation preserved in glacial ice cores provide a unique opportunity to study changes in atmospheric circulation patterns and ocean surface conditions through time. In this study, we aim to investigate changes in both the physical and biological parameters of the north-central Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea over the twentieth century using the deuterium excess (d-excess) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) records from the Mt. Hunter ice cores drilled in Denali National Park, Alaska. These parallel, 208 m-long ice cores were drilled to bedrock during the 2013 field season on the Mt. Hunter plateau (63° N, 151° W, 3,900 m above sea level) by a collaborative research team consisting of members from Dartmouth College and the Universities of Maine and New Hampshire. The cores were sampled on a continuous melter system at Dartmouth College and analyzed for the concentrations major ions (Dionex IC) and trace metals (Element2 ICPMS), and for stable water isotope ratios (Picarro). The depth-age scale has been accurately dated to 400 AD using annual layer counting of several chemical species and further validated using known historical volcanic eruptions and the Cesium-137 spike associated with nuclear weapons testing in 1963. We use HYSPLIT back trajectory modeling to identify likely source areas of moisture and aerosol MSA being transported to the core site. Satellite imagery allows for a direct comparison between chlorophyll a concentrations in these source areas and MSA concentrations in the core record. Preliminary analysis of chlorophyll a and MSA concentrations, both derived almost exclusively from marine biota, suggest that the Mt. Hunter ice cores reflect changes in North Pacific and Bering Sea marine primary productivity. Analysis of the water isotope and MSA data in conjunction with climate reanalysis products shows significant correlations (psea surface temperatures in the Bering Sea and North Central Pacific. These findings, coupled with

  17. Does Sustainability Affect Corporate Performance and Economic Development? Evidence from the Asia-Pacific region and North America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyungbok Kim

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores how sustainability influences financial returns and economic development in the Asia-Pacific region and North America, utilizing real data empirically. It is controversial that sustainable activities are related to financial performance. For clarification, we tested hypotheses analyzing sustainability index, seven stock markets, financial data such as ROI, ROIC, and ROA from eleven companies, and GDP/GNI per capita, based on the Asia-Pacific region and North America. The results indicate that both financial return for companies and economic development in the two regions are positively germane to sustainable investment. Besides, we found evidence that sustainable investment impacts economic development based on variance decomposition analysis, depending on GDP per capita between the two regions. This implication will be interesting for both practitioners and researchers regarding the measurement of sustainable performance.

  18. 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

  19. Development of a Seasonal Extratropical Cyclone Activity Outlook for the North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Alaskan Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shippee, N. J.; Atkinson, D. E.; Walsh, J. E.; Partain, J.; Gottschalck, J.; Marra, J. J.

    2013-12-01

    Storm activity (i.e. 'storminess') and associated forecasting skill in the North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Alaska is relatively well understood on a daily to weekly scale, however, two important elements are missing from current capacity. First, there is no way to predict storm activity at the monthly to seasonal time frame. Second, storm activity is characterized in terms that best serve weather specialists, and which are often not very informative for different sectors of the public. Increasing the utility of forecasts for end users requires consultation with these groups, and can include expressing storm activity in terms of, for example, strong-wind return intervals or ship hull strength. These types of forecasts can provide valuable information for use in community planning, resource allocation, or potential risk assessment. A preliminary study of seasonal storminess predictability in the North Pacific and Alaska regions has shown that a key factor related to the annual variation of seasonal storminess is the strength of the Aleutian Low as measured using indices such as the North Pacific Index (NPI) or Aleutian Low Pressure Index (ALPI). Use of Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis to identify patterns in storminess variability indicates that the primary mode of annual variation is found to be best explained by the variation in the strength of the Aleutian Low. NPI and the first component of storm activity for the entire region are found to be are highly correlated (R = 0.83). This result is supported by the works of others such as Rodionov et al. (2007), who note the impact of the strength of the Aleutian Low on storm track and speed. Additionally, the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), along with NPI, have been shown to be highly correlated with annual variance in the seasonal storminess for the North Pacific and Alaska. Additional skill has been identified when the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is explicitly considered

  20. Moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin and its response to North Atlantic cooling and global warming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richter, Ingo [University of Hawaii at Manoa, International Pacific Research Center, Honolulu, HI (United States); Xie, Shang-Ping [University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Meteorology, Honolulu, HI (United States)

    2010-08-15

    Atmospheric moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin plays an important role in regulating North Atlantic salinity and thus the strength of the thermohaline circulation. Potential changes in the strength of this moisture transport are investigated for two different climate-change scenarios: North Atlantic cooling representative of Heinrich events, and increased greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. The effect of North Atlantic cooling is studied using a coupled regional model with comparatively high resolution that successfully simulates Central American gap winds and other important aspects of the region. Cooler North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) in this model leads to a regional decrease of atmospheric moisture but also to an increase in wind speed across Central America via an anomalous pressure gradient. The latter effect dominates, resulting in a 0.13 Sv (1 Sv = 10{sup 6} m{sup 3} s{sup -1}) increase in overall moisture transport to the Pacific basin. In fresh water forcing simulations with four different general circulation models, the wind speed effect is also present but not strong enough to completely offset the effect of moisture decrease except in one model. The influence of GHG forcing is studied using simulations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change archive. In these simulations atmospheric moisture increases globally, resulting in an increase of moisture transport by 0.25 Sv from the Atlantic to Pacific. Thus, in both scenarios, moisture transport changes act to stabilize the thermohaline circulation. The notion that the Andes effectively block moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin is not supported by the simulations and atmospheric reanalyses examined here. This indicates that such a blocking effect does not exist or else that higher resolution is needed to adequately represent the steep orography of the Andes. (orig.)

  1. Pre-bomb marine reservoir ages in the western north Pacific : Preliminary result on Kyoto University collection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yoneda, M; Kitagawa, H; van der Plicht, J; Uchida, M; Tanaka, A; Uehiro, T; Shibata, Y; Morita, M; Ohno, T

    2000-01-01

    The calibration of radiocarbon dates on marine materials involves a global marine calibration with regional corrections. The marine reservoir ages in the Western North Pacific have not been discussed, while it is quite important to determine the timing of palaeo-environmental changes as well as

  2. Linking Seasonal Variations in the Spectral Slope of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) with Apparent Oxygen Utilization and Excess Nitrogen (DINxs) in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, N.; Barnes, R.; Nelson, N. B.

    2016-02-01

    The optically active or chromophoric fraction of dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is a topic of much interest to researchers due to its role in many biogeochemical processes in the global oceans. As CDOM effectively regulates the underwater light field, its influences on photosynthesis and primary productivity are significant. Despite recognition of its importance in biogeochemical cycles in natural waters, its chemical composition remains nebulous, due to photochemical processes, as well as spatial and temporal variations in composition. Understanding of CDOM composition and links to ocean processes is especially complex in pelagic, oligotrophic waters such as the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. In this region, minimum CDOM concentrations have been observed and it is decoupled from both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and from net primary production (NPP). As CDOM absorbance has been shown to influence estimates of NPP from remote sensing models in the subtropical gyres, and as it has the potential to serve as an invaluable tracer of ocean DOM cycling, a better understanding of links between the optical properties of CDOM and biogeochemical processes in the subtropical gyres is crucial. In this study, monthly depth profiles of CDOM absorbance (between 1m and 3000m) were measured for a period of five years at the Bermuda Atlantic Timeseries Site (BATS) in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre to investigate seasonal variations and periodicity in CDOM optical properties. From this data, the spectral slope ratio (Sr) was calculated according to Helms et. al, 2008. Sr can be a useful tool in eliciting information about molecular weight, diagenetic state and microbial processes affecting CDOM composition, especially when coupled with other diagnostic parameters. In this study multivariate analysis techniques were utilized to examine links between Sr and ancillary parameters including apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and excess nitrogen (DINxs) both of which can be a

  3. Theories on formation of an anomalous anticyclone in western North Pacific during El Niño: A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tim; Wang, Bin; Wu, Bo; Zhou, Tianjun; Chang, Chih-Pei; Zhang, Renhe

    2017-12-01

    The western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) is an important atmospheric circulation system that conveys El Niño impact on East Asian climate. In this review paper, various theories on the formation and maintenance of the WNPAC, including warm pool atmosphere-ocean interaction, Indian Ocean capacitor, a combination mode that emphasizes nonlinear interaction between ENSO and annual cycle, moist enthalpy advection/Rossby wave modulation, and central Pacific SST forcing, are discussed. It is concluded that local atmosphere-ocean interaction and moist enthalpy advection/Rossby wave modulation mechanisms are essential for the initial development and maintenance of the WNPAC during El Niño mature winter and subsequent spring. The Indian Ocean capacitor mechanism does not contribute to the earlier development but helps maintain the WNPAC in El Niño decaying summer. The cold SST anomaly in the western North Pacific, although damped in the summer, also plays a role. An interbasin atmosphere-ocean interaction across the Indo-Pacific warm pool emerges as a new mechanism in summer. In addition, the central Pacific cold SST anomaly may induce the WNPAC during rapid El Niño decaying/La Niña developing or La Niña persisting summer. The near-annual periods predicted by the combination mode theory are hardly detected from observations and thus do not contribute to the formation of the WNPAC. The tropical Atlantic may have a capacitor effect similar to the tropical Indian Ocean.

  4. Late Pliocene Depositional History and Paleoclimate Reconstructions of the Southwest Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royce, B.; Patterson, M. O.; Pietras, J.

    2017-12-01

    Drift deposits off the eastern margin of New Zealand are important archives for the paleoclimate and paleoceanographic history of the southwest Pacific. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1123 is located on the North Chatham rise drift just North of the westerly wind driven Subtropical Front (STF) and provides a record of near continuous sediment deposition since the Miocene along the southwest Pacific deep western boundary current (DWBC). While the Miocene and Late Pleistocene portion of this record have been well studied, the Late Pliocene record is less well developed. Southern Ocean geological records demonstrate that Late Pliocene cooling is the transient time bracketing the warmer than present Early Pliocene and bipolar glaciation at 2.7 Ma. A newly developed, robust, and astronomically tuned long-term record of benthic δ13C from ODP Site 1123 spanning the Early to Late Pliocene implies a reduction in Southern Ocean ventilation and lowering of preformed values from waters sourced along the Antarctic margin during the Late Pliocene. Thus, Late Pliocene Southern Hemisphere cooling and sea ice expansion may have drastically reduced outgassing and increased the burial of heat into the deep ocean. South Atlantic records off the west coast of Africa demonstrate an increase in the flux of iron to the open ocean during this time potentially enhancing surface ocean productivity and providing an additional cooling mechanism. Currently, atmospheric transport of dust to the Southern Ocean is dominated by persistent mid-latitude circumpolar westerly winds; this is particularly relevant for dust sourced from New Zealand. The Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene uplift of the North Island axial ranges and South Island southern alps potentially provided a greater amount of not only sediment to the deep ocean, but also wind blow dust to the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. We will present a detailed high-resolution sedimentological study on the development of the Chatham

  5. Collective behaviour of climate indices in the North Pacific air—sea system and its potential relationships with decadal climate changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiao-Juan; Zhi Rong; He Wen-Ping; Gong Zhi-Qiang

    2012-01-01

    A climate network of six climate indices of the North Pacific air—sea system is constructed during the period of 1948–2009. In order to find out the inherent relationship between the intrinsic mechanism of climate index network and the important climate shift, the synchronization behaviour and the coupling behaviour of these indices are investigated. Results indicate that climate network synchronization happened around the beginning of the 1960s, in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginnings of the 1990s and the 2000s separately. These synchronization states were always followed by the decrease of the coupling coefficient. Each synchronization of the network was well associated with the abrupt phase or trend changes of annually accumulated abnormal values of North Pacific sea-surface temperature and 500-hPa height, among which the one that happened in the middle of the 1970s is the most noticeable climate shift. We can also obtain this mysterious shift from the first mode of the empirical orthogonal function of six indices. That is to say, abrupt climate shift in North Pacific air—sea system is not only shown by the phase or trend changes of climate indices, but also might be indicated by the synchronizing and the coupling of climate indices. Furthermore, at the turning point of 1975, there are also abrupt correlation changes in the yearly mode of spatial degree distribution of the sea surface temperature and 500-hPa height in the region of the North Pacific, which further proves the probability of climate index synchronization and coupling shift in air—sea systems. (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

  6. Collective behaviour of climate indices in the North Pacific air-sea system and its potential relationships with decadal climate changes

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Wang Xiao-Juan; Zhi Rong; He Wen-Ping; Gong Zhi-Qiang

    2012-01-01

    A climate network of six climate indices of the North Pacific air-sea system is constructed during the period of 1948-2009.In order to find out the inherent relationship between the intrinsic mechanism of climate index network and the important climate shift,the synchronization behaviour and the coupling behaviour of these indices are investigated.Results indicate that climate network synchronization happened around the beginning of the 1960s,in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginnings of the 1990s and the 2000s separately.These synchronization states were always followed by the decrease of the coupling coefficient.Each synchronization of the network was well associated with the abrupt phase or trend changes of annually accumulated abnormal vaiues of North Pacific sea-surface temperature and 500-hPa height,among which the one that happened in the middle of the 1970s is the most noticeable climate shift.We can also obtain this mysterious shift from the first mode of the empirical orthogonal function of six indices.That is to say,abrupt climate shift in North Pacific air-sea system is not only shown by the phase or trend changes of climate indices,but also night be indicated by the synchronizing and the coupling of climate indices.Furthermore,at the turning point of 1975,there are also abrupt correlation changes in the yearly mode of spatial degree distribution of the sea surface temperature and 500-hPa height in the region of the North Pacific,which further proves the probability of climate index synchronization and coupling shift in air-sea systems.

  7. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data from CTD and bottle casts in the Arctic, North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans from multiple platforms from 1963-04-30 to 1999-02-15 (NODC Accession 0000418)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — CTD, bottle, and other data were collected from the Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, and North Pacific from multiple platforms from 30 April 1963 to 15 February...

  8. Mass fluxes in the Canary Basin (eastern boundary of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgoa, N.; Machin, F.; Marrero-Díaz, Á.; Rodríguez-Santana, Á.; Martínez-Marrero, A.

    2017-12-01

    The circulation patterns in the Canary Basin are examined with hydrographic data from two cruises carried out in 2002 and 2003 in the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre (21-27.5ºN, 17.5-26ºW). These cruises were part of the COCA Project (Coastal-Ocean Carbon Exchange in the Canary Region). First we estimate the geostrophic flow within a closed box divided into 12 layers of neutral density surfaces using the thermal wind equation. The geostrophic velocities are initially referenced to a selected neutral surface previously analyzed in deep. Then, the divergence and the convergence of the flow are analyzed in the closed water volume considering the Ekman transport in the surface of this whole region. The accumulated mass transport along the perimeter of the box is estimated with the aim to study transport imbalances in the different water masses. In addition, variables like the anomalies in the transport of the salt and heat are also considered. In general, mass transport results show that more than 50% of this transport takes place in central waters and around 25% in intermediate waters. In the first cruise carried out in late summer, the circulation of the shallowest layers goes into the box along the north and south transects with values which can arrive to 2 Sv and 1 Sv respectively and it flows westward with a maximum value of 2 Sv. At intermediate levels the mass transport changes its direction going out to the north with 0.5 Sv. On the other hand, in the second cruise carried out in late spring, the transport in the shallowest layers also gets in the box through the north transect, but it goes out along the west and south transects with values which can arrive to 1 Sv and 2 Sv, respectively. At intermediate levels the transports are similar to those already described for the summer cruise. Finally, an inverse box model is applied to both datasets to obtain a solution consistent with both the thermal wind equation and with the mass and

  9. Tracing the Ventilation Pathways of the Deep North Pacific Ocean Using Lagrangian Particles and Eulerian Tracers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Syed, H.A.M.S.; Primeau, F.W.; Deleersnijder, E.L.C.; Heemink, A.W.

    2017-01-01

    Lagrangian forward and backward models are introduced into a coarse-grid ocean global circulation model to trace the ventilation routes of the deep North Pacific Ocean. The random walk aspect in the Lagrangian model is dictated by a rotated isopycnal diffusivity tensor in the circulation model,

  10. Modulating Effects of Mesoscale Oceanic Eddies on Sea Surface Temperature Response to Tropical Cyclones Over the Western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Zhanhong; Fei, Jianfang; Huang, Xiaogang; Cheng, Xiaoping

    2018-01-01

    The impact of mesoscale oceanic eddies on the temporal and spatial characteristics of sea surface temperature (SST) response to tropical cyclones is investigated in this study based on composite analysis of cyclone-eddy interactions over the western North Pacific. The occurrence times of maximum cooling, recovery time, and spatial patterns of SST response are specially evaluated. The influence of cold-core eddies (CCEs) renders the mean occurrence time of maximum SST cooling to become about half a day longer than that in eddy-free condition, while warm-core eddies (WCEs) have little effect on this facet. The recovery time of SST cooling also takes longer in presence of CCEs, being overall more pronounced for stronger or slower tropical cyclones. The effect of WCEs on the recovery time is again not significant. The modulation of maximum SST decrease by WCEs for category 2-5 storms is found to be remarkable in the subtropical region but not evident in the tropical region, while the role of CCEs is remarkable in both regions. The CCEs are observed to change the spatial characteristics of SST response, with enhanced SST decrease initially at the right side of storm track. During the recovery period the strengthened SST cooling by CCEs propagates leftward gradually, with a feature similar as both the westward-propagating eddies and the recovery of cold wake. These results underscore the importance of resolving mesoscale oceanic eddies in coupled numerical models to improve the prediction of storm-induced SST response.

  11. Spatial variation of the zooplankton community in the western tropical Pacific Ocean during the summer of 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Guang; Li, Chaolun; Wang, Yanqing; Wang, Xiaocheng; Dai, Luping; Tao, Zhencheng; Ji, Peng

    2017-03-01

    Knowledge of the zooplankton community in the western tropical Pacific Ocean is poor compared to that of the communities in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. The zooplankton composition, abundance, biomass and community structure in the western Pacific Ocean were studied based on data collected during a synoptic cruise (August-September 2014). Four zooplankton communities were determined via cluster analysis, and these four clusters were mainly spatially related to four different currents: the Luzon Current (LC), Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC), North Equatorial Current (NEC) and North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC). The estimated mean abundance and biomass of the zooplankton for the whole surveyed area were 146.7±178.1 ind/m3 and 36.9±40.3 mg/m3, respectively. The zooplankton abundance was dominated by small copepods, such as Clausocalanus furcatus, C. pergens, Oncaea mediterranea and Oithona plumifera. The zooplankton abundance and biomass values were lowest in the STCC region and highest in the NECC region. BEST analysis based on surface environmental factors showed that chlorophyll a (chl a), pH, temperature and salinity were the environmental variables that best explained the distribution pattern of the zooplankton community (pw=0.372). The zooplankton abundance was higher south of the salinity front at 16°N, in accordance with the relatively higher nutrient and chl a levels. Maximum zooplankton biomass was found in regions on the periphery of the cyclonic Mindanao Eddy (ME) and anticyclonic Halmahera Eddy (HE).

  12. Diversity of two widespread Indo-Pacific demosponge species revisited

    OpenAIRE

    Erpenbeck, D.; Aryasari, R.; Benning, S.; Debitus, Cécile; Kaltenbacher, E.; Al-Aidaroos, A. M.; Schupp, P.; Hall, K.; Hooper, J. N. A.; Voigt, O.; de Voogd, N. J.; Worheide, G.

    2017-01-01

    The Indo-Pacific is the world's largest marine biogeographic region, covering the tropical and subtropical waters from the Red Sea in the Western Indian Ocean to the Easter Islands in the Pacific. It is characterized by a vast degree of biogeographic connectivity in particular in its marine realm. So far, usage of molecular tools rejected the presence of cosmopolitan or very widespread sponge species in several cases, supporting hypotheses on a higher level of endemism among marine invertebra...

  13. AFSC/NMML: Shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific gray whale stock from central California, 1967 - 2007

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) 26 years from...

  14. Two decades of Pacific anthropogenic carbon storage and ocean acidification along Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program sections P16 and P02

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, B. R.; Feely, R. A.; Mecking, S.; Cross, J. N.; Macdonald, A. M.; Siedlecki, S. A.; Talley, L. D.; Sabine, C. L.; Millero, F. J.; Swift, J. H.; Dickson, A. G.; Rodgers, K. B.

    2017-02-01

    A modified version of the extended multiple linear regression (eMLR) method is used to estimate anthropogenic carbon concentration (Canth) changes along the Pacific P02 and P16 hydrographic sections over the past two decades. P02 is a zonal section crossing the North Pacific at 30°N, and P16 is a meridional section crossing the North and South Pacific at 150°W. The eMLR modifications allow the uncertainties associated with choices of regression parameters to be both resolved and reduced. Canth is found to have increased throughout the water column from the surface to 1000 m depth along both lines in both decades. Mean column Canth inventory increased consistently during the earlier (1990s-2000s) and recent (2000s-2010s) decades along P02, at rates of 0.53 ± 0.11 and 0.46 ± 0.11 mol C m-2 a-1, respectively. By contrast, Canth storage accelerated from 0.29 ± 0.10 to 0.45 ± 0.11 mol C m-2 a-1 along P16. Shifts in water mass distributions are ruled out as a potential cause of this increase, which is instead attributed to recent increases in the ventilation of the South Pacific Subtropical Cell. Decadal changes along P16 are extrapolated across the gyre to estimate a Pacific Basin average storage between 60°S and 60°N of 6.1 ± 1.5 PgC decade-1 in the earlier decade and 8.8 ± 2.2 PgC decade-1 in the recent decade. This storage estimate is large despite the shallow Pacific Canth penetration due to the large volume of the Pacific Ocean. By 2014, Canth storage had changed Pacific surface seawater pH by -0.08 to -0.14 and aragonite saturation state by -0.57 to -0.82.

  15. Basin-scale variability in plankton biomass and community metabolism in the sub-tropical North Atlantic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, W. G.; Arístegui, J.; Head, E. J. H.; Li, W. K. W.; Longhurst, A. R.; Sameoto, D. D.

    Three trans-Atlantic oceanographic surveys (Nova Scotia to Canary Islands) were carried out during fall 1992 and spring 1993 to describe the large-scale variability in hydrographic, chemical and biological properties of the upper water column of the subtropical gyre and adjacent waters. Significant spatial and temporal variability characterized a number of the biological pools and rate processes whereas others were relatively invariant. Systematic patterns were observed in the zonal distribution of some properties. Most notable were increases (eastward) in mixed-layer temperature and salinity, depths of the nitracline and chlorophyll- a maximum, regenerated production (NH 4 uptake) and bacterial production. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations, phytoplankton biomass, mesozooplankton biomass and new production (NO 3 uptake) decreased (eastward). Bacterial biomass, primary production, and community respiration exhibited no discernible zonal distribution patterns. Seasonal variability was most evident in hydrography (cooler/fresher mixed-layer in spring), and chemistry (mixed-layer DIC concentration higher and nitracline shallower in spring) although primary production and bacterial production were significantly higher in spring than in fall. In general, seasonal variability was greater in the west than in the east; seasonality in most properties was absent west of Canary Islands (˜20°W). The distribution of autotrophs could be reasonably well explained by hydrography and nutrient structure, independent of location or season. Processes underlying the distribution of the microheterophs, however, were less clear. Heterotrophic biomass and metabolism was less variable than autotrophs and appeared to dominate the upper ocean carbon balance of the subtropical North Atlantic in both fall and spring. Geographical patterns in distribution are considered in the light of recent efforts to partition the ocean into distinct "biogeochemical provinces".

  16. [Climatic suitability of citrus in subtropical China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Hai-Lai; Qian, Huai-Sui; Li, Ming-Xia; Du, Yao-Dong

    2010-08-01

    By applying the theories of ecological suitability and the methods of fuzzy mathematics, this paper established a climatic suitability model for citrus, calculated and evaluated the climatic suitability and its spatiotemporal differences for citrus production in subtropical China, and analyzed the climatic suitability of citrus at its different growth stages and the mean climatic suitability of citrus in different regions of subtropical China. The results showed that the citrus in subtropical China had a lower climatic suitability and a higher risk at its flower bud differentiation stage, budding stage, and fruit maturity stage, but a higher climatic suitability and a lower risk at other growth stages. Cold damage and summer drought were the key issues affecting the citrus production in subtropical China. The citrus temperature suitability represented a latitudinal zonal pattern, i. e., decreased with increasing latitude; its precipitation suitability was high in the line of "Sheyang-Napo", medium in the southeast of the line, low in the northwest of the line, and non in high mountainous area; while the sunlight suitability was in line with the actual duration of sunshine, namely, higher in high-latitude areas than in low-latitude areas, and higher in high-altitude areas than in plain areas. Limited by temperature factor, the climatic suitability was in accordance with temperature suitability, i. e., south parts had a higher suitability than north parts, basically representing latitudinal zonal pattern. From the analysis of the inter-annual changes of citrus climatic suitability, it could be seen that the citrus climatic suitability in subtropical China was decreasing, and had obvious regional differences, suggesting that climate change could bring about the changes in the regions suitable for citrus production and in the key stages of citrus growth.

  17. Puffins reveal contrasting relationships between forage fish and ocean climate in the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sydeman, William J.; Piatt, John F.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Garcia-Reyes, Marisol; Hatch, Scott A.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Slater, Leslie; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Rojek, Nora A.; Zador, Stephani G.; Renner, Heather M.

    2017-01-01

    Long-term studies of predator food habits (i.e., ‘predator-based sampling’) are useful for identifying patterns of spatial and temporal variability of forage nekton in marine ecosystems. We investigated temporal changes in forage fish availability and relationships to ocean climate by analyzing diet composition of three puffin species (horned puffin Fratercula corniculata, tufted puffin Fratercula cirrhata, and rhinoceros auklet Cerorhinca monocerata) from five sites in the North Pacific from 1978–2012. Dominant forage species included squids and hexagrammids in the western Aleutians, gadids and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus) in the eastern Aleutians and western Gulf of Alaska (GoA), and sand lance and capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the northern and eastern GoA. Interannual fluctuations in forage availability dominated variability in the western Aleutians, whereas lower-frequency shifts in forage fish availability dominated elsewhere. We produced regional multivariate indicators of sand lance, capelin, and age-0 gadid availability by combining data across species and sites using Principal Component Analysis, and related these indices to environmental factors including sea level pressure (SPL), winds, and sea surface temperature (SST). There was coherence in the availability of sand lance and capelin across the study area. Sand lance availability increased linearly with environmental conditions leading to warmer ocean temperatures, whereas capelin availability increased in a non-linear manner when environmental changes led to lower ocean temperatures. Long-term studies of puffin diet composition appear to be a promising tool for understanding the availability of these difficult-to-survey forage nekton in remote regions of the North Pacific.

  18. Do Changes in Dust Flux to the North Pacific Correspond to Major Climate Shifts in the Pliocene?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abell, J.; Winckler, G.; Anderson, R. F.

    2017-12-01

    In addition to its impacts on radiative forcing, eolian mineral dust plays a critical role in the climate system by supplying iron-limited high-nutrient/low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions of the ocean with vital micronutrients, potentially lowering atmospheric CO2. There is evidence for iron fertilization in the late Pleistocene, but this relationship has been poorly studied for the Plio-Pleistocene and during the onset/intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG). The North Pacific possesses potential for studying the effects of rising dust flux on climate during this time, as increasing aridification of Asia's interior has been suggested for this interval. Here we present a record of two extraterrestrial 3He-derived terrigenous dust flux proxies (4He and 232Th) for ODP core 1208A (36°N, 158°E) for the period spanning 2.5-4.5 Ma, along with opal and excess barium (BaXS) flux data to estimate relative paleoproductivity. Our results show lower and relatively constant dust fluxes of about 0.3 g/cm2 ka from 4.5Ma to 2.7Ma, with minor variability correlating to changes in benthic δ18O. At 2.7Ma there is a two-fold increase in dust deposition to ODP 1208A, coinciding with the intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG) and suggested changes in subarctic North Pacific stratification. Dust flux subsequently tracks the 41ky benthic δ18O cycles for the remainder of the record to 2.5Ma. An increase in 4He/232Th ratios during glacial periods after 2.7Ma is observed, which we hypothesize is either from a shift in source region(s) in Asia or an increase in mean grain size of windblown material delivered to the ocean. Previous studies have shown an increase in North Pacific dust flux at 3.6Ma, and steady rise until present (Rea et al. 1998). Our record does not show a substantial increase in dust at 3.6Ma, but instead provides evidence for relatively little change in dust flux to the North Pacific until 2.7Ma, a time of major global climate transitions and

  19. Interannual Variations in the Synoptic-Scale Disturbances over the western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xingyan; Lu, Riyu

    2017-04-01

    The present study investigates the interannual variation of synoptic disturbance activities over the western North Pacific (WNP) and its relationship with the large-scale circulation and tropical SST during June-November for the period 1958-2014. It is shown that the interannual variability of 850-hPa eddy kinetic energy (EKE) anomalies over the WNP could be well described by its two leading modes of EOF, i.e., northeast pattern and southwest pattern. The high value zone of former is located over the WNP, while latter around the Philippines, which just overlap a broad area of the WNP. Background flows play an important role in the formation of these two patterns, it could induce the cyclonic ( anticyclonic ) anomalies over the variation centers which favors ( disfavors) synoptic eddies to get kinetic energy from the mean flows through barotropic energy conversion. The SST anomalies of the equatorial central and eastern Pacific also contribute to these two patterns. When the SST of equatorial central and eastern Pacific above (below) the normal, a cyclonic (anticyclonic) anomaly appears in the Philippine Sea while an anticyclonic (cyclonic) anomaly happens in the South China Sea, which will induce positive (negative) EKE anomalies over the WNP but negative (positive) anomalies over the South China Sea and the Philippines.

  20. Impacts of four northern-hemisphere teleconnection patterns on atmospheric circulations over Eurasia and the Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Tao; Yu, Jin-yi; Paek, Houk

    2017-08-01

    The impacts of four teleconnection patterns on atmospheric circulation components over Eurasia and the Pacific region, from low to high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), were investigated comprehensively in this study. The patterns, as identified by the Climate Prediction Center (USA), were the East Atlantic (EA), East Atlantic/Western Russia (EAWR), Polar/Eurasia (POLEUR), and Scandinavian (SCAND) teleconnections. Results indicate that the EA pattern is closely related to the intensity of the subtropical high over different sectors of the NH in all seasons, especially boreal winter. The wave train associated with this pattern serves as an atmospheric bridge that transfers Atlantic influence into the low-latitude region of the Pacific. In addition, the amplitudes of the EAWR, SCAND, and POLEUR patterns were found to have considerable control on the "Vangengeim-Girs" circulation that forms over the Atlantic-Eurasian region in winter or spring. The EA and EAWR mainly affect the westerlies in winter and spring and the POLEUR and SCAND, respectively, in summer and winter. Strong westerlies confine the extension of the North Polar vortex, which generally results in a small weak vortex and a shallow East Asian trough located in a position further east than normal. Furthermore, the North Polar vortex presents significant connections with the patterns during winter and summer. Analyses in this work suggest that the teleconnection patterns in summer could be driven, at least partly, by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, which to some degree might transmit the influence of the Atlantic Ocean to Eurasia and the Pacific region.

  1. Seasonal variation in the copepod gut microbiome in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoemaker, Katyanne M; Moisander, Pia H

    2017-08-01

    Characterisation of marine copepod gut microbiome composition and its variability provides information on function of marine food webs, biogeochemical cycles and copepod health. Copepod gut microbiomes were investigated quarterly over two years at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Station in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, while assessing seasonal shifts in stable and transient communities. Microbial communities were analysed using amplicon sequencing targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA V3-V4 region and the cyanobacterial ntcA gene. Persistent bacterial groups belonging to Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were present in the copepod guts throughout the year, and showed synchronous changes, suggesting a link to variability in copepod nutritional content. The gut communities were separate from those in the seawater, suggesting the copepod gut hosts long-term, specialized communities. Major temporal variations in the gut communities during the early winter and spring, specifically a high relative abundance of Synechococcus (up to 65%), were attributed to bacterioplankton shifts in the water column, and copepod grazing on these picoplanktonic cyanobacteria. The presence of obligate and facultative anaerobes, including Clostridiales year round, suggests that anaerobic bacterial processes are common in these dynamic microhabitats in the oligotrophic open ocean. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Reconstructing Hydrologic Variability in Southwestern North America Using Speleothem Proxies and Precipitation Isotopes from California

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCabe-Glynn, Staryl

    climate changes largely due to increased water vapor content in a warmer atmosphere. I also utilize precipitation data and isotopic analysis from precipitation samples collected weekly from near the cave site at Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park, California, from 2001 to 2011, to analyze climate mode patterns during extreme precipitation events and to construct an isotopic data base of precipitation samples. Composite maps indicate extreme precipitation weeks consist of a weaker Aleutian Low, coupled with a deep low pressure cell located northwest of California and enhanced subtropical moisture. I find extreme precipitation weeks occur more often during the La Nina phase and less during the positive Eastern Pacific (EP) phase or during the Central Pacific (CP) neutral phase at our site. Analyses of climate mode patterns and precipitation amounts indicate that when the negative Arctic Oscillation (AO), negative and neutral Pacific North American pattern (PNA), and positive Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) (La Nina) are in sync, the maximum amount of precipitation anomalies are distributed along the Western US. Additionally, the central or eastern Pacific location of El Nino Southern Oscillation sea surface temperature anomalies can further enhance predictive capabilities of the landfall location of extreme precipitation.

  3. Out of the Pacific and back again

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foote, Andrew David; Morin, Phillip A.; Durban, John W.

    2011-01-01

    or have been consolidated upon secondary contact due to resource competition. The estimated timing of bidirectional migration between the North Pacific and North Atlantic coincided with the previous inter-glacial when the leakage of fauna from the Indo-Pacific into the Atlantic via the Agulhas current......Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the most widely distributed marine mammals and have radiated to occupy a range of ecological niches. Disparate sympatric types are found in the North Atlantic, Antarctic and North Pacific oceans, however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms driving...... divergence. Previous phylogeographic analysis using complete mitogenomes yielded a bifurcating tree of clades corresponding to described ecotypes. However, there was low support at two nodes at which two Pacific and two Atlantic clades diverged. Here we apply further phylogenetic and coalescent analyses...

  4. AIR PRESSURE and Other Data from MULTIPLE SHIPS From North Pacific Ocean from 19920701 to 19921231 (NODC Accession 9300026)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The accession contains bathythermograph physical profile data in the TESAC format collected in North Pacific Ocean. TESAC format parameters include country code,...

  5. Distribution patterns of oceanic micronekton at seamounts and hydrographic fronts of the subtropical Atlantic Ocean

    OpenAIRE

    Diekmann, Rabea

    2004-01-01

    In the past the oceanic environment has often been compared with terrestrial deserts and until today relatively little is known about the ecology of the high seas. Within the present study pelagic oceanic communities of cephalopods and fish in the subtropical North Atlantic were investigated, and it was analysed at different spatial scales how these communities varied in response to physical gradients and hydrographic processes. First, the influence of the subtropical convergence zone in the ...

  6. Zoogeography of the San Andreas Fault system: Great Pacific Fracture Zones correspond with spatially concordant phylogeographic boundaries in western North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottscho, Andrew D

    2016-02-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide an ultimate tectonic explanation for several well-studied zoogeographic boundaries along the west coast of North America, specifically, along the boundary of the North American and Pacific plates (the San Andreas Fault system). By reviewing 177 references from the plate tectonics and zoogeography literature, I demonstrate that four Great Pacific Fracture Zones (GPFZs) in the Pacific plate correspond with distributional limits and spatially concordant phylogeographic breaks for a wide variety of marine and terrestrial animals, including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. These boundaries are: (1) Cape Mendocino and the North Coast Divide, (2) Point Conception and the Transverse Ranges, (3) Punta Eugenia and the Vizcaíno Desert, and (4) Cabo Corrientes and the Sierra Transvolcanica. However, discussion of the GPFZs is mostly absent from the zoogeography and phylogeography literature likely due to a disconnect between biologists and geologists. I argue that the four zoogeographic boundaries reviewed here ultimately originated via the same geological process (triple junction evolution). Finally, I suggest how a comparative phylogeographic approach can be used to test the hypothesis presented here. © 2014 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

  7. Interhemispheric leakage of isotopically heavy nitrate in the eastern tropical Pacific during the last glacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pichevin, Laetitia E.; Ganeshram, Raja S.; Francavilla, Stephen; Arellano-Torres, Elsa; Pedersen, Tom F.; Beaufort, Luc

    2010-02-01

    We present new high-resolution N isotope records from the Gulf of Tehuantepec and the Nicaragua Basin spanning the last 50-70 ka. The Tehuantepec site is situated within the core of the north subtropical denitrification zone while the Nicaragua site is at the southern boundary. The δ15N record from Nicaragua shows an “Antarctic” timing similar to denitrification changes observed off Peru-Chile but is radically different from the northern records. We attribute this to the leakage of isotopically heavy nitrate from the South Pacific oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) into the Nicaragua Basin. The Nicaragua record leads the other eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP) records by about 1000 years because denitrification peaks in the eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP) before denitrification starts to increase in the Northern Hemisphere OMZ, i.e., during warming episodes in Antarctica. We find that the influence of the heavy nitrate leakage from the ETSP is still noticeable, although attenuated, in the Gulf of Tehuantepec record, particularly at the end of the Heinrich events, and tends to alter the recording of millennial timescale denitrification changes in the ETNP. This implies (1) that sedimentary δ15N records from the southern parts of the ETNP cannot be used straightforwardly as a proxy for local denitrification and (2) that denitrification history in the ETNP, like in the Arabian Sea, is synchronous with Greenland temperature changes. These observations reinforce the conclusion that on millennial timescales during the last ice age, denitrification in the ETNP is strongly influenced by climatic variations that originated in the high-latitude North Atlantic region, while commensurate changes in Southern Ocean hydrography more directly, and slightly earlier, affected oxygen concentrations in the ETSP. Furthermore, the δ15N records imply ongoing physical communication across the equator in the shallow subsurface continuously over the last 50-70 ka.

  8. Fukushima-derived radiocesium in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in February 2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumamoto, Yuichiro; Murata, Akihiko; Kawano, Takeshi; Aoyama, Michio

    2013-01-01

    We measured radiocesium ( 134 Cs and 137 Cs) in seawaters collected at stations in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in February 2012. Activity concentration of Fukushima-derived radiocesium was highest in the transition area between the subarctic and subtropical regions, which was due to the direct discharge. The direct discharged radiocesium was transported southwardly across the Kuroshio Extension along isopycnal mixing. More than 80% of the Fukushima-derived radiocesium at stations both in the transition area and subtropical region was derived from the direct discharge. - Highlights: • Fukushima-derived radiocesium was found in the northwestern Pacific in February 2012. • The highest activity concentration in the transition area was due to the direct discharge. • Direct discharged radiocesium was conveyed southwardly across the Kuroshio Current. • More than 80% of Fukushima-derived radiocesium was derived from the direct discharge

  9. Interdecadal variability of the tropospheric biennial oscillation in the western North Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Bin; Lin Ailan; Gu Dejun; Li Chunhui

    2008-01-01

    The observed tropospheric biennial oscillation (TBO) in the western North Pacific (WNP) monsoon region has an interdecadal variability with a period of 40–50 yr. That suggests a weaker effect of the TBO on the East Asia followed by a stronger one. A simple analytic model was designed to investigate the mechanism of the interdecadal variability of the TBO. The results indicated that a local TBO air-sea system not only supports the TBO variability in the WNP monsoon region but also produces an interdecadal variability of the TBO

  10. Late Pleistocene glacial fluctuations in Cordillera Oriental, subtropical Andes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martini, Mateo A.; Kaplan, Michael R.; Strelin, Jorge A.; Astini, Ricardo A.; Schaefer, Joerg M.; Caffee, Marc W.; Schwartz, Roseanne

    2017-09-01

    The behavior of subtropical glaciers during Middle to Late Pleistocene global glacial maxima and abrupt climate change events, specifically in Earth's most arid low-latitude regions, remains an outstanding problem in paleoclimatology. The present-day climate of Cordillera Oriental, in arid northwestern Argentina, is influenced by shifts in subtropical climate systems, including the South American Summer Monsoon. To understand better past glacier-subtropical climates during the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5-19 ka) and other time periods, we combined geomorphic features with forty-two precise 10Be ages on moraine boulders and reconstructed paleo-equilibrium line altitudes (ELA) at Nevado de Chañi (24°S) in the arid subtropical Andes. We found a major glacial expansion at ∼23 ± 1.6 ka, that is, during the global LGM. Additional glacial expansions are observed before the global LGM (at ∼52-39 ka), and after, at 15 ± 0.5 and 12 ± 0.6 ka. The ∼15 ka glacial event was found on both sides of Chañi and the ∼12 ka event is only recorded on the east side. Reconstructed ELAs of the former glaciers exhibit a rise from east to west that resembles the present subtropical climate trajectory from the Atlantic side of the continent; hence, we infer that this climate pattern must have been present in the past. Based on comparison with other low-latitude paleoclimate records, such as those from lakes and caves, we infer that both temperature and precipitation influenced past glacial occurrence in this sector of the arid Andes. Our findings also imply that abrupt deglacial climate events associated with the North Atlantic, specifically curtailed meridional overturning circulation and regional cooling, may have had attendant impacts on low subtropical Southern Hemisphere latitudes, including the climate systems that affect glacial activity around Nevado de Chañi.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2011-11-01

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

  12. AFSC/RACE/GAP/Conrath: Notes on the Reproductive Biology of Female Salmon Sharks in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Little information has previously been published on the reproductive biology of the salmon shark in the Eastern North Pacific ocean. This data set incorporates basic...

  13. Interannual Weakening of the Tropical Pacific Walker Circulation Due to Strong Tropical Volcanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Jiapeng; Wang, Tao; Wang, Huijun; Sun, Jianqi

    2018-06-01

    In order to examine the response of the tropical Pacific Walker circulation (PWC) to strong tropical volcanic eruptions (SVEs), we analyzed a three-member long-term simulation performed with HadCM3, and carried out four additional CAM4 experiments. We found that the PWC shows a significant interannual weakening after SVEs. The cooling effect from SVEs is able to cool the entire tropics. However, cooling over the Maritime Continent is stronger than that over the central-eastern tropical Pacific. Thus, non-uniform zonal temperature anomalies can be seen following SVEs. As a result, the sea level pressure gradient between the tropical Pacific and the Maritime Continent is reduced, which weakens trade winds over the tropical Pacific. Therefore, the PWC is weakened during this period. At the same time, due to the cooling subtropical and midlatitude Pacific, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) are weakened and shift to the equator. These changes also contribute to the weakened PWC. Meanwhile, through the positive Bjerknes feedback, weakened trade winds cause El Niño-like SST anomalies over the tropical Pacific, which in turn further influence the PWC. Therefore, the PWC significantly weakens after SVEs. The CAM4 experiments further confirm the influences from surface cooling over the Maritime Continent and subtropical/midlatitude Pacific on the PWC. Moreover, they indicate that the stronger cooling over the Maritime Continent plays a dominant role in weakening the PWC after SVEs. In the observations, a weakened PWC and a related El Niño-like SST pattern can be found following SVEs.

  14. Study of Colombia North Wiwa El Encanto Amerindians HLA- genes: Pacific Islanders relatedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnaiz-Villena, Antonio; Palacio-Grüber, Jose; Juarez, Ignacio; Muñiz, Ester; Hernández, Ennio; Bayona, Brayan; Campos, Cristina; Nuñez, Jorge; Lopez-Nares, Adrian; Martin-Villa, Manuel; Silvera, Carlos

    2018-07-01

    We have studied Wiwa/Sanja Amerindians HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1 and DQB1 allele frequencies and extended haplotypes in 52 unrelated individuals from "El Encanto" town at Guanachaca riverside. High frequency alleles were in general present in other Amerindian populations. Also, three extended haplotypes and eight ones were respectively both "new found" and already described in Amerindians from North, Central and South America, including Lakota-Sioux, Mayas, Teeneks, Quechua and Aymaras. Analyses of HLA-A*24:02 and -C*01:02 Wiwa high frequency alleles suggested a specific relatedness with another Amerindian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups (these two particular alleles bearing in high frequencies); they include New Zealand Maoris, Taiwanese, Japanese, Papua New Guinea, and Samoans among others. This may indicate that selective forces are maintaining these two alleles high frequency within this wide American/Pacific area. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Dissolved iron anomaly in the deep tropical-subtropical Pacific: Evidence for long-range transport of hydrothermal iron

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jingfeng; Wells, Mark L.; Rember, Robert

    2011-01-01

    Dissolved iron profiles along a north-south transect along 158°W in the tropical Pacific show evidence of two deepwater anomalies. The first extends from Station ALOHA (22.78°N) to the equator at ˜1000-1500 m and lies below the maximum apparent oxygen utilization and nutrient (N, P) concentrations. The feature is not supported by vertical export processes, but instead corresponds with the lateral dilution field of δ 3He derived from the Loihi seamount, Hawaii, though a sediment source associated with the Hawaiian Island Chain cannot be entirely ruled out. The second, deeper (2000-3000 m) anomaly occurs in tropical South Pacific waters (7°S) and also does not correlate with the depths of maximum nutrient concentrations or apparent oxygen utilization, but it does coincide closely with δ 3He emanating from the East Pacific Rise, more than 5000 km to the east. We hypothesize that these anomalies represent the long-range (>2000 km) transport of hydrothermal iron residuals, stabilized against scavenging by complexation with excess organic ligands in the plume source regions. Such trace leakage of hydrothermal iron to distal plume regions would have been difficult to identify in most hydrothermal vent mapping studies because low analytical detection limits were not needed for the proximal plume regions. These findings suggest that hydrothermal activity may represent a major source of dissolved iron throughout the South Pacific deep basin today, as well as other regions having high mid-ocean spreading rates in the geologic past. In particular, we hypothesize that high spreading rates along the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean mid-oceanic ridges, combined with the upwelling ventilation of these distal hydrothermal plumes, may have increased ocean productivity and carbon export in the Southern Ocean. Assessing the magnitude and persistence of dissolved hydrothermal iron in basin scale deep waters will be important for understanding the marine biogeochemistry of iron

  16. Scales of spatial heterogeneity of plastic marine debris in the northeast pacific ocean.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miriam C Goldstein

    Full Text Available Plastic debris has been documented in many marine ecosystems, including remote coastlines, the water column, the deep sea, and subtropical gyres. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG, colloquially called the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," has been an area of particular scientific and public concern. However, quantitative assessments of the extent and variability of plastic in the NPSG have been limited. Here, we quantify the distribution, abundance, and size of plastic in a subset of the eastern Pacific (approximately 20-40°N, 120-155°W over multiple spatial scales. Samples were collected in Summer 2009 using surface and subsurface plankton net tows and quantitative visual observations, and Fall 2010 using surface net tows only. We documented widespread, though spatially variable, plastic pollution in this portion of the NPSG and adjacent waters. The overall median microplastic numerical concentration in Summer 2009 was 0.448 particles m(-2 and in Fall 2010 was 0.021 particles m(-2, but plastic concentrations were highly variable over the submesoscale (10 s of km. Size-frequency spectra were skewed towards small particles, with the most abundant particles having a cross-sectional area of approximately 0.01 cm(2. Most microplastic was found on the sea surface, with the highest densities detected in low-wind conditions. The numerical majority of objects were small particles collected with nets, but the majority of debris surface area was found in large objects assessed visually. Our ability to detect high-plastic areas varied with methodology, as stations with substantial microplastic did not necessarily also contain large visually observable objects. A power analysis of our data suggests that high variability of surface microplastic will make future changes in abundance difficult to detect without substantial sampling effort. Our findings suggest that assessment and monitoring of oceanic plastic debris must account for high spatial

  17. Evaluation of the effectiveness of light streamer tori-lines and characteristics of bait attacks by seabirds in the western North Pacific.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noriyosi Sato

    Full Text Available To improve the effectiveness of tori-lines it is necessary to evaluate the ability of tori-lines to mitigate seabird bycatch and determine what kind of seabird species gather during line settings, attack the bait and are incidentally caught. We conducted two experiments in the western North Pacific and examined the effectiveness for seabird mitigation of light streamer tori-lines which have no long streamers but many light (short streamers and are mainly used in the North Pacific area. Firstly, the effectiveness of two different types of tori-line (light streamer (1 m and long streamer (up to 7 m tori-line and of two different colors (yellow and red of light streamers for seabird bycatch avoidance was evaluated using 567 sets based on data from 20 offshore surface commercial longliners. No significant difference in the bycatch number between the different tori-line types and streamer colors was found. Secondly, we investigated the characteristics of the seabird bycatch in the North Pacific and the effectiveness of three different types of streamers (light, hybrid and modified light types by detailed observations of seabird attacks using a chartered longline vessel. Although the appearance rate of albatrosses and shearwaters were 40.9% and 27.7%, Laysan albatross was the main seabird species that followed the vessel but shearwaters seldom followed the vessel and did not aggregate during line setting. In all attacks on bait observed during line settings, 81% and 7% were by albatrosses and shearwaters, respectively. In the number of primary attacks by Laysan albatrosses which attacked most aggressively of all seabirds, there were no significant differences among the tori-line types. No individuals of shearwater were caught. The results of both experiments indicated that light streamer tori-lines were as effective as tori-lines with long streamers for mitigating seabird bycatch in the North Pacific.

  18. Transport process of Pu isotope in marginal seas of the western North Pacific Ocean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, Masatoshi [Department of Radiation Chemistry, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, 036-8564, Aomori (Japan); Zheng, Jian [Research Center for Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage, 263-8555, Chiba (Japan)

    2014-07-01

    Significant quantities of Pu isotopes have been released into the marine environment as the result of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Most radionuclides globally dispersed in atmospheric nuclear weapons testing were released into the environment during the 1950's and 1960's. In the western North Pacific Ocean, the principal source can be further distinguished as two distinct sources of Pu: close-in tropospheric fallout from nuclear weapons testing at the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) in the Marshall Islands and global stratospheric fallout. Since the {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratio is characteristic for the Pu emission source, information on Pu isotopic signature is very useful to better understand the transport process in the oceans and to identify the sources of Pu. The mean atom ratio of {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu from the global stratospheric fallout is 0.180 ±0.014 based on soil sample data, whereas that from close-in tropospheric fallout from the PPG is 0.33 - 0.36. The {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratios in seawater samples collected in marginal seas of the western North Pacific Ocean will provide important and useful data for understanding the process controlling Pu transport and for distinguishing future Pu sources. The objectives of this study were to measure the {sup 239+240}Pu concentrations and {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratios in seawater from the Sea of Okhotsk, Japan Sea, South China Sea and Sulu Sea and to discuss the transport process of Pu. Large-volume seawater samples (250 L each) were collected from the surface to the bottom in marginal seas of the western North Pacific Ocean with acoustically triggered quadruple PVC sampling bottles during the R/V Hakuho-Maru cruise. The {sup 239}Pu and {sup 240}Pu concentrations and {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratios were measured with a double-focusing SF-ICP-MS, which was equipped with a guard electrode to eliminate secondary discharge in the plasma and to enhance overall sensitivity. In

  19. The highest global concentrations and increased abundance of oceanic plastic debris in the North Pacific: Evidence from seabirds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robards, Martin D.; Gould, Patrick J.; Coe, James M.; Rogers, Donald B.

    1997-01-01

    Plastic pollution has risen dramatically with an increase in production of plastic resin during the past few decades. Plastic production in the United States increased from 2.9 million tons in I960 to 47.9 million tons in 1985 (Society of the Plastics Industry 1986). This has been paralleled by a significant increase in the concentration of plastic particles in oceanic surface waters of the North Pacific from the 1970s to the late 1980s (Day and Shaw 1987; Day et al. 1990a). Research during the past few decades has indicated two major interactions between marine life and oceanic plastic: entanglement and ingestion (Laist 1987). Studies in the last decade have documented the prevalence of plastic in the diets of many seabird species in the North Pacific and the need for further monitoring of those species and groups that ingest the most plastic (Day et al. 1985).

  20. Impacts of extensive driftnet fishery and late 1990s climate regime shift on dominant epipelagic nekton in the Transition Region and Subtropical Frontal Zone: Implications for fishery management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichii, T.; Nishikawa, H.; Igarashi, H.; Okamura, H.; Mahapatra, K.; Sakai, M.; Wakabayashi, T.; Inagake, D.; Okada, Y.

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the impacts of extensive anthropogenic (high seas driftnet squid fishery) and natural (late 1990s major climate regime shift) events on dominant epipelagic fish, squid, and shark in the central North Pacific Transition Region based on a driftnet survey covering the years 1979-2006. Fishing was conducted by Japan, Korea and Taiwan to target neon flying squid in the period 1979-1992, resulting in a decline in stocks of the target species and non-target species (Pacific pomfret and juvenile blue shark), which were by-catch of this fishery. The catch was found to be at the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) level for neon flying squid, the underfished level for juvenile blue shark, but the overfished level for Pacific pomfret. The MSY of Pacific pomfret indicated that this species is more susceptible to exploitation than previously considered. In response to the late 1990s regime shift, neon flying squid and Pacific saury showed low stock levels in 1999-2002 and 1998-2002, respectively, as a result of reduced productivity in their nursery grounds (the Subtropical Frontal Zone and Kuroshio Extension Bifurcation Region, respectively). On the other hand, Pacific pomfret showed no decreasing trend in stock during the low- and intermediate-productivity regimes because of the high productivity of their main spawning/nursery ground (Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front), which was independent of the regime shifts. Thus, squid and saury appear to be more susceptible to the regime shift than pomfret. We discuss the implications for stock management of the species-specific responses to the fishery and the regime shift.

  1. Perfluoroalkylated substances in the global tropical and subtropical surface oceans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Gaya, Belén; Dachs, Jordi; Roscales, Jose L; Caballero, Gemma; Jiménez, Begoña

    2014-11-18

    In this study, perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) were analyzed in 92 surface seawater samples taken during the Malaspina 2010 expedition which covered all the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Nine ionic PFASs including C6-C10 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), C4 and C6-C8 perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) and two neutral precursors perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides (PFASAs), were identified and quantified. The Atlantic Ocean presented the broader range in concentrations of total PFASs (131-10900 pg/L, median 645 pg/L, n = 45) compared to the other oceanic basins, probably due to a better spatial coverage. Total concentrations in the Pacific ranged from 344 to 2500 pg/L (median = 527 pg/L, n = 27) and in the Indian Ocean from 176 to 1976 pg/L (median = 329, n = 18). Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was the most abundant compound, accounting for 33% of the total PFASs globally, followed by perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA, 22%) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, 12%), being the rest of the individual congeners under 10% of total PFASs, even for perfluorooctane carboxylic acid (PFOA, 6%). PFASAs accounted for less than 1% of the total PFASs concentration. This study reports the ubiquitous occurrence of PFCAs, PFSAs, and PFASAs in the global ocean, being the first attempt, to our knowledge, to show a comprehensive assessment in surface water samples collected in a single oceanic expedition covering tropical and subtropical oceans. The potential factors affecting their distribution patterns were assessed including the distance to coastal regions, oceanic subtropical gyres, currents and biogeochemical processes. Field evidence of biogeochemical controls on the occurrence of PFASs was tentatively assessed considering environmental variables (solar radiation, temperature, chlorophyll a concentrations among others), and these showed significant correlations with some PFASs, but explaining small to moderate percentages of variability

  2. Nutrient Concentrations collected from OSCAR ELTON SETTE in North Pacific Ocean from 2008-03-01 to 2011-04-30

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Laboratory analysis of water samples collected aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette along a 158W transect from 26-36N in the central North Pacific. Laboratory...

  3. Breeding biology of passerines in a subtropical montane forest in northwestern Argentina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auer, S.K.; Bassar, R.D.; Fontaine, J.J.; Martin, T.E.

    2007-01-01

    The breeding ecology of south temperate bird species is less widely known than that of north temperate species, yet because they comprise a large portion of the world's avian diversity, knowledge of their breeding ecology can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the geographic diversity of avian reproductive traits and life history strategies. We provide the first detailed examination of the reproductive strategies of 18 forest passerines of subtropical, northwestern Argentina. Mean clutch sizes were smaller and egg mass was greater than for north temperate birds, but differed among species and nest types, with cavity-nesters having larger clutches than species with open-cup and enclosed nests. Across all species, the average breeding season duration was 50 days; thus, the common perception that southern species have smaller clutch sizes because of longer breeding seasons is not supported in this community. Daily nest predation rates were influenced by nest type, cavity nests suffering the least from predation, as found in north temperate systems. Only females incubated eggs in all but one species, whereas both parents fed and cared for nestlings in all species. Mean nest attentiveness was low compared to north temperate passerines. Mean hourly nestling feeding rates differed among species and were negatively related to nest predation risk. In short, coexisting species in this subtropical forest varied in their life history strategies, in part correlated with variation in nest predation risk, but also differing from north temperate species. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2007.

  4. Anticyclonic eddies increase accumulation of microplastic in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brach, Laurent; Deixonne, Patrick; Bernard, Marie France; Durand, Edmée; Desjean, Marie Christine; Perez, Emile; van Sebille, Erik; ter Halle, Alexandra

    2018-01-01

    There are fundamental gaps in our understanding of the fates of microplastics in the ocean, which must be overcome if the severity of this pollution is to be fully assessed. The predominant pattern is high accumulation of microplastic in subtropical gyres. Using in situ measurements from the 7th

  5. Evaluation and Optimization of a Traditional North-Light Roof on Industrial Plant Energy Consumption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adriaenssens, Sigrid [Form-Finding Lab, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Hao Liu [Center for Intelligent and Networked Systems, Department of Automation, Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Wahed, Miriam [Form-Finding Lab, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Qianchuan Zhao [Center for Intelligent and Networked Systems, Department of Automation, Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)

    2013-04-15

    Increasingly strict energy policies, rising energy prices, and a desire for a positive corporate image currently serve as incentives for multinational corporations to reduce their plants’ energy consumption. This paper quantitatively investigates and discusses the value of a traditional north-light roof using a complete building energy simulation and optimization framework. The findings indicate that the north-light system yields positive building energy performance for several climate zones, including: (i) Humid Subtropical; (ii) Semiarid Continental; (iii) Mediterranean; and (iv) Subtropical Highland. In the Subtropical Highland climate zone, for example, the building energy consumption of a north-light roof is up to 54% less than that of a conventional flat roof. Based on these positive findings, this paper further presents an optimization framework that alters the north-light roof shape to further improve its energy performance. To quantitatively guarantee a high probability of finding satisfactory designs while reducing the computational processing time, ordinal optimization is introduced into the scheme. The Subtropical Highland case study shows further energy building consumption reduction of 26% for an optimized north-light roof shape. The presented evaluation and optimization framework could be used in designing a plant with integrated north-lights roof that aim at energy efficiency while maintaining environmental occupant comfort levels.

  6. The role and production of polar/subtropical jet superpositions in two high-impact weather events over North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winters, Andrew C.

    Careful observational work has demonstrated that the tropopause is typically characterized by a three-step pole-to-equator structure, with each break between steps in the tropopause height associated with a jet stream. While the two jet streams, the polar and subtropical jets, typically occupy different latitude bands, their separation can occasionally vanish, resulting in a vertical superposition of the two jets. A cursory examination of a number of historical and recent high-impact weather events over North America and the North Atlantic indicates that superposed jets can be an important component of their evolution. Consequently, this dissertation examines two recent jet superposition cases, the 18--20 December 2009 Mid-Atlantic Blizzard and the 1--3 May 2010 Nashville Flood, in an effort (1) to determine the specific influence that a superposed jet can have on the development of a high-impact weather event and (2) to illuminate the processes that facilitated the production of a superposition in each case. An examination of these cases from a basic-state variable and PV inversion perspective demonstrates that elements of both the remote and local synoptic environment are important to consider while diagnosing the development of a jet superposition. Specifically, the process of jet superposition begins with the remote production of a cyclonic (anticyclonic) tropopause disturbance at high (low) latitudes. The cyclonic circulation typically originates at polar latitudes, while organized tropical convection can encourage the development of an anticyclonic circulation anomaly within the tropical upper-troposphere. The concurrent advection of both anomalies towards middle latitudes subsequently allows their individual circulations to laterally displace the location of the individual tropopause breaks. Once the two circulation anomalies position the polar and subtropical tropopause breaks in close proximity to one another, elements within the local environment, such as

  7. Iodine monoxide in the north subtropical free troposphere [Discussion paper

    OpenAIRE

    Puentedura, Olga; Gil-Ojeda, Manuel; Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso; Hay, Tim; Navarro Comas, Mónica; Gómez Peláez, Ángel Jesús; Cuevas Agulló, Emilio; Iglesias, J.

    2011-01-01

    Iodine monoxide (IO) was retrieved using a new multi-axis DOAS instrument deployed at the Izaña subtropical observatory as part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) programme. The station is located at 2370 m a.s.l., well above the trade wind inversion that limits the top of the marine boundary layer, and is hence representative of the free troposphere. We report daily observations from May to August 2010 at different viewing angles. During this period, t...

  8. Temperature profile data from XBT and BT casts in the North/South Pacific Ocean and North/South Atlantic Ocean from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and other platforms from 1987-04-02 to 1987-11-24 (NODC Accession 8800007)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile data were collected using XBT and BT casts from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and other platforms in the North/South Pacific Ocean and North/South...

  9. Communicating Volcanic Hazards in the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dehn, J.; Webley, P.; Cunningham, K. W.

    2014-12-01

    For over 25 years, effective hazard communication has been key to effective mitigation of volcanic hazards in the North Pacific. These hazards are omnipresent, with a large event happening in Alaska every few years to a decade, though in many cases can happen with little or no warning (e.g. Kasatochi and Okmok in 2008). Here a useful hazard mitigation strategy has been built on (1) a large database of historic activity from many datasets, (2) an operational alert system with graduated levels of concern, (3) scenario planning, and (4) routine checks and communication with emergency managers and the public. These baseline efforts are then enhanced in the time of crisis with coordinated talking points, targeted studies and public outreach. Scientists naturally tend to target other scientists as their audience, whereas in effective monitoring of hazards that may only occur on year to decadal timescales, details can distract from the essentially important information. Creating talking points and practice in public communications can help make hazard response a part of the culture. Promoting situational awareness and familiarity can relieve indecision and concerns at the time of a crisis.

  10. Ventilation changes in the western North Pacific since the last glacial period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Okazaki

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We reconstructed the ventilation record of deep water at 2100 m depth in the mid-latitude western North Pacific over the past 25 kyr from radiocarbon measurements of coexisting planktic and benthic foraminiferal shells in sediment with a high sedimentation rate. The 14C data on fragile and robust planktic foraminiferal shells were concordant with each other, ensuring high quality of the reconstructed ventilation record. The radiocarbon activity changes were consistent with the atmospheric record, suggesting that no massive mixing of old carbon from the abyssal reservoir occurred throughout the glacial to deglacial periods.

  11. A new species of Indo-Pacific Modulidae (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozouet, Pierre; Krygelmans, Anouchka

    2016-04-12

    Modulidae is a littoral cerithioid family exclusively encountered in tropical and subtropical regions. It contains 12 to 15 living species (some species are not clearly delimited). Only one species is known to occur in the vast Indo-Pacific region (Bouchet 2015) and two species in the eastern Atlantic. By comparison, the tropical American regions are relatively rich with at least eleven living species (two or three species in the eastern Pacific and nine or more in the western Atlantic), and an equivalent number or more of fossil species (Landau et al. 2014).

  12. Temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the Hakuho Maru in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1991-08-13 to 1991-09-01 (NODC Accession 0115591)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115591 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from Hakuho Maru in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean...

  13. Condensed and Updated Version of the Systematic Approach Meteorological Knowledge Base Western North Pacific

    OpenAIRE

    Carr, Lester E., III; Elsberry, Russell L.; Boothe, Mark A.

    1997-01-01

    The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense. The meteorological knowledge base for the Systematic and Integrated Approach to Tropical Cydone Track Forecasting proposed by Carr and Elsberry has evolved as additional research has been completed. This Systematic Approach has been applied in the eastern and central North Pacific, and in the Southern Hemisphere, a number of conceptual models have bee...

  14. Examination of the 13 February 2001 Eastern Pacific Maritime Cyclogenesis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Touchton, Marc

    2002-01-01

    .... The models did not properly forecast this system due to weak cold air advection over the Eastern Pacific Ocean and due to blending the subpolar and subtropical jets into a single feature. Data assimilation is suspected to have played a role in the mishandling of these key features.

  15. Seasonal pH and aragonite saturation horizons in the Gulf of Alaska during the North Pacific Survey, 1956–1957

    OpenAIRE

    McKinnell, S.; Christian, J. R.

    2009-01-01

    The extent of global change in carbon system parameters can only be evaluated by comparing present with past measurements. In the northern North Pacific, where aragonite saturation horizons are among the shallowest in the world, historical measurements of carbonate parameters vary from rare to nonexistent. However, during the summer of 1956 and winter of 1957, an extensive survey of the oceanography of the Northeast Pacific, under the auspices of the Canadian Committee on Oceanography, was co...

  16. Geotechnical properties of sediments from North Pacific and Northern Bermuda Rise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, A.J.; Laine, E.P.; Lipkin, J.; Heath, G.R.; Akers, S.A.

    1980-01-01

    Studies of geotechnical properties for the Sub-seabed Disposal Program have been oriented toward sediment characterization related to effectiveness as a containment media and determination of detailed engineering behavior. Consolidation tests of the deeper samples in the North Pacific clays indicate that the sediment column is normally consolidated. The in-situ coefficient of permeability (k) within the cored depth of 25 meters is relatively constant at 10 -7 cm/sec. Consolidated undrained (CIU) triaxial tests indicate stress-strain properties characteristic of saturated clays with effective angles of friction of 35 0 for smectite and 31 0 for illite. These results are being used in computer modeling efforts. Some general geotechnical property data from the Bermuda Rise are also discussed

  17. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data from CTD, MBT, and bottle casts in the Arctic, North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans from the SACKVILLE and other platforms from 1928-05-12 to 1998-11-03 (NODC Accession 0000448)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — CTD, MBT, bottle and other data were collected in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific Oceans from the SACKVILLE and other platforms from 12 May 1928 to 03...

  18. Relationship between the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation and the onset of stratospheric final warming in the northern Hemisphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jinggao; Li, Tim; Xu, Haiming

    2018-01-01

    The seasonal timing or onset date of the stratospheric final warming (SFWOD) events has a considerable interannual variability. This paper reports a statistically significant relationship between the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) and SFWOD in the Northern Hemisphere in two sub-periods (1951-1978 and 1979-2015). Specifically, in the first (second) sub-period, the NPGO is negatively (positively) linked with SFWOD. Composite analyses associated with anomalous NPGO years are conducted to diagnose the dynamic processes of the NPGO-SFWOD link. During 1951-1978, positive NPGO years tend to strengthen the Pacific-North America (PNA) pattern in the mid-troposphere in boreal winter. The strengthened PNA pattern in February leads to strong planetary wave activity in the extratropical stratosphere from late February to March and causes the early onset of SFW in early April. By contrast, a strengthened Western Pacific pattern from January to early February in negative NPGO years causes a burst of planetary waves in both the troposphere and extratropical stratosphere from late January to mid-February and results in more winter stratospheric sudden warming events, which, in turn, leads to a dormant spring and a late onset of SFW in late April. During 1979-2015, positive (negative) NPGO years strongly strengthen (weaken) the mid-tropospheric Aleutian low and the Western Pacific pattern from January to mid-March, leading to increased (decreased) planetary wavenumber-1 activity in the stratosphere from mid- to late winter and thus more (less) winter stratospheric sudden warming events and late (early) onsets of SFW in early May (mid-April).

  19. Marine Animal Sound Database. Twelve Years of Tracking 52-Hz Whale Calls from a Unique Source in the North Pacific

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Watkins, William

    2004-01-01

    Long-term monitoring of underwater sounds using U.S. Navy SOSUS and other hydrophone arrays allowed us to follow the seasonal distribution of underwater calls produced by blue, fin and humpback whales across the North Pacific...

  20. Tropical cyclone-related socio-economic losses in the western North Pacific region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welker, C.; Faust, E.

    2013-01-01

    The western North Pacific (WNP) is the area of the world most frequently affected by tropical cyclones (TCs). However, little is known about the socio-economic impacts of TCs in this region, probably because of the limited relevant loss data. Here, loss data from Munich RE's NatCatSERVICE database is used, a high-quality and widely consulted database of natural disasters. In the country-level loss normalisation technique we apply, the original loss data are normalised to present-day exposure levels by using the respective country's nominal gross domestic product at purchasing power parity as a proxy for wealth. The main focus of our study is on the question of whether the decadal-scale TC variability observed in the Northwest Pacific region in recent decades can be shown to manifest itself economically in an associated variability in losses. It is shown that since 1980 the frequency of TC-related loss events in the WNP exhibited, apart from seasonal and interannual variations, interdecadal variability with a period of about 22 yr - driven primarily by corresponding variations of Northwest Pacific TCs. Compared to the long-term mean, the number of loss events was found to be higher (lower) by 14% (9%) in the positive (negative) phase of the decadal-scale WNP TC frequency variability. This was identified for the period 1980-2008 by applying a wavelet analysis technique. It was also possible to demonstrate the same low-frequency variability in normalised direct economic losses from TCs in the WNP region. The identification of possible physical mechanisms responsible for the observed decadal-scale Northwest Pacific TC variability will be the subject of future research, even if suggestions have already been made in earlier studies.

  1. Tropical cyclone-related socio-economic losses in the western North Pacific region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Welker

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The western North Pacific (WNP is the area of the world most frequently affected by tropical cyclones (TCs. However, little is known about the socio-economic impacts of TCs in this region, probably because of the limited relevant loss data. Here, loss data from Munich RE's NatCatSERVICE database is used, a high-quality and widely consulted database of natural disasters. In the country-level loss normalisation technique we apply, the original loss data are normalised to present-day exposure levels by using the respective country's nominal gross domestic product at purchasing power parity as a proxy for wealth. The main focus of our study is on the question of whether the decadal-scale TC variability observed in the Northwest Pacific region in recent decades can be shown to manifest itself economically in an associated variability in losses. It is shown that since 1980 the frequency of TC-related loss events in the WNP exhibited, apart from seasonal and interannual variations, interdecadal variability with a period of about 22 yr – driven primarily by corresponding variations of Northwest Pacific TCs. Compared to the long-term mean, the number of loss events was found to be higher (lower by 14% (9% in the positive (negative phase of the decadal-scale WNP TC frequency variability. This was identified for the period 1980–2008 by applying a wavelet analysis technique. It was also possible to demonstrate the same low-frequency variability in normalised direct economic losses from TCs in the WNP region. The identification of possible physical mechanisms responsible for the observed decadal-scale Northwest Pacific TC variability will be the subject of future research, even if suggestions have already been made in earlier studies.

  2. Patterns of change in climate and Pacific salmon production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nathan J. Mantua

    2009-01-01

    For much of the 20th century a clear north-south inverse production pattern for Pacific salmon had a time dynamic that closely followed that of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which is the dominant pattern of North Pacific sea surface temperature variability. Total Alaska salmon production was high during warm regimes of the PDO, and total Alaska salmon...

  3. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Persea group (Lauraceae) and its biogeographic implications on the evolution of tropical and subtropical Amphi-Pacific disjunctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lang; Li, Jie; Rohwer, Jens G; van der Werff, Henk; Wang, Zhi-Hua; Li, Hsi-Wen

    2011-09-01

    The Persea group (Lauraceae) has a tropical and subtropical amphi-pacific disjunct distribution with most of its members, and it includes two Macaronesian species. The relationships within the group are still controversial, and its intercontinental disjunction has not been investigated with extensive sampling and precise time dating. • ITS and LEAFY intron II sequences of 78 Persea group species and nine other Lauraceae species were analyzed with maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Divergence time estimation employed Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method under a relaxed clock. • Several traditional genera or subgenera within the Persea group form well-supported monophyletic groups except Alseodaphne and Dehaasia. The divergence time of the Persea group is estimated as ∼55.3 (95% higher posterior densities [HPD] 41.4-69.9) million years ago (mya). Two major divergences within the Persea group are estimated as ∼51.9 (95% HPD 38.9-63.9) mya and ∼48.5 (95% HPD 35.9-59.9) mya. • Persea can be retained as a genus by the inclusion of Apollonias barbujana and exclusion a few species that do not fit into the established subgenera. A major revision is recommended for the delimitation between Alseodaphne, Dehaasia, and Nothaphoebe. We suggest that the Persea group originated from the Perseeae-Laureae radiation in early Eocene Laurasia. Its amphi-pacific disjunction results from the disruption of boreotropical flora by climatic cooling during the mid- to late Eocene. The American-Macaronesian disjunction may be explained by the long-distance dispersal.

  4. Climatology of the African Easterly Jet and Subtropical Highs over North Africa and Arabian Peninsula and a Numerical Case Study of an Intense African Easterly Wave

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinks, James D.

    North African climate is analyzed between 1979 and 2010 with an emphasis on August using the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) global dataset to investigate the effects of the subtropical anticyclones over North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula on the Africa easterly jet (AEJ). It was found that the AEJ encloses a core with a local wind maximum (LWM) in both West and East Africa, in which the west LWM core has a higher zonal wind speed. The strength of both cores is distinctly different by way of thermal wind balance. The variability of these synoptic weather features is higher in East Africa. The most noticeable variability of intensity occurred with easterly waves. Maintenance of easterly waves from the Arabian Peninsula into East Africa is dependent on strong zonal gradients from the AEJ. These zonal gradients were induced by the strengthening of the subtropical highs and the presence of a westerly jet in Central Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. During positive ENSO periods, these systems are generally weaker while in negative periods are stronger. The origins of an intense African easterly wave (AEW) and mesoscale convective system (MCS) in August 2004 (A04) were traced back to the southern Arabian Peninsula, Asir Mountains, and Ethiopian Highlands using gridded satellite (GridSat) data, ERA-I, and the WRF-ARW model. A vorticity budget was developed to investigate the dynamics and mechanisms that contribute to the formation of A04's vorticity perturbation.

  5. Nutrients, temperature, and salinity from bottle cats in the North Pacific Ocean by the Pacific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography from 27 August 1950 to 17 November 1997 (NODC Accession 0000843)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Nutrients, temperature, and salinity data were collected using bottle casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 27 August 1950 to 17 November 1997. Data were submitted...

  6. Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation Impact on Western North Pacific Typhoons and Rainfall in Taiwan

    OpenAIRE

    Chih-wen Hung; Ho-Jiunn Lin; Pei-ken Kao; Ming-fu Shih; Wei-yi Fong

    2016-01-01

    This study discusses the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) impact on the western North Pacific (WNP) typhoons and the summer rainfall in Taiwan. The real time BSISO1 and BISISO2 indices are created using the first two and the third and fourth principal components of the multivariate empirical orthogonal function analysis, based on outgoing long-wave radiation and zonal wind at 850 hPa from Lee et al. (2013). The results show that heavy rainfall in Taiwan and the associated WNP t...

  7. A model of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta habitat and movement in the oceanic North Pacific.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melanie Abecassis

    Full Text Available Habitat preferences for juvenile loggerhead turtles in the North Pacific were investigated with data from two several-year long tagging programs, using 224 satellite transmitters deployed on wild and captive-reared turtles. Animals ranged between 23 and 81 cm in straight carapace length. Tracks were used to investigate changes in temperature preferences and speed of the animals with size. Average sea surface temperatures along the tracks ranged from 18 to 23 °C. Bigger turtles generally experienced larger temperature ranges and were encountered in warmer surface waters. Seasonal differences between small and big turtles suggest that the larger ones dive deeper than the mixed layer and subsequently target warmer surface waters to rewarm. Average swimming speeds were under 1 km/h and increased with size for turtles bigger than 30 cm. However, when expressed in body lengths per second (bl s(-1, smaller turtles showed much higher swimming speeds (>1 bl s (-1 than bigger ones (0.5 bl s(-1. Temperature and speed values at size estimated from the tracks were used to parameterize a habitat-based Eulerian model to predict areas of highest probability of presence in the North Pacific. The model-generated habitat index generally matched the tracks closely, capturing the north-south movements of tracked animals, but the model failed to replicate observed east-west movements, suggesting temperature and foraging preferences are not the only factors driving large-scale loggerhead movements. Model outputs could inform potential bycatch reduction strategies.

  8. A seasonal forecast scheme for the Inner Mongolia spring drought - Part-I: dynamic characteristics of the atmospheric circulation and forecast signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Tao; Si, Yaobing; Yu, Xiao; Wulan; Yang, Peng; Gao, Jing

    2018-02-01

    This study analyzed the atmospheric evolutionary characteristics of insufficient rainfall that leads to spring drought in Inner Mongolia, China. The results revealed that a weakened western Pacific subtropical high and an enlarged North Polar vortex with a western position of the East Asian trough generally result in unfavorable moisture transportation for spring precipitation in IM. It was found that an abnormal sea surface temperature in several crucial ocean areas triggers an irregular atmospheric circulation over the Eurasian continent and the Pacific region. Lower sea surface temperature (SST) during the previous autumn over tropical regions of the central-eastern Pacific and Indian oceans induce a strong Walker circulation, corresponding to a weak and southeastward-retreating subtropical high over the western Pacific during the following winter and spring. Another crucial area is the central region of the North Atlantic Ocean. Abnormally low SST of the ocean area during the preceding autumn causes the Scandinavian teleconnection pattern (the index of which is issued on the website of the Climate Prediction Center, USA) changes to a positive phase, which leads to a weak westerly over the Eurasian continent. In this case, the easterly over the North Pole becomes stronger than normal, resulting in an extended North Polar vortex during the following spring. In addition, SST differences during the previous December between the middle-eastern tropical and the northwestern regions of the Pacific Ocean reflect variations of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, causing the East Asian trough to move to a western position during the following spring.

  9. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data from bottle, CTD, and XBT casts in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific Oceans from the ANTON DOHRN and other platforms from 02 July 1916 to 28 January 1999 (NODC Accession 0000677)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Bottle, CTD, and XBT data were collected in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific Oceans from the ANTON DOHRN and other vessels from 02 July 1916 to 28...

  10. On the unstable ENSO-Western North Pacific Monsoon relation during the 20th Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vega Martín, Inmaculada; Gallego Puyol, David; Ribera Rodriguez, Pedro; Gómez Delgado, Francisco de Paula; Peña-Ortiz, Cristina

    2017-04-01

    The concept of the Western North Pacific Summer Monsoon (WNPSM) appeared for the first time in 1987. Unlike the Indian Summer Monsoon and the East Asian summer monsoon, the WNPSM is an oceanic monsoon driven essentially by the meridional gradient of sea surface temperature. Its circulation is characterized by a northwest-southeast oriented monsoon trough with intense precipitation and low-level southwesterlies and upper-tropospheric easterlies in the region [100°-130° E, 5°-15°N]. Although this monsoon is mainly oceanic, it modulates the precipitation of densely populated areas such as the Philippines. To date, the WNPSM has been quantified by the so-called Western North Pacific Monsoon Index (WNPMI), an index based on wind anomalies over large domains of the Western Pacific. The requirement of continuous observed wind over remote oceanic areas to compute the WNPMI has limited its availability to the 1949-2014 period. In this work we have extended the index by almost 100 years by using historical observations of wind direction taken aboard ships. Our Western North Pacific Directional Index (WNPDI), is defined as the sum of the persistence of the low-level westerly winds in [5°-15°N, 100°-130°E] and easterly winds in [20°-30°N, 110°-140°E]. The new WNPDI index is highly correlated to the existent WNPMI for the concurrent period (1948-2014). (r=+0.88, p<0.01), indicating that the new approach based in the use of wind direction alone (a variable that can be considered instrumental even before the 20th Century), captures most of the monsoonal signal. Previous studies found that, during the second part of the 20th Century the WNPSM exhibited two basic characteristics: first a large interannual variability and second, a significant relation between the WNPSM and the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in a way in which a strong (weak) WNPSM tends to occur during the El Niño (La Niña) developing year or/and La Niña (El Niño) decaying year. The analysis of

  11. The plastic-associated microorganisms of the North Pacific Gyre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carson, Henry S; Nerheim, Magnus S; Carroll, Katherine A; Eriksen, Marcus

    2013-10-15

    Microorganisms likely mediate processes affecting the fate and impacts of marine plastic pollution, including degradation, chemical adsorption, and colonization or ingestion by macroorganisms. We investigated the relationship between plastic-associated microorganism communities and factors such as location, temperature, salinity, plankton abundance, plastic concentration, item size, surface roughness, and polymer type. Small plastic items from the surface of the North Pacific Gyre in 2011 were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Bacillus bacteria (mean 1664 ± 247 individuals mm(-2)) and pennate diatoms (1097 ± 154 mm(-2)) were most abundant, with coccoid bacteria, centric diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and radiolarians present. Bacterial abundance was patchy, but increased on foamed polystyrene. Diatom abundance increased on items with rough surfaces and at sites with high plastic concentrations. Morphotype richness increased slightly on larger fragments, and a biogeographic transition occurred between pennate diatom groups. Better characterizing this community will aid in understanding how it interacts with plastic pollution. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Temperature profile data collected using BT and XBT casts in the North/South Pacific Ocean and North/South Atlantic Ocean from NOAA Ship MALCOLM BALDRIGE and other platforms from 1988-05-04 to 1990-12-18 (NODC Accession 9100058)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile data were collected using XBT and BT casts from NOAA Ship MALCOLM BALDRIGE and other platforms in the North/South Pacific Ocean and North/South...

  13. Population differentiation and hybridisation of Australian snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni) and Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) dolphins in North-Western Australia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brown, Alexander M.; Kopps, Anna M.; Allen, Simon J.; Bejder, Lars; Littleford-Colquhoun, Bethan; Parra, Guido J.; Cagnazzi, Daniele; Thiele, Deborah; Palmer, Carol; Frere, Celine H.

    2014-01-01

    Little is known about the Australian snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni) and Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) dolphins ('snubfin' and 'humpback dolphins', hereafter) of north-western Australia. While both species are listed as 'near threatened' by the IUCN, data deficiencies are impeding rigorous

  14. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data from bottle, CTD, and XBT casts from the JOHN P. TULLY and other vessels in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans from 03 August 1959 to 01 July 2001 (NODC Accession 0000664)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Bottle, CTD, and XBT data were collected in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans from the John P. Tully and other vessels from 03 August 1959 to 01 July 2001....

  15. BAROMETRIC PRESSURE and Other Data from ALPHA HELIX From North Pacific Ocean and Others from 19931016 to 19931103 (NODC Accession 9400051)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Data was collected from Ship ALPHA HELIX cruise...

  16. Rare earth element and neodymium isotope tracing of element input and past ocean circulation. Study from north and south pacific seawater and sediments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Froellje, Henning

    2016-08-09

    Ocean circulation and cycling of trace elements within the oceanic water column is of great significance for modern and past climates. The global overturning circulation is responsible for the distribution of water masses, heat and particulate and dissolved compounds, while biological and chemical processes, such as primary productivity or particle scavenging, control the cycling of nutrients and trace elements in the ocean, and ultimately influence the ocean-atmosphere exchange of carbon. Rare earth elements (REE) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes are widely used as tracers for lithogenic element fluxes and modern and past ocean circulation and water mass mixing. The use of Nd isotopes in paleoceanographic investigations is based on the precise knowledge of processes involved in REE cycling and of the modern oceanic Nd isotope distribution. The Pacific is the largest of the world oceans, but it is highly underrepresented in present-day and past seawater Nd isotope and REE investigations compared to the Atlantic Ocean. In this study, Nd isotopes and REEs are analysed in North Pacific seawater (chapter 2) and sediment samples from the South Pacific (chapters 3-5) to contribute to a better understanding of sources and cycling of REEs and Nd isotopes in present-day seawater and to investigate past water mass mixing and circulation changes during the last glacial termination and throughout the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Neodymium isotopes in seawater and sedimentary archives (fossil fish teeth and debris, foraminifera, ferromanganese oxides, lithogenic particles) were analysed using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), and REE concentrations were analysed using isotope dilution ICP-MS. Results from combined analysis of REEs, and Nd and radium isotopes from North Pacific seawater (coastal seawaters of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu and seawater from the offshore Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA) show a clear influence of the

  17. Rare earth element and neodymium isotope tracing of element input and past ocean circulation. Study from north and south pacific seawater and sediments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Froellje, Henning

    2016-01-01

    Ocean circulation and cycling of trace elements within the oceanic water column is of great significance for modern and past climates. The global overturning circulation is responsible for the distribution of water masses, heat and particulate and dissolved compounds, while biological and chemical processes, such as primary productivity or particle scavenging, control the cycling of nutrients and trace elements in the ocean, and ultimately influence the ocean-atmosphere exchange of carbon. Rare earth elements (REE) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes are widely used as tracers for lithogenic element fluxes and modern and past ocean circulation and water mass mixing. The use of Nd isotopes in paleoceanographic investigations is based on the precise knowledge of processes involved in REE cycling and of the modern oceanic Nd isotope distribution. The Pacific is the largest of the world oceans, but it is highly underrepresented in present-day and past seawater Nd isotope and REE investigations compared to the Atlantic Ocean. In this study, Nd isotopes and REEs are analysed in North Pacific seawater (chapter 2) and sediment samples from the South Pacific (chapters 3-5) to contribute to a better understanding of sources and cycling of REEs and Nd isotopes in present-day seawater and to investigate past water mass mixing and circulation changes during the last glacial termination and throughout the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Neodymium isotopes in seawater and sedimentary archives (fossil fish teeth and debris, foraminifera, ferromanganese oxides, lithogenic particles) were analysed using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), and REE concentrations were analysed using isotope dilution ICP-MS. Results from combined analysis of REEs, and Nd and radium isotopes from North Pacific seawater (coastal seawaters of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu and seawater from the offshore Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA) show a clear influence of the

  18. Organohalogen compounds in deep-sea fishes from the western North Pacific, off-Tohoku, Japan: Contamination status and bioaccumulation profiles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Shin; Oshihoi, Tomoko; Ramu, Karri; Isobe, Tomohiko; Ohmori, Koji; Kubodera, Tsunemi; Tanabe, Shinsuke

    2010-01-01

    Twelve species of deep-sea fishes collected in 2005 from the western North Pacific, off-Tohoku, Japan were analyzed for organohalogen compounds. Among the compounds analyzed, concentrations of DDTs and PCBs (up to 23,000 and 12,400 ng/g lipid wt, respectively) were the highest. The present study is the foremost to report the occurrence of brominated flame retardants such as PBDEs and HBCDs in deep-sea organisms from the North Pacific region. Significant positive correlations found between δ 15 N ( per mille ) and PCBs, DDTs and PBDEs suggest the high biomagnification potential of these contaminants in food web. The large variation in δ 13 C ( per mille ) values observed between the species indicate multiple sources of carbon in the food web and specific accumulation of hydrophobic organohalogen compounds in benthic dwelling carnivore species like snubnosed eel. The results obtained in this study highlight the usefulness of deep-sea fishes as sentinel species to monitor the deep-sea environment.

  19. Multi-century variability in the Pacific North American circulation pattern reconstructed from tree rings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trouet, Valerie; Taylor, Alan H.

    2010-11-01

    We here present a reconstruction (1725-1999) of the winter Pacific North American (PNA) pattern based on three winter climate sensitive tree ring records from the western USA. Positive PNA phases in our record are associated with warm phases of ENSO and PDO and the reorganization of the PNA pattern towards a positive mode is strongest when ENSO and PDO are in phase. Regime shifts in our PNA record correspond to climatic shifts in other proxies of Pacific climate variability, including two well-documented shifts in the instrumental period (1976 and 1923). The correspondence breaks down in the early 19th century, when our record shows a prolonged period of positive PNA, with a peak in 1800-1820. This period corresponds to a period of low solar activity (Dalton Minimum), suggesting a `positive PNA like' response to decreased solar irradiance. The distinct 30-year periodicity that dominates the PNA reconstruction in the 18th century and again from 1875 onwards is disrupted during this period.

  20. 137Cs in the western South Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Masatoshi; Wang Zhongliang

    2007-01-01

    The 137 Cs activities were determined for seawater samples from the East Caroline, Coral Sea, New Hebrides, South Fiji and Tasman Sea (two stations) Basins of the western South Pacific Ocean by γ spectrometry using a low background Ge detector. The 137 Cs activities ranged from 1.4 to 2.3 Bq m -3 over the depth interval 0-250 m and decreased exponentially from the subsurface to 1000 m depth. The distribution profiles of 137 Cs activity at these six western South Pacific Ocean stations did not differ from each other significantly. There was a remarkable difference for the vertical profiles of 137 Cs activity between the East Caroline Basin station in this study and the GEOSECS (Geochemical Ocean Sections Study) station at the same latitude in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean; the 137 Cs inventory over the depth interval 100-1000 m increased from 400 ± 30 Bq m -2 to 560 ± 30 Bq m -2 during the period from 1973 to 1992. The total 137 Cs inventories in the western South Pacific Ocean ranged from 850 ± 70 Bq m -2 in the Coral Sea Basin to 1270 ± 90 Bq m -2 in the South Fiji Basin. Higher 137 Cs inventories were observed at middle latitude stations in the subtropical gyre than at low latitude stations. The 137 Cs inventories were 1.9-4.5 times (2.9 ± 0.7 on average) and 1.7-4.3 times (3.1 ± 0.7 on average) higher than that of the expected deposition density of atmospheric global fallout at the same latitude and that of the estimated 137 Cs deposition density in 10 o latitude by 10 deg. longitude grid data obtained by Aoyama et al. [Aoyama M, Hirose K, Igarashi Y. Re-construction and updating our understanding on the global weapons tests 137 Cs fallout. J Environ Monit 2006;8:431-438], respectively. The possible processes for higher 137 Cs inventories in the western South Pacific Ocean than that of the expected deposition density of atmospheric global fallout may be attributable to the inter-hemisphere dispersion of the atmospheric nuclear weapons testing 137 Cs from

  1. Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the THOMAS WASHINGTON in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1991-08-31 to 1991-10-01 (NODC Accession 0115174)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115174 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from THOMAS WASHINGTON in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  2. Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using Alkalinity titrator, CTD and other instruments from SOUTHERN SURVEYOR in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2009-02-03 to 2009-03-24 (NODC Accession 0108082)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0108082 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from SOUTHERN SURVEYOR in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  3. Spatial variability of phytoplankton pigment distributions in the Subtropical South Pacific Ocean: comparison between in situ and predicted data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Ras

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available In the frame of the BIOSOPE cruise in 2004, the spatial distribution and structure of phytoplankton pigments was investigated along a transect crossing the ultra-oligotrophic South Pacific Subtropical Gyre (SPSG between the Marquesas Archipelago (141° W–8° S and the Chilean upwelling (73° W–34° S. A High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC method was improved in order to be able to accurately quantify pigments over such a large range of trophic levels, and especially from strongly oligotrophic conditions. Seven diagnostic pigments were associated to three phytoplankton size classes (pico-, nano and microphytoplankton. The total chlorophyll-α concentrations [TChlα] in surface waters were the lowest measured in the centre of the gyre, reaching 0.017 mg m−3. Pigment concentrations at the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM were generally 10 fold the surface values. Results were compared to predictions from a global parameterisation based on remotely sensed surface [TChlα]. The agreement between the in situ and predicted data for such contrasting phytoplankton assemblages was generally good: throughout the oligotrophic gyre system, picophytoplankton (prochlorophytes and cyanophytes and nanophytoplankton were the dominant classes. Relative bacteriochlorophyll-α concentrations varied around 2%. The transition zone between the Marquesas and the SPSG was also well predicted by the model. However, some regional characteristics have been observed where measured and modelled data differ. Amongst these features is the extreme depth of the DCM (180 m towards the centre of the gyre, the presence of a deep nanoflagellate population beneath the DCM or the presence of a prochlorophyte-enriched population in the formation area of the high salinity South Pacific Tropical Water. A coastal site sampled in the eutrophic upwelling zone, characterised by recently upwelled water, was significantly and unusually enriched in picoeucaryotes, in

  4. Dissolved inorganic carbon, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the Kaiyo in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1997-11-29 to 1997-12-25 (NODC Accession 0112363)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112363 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from Kaiyo in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from...

  5. Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using Alkalinity titrator, CTD and other instruments from NOAA Ship DISCOVERER in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1992-09-06 to 1992-12-08 (NODC Accession 0000193)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0000193 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from NOAA Ship DISCOVERER in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  6. BAROMETRIC PRESSURE and Other Data from MOANA WAVE and Other Platforms From North Pacific Ocean from 19900103 to 19901220 (NODC Accession 9300148)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature, Depth, Salinity, dissolved Oxygen (CTD); and Ocean chemistry data collected in North Pacific Ocean between January 3, 1990 and December 20, 1990 during...

  7. The developmental biogeography of hawksbill sea turtles in the North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Houtan, Kyle S; Francke, Devon L; Alessi, Sarah; Jones, T Todd; Martin, Summer L; Kurpita, Lauren; King, Cheryl S; Baird, Robin W

    2016-04-01

    High seas oceanic ecosystems are considered important habitat for juvenile sea turtles, yet much remains cryptic about this important life-history period. Recent progress on climate and fishery impacts in these so-called lost years is promising, but the developmental biogeography of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) has not been widely described in the Pacific Ocean. This knowledge gap limits the effectiveness of conservation management for this globally endangered species. We address this with 30 years of stranding observations, 20 years of bycatch records, and recent simulations of natal dispersal trajectories in the Hawaiian Archipelago. We synthesize the analyses of these data in the context of direct empirical observations, anecdotal sightings, and historical commercial harvests from the insular Pacific. We find hawksbills 0-4 years of age, measuring 8-34 cm straight carapace length, are found predominantly in the coastal pelagic waters of Hawaii. Unlike other species, we find no direct evidence of a prolonged presence in oceanic habitats, yet satellite tracks of passive drifters (simulating natal dispersal) and our small sample sizes suggest that an oceanic phase for hawksbills cannot be dismissed. Importantly, despite over 600 million hooks deployed and nearly 6000 turtle interactions, longline fisheries have never recorded a single hawksbill take. We address whether the patterns we observe are due to population size and gear selectivity. Although most sea turtle species demonstrate clear patterns of oceanic development, hawksbills in the North Pacific may by contrast occupy a variety of ecosystems including coastal pelagic waters and shallow reefs in remote atolls. This focuses attention on hazards in these ecosystems - entanglement and ingestion of marine debris - and perhaps away from longline bycatch and decadal climate regimes that affect sea turtle development in oceanic regions.

  8. Potential use of a regional climate model in seasonal tropical cyclone activity predictions in the western North Pacific

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Au-Yeung, Andie Y.M.; Chan, Johnny C.L. [City University of Hong Kong, Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre, School of Energy and Environment, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)

    2012-08-15

    This study investigates the potential use of a regional climate model in forecasting seasonal tropical cyclone (TC) activity. A modified version of Regional Climate Model Version 3 (RegCM3) is used to examine the ability of the model to simulate TC genesis and landfalling TC tracks for the active TC season in the western North Pacific. In the model, a TC is identified as a vortex satisfying several conditions, including local maximum relative vorticity at 850 hPa with a value {>=}450 x 10{sup -6} s{sup -1}, and the temperature at 300 hPa being 1 C higher than the average temperature within 15 latitude radius from the TC center. Tracks are traced by following these found vortices. Six-month ensemble (8 members each) simulations are performed for each year from 1982 to 2001 so that the climatology of the model can be compared to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) observed best-track dataset. The 20-year ensemble experiments show that the RegCM3 can be used to simulate vortices with a wind structure and temperature profile similar to those of real TCs. The model also reproduces tracks very similar to those observed with features like genesis in the tropics, recurvature at higher latitudes and landfall/decay. The similarity of the 500-hPa geopotential height patterns between RegCM3 and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts 40 Year Re-analysis (ERA-40) shows that the model can simulate the subtropical high to a large extent. The simulated climatological monthly spatial distributions as well as the interannual variability of TC occurrence are also similar to the JTWC data. These results imply the possibility of producing seasonal forecasts of tropical cyclones using real-time global climate model predictions as boundary conditions for the RegCM3. (orig.)

  9. Shifting climate, altered niche, and a dynamic conservation strategy for yellow-cedar in the North Pacific coastal rainforest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul E. Hennon; David V. D' Amore; Paul G. Schaberg; Dustin T. Wittwer; Colin S. Shanley

    2012-01-01

    The extensive mortality of yellow-cedar along more than 1000 kilometers of the northern Pacific coast of North America serves as a leading example of climate effects on a forest tree species. In this article, we document our approaches to resolving the causes of tree death, which we explain as a cascade of interacting topographic, forest-structure, and microclimate...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2010-09-01

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

  11. Aggressive root pathogen Phellinus noxius and implications for western Pacific Islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sara M. Ashiglar; Phil G. Cannon; Ned B. Klopfenstein

    2015-01-01

    Phellinus noxius is an aggressive root rot pathogen affecting tropical and subtropical forests. Causing much damage in tropical Asia, Africa, Taiwan, Japan and the Pacific Islands, its wide host range encompasses more than 200 plant species representing 59 families (Ann et al. 2002). It can devastate agricultural plantations of tea, rubber, cocoa, avocados,...

  12. Active Pacific meridional overturning circulation (PMOC) during the warm Pliocene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burls, Natalie J; Fedorov, Alexey V; Sigman, Daniel M; Jaccard, Samuel L; Tiedemann, Ralf; Haug, Gerald H

    2017-09-01

    An essential element of modern ocean circulation and climate is the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), which includes deep-water formation in the subarctic North Atlantic. However, a comparable overturning circulation is absent in the Pacific, the world's largest ocean, where relatively fresh surface waters inhibit North Pacific deep convection. We present complementary measurement and modeling evidence that the warm, ~400-ppmv (parts per million by volume) CO 2 world of the Pliocene supported subarctic North Pacific deep-water formation and a Pacific meridional overturning circulation (PMOC) cell. In Pliocene subarctic North Pacific sediments, we report orbitally paced maxima in calcium carbonate accumulation rate, with accompanying pigment and total organic carbon measurements supporting deep-ocean ventilation-driven preservation as their cause. Together with high accumulation rates of biogenic opal, these findings require vigorous bidirectional communication between surface waters and interior waters down to ~3 km in the western subarctic North Pacific, implying deep convection. Redox-sensitive trace metal data provide further evidence of higher Pliocene deep-ocean ventilation before the 2.73-Ma (million years) transition. This observational analysis is supported by climate modeling results, demonstrating that atmospheric moisture transport changes, in response to the reduced meridional sea surface temperature gradients of the Pliocene, were capable of eroding the halocline, leading to deep-water formation in the western subarctic Pacific and a strong PMOC. This second Northern Hemisphere overturning cell has important implications for heat transport, the ocean/atmosphere cycle of carbon, and potentially the equilibrium response of the Pacific to global warming.

  13. The most oligotrophic subtropical zones of the global ocean: similarities and differences in terms of chlorophyll and yellow substance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morel, A.; Claustre, H.; Gentili, B.

    2010-10-01

    The cores of the subtropical anticyclonic gyres are characterized by their oligotrophic status and minimal chlorophyll concentration, compared to that of the whole ocean. These zones are unambiguously detected by space borne ocean color sensors thanks to their typical spectral reflectance, which is that of extremely clear and deep blue waters. Not only the low chlorophyll (denoted [Chl]) level, but also a reduced amount of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM or "yellow substance") account for this clarity. The oligotrophic waters of the North and South Pacific gyres, the North and South Atlantic gyres, and the South Indian gyre have been comparatively studied with respect to both [Chl] and CDOM contents, by using 10-year data (1998-2007) of the Sea-viewing Wide field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS, NASA). Albeit similar these oligotrophic zones are not identical regarding their [Chl] and CDOM contents, as well as their seasonal cycles. According to the zone, the averaged [Chl] value varies from 0.026 to 0.059 mg m-3, whereas the ay(443) average (the absorption coefficient due to CDOM at 443 nm) is between 0.0033 and 0.0072 m-1. The CDOM-to-[Chl] relative proportions also differ between the zones. The clearest waters, corresponding to the lowest [Chl] and CDOM concentrations, are found near Easter Island and near Mariana Islands in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean. In spite of its low [Chl], the Sargasso Sea presents the highest CDOM content amongst the six zones studied. Except in the North Pacific gyre (near Mariana and south of Hawaii islands), a conspicuous seasonality appears to be the rule in the other 4 gyres and affects both [Chl] and CDOM; both quantities vary in a ratio of about 2 (maximum-to-minimum). Coinciding [Chl] and CDOM peaks occur just after the local winter solstice, which is also the period of the maximal mixed layer depth in these latitudes. It is hypothesized that the vertical transport of unbleached CDOM from the subthermocline layers

  14. Water vapor variability and comparisons in the subtropical Pacific from The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment-Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) Driftsonde, Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC), and reanalyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Junhong; Zhang, Liangying; Lin, Po-Hsiung; Bradford, Mark; Cole, Harold; Fox, Jack; Hock, Terry; Lauritsen, Dean; Loehrer, Scot; Martin, Charlie; Vanandel, Joseph; Weng, Chun-Hsiung; Young, Kathryn

    2010-11-01

    During the THORPEX (The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC), from 1 August to 30 September 2008, ˜1900 high-quality, high vertical resolution soundings were collected over the Pacific Ocean. These include dropsondes deployed from four aircrafts and zero-pressure balloons in the stratosphere (NCAR's Driftsonde system). The water vapor probability distribution and spatial variability in the northern subtropical Pacific (14°-20°N, 140°E-155°W) are studied using Driftsonde and COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) data and four global reanalysis products. Driftsonde data analysis shows distinct differences of relative humidity (RH) distributions in the free troposphere between the Eastern and Western Pacific (EP and WP, defined as east and west of 180°, respectively), very dry with a single peak of ˜1% RH in the EP and bi-modal distributions in the WP with one peak near ice saturation and one varying with altitude. The frequent occurrences of extreme dry air are found in the driftsonde data with 59% and 19% of RHs less than or equal to 5% and at 1% at 500 hPa in the EP, respectively. RH with respect to ice in the free troposphere exhibits considerable longitudinal variations, very low (problems in Driftsonde, two National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalyses and COSMIC data. The moist layer at 200-100 hPa in the WP shown in the ERA-Interim, JRA and COSMIC is missing in Driftsonde data. Major problems are found in the RH means and variability over the study region for both NCEP reanalyses. Although the higher-moisture layer at 200-100 hPa in the WP in the COSMIC data agrees well with the ERA-Interim and JRA, it is primarily attributed to the first guess of the 1-Dimensional (1D) variational analysis used in the COSMIC retrieval rather than the refractivity measurements. The limited soundings (total 268) of Driftsonde data are capable of

  15. Carbon dioxide, temperature, salinity and other variables collected via time series monitoring from MOORINGS in the North Pacific Ocean from 1998-06-22 to 2004-11-23 (NODC Accession 0100079)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0100079 includes chemical, time series and underway - surface data collected from MOORINGS in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from...

  16. Role of Transtension in Rifting at the Pacific-North America Plate Boundary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, J. M.

    2011-12-01

    Transtensional plate motion can be accommodated either in a localized zone of transtensional rifting or over a broader region. Broader zones of deformation can be classified either as diffuse deformation or strain partitioning (one or more major strike-slip shear zones geographically offset from a region of a extensional faulting). The Pacific-North America plate boundary in southwestern North America was transtensional during much of its history and has exhibited the full range of these behaviors at different spatial scales and in different locations, as recorded by fault motions and paleomagnetic rotations. Here we focus on the northern Gulf of California part of the plate boundary (Upper and Lower Delfin basin segments), which has been in a zone of transtensional Pacific-North America plate boundary motion ever since the middle Miocene demise of adjacent Farallon-derived microplates. Prior to the middle Miocene, during the time of microplate activity, this sector of North America experienced basin-and-range normal faults (core complexes) in Sonora. However there is no evidence of continued extensional faulting nor of a Gulf-related topographic depression until after ca 12 Ma when a major ignimbrite (Tuff of San Felipe/ Ignimbrite of Hermosillo) was deposited across the entire region of the future Gulf of California rift in this sector. After 12 Ma, faults disrupted this marker bed in eastern Baja California and western Sonora, and some major NNW-striking right-lateral faults are inferred to have developed near the Sonoran coast causing offset of some of the volcanic facies. However, there are major tectonic rotations of the volcanic rocks in NE Baja California between 12 and 6 Ma, suggesting that the plate boundary motion was still occurring over a broad region. By contrast, after about 6 Ma, diminished rotations in latest Miocene and Pliocene volcanic rocks, as well as fault slip histories, show that plate boundary deformation became localized to a narrower

  17. Atmospheric teleconnection influence on North American land surface phenology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dannenberg, Matthew P.; Wise, Erika K.; Janko, Mark; Hwang, Taehee; Kolby Smith, W.

    2018-03-01

    Short-term forecasts of vegetation activity are currently not well constrained due largely to our lack of understanding of coupled climate-vegetation dynamics mediated by complex interactions between atmospheric teleconnection patterns. Using ecoregion-scale estimates of North American vegetation activity inferred from remote sensing (1982-2015), we examined seasonal and spatial relationships between land surface phenology and the atmospheric components of five teleconnection patterns over the tropical Pacific, north Pacific, and north Atlantic. Using a set of regression experiments, we also tested for interactions among these teleconnection patterns and assessed predictability of vegetation activity solely based on knowledge of atmospheric teleconnection indices. Autumn-to-winter composites of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were strongly correlated with start of growing season timing, especially in the Pacific Northwest. The two leading modes of north Pacific variability (the Pacific-North American, PNA, and West Pacific patterns) were significantly correlated with start of growing season timing across much of southern Canada and the upper Great Lakes. Regression models based on these Pacific teleconnections were skillful predictors of spring phenology across an east-west swath of temperate and boreal North America, between 40°N-60°N. While the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was not strongly correlated with start of growing season timing on its own, we found compelling evidence of widespread NAO-SOI and NAO-PNA interaction effects. These results suggest that knowledge of atmospheric conditions over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans increases the predictability of North American spring phenology. A more robust consideration of the complexity of the atmospheric circulation system, including interactions across multiple ocean basins, is an important step towards accurate forecasts of vegetation activity.

  18. Natural variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovenduski, N. S.; Long, M. C.; Lindsay, K.

    2015-11-01

    We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32-]) on the basis of a~long control simulation with an Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32-] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32-] in the tropical Pacific and at the boundaries between the subtropical and subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere, and relatively low interannual variability in the centers of the subtropical gyres and in the Southern Ocean. Statistical analysis of modeled [CO32-] variance and autocorrelation suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in the saturation state of aragonite (Ωaragonite) are already or nearly detectable at the sustained, open-ocean time series sites, whereas several decades of observations are required to detect anthropogenic trends in Ωaragonite in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. The detection timescale for anthropogenic trends in pH is shorter than that for Ωaragonite, due to smaller noise-to-signal ratios and lower autocorrelation in pH. In the tropical Pacific, the leading mode of surface [CO32-] variability is primarily driven by variations in the vertical advection of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in association with El Niño-Southern Oscillation. In the North Pacific, surface [CO32-] variability is caused by circulation-driven variations in surface DIC and strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with peak spectral power at 20-30-year periods. North Atlantic [CO32-] variability is also driven by variations in surface DIC, and exhibits weak correlations with both the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. As the scientific community seeks to detect the anthropogenic influence on ocean carbonate chemistry, these results will aid the interpretation of trends

  19. Impact of the Fukushima accident on tritium, radiocarbon and radiocesium levels in seawater of the western North Pacific Ocean: A comparison with pre-Fukushima situation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Povinec, P P; Liong Wee Kwong, L; Kaizer, J; Molnár, M; Nies, H; Palcsu, L; Papp, L; Pham, M K; Jean-Baptiste, P

    2017-01-01

    Tritium, radiocarbon and radiocesium concentrations in water column samples in coastal waters offshore Fukushima and in the western North Pacific Ocean collected in 2011-2012 during the Ka'imikai-o-Kanaloa (KoK) cruise are compared with other published results. The highest levels in surface seawater were observed for 134 Cs and 137 Cs in seawater samples collected offshore Fukushima (up to 1.1 Bq L -1 ), which represent an increase by about three orders of magnitude when compared with the pre-Fukushima concentration. Tritium levels were much lower (up to 0.15 Bq L -1 ), representing an increase by about a factor of 6. The impact on the radiocarbon distribution was measurable, but the observed levels were only by about 9% above the global fallout background. The 137 Cs (and similarly 134 Cs) inventory in the water column of the investigated western North Pacific region was (2.7 ± 0.4) PBq, while for 3 H it was only (0.3 ± 0.2) PBq. Direct releases of highly contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima NPP, as well as dry and wet depositions of these radionuclides over the western North Pacific considerably changed their distribution patterns in seawater. Presently we can distinguish Fukushima labeled waters from global fallout background thanks to short-lived 134 Cs. However, in the long-term perspective when 134 Cs will decay, new distribution patterns of 3 H, 14 C and 137 Cs in the Pacific Ocean should be established for future oceanographic and climate change studies in the Pacific Ocean. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Implications of the permanent El Niño teleconnection "blueprint" for past global and North American hydroclimatology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Goldner

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Substantial evidence exists for wetter-than-modern continental conditions in North America during the pre-Quaternary warm climate intervals. This is in apparent conflict with the robust global prediction for future climate change of a northward expansion of the subtropical dry zones that should drive aridification of many semiarid regions. Indeed, areas of expected future aridification include much of western North America, where extensive paleoenvironmental records are documented to have been much wetter before the onset of Quaternary ice ages. It has also been proposed that climates previous to the Quaternary may have been characterized as being in a state with warmer-than-modern eastern equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs. Because equatorial Pacific SSTs exert strong controls on midlatitude atmospheric circulation and the global hydrologic cycle, the teleconnected response from this permanent El Niño-like mean state has been proposed as a useful analogue model, or "blueprint", for understanding global climatological anomalies in the past. The present study quantitatively explores the implications of this blueprint for past climates with a specific focus on the Miocene and Pliocene, using a global climate model (CAM3.0 and a nested high-resolution climate model (RegCM3 to study the hydrologic impacts on global and North American climate of a change in mean SSTs resembling that which occurs during modern El Niño events. We find that the global circulation response to a permanent El Niño resembles a large, long El Niño event. This state also exhibits equatorial super-rotation, which would represent a fundamental change to the tropical circulations. We also find a southward shift in winter storm tracks in the Pacific and Atlantic, which affects precipitation and temperature over the mid-latitudes. In addition, summertime precipitation increases over the majority of the continental United States. These increases in precipitation are

  1. Impact of the basic state and MJO representation on MJO Pacific teleconnections in GCMs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, S. A.; Maloney, E. D.; Son, S. W.

    2017-12-01

    Teleconnection patterns induced by the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) are known to significantly alter extratropical weather and climate patterns. However, accurate MJO representation has been difficult for many General Circulation Models (GCMs). Furthermore, many GCMs contain large basic state biases. These issues present challenges to the simulation of MJO teleconnections and, in turn, their associated extratropical impacts. This study examines the impacts of basic state quality and MJO representation on the quality of MJO teleconnection patterns in GCMs from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Results suggest that GCMs assessed to have a good MJO but with large basic state biases have similarly low skill in reproducing MJO teleconnections as GCMs with poor MJO representation. In the good MJO models examined, poor teleconnection quality is associated with large errors in the zonal extent of the Pacific subtropical jet. Whereas the horizontal structure of MJO heating in the Indo-Pacific region is found to have modest impacts on the teleconnection patterns, results suggest that MJO heating east of the dateline can alter the teleconnection pattern characteristics over North America. These findings suggest that in order to accurately simulate the MJO teleconnection patterns and associated extratropical impacts, both the MJO and the basic state must be well represented.

  2. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and other variables collected from Surface underway observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments from L'ATALANTE in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1994-09-23 to 1994-10-30 (NCEI Accession 0157463)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157463 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from L'ATALANTE in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  3. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2000-12-27 to 2001-02-08 (NODC Accession 0112353)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112353 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  4. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and other variables collected from Surface underway observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments from L'ATALANTE in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1994-11-05 to 1994-11-29 (NCEI Accession 0157470)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157470 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from L'ATALANTE in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  5. Perspective on the northwestward shift of autumn tropical cyclogenesis locations over the western North Pacific from shifting ENSO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Chundi; Zhang, Chengyang; Yang, Song; Chen, Dake; He, Shengping

    2017-11-01

    During the recent decades of satellite era, more tropical cyclogenesis locations (TCLs) were observed over the northwestern part of the western North Pacific (WNP), relative to the southeastern part, during the boreal autumn. This increase in TCLs over the northwestern WNP is largely attributed to the synergy of shifting El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the 1998 Pacific climate regime shift. Both central Pacific (CP) La Niña and CP El Niño have occurred more frequently since 1998, with only one eastern Pacific El Niño observed in autumn 2015. The change in the mean longitude of TCLs is closely linked to the ENSO diversity, whereas the change in the mean latitude is dominated by the warming of the WNP induced by an interdecadal tendency of CP La Niña-like events. The physical mechanisms responsible for this shifting ENSO-TCL linkage can be potentially explained by the tacit-and-mutual configurations between tropical upper-tropospheric trough and monsoon trough, on both interannual and interdecadal timescales, which is mainly due to the ENSO-related large-scale environment changes in ocean and atmosphere that modulate the WNP TCL.

  6. Prediction of North Pacific Height Anomalies During Strong Madden-Julian Oscillation Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kai-Chih, T.; Barnes, E. A.; Maloney, E. D.

    2017-12-01

    The Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) creates strong variations in extratropical atmospheric circulations that have important implications for subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction. In particular, certain MJO phases are characterized by a consistent modulation of geopotential height in the North Pacific and adjacent regions across different MJO events. Until recently, only limited research has examined the relationship between these robust MJO tropical-extratropical teleconnections and model prediction skill. In this study, reanalysis data (MERRA and ERA-Interim) and ECMWF ensemble hindcasts are used to demonstrate that robust teleconnections in specific MJO phases and time lags are also characterized by excellent agreement in the prediction of geopotential height anoma- lies across model ensemble members at forecast leads of up to 3 weeks. These periods of enhanced prediction capabilities extend the possibility for skillful extratropical weather prediction beyond traditional 10-13 day limits. Furthermore, we also examine the phase dependency of teleconnection robustness by using Linear Baroclinic Model (LBM) and the result is consistent with the ensemble hindcasts : the anomalous heating of MJO phase 2 (phase 6) can consistently generate positive (negative) geopotential height anomalies around the extratropical Pacific with a lead of 15-20 days, while other phases are more sensitive to the variaion of the mean state.

  7. Tree growth and climate in the Pacific Northwest, North America: a broad-scale analysis of changing growth environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitney L. Albright; David L. Peterson

    2013-01-01

    Climate change in the 21st century will affect tree growth in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, although complex climate–growth relationships make it difficult to identify how radial growth will respond across different species distributions. We used a novel method to examine potential growth responses to climate change at a broad geographical scale with a...

  8. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2002-12-17 to 2003-02-14 (NODC Accession 0113608)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113608 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from...

  9. High carbon dioxide uptake by subtropical forest ecosystems in the East Asian monsoon region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Guirui; Chen, Zhi; Piao, Shilong; Peng, Changhui; Ciais, Philippe; Wang, Qiufeng; Li, Xuanran; Zhu, Xianjin

    2014-01-01

    Temperate- and high-latitude forests have been shown to contribute a carbon sink in the Northern Hemisphere, but fewer studies have addressed the carbon balance of the subtropical forests. In the present study, we integrated eddy covariance observations established in the 1990s and 2000s to show that East Asian monsoon subtropical forests between 20°N and 40°N represent an average net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of 362 ± 39 g C m−2 yr−1 (mean ± 1 SE). This average forest NEP value is higher than that of Asian tropical and temperate forests and is also higher than that of forests at the same latitudes in Europe–Africa and North America. East Asian monsoon subtropical forests have comparable NEP to that of subtropical forests of the southeastern United States and intensively managed Western European forests. The total NEP of East Asian monsoon subtropical forests was estimated to be 0.72 ± 0.08 Pg C yr−1, which accounts for 8% of the global forest NEP. This result indicates that the role of subtropical forests in the current global carbon cycle cannot be ignored and that the regional distributions of the Northern Hemisphere's terrestrial carbon sinks are needed to be reevaluated. The young stand ages and high nitrogen deposition, coupled with sufficient and synchronous water and heat availability, may be the primary reasons for the high NEP of this region, and further studies are needed to quantify the contribution of each underlying factor. PMID:24639529

  10. Temperature profile and water depth data collected from BROOKE using BT and XBT casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 03 October 1975 to 18 November 1977 (NODC Accession 8900225)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile and water depth data were collected using BT and XBT casts from the BROOKE in the North Pacific Ocean and TOGA Area - Pacific Ocean. Data were...

  11. SEDIMENT PROPERTIES and Other Data from FIXED PLATFORM and Other Platforms From North Pacific Ocean from 19881030 to 19911024 (NODC Accession 9300040)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The accession contains data collected in North Pacific Ocean from Hawaiian Ocean Time Series (HOTS) project for years 1, 2 and 3 as part of Joint Global Ocean Flux...

  12. PHYTOPLANKTON - WET WEIGHT and Other Data from ALE ANDRO DE HUMBOLDT From North Pacific Ocean from 19780108 to 19780407 (NODC Accession 9700071)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Phytoplankton data were collected from net tows from the Ale Andro De Humboldt in the North Pacific Ocean from 08 January 1978 to 07 April 1978. Chlorophyll A and...

  13. Indo-Pacific sea level variability during recent decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamanaka, G.; Tsujino, H.; Nakano, H.; Urakawa, S. L.; Sakamoto, K.

    2016-12-01

    Decadal variability of sea level in the Indo-Pacific region is investigated using a historical OGCM simulation. The OGCM driven by the atmospheric forcing removing long-term trends clearly exhibits decadal sea level variability in the Pacific Ocean, which is associated with eastern tropical Pacific thermal anomalies. During the period of 1977-1987, the sea level anomalies are positive in the eastern equatorial Pacific and show deviations from a north-south symmetric distribution, with strongly negative anomalies in the western tropical South Pacific. During the period of 1996-2006, in contrast, the sea level anomalies are negative in the eastern equatorial Pacific and show a nearly north-south symmetric pattern, with positive anomalies in both hemispheres. Concurrently, sea level anomalies in the south-eastern Indian Ocean vary with those in the western tropical Pacific. These sea level variations are closely related to large-scale wind fields. Indo-Pacific sea level distributions are basically determined by wind anomalies over the equatorial region as well as wind stress curl anomalies over the off-equatorial region.

  14. The Impacts of Multiple Simultaneous Climate Variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-01

    in the ITCZ and SPCZ, and between the subtropical high and subpolar lows where the extratropical storm tracks occur. Lower PR values tend to occur...especially over and near the maritime continent and Amazon, in the ITCZ and SPCZ, and in the extratropical storm tracks over the North Pacific and...gradient and low tropospheric winds are strong (cf. Figure 9)—for example, between the subtropical highs and subpolar lows where the extratropical storm

  15. 78 FR 25955 - Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-03

    ... Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT... Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... be implemented pursuant to the precautionary management framework for North Pacific albacore...

  16. 78 FR 27367 - Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-10

    ... Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT... Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... be implemented pursuant to the precautionary management framework for North Pacific albacore...

  17. Conductivity data from moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 1979-04-23 to 1981-10-01 (NODC Accession 8200163)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Conductivity data were collected using moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from April 23, 1979 to October 1, 1981. Data were submitted by...

  18. ENSO surface longwave radiation forcing over the tropical Pacific

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. G. Pavlakis

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We have studied the spatial and temporal variation of the surface longwave radiation (downwelling and net over a 21-year period in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean (40 S–40 N, 90 E–75 W. The fluxes were computed using a deterministic model for atmospheric radiation transfer, along with satellite data from the ISCCP-D2 database and reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR (acronyms explained in main text, for the key atmospheric and surface input parameters. An excellent correlation was found between the downwelling longwave radiation (DLR anomaly and the Niño-3.4 index time-series, over the Niño-3.4 region located in the central Pacific. A high anti-correlation was also found over the western Pacific (15–0 S, 105–130 E. There is convincing evidence that the time series of the mean downwelling longwave radiation anomaly in the western Pacific precedes that in the Niño-3.4 region by 3–4 months. Thus, the downwelling longwave radiation anomaly is a complementary index to the SST anomaly for the study of ENSO events and can be used to asses whether or not El Niño or La Niña conditions prevail. Over the Niño-3.4 region, the mean DLR anomaly values range from +20 Wm−2 during El Niño episodes to −20 Wm−2 during La Niña events, while over the western Pacific (15–0 S, 105–130 E these values range from −15 Wm−2 to +10 Wm−2, respectively. The long- term average (1984–2004 distribution of the net downwelling longwave radiation at the surface over the tropical and subtropical Pacific for the three month period November-December-January shows a net thermal cooling of the ocean surface. When El Niño conditions prevail, the thermal radiative cooling in the central and south-eastern tropical Pacific becomes weaker by 10 Wm−2 south of the equator in the central Pacific (7–0 S, 160–120 W for the three-month period of NDJ, because the DLR increase is larger than the increase in surface thermal emission. In contrast, the

  19. 137Cs, 239+24Pu and 24Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the surface waters of the western North Pacific Ocean, eastern Indian Ocean and their adjacent seas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Masatoshi; Zheng Jian; Wang Zhongliang

    2006-01-01

    Surface seawater samples were collected along the track of the R/V Hakuho-Maru cruise (KH-96-5) from Tokyo to the Southern Ocean. The 137 Cs activities were determined for the surface waters in the western North Pacific Ocean, the Sulu and Indonesian Seas, the eastern Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, and the South China Sea. The 137 Cs activities showed a wide variation with values ranging from 1.1 Bq m -3 in the Antarctic Circumpolar Region of the Southern Ocean to 3 Bq m -3 in the western North Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. The latitudinal distributions of 137 Cs activity were not reflective of that of the integrated deposition density of atmospheric global fallout. The removal rates of 137 Cs from the surface waters were roughly estimated from the two data sets of Miyake et al. [Miyake Y, Saruhashi K, Sugimura Y, Kanazawa T, Hirose K. Contents of 137 Cs, plutonium and americium isotopes in the Southern Ocean waters. Pap Meteorol Geophys 1988;39:95-113] and this study to be 0.016 yr -1 in the Sulu and Indonesian Seas, 0.033 yr -1 in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, and 0.029 yr -1 in the South China Sea. These values were much lower than that in the coastal surface water of the western Northwest Pacific Ocean. This was likely due to less horizontal and vertical mixing of water masses and less scavenging. 239+24 Pu activities and 24 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios were also determined for the surface waters in the western North Pacific Ocean, the Sulu and Indonesian Seas and the South China Sea. The 24 Pu / 239 Pu atom ratios ranged from 0.199 ± 0.026 to 0.248 ± 0.027 on average, and were significantly higher than the global stratospheric fallout ratio of 0.18. The contributions of the North Pacific Proving Grounds close-in fallout Pu were estimated to be 20% for the western North Pacific Ocean, 39% for the Sulu and Indonesian Seas and 42% for the South China Sea by using the two end-member mixing model. The higher 24 Pu / 239 Pu atom ratios

  20. Conductivity data from moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 1980-08-05 to 1981-08-01 (NODC Accession 8300053)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Conductivity data were collected using moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from August 5, 1980 to August 1, 1981. Data were submitted by University...

  1. Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in the subtropical Northeast Atlantic.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Cáceres

    Full Text Available Dilution experiments were performed to estimate phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates during two Lagrangian surveys in inner and eastern locations of the Eastern North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre province (NAST-E. Our design included two phytoplankton size fractions (0.2-5 µm and >5 µm and five depths, allowing us to characterize differences in growth and grazing rates between size fractions and depths, as well as to estimate vertically integrated measurements. Phytoplankton growth rates were high (0.11-1.60 d(-1, especially in the case of the large fraction. Grazing rates were also high (0.15-1.29 d(-1, suggesting high turnover rates within the phytoplankton community. The integrated balances between phytoplankton growth and grazing losses were close to zero, although deviations were detected at several depths. Also, O2 supersaturation was observed up to 110 m depth during both Lagrangian surveys. These results add up to increased evidence indicating an autotrophic metabolic balance in oceanic subtropical gyres.

  2. Phytoplankton Growth and Microzooplankton Grazing in the Subtropical Northeast Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cáceres, Carlos; Taboada, Fernando González; Höfer, Juan; Anadón, Ricardo

    2013-01-01

    Dilution experiments were performed to estimate phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates during two Lagrangian surveys in inner and eastern locations of the Eastern North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre province (NAST-E). Our design included two phytoplankton size fractions (0.2–5 µm and >5 µm) and five depths, allowing us to characterize differences in growth and grazing rates between size fractions and depths, as well as to estimate vertically integrated measurements. Phytoplankton growth rates were high (0.11–1.60 d−1), especially in the case of the large fraction. Grazing rates were also high (0.15–1.29 d−1), suggesting high turnover rates within the phytoplankton community. The integrated balances between phytoplankton growth and grazing losses were close to zero, although deviations were detected at several depths. Also, O2 supersaturation was observed up to 110 m depth during both Lagrangian surveys. These results add up to increased evidence indicating an autotrophic metabolic balance in oceanic subtropical gyres. PMID:23935946

  3. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from Surface underway, discrete sample and profile observations using Alkalinity titrator, CTD and other instruments from MIRAI in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2007-10-08 to 2007-12-26 (NODC Accession 0108123)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0108123 includes Surface underway, discrete sample and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  4. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2004-11-17 to 2004-12-09 (NODC Accession 0112263)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112263 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from...

  5. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2007-02-16 to 2007-03-26 (NODC Accession 0112269)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112269 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from...

  6. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic carbon, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the KNORR in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1992-10-06 to 1993-04-13 (NODC Accession 0115156)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115156 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from KNORR in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from...

  7. Chemical and temperature profile data from CTD casts in the East China Sea, Sea of Japan, and North Pacific Ocean (NODC Accession 9700022)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Chemical and temperature profile data were collected from CTD casts in the East China Sea, Sea of Japan, and North Pacific Ocean. Data were submitted by the Japan...

  8. Measurements of the total CO2 concentration and partial pressure of CO2 in seawater during WOCE expeditions in the South Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, T.; Goddard, J.G.; Chipman, D.W.; Rubin, S.I.

    1993-01-01

    During the first year of the grant, we participated in three WOCE expeditions (a total of 152 days at sea) in the South Pacific Ocean, and the field phase of the proposed investigation has been successfully completed. The total CO 2 concentration and pCO 2 were determined at sea in 4419 water samples collected at 422 stations. On the basis of the shipboard analyses of SIO Reference Solutions for CO, and a comparison with the results of previous expeditions, the overall precision of our total CO 2 determinations is estimated to be about ±2 uM/kg. The deep water data indicate that there is a CO 2 maximum centered about 2600 meters deep. This appears to represent a southward return flow from the North Pacific. The magnitude and distribution of the CO, maximum observed along the 135.0 degrees W meridian differ from those observed along the 150.5 degrees W meridian due to Tuamotu Archipelago, a topographic high which interferes with the southward return flow. The surface water pCO 2 data indicate that the South Pacific sub-tropical gyre water located between about 15 degrees S and 50 degrees S is a sink for atmospheric CO 2

  9. A Geodetic Strain Rate Model for the Pacific-North American Plate Boundary, western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreemer, C.; Hammond, W. C.; Blewitt, G.; Holland, A. A.; Bennett, R. A.

    2012-04-01

    We present a model of crustal strain rates derived from GPS measurements of horizontal station velocities in the Pacific-North American plate boundary in the western United States. The model reflects a best estimate of present-day deformation from the San Andreas fault system in the west to the Basin and Range province in the east. Of the total 2,846 GPS velocities used in the model, 1,197 are derived by ourselves, and 1,649 are taken from (mostly) published results. The velocities derived by ourselves (the "UNR solution") are estimated from GPS position time-series of continuous and semi-continuous stations for which data are publicly available. We estimated ITRF2005 positions from 2002-2011.5 using JPL's GIPSY-OASIS II software with ambiguity resolution applied using our custom Ambizap software. Only stations with time-series that span at least 2.25 years are considered. We removed from the time-series continental-scale common-mode errors using a spatially-varying filtering technique. Velocity uncertainties (typically 0.1-0.3 mm/yr) assume that the time-series contain flicker plus white noise. We used a subset of stations on the stable parts of the Pacific and North American plates to estimate the Pacific-North American pole of rotation. This pole is applied as a boundary condition to the model and the North American - ITRF2005 pole is used to rotate our velocities into a North America fixed reference frame. We do not include parts of the time-series that show curvature due to post-seismic deformation after major earthquakes and we also exclude stations whose time-series display a significant unexplained non-linearity or that are near volcanic centers. Transient effects longer than the observation period (i.e., slow viscoelastic relaxation) are left in the data. We added to the UNR solution velocities from 12 other studies. The velocities are transformed onto the UNR solution's reference frame by estimating and applying a translation and rotation that minimizes

  10. Environmental forcing of nitrogen fixation in the eastern tropical and sub-tropical North Atlantic Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rijkenberg, Micha J A; Langlois, Rebecca J; Mills, Matthew M; Patey, Matthew D; Hill, Polly G; Nielsdóttir, Maria C; Compton, Tanya J; Laroche, Julie; Achterberg, Eric P

    2011-01-01

    During the winter of 2006 we measured nifH gene abundances, dinitrogen (N(2)) fixation rates and carbon fixation rates in the eastern tropical and sub-tropical North Atlantic Ocean. The dominant diazotrophic phylotypes were filamentous cyanobacteria, which may include Trichodesmium and Katagnymene, with up to 10(6) L(-1)nifH gene copies, unicellular group A cyanobacteria with up to 10(5) L(-1)nifH gene copies and gamma A proteobacteria with up to 10(4) L(-1)nifH gene copies. N(2) fixation rates were low and ranged between 0.032-1.28 nmol N L(-1) d(-1) with a mean of 0.30 ± 0.29 nmol N L(-1) d(-1) (1σ, n = 65). CO(2)-fixation rates, representing primary production, appeared to be nitrogen limited as suggested by low dissolved inorganic nitrogen to phosphate ratios (DIN:DIP) of about 2 ± 3.2 in surface waters. Nevertheless, N(2) fixation rates contributed only 0.55 ± 0.87% (range 0.03-5.24%) of the N required for primary production. Boosted regression trees analysis (BRT) showed that the distribution of the gamma A proteobacteria and filamentous cyanobacteria nifH genes was mainly predicted by the distribution of Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, picoeukaryotes and heterotrophic bacteria. In addition, BRT indicated that multiple a-biotic environmental variables including nutrients DIN, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and DIP, trace metals like dissolved aluminum (DAl), as a proxy of dust inputs, dissolved iron (DFe) and Fe-binding ligands as well as oxygen and temperature influenced N(2) fixation rates and the distribution of the dominant diazotrophic phylotypes. Our results suggest that lower predicted oxygen concentrations and higher temperatures due to climate warming may increase N(2) fixation rates. However, the balance between a decreased supply of DIP and DFe from deep waters as a result of more pronounced stratification and an enhanced supply of these nutrients with a predicted increase in deposition of Saharan dust may ultimately determine the

  11. Late Quaternary water temperature variations of the Northwest Pacific based on the lipid paleothermometers TEXH86, UK´37 and LDI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jonas, A.-S.; Schwark, L.; Bauersachs, T.

    2017-07-01

    The Kuroshio Current (KC) and Oyashio Current (OC) are the two major western boundary currents of the Pacific Ocean and their interplay exerts a major control on the climate evolution of the northwestern Pacific region as well as East Asia. Although millennial scale variations in the strength and flow pattern of the KC are well documented, only little is known on the long-term evolution of this ocean current and its role in affecting regional and global climate over geological time scales. Here, we present surface and thermocline temperature records covering the last two glacial-interglacial cycles of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Site C0011, SE of Japan, using the lipid paleothermometers TEXH86 (tetraether index of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbon atoms), UK´37 (unsaturated ketone index) and LDI (long-chain diol index). Lower average water temperatures (20.1-20.7 °C in TEXH86, 21.6-22.0 °C in UK´37, and 20.7-21.9 °C in LDI) during marine isotope stages (MIS) 2 and 6 are considered to indicate a reduction in warm water mass export from the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) to northern mid-latitudes via the KC due to decreased subtropical gyre circulation in the North Pacific. A synchronous southward displacement of the KC/OC interfrontal zone resulted in an overall stronger influence of colder and more polar waters at Site C0011. MIS 1, 3 and 5 are characterized by generally higher water temperatures (21.7-22.1 °C in TEXH86, 23.2-24.3 °C in UK´37, and 23.1-24.3 °C in LDI), likely reflecting an increased northward transport of subtropical waters to the study site. Higher Holocene than Eemian water temperatures are attributed to a stronger KC and the formation of its short meander south of Japan, whereas a less strong KC during the Eemian likely favored the formation of the large meander path. Better correlations between the different lipid paleothermometers during cold MIS are considered to indicate more similar production seasons and habitat

  12. Age determination of marine sediments in the western North Pacific by aspartic acid chronology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harada, Naomi; Kusakabe, Masashi; Handa, Nobuhiko; Oba, Tadamichi; Matsuoka, Hiromi; Kimoto, Katsunori.

    1997-01-01

    The ages of fossil planktonic foraminifera, Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, in sediments (core 3bPC) from the western North Pacific were determined by aspartic acid chronology, which uses the racemization reaction rate constant of aspartic acid (k Asp ). Aspartic acid racemization-based ages (Asp ages) ranged from 7,600 yrBP at the surface, to 307,000 yrBP at a depth of 352.9 cm in the sediments. This sediment core was also dated by the glacial-interglacial fluctuation of σ 18 O chronology, and the ages determined by both chronologies were compared. The ages derived from aspartic acid chronology and σ 18 O stratigraphy were more or less consistent, but there appeared to be some differences in age estimates between these two dating methods at some depths within the core. In the core top sediments, the likely cause for the age discrepancy could be the loss of the surface sediment during sampling of the core. At depths of 66.3 and 139 cm within the core, Asp ages indicated reduced sedimentation rates during ca. 60,000-80,000 yrBP and ca. 140,000-190,000 yrBP. The maximum age differences in both chronologies are 33,000 yr and 46,600 yr during each of these periods. These anomalous reductions in sedimentation rates occurring during these periods could possibly be related to some geological events, such as an increased dissolution effect of the calcium carbonate in the western North Pacific. Another possible reason for these age differences could be the unreliability in σ 18 O ages of core 3bPC as they were estimated by σ 18 O ages of another core, 3aPC. (author)

  13. Complementary Use of Glider Data, Altimetry, and Model for Exploring Mesoscale Eddies in the Tropical Pacific Solomon Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gourdeau, L.; Verron, J.; Chaigneau, A.; Cravatte, S.; Kessler, W.

    2017-11-01

    Mesoscale activity is an important component of the Solomon Sea circulation that interacts with the energetic low-latitude western boundary currents of the South Tropical Pacific Ocean carrying waters of subtropical origin before joining the equatorial Pacific. Mixing associated with mesoscale activity could explain water mass transformation observed in the Solomon Sea that likely impacts El Niño Southern Oscillation dynamics. This study makes synergetic use of glider data, altimetry, and high-resolution model for exploring mesoscale eddies, especially their vertical structures, and their role on the Solomon Sea circulation. The description of individual eddies observed by altimetry and gliders provides the first elements to characterize the 3-D structure of these tropical eddies, and confirms the usefulness of the model to access a more universal view of such eddies. Mesoscale eddies appear to have a vertical extension limited to the Surface Waters (SW) and the Upper Thermocline Water (UTW), i.e., the first 140-150 m depth. Most of the eddies are nonlinear, meaning that eddies can trap and transport water properties. But they weakly interact with the deep New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent that is a key piece of the equatorial circulation. Anticyclonic eddies are particularly efficient to advect salty and warm SW coming from the intrusion of equatorial Pacific waters at Solomon Strait, and to impact the characteristics of the New Guinea Coastal Current. Cyclonic eddies are particularly efficient to transport South Pacific Tropical Water (SPTW) anomalies from the North Vanuatu Jet and to erode by diapycnal mixing the high SPTW salinity.

  14. Redescription of Paragaleus tengi (Chen, 1963) (Carcharhiniformes: Hemigaleidae) and first record of Paragaleus randalli Compagno, Krupp & Carpenter, 1996 from the western North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, William T; Harris, Mark

    2013-01-01

    Paragaleus tengi was previously considered to be the only member of this genus occurring in the Western Pacific, with Paragaleus randalli occurring in the Indian Ocean and allopatric in distribution. Recent molecular and morphological studies showed that P. randalli also occurs in the Western Pacific with records from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia previously mostly incorrectly attributed to P. tengi. This paper provides a redescription of P. tengi and confirms the presence of P. randalli from off Taiwan in the western North Pacific. These two species are morphologically very similar in appearance but differ in meristics, dentition, some coloration attributes and minor morphological characters. The conservation status of these two species needs to be reassessed based on this new information.

  15. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data from CTD and bottle casts in the Arctic, North Atlantic, North Pacific Oceans from the TELEOST and other platforms from 01 August 1960 to 22 April 2000 (NODC Accession 0000496)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — CTD, bottle, and other data were collected in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans from the TELEOST and other platforms from 01 August 1960 to 22 April...

  16. Impacts of Pacific SSTs on California Winter Precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myoung, B.; Kafatos, M.

    2017-12-01

    Consecutive below-normal precipitation years and resulted multi-year droughts are critical issues as the recent 2012-2015 drought of California caused tremendous socio-economic damages. However, studies on the causes of the multi-year droughts lack. In this study, focusing on the three multi-year droughts (1999-2002, 2007-2009, and 2012-2015) in California during the last two decades, we investigated the atmospheric and oceanic characteristics of the three drought events for winter (December-February, DJF) in order to understand large-scale circulations that are responsible for initiation, maintenance, and termination of the droughts. It was found that abnormally developed upper-tropospheric ridges over the North Pacific are primarily responsible for precipitation deficits and then droughts. These ridges developed when negative sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTs) including La Niña events are pervasive in the tropical Pacific. After 3 or 4 years, the droughts ended under the opposite conditions; upper-tropospheric troughs in the North Pacific with El Niño events in the tropics. Results of Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis for the 41-year (1974/75-2014/15) 500 hPa geopotential height in DJF revealed that, during the drought periods, the positive phases of the first and second EOF mode (EOF1+ and EOF2+, respectively) were active one by one, positioning upper-tropospheric ridges over the North Pacific. While EOF1+ is associated with cold tropical central Pacific and negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), EOF2+ is associated with the tropical east-west SST dipole pattern (i.e., warm western tropical Pacific and cool eastern tropical Pacific near the southern Peru). Based on these results, we developed a regression model for winter precipitation. While dominant SST factors differ by decades, for the recent two decades (1994/1995-2014/2015), 56% variability of DJF precipitation is explained by the tropical east-west SST dipole pattern and PDO (NINO3

  17. Identifying Pelagic Habitat Hotspots of Neon Flying Squid in the Temperate Waters of the Central North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alabia, Irene D; Saitoh, Sei-Ichi; Mugo, Robinson; Igarashi, Hiromichi; Ishikawa, Yoichi; Usui, Norihisa; Kamachi, Masafumi; Awaji, Toshiyuki; Seito, Masaki

    2015-01-01

    We identified the pelagic habitat hotspots of the neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the central North Pacific from May to July and characterized the spatial patterns of squid aggregations in relation to oceanographic features such as mesoscale oceanic eddies and the Transition Zone Chlorophyll-a Front (TZCF). The data used for the habitat model construction and analyses were squid fishery information, remotely-sensed and numerical model-derived environmental data from May to July 1999-2010. Squid habitat hotspots were deduced from the monthly Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) models and were identified as regions of persistent high suitable habitat across the 12-year period. The distribution of predicted squid habitat hotspots in central North Pacific revealed interesting spatial and temporal patterns likely linked with the presence and dynamics of oceanographic features in squid's putative foraging grounds from late spring to summer. From May to June, the inferred patches of squid habitat hotspots developed within the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition zone (KOTZ; 37-40°N) and further expanded north towards the subarctic frontal zone (SAFZ; 40-44°N) in July. The squid habitat hotspots within the KOTZ and areas west of the dateline (160°W-180°) were likely influenced and associated with the highly dynamic and transient oceanic eddies and could possibly account for lower squid suitable habitat persistence obtained from these regions. However, predicted squid habitat hotspots located in regions east of the dateline (180°-160°W) from June to July, showed predominantly higher squid habitat persistence presumably due to their proximity to the mean position of the seasonally-shifting TZCF and consequent utilization of the highly productive waters of the SAFZ.

  18. Defying Dissolution: Discovery of Deep-Sea Scleractinian Coral Reefs in the North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baco, Amy R; Morgan, Nicole; Roark, E Brendan; Silva, Mauricio; Shamberger, Kathryn E F; Miller, Kelci

    2017-07-14

    Deep-sea scleractinian coral reefs are protected ecologically and biologically significant areas that support global fisheries. The absence of observations of deep-sea scleractinian reefs in the Central and Northeast Pacific, combined with the shallow aragonite saturation horizon (ASH) and high carbonate dissolution rates there, fueled the hypothesis that reef formation in the North Pacific was improbable. Despite this, we report the discovery of live scleractinian reefs on six seamounts of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Emperor Seamount Chain at depths of 535-732 m and aragonite saturation state (Ω arag ) values of 0.71-1.33. Although the ASH becomes deeper moving northwest along the chains, the depth distribution of the reefs becomes shallower, suggesting the ASH is having little influence on their distribution. Higher chlorophyll moving to the northwest may partially explain the geographic distribution of the reefs. Principle Components Analysis suggests that currents are also an important factor in their distribution, but neither chlorophyll nor the available current data can explain the unexpected depth distribution. Further environmental data is needed to elucidate the reason for the distribution of these reefs. The discovery of reef-forming scleractinians in this region is of concern because a number of the sites occur on seamounts with active trawl fisheries.

  19. The most oligotrophic subtropical zones of the global ocean: similarities and differences in terms of chlorophyll and yellow substance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Morel

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The cores of the subtropical anticyclonic gyres are characterized by their oligotrophic status and minimal chlorophyll concentration, compared to that of the whole ocean. These zones are unambiguously detected by space borne ocean color sensors thanks to their typical spectral reflectance, which is that of extremely clear and deep blue waters. Not only the low chlorophyll (denoted [Chl] level, but also a reduced amount of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM or "yellow substance" account for this clarity. The oligotrophic waters of the North and South Pacific gyres, the North and South Atlantic gyres, and the South Indian gyre have been comparatively studied with respect to both [Chl] and CDOM contents, by using 10-year data (1998–2007 of the Sea-viewing Wide field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS, NASA. Albeit similar these oligotrophic zones are not identical regarding their [Chl] and CDOM contents, as well as their seasonal cycles. According to the zone, the averaged [Chl] value varies from 0.026 to 0.059 mg m−3, whereas the ay(443 average (the absorption coefficient due to CDOM at 443 nm is between 0.0033 and 0.0072 m−1. The CDOM-to-[Chl] relative proportions also differ between the zones. The clearest waters, corresponding to the lowest [Chl] and CDOM concentrations, are found near Easter Island and near Mariana Islands in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean. In spite of its low [Chl], the Sargasso Sea presents the highest CDOM content amongst the six zones studied. Except in the North Pacific gyre (near Mariana and south of Hawaii islands, a conspicuous seasonality appears to be the rule in the other 4 gyres and affects both [Chl] and CDOM; both quantities vary in a ratio of about 2 (maximum-to-minimum. Coinciding [Chl] and CDOM peaks occur just after the local winter solstice, which is also the period of the maximal mixed layer depth in these latitudes. It is hypothesized that the vertical

  20. Integrated Studies of a Regional Ozone Pollution Synthetically Affected by Subtropical High and Typhoon System in the Yangtze River Delta Region, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, M.; Shu, L.

    2017-12-01

    Severe high ozone (O3) episodes usually have close relations to synoptic systems. A regional continuous O3 pollution episode was detected over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China during August 7-12, 2013, in which the O3 concentrations in more than half of the cities exceeded the national air quality standard. By means of the observational analysis and the WRF/CMAQ numerical simulation, the characteristics and the essential impact factors of the typical regional O3 pollution are investigated. The observational analysis shows that the atmospheric subsidence dominated by Western Pacific subtropical high plays a crucial role in the formation of high-level O3. In addition, when the YRD cities at the front of Typhoon Utor, the periphery circulation of typhoon system can enhance the downward airflows and cause more serious air pollution. But when the typhoon system weakens the subtropical high, the prevailing southeasterly surface wind leads to the mitigation of the O3 pollution. The Integrated Process Rate (IPR) analysis incorporated in CMAQ is applied to further illustrate the combined influence of subtropical high and typhoon system in this O3 episode. The results show that the vertical diffusion (VDIF) and the gas-phase chemistry (CHEM) are two major contributors to O3 formation. On August 10-11, the cities close to the sea are apparently affected by the typhoon system, with the contribution of VDIF increasing to 28.45 ppb/h in Shanghai and 19.76 ppb/h in Hangzhou. When the YRD region is under the control of the typhoon system, the contribution values of all individual processes decrease to a low level in all cities. These results provide an insight for the O3 pollution synthetically impacted by the Western Pacific subtropical high and the tropical cyclone system.

  1. The impact of combined ENSO and PDO on the PNA climate: a 1,000-year climate modeling study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, B. [Environment Canada, Climate Data and Analysis Section, Climate Research Division, Toronto, ON (Canada); Zwiers, F.W. [Environment Canada, Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Climate Research Division, Victoria (Canada)

    2007-12-15

    This study analyzes the atmospheric response to the combined Pacific interannual ENSO and decadal-interdecadal PDO variability, with a focus on the Pacific-North American (PNA) sector, using a 1,000-year long integration of the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) coupled climate model. Both the tropospheric circulation and the North American temperature suggest an enhanced PNA-like climate response and impacts on North America when ENSO and PDO variability are in phase. The anomalies of the centers of action for the PNA-like pattern are significantly different from zero and the anomaly pattern is field significant. In association with the stationary wave anomalies, large stationary wave activity fluxes appear in the mid-high latitudes originating from the North Pacific and flowing downstream toward North America. There are significant Rossby wave source anomalies in the extratropical North Pacific and in the subtropical North Pacific. In addition, the axis of the Pacific storm track shifts southward with the positive PNA. Atmospheric heating anomalies associated with ENSO variability are confined primarily to the tropics. There is an anomalous heating center over the northeast Pacific, together with anomalies with the same polarity in the tropical Pacific, for the PDO variability. The in-phase combination of ENSO and PDO would in turn provide anomalous atmospheric energy transports towards North America from both the Tropical Pacific and the North Pacific, which tends to favor the occurrence of stationary wave anomalies and would lead to a PNA-like wave anomaly structure. The modeling results also confirm our analysis based on the observational record in the twentieth century. (orig.)

  2. Carbon dioxide, temperature, salinity, and atmospheric pressure from surface underway survey in the North Pacific from January 1998 to January 2004 (NODC Accession 0045502)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Sea surface pCO2, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and atmospheric pressure measurements collected in the North Pacific as part of the NOAA Office of...

  3. Distribution of Δ14C in western North Pacific and tracing carbons of human origin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aramaki, Takafumi; Mizushima, Toshihiko; Togawa, Orihiko; Kuji, Tomoyuki

    2001-01-01

    Seawater were collected at six points, 0deg to 48degN around 165degE. Dissolved inorganic carbonates was reduced into graphite. The ratio C-11/C-12 was measured by the accelerator mass analyzer. 14 C concentration was calculated from δ 13 C value calculated from the 13 C/ 12 C ratio. 14 C resulting from the nuclear weapon test was calculated by comparing estimated 14 C and real 14 C concentration. It was compared with that in 1970s. 14 Cbomb has dissolved into North Pacific Intermediate Water in Arctic latitude, which has moved to Mid-latitude. (A. Yamamoto)

  4. Factors favorable to frequent extreme precipitation in the upper Yangtze River Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Baoqiang; Fan, Ke

    2013-08-01

    Extreme precipitation events in the upper Yangtze River Valley (YRV) have recently become an increasingly important focus in China because they often cause droughts and floods. Unfortunately, little is known about the climate processes responsible for these events. This paper investigates factors favorable to frequent extreme precipitation events in the upper YRV. Our results reveal that a weakened South China Sea summer monsoon trough, intensified Eurasian-Pacific blocking highs, an intensified South Asian High, a southward subtropical westerly jet and an intensified Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) increase atmospheric instability and enhance the convergence of moisture over the upper YRV, which result in more extreme precipitation events. The snow depth over the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) in winter and sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) over three key regions in summer are important external forcing factors in the atmospheric circulation anomalies. Deep snow on the Tibetan Plateau in winter can weaken the subsequent East Asian summer monsoon circulation above by increasing the soil moisture content in summer and weakening the land-sea thermal contrast over East Asia. The positive SSTA in the western North Pacific may affect southwestward extension of the WNPSH and the blocking high over northeastern Asia by arousing the East Asian-Pacific pattern. The positive SSTA in the North Atlantic can affect extreme precipitation event frequency in the upper YRV via a wave train pattern along the westerly jet between the North Atlantic and East Asia. A tripolar pattern from west to east over the Indian Ocean can strengthen moisture transport by enhancing Somali cross-equatorial flow.

  5. Projected wave conditions in the Eastern North Pacific under the influence of two CMIP5 climate scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erikson, Li H.; Hegermiller, Christie; Barnard, Patrick; Ruggiero, Peter; van Ormondt, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Hindcast and 21st century winds, simulated by General Circulation Models (GCMs), were used to drive global- and regional-scale spectral wind-wave generation models in the Pacific Ocean Basin to assess future wave conditions along the margins of the North American west coast and Hawaiian Islands. Three-hourly winds simulated by four separate GCMs were used to generate an ensemble of wave conditions for a recent historical time-period (1976–2005) and projections for the mid and latter parts of the 21st century under two radiative forcing scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5), as defined by the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) experiments. Comparisons of results from historical simulations with wave buoy and ERA-Interim wave reanalysis data indicate acceptable model performance of wave heights, periods, and directions, giving credence to generating projections. Mean and extreme wave heights are projected to decrease along much of the North American west coast. Extreme wave heights are projected to decrease south of ∼50°N and increase to the north, whereas extreme wave periods are projected to mostly increase. Incident wave directions associated with extreme wave heights are projected to rotate clockwise at the eastern end of the Aleutian Islands and counterclockwise offshore of Southern California. Local spatial patterns of the changing wave climate are similar under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, but stronger magnitudes of change are projected under RCP 8.5. Findings of this study are similar to previous work using CMIP3 GCMs that indicates decreasing mean and extreme wave conditions in the Eastern North Pacific, but differ from other studies with respect to magnitude and local patterns of change. This study contributes toward a larger ensemble of global and regional climate projections needed to better assess uncertainty of potential future wave climate change, and provides model boundary conditions for assessing the impacts of

  6. Seasonal variation of marine organic aerosols in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, P.; Kawamura, K.

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric aerosols were collected in the marine boundary layer during five marine cruises in the northern Pacific Ocean from October 1996 to July 1997. Organic molecular compositions of the marine aerosols were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Higher concentrations of levoglucosan and its isomers, the biomass-burning tracers, were observed in the coastal regions than those in the central north Pacific. Seasonal trends of biomass burning tracers were found to be higher in fall-winter-spring than in summer, suggesting an enhanced influence of continental aerosols to the marine atmosphere during cold seasons when the westerlies prevail. However, the atmospheric levels of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers from the photooxidation of isoprene and monoterpenes were higher in warm seasons than cold seasons, which are in accordance with the enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in summer. Stable C isotope ratios of total carbon (δ13CTC) in the marine aerosols ranged from -28.5‰ to -23.6‰ (mean -26.4‰), suggesting an important input of terrestrial/continental aerosol particles. Stable N isotope ratios (2.6‰ to 12.9‰, mean 7.1‰) were found to be higher in the coastal regions than those in the open oceans, suggesting an enhanced emission of marine aerosols in the open oceans. The fluorescence properties of the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in the marine aerosols conform the importance of marine emitted organics in the open ocean, especially during the high biological activity periods.

  7. Manganese in the North Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruland, K.W.; Landing, W.M.

    1980-01-01

    A quantitative and precise method for determination of dissolved M (nmol)/kg level in seawater has been developed and used to study the distribution of Mn in the northeast Pacific. Mn concentrations in the surface mixed layer decrease from 1.0 to 0.6 nmol/kg between the central gyre and the western boundary of the California Current, then increase to values from 2 to 6 nmol/kg near the coastal boundary (in contrast to the distribution of 210 Pb). Particulate Mn in the surface waters accounts for only about 1% of the total. Vertical distributions of Mn are characterized by surface maxima, minima near 300 m, maxima at mid-depth coinciding with the oxygen minimum and the labile nutrient maxima, and concentrations in Pacific bottom waters of approximately 0.2 nmol/kg. The oceanic distribution of Mn appears to be dominated by external inputs superimposed upon ovberall scavenging which can lead to Mn maxima in (1) the surface waters due to riverine and atmospheric sources; (2) the deep ocean as a result of hydrothermal injection and/or sediment resuspension; and (3) the oxygen minimum region resulting from in-situ breakdown of organic matter, in-situ MnO 2 reduction, and/or advective-diffusive transport of dissolved Mn from anoxic slope sediments. (orig.)

  8. Plutonium in Southern Hemisphere ocean Waters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hirose, K.; Aoyama, M.; Gastaud, J.

    2013-01-01

    Plutonium in seawater collected by the BEAGLE2003 cruise was determined using ICP- SF-MS and alpha spectrometry after Fe co-precipitation and radiochemical purification. Levels and distributions of dissolved plutonium activity concentrations in Southern Hemisphere ocean waters are summarized here......, including historical data. Pu-239 concentrations in surface water----of the central South Pacific (32.5 °S) in 2003 were around 1 mBq/m3. The 239Pu concentrations in the Indian Ocean surface waters (20°S) were similar to that in the South Pacific, whereas the 239Pu concentrations in the South Atlantic...... surface waters (30°S) were markedly lower than those in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. The 239Pu vertical profile pattern was similar to that in the North Pacific subtropical gyre, although 239Pu concentrations in the deep South Pacific were significantly lower than those in the North Pacific. One...

  9. Pacific Albacore Troll and Pole-and-line Fisheries

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The North Pacific and South Pacific Albacore Troll and Pole-and-line Fisheries project contains landings, logbooks, and size composition data from U.S.A. troll and...

  10. Radiocarbon in dissolved organic matter in the central North Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, P.M.; Druffel, E.R.M.

    1987-01-01

    The authors present the first detailed profile of radiocarbon measured in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the oligotrophic gyre of the central North Pacific. Δ 14 C of DOC ranged from -150 per mille (1,310 yr BP) in surface waters to -540 per mille (6,240 yr BP) at 5,710 m, 40 m off the bottom. The surprising similarity in the shapes of the profiles of Δ 14 C in the DOC and DIC pools suggest that similar processes are controlling the radiocarbon distribution in each of the two reservoirs and that bomb-produced radiocarbon has penetrated the DOC + DIC pools to a depth of ∼ 900 m. The depletion of the Δ 14 Csub(DOC) values by 300 per mille with respect to the Δ 14 Csub(DIC) values suggests that a certain fraction of the DOC is recycled within the ocean on longer time-scales than DIC. (author)

  11. Decadal variability of Subtropical Mode Water subduction and its impact on biogeochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oka, E.; Qiu, B.; Takatani, Y.; Enyo, K.; Sasano, D.; Kosugi, N.; Ishii, M.; Nakano, T.; Suga, T.

    2016-02-01

    Temperature and salinity data from Argo profiling floats during 2005-2014 were analyzed to examine the decadal variability of the North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) in relation to that of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) system. The formation volume of STMW in the southern recirculation gyre of KE in the cooling season was larger during the stable KE period after 2010 than the unstable KE period of 2006-2009 by 50%. As a result, the volume and spatial extent of STMW increased (decreased) in the formation region during the stable (unstable) KE period, as well as in the southern, downstream region with a time lag of 1-2 years. The decadal expansion and contraction of STMW were also detected by shipboard observations conducted routinely in the most downstream region near the western boundary, in terms of not only physical but also biogeochemical parameters. After 2010, enhanced subduction of STMW consistently increased dissolved oxygen, pH, and aragonite saturation state and decreased potential vorticity, apparent oxygen utilization, nitrate, and dissolved inorganic carbon, among which changes of dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, and aragonite saturation state were against their long-term trends. These results indicate a new mechanism consisting of westward sea surface height anomaly propagation, the KE state transition, and the STMW formation and subduction, by which the climate variability affects physical and biogeochemical structures in the ocean's interior and potentially impacts the surface ocean acidification trend and biological production.

  12. Monitoring the deep western boundary current in the western North Pacific by echo intensity measured with lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komaki, Kanae; Nagano, Akira

    2018-05-01

    Oxidation of iron and manganese ions is predominant in the oxygen-rich deep western boundary current (DWBC) within the Pacific Ocean. By the faster removal of particulate iron hydroxide and manganese oxide, densities of the particulate matters are considered to be lower in the DWBC than the interior region. To detect the density variation of suspended particles between the DWBC and interior regions, we analyzed echo intensity (EI) measured in the western North Pacific by hydrographic casts with a 300 kHz lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) in a whole water column. At depths greater than 3000 m ( 3000 dbar), EI is almost uniformly low between 12°N and 30°N but peaks sharply from 30°N to 35°N to a maximum north of 35°N. EI is found to be anomalously low in the DWBC compared to the background distribution. The DWBC pathways are identifiable by the low EI and high dissolved oxygen concentration. EI data by LADCPs and other acoustic instruments may be used to observe the temporal variations of the DWBC pathways.

  13. Temperature and conductivity data from moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 1978-10-18 to 1980-08-01 (NODC Accession 8200188)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature and conductivity data were collected using moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from October 18, 1978 to August 1, 1980. Data were...

  14. Transcriptional patterns identify resource controls on the diazotroph Trichodesmium in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouco, Mónica; Frischkorn, Kyle R; Haley, Sheean T; Alexander, Harriet; Dyhrman, Sonya T

    2018-02-28

    The N 2 -fixing cyanobacterium Trichodesmium is intensely studied because of the control this organism exerts over the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the low nutrient ocean gyres. Although iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) bioavailability are thought to be major drivers of Trichodesmium distributions and activities, identifying resource controls on Trichodesmium is challenging, as Fe and P are often organically complexed and their bioavailability to a single species in a mixed community is difficult to constrain. Further, Fe and P geochemistries are linked through the activities of metalloenzymes, such as the alkaline phosphatases (APs) PhoX and PhoA, which are used by microbes to access dissolved organic P (DOP). Here we identified significant correlations between Trichodesmium-specific transcriptional patterns in the North Atlantic (NASG) and North Pacific Subtropical Gyres (NPSG) and patterns in Fe and P biogeochemistry, with the relative enrichment of Fe stress markers in the NPSG, and P stress markers in the NASG. We also observed the differential enrichment of Fe-requiring PhoX transcripts in the NASG and Fe-insensitive PhoA transcripts in the NPSG, suggesting that metalloenzyme switching may be used to mitigate Fe limitation of DOP metabolism in Trichodesmium. This trait may underpin Trichodesmium success across disparate ecosystems.

  15. Alkaline phosphatase activity in the subtropical ocean: insights from nutrient, dust and trace metal addition experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire eMahaffey

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all life on earth. In the ocean, the most bioavailable form of phosphorus is inorganic phosphate, but in the extensive subtropical gyres, phosphate concentrations can be chronically low and limit primary productivity and nitrogen fixation. In these regions, organisms produce hydrolytic enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase (AP, that enable them to utilize the more replete dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP pool to meet their cellular phosphorus demands. In this study, we synthesized data from 14 published studies and present our own findings from two research cruises (D326 and D361 in the eastern subtropical Atlantic to explore the relationship between AP activity (APA and nutrients, Saharan dust and trace metals. We found that below a threshold phosphate concentration of ~ 30 nM, APA increased with an inverse hyperbolic relationship with phosphate concentration. Meanwhile, DOP concentrations decreased with enhanced APA, indicating utilization of the DOP pool. We found APA rates were significantly higher in the subtropical Atlantic compared to the subtropical Pacific Ocean, even over the same low phosphate concentration range (0 to 50 nM. While the phosphate concentration may have a first order control on the APA rates, we speculate that other factors influence this basin scale contrast. Using bioassay experiments, we show that the addition of Saharan dust and zinc significantly increased the rate of APA. To our knowledge, our results are the first direct field-based evidence that APA is limited by zinc in the subtropical ocean. Further work is required to explore the relationship between trace metals such as iron and zinc, which are co-factors of phosphohydrolytic enzymes, specifically PhoX and PhoA, respectively, and APA in the ocean.

  16. THE FUTURE OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST SALMON: ANATOMY OF A CRISIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon are categorized biologically into two groups: Pacific salmon or Atlantic salmon. All seven species of Pacific salmon on both sides of the North Pacific Ocean have declined substantially from historic levels, but large runs still occur in northern British Columbia, Yukon,...

  17. Natural variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. S. Lovenduski

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−] on the basis of a~long control simulation with an Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32−] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32−] in the tropical Pacific and at the boundaries between the subtropical and subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere, and relatively low interannual variability in the centers of the subtropical gyres and in the Southern Ocean. Statistical analysis of modeled [CO32−] variance and autocorrelation suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in the saturation state of aragonite (Ωaragonite are already or nearly detectable at the sustained, open-ocean time series sites, whereas several decades of observations are required to detect anthropogenic trends in Ωaragonite in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. The detection timescale for anthropogenic trends in pH is shorter than that for Ωaragonite, due to smaller noise-to-signal ratios and lower autocorrelation in pH. In the tropical Pacific, the leading mode of surface [CO32−] variability is primarily driven by variations in the vertical advection of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC in association with El Niño–Southern Oscillation. In the North Pacific, surface [CO32−] variability is caused by circulation-driven variations in surface DIC and strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with peak spectral power at 20–30-year periods. North Atlantic [CO32−] variability is also driven by variations in surface DIC, and exhibits weak correlations with both the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. As the scientific community seeks to detect the anthropogenic influence on ocean carbonate chemistry, these results

  18. Turbidity, SOLAR RADIATION - ATMOSPHERIC and other data from TUXPAN in the North Pacific Ocean from 1966-10-15 to 1967-08-27 (NODC Accession 9700073)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Zooplankton, hydrochemical, and other data were collected from net and bottle casts from the Tuxpan in the North Pacific Ocean from 15 October 1966 to 27 August...

  19. Integrated studies of a regional ozone pollution synthetically affected by subtropical high and typhoon system in the Yangtze River Delta region, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Shu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Severe high ozone (O3 episodes usually have close relations to synoptic systems. A regional continuous O3 pollution episode was detected over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD region in China during 7–12 August 2013, in which the O3 concentrations in more than half of the cities exceeded the national air quality standard. The maximum hourly concentration of O3 reached 167.1 ppb. By means of the observational analysis and the numerical simulation, the characteristics and the essential impact factors of the typical regional O3 pollution are comprehensively investigated. The observational analysis shows that the atmospheric subsidence dominated by the western Pacific subtropical high plays a crucial role in the formation of high-level O3. The favorable weather conditions, such as extremely high temperature, low relative humidity and weak wind speed, caused by the abnormally strong subtropical high are responsible for the trapping and the chemical production of O3 in the boundary layer. In addition, when the YRD cities are at the front of Typhoon Utor, the periphery circulation of typhoon system can enhance the downward airflows and cause worse air quality. However, when the typhoon system weakens the subtropical high, the prevailing southeasterly surface wind leads to the mitigation of the O3 pollution. The integrated process rate (IPR analysis incorporated in the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ model is applied to further illustrate the combined influence of subtropical high and typhoon system in this O3 episode. The results show that the vertical diffusion (VDIF and the gas-phase chemistry (CHEM are two major contributors to O3 formation. During the episode, the contributions of VDIF and CHEM to O3 maintain the high values over the YRD region. On 10–12 August, the cities close to the sea are apparently affected by the typhoon system, with the contribution of VDIF increasing to 28.45 ppb h−1 in Shanghai and 19.76 ppb h−1 in

  20. Distribution and provenance of wind-blown SE Pacific surface sediments

    OpenAIRE

    Saukel, C.; Lamy, F.; Stuut, J.B.W.; Tiedemann, R.; Vogt, C.

    2011-01-01

    The reconstruction of low-latitude ocean-atmosphere interactions is one of the major issues of (paleo-) environmental studies. The trade winds, extending over 20 degrees to 30 degrees of latitude in both hemispheres, between the subtropical highs and the intertropical convergence zone, are major components of the atmospheric circulation and little is known about their long-term variability on geological time-scales, in particular in the Pacific sector. We present the modern spatial pattern of...

  1. Shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific gray whale stock from central California conducted from 1967-12-18 to 2007-02-22 (NCEI Accession 0138007)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) 26 years from...

  2. Identifying Fault Connections of the Southern Pacific-North American Plate Boundary Using Triggered Slip and Crustal Velocities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donnellan, A.; Grant Ludwig, L.; Rundle, J. B.; Parker, J. W.; Granat, R.; Heflin, M. B.; Pierce, M. E.; Wang, J.; Gunson, M.; Lyzenga, G. A.

    2017-12-01

    The 2010 M7.2 El Mayor - Cucapah earthquake caused extensive triggering of slip on faults proximal to the Salton Trough in southern California. Triggered slip and postseismic motions that have continued for over five years following the earthquake highlight connections between the El Mayor - Cucapah rupture and the network of faults that branch out along the southern Pacific - North American Plate Boundary. Coseismic triggering follows a network of conjugate faults from the northern end of the rupture to the Coachella segment of the southernmost San Andreas fault. Larger aftershocks and postseismic motions favor connections to the San Jacinto and Elsinore faults further west. The 2012 Brawley Swarm can be considered part of the branching on the Imperial Valley or east side of the plate boundary. Cluster analysis of long-term GPS velocities using Lloyds Algorithm, identifies bifurcation of the Pacific - North American plate boundary; The San Jacinto fault joins with the southern San Andreas fault, and the Salton Trough and Coachella segment of the San Andreas fault join with the Eastern California Shear Zone. The clustering analysis does not identify throughgoing deformation connecting the Coachella segment of the San Andreas fault with the rest of the San Andreas fault system through the San Gorgonio Pass. This observation is consistent with triggered slip from both the 1992 Landers and 2010 El Mayor - Cucapah earthquakes that follows the plate boundary bifurcation and with paleoseismic evidence of smaller earthquakes in the San Gorgonio Pass.

  3. Radiation mutagenesis of subtropic plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerkadze, I.G.

    1987-01-01

    Possibilities of expansion of subtropic plant changeability and development of new gene bank for future selection-genetic studies are detected. New trends of radiation mutagenesis of subtropic plants are formulated as results of studies during many years. A lot of mutants is subjected to sufficient tests, and concrete results are obtained with the help of these tests for definite species. Summing genetic and selection estimations of the results, it is possible to make the conclusion that mutant selection represents one of the powerful methods of preparation of productive and qualitative species of subtropic plants, which are successfully introduced into practice

  4. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from NOAA Ship DISCOVERER in the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans from 1994-01-26 to 1994-04-27 (NODC Accession 0115152)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0115152 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from NOAA Ship DISCOVERER in the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2010-01-01

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

  6. Biological, chemical, and physical data from CTD/XCTD from five Japanese R/Vs in the North Pacific Ocean from January to December 2002 (NODC Accession 0001334)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile, nutrients, and other data were collected using XCTD and CTD casts from KOFU MARU and other platforms in the North Pacific Ocean from 01 January...

  7. Crossdating Juniperus procera from North Gondar, Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wils, T.; Robertson, I.; Eshetu, Z.; Touchan, R.; Sass-Klaassen, U.; Koprowski, M.

    2011-01-01

    The application of dendrochronology in (sub)tropical regions has been limited by the difficulty in finding trees with distinct annual rings that can be crossdated. Here, we report successful crossdating of Juniperus procera trees from North Gondar, Ethiopia. The trees form annual rings in response

  8. The modulation of Tibetan Plateau heating on the multi-scale northernmost margin activity of East Asia summer monsoon in northern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jie; Liu, Chen; Chen, Haishan

    2018-02-01

    The northernmost margin of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) could well reflect wet/dry climate variability in the EASM marginal zone (northern China). The study shows that EASM occurs in northern China from Meiyu period to midsummer, and it is also the advancing period of the northern margin of EASM (NMEASM) before the 43rd pentad. NMEASM activity exhibits multi-scale variability, at cycles of 2-3-yr, 4-6-yr and 9-12-yr, which respond not only to EASM intensity but also to westerly circulation anomaly, exhibiting the mid-latitude Eurasian waves and the high-latitude Eurasian teleconnection (EU) patterns. The positive anomalies of Silk Road pattern and EU pattern in recent two decades contribute to the enhanced west-ridge and east-trough anomaly around 120°E over northern China, leading to divergence of moisture flux and north wind anomaly, which is helpful for southward western pacific subtropical high (WPSH) and southward NMEASM. Negative Eurasian pattern along subtropical Jet leads to anticyclone anomaly over south of the Yangtze River, deep trough and north wind anomaly along the west coast of the subtropical Pacific, contributing to southward WPSH and NMEASM at the cycle of 4-6-yr. Remote forcing sources of these anomalous Eurasian waves include North Europe, north of Caspian Sea, Central Asia, Tibetan Plateau and the west of Lake Baikal; the south of Lake Baikal is a local forcing region. The Tibetan Plateau heating and snow cover could modulate Eurasian wave pattern at multi-scale, which could be used as prediction reference of multi-scale NMEASM.

  9. Estimating temporal and spatial variation of ocean surface pCO2 in the North Pacific using a self-organizing map neural network technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Nakaoka

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This study uses a neural network technique to produce maps of the partial pressure of oceanic carbon dioxide (pCO2sea in the North Pacific on a 0.25° latitude × 0.25° longitude grid from 2002 to 2008. The pCO2sea distribution was computed using a self-organizing map (SOM originally utilized to map the pCO2sea in the North Atlantic. Four proxy parameters – sea surface temperature (SST, mixed layer depth, chlorophyll a concentration, and sea surface salinity (SSS – are used during the training phase to enable the network to resolve the nonlinear relationships between the pCO2sea distribution and biogeochemistry of the basin. The observed pCO2sea data were obtained from an extensive dataset generated by the volunteer observation ship program operated by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES. The reconstructed pCO2sea values agreed well with the pCO2sea measurements, with the root-mean-square error ranging from 17.6 μatm (for the NIES dataset used in the SOM to 20.2 μatm (for independent dataset. We confirmed that the pCO2sea estimates could be improved by including SSS as one of the training parameters and by taking into account secular increases of pCO2sea that have tracked increases in atmospheric CO2. Estimated pCO2sea values accurately reproduced pCO2sea data at several time series locations in the North Pacific. The distributions of pCO2sea revealed by 7 yr averaged monthly pCO2sea maps were similar to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory pCO2sea climatology, allowing, however, for a more detailed analysis of biogeochemical conditions. The distributions of pCO2sea anomalies over the North Pacific during the winter clearly showed regional contrasts between El Niño and La Niña years related to changes of SST and vertical mixing.

  10. North and South Pacific Ocean Temperature Profile Data collected by the SCRIPPS Institute of Oceanography from 17 February 2000 to 11 August 2002 (NODC Accession 0000925)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Physical data were collected from XBT casts from the North and South Pacific Oceans. Data were collected from 17 February 2000 to 11 August 2002. Data were collected...

  11. Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, F.; Hartman, K.L.; Pierce, G.J.; Valavanis, V.D.; Huisman, J.

    2011-01-01

    Each year, a phytoplankton spring bloom starts just north of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, and then expands northwards across the entire North Atlantic. Here, we investigate whether the timing of the spring migration of baleen whales is related to the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom,

  12. Push from the Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaccard, Samuel L.; Galbraith, Eric D.

    2018-05-01

    Enhanced upwelling and CO2 degassing from the subpolar North Pacific during a warm event 14,000 years ago may have helped keep atmospheric CO2 levels high enough to propel the Earth out of the last ice age.

  13. The parasite Ichthyophonus sp. in Pacific herring from the coastal NE Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershberger, P K; Gregg, J L; Hart, L M; Moffitt, S; Brenner, R; Stick, K; Coonradt, E; Otis, E O; Vollenweider, J J; Garver, K A; Lovy, J; Meyers, T R

    2016-04-01

    The protistan parasite Ichthyophonus occurred in populations of Pacific herring Clupea pallasii Valenciennes throughout coastal areas of the NE Pacific, ranging from Puget Sound, WA north to the Gulf of Alaska, AK. Infection prevalence in local Pacific herring stocks varied seasonally and annually, and a general pattern of increasing prevalence with host size and/or age persisted throughout the NE Pacific. An exception to this zoographic pattern occurred among a group of juvenile, age 1+ year Pacific herring from Cordova Harbor, AK in June 2010, which demonstrated an unusually high infection prevalence of 35%. Reasons for this anomaly were hypothesized to involve anthropogenic influences that resulted in locally elevated infection pressures. Interannual declines in infection prevalence from some populations (e.g. Lower Cook Inlet, AK; from 20-32% in 2007 to 0-3% during 2009-13) or from the largest size cohorts of other populations (e.g. Sitka Sound, AK; from 62.5% in 2007 to 19.6% in 2013) were likely a reflection of selective mortality among the infected cohorts. All available information for Ichthyophonus in the NE Pacific, including broad geographic range, low host specificity and presence in archived Pacific herring tissue samples dating to the 1980s, indicate a long-standing host-pathogen relationship. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Plastic ingestion in marine-associated bird species from the eastern North Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avery-Gomm, S; Provencher, J F; Morgan, K H; Bertram, D F

    2013-07-15

    In addition to monitoring trends in plastic pollution, multi-species surveys are needed to fully understand the pervasiveness of plastic ingestion. We examined the stomach contents of 20 bird species collected from the coastal waters of the eastern North Pacific, a region known to have high levels of plastic pollution. We observed no evidence of plastic ingestion in Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet or Pigeon Guillemot, and low levels in Common Murre (2.7% incidence rate). Small sample sizes limit our ability to draw conclusions about population level trends for the remaining fifteen species, though evidence of plastic ingestion was found in Glaucous-Winged Gull and Sooty Shearwater. Documenting levels of plastic ingestion in a wide array of species is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding about the impacts of plastic pollution. We propose that those working with bird carcasses follow standard protocols to assess the levels of plastic ingestion whenever possible. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Current direction, temperature, and salinity data from moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 1983-06-01 to 1983-08-01 (NODC Accession 8500147)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Current direction, temperature, and salinity data were collected using moored current meter casts in the North Pacific Ocean from June 1, 1983 to August 1, 1983....

  16. Air-sea interaction in the tropical Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allison, L. J.; Steranka, J.; Holub, R. J.; Hansen, J.; Godshall, F. A.; Prabhakara, C.

    1972-01-01

    Charts of 3-month sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean were produced for the period 1949 to 1970. The anomalies along the United States and South American west coasts and in the eastern tropical Pacific appeared to be oscillating in phase during this period. Similarly, the satellite-derived cloudiness for each of four quadrants of the Pacific Ocean (130 deg E to 100 deg W, 30 deg N to 25 deg S) appeared to be oscillating in phase. In addition, a global tropical cloudiness oscillation from 30 deg N to 30 deg S was noted from 1965 to 1970, by using monthly satellite television nephanalyses. The SST anomalies were found to have a good degree of correlation both positive and negative with the following monthly geophysical parameters: (1) satellite-derived cloudiness, (2) strength of the North and South Pacific semipermanent anticyclones, (3) tropical Pacific island rainfall, and (4) Darwin surface pressure. Several strong direct local and crossequatorial relationships were noted. In particular, the high degree of correlation between the tropical island rainfall and the SST anomalies (r = +0.93) permitted the derivation of SST's for the tropical Pacific back to 1905. The close occurrence of cold tropical SST and North Pacific 700-mb positive height anomalies with central United States drought conditions was noted.

  17. Temperature profile and other data collected using CTD, BT, and XBT casts from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and other platforms in the North/South Pacific Ocean and North/South Atlantic Ocean from 1973-01-13 to 1983-03-14 (NODC Accession 8300091)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile and other data were collected using CTD, BT, and XBT casts from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and other platforms in the North/South Pacific Ocean and...

  18. Seaglider surveys at Ocean Station Papa: Circulation and water mass properties in a meander of the North Pacific Current

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelland, Noel A.; Eriksen, Charles C.; Cronin, Meghan F.

    2016-09-01

    A Seaglider autonomous underwater vehicle augmented the Ocean Station Papa (OSP; 50°N, 145°W) surface mooring, measuring spatial structure on scales relevant to the monthly evolution of the moored time series. During each of three missions from June 2008 to January 2010, a Seaglider made biweekly 50 km × 50 km surveys in a bowtie-shaped survey track. Horizontal temperature and salinity gradients measured by these surveys were an order of magnitude stronger than climatological values and sometimes of opposite sign. Geostrophically inferred circulation was corroborated by moored acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements and AVISO satellite altimetry estimates of surface currents, confirming that glider surveys accurately resolved monthly scale mesoscale spatial structure. In contrast to climatological North Pacific Current circulation, upper-ocean flow was modestly northward during the first half of the 18 month survey period, and weakly westward during its latter half, with Rossby number O>(0.01>). This change in circulation coincided with a shift from cool and fresh to warm, saline, oxygen-rich water in the upper-ocean halocline, and an increase in vertical fine structure there and in the lower pycnocline. The anomalous flow and abrupt water mass transition were due to the slow growth of an anticyclonic meander within the North Pacific Current with radius comparable to the scale of the survey pattern, originating to the southeast of OSP.

  19. Evaluations of Extended-Range tropical Cyclone Forecasts in the Western North Pacific by using the Ensemble Reforecasts: Preliminary Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Hsiao-Chung; Chen, Pang-Cheng; Elsberry, Russell L.

    2017-04-01

    The objective of this study is to evaluate the predictability of the extended-range forecasts of tropical cyclone (TC) in the western North Pacific using reforecasts from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) during 1996-2015, and from the Climate Forecast System (CFS) during 1999-2010. Tsai and Elsberry have demonstrated that an opportunity exists to support hydrological operations by using the extended-range TC formation and track forecasts in the western North Pacific from the ECMWF 32-day ensemble. To demonstrate this potential for the decision-making processes regarding water resource management and hydrological operation in Taiwan reservoir watershed areas, special attention is given to the skill of the NCEP GEFS and CFS models in predicting the TCs affecting the Taiwan area. The first objective of this study is to analyze the skill of NCEP GEFS and CFS TC forecasts and quantify the forecast uncertainties via verifications of categorical binary forecasts and probabilistic forecasts. The second objective is to investigate the relationships among the large-scale environmental factors [e.g., El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), etc.] and the model forecast errors by using the reforecasts. Preliminary results are indicating that the skill of the TC activity forecasts based on the raw forecasts can be further improved if the model biases are minimized by utilizing these reforecasts.

  20. Resource manager information needs regarding hydrologic regime shifts for the North Pacific Landscape Conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodward, Andrea; Jenni, Karen

    2014-01-01

    Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) are a network of 22 public-private partnerships, defined by ecoregion, that share and provide science to ensure the sustainability of land, water, wildlife, and cultural resources in North America. LCCs were established by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in recognition of the fact that response to climate change must be coordinated on a landscape-level basis because important resources, ecosystem processes, and resource management challenges extend beyond most of the boundaries considered in current natural resource management. The North Pacific LCC (NPLCC) covers the range of the Pacific coastal temperate rainforest, including an area of 528,360 km2 spanning 22 degrees of latitude from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, to Bodega Bay, California. The coverage area includes parts of four States, two Canadian provinces, and more than 100 Tribes and First Nation language groups. It extends from alpine areas at the crest of coastal mountains across subalpine, montane, and lowland forests to the nearshore marine environment. This wide range of latitudes and elevation zones; terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats; and complex jurisdictional boundaries hosts a diversity of natural resources and their corresponding management issues are equally diverse. As evidenced by the Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (S-TEK) Strategy guiding principles, identifying and responding to the needs of resource managers is key to the success of the NPLCC. To help achieve this goal of the NPLCC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has organized several workshops with resource managers and resource scientists to identify management information needs relevant to the priority topics identified in the S-TEK Strategy. Here, we detail the results from a first workshop to address the effects of changes in hydrologic regime on rivers, streams, and riparian corridors. The workshop focused on a subset of the full NPLCC geography and was

  1. Recent metalliferous sediment in the North Pacific manganese nodule area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bischoff, J.L.; Rosenbauer, R.J.

    1977-01-01

    Quaternary sediments cored in the northeast Pacific nodule area (DOMES site C, 14??N, 126??W) contain a significant amount of hydrothermal metalliferous mud. Water content, color, mineralogy, and chemical composition are analogous to metalliferous sediments of the subequatorial East Pacific Rise. Correction for contribution of pelagic clay indicates the metalliferous fraction to be about 40% of the sediment. SiO2 and Mg are major components in the corrected composition, as they are for other metalliferous sediments similarly corrected from a variety of East Pacific Rise and DSDP metalliferous sediments. A correlation between Mg and SiO2 for these corrected sediments could indicate a hydrothermal origin for a significant portion of the SiO2. Results from DSDP in the nodule area suggest that metalliferous globules are a ubiquitous minor component of the Clipperton Oceanic Formation, which underlies much of the Pacific ferromanganese nodule belt. This indicates that deposition of hydrothermal precipitates is not confined to spreading centers. ?? 1977.

  2. Lineage-specific late pleistocene expansion of an endemic subtropical gossamer-wing damselfly, Euphaea formosa, in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Jen-Pan

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pleistocene glacial oscillations have significantly affected the historical population dynamics of temperate taxa. However, the general effects of recent climatic changes on the evolutionary history and genetic structure of extant subtropical species remain poorly understood. In the present study, phylogeographic and historical demographic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences were used. The aim was to investigate whether Pleistocene climatic cycles, paleo-drainages or mountain vicariance of Taiwan shaped the evolutionary diversification of a subtropical gossamer-wing damselfly, Euphaea formosa. Results E. formosa populations originated in the middle Pleistocene period (0.3 Mya and consisted of two evolutionarily independent lineages. It is likely that they derived from the Pleistocene paleo-drainages of northern and southern Minjiang, or alternatively by divergence within Taiwan. The ancestral North-central lineage colonized northwestern Taiwan first and maintained a slowly growing population throughout much of the early to middle Pleistocene period. The ancestral widespread lineage reached central-southern Taiwan and experienced a spatial and demographic expansion into eastern Taiwan. This expansion began approximately 30,000 years ago in the Holocene interglacial period. The ancestral southern expansion into eastern Taiwan indicates that the central mountain range (CMR formed a barrier to east-west expansion. However, E. formosa populations in the three major biogeographic regions (East, South, and North-Central exhibit no significant genetic partitions, suggesting that river drainages and mountains did not form strong geographical barriers against gene flow among extant populations. Conclusions The present study implies that the antiquity of E. formosa's colonization is associated with its high dispersal ability and larval tolerance to the late Pleistocene dry grasslands. The effect of late Pleistocene

  3. Zooplankton data collected using net casts from the FRANCISCO DE ULLOA in the North Pacific Ocean from 01 January 1999 to 31 January 1999 (NODC Accession 0000912)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Zooplankton data were collected using net casts in the North Pacific Ocean from FRANCISCO DE ULLOA. Data were collected from 01 January 1999 to 31 January 1999. Data...

  4. Spatial segregation in eastern North Pacific skate assemblages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph J Bizzarro

    Full Text Available Skates (Rajiformes: Rajoidei are common mesopredators in marine benthic communities. The spatial associations of individual species and the structure of assemblages are of considerable importance for effective monitoring and management of exploited skate populations. This study investigated the spatial associations of eastern North Pacific (ENP skates in continental shelf and upper continental slope waters of two regions: central California and the western Gulf of Alaska. Long-term survey data were analyzed using GIS/spatial analysis techniques and regression models to determine distribution (by depth, temperature, and latitude/longitude and relative abundance of the dominant species in each region. Submersible video data were incorporated for California to facilitate habitat association analysis. We addressed three main questions: 1 Are there regions of differential importance to skates?, 2 Are ENP skate assemblages spatially segregated?, and 3 When skates co-occur, do they differ in size? Skate populations were highly clustered in both regions, on scales of 10s of kilometers; however, high-density regions (i.e., hot spots were segregated among species. Skate densities and frequencies of occurrence were substantially lower in Alaska as compared to California. Although skates are generally found on soft sediment habitats, Raja rhina exhibited the strongest association with mixed substrates, and R. stellulata catches were greatest on rocky reefs. Size segregation was evident in regions where species overlapped substantially in geographic and depth distribution (e.g., R. rhina and Bathyraja kincaidii off California; B. aleutica and B. interrupta in the Gulf of Alaska. Spatial niche differentiation in skates appears to be more pronounced than previously reported.

  5. Spatial segregation in eastern North Pacific skate assemblages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bizzarro, Joseph J; Broms, Kristin M; Logsdon, Miles G; Ebert, David A; Yoklavich, Mary M; Kuhnz, Linda A; Summers, Adam P

    2014-01-01

    Skates (Rajiformes: Rajoidei) are common mesopredators in marine benthic communities. The spatial associations of individual species and the structure of assemblages are of considerable importance for effective monitoring and management of exploited skate populations. This study investigated the spatial associations of eastern North Pacific (ENP) skates in continental shelf and upper continental slope waters of two regions: central California and the western Gulf of Alaska. Long-term survey data were analyzed using GIS/spatial analysis techniques and regression models to determine distribution (by depth, temperature, and latitude/longitude) and relative abundance of the dominant species in each region. Submersible video data were incorporated for California to facilitate habitat association analysis. We addressed three main questions: 1) Are there regions of differential importance to skates?, 2) Are ENP skate assemblages spatially segregated?, and 3) When skates co-occur, do they differ in size? Skate populations were highly clustered in both regions, on scales of 10s of kilometers; however, high-density regions (i.e., hot spots) were segregated among species. Skate densities and frequencies of occurrence were substantially lower in Alaska as compared to California. Although skates are generally found on soft sediment habitats, Raja rhina exhibited the strongest association with mixed substrates, and R. stellulata catches were greatest on rocky reefs. Size segregation was evident in regions where species overlapped substantially in geographic and depth distribution (e.g., R. rhina and Bathyraja kincaidii off California; B. aleutica and B. interrupta in the Gulf of Alaska). Spatial niche differentiation in skates appears to be more pronounced than previously reported.

  6. Physical and chemical effects of ingested plastic debris on short-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, in the North Pacific Ocean

    OpenAIRE

    Yamashita, Rei; Takada, Hideshige; Fukuwaka, Masa-aki; Watanuki, Yutaka

    2011-01-01

    We investigated the plastics ingested by short-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, that were accidentally caught during experimental fishing in the North Pacific Ocean in 2003 and 2005. The mean mass of plastics found in the stomach was 0.23 g per bird (n = 99). Plastic mass did not correlate with body weight. Total PCB (sum of 24 congeners) concentrations in the abdominal adipose tissue of 12 birds ranged from 45 to 529 ng/g-lipid. Although total PCBs or higher-chlorinated congeners, ...

  7. Zooplankton, physical, and other data collected from net and bottle casts in North Pacific Ocean from HAKUHO-MARU; 22 November 1982 to 14 February 1983 (NODC Accession 9600145)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Zooplankton species identities, physical, and other data were collected using net and bottle casts in the North Pacific Ocean from HAKUHO-MARU. Data were collected...

  8. Plankton data collected using net casts from the FRANCISCO DE ULLOA in the North Pacific Ocean from 15 July 1998 to 30 July 1998 (NODC Accession 0000911)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Plankton data were collected using net casts in the North Pacific Ocean from FRANCISCO DE ULLOA. Data were collected from 15 July 1998 to 30 July 1998. Data were...

  9. Condiciones medias de invierno y ondas cuasi-estacionarias de Rossby asociadas a la frecuencia invernal de noches frias y cálidas en Argentina subtropical Mean winter conditions and quasi-stationary Rossby waves associated with the winter frequency of warm and cold nights in subtropical Argentina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo A Agosta

    2012-12-01

    nights (TN10 and warm nights (TN90 during winter (JJA over subtropical Argentina, to the north of 40°S and surrounding areas (ASA from meteorological stations and NCEP/DOE AMIP-II and ECMWF ERA-interim reanalysis data. It is found that the frequency of warm nights (Tmin over percentile 90, TN90 is modulated at interannual scales by quasi-stationary wave propagation induced by convection anomalies in the Indic and Pacific. The high frequency of warm nights is associated with anomalous warming over the central equatorial Pacific (positive phase of El Niño-Southern Oscillation, ENSO. The low frequency of warm nights is linked to anomalous convection over the monsoon Indian area and the western tropical southern Indic. Hence quasi-stationary Rossby wave activity propagation is favored over the Indic, Pacific and southern South America. Such a teleconnection favors in turn the high fequency of cold nights (Tmin below percentile 10, TN10. Instead, the low frequency of cold nights is linked to the low-frequency variability of the Southern Hemisphere high-latitude mode (SAM. It is found that winters with high (low frequency of cold (warm nights are characterized by a strengthening (weakening of the subtropical jet over southern South America and adjacent areas. The current remote forcings are related with atmospheric/oceanic processes that are interconnected at seasonal-interseasonal scales, which could allow us to develop statistical-dynamical forecasts for the higher or lower occurrence of warm or cold nights in winter.

  10. Deep water ventilation in the northwestern North Pacific during the last deglaciation and the early Holocene (15-5 cal. kyr B.P.) based on AMS 14C dating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minoshima, Kayo; Kawahata, Hodaka; Irino, Tomohisa; Ikehara, Ken; Aoki, Kaori; Uchida, Masao; Yoneda, Minoru; Shibata, Yasuyuki

    2007-01-01

    The difference between benthic and planktonic foraminifera radiocarbon (B-P 14 C) age differences in core PC6 (40 o 23.89' N, 143 o 29.87' E) retrieved from the northwestern North Pacific provide a clue to the reconstruction of deep water circulation during the last deglaciation and the early Holocene (15-5 cal. kyr B.P.). The observed B-P 14 C age differences ranged from 1030 to 1630 years, which are comparable to the present-day apparent ventilation age. It suggested that the ventilation generally remained similar during 15-5 cal. kyr B.P. However, B-P 14 C age difference slightly reduced at 14.6 cal. kyr B.P., indicating that the higher ventilation temporality could have occurred in the northwestern North Pacific (∼2200 m water depth)

  11. 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.

  12. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using Alkalinity titrator, CTD and other instruments from NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN in the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans from 2007-12-15 to 2008-02-23 (NODC Accession 0109903)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0109903 includes discrete sample and profile data collected from NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN in the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean and...

  13. Ocean-scale patterns in community respiration rates along continuous transects across the Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Jesse M; Severson, Rodney; Beman, J Michael

    2014-01-01

    Community respiration (CR) of organic material to carbon dioxide plays a fundamental role in ecosystems and ocean biogeochemical cycles, as it dictates the amount of production available to higher trophic levels and for export to the deep ocean. Yet how CR varies across large oceanographic gradients is not well-known: CR is measured infrequently and cannot be easily sensed from space. We used continuous oxygen measurements collected by autonomous gliders to quantify surface CR rates across the Pacific Ocean. CR rates were calculated from changes in apparent oxygen utilization and six different estimates of oxygen flux based on wind speed. CR showed substantial spatial variation: rates were lowest in ocean gyres (mean of 6.93 mmol m(-3) d(-1)±8.0 mmol m(-3) d(-1) standard deviation in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre) and were more rapid and more variable near the equator (8.69 mmol m(-3) d(-1)±7.32 mmol m(-3) d(-1) between 10°N and 10°S) and near shore (e.g., 5.62 mmol m(-3) d(-1)±45.6 mmol m(-3) d(-1) between the coast of California and 124°W, and 17.0 mmol m(-3) d(-1)±13.9 mmol m(-3) d(-1) between 156°E and the Australian coast). We examined how CR varied with coincident measurements of temperature, turbidity, and chlorophyll concentrations (a proxy for phytoplankton biomass), and found that CR was weakly related to different explanatory variables across the Pacific, but more strongly related to particular variables in different biogeographical areas. Our results indicate that CR is not a simple linear function of chlorophyll or temperature, and that at the scale of the Pacific, the coupling between primary production, ocean warming, and CR is complex and variable. We suggest that this stems from substantial spatial variation in CR captured by high-resolution autonomous measurements.

  14. Ocean-scale patterns in community respiration rates along continuous transects across the Pacific Ocean.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesse M Wilson

    Full Text Available Community respiration (CR of organic material to carbon dioxide plays a fundamental role in ecosystems and ocean biogeochemical cycles, as it dictates the amount of production available to higher trophic levels and for export to the deep ocean. Yet how CR varies across large oceanographic gradients is not well-known: CR is measured infrequently and cannot be easily sensed from space. We used continuous oxygen measurements collected by autonomous gliders to quantify surface CR rates across the Pacific Ocean. CR rates were calculated from changes in apparent oxygen utilization and six different estimates of oxygen flux based on wind speed. CR showed substantial spatial variation: rates were lowest in ocean gyres (mean of 6.93 mmol m(-3 d(-1±8.0 mmol m(-3 d(-1 standard deviation in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and were more rapid and more variable near the equator (8.69 mmol m(-3 d(-1±7.32 mmol m(-3 d(-1 between 10°N and 10°S and near shore (e.g., 5.62 mmol m(-3 d(-1±45.6 mmol m(-3 d(-1 between the coast of California and 124°W, and 17.0 mmol m(-3 d(-1±13.9 mmol m(-3 d(-1 between 156°E and the Australian coast. We examined how CR varied with coincident measurements of temperature, turbidity, and chlorophyll concentrations (a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, and found that CR was weakly related to different explanatory variables across the Pacific, but more strongly related to particular variables in different biogeographical areas. Our results indicate that CR is not a simple linear function of chlorophyll or temperature, and that at the scale of the Pacific, the coupling between primary production, ocean warming, and CR is complex and variable. We suggest that this stems from substantial spatial variation in CR captured by high-resolution autonomous measurements.

  15. The parasite Ichthyophonus sp. in Pacific herring from the coastal NE Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershberger, Paul K.; Gregg, Jacob L.; Hart, Lucas M.; Moffitt, Steve; Brenner, Richard L.; Stick, K.; Coonradt, Eric; Otis, E. O.; Vollenweider, Johanna J.; Garver, Kyle A.; Lovy, Jan; Meyers, T.R.

    2016-01-01

    The protistan parasite Ichthyophonus occurred in populations of Pacific herring Clupea pallasii Valenciennes throughout coastal areas of the NE Pacific, ranging from Puget Sound, WA north to the Gulf of Alaska, AK. Infection prevalence in local Pacific herring stocks varied seasonally and annually, and a general pattern of increasing prevalence with host size and/or age persisted throughout the NE Pacific. An exception to this zoographic pattern occurred among a group of juvenile, age 1+ year Pacific herring from Cordova Harbor, AK in June 2010, which demonstrated an unusually high infection prevalence of 35%. Reasons for this anomaly were hypothesized to involve anthropogenic influences that resulted in locally elevated infection pressures. Interannual declines in infection prevalence from some populations (e.g. Lower Cook Inlet, AK; from 20–32% in 2007 to 0–3% during 2009–13) or from the largest size cohorts of other populations (e.g. Sitka Sound, AK; from 62.5% in 2007 to 19.6% in 2013) were likely a reflection of selective mortality among the infected cohorts. All available information for Ichthyophonus in the NE Pacific, including broad geographic range, low host specificity and presence in archived Pacific herring tissue samples dating to the 1980s, indicate a long-standing host–pathogen relationship.

  16. Report of Working Group 22 on Iron Supply and its Impact on Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean

    OpenAIRE

    2013-01-01

    The Working Group on Iron Supply and its Impact on Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean (WG 22) was established October 2007 under the direction of the Biological Oceanography Committee (BIO) and consisted of 20 members from all PICES member countries, including Co-Chairmen, Drs. Shigenobu Takeda (Japan) and Fei Chai (USA). The purpose of the Working Group was to examine the role of iron biogeochemistry and its impact on biological productivity and marine ecosystems. WG 2...

  17. USGS research on geohazards of the North Pacific: past, present, and future

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNutt, M. K.; Eichelberger, J. C.

    2012-12-01

    The disastrous earthquakes and tsunamis of Sumatra in 2004 and Tohoku in 2011 have driven re-examination of where and how such events occur. Particular focus is on the North Pacific. Of the top 30 earthquakes recorded instrumentally worldwide, 50% occurred along the line of subduction from the Kuril Islands to the southern Alaska mainland. This region has seen monstrous volcanic eruptions (Katmai-Novarupta, 1912), destructive tsunamis (Severo-Kurilsk, 1952), and one of Earth's largest instrumentally-recorded earthquakes (M9.2 Alaska, 1964). Only the modest populations in these frontier towns half a century ago kept losses to a minimum. Impact of any natural disaster to population, vital infrastructure, and sea and air transportation would be magnified today. While USGS had a presence in Alaska for more than a century, the great Alaska earthquake of 1964 ushered in the first understanding of the area's risks. This was the first mega-thrust earthquake properly interpreted as such, and led to re-examination of the 1960 Chilean event. All modern conceptions of mega-thrust earthquakes and tsunamis derive some heritage from USGS research following the 1964 event. The discovery of oil in the Alaska Arctic prompted building a pipeline from the north slope of Alaska to the ice-free port of Valdez. The USGS identified risks from crossing permafrost and active faults. Accurate characterization of these hazards informed innovative designs that kept the pipeline from rupturing due to ground instability or during the M7.9 Denali earthquake of 2002. As a large state with few roads, air travel is common in Alaska. The frequent ash eruptions of volcanoes in the populous Cook Inlet basin became a serious issue, highlighted by the near-crash of a large passenger jet in 1989. In response, the USGS and its partners developed and deployed efficient seismic networks on remote volcanoes and initiated regular satellite surveillance for early warning of ash eruptions. Close collaboration

  18. United States Pacific Command, Asia-Pacific Economic Update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-04-01

    export process more efficient and effective by reducing export barriers and expanding markets abroad. The strategy coordinates the U.S. Government’s...investment from Western companies, such as Boeing and Mercedes - Benz , since China opened to the outside world the late 1970s.12 North Korea’s arms... markets for American trade and investment. Expanding wealth and opportunity in many Asia-Pacific countries have facilitated a transition to greater

  19. 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.

  20. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and other variables collected from Surface underway observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer, Micro-porous membrane equilibrator and other instruments from WAKATAKA MARU in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from 2011-06-10 to 2011-12-06 (NCEI Accession 0157428)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157428 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from WAKATAKA MARU in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific...

  1. Current direction and CTD data from moored current meter and CTD casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 1979-02-05 to 1980-12-01 (NODC Accession 8300042)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Current direction and CTD data were collected using moored current meter and CTD casts in the North Pacific Ocean from February 5, 1979 to December 1, 1980. Data...

  2. Long term behavior of radioactive plume of TEPCO FNPP1 released 134Cs and 137Cs in the North Pacific Ocean through the end of 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoyama, Michio; Tsumune, Daisuke; Tsubono, Takaki; Hamajima, Yasunori; Kumamoto, Yuichiro

    2015-04-01

    134Cs and 137Cs, hereafter radiocaesium, were released to the North Pacific Ocean by two major likely pathways, direct discharge from the Fukushima NPP1 accident site and atmospheric deposition off Honshu Islands of Japan, east and northeast of the site. High density observations of 134Cs and 137Cs in the surface water were carried out by 17 cruises of cargo ships and several research vessel cruises since March 2011 till March 2012. Thereafter we and our collaborators continue to collect seawater samples in 2013 and 2014 in the North Pacific Ocean. We also conduct to measure radiocaesium in coastal waters at Tomioka and Hasaki, Japan through the end of 2014. TEPCO and Japanese government also continue to monitor radiocaesium in seawaters close to the site. In this presentation, we present long term behavior of TEPCO FNPP1 released radiocaesium in the coastal region and the North Pacific Ocean based on the observations and model simulations during the period from just after the accident to summer in 2014. In the coastal region very close to TEPCO FNPP1 site, the data show peak ocean discharges in early April 2011, one month after the earthquake and a factor of 1000 decrease in the month following. The 137Cs activity through the end of September 2014 remain higher than expected, ca. 1000 Bq m-3, implying continued releases from the reactors. Since directly discharged radiocaesium were transported dominantly southward along the coastline of northeastern Honshu, the 137Cs activities in coastal seawater collected at Tomioka and Hasaki were still one or two order of magnitude higher, several to 100 Bq m-3, rather than pre-Fukushima level in summer 2014. In the North Pacific Ocean main body of radiocaesium surface plume of which activity exceed 10 Bq m-3 had been travelling along 40 °N, and reached International Date Line on March 2012 one year after the accident. A feature was that the radiocaesium plume was confined along 40 °N when the plume reached International

  3. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and other variables collected from time series observations using Bubble type equilibrator for autonomous carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement, Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments from MOORING_TAO165E0N in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2010-02-23 to 2013-02-03 (NODC Accession 0113238)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0113238 includes chemical, meteorological, physical and time series data collected from MOORING_TAO165E0N in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...

  4. Long-term (2001-2012) trends of carbonaceous aerosols from a remote island in the western North Pacific: an outflow region of Asian pollutants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boreddy, Suresh K. R.; Mozammel Haque, M.; Kawamura, Kimitaka

    2018-01-01

    The present study reports on long-term trends of carbonaceous aerosols in total suspended particulate (TSP) samples collected at Chichijima in the western North Pacific during 2001-2012. Seasonal variations of elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) concentrations showed maxima in winter to spring and minima in summer. These seasonal differences in the concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols were associated with the outflows of polluted air masses from East Asia, which are clearly distinguishable from pristine air masses from the central Pacific. The higher concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols during winter to spring are associated with long-range atmospheric transport of East Asian continental polluted air masses, whereas lower concentrations may be due to pristine air masses from the central Pacific in summer. The annual trends of OC / EC (+0.46 % yr-1), WSOC (+0.18 % yr-1) and WSOC / OC (+0.08 % yr-1) showed significant (p Asia.

  5. Secular variation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the North Pacific Oscillation and climatic jumps in a multi-millennial simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hunt, B.G. [CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 1, Melbourne (Australia)

    2008-04-15

    Outputs from a 10,000-year simulation with a coupled global climatic model for present climatic conditions have been used to investigate the behaviour of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) and related phenomena. The analysis reveals a wide range of temporal variability for these Oscillations, suggesting that observations to date provide only a limited sample of possible outcomes. In addition, the simulation suggests that the current observed phase relation between the PDO and NPO may not be typical of longer-term variability. Climatic jumps appear to be a ubiquitous feature of climatic variability, and while, as observed, the most common interval between such jumps is about 20 years, intervals of up to 100 years occur in the simulation. The probability density functions of the PDO and NPO are very close to Gaussian, with the PDO being represented by an auto-regressive function of order one, while the NPO consisted of white noise. An FFT analysis of PC1 of the PDO revealed periodicities concentrated near 10 years, while for the NPO the principal periodicities were decadal to bidecadal. Global distributions of the distributions of the correlations between PC1 or the NPO and selected climatic variables were similar, and in agreement with observations. These correlations highlight the inter-relationships between these two Oscillations. The above correlations were not necessarily stable in time for a given geographical point, with transitions occurring between positive and negative extremes. Climatic jumps were identified with transitions of both the PDO and NPO, with magnitudes of importance as regards climatic perturbations. Spatial patterns of the changes associated with such jumps have global scales, and the need to consider the implications of these jumps in regard to greenhouse induced climatic change is noted. (orig.)

  6. Nitrous oxide distribution and its origin in the central and eastern South Pacific Subtropical Gyre

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Charpentier

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available The mechanisms of microbial nitrous oxide (N2O production in the ocean have been the subject of many discussions in recent years. New isotopomeric tools can further refine our knowledge of N2O sources in natural environments. This study compares hydrographic, N2O concentration, and N2O isotopic and isotopomeric data from three stations along a coast-perpendicular transect in the South Pacific Ocean, extending from the center (Sts. GYR and EGY of the subtropical oligotrophic gyre (~26° S; 114° W to the upwelling zone (St. UPX off the central Chilean coast (~34° S. Although AOU/N2O and NO3 trends support the idea that most of the N2O (mainly from intermediate water (200–600 m comes from nitrification, N2O isotopomeric composition (intramolecular distribution of 15N isotopes expressed as SP (site preference of 15N shows low values (10 to 12permil that could be attributed to the production through of microbial nitrifier denitrification (reduction of nitrite to N2O mediated by ammonium oxidizers. The coincidence of this SP signal with high – stability layer, where sinking organic particles can accumulate, suggests that N2O could be produced by nitrifier denitrification inside particles. It is postulated that deceleration of particles in the pycnocline can modify the advection - diffusion balance inside particles, allowing the accumulation of nitrite and O2 depletion suitable for nitrifier denitrication. As lateral advection seems to be relatively insignificant in the gyre, in situ nitrifier denitrification could account for 40–50% of the N2O produced in this layer. In contrast, coastal upwelling system is characterized by O2 deficient condition and some N deficit in a eutrophic system. Here, N2O accumulates up to 480% saturation, and isotopic and

  7. Observations of carbon dioxide in the surface waters of the Eastern North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea from 21 July 1968 to 03 September 1968 (NODC Accession 7100114)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Measurements of the equilibrium concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and surface waters of the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea are presented....

  8. Predictable patterns of the May-June rainfall anomaly over East Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Wen; Wang, Bin; Yim, So-Young; Ha, Kyung-Ja

    2017-02-01

    During early summer (May-June, MJ), East Asia (EA) subtropical front is a defining feature of Asian monsoon, which produces the most prominent precipitation band in the global subtropics. Here we show that dynamical prediction of early summer EA (20°N-45°N, 100°E-130°E) rainfall made by four coupled climate models' ensemble hindcast (1979-2010) yields only a moderate skill and cannot be used to estimate predictability. The present study uses an alternative, empirical orthogonal function (EOF)-based physical-empirical (P-E) model approach to predict rainfall anomaly pattern and estimate its potential predictability. The first three leading modes are physically meaningful and can be, respectively, attributed to (a) the interaction between the anomalous western North Pacific subtropical high and underlying Indo-Pacific warm ocean, (b) the forcing associated with North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly, and (c) the development of equatorial central Pacific SST anomalies. A suite of P-E models is established to forecast the first three leading principal components. All predictors are 0 month ahead of May, so the prediction here is named as a 0 month lead prediction. The cross-validated hindcast results demonstrate that these modes may be predicted with significant temporal correlation skills (0.48-0.72). Using the predicted principal components and the corresponding EOF patterns, the total MJ rainfall anomaly was hindcasted for the period of 1979-2015. The time-mean pattern correlation coefficient (PCC) score reaches 0.38, which is significantly higher than dynamical models' multimodel ensemble skill (0.21). The estimated potential maximum attainable PCC is around 0.65, suggesting that the dynamical prediction models may have large rooms to improve. Limitations and future work are discussed.

  9. Dissolved inorganic carbon, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the Hakuho Maru in the Indian Ocean, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2001-12-08 to 2002-01-19 (NODC Accession 0113547)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113547 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from Hakuho Maru in the Indian Ocean, North Pacific Ocean...

  10. Dissolved inorganic carbon, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the Hakuho Maru in the Indian Ocean, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2001-12-08 to 2002-01-19 (NODC Accession 0112347)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112347 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from Hakuho Maru in the Indian Ocean, North Pacific Ocean...

  11. Salinity and sigma-t data from moored current meter and CTD casts in the North Pacific Ocean from 1979-08-26 to 1982-06-07 (NODC Accession 8200146)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Salinity and sigma-t data were collected using moored current meter and CTD casts in the North Pacific Ocean from August 26, 1979 to June 7, 1982. Data were...

  12. South Asian high and Asian-Pacific-American climate teleconnection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Peiqun; Song, Yang; Kousky, Vernon E.

    2005-11-01

    Growing evidence indicates that the Asian monsoon plays an important role in affecting the weather and climate outside of Asia. However, this active role of the monsoon has not been demonstrated as thoroughly as has the variability of the monsoon caused by various impacting factors such as sea surface temperature and land surface. This study investigates the relationship between the Asian monsoon and the climate anomalies in the Asian-Pacific-American (APA) sector. A hypothesis is tested that the variability of the upper-tropospheric South Asian high (SAH), which is closely associated with the overall heating of the large-scale Asian monsoon, is linked to changes in the subtropical western Pacific high (SWPH), the mid-Pacific trough, and the Mexican high. The changes in these circulation systems cause variability in surface temperature and precipitation in the APA region. A stronger SAH is accompanied by a stronger and more extensive SWPH. The enlargement of the SWPH weakens the mid-Pacific trough. As a result, the southern portion of the Mexican high becomes stronger. These changes are associated with changes in atmospheric teleconnections, precipitation, and surface temperature throughout the APA region. When the SAH is stronger, precipitation increases in southern Asia, decreases over the Pacific Ocean, and increases over the Central America. Precipitation also increases over Australia and central Africa and decreases in the Mediterranean region. While the signals in surface temperature are weak over the tropical land portion, they are apparent in the mid latitudes and over the eastern Pacific Ocean.

  13. Plutonium in Southern Hemisphere Ocean Waters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirose, K. [Sophia University, Tokyo (Japan); Aoyama, M. [Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan); Gastaud, J.; Levy, I. [Marine Environment Laboratories, International Atomic Energy Agency (Monaco); Fukasawa, M. [Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology Yokosuka (Japan); Kim, C. -S. [Environment Laboratories, International Atomic Energy Agency, Seibersdorf (Austria); Povinec, P. P. [Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovakia); Roos, P. [Riso National Laboratory, Roskilde (Denmark); Sanchez-Cabeza, J. A. [Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Spain); Yim, S. A. [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-07-15

    Plutonium in seawater collected by the BEAGLE2003 cruise was determined using ICP-SF-MS and alpha spectrometry after Fe co-precipitation and radiochemical purification. Levels and distributions of dissolved plutonium activity concentrations in Southern Hemisphere ocean waters are summarized here, including historical data. Pu-239 concentrations in surface water of the central South Pacific (32.5{sup o}S) in 2003 were around 1 mBq/m{sup 3}. The {sup 239}Pu concentrations in the Indian Ocean surface waters (20{sup o}S) were similar to that in the South Pacific, whereas the {sup 239}Pu concentrations in the South Atlantic surface waters (30{sup o}S) were markedly lower than those in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. The {sup 239}Pu vertical profile pattern was similar to that in the North Pacific subtropical gyre, although {sup 239}Pu concentrations in the deep South Pacific were significantly lower than those in the North Pacific. One of the dominant factors controlling plutonium distributions in the Southern Hemisphere oceans is biogeochemical processes including particle scavenging. (author)

  14. PODs cruise - Pacific Orcinus Distrbution Survey

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Orcinus spp. occur in the Pacific Ocean throughout the West Coast of North America. Data concerning their precise locations and abundance are critical to...

  15. Influence of regional-scale anthropogenic emissions on CO2 distributions over the western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vay, S. A.; Woo, J.-H.; Anderson, B. E.; Thornhill, K. L.; Blake, D. R.; Westberg, D. J.; Kiley, C. M.; Avery, M. A.; Sachse, G. W.; Streets, D. G.; Tsutsumi, Y.; Nolf, S. R.

    2003-10-01

    We report here airborne measurements of atmospheric CO2 over the western North Pacific during the March-April 2001 Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) mission. The CO2 spatial distributions were notably influenced by cyclogenesis-triggered transport of regionally polluted continental air masses. Examination of the CO2 to C2H2/CO ratio indicated rapid outflow of combustion-related emissions in the free troposphere below 8 km. Although the highest CO2 mixing ratios were measured within the Pacific Rim region, enhancements were also observed further east over the open ocean at locations far removed from surface sources. Near the Asian continent, discrete plumes encountered within the planetary boundary layer contained up to 393 ppmv of CO2. Coincident enhancements in the mixing ratios of C2Cl4, C2H2, and C2H4 measured concurrently revealed combustion and industrial sources. To elucidate the source distributions of CO2, an emissions database for Asia was examined in conjunction with the chemistry and 5-day backward trajectories that revealed the WNW/W sector of northeast Asia was a major contributor to these pollution events. Comparisons of NOAA/CMDL and JMA surface data with measurements obtained aloft showed a strong latitudinal gradient that peaked between 35° and 40°N. We estimated a net CO2 flux from the Asian continent of approximately 13.93 Tg C day-1 for late winter/early spring with the majority of the export (79%) occurring in the lower free troposphere (2-8 km). The apportionment of the flux between anthropogenic and biospheric sources was estimated at 6.37 Tg C day-1 and 7.56 Tg C day-1, respectively.

  16. Interdecadal Change of Tropical Cyclone Genesis Controlling Parameter in Western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, T.

    2017-12-01

    The main environmental parameter controlling tropical cyclone (TC) genesis in the western North Pacific (WNP) changed in different interdecadal periods. The interannual variability of TC genesis frequency was primarily control by specific humidity in 1950-1976, sea surface temperature (SST) in 1977-1998, and vorticity in 1999-2014. A further diagnosis shows that the change of environmental specific humidity during 1950-1976 was attributed to anomalous advection of mean moisture during ENSO developing summer. The SST change during 1977-1998 was associated with circulation change during ENSO decaying summer. The change of environment vorticity was primarily related to CP-type El Niño during 1999-2014. The ultimate cause of the controlling parameter change is attributed to the change of ENSO behavior. Compared to the first period, a stronger EP-type ENSO variability in the second period leads to a stronger circulation/SST response during ENSO decaying phase. The occurrence of more frequent CP type El Niño in the third period was responsible for greater vorticity controlling in the WNP.

  17. The Last Frontier: Catch Records of White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christiansen, Heather M.; Lin, Victor; Tanaka, Sho; Velikanov, Anatoly; Mollet, Henry F.; Wintner, Sabine P.; Fordham, Sonja V.; Fisk, Aaron T.; Hussey, Nigel E.

    2014-01-01

    White sharks are highly migratory apex predators, globally distributed in temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical waters. Knowledge of white shark biology and ecology has increased recently based on research at known aggregation sites in the Indian, Atlantic, and Northeast Pacific Oceans; however, few data are available for the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This study provides a meta-analysis of 240 observations of white sharks from the Northwest Pacific Ocean between 1951 and 2012. Records comprise reports of bycatch in commercial fisheries, media accounts, personal communications, and documentation of shark-human interactions from Russia (n = 8), Republic of Korea (22), Japan (129), China (32), Taiwan (45), Philippines (1) and Vietnam (3). Observations occurred in all months, excluding October-January in the north (Russia and Republic of Korea) and July-August in the south (China, Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam). Population trend analysis indicated that the relative abundance of white sharks in the region has remained relatively stable, but parameterization of a 75% increase in observer effort found evidence of a minor decline since 2002. Reliably measured sharks ranged from 126–602 cm total length (TL) and 16–2530 kg total weight. The largest shark in this study (602 cm TL) represents the largest measured shark on record worldwide. For all countries combined the sex ratio was non-significantly biased towards females (1∶1.1; n = 113). Of 60 females examined, 11 were confirmed pregnant ranging from the beginning stages of pregnancy (egg cases) to near term (140 cm TL embryos). On average, 6.0±2.2 embryos were found per litter (maximum of 10) and gestation period was estimated to be 20 months. These observations confirm that white sharks are present in the Northwest Pacific Ocean year-round. While acknowledging the difficulties of studying little known populations of a naturally low abundance species, these results highlight the need for dedicated

  18. The last frontier: catch records of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather M Christiansen

    Full Text Available White sharks are highly migratory apex predators, globally distributed in temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical waters. Knowledge of white shark biology and ecology has increased recently based on research at known aggregation sites in the Indian, Atlantic, and Northeast Pacific Oceans; however, few data are available for the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This study provides a meta-analysis of 240 observations of white sharks from the Northwest Pacific Ocean between 1951 and 2012. Records comprise reports of bycatch in commercial fisheries, media accounts, personal communications, and documentation of shark-human interactions from Russia (n = 8, Republic of Korea (22, Japan (129, China (32, Taiwan (45, Philippines (1 and Vietnam (3. Observations occurred in all months, excluding October-January in the north (Russia and Republic of Korea and July-August in the south (China, Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam. Population trend analysis indicated that the relative abundance of white sharks in the region has remained relatively stable, but parameterization of a 75% increase in observer effort found evidence of a minor decline since 2002. Reliably measured sharks ranged from 126-602 cm total length (TL and 16-2530 kg total weight. The largest shark in this study (602 cm TL represents the largest measured shark on record worldwide. For all countries combined the sex ratio was non-significantly biased towards females (1∶1.1; n = 113. Of 60 females examined, 11 were confirmed pregnant ranging from the beginning stages of pregnancy (egg cases to near term (140 cm TL embryos. On average, 6.0±2.2 embryos were found per litter (maximum of 10 and gestation period was estimated to be 20 months. These observations confirm that white sharks are present in the Northwest Pacific Ocean year-round. While acknowledging the difficulties of studying little known populations of a naturally low abundance species, these results highlight the need for dedicated

  19. The last frontier: catch records of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christiansen, Heather M; Lin, Victor; Tanaka, Sho; Velikanov, Anatoly; Mollet, Henry F; Wintner, Sabine P; Fordham, Sonja V; Fisk, Aaron T; Hussey, Nigel E

    2014-01-01

    White sharks are highly migratory apex predators, globally distributed in temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical waters. Knowledge of white shark biology and ecology has increased recently based on research at known aggregation sites in the Indian, Atlantic, and Northeast Pacific Oceans; however, few data are available for the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This study provides a meta-analysis of 240 observations of white sharks from the Northwest Pacific Ocean between 1951 and 2012. Records comprise reports of bycatch in commercial fisheries, media accounts, personal communications, and documentation of shark-human interactions from Russia (n = 8), Republic of Korea (22), Japan (129), China (32), Taiwan (45), Philippines (1) and Vietnam (3). Observations occurred in all months, excluding October-January in the north (Russia and Republic of Korea) and July-August in the south (China, Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam). Population trend analysis indicated that the relative abundance of white sharks in the region has remained relatively stable, but parameterization of a 75% increase in observer effort found evidence of a minor decline since 2002. Reliably measured sharks ranged from 126-602 cm total length (TL) and 16-2530 kg total weight. The largest shark in this study (602 cm TL) represents the largest measured shark on record worldwide. For all countries combined the sex ratio was non-significantly biased towards females (1∶1.1; n = 113). Of 60 females examined, 11 were confirmed pregnant ranging from the beginning stages of pregnancy (egg cases) to near term (140 cm TL embryos). On average, 6.0±2.2 embryos were found per litter (maximum of 10) and gestation period was estimated to be 20 months. These observations confirm that white sharks are present in the Northwest Pacific Ocean year-round. While acknowledging the difficulties of studying little known populations of a naturally low abundance species, these results highlight the need for dedicated research to

  20. Denali Ice Core MSA: A Record of North Pacific Primary Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polashenski, D.; Osterberg, E. C.; Winski, D.; Kreutz, K. J.; Wake, C. P.; Ferris, D. G.; Introne, D.; Campbell, S. W.

    2017-12-01

    The high nutrient, low chlorophyll region of the North Pacific is one of the most biologically productive marine ecosystems in the world and forms the basis of commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries worth more than a billion dollars annually. Marine phytoplankton prove to be important both as the primary producers in these ecosystems and as a major source of biogenic sulfur emissions which have long been hypothesized to serve as a biological control on Earth's climate system. Despite their importance, the record of marine phytoplankton abundance and the flux of biogenic sulfur from these regions is not well constrained. In situ measurements of marine phytoplankton from oceanographic cruises over the past several decades are limited in both spatial and temporal resolution. Meanwhile, marine sediment records may provide insight on million year timescales, but lack decadal resolution due to slow sediment deposition rates and bioturbation. In this study, we aim to investigate changes in marine phytoplankton productivity of the northeastern subarctic Pacific Ocean (NSPO) over the twentieth century using the methanesulfonic acid (MSA) record from the Mt. Hunter ice cores drilled in Denali National Park, Alaska. These parallel, 208 meter long ice cores were drilled during the 2013 field season on the Mt. Hunter plateau (63° N, 151° W, 4,000 m above sea level). Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) modeling is used to identify likely source areas in the NSPO for MSA being transported to the core site. SeaWiFS satellite imagery allows for a direct comparison of chlorophyll a concentrations in these source areas with MSA concentrations in the core record through time. Our findings suggest that the Denali ice core MSA record reflects changes in the biological productivity of marine phytoplankton and shows a significant decline in MSA beginning in 1961. We investigate several hypotheses for potential mechanisms driving this MSA decline

  1. Cesium-134 and 137 activities in the central North Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Kameník

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Surface seawater 134Cs and 137Cs samples were collected in the central and western North Pacific Ocean during the 2 yr after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident to monitor dispersion patterns of these radioisotopes towards the Hawaiian Islands. In the absence of other recent sources and due to its short half-life, only those parts of the Pacific Ocean would have detectable 134Cs values that were impacted by Fukushima releases. Between March and May 2011, 134Cs was not detected around the Hawaiian Islands and Guam. Here, most 137Cs activities (1.2–1.5 Bq m–3 were in the range of expected preexisting levels. Some samples north of the Hawaiian Islands (1.6–1.8 Bq m–3 were elevated above the 23-month baseline established in surface seawater in Hawaii indicating that those might carry atmospheric fallout. The 23-month time-series analysis of surface seawater from Hawaii did not reveal any seasonal variability or trends, with an average activity of 1.46 ± 0.06 Bq m–3 (Station Aloha, 18 values. In contrast, samples collected between Japan and Hawaii contained 134Cs activities in the range of 1–4 Bq m–3, and 137Cs levels were about 2–3 times above the preexisting activities. We found that the southern boundary of the Kuroshio and Kuroshio extension currents represented a boundary for radiation dispersion with higher activities detected within and north of the major currents. The radiation plume has not been detected over the past 2 yr at the main Hawaiian Islands due to the transport patterns across the Kuroshio and Kuroshio extension currents.

  2. Cesium-134 and 137 activities in the central North Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamenik, J.; Dulaiova, H. [Hawaii Univ., Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics; Buesseler, K.O.; Pike, S.M. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (United States). Dept. of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry; St' astna, K. [Czech Technical Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry

    2013-07-01

    Surface seawater {sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs samples were collected in the central and western North Pacific Ocean during the 2 yr after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident to monitor dispersion patterns of these radioisotopes towards the Hawaiian Islands. In the absence of other recent sources and due to its short half-life, only those parts of the Pacific Ocean would have detectable {sup 134}Cs values that were impacted by Fukushima releases. Between March and May 2011, {sup 134}Cs was not detected around the Hawaiian Islands and Guam. Here, most {sup 137}Cs activities (1.2-1.5 Bq m{sup -3}) were in the range of expected preexisting levels. Some samples north of the Hawaiian Islands (1.6-1.8 Bq m{sup -3}) were elevated above the 23-month baseline established in surface seawater in Hawaii indicating that those might carry atmospheric fallout. The 23-month time-series analysis of surface seawater from Hawaii did not reveal any seasonal variability or trends, with an average activity of 1.46 ± 0.06 Bq m{sup -3} (Station Aloha, 18 values). In contrast, samples collected between Japan and Hawaii contained {sup 134}Cs activities in the range of 1-4 Bq m{sup -3}, and {sup 137}Cs levels were about 2-3 times above the preexisting activities. We found that the southern boundary of the Kuroshio and Kuroshio extension currents represented a boundary for radiation dispersion with higher activities detected within and north of the major currents. The radiation plume has not been detected over the past 2 yr at the main Hawaiian Islands due to the transport patterns across the Kuroshio and Kuroshio extension currents.

  3. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1998-12-29 to 1999-02-01 (NODC Accession 0112349)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112349 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, meteorological, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and...

  4. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, PAR Sensor and other instruments from MIRAI in the Bismarck Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2011-01-12 to 2012-02-09 (NCEI Accession 0157014)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157014 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, optical, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Bismarck Sea, North Pacific...

  5. Extreme winds in the Western North Pacific

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ott, S.

    2006-11-15

    A statistical model for extreme winds in the western North Pacific is developed, the region on the Planet where tropical cyclones are most common. The model is based on best track data derived mostly from satellite images of tropical cyclones. The methods used to estimate surface wind speeds from satellite images is discussed with emphasis on the empirical basis, which, unfortunately, is not very strong. This is stressed by the fact that Japanese and US agencies arrive at markedly different estimates. On the other hand, best track data records cover a long period of time and if not perfect they are at least coherent over time in their imperfections. Applying the the Holland model to the best track data, wind profiles can be assigned along the tracks. From this annual wind speed maxima at any particular point in the region can be derived. The annual maxima, in turn, are fitted to a Gumbel distribution using a generalization Abild's method that allows for data wind collected from multiple positions. The choice of this method is justified by a Monte Carlo simulation comparing it to two other methods. The principle output is a map showing fifty year winds in the region. The method is tested against observed winds from Philippine synoptic stations and fair agreement is found for observed and predicted 48 year maxima. However, the almost biasfree performance of the model could be fortuitous, since precise definitions of 'windspeed' in terms averaging time, height above ground and assumed surface roughness are not available, neither for best tracks nor for the synoptic data. The work has been carried out under Danish Research Agency grant 2104-04-0005 'Offshore wind power' and it also covers the findings and analysis carried out in connection with task 1.6 of the project 'Feasibility Assessment and Capacity Building for Wind Energy Development in Cambodia, The Philippines and Vietnam' during 2005-06 under contract 125-2004 with EU

  6. 77 FR 16538 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of 5-Year Review for the North Atlantic Right Whale...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-21

    ... and Threatened Species; Initiation of 5-Year Review for the North Atlantic Right Whale and the North Pacific Right Whale AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric...: NMFS announces a 5-year review of North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and North Pacific...

  7. A Null-hypothesis to explain the El Niño-like Pacific Decadal Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Lorenzo, E.

    2016-02-01

    Pacific low-frequency variability (timescale > 8 year) exhibits a well-known El Niño-like pattern of basin-scale sea surface temperature, which is found in all the major modes of Pacific decadal climate. Using a set of climate model experiments and observations, we decompose the mechanisms contributing to the growth, peak and decay of the Pacific low-frequency spatial variance. We find that the El-Niño-like inter-decadal pattern is established through the combined actions of Pacific Meridional Modes (MM) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Specifically, in the growing phase of the pattern, sub-tropical stochastic excitation of the MM, and its ENSO-precursor dynamics, becomes an important source of tropical low-frequency variance (e.g. red noise). Once in the tropics, ENSO amplifies and distributes this low-frequency energy in the extra-tropics through global teleconnections in the peak and decaying phases. In this stochastic red noise model of Pacific climate, the timescale of the MM/ENSO progression and extra-tropical decay (1-2 year) enhances the spatial memory of the decadal and inter-decadal El-Niño-like pattern.

  8. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea and South Pacific Ocean from 2010-07-06 to 2010-08-22 (NODC Accession 0109921)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0109921 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea...

  9. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1999-11-21 to 1999-12-27 (NODC Accession 0112351)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0112351 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, optical, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  10. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2002-10-01 to 2002-11-27 (NODC Accession 0115283)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115283 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  11. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2002-01-07 to 2002-02-16 (NODC Accession 0112354)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0112354 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, optical, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  12. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1997-09-12 to 1997-11-07 (NODC Accession 0115286)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115286 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  13. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1998-09-16 to 1998-11-13 (NODC Accession 0115280)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115280 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  14. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 2000-09-20 to 2000-11-04 (NODC Accession 0115288)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115288 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  15. Cluster of ciguatera fish poisoning--North Carolina, 2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-27

    Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a distinctive type of foodborne disease that results from eating predatory ocean fish contaminated with ciguatoxins. As many as 50,000 cases are reported worldwide annually, and the condition is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific basin, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean. In the United States, 5--70 cases per 10,000 persons are estimated to occur yearly in ciguatera-endemic states and territories. CFP can cause gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, or diarrhea) within a few hours of eating contaminated fish. Neurologic symptoms, with or without gastrointestinal disturbance, can include fatigue, muscle pain, itching, tingling, and (most characteristically) reversal of hot and cold sensation. This report describes a cluster of nine cases of CFP that occurred in North Carolina in June 2007. Among the nine patients, six experienced reversal of hot and cold sensations, five had neurologic symptoms only, and overall symptoms persisted for more than 6 months in three patients. Among seven patients who were sexually active, six patients also complained of painful intercourse. This report highlights the potential risks of eating contaminated ocean fish. Local and state health departments can train emergency and urgent care physicians in the recognition of CFP and make them aware that symptoms can persist for months to years.

  16. Particle and solution phase depth distributions of transuranics and 55Fe in the North Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Livingston, H.D.; Mann, D.R.; Casso, S.A.; Schneider, D.L.; Surprenant, L.D.; Bowen, V.T.

    1987-01-01

    In situ large volume filtration and chemisorption techniques were used to collect samples from the North Pacific for radiochemical analyses of fallout transuranics and 55 Fe in filterable and filtered phases. The data cover several locations for surface collections and a detailed depth profile north of Hawaii at 30 0 N. The observed partition of these nuclides between suspended particulate and filtered phases is directly linked to the rates at which they are moved downward through the water column in association with sinking particles. Particulate phases in open ocean surface waters contain higher Pu than subsurface particulates. 241 Am was found to exhibit much stronger particle association in accord with its known greater particle reactivity. In the high Pu deep water layer, particle associated Pu dropped to close to 1% of total Pu concentration. Together with a correlated increase in the proportion of oxidized Pu in this layer close to the sediment-water interface, this is clear evidence of remobilization of Pu from particles at, or near to, the interface. 55 Fe distributions on filtered particulates indicate a much deeper depth distribution relative to the transuranics. This may reflect both a higher particle association reactivity in respect to scavenging and a longer exposure history to scavenging. (author)

  17. Profile chemical and physical data collected aboard the KILO MOANA in the South Pacific Ocean and the Coral Sea from March 15, 2007 to April 14, 2007 (NODC Accession 0059113)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains hydrographic data collected during cruise KM0703 in the tropical and subtropical Southwest Pacific. Leg 1 of the cruise began in Townsville,...

  18. The extreme 2014 flood in south-western Amazon basin: the role of tropical-subtropical South Atlantic SST gradient

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Espinoza, Jhan Carlo; Marengo, José Antonio; Ronchail, Josyane; Carpio, Jorge Molina; Flores, Luís Noriega; Guyot, Jean Loup

    2014-01-01

    Unprecedented wet conditions are reported in the 2014 summer (December–March) in South-western Amazon, with rainfall about 100% above normal. Discharge in the Madeira River (the main southern Amazon tributary) has been 74% higher than normal (58 000 m 3 s −1 ) at Porto Velho and 380% (25 000 m 3 s −1 ) at Rurrenabaque, at the exit of the Andes in summer, while levels of the Rio Negro at Manaus were 29.47 m in June 2014, corresponding to the fifth highest record during the 113 years record of the Rio Negro. While previous floods in Amazonia have been related to La Niña and/or warmer than normal tropical South Atlantic, the 2014 rainfall and flood anomalies are associated with warm condition in the western Pacific-Indian Ocean and with an exceptionally warm Subtropical South Atlantic. Our results suggest that the tropical and subtropical South Atlantic SST gradient is a main driver for moisture transport from the Atlantic toward south-western Amazon, and this became exceptionally intense during summer of 2014. (letter)

  19. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and Calcium collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1979-04-01 to 1982-06-30 (NODC Accession 0000180)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0000180 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  20. Circulation in the eastern North Pacific: results from a current meter array along 152°W

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Melinda M.; Niiler, Pearn P.; Schmitz, William J.

    1997-07-01

    Data from four, 2-3 year long current meter records, at 28°N, 35°N, 39°N and 42°N, along 152°W in the eastern North Pacific, are used to describe the variability found in mesoscale period ( 200 days) motions. Energy in the mesoscale energy band of 40-200 day periodicity is found in the upper ocean at each location, generally decreasing to the north and with depth. The long period flow is not coherent among these locations. Record length mean velocities at 3-4 separate depths were used to provide estimates of reference level velocities for vertical profiles of geostrophic currents derived from historical hydrographic data. The vertical profile of measured east-west vertical shear agrees well with the geostrophically computed value; the north-south measured vertical shear is not in as good agreement. Assuming a vorticity balance of fwz= βv, and with w( z=0) as the Ekman pumping, the vertical velocity profiles were also calculated at 28°N and 42dgN. Using these three-dimensional referenced vertical profiles of mean currents, an examination of the mean advection of density in the thermocline revealed significant residuals in the net three-dimensional advection of density (or heat and salt) above 850 m at 28°N and above 240 m at 42°N. These results are relatively independent of the reference level velocities.

  1. North Atlantic near-surface salinity contrasts and intra-basin water vapor transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reagan, J. R.; Seidov, D.; Boyer, T.

    2017-12-01

    The geographic distribution of near-surface salinity (NSS) in the North Atlantic is characterized by a very salty (>37) subtropical region contrasting with a much fresher (NSS. Additional results and potential implications will be presented and discussed.

  2. Regional and Seasonal Differences in Species Composition and Trophic Groups for Tidepool Fishes of a Western Pacific Island – Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin K. C. Wen

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variations in the species composition of assemblages are common in many marine organisms, including fishes. Variations in the fish species composition of subtidal coral reefs have been well documented, however much less is known about such differences for intertidal fish assemblages. This is surprising, given that intertidal fishes are more vulnerable to terrestrial human disturbances. It is critical to evaluate the ecology and biology of intertidal fishes before they are severely impacted by coastal development, especially in developing countries such as those in the tropical western Pacific region where coastal development is rapidly increasing. In this study, we investigated the species composition, abundance, biomass and species number (richness for intertidal fish assemblages in subtropical (northern and tropical (southern Taiwan across four seasons by collecting fishes from tidepools using clove oil. We also examined the gut contents of collected fishes to identify their trophic functional groups in order to investigate regional and seasonal variations for different trophic groups. We found significant differences in the species composition of tidepool fish assemblages between subtropical and tropical Taiwan. Bathygobius fuscus, Abudefduf vaigiensis and Istiblennius dussumieri were dominant species in subtropical Taiwan, whereas Bathygobius coalitus, Abudefduf septemfasciatus and Istiblennius lineatus were dominant in tropical Taiwan. Other species such as Bathygobius cocosensis, Abudefduf sordidus and Istiblennius edentulus were common in both regions. For trophic groups, omnivores and detritivores had or showed trends towards higher species numbers and abundances in the subtropical region, whereas herbivores, planktivores and general carnivores had or showed trends towards higher species numbers and biomass in the tropical region. Overall, many intertidal fish species and trophic groups showed differences in

  3. Spatial distribution and offshore export of total organic carbon along the eastern boundary of the Subtropical North Pacific

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.G. Castro

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Data collected in February, 2003, along the upper continental slope of western North America between Monterey Bay, California (37°N, 122°W, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (23°N, 118°W, document, for the first time, the alongshore distribution of total organic carbon (TOC. Highest TOC concentrations (>70 µM were observed for waters above the nitracline and associated with both California Current and southern surface waters. The northward advection of tropical waters in the California Undercurrent did not have any discernible impact on TOC distributions. An estimate of the average rate at which TOC in surface waters was exported offshore by Ekman transport in February 2003 was 1.73 × 103 kg C yr−1 for each meter of coastline. The offshore flux estimate is thought to be conservative with respect to the annual mean offshore flux because the offshore Ekman transport and primary production increase in late spring and early summer and the contribution of upwelling filaments has not been considered. Analysis of TOC contributions to pelagic respiration suggested that TOC accounted for 45% of the oxygen decrease in southern oxic waters. In California Current and oxygen minimum zone waters, TOC did not contribute to pelagic respiration.

  4. What caused the cool summer over northern Central Asia, East Asia and central North America during 2009?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Kyung-Ja; Chu, Jung-Eun; Lee, June-Yi; Wang, Bin; Hameed, Saji N; Watanabe, Masahiro

    2012-01-01

    Cool and wet weather conditions hit northern Central Asia, East Asia and central North America during the 2009 summer in concert with a strong jet stream and a prominent meandering upper-level circulation in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes despite the fact that the year 2009 is the fifth warmest year globally in the modern record. It is found that the conspicuous atmospheric variability in the entire Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes during the summer of 2009 was caused by a combination of teleconnections associated with significant tropical thermal forcings, strong polar forcing, and interaction between high-frequency weather events and climate anomalies. The strong negative circumglobal teleconnection pattern associated with the deficient Indian summer monsoon rainfall and developing El Niño condition was the major contributor to the cool and wet summer in June. On the other hand, the July weather conditions were attributable to the high-latitude impact of the unprecedented negative Arctic Oscillation, together with the Rossby wave response to the subtropical heating generated by convective activities over the Western North Pacific summer monsoon region. It is also noted that enhanced storm track activity and frequent cold surges from high-latitudes may have played a role in the cool and wet summer over the regions of interest. (letter)

  5. Thirteen years of observations on primary sugars and sugar alcohols over remote Chichijima Island in the western North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Santosh Kumar; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Chen, Jing; Fu, Pingqing

    2018-01-01

    In order to understand the atmospheric transport of bioaerosols, we conducted long-term observations of primary sugars and sugar alcohols over remote Chichijima Island in the western North Pacific from 2001 to 2013. Our results showed that concentrations of total sugar compounds for 13 years ranged from 1.2 to 310 ng m-3 (average of 46 ± 49 ng m-3). We found that atmospheric circulations significantly affect the seasonal variations of bioaerosol distributions over the western North Pacific. The primary sugars (glucose and fructose) maximized in summer, possibly due to an increased emission of the vegetation products from local vascular plants in Chichijima. We also found higher concentrations of sugar components (arabitol, mannitol, and trehalose) in more recent years during summer and autumn, suggesting an enhanced emission of fungal and microbial species over the island. Sucrose peaked in late winter to early spring, indicating a springtime pollen contribution by long-range atmospheric transport, while elevated concentrations of sucrose in early summer could be explained by long-range transport of soil dust from Southeast Asia to Chichijima. Sucrose and trehalose were found to present increasing trends from 2001 to 2013, while total sugar components did not show any clear trends during the 13-year period. Positive matrix factorization analyses suggested the locally emitted sugar compounds as well as long-range-transported airborne pollen grains, microbes, and fungal spores are the major contributors to total sugar compounds in the Chichijima aerosols. Backward air mass trajectories support the atmospheric transport of continental aerosols from the Asian continent during winter and spring over Chichijima.

  6. Isotopic composition of nitrate in the central Arabian Sea and eastern tropical North Pacific: A tracer for mixing and nitrogen cycles

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Brandes, J.A.; Devol, A.H.; Yoshinari, T.; Jayakumar, D.A.; Naqvi, S.W.A.

    Trench. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of Cali- fornia, Los Angeles. -. AND I. R. KAPLAN. 1975. Isotopic fractionation of dissolved nitrate during denitrification in the eastern tropical North Pa- cific. Mar. Chem. 3: 271-299. CODISPOTI, L. A., AND J. P....-K. 1979. Geochemistry of inorganic nitrogen compounds in two marine environments: The Santa Barbara basin and the ocean off Peru. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of California, Los Angeles. -, AND I. R. KAPLAN. 1989. The eastern tropical Pacific as a source of 15N...

  7. Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the JOHN V. VICKERS in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1992-08-16 to 1992-10-21 (NODC Accession 0115003)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115003 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from JOHN V. VICKERS in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South...

  8. Comparative phytosociological investigation of subalpine alder thickets in southwestern Alaska and the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talbot, Stephen S.; Talbot, Sandra L.; Daniëls, F. J. A.

    2005-01-01

    We present the first vegetation analysis of subalpine alder (Alnus viridis) thickets in southwestern Alaska. The data are primarily from mesic, hilly and mountainous sites ranging from the westernmost tip of the Alaska Peninsula to the northern Kenai Peninsula, spanning 1,000 km on an E–W gradient and 700 km on a N–S gradient. 127 relevés from 18 sites represent the range of structural and compositional variation in the matrix of vegetation and landform diversity. Data were analyzed by multivariate and traditional Braun-Blanquet methods. One association is distinguished, Sambuco racemosi-Alnetum viridis ass. nov. with three new subassociations, oplopanacetosum horridi, typicum, and rubetosum spectabilis with the latter subdivided into four variants. These phytocoena are well-differentiated, although they form a syntaxonomical continuum. The composition and structure of these communities are described and interpreted in relation to complex environmental factors; these are analyzed using Jancey's ranking on F-values. Community composition is primarily related to elevation, longitude, soil moisture, and latitude. Phytogeographic comparison of southwestern Alaska alder communities with those elsewhere in the North Pacific suggests a close floristic relationship to those of southcentral, southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia, Canada. All these communities belong to the same association, while those of the eastern and southern parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia belong to a different association. Syntaxonomy of the 4 major communities is discussed. Within the Northern Hemisphere, vascular plant species of southwestern Alaska alder thickets primarily occur in East Asia and North America, 36 %; while 26 % are circumpolar, and 22 % are restricted to North America. From a latitudinal perspective, the distribution of vascular plant species within these alder thickets peaks in the high-subarctic, low-subarctic, and temperate latitudinal zones, with low

  9. Contributions of Tropical Cyclones to the North Atlantic Climatological Rainfall as Observed from Satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Edward B.; Adler, Robert F.; Pierce, Harold F.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    The tropical cyclone rainfall climatology study that was performed for the North Pacific was extended to the North Atlantic. Similar to the North Pacific tropical cyclone study, mean monthly rainfall within 444 km of the center of the North Atlantic tropical cyclones (i.e., that reached storm stage and greater) was estimated from passive microwave satellite observations during, an eleven year period. These satellite-observed rainfall estimates were used to assess the impact of tropical cyclone rainfall in altering the geographical, seasonal, and inter-annual distribution of the North Atlantic total rainfall during, June-November when tropical cyclones were most abundant. The main results from this study indicate: 1) that tropical cyclones contribute, respectively, 4%, 3%, and 4% to the western, eastern, and entire North Atlantic; 2) similar to that observed in the North Pacific, the maximum in North Atlantic tropical cyclone rainfall is approximately 5 - 10 deg poleward (depending on longitude) of the maximum non-tropical cyclone rainfall; 3) tropical cyclones contribute regionally a maximum of 30% of the total rainfall 'northeast of Puerto Rico, within a region near 15 deg N 55 deg W, and off the west coast of Africa; 4) there is no lag between the months with maximum tropical cyclone rainfall and non-tropical cyclone rainfall in the western North Atlantic, while in the eastern North Atlantic, maximum tropical cyclone rainfall precedes maximum non-tropical cyclone rainfall; 5) like the North Pacific, North Atlantic tropical cyclones Of hurricane intensity generate the greatest amount of rainfall in the higher latitudes; and 6) warm ENSO events inhibit tropical cyclone rainfall.

  10. Contingent Pacific-Atlantic Ocean influence on multicentury wildfire synchrony over western North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitzberger, Thomas; Brown, Peter M; Heyerdahl, Emily K; Swetnam, Thomas W; Veblen, Thomas T

    2007-01-09

    Widespread synchronous wildfires driven by climatic variation, such as those that swept western North America during 1996, 2000, and 2002, can result in major environmental and societal impacts. Understanding relationships between continental-scale patterns of drought and modes of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) may explain how interannual to multidecadal variability in SSTs drives fire at continental scales. We used local wildfire chronologies reconstructed from fire scars on tree rings across western North America and independent reconstructions of SST developed from tree-ring widths at other sites to examine the relationships of multicentury patterns of climate and fire synchrony. From 33,039 annually resolved fire-scar dates at 238 sites (the largest paleofire record yet assembled), we examined forest fires at regional and subcontinental scales. Since 1550 CE, drought and forest fires covaried across the West, but in a manner contingent on SST modes. During certain phases of ENSO and PDO, fire was synchronous within broad subregions and sometimes asynchronous among those regions. In contrast, fires were most commonly synchronous across the West during warm phases of the AMO. ENSO and PDO were the main drivers of high-frequency variation in fire (interannual to decadal), whereas the AMO conditionally changed the strength and spatial influence of ENSO and PDO on wildfire occurrence at multidecadal scales. A current warming trend in AMO suggests that we may expect an increase in widespread, synchronous fires across the western U.S. in coming decades.

  11. Diversity of Indo-West Pacific Siphonaria (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Euthyneura).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dayrat, Benoît; Goulding, Tricia C; White, Tracy R

    2014-03-14

    Species of the limpet genus Siphonaria (Gastropoda: Euthyneura) are commonly found in the rocky intertidal, worldwide, except in the Arctic. In total, 205 species-group names are available and not permanently invalid. However, estimating the actual species diversity of Siphonaria has remained challenging, mainly because past authors have interpreted differently the variation of shell characters, resulting in different taxonomic accounts. Species diversity of Siphonaria is evaluated for the first time here based on DNA sequence data (three mitochondrial gene fragments: COI, 12S, and 16S) and a large sampling focusing on the tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific (from eastern Africa to Hawaii): new sequences are provided for 153 individuals, 123 of which were collected from 93 locations throughout the Indo-West Pacific. In total, 41 species (molecular units) are recognized worldwide (31 from the Indo-West Pacific), all of which are strongly supported. Potential names are discussed for those 41 species, based on traditional taxonomy. The shells of 66 of the individuals from which DNA was extracted are illustrated: intra- and inter-specific variation is documented in detail and discussed in the light of new molecular results. It is shown that many species could hardly be identified based on the shell only, because the variation of shell characters is too high and overlaps between species. Geographically, no species is found across the entire Indo-West Pacific, where quite a few species seem to be endemic to restricted areas. The biogeography of Siphonaria in the Indo-West Pacific is compared to other groups.

  12. Distribution and Magnitude of Dinitrogen Fixation in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Oxygen Deficient Zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selden, C.; Mulholland, M. R.; Widner, B.; Bernhardt, P. W.; Macías Tapia, A.; Jayakumar, A.

    2016-12-01

    The Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean (ETNP) hosts one of the world's three major open ocean oxygen deficient zones (ODZs). Hotspots for fixed nitrogen (N) loss processes, ODZs have classically been discounted as areas of significant dinitrogen (N2) fixation, the microbe-mediated reduction of N2 to ammonium (NH4+), which has historically been ascribed primarily to euphotic, nutrient-deplete tropical waters. Challenging this paradigm, active expression of nifH (the dinitrogen reductase structural gene) has recently been documented in the ETNP, Eastern Tropical South Pacific, and Arabian Sea ODZs, implying a closer coupling of fixed nitrogen input and loss processes than previously thought. Here, we report rates of N­2 fixation measured in the ETNP ODZ along vertical gradients of oxygen, light, and dissolved N concentrations. Detailed vertical profiles of N2 fixation rates and dissolved N concentrations made within the ODZ were compared with similar profiles from oxic waters outside the ODZ. In addition, different organic carbon sources were investigated as potential rate-limiting factors for N2 fixation in sub-euphotic waters. By establishing the magnitude and distribution of N­2 fixation in the ETNP ODZ, this study contributes to current understanding of N cycling in anoxic and aphotic waters, and serves to elucidate nuances in the global N budget, enabling more accurate biogeochemical modeling. Understanding these processes in present day ODZs is crucial for predicting how ongoing anthropogenic intensification of coastal ODZs will alter biogeochemical cycles in the future.

  13. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea and South Pacific Ocean from 2001-10-10 to 2001-12-06 (NODC Accession 0115281)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115281 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from RYOFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea...

  14. Dissolved inorganic carbon, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from NOAA Ship MALCOLM BALDRIGE in the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans from 1990-02-22 to 1990-04-16 (NODC Accession 0000183)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0000183 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from NOAA Ship MALCOLM BALDRIGE in the North Pacific Ocean, South...

  15. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1993-04-13 to 1993-06-11 (NODC Accession 0112228)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112228 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  16. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1993-08-07 to 1993-10-05 (NODC Accession 0112229)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112229 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  17. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1994-08-08 to 1994-10-06 (NODC Accession 0112339)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112339 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  18. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1994-04-13 to 1994-06-11 (NODC Accession 0112230)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112230 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...

  19. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the KEIFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea and South Pacific Ocean from 2001-01-19 to 2001-03-09 (NODC Accession 0115321)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115321 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from KEIFU MARU in the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea...

  20. Dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement and other instruments from the HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1992-08-07 to 1992-10-05 (NODC Accession 0112227)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112227 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from HAKUREI MARU in the North Pacific Ocean and South...