Grain-Size Dynamics Beneath Mid-Ocean Ridges: Implications for Permeability and Melt Extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, A. J.; Katz, R. F.; Behn, M. D.

2014-12-01

The permeability structure of the sub-ridge mantle plays an important role in how melt is focused and extracted at mid-ocean ridges. Permeability is controlled by porosity and the grain size of the solid mantle matrix, which is in turn controlled by the deformation conditions. To date, models of grain size evolution and mantle deformation have not been coupled to determine the influence of spatial variations in grain-size on the permeability structure at mid-ocean ridges. Rather, current models typically assume a constant grain size for the whole domain [1]. Here, we use 2-D numerical models to evaluate the influence of grain-size variability on the permeability structure beneath a mid-ocean ridge and use these results to speculate on the consequences for melt focusing and extraction. We construct a two-dimensional, single phase model for the steady-state grain size beneath a mid-ocean ridge. The model employs a composite rheology of diffusion creep, dislocation creep, dislocation accommodated grain boundary sliding, and a brittle stress limiter. Grain size is calculated using the "wattmeter" model of Austin and Evans [2]. We investigate the sensitivity of the model to global variations in grain growth exponent, potential temperature, spreading-rate, and grain boundary sliding parameters [3,4]. Our model predicts that permeability varies by two orders of magnitude due to the spatial variability of grain size within the expected melt region of a mid-ocean ridge. The predicted permeability structure suggests grain size may promote focusing of melt towards the ridge axis. Furthermore, the calculated grain size structure should focus melt from a greater depth than models that exclude grain-size variability. Future work will involve evaluating this hypothesis by implementing grain-size dynamics within a two-phase mid-ocean ridge model. The developments of such a model will be discussed. References: [1] R. F. Katz, Journal of Petrology, volume 49, issue 12, page 2099

Acoustic explorations of the upper ocean boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Vagle, Svein

2005-04-01

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

Three-Dimensional Slowness Images of the Upper Crust Beneath the Lucky Strike Hydrothermal Vent Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Seher, T.; Crawford, W.; Singh, S.; Canales, J. P.; Combier, V.; Cannat, M.; Carton, H.; Dusunur, D.; Escartin, J.; Miranda, M. J.; Pouillet-Erguy, A.

2005-12-01

In June-July 2005 we carried out the SISMOMAR cruise, as part of the MOMAR project (Monitoring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge). Within this cruise, we conducted a 3D seismic reflection survey over an 18 km km x 3.8 km area covering both the Lucky Strike volcano and hydrothermal vents field. In order to have a full coverage inside the 3D box, shots continued for 2.25 km on either side of the box and extended out to the median valley bounding faults. To complement the streamer measurements 25 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) were placed in an 18 km x 18 km area. 11 OBS positions lie inside the 3D box and can be used to determine a very detailed image of the 3D velocity structure beneath the Lucky Strike volcano and hydrothermal vents field. For the 3D box a tuned array of 14 air guns (2600 cubic inches) was fired at an interval of 37.5 m for a total of 39 lines. We will present the first results of the OBS measurements near the Lucky Strike volcano. As a first step towards a joint 3D travel time and slowness (the inverse of velocity at turning depth) tomography, we present the 3D slowness function (latitude, longitude, offset), which can be considered as a 3D brute stack velocity image of the sub-surface (c.f. Barton and Edwards, 1999). The presence of fluid in the upper crust due to hydrothermal circulation should appear as a low velocity anomaly beneath the hydrothermal vents. In the next step the OBS measurements will be used to corroborate the reflection images of layer 2A observed in the streamer data for the 3D box. The OBS inside the 3D box recorded turning ray arrivals from the upper crust at a very fine sampling interval (37.5 m x 100 m) over a large azimuth. This provides the unique opportunity for jointly inverting travel time and slowness. Hence the measurements contain information on local gradients and should provide a very detailed velocity model of the subsurface, including information on hydrothermal systems and a possilbe anisotropy (e.g. Cherret and Singh

Using aerogravity and seismic data to model the bathymetry and upper crustal structure beneath the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, West Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Muto, A.; Peters, L. E.; Anandakrishnan, S.; Alley, R. B.; Riverman, K. L.

2013-12-01

Recent estimates indicate that ice shelves along the Amundsen Sea coast in West Antarctica are losing substantial mass through sub-ice-shelf melting and contributing to the accelerating mass loss of the grounded ice buttressed by them. For Pine Island Glacier (PIG), relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water has been identified as the key driver of the sub-ice-shelf melting although poor constraints on PIG sub-ice shelf have restricted thorough understanding of these ice-ocean interactions. Aerogravity data from NASA's Operation IceBridge (OIB) have been useful in identifying large-scale (on the order of ten kilometers) features but the results have relatively large uncertainties due to the inherent non-uniqueness of the gravity inversion. Seismic methods offer the most direct means of providing water thickness and upper crustal geological constraints, but availability of such data sets over the PIG ice shelf has been limited due to logistical constraints. Here we present a comparative analysis of the bathymetry and upper crustal structure beneath the ice shelf of PIG through joint inversion of OIB aerogravity data and in situ active-source seismic measurements collected in the 2012-13 austral summer. Preliminary results indicate improved resolution of the ocean cavity, particularly in the interior and sides of the PIG ice shelf, and sedimentary drape across the region. Seismically derived variations in ice and ocean water densities are also applied to the gravity inversion to produce a more robust model of PIG sub-ice shelf structure, as opposed to commonly used single ice and water densities across the entire study region. Misfits between the seismically-constrained gravity inversion and that estimated previously from aerogravity alone provide insights on the sensitivity of gravity measurements to model perturbations and highlight the limitations of employing gravity data to model ice shelf environments when no other sub-ice constraints are available.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-11-25

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-06-01

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

Upper Mantle Structure beneath Afar: inferences from surface waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Sicilia, D.; Montagner, J.; Debayle, E.; Lepine, J.; Leveque, J.; Cara, M.; Ataley, A.; Sholan, J.

2001-12-01

The Afar hotspot is related to one of the most important plume from a geodynamic point of view. It has been advocated to be the surface expression of the South-West African Superswell. Below the lithosphere, the Afar plume might feed other hotspots in central Africa (Hadiouche et al., 1989; Ebinger & Sleep, 1998). The processes of interaction between crust, lithosphere and plume are not well understood. In order to gain insight into the scientific issue, we have performed a surface-wave tomography covering the Horn of Africa. A data set of 1404 paths for Rayleigh waves and 473 paths for Love waves was selected in the period range 45-200s. They were collected from the permanent IRIS and GEOSCOPE networks and from the PASSCAL experiment, in Tanzania and Saudi Arabia. Other data come from the broadband stations deployed in Ethiopia and Yemen in the framework of the French INSU program ``Horn of Africa''. The results presented here come from a path average phase velocities obtained with a method based on a least-squares minimization (Beucler et al., 2000). The local phase velocity distribution and the azimuthal anisotropy were simultaneously retrieved by using the tomographic technique of Montagner (1986). A correction of the data is applied according to the crustal structure of the 3SMAC model (Nataf & Ricard, 1996). We find low velocities down to 200 km depth beneath the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, Afars, the Ethiopian Plateau and southern Arabia. High velocities are present in the eastern Arabia and the Tanzania Craton. The anisotropy beneath Afar seems to be complex, but enables to map the flow pattern at the interface lithosphere-asthenosphere. The results presented here are complementary to those obtained by Debayle et al. (2001) at upper-mantle transition zone depths using waveform inversion of higher Rayle igh modes.

Upper Mantle Shear Wave Structure Beneath North America From Multi-mode Surface Wave Tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizawa, K.; Ekström, G.

2008-12-01

The upper mantle structure beneath the North American continent has been investigated from measurements of multi-mode phase speeds of Love and Rayleigh waves. To estimate fundamental-mode and higher-mode phase speeds of surface waves from a single seismogram at regional distances, we have employed a method of nonlinear waveform fitting based on a direct model-parameter search using the neighbourhood algorithm (Yoshizawa & Kennett, 2002). The method of the waveform analysis has been fully automated by employing empirical quantitative measures for evaluating the accuracy/reliability of estimated multi-mode phase dispersion curves, and thus it is helpful in processing the dramatically increasing numbers of seismic data from the latest regional networks such as USArray. As a first step toward modeling the regional anisotropic shear-wave velocity structure of the North American upper mantle with extended vertical resolution, we have applied the method to long-period three-component records of seismic stations in North America, which mostly comprise the GSN and US regional networks as well as the permanent and transportable USArray stations distributed by the IRIS DMC. Preliminary multi-mode phase-speed models show large-scale patterns of isotropic heterogeneity, such as a strong velocity contrast between the western and central/eastern United States, which are consistent with the recent global and regional models (e.g., Marone, et al. 2007; Nettles & Dziewonski, 2008). We will also discuss radial anisotropy of shear wave speed beneath North America from multi-mode dispersion measurements of Love and Rayleigh waves.

Shear velocity structure of the laterally heterogeneous crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Indian region

Science.gov (United States)

Mohan, G.; Rai, S. S.; Panza, G. F.

1997-08-01

The shear velocity structure of the Indian lithosphere is mapped by inverting regionalized Rayleigh wave group velocities in time periods of 15-60 s. The regionalized maps are used to subdivide the Indian plate into several geologic units and determine the variation of velocity with depth in each unit. The Hedgehog Monte Carlo technique is used to obtain the shear wave velocity structure for each geologic unit, revealing distinct velocity variations in the lower crust and uppermost mantle. The Indian shield has a high-velocity (4.4-4.6 km/s) upper mantle which, however, is slower than other shields in the world. The central Indian platform comprised of Proterozoic basins and cratons is marked by a distinct low-velocity (4.0-4.2 km/s) upper mantle. Lower crustal velocities in the Indian lithosphere generally range between 3.8 and 4.0 km/s with the oceanic segments and the sedimentary basins marked by marginally higher and lower velocities, respectively. A remarkable contrast is observed in upper mantle velocities between the northern and eastern convergence fronts of the Indian plate. The South Bruma region along the eastern subduction front of the Indian oceanic lithosphere shows significant velocity enhancement in the lower crust and upper mantle. High velocities (≈4.8 km/s) are also observed in the upper mantle beneath the Ninetyeast ridge in the northeastern Indian Ocean.

The upper-mantle transition zone beneath the Chile-Argentina flat subduction zone

Science.gov (United States)

Bagdo, Paula; Bonatto, Luciana; Badi, Gabriela; Piromallo, Claudia

2016-04-01

The main objective of the present work is the study of the upper mantle structure of the western margin of South America (between 26°S and 36°S) within an area known as the Chile-Argentina flat subduction zone. For this purpose, we use teleseismic records from temporary broad band seismic stations that resulted from different seismic experiments carried out in South America. This area is characterized by on-going orogenic processes and complex subduction history that have profoundly affected the underlying mantle structure. The detection and characterization of the upper mantle seismic discontinuities are useful to understand subduction processes and the dynamics of mantle convection; this is due to the fact that they mark changes in mantle composition or phase changes in mantle minerals that respond differently to the disturbances caused by mantle convection. The discontinuities at a depth of 410 km and 660 km, generally associated to phase changes in olivine, vary in width and depth as a result of compositional and temperature anomalies. As a consequence, these discontinuities are an essential tool to study the thermal and compositional structure of the mantle. Here, we analyze the upper-mantle transition zone discontinuities at a depth of 410 km and 660 km as seen from Pds seismic phases beneath the Argentina-Chile flat subduction.

Guidelines for the selection of sites for disposal of radioactive waste on or beneath the ocean floor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Searle, R.C.

1979-01-01

An assessment of factors which will probably need to be taken into account in selecting potential sites for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes into geological formations beneath the ocean floor is presented based in part on a survey of available published and unpublished literature. Since present quantitative knowledge concerning the properties and processes of the sea bed and oceanic waters is poor the guidelines are generally stated in qualitative terms and it is hoped that future research will determine acceptable quantitative values for the parameters involved. The subject is dealt with under the headings; introduction, emplacement below the sea-bed, emplacement on the sea-bed, identification of oceanic areas that might prove suitable for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes (discussion limited to the North Atlantic). 30 references. (U.K.)

Exploring the southern ocean response to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

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

1993-01-01

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

Fertile lithospheric mantle beneath the northwestern North China and its implication for the subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, H. K.; Zheng, J.; Su, Y. P.; Xiong, Q.; Pan, S. K.

2017-12-01

The nature of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the western North China Craton (NCC) is poorly known, which hinders understanding the cratonic response to the southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Mineral chemical data of spinel lherzolite xenoliths from newly discovered Cenozoic Langshan basalts in the northwestern part of the craton have been integrated with data from other localities across the western NCC, to put constrains on the SCLM nature and to explore the reworking processes involved. Compositions of mineral cores (i.e., Mg# in olivine = 88 91) and P-T estimates ( 1.2 GPa, 950 oC) suggest the Langshan xenoliths/xenocrysts represent fragments of the uppermost SCLM and experienced ancient continental crust, and 2) the sharp decrease in lithospheric thickness from the inner part to the northern margin of the western NCC, the SCLM beneath the northwestern part should have been strongly rejuvenated or replaced by fertile and non-cratonic mantle. Combined with other geological evidence on the northwestern margin, the mantle replacement and metasomatism were likely triggered by southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean.

Upper crustal structure beneath East Java from ambient noise tomography: A preliminary result

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martha, Agustya Adi; Widiyantoro, Sri; Cummins, Phil; Saygin, Erdinc; Masturyono

2015-01-01

East Java has a fairly complex geological structure. Physiographically East Java can be divided into three zones, i.e. the Southern Mountains zone in the southern part, the Kendeng zone in the middle part, and the Rembang zone in the northern part. Most of the seismic hazards in this region are due to processes in the upper crust. In this study, the Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) method is used to image the upper crustal structure beneath East Java. We have used seismic waveform data recorded by 8Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) stationary seismographic stations and 16 portable seismographs installed for 2 to 8 weeks. The data were processed to obtain waveforms fromnoise cross-correlation between pairs of seismographic stations. Our preliminary results indicate that the Kendeng zone, an area of low gravity anomaly, is associated with a low velocity zone. On the other hand, the southern mountain range, which has a high gravity anomaly, is related to a high velocity anomaly as shown by our tomographic images

Upper crustal structure beneath East Java from ambient noise tomography: A preliminary result

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martha, Agustya Adi [Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency, Jakarta (Indonesia); Graduate Research on Earthquakes and Active Tectonics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung (Indonesia); Widiyantoro, Sri [Global Geophysics Group, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung (Indonesia); Center for Disaster Mitigation, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung (Indonesia); Cummins, Phil; Saygin, Erdinc [Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra (Australia); Masturyono [Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency, Jakarta (Indonesia)

2015-04-24

East Java has a fairly complex geological structure. Physiographically East Java can be divided into three zones, i.e. the Southern Mountains zone in the southern part, the Kendeng zone in the middle part, and the Rembang zone in the northern part. Most of the seismic hazards in this region are due to processes in the upper crust. In this study, the Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) method is used to image the upper crustal structure beneath East Java. We have used seismic waveform data recorded by 8Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) stationary seismographic stations and 16 portable seismographs installed for 2 to 8 weeks. The data were processed to obtain waveforms fromnoise cross-correlation between pairs of seismographic stations. Our preliminary results indicate that the Kendeng zone, an area of low gravity anomaly, is associated with a low velocity zone. On the other hand, the southern mountain range, which has a high gravity anomaly, is related to a high velocity anomaly as shown by our tomographic images.

The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath the Korean Peninsula from S receiver functions

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S. H.; Rhie, J.

2017-12-01

The shallow lithosphere in the Eastern Asia at the east of the North-South Gravity Lineament is well published. The reactivation of the upper asthenosphere induced by the subducting plates is regarded as a dominant source of the lithosphere thinning. Additionally, assemblage of various tectonic blocks resulted in complex variation of the lithosphere thickness in the Eastern Asia. Because, the Korean Peninsula located at the margin of the Erasian Plate in close vicinity to the trench of subducting oceanic plate, significant reactivation of the upper asthenosphere is expected. For the study of the tectonic history surrounding the Korean Peninsula, we determined the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath the Korean Peninsula using common conversion point stacking method with S receiver functions. The depth of the LAB beneath the Korean Peninsula ranges from 60 km to 100 km and confirmed to be shallower than that expected for Cambrian blocks as previous global studies. The depth of the LAB is getting shallower to the south, 95 km at the north and 60 km at the south. And rapid change of the LAB depth is observed between 36°N and 37°N. The depth change of the LAB getting shallower to the south implies that the source of the lithosphere thinning is a hot mantle upwelling induced by the northward subduction of the oceanic plates since Mesozoic. Unfortunately, existing tectonic models can hardly explain the different LAB depth in the north and in the south as well as the rapid change of the LAB depth.

New constraints on the textural and geochemical evolution of the upper mantle beneath the Styrian basin

Science.gov (United States)

Aradi, Laszlo; Hidas, Károly; Zanetti, Alberto; János Kovács, István; Patkó, Levente; Szabó, Csaba

2016-04-01

Plio-Pleistocene alkali basaltic volcanism sampled sporadically the upper mantle beneath the Carpathian-Pannonian Region (CPR, e.g. [1]). Lavas and pyroclasts often contain mantle derived xenoliths, and the majority of them have been extensively studied [1], except the westernmost Styrian Basin Volcanic Field (SBVF, Eastern Austria and Slovenia). In the SBVF only a few volcanic centers have been studied in details (e.g. Kapfenstein & Tobaj). Based on these studies, the upper mantle beneath the SBVF is consists of dominantly high temperature, texturally and geochemically homogeneous protogranular spinel lherzolite. New major and trace element data from rock-forming minerals of ultramafic xenoliths, coupled with texture and deformation analysis from 12 volcanic outcrops across the SBVF, suggest that the lithospheric roots of the region are more heterogeneous than described previously. The studied xenoliths are predominantly lherzolite, amphibole is a common phase that replaces pyroxenes and spinels and proves modal metasomatism. Phlogopite coupled with apatite is also present in amphibole-rich samples. The texture of the xenoliths is usually coarse-grained and annealed with low abundance of subgrain boundaries in both olivine and pyroxenes. Olivine crystal preferred orientation (CPO) varies between the three most abundant one: [010]-fiber, orthogonal and [100]-fiber symmetry [2]. The CPO of pyroxenes is usually coherent with coeval deformation with olivine, however the CPO of amphibole is suggesting postkinematic epitaxial overgrowth on the precursor pyroxenes. According to equilibrium temperatures, the studied xenolith suite samples a broader temperature range (850-1100 °C) than the literature data, corresponding to mantle depths between 30 and 60 km, which indicates that the xenolith suite only represents the shallower part of the recent 100 km thick lithospheric mantle beneath the SBVF. The equilibrium temperatures show correlation with the varying CPO symmetries

Radial viscous fingering of hot asthenosphere within the Icelandic plume beneath the North Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Schoonman, C. M.; White, N. J.; Pritchard, D.

2017-06-01

The Icelandic mantle plume has had a significant influence on the geologic and oceanographic evolution of the North Atlantic Ocean during Cenozoic times. Full-waveform tomographic imaging of this region shows that the planform of this plume has a complex irregular shape with significant shear wave velocity anomalies lying beneath the lithospheric plates at a depth of 100-200 km. The distribution of these anomalies suggests that about five horizontal fingers extend radially beneath the fringing continental margins. The best-imaged fingers lie beneath the British Isles and beneath western Norway where significant departures from crustal isostatic equilibrium have been measured. Here, we propose that these radial fingers are generated by a phenomenon known as the Saffman-Taylor instability. Experimental and theoretical analyses show that fingering occurs when a less viscous fluid is injected into a more viscous fluid. In radial, miscible fingering, the wavelength and number of fingers are controlled by the mobility ratio (i.e. the ratio of viscosities), by the Péclet number (i.e. the ratio of advective and diffusive transport rates), and by the thickness of the horizontal layer into which fluid is injected. We combine shear wave velocity estimates with residual depth measurements around the Atlantic margins to estimate the planform distribution of temperature and viscosity within a horizontal asthenospheric layer beneath the lithospheric plate. Our estimates suggest that the mobility ratio is at least 20-50, that the Péclet number is O (104), and that the asthenospheric channel is 100 ± 20 km thick. The existence and planform of fingering is consistent with experimental observations and with theoretical arguments. A useful rule of thumb is that the wavelength of fingering is 5 ± 1 times the thickness of the horizontal layer. Our proposal has been further tested by examining plumes of different vigor and planform (e.g. Hawaii, Cape Verde, Yellowstone). Our results

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2012-03-15

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

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

OpenAIRE

Su, Zhan

2017-01-01

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

Topography of upper mantle seismic discontinuities beneath the North Atlantic: the Azores, Canary and Cape Verde plumes

Science.gov (United States)

Saki, Morvarid; Thomas, Christine; Nippress, Stuart E. J.; Lessing, Stephan

2015-04-01

We are mapping the topography of upper mantle seismic discontinuities beneath the North Atlantic and surrounding regions by using precursor arrivals to PP and SS seismic waves that reflect off the seismic discontinuities. Many source-receiver combinations have been used in order to collect a large dataset of reflection points beneath our investigating area. We analyzed over 1700 seismograms from MW>5.8 events using array seismic methods to enhance the signal to noise ratio. The measured time lag between PP (SS) arrivals and their corresponding precursors on robust stacks are used to measure the depth of the transition zone boundaries. The reflectors' depths show a correlation between the location of hotspots and a significantly depressed 410 km discontinuity indicating a temperature increase of 200-300 K compared to the surrounding mantle. For the 660 km discontinuity three distinct behaviours are visible: i) normal depths beneath Greenland and at a distance of a few hundred kilometres away from the hotspots and ii) shallower 660 km discontinuity compared with the global average value near hotspots closer to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and iii) very few observations of a 660 km discontinuity at the hotspot locations. We interpret our observations as a large upwelling beneath the southern parts of our study region, possibly due to the South Atlantic convection cell. The thermal anomaly may be blocked by endothermic phase transformation and likely does not extend through the top of the transition zone as whole except for those branches which appear as the Azores, Canaries and Cape Verde hotspots at the surface.

Magnetization of lower oceanic crust and upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Kikawa, E.

2004-05-01

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

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

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

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

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

A study of upper mantle discontinuities beneath the Korean Peninsula using teleseismic receiver functions

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S.; Park, Y.; Kim, K.; Rhie, J.

2010-12-01

The study on the topography of the upper mantle discontinuities helps us to understand the complex interactions between the subducting slabs and upper mantle discontinuities. To investigate the depth variation of the upper mantle discontinuities beneath the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions, we applied the common conversion point stacking of the P-to-s receiver functions. The broadband seismic networks in South Korea and Japan were used to produce the high-resolution receiver function images of the region. The 410- and 660-km discontinuities (hereafter referred to as the 410 and the 660) are clearly imaged and their depth variations show interesting features, especially for the 660. In this region, the subducting Pacific slab bends to flatten over the 660 and several tomographic images indicate that the stagnant slab is extending to the west under China. If the depth of the 660 is affected by the temperature, the broad depression of the 660 is expected and several SS precursor studies support this idea. However, our observation shows that the 660 is locally depressed and its pattern is spatially changing. While the depressed 660 due to the Pacific slab is clearly imaged at lower latitudes (depressed 660 to the north. It indicates that the effect of the Pacific slab on the depth variation of the 660 is changing significantly in our study area.

Response of upper ocean cooling off northeastern Taiwan to typhoon passages

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-01

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

Seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle beneath the MAGIC array, mid-Atlantic Appalachians: Constraints from SKS splitting and quasi-Love wave propagation

Science.gov (United States)

Aragon, J. C.; Long, M. D.; Benoit, M. H.; Servali, A.

2016-12-01

North America's eastern passive continental margin has been modified by several cycles of supercontinent assembly. Its complex surface geology and distinct topography provide evidence of these events, while also raising questions about the extent of deformation in the continental crust, lithosphere, and mantle during past episodes of rifting and mountain building. The Mid-Atlantic Geophysical Integrative Collaboration (MAGIC) is an EarthScope and GeoPRISMS-funded project that involves a collaborative effort among seismologists, geodynamicists, and geomorphologists. One component of the project is a broadband seismic array consisting of 28 instruments in a linear path from coastal Virginia to western Ohio, which operated between October 2013 and October 2016. A key science question addressed by the MAGIC project is the geometry of past lithospheric deformation and present-day mantle flow beneath the Appalachians, which can be probed using observations of seismic anisotropy Here we present observations of SKS splitting and quasi-Love wave arrivals from stations of the MAGIC array, which together constrain seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle. SKS splitting along the array reveals distinct regions of upper mantle anisotropy, with stations in and to the west of the range exhibiting fast directions parallel to the strike of the mountains. In contrast, weak splitting and null SKS arrivals dominate eastern stations in the coastal plain. Documented Love-to-Rayleigh wave scattering for surface waves originating the magnitude 8.3 Illapel, Chile earthquakes in September 2015 provides complementary constraints on anisotropy. These quasi-Love wave arrivals suggest a pronounced change in upper mantle anisotropy at the eastern edge of present-day Appalachian topography. Together, these observations increase our understanding of the extent of lithospheric deformation beneath North America associated with Appalachian orogenesis, as well as the pattern of present-day mantle flow

Regional variations in upper mantle compressional velocities beneath southern California 1. Post-shock temperatures: Their experimental determination, calculation, and implications, 2.. Ph.D. Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Raikes, S. A.

1978-01-01

The compressional velocity within the upper mantle beneath Southern California is investigated through observations of the dependence of teleseismic P-delays at all stations of the array on the distance and azimuth to the event. The variation of residuals with azimuth was found to be as large as 1.3 sec at a single station; the delays were stable as a function of time, and no evidence was found for temporal velocity variations related to seismic activity in the area. These delays were used in the construction of models for the upper mantle P-velocity structure to depths of 150 km, both by ray tracing and inversion techniques. The models exhibit considerable lateral heterogeneity including a region of low velocity beneath the Imperial Valley, and regions of increased velocity beneath the Sierra Nevada and much of the Transverse Ranges. The development is described of a technique for the experimental determination of post-shock temperatures, and its application to several metals and silicates shocked to pressures in the range 5 to 30 GPa. The technique utilizes an infra-red radiation detector to determine the brightness temperature of the free surface of the sample after the shock wave has passed through it.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2011-01-01

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

New Crustal Boundary Revealed Beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, through ROSETTA-Ice Integrated Aerogeophysics, Geology, and Ocean Research

Science.gov (United States)

Tinto, K. J.; Siddoway, C. S.; Bell, R. E.; Lockett, A.; Wilner, J.

2017-12-01

Now submerged within marine plateaus and rises bordering Antarctica, Australia and Zealandia, the East Gondwana accretionary margin was a belt of terranes and stitched by magmatic arcs, later stretched into continental ribbons separated by narrow elongate rifts. This crustal architecture is known from marine geophysical exploration and ocean drilling of the mid-latitude coastal plateaus and rises. A concealed sector of the former East Gondwana margin that underlies the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS), Antarctica, is the focus of ROSETTA-ICE, a new airborne data acquisition campaign that explores the crustal makeup, tectonic boundaries and seafloor bathymetry beneath RIS. Gravimeters and a magnetometer are deployed by LC130 aircraft surveying along E-W lines spaced at 10 km, and N-S tie lines at 55 km, connect 1970s points (RIGGS) for controls on ocean depth and gravity. The ROSETTA-ICE survey, 2/3 completed thus far, provides magnetic anomalies, Werner depth-to-basement solutions, a new gravity-based bathymetric model at 20-km resolution, and a new crustal density map tied to the 1970s data. Surprisingly, the data reveal that the major lithospheric boundary separating East and West Antarctica lies 300 km east of the Transantarctic Mountains, beneath the floating RIS. The East and West regions have contrasting geophysical characteristics and bathymetry, with relatively dense lithosphere, low amplitude magnetic anomalies, and deep bathymetry on the East Antarctica side, and high amplitude magnetic anomalies, lower overall density and shallower water depths on the West Antarctic side. The Central High, a basement structure cored at DSDP Site 270 and seismically imaged in the Ross Sea, continues beneath RIS as a faulted but coherent crustal ribbon coincident with the tectonic boundary. The continuity of Gondwana margin crustal architecture discovered beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet requires a revision of the existing tectonic framework. The sub-RIS narrow rift basins and

Oceanic provenance of lithospheric mantle beneath Lower Silesia (SW Poland) and the two kinds of its "Fe-metasomatism"

Science.gov (United States)

Puziewicz, Jacek; Matusiak-Małek, Magdalena; Ntaflos, Theodoros; Kukuła, Anna; Ćwiek, Mateusz

2016-04-01

Our recent studies (Puziewicz et al. 2015, IJES 104:1913-1924, and references therein) show that the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath Lower Silesia (SW Poland) and neighbouring part of Upper Lusatia (SE Germany) is dominated by harzburgites. Part of them contain small amounts of clinopyroxene which, despite its primary textural appearance, is a late addition to the protoliths which are residues after extensive (up to 30 %) partial melting. This clinopyroxene was added to the harzburgites in Cenozoic times by alkaline basaltic melts migrating upwards from their asthenospheric sources during rifting in the Variscan foreland of the Alpine-Carpathian chain. The pre-rifting history of the SCLM beneath the region is thus recorded in the olivine and orthopyroxene. The forsterite content in olivine divides the Lower Silesian harzburgites into two groups: A (olivine Fo 90.5 - 92.0), and B (olivine Fo 84.0 - 90.0; for data see Puziewicz et al. 2015, op. cit.). The Al content in orthopyroxene is low and similar in both A and part of B harzburgites, called B1 in the following. The orthopyroxene occurring in the B1 harzburgites contains typically 0.05 - 0.10 atoms of Al per formula unit (corresponding to 0.5 - 2.5 wt. % Al2O3), although slightly lower (down to 0.02 a pfu) and slightly higher (up to 0.13 a pfu) Al contents occur in subordinate number of samples. The Al content in the B1 orthopyroxene is not correlated with forsterite content in coexisting olivine. The B2 harzburgites occur only in one site (Księginki). They contain orthopyroxene which Al content exhibits negative correlation with forsterite content in coexisting olivine. The most Al -rich orthopyroxene (0.24 atoms of Al pfu, corresponding to ca. 5.7 wt % Al2O3) coexists with olivine Fo 86.5 in Księginki. The low contents of Al in orthopyroxene is specific for the Lower Silesian/Upper Lusatian domain of European lithospheric mantle. The Al-poor mantle domain below Lower Silesia and upper

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-01-01

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

Global Ocean Phytoplankton

Science.gov (United States)

Franz, B. A.; Behrenfeld, M. J.; Siegel, D. A.; Werdell, P. J.

2014-01-01

Marine phytoplankton are responsible for roughly half the net primary production (NPP) on Earth, fixing atmospheric CO2 into food that fuels global ocean ecosystems and drives the ocean's biogeochemical cycles. Phytoplankton growth is highly sensitive to variations in ocean physical properties, such as upper ocean stratification and light availability within this mixed layer. Satellite ocean color sensors, such as the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS; McClain 2009) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS; Esaias 1998), provide observations of sufficient frequency and geographic coverage to globally monitor physically-driven changes in phytoplankton distributions. In practice, ocean color sensors retrieve the spectral distribution of visible solar radiation reflected upward from beneath the ocean surface, which can then be related to changes in the photosynthetic phytoplankton pigment, chlorophyll- a (Chla; measured in mg m-3). Here, global Chla data for 2013 are evaluated within the context of the 16-year continuous record provided through the combined observations of SeaWiFS (1997-2010) and MODIS on Aqua (MODISA; 2002-present). Ocean color measurements from the recently launched Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS; 2011-present) are also considered, but results suggest that the temporal calibration of the VIIRS sensor is not yet sufficiently stable for quantitative global change studies. All MODISA (version 2013.1), SeaWiFS (version 2010.0), and VIIRS (version 2013.1) data presented here were produced by NASA using consistent Chla algorithms.

Crustal and upper mantle velocity structure of the Salton Trough, southeast California

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, T.; McCarthy, J.

1996-01-01

This paper presents data and modelling results from a crustal and upper mantle wide-angle seismic transect across the Salton Trough region in southeast California. The Salton Trough is a unique part of the Basin and Range province where mid-ocean ridge/transform spreading in the Gulf of California has evolved northward into the continent. In 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted the final leg of the Pacific to Arizona Crustal Experiment (PACE). Two perpendicular models of the crust and upper mantle were fit to wide-angle reflection and refraction travel times, seismic amplitudes, and Bouguer gravity anomalies. The first profile crossed the Salton Trough from the southwest to the northeast, and the second was a strike line that paralleled the Salton Sea along its western edge. We found thin crust (???21-22 km thick) beneath the axis of the Salton Trough (Imperial Valley) and locally thicker crust (???27 km) beneath the Chocolate Mountains to the northeast. We modelled a slight thinning of the crust further to the northeast beneath the Colorado River (???24 km) and subsequent thickening beneath the metamorphic core complex belt northeast of the Colorado River. There is a deep, apparently young basin (???5-6 km unmetamorphosed sediments) beneath the Imperial Valley and a shallower (???2-3 km) basin beneath the Colorado River. A regional 6.9-km/s layer (between ???15-km depth and the Moho) underlies the Salton Trough as well as the Chocolate Mountains where it pinches out at the Moho. This lower crustal layer is spatially associated with a low-velocity (7.6-7.7 km/s) upper mantle. We found that our crustal model is locally compatible with the previously suggested notion that the crust of the Salton Trough has formed almost entirely from magmatism in the lower crust and sedimentation in the upper crust. However, we observe an apparently magmatically emplaced lower crust to the northeast, outside of the Salton Trough, and propose that this layer in part

Interaction of the Cyprus/Tethys Slab With the Mantle Transition Zone Beneath Anatolia

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, D. A.; Rost, S.; Taylor, G.; Cornwell, D. G.

2017-12-01

The geodynamics of the eastern Mediterranean are dominated by northward motion of the Arabian/African continents and subduction of the oldest oceanic crust on the planet along the Aegean and Cyprean trenches. These slabs have previously been imaged using seismic tomography on a continental scale, but detailed information regarding their descent from upper to lower mantle and how they interact with the mantle transition zone have been severely lacking. The Dense Array for North Anatolia (DANA) was a 73 station passive seismic deployment active between 2012-2013 with the primary aim of imaging shallow structure beneath the North Anatolian Fault. However, we exploit the exceptional dataset recorded by DANA to characterise a region where the Cyprus Slab impinges upon the mantle transition zone beneath northern Turkey, providing arguably the most detailed view of a slab as it transits from the upper to lower mantle. We map varying depths and amplitudes of the transition zone seismic discontinuities (`410', `520' and `660') in 3D using over 1500 high quality receiver functions over an area of approximately 200km x 300km. The `410' is observed close to its predicted depth, but the `660' is depressed to >670 km across the entirety of the study region. This is consistent with an accumulation of cold subducted material at the base of the upper mantle, and the presence of a `520' discontinuity in the vicinity of the slab surface also suggests that the slab is present deep within the transition zone. Anomalous low velocity layers above and within the transition zone are constrained and may indicate hydration and ongoing mass/fluid flux between upper and lower mantle in the presence of subduction. The results of the study have implications not only for the regional geodynamics of Anatolia, but also for slab dynamics globally.

Upper Oceanic Energy Response to Tropical Cyclone Passage

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-15

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

Anisotropy of the upper mantle beneath the equatorial part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, J. M.; Rychert, C.; Harmon, N.; Tharimena, S.; Agius, M. R.

2017-12-01

It has been long-known that the mantle beneath ocean spreading centres is anisotropic, holding the signature of the formation of new oceanic lithosphere and its coupling with the underlying convecting asthenosphere. Numerical studies have suggested that there should be significant differences between the anisotropy at slow versus fast spreading centres, but there is little observational evidence to calibrate these simulations, especially at slow spreading centres. Near the ridge axis, the anisotropic effects of melt versus the lattice preferred orientation of minerals is not well understood. Finally, the mantle flow near ridge-transform interactions is also poorly understood. Here we present observations of SKS splitting in a region of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the equator and offset by the Romanche and Chain Fracture Zones. An array of 37 ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed for a year in depths of up to nearly 6000m, with the aim of studying the nature of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary as it forms (the PiLAB - Passive Imaging of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary - experiment). Stations were deployed on crust that varies from newly formed to 80 My old. We analyse 40 teleseismic events of magnitude greater than 5.8 and with epicentral distances between 88 and 130 degrees. The ocean-bottom is a noisy environment and a range of filters are used to isolate the SKS, SKKS, and related signals. Furthermore, stacking splitting error envelopes is used to improve confidence in the splitting parameters. Many of the splitting measurements show an orientation parallel to the direction of plate spreading, as expected, but variability in the orientation of the anisotropy increases towards the ridge axis. The magnitude of the anisotropy is also quite variable and suggests larger delay times near the ridge axis. Off-axis anisotropy is interpreted in terms of deformation of peridotite due to mantle flow. Near the ridge axis, the effect of ridge-parallel melt

Petrological systematics of mid-ocean ridge basalts: Constraints on melt generation beneath ocean ridges

Science.gov (United States)

Langmuir, Charles H.; Klein, Emily M.; Plank, Terry

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are a consequence of pressure-release melting beneath ocean ridges, and contain much information concerning melt formation, melt migration and heterogeneity within the upper mantle. MORB major element chemical systematics can be divided into global and local aspects, once they have been corrected for low pressure fractionation and interlaboratory biases. Regional average compositions for ridges unaffected by hot spots ("normal" ridges) can be used to define the global correlations among normalized Na2O, FeO, TiO2 and SiO2 contents, CaO/Al2O3 ratios, axial depth and crustal thickness. Back-arc basins show similar correlations, but are offset to lower FeO and TiO2 contents. Some hot spots, such as the Azores and Galapagos, disrupt the systematics of nearby ridges and have the opposite relationships between FeO, Na2O and depth over distances of 1000 km. Local variations in basalt chemistry from slow- and fast-spreading ridges are distinct from one another. On slow-spreading ridges, correlations among the elements cross the global vector of variability at a high angle. On the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR), correlations among the elements are distinct from both global and slow-spreading compositional vectors, and involve two components of variation. Spreading rate does not control the global correlations, but influences the standard deviations of axial depth, crustal thickness, and MgO contents of basalts. Global correlations are not found in very incompatible trace elements, even for samples far from hot spots. Moderately compatible trace elements for normal ridges, however, correlate with the major elements. Trace element systematics are significantly different for the EPR and the mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Normal portions of the MAR are very depleted in REE, with little variability; hot spots cause large long wavelength variations in REE abundances. Normal EPR basalts are significantly more enriched than MAR basalts from normal

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-01

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

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

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

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

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2013-01-01

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

Crustal and Upper Mantle Velocity Structure beneath Northwestern South America revealed by the CARMArray

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, W.; Cornthwaite, J.; Levander, A.; Niu, F.; Schmitz, M.; Dionicio, V.; Nader-Nieto, M. F.

2017-12-01

The Caribbean plate (CAR) is a fragment of the Farallon plate heavily modified by igneous processes that created the Caribbean large igneous province (CLIP) between 110 and 80 Ma.The CAR collided with and initiated subduction beneath northwestern South America plate (SA) at about 60-55 Ma as a narrow flat-slab subduction zone with an accretionary prism offshore, but no volcanic arc. Large scale regional tomography suggests that 1000 km of the CAR has been subducted (Van Benthem et al., 2013, JGR). The flat slab has caused Laramide-style basement uplifts of the Merida Andes, Sierra de la Perija, and Santa Marta ranges with elevations >5 km. The details of subduction geometry of the CAR plate beneath northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela are complicated and remain unclear. The region of slab steepening lies below the triangular Maracaibo block (Bezada et al, 2010, JGR), bounded by major strike slip faults and currently escaping to the north over the CAR. Geodetic data suggests the this region has the potential for a magnitude 8+ earthquake (Bilham and Mencin, 2013, AGU Abstract). To better understand the subduction geometry, we deployed 65 broadband (BB) stations across northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in April of 2016. The 65 stations interweave with the 32 existing Colombian and Venezuelan BB stations, forming a 2-D array (hereafter referred to as CARMArray) with a station spacing of 35-100 km that covers an area of 600 km by 400 km extending from the Caribbean coast in Colombia to the interior plains of Venezuela. With data from the first year of operation, we have measured the Rayleigh wave phase velocities and Z/H ratios in the period range of 8-40 s using both ambient noise and earthquake data recorded by the CARMArray. We also generated Ps receiver functions from waveform data of teleseismic events recorded by the array. We then jointly inverted the three datasets to construct a 3-D S-wave velocity model beneath the array. We will

Upper Ocean Evolution Across the Beaufort Sea Marginal Ice Zone

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-12-01

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

Seismic structure of the European upper mantle based on adjoint tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hejun; Bozdağ, Ebru; Tromp, Jeroen

2015-04-01

We use adjoint tomography to iteratively determine seismic models of the crust and upper mantle beneath the European continent and the North Atlantic Ocean. Three-component seismograms from 190 earthquakes recorded by 745 seismographic stations are employed in the inversion. Crustal model EPcrust combined with mantle model S362ANI comprise the 3-D starting model, EU00. Before the structural inversion, earthquake source parameters, for example, centroid moment tensors and locations, are reinverted based on global 3-D Green's functions and Fréchet derivatives. This study consists of three stages. In stage one, frequency-dependent phase differences between observed and simulated seismograms are used to constrain radially anisotropic wave speed variations. In stage two, frequency-dependent phase and amplitude measurements are combined to simultaneously constrain elastic wave speeds and anelastic attenuation. In these two stages, long-period surface waves and short-period body waves are combined to simultaneously constrain shallow and deep structures. In stage three, frequency-dependent phase and amplitude anomalies of three-component surface waves are used to simultaneously constrain radial and azimuthal anisotropy. After this three-stage inversion, we obtain a new seismic model of the European curst and upper mantle, named EU60. Improvements in misfits and histograms in both phase and amplitude help us to validate this three-stage inversion strategy. Long-wavelength elastic wave speed variations in model EU60 compare favourably with previous body- and surface wave tomographic models. Some hitherto unidentified features, such as the Adria microplate, naturally emerge from the smooth starting model. Subducting slabs, slab detachments, ancient suture zones, continental rifts and backarc basins are well resolved in model EU60. We find an anticorrelation between shear wave speed and anelastic attenuation at depths agreement with previous global attenuation studies

The Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Variations in Incident Infrared Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Elizabeth W.; Minnett, Peter J.

2018-04-01

Ocean warming trends are observed and coincide with the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting from human activities. At the ocean surface, most of the incoming infrared (IR) radiation is absorbed within the top micrometers of the ocean's surface where the thermal skin layer (TSL) exists. Thus, the incident IR radiation does not directly heat the upper few meters of the ocean. This paper investigates the physical mechanism between the absorption of IR radiation and its effect on heat transfer at the air-sea boundary. The hypothesis is that given the heat lost through the air-sea interface is controlled by the TSL, the TSL adjusts in response to variations in incident IR radiation to maintain the surface heat loss. This modulates the flow of heat from below and hence controls upper ocean heat content. This hypothesis is tested using the increase in incoming longwave radiation from clouds and analyzing vertical temperature profiles in the TSL retrieved from sea-surface emission spectra. The additional energy from the absorption of increasing IR radiation adjusts the curvature of the TSL such that the upward conduction of heat from the bulk of the ocean into the TSL is reduced. The additional energy absorbed within the TSL supports more of the surface heat loss. Thus, more heat beneath the TSL is retained leading to the observed increase in upper ocean heat content.

Shear flow beneath oceanic plates: Local nonsimilarity boundary layers for olivine rheology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuen, D.A.; Tovish, A.; Schubert, G.

1978-01-01

The principle of local similarity, which has been used to model the two-dimensional boundary layers in the oceanic upper mantle, permits calculation of the temperature, velocity, and stress fields with essentially analytic techniques. Finite difference numerical methods are hard pressed to resolve the detail required by the large variation of viscosity between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. In this paper the local similarity approximation has been justified by quantitatively evaluating the effect of nonsimilarity due to viscous heating, nonlinear temperature- and pressure-dependent rheology, buoyancy, adiabatic cooling, etc. Nonsimilar effects produce only small modifications of the locally similar boundary layers; important geophysical observables such as surface heat flux and ocean floor topography are given to better than 10% by the locally similar solution. A posteriori evaluations of the term neglected in the boundary layer simplification of the complete equations have been conducted on the locally similar temperature and velocity profiles close to the spreading ridge. The boundary layer models are valid to depths of 100 km at 3 m.y. and 10 km at 0.3 m.y

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2013-01-01

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

Testing Predictions of Continental Insulation using Oceanic Crustal Thicknesses

Science.gov (United States)

Hoggard, Mark; Shorttle, Oliver; White, Nicky

2016-04-01

The thermal blanketing effect of continental crust has been predicted to lead to elevated temperatures within the upper mantle beneath supercontinents. Initial break-up is associated with increased magmatism and the generation of flood basalts. Continued rifting and sea-floor spreading lead to a steady reduction of this thermal anomaly. Recently, evidence in support of this behaviour has come from the major element geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts, which suggest excess rifting temperatures of ˜ 150 °C that decay over ˜ 100 Ma. We have collated a global inventory of ˜ 1000 seismic reflection profiles and ˜ 500 wide-angle refraction experiments from the oceanic realm. Data are predominantly located along passive margins, but there are also multiple surveys in the centres of the major oceanic basins. Oceanic crustal thickness has been mapped, taking care to avoid areas of secondary magmatic thickening near seamounts or later thinning such as across transform faults. These crustal thicknesses are a proxy for mantle potential temperature at the time of melt formation beneath a mid-ocean ridge system, allowing us to quantify the amplitude and duration of thermal anomalies generated beneath supercontinents. The Jurassic break-up of the Central Atlantic and the Cretaceous rifting that formed the South Atlantic Ocean are both associated with excess temperatures of ˜ 50 °C that have e-folding times of ˜ 50 Ma. In addition to this background trend, excess temperatures reach > 150 °C around the region of the Rio Grande Rise, associated with the present-day Tristan hotspot. The e-folding time of this more local event is ˜ 10 Ma, which mirrors results obtained for the North Atlantic Ocean south of Iceland. In contrast, crustal thicknesses from the Pacific Ocean reveal approximately constant potential temperature through time. This observation is in agreement with predictions, as the western Pacific was formed by rifting of an oceanic plate. In summary

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

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ge; Peng, Lin; Ma, Chunyong

2018-03-01

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

Scattering beneath Western Pacific subduction zones: evidence for oceanic crust in the mid-mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Bentham, H. L. M.; Rost, S.

2014-06-01

Small-scale heterogeneities in the mantle can give important insight into the dynamics and composition of the Earth's interior. Here, we analyse seismic energy found as precursors to PP, which is scattered off small-scale heterogeneities related to subduction zones in the upper and mid-mantle. We use data from shallow earthquakes (less than 100 km depth) in the epicentral distance range of 90°-110° and use array methods to study a 100 s window prior to the PP arrival. Our analysis focuses on energy arriving off the great circle path between source and receiver. We select coherent arrivals automatically, based on a semblance weighted beampower spectrum, maximizing the selection of weak amplitude arrivals. Assuming single P-to-P scattering and using the directivity information from array processing, we locate the scattering origin by ray tracing through a 1-D velocity model. Using data from the small-aperture Eielson Array (ILAR) in Alaska, we are able to image structure related to heterogeneities in western Pacific subduction zones. We find evidence for ˜300 small-scale heterogeneities in the region around the present-day Japan, Izu-Bonin, Mariana and West Philippine subduction zones. Most of the detected heterogeneities are located in the crust and upper mantle, but 6 per cent of scatterers are located deeper than 600 km. Scatterers in the transition zone correlate well with edges of fast features in tomographic images and subducted slab contours derived from slab seismicity. We locate deeper scatterers beneath the Izu-Bonin/Mariana subduction zones, which outline a steeply dipping pseudo-planar feature to 1480 km depth, and beneath the ancient (84-144 Ma) Indonesian subduction trench down to 1880 km depth. We image the remnants of subducted crustal material, likely the underside reflection of the subducted Moho. The presence of deep scatterers related to past and present subduction provides evidence that the subducted crust does descend into the lower mantle at

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-01

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

Sub-crustal seismic activity beneath Klyuchevskoy Volcano

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, M. J.; Droznina, S.; Levin, V. L.; Senyukov, S.

2013-12-01

Seismic activity is extremely vigorous beneath the Klyuchevskoy Volcanic Group (KVG). The unique aspect is the distribution in depth. In addition to upper-crustal seismicity, earthquakes take place at depths in excess of 20 km. Similar observations are known in other volcanic regions, however the KVG is unique in both the number of earthquakes and that they occur continuously. Most other instances of deep seismicity beneath volcanoes appear to be episodic or transient. Digital recording of seismic signals started at the KVG in early 2000s.The dense local network reliably locates earthquakes as small as ML~1. We selected records of 20 earthquakes located at depths over 20 km. Selection was based on the quality of the routine locations and the visual clarity of the records. Arrivals of P and S waves were re-picked, and hypocentral parameters re-established. Newl locations fell within the ranges outlined by historical seismicity, confirming the existence of two distinct seismically active regions. A shallower zone is at ~20 km depth, and all hypocenters are to the northeast of KVG, in a region between KVG and Shiveluch volcano. A deeper zone is at ~30 km, and all hypocenters cluster directly beneath the edifice of the Kyuchevskoy volcano. Examination of individual records shows that earthquakes in both zones are tectonic, with well-defined P and S waves - another distinction of the deep seismicity beneath KVG. While the upper seismic zone is unquestionably within the crust, the provenance of the deeper earthquakes is enigmatic. The crustal structure beneath KVG is highly complex, with no agreed-upon definition of the crust-mantle boundary. Rather, a range of values, from under 30 to over 40 km, exists in the literature. Similarly, a range of velocity structures has been reported. Teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) provide a way to position the earthquakes with respect to the crust-mantle boundary. We compare the differential travel times of S and P waves from deep

P-wave velocity structure beneath the northern Antarctic Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Y.; Kim, K.; Jin, Y.

2010-12-01

We have imaged tomographically the tree-dimensional velocity structure of the upper mantle beneath the northern Antarctic Peninsula using teleseismic P waves. The data came from the seven land stations of the Seismic Experiment in Patagonia and Antarctica (SEPA) campaigned during 1997-1999, a permanent IRIS/GSN station (PMSA), and 3 seismic stations installed at scientific bases, Esperanza (ESPZ), Jubany (JUBA), and King Sejong (KSJ), in South Shetland Islands. All of the seismic stations are located in coast area, and the signal to noise ratios (SNR) are very low. The P-wave model was inverted from 95 earthquakes resulting in 347 ray paths with P- and PKP-wave arrivals. The inverted model shows a strong low velocity anmaly beneath the Bransfield Strait, and a fast anomaly beneath the South Shetland Islands. The low velocity anomaly beneath the Bransfield might be due to a back arc extension, and the fast velocity anomaly beneath the South Shetland Islands could indicates the cold subducted slab.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

Mid-ocean ridges produced thicker crust in the Jurassic than in Recent times

Science.gov (United States)

Van Avendonk, H. J.; Harding, J.; Davis, J. K.; Lawver, L. A.

2016-12-01

We present a compilation of published marine seismic refraction data to show that oceanic crust was 1.7 km thicker on average in the mid-Jurassic (170 Ma) than along the present-day mid-ocean ridge system. Plate reconstructions in a fixed hotspot framework show that the thickness of oceanic crust does not correlate with proximity to mantle hotspots, so it is likely that mid-plate volcanism is not the cause of this global trend. We propose that more melt was extracted from the upper mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges in the Jurassic than in recent times. Numerical studies show that temperature increase of 1 degree C in the mantle can lead to approximately 50-70 m thicker crust, so the upper mantle may have cooled 15-20 degrees C/100 Myr since 170 Ma. This average temperature decrease is larger than the secular cooling rate of the Earth's mantle, which is roughly 10 degrees C/100 Myr since the Archean. Apparently, the present-day configuration and dynamics of continental and oceanic plates removes heat more efficiently from the Earth's mantle than in its earlier history. The increase of ocean crustal thickness with plate age is also stronger in the Indian and Atlantic oceans than in the Pacific Ocean basin. This confirms that thermal insulation by the supercontinent Pangaea raised the temperature of the underlying asthenospheric mantle, which in turn led to more magmatic output at the Jurassic mid-ocean ridges of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

Rheological properties of the lower crust and upper mantle beneath Baja California: a microstructural study of xenoliths from San Quintin

Science.gov (United States)

Van der Werf, Thomas F.; Chatzaras, Vasileios; Tikoff, Basil; Drury, Martyn R.

2016-04-01

Baja California is an active transtensional rift zone, which links the San Andreas Fault with the East Pacific Rise. The erupted basalts of the Holocene San Quintin volcanic field contain xenoliths, which sample the lower crust and upper mantle beneath Baja California. The aim of this research is to gain insight in the rheology of the lower crust and the upper mantle by investigating the xenolith microstructure. Microstructural observations have been used to determine the dominant deformation mechanisms. Differential stresses were estimated from recrystallized grain size piezometry of plagioclase and clinopyroxene for the lower crust and olivine for the upper mantle. The degree of deformation can be inferred from macroscopic foliations and the deformation microstructures. Preliminary results show that both the lower crust and the upper mantle have been affected by multiple stages of deformation and recrystallization. In addition the dominant deformation mechanism in both the lower crust and the upper mantle is dislocation creep based on the existence of strong crystallographic preferred orientations. The differential stress estimates for the lower crust are 10-29 MPa using plagioclase piezometry and 12-35 MPa using clinopyroxene piezometry. For the upper mantle, differential stress estimates are 10-20 MPa. These results indicate that the strength of the lower crust and the upper mantle are very similar. Our data do not fit with the general models of lithospheric strength and may have important implications for the rheological structure of the lithosphere in transtensional plate margins and for geodynamic models of the region.

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

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

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

Imaging Lithospheric-scale Structure Beneath Northern Altiplano in Southern Peru and Northern Bolivia

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, A.; Wagner, L. S.; Beck, S. L.; Zandt, G.; Long, M. D.

2014-12-01

The northern Altiplano plateau of southern Peru and northern Bolivia is one of the highest topographic features on the Earth, flanked by Western and Eastern Cordillera along its margin. It has strongly influenced the local and far field lithospheric deformation since the early Miocene (Masek et al., 1994). Previous studies have emphasized the importance of both the crust and upper mantle in the evolution of Altiplano plateau (McQuarrie et al., 2005). Early tomographic and receiver function studies, south of 16° S, show significant variations in the crust and upper mantle properties in both perpendicular and along strike direction of the Altiplano plateau (Dorbath et. al., 1993; Myers et al., 1998; Beck and Zandt, 2002). In order to investigate the nature of subsurface lithospheric structure below the northern Altiplano, between 15-18° S, we have determined three-dimensional seismic tomography models for Vp and Vs using P and S-wave travel time data from two recently deployed local seismic networks of CAUGHT and PULSE. We also used data from 8 stations from the PERUSE network (PERU Subduction Experiment). Our preliminary tomographic models show a complex variation in the upper mantle velocity structure with depth, northwest and southeast of lake Titicaca. We see the following trend, at ~85 km depth, northwest of lake Titicaca: low Vp and Vs beneath the Western Cordillera, high Vs beneath the Altiplano and low Vp and Vs beneath the Eastern Cordillera. This low velocity anomaly, beneath Eastern Cordillera, seems to coincide with Kimsachata, a Holocene volcano in southern Peru. At depth greater than ~85 km: we find high velocity anomaly beneath the Western Cordillera and low Vs beneath the Altiplano. This high velocity anomaly, beneath Western Cordillera, coincides with the well-located Wadati-Benioff zone seismicity and perhaps represents the subducting Nazca slab. On the southeast of lake Titicaca, in northern Bolivia, we see a consistently high velocity anomaly

Buckling instabilities of subducted lithosphere beneath the transition zone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ribe, N.M.; Stutzmann, E.; Ren, Y.; Hilst, R.D. van der

2007-01-01

A sheet of viscous fluid poured onto a surface buckles periodically to generate a pile of regular folds. Recent tomographic images beneath subduction zones, together with quantitative fluid mechanical scaling laws, suggest that a similar instability can occur when slabs of subducted oceanic

Seismic characterization of a `compound tectonic wedge` beneath the Rocky Mountain foreland basin, Alberta

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lawton, D. C.; Sukaramongkol, C.; Spratt, D. A. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics

1996-06-01

The detailed internal geometry of a `compound tectonic wedge` beneath an eastward-dipping homocline in the Sundre area of southern Alberta was described. Data for the description was obtained by interpreting reflection seismic data. The wedge has been driven into the foreland succession beneath the gently dipping upper detachment which occurs within coal horizons of the Upper Brazeau Group. Shape of the upper detachment near its toe indicates that rocks in its hanging wall were decoupled from strain associated with forward emplacement of the wedge. Folding of the upper detachment occurs in the hinterland region of the wedge, with a new upper detachment developing above the fold. Emplacement of the wedge is suspected to be the result of excess pore fluid pressure, although proof of this happening awaits quantification of the mechanical model. 25 refs., 8 figs.

Bathymetry and ocean properties beneath Pine Island Glacier revealed by Autosub3 and implications for recent ice stream evolution (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, A.; Dutrieux, P.; McPhail, S.; Perrett, J.; Webb, A.; White, D.; Jacobs, S. S.

2009-12-01

The Antarctic ice sheet, which represents the largest of all potential contributors to sea level rise, appears to be losing mass at a rate that has accelerated over recent decades. Ice loss is focussed in a number of key drainage basins where dynamical changes in the outlet glaciers have led to increased discharge. The synchronous response of several independent glaciers, coupled with the observation that thinning is most rapid over their floating termini, is generally taken as an indicator that the changes have been driven from the ocean. Some of the most significant changes have been observed on Pine Island Glacier, where thinning, acceleration and grounding line retreat have all been observed, primarily through satellite remote sensing. Even during the relatively short satellite record, rates of change have been observed to increase. Between 20th and 30th January 2009 the Autosub3 autonomous underwater vehicle was deployed from host ship RVIB Nathaniel B Palmer on six sorties into the ocean cavity beneath Pine Island Glacier. Total track length was 887 km (taking 167 hours) of which 510 km (taking 94 hours) were beneath the glacier. Some of the main aims were to map both the seabed beneath and the underside of the glacier and to investigate how warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) flows beneath Pine Island Glacier and determines its melt rate. Among the instruments carried by Autosub-3 were a Seabird CTD, with dual conductivity and temperature sensors plus a dissolved oxygen sensor and a transmissometer, a multi-beam echosounder that could be configured to look up or down, and two Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs): an upward-looking 300 kHz instrument and a downward-looking 150 kHz instrument, providing a record of ice draft and seabed depth along the vehicle track. The ADCP data reveal an apparently continuous ridge with an undulating crest that extends across the cavity about 30km in from the current ice front. This topographic feature blocks CDW inflow

Oceans and continents: Similarities and differences in the mechanisms of heat loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sclater, J.G.; Parsons, B.; Jaupart, C.

1981-01-01

The principal objective of this paper is to present a simple and self-consistent review of the basic physical processes controlling heat loss from the earth. To accomplish this objective, we give a short summary of the oceanic and continental data and compare and contrast the respective mechanisms of heat loss . In the oceans we concentrate on the effect of hydrothermal circulation, and on the continents we consider in some detail a model relating surface heat flow to varying depth scales for the distribution of potassium, thorium, and uranium. From this comparison we conclude that the range in possible geotherms at depths below 100 to 150 km under continents and oceans overlaps and the thermal structure beneath an old stable continent is indistinguishable from that beneath an ocean were it at equilibrium. Oceans and continents are part of the same thermal system. Both have an upper rigid mechanical layer where heat loss is by conduction and a lower thermal boundary layer where convection is dominant. The simple conductive definition of the plate thickness is an oversimplification. The observed distribution of area versus age in the ocean allows us to investigate the dominant mechanism of heat loss which is plate creation. This distribution and an understanding of the heat flow through oceans and continents can be used to calculate the heat loss of the earth. This heat loss is 10 13 cal/s (4.2 x 10 13 W) of which more than 60% results from the creation of oceanic plate. The relation between area and age of the oceans is coupled to the ridge and subducting slab forces that contribute to the driving mechanism for plate motions. These forces are self-regulating and maintain the rate of plate generation required to achieve a balance between heat loss and heat generation

Channelization of plumes beneath ice shelves

KAUST Repository

Dallaston, M.  C.; Hewitt, I. J.; Wells, A. J.

2015-01-01

© 2015 Cambridge University Press. We study a simplified model of ice-ocean interaction beneath a floating ice shelf, and investigate the possibility for channels to form in the ice shelf base due to spatial variations in conditions at the grounding line. The model combines an extensional thin-film description of viscous ice flow in the shelf, with melting at its base driven by a turbulent ocean plume. Small transverse perturbations to the one-dimensional steady state are considered, driven either by ice thickness or subglacial discharge variations across the grounding line. Either forcing leads to the growth of channels downstream, with melting driven by locally enhanced ocean velocities, and thus heat transfer. Narrow channels are smoothed out due to turbulent mixing in the ocean plume, leading to a preferred wavelength for channel growth. In the absence of perturbations at the grounding line, linear stability analysis suggests that the one-dimensional state is stable to initial perturbations, chiefly due to the background ice advection.

Channelization of plumes beneath ice shelves

KAUST Repository

Dallaston, M. C.

2015-11-11

© 2015 Cambridge University Press. We study a simplified model of ice-ocean interaction beneath a floating ice shelf, and investigate the possibility for channels to form in the ice shelf base due to spatial variations in conditions at the grounding line. The model combines an extensional thin-film description of viscous ice flow in the shelf, with melting at its base driven by a turbulent ocean plume. Small transverse perturbations to the one-dimensional steady state are considered, driven either by ice thickness or subglacial discharge variations across the grounding line. Either forcing leads to the growth of channels downstream, with melting driven by locally enhanced ocean velocities, and thus heat transfer. Narrow channels are smoothed out due to turbulent mixing in the ocean plume, leading to a preferred wavelength for channel growth. In the absence of perturbations at the grounding line, linear stability analysis suggests that the one-dimensional state is stable to initial perturbations, chiefly due to the background ice advection.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2001-01-01

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

Helicopter-based lidar system for monitoring the upper ocean and terrain surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kwi Joo; Park, Youngsik; Bunkin, Alexey; Pershin, Serguei; Voliak, Konstantin; Nunes, Raul

2002-01-01

A compact helicopter-based lidar system is developed and tested under laboratory and field conditions. It is shown that the lidar can measure concentrations of chlorophyll a and dissolved organic matter at the surface of water bodies, detect fluorescence spectra of ground vegetation at a distance of up to 530 m, and determine the vertical profile of light-scattering particle concentration in the upper ocean. The possibilities of the lidar system are demonstrated by detection of polluted areas at the ocean surface, by online monitoring of three-dimensional distribution of light-scattering layers, and by recognition of plant types and physiological states

Seaglider surveys at Ocean Station Papa: Diagnosis of upper-ocean heat and salt balances using least squares with inequality constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Pelland, Noel A.; Eriksen, Charles C.; Cronin, Meghan F.

2017-06-01

Heat and salt balances in the upper 200 m are examined using data from Seaglider spatial surveys June 2008 to January 2010 surrounding a NOAA surface mooring at Ocean Station Papa (OSP; 50°N, 145°W). A least-squares approach is applied to repeat Seaglider survey and moored measurements to solve for unknown or uncertain monthly three-dimensional circulation and vertical diffusivity. Within the surface boundary layer, the estimated heat and salt balances are dominated throughout the surveys by turbulent flux, vertical advection, and for heat, radiative absorption. When vertically integrated balances are considered, an estimated upwelling of cool water balances the net surface input of heat, while the corresponding large import of salt across the halocline due to upwelling and diffusion is balanced by surface moisture input and horizontal import of fresh water. Measurement of horizontal gradients allows the estimation of unresolved vertical terms over more than one annual cycle; diffusivity in the upper-ocean transition layer decreases rapidly to the depth of the maximum near-surface stratification in all months, with weak seasonal modulation in the rate of decrease and profile amplitude. Vertical velocity is estimated to be on average upward but with important monthly variations. Results support and expand existing evidence concerning the importance of horizontal advection in the balances of heat and salt in the Gulf of Alaska, highlight time and depth variability in difficult-to-measure vertical transports in the upper ocean, and suggest avenues of further study in future observational work at OSP.

Structure of the crust beneath Cameroon, West Africa, from the joint inversion of Rayleigh wave group velocities and receiver functions

Science.gov (United States)

Tokam, Alain-Pierre K.; Tabod, Charles T.; Nyblade, Andrew A.; Julià, Jordi; Wiens, Douglas A.; Pasyanos, Michael E.

2010-11-01

The Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) consists of a linear chain of Tertiary to Recent, generally alkaline, volcanoes that do not exhibit an age progression. Here we study crustal structure beneath the CVL and adjacent regions in Cameroon using 1-D shear wave velocity models obtained from the joint inversion of Rayleigh wave group velocities and P-receiver functions for 32 broad-band seismic stations deployed between 2005 January and 2007 February. We find that (1) crustal thickness (35-39km) and velocity structure is similar beneath the CVL and the Pan African Oubanguides Belt to the south of the CVL, (2) crust is thicker (43-48km) under the northern margin of the Congo Craton and is characterized by shear wave velocities >=4.0kms-1 in its lower part and (3) crust is thinner (26-31km) under the Garoua rift and the coastal plain. In addition, a fast velocity layer (Vs of 3.6-3.8kms-1) in the upper crust is found beneath many of the seismic stations. Crustal structure beneath the CVL and the Oubanguides Belt is very similar to Pan African crustal structure in the Mozambique Belt, and therefore it appears not to have been modified significantly by the magmatic activity associated with the CVL. The crust beneath the coastal plain was probably thinned during the opening of the southern Atlantic Ocean, while the crust beneath the Garoua rift was likely thinned during the formation of the Benue Trough in the early Cretaceous. We suggest that the thickened crust and the thick mafic lower crustal layer beneath the northern margin of the Congo Craton may be relict features from a continent-continent collision along this margin during the formation of Gondwana.

Upper-mantle water stratification inferred from observations of the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Science.gov (United States)

Masuti, Sagar; Barbot, Sylvain D; Karato, Shun-Ichiro; Feng, Lujia; Banerjee, Paramesh

2016-10-20

Water, the most abundant volatile in Earth's interior, preserves the young surface of our planet by catalysing mantle convection, lubricating plate tectonics and feeding arc volcanism. Since planetary accretion, water has been exchanged between the hydrosphere and the geosphere, but its depth distribution in the mantle remains elusive. Water drastically reduces the strength of olivine and this effect can be exploited to estimate the water content of olivine from the mechanical response of the asthenosphere to stress perturbations such as the ones following large earthquakes. Here, we exploit the sensitivity to water of the strength of olivine, the weakest and most abundant mineral in the upper mantle, and observations of the exceptionally large (moment magnitude 8.6) 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake to constrain the stratification of water content in the upper mantle. Taking into account a wide range of temperature conditions and the transient creep of olivine, we explain the transient deformation in the aftermath of the earthquake that was recorded by continuous geodetic stations along Sumatra as the result of water- and stress-activated creep of olivine. This implies a minimum water content of about 0.01 per cent by weight-or 1,600 H atoms per million Si atoms-in the asthenosphere (the part of the upper mantle below the lithosphere). The earthquake ruptured conjugate faults down to great depths, compatible with dry olivine in the oceanic lithosphere. We attribute the steep rheological contrast to dehydration across the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, presumably by buoyant melt migration to form the oceanic crust.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, E.; Minnett, P. J.

2016-12-01

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

Probability density functions for radial anisotropy: implications for the upper 1200 km of the mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Beghein, Caroline; Trampert, Jeannot

2004-01-01

The presence of radial anisotropy in the upper mantle, transition zone and top of the lower mantle is investigated by applying a model space search technique to Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocity models. Probability density functions are obtained independently for S-wave anisotropy, P-wave anisotropy, intermediate parameter η, Vp, Vs and density anomalies. The likelihoods for P-wave and S-wave anisotropy beneath continents cannot be explained by a dry olivine-rich upper mantle at depths larger than 220 km. Indeed, while shear-wave anisotropy tends to disappear below 220 km depth in continental areas, P-wave anisotropy is still present but its sign changes compared to the uppermost mantle. This could be due to an increase with depth of the amount of pyroxene relative to olivine in these regions, although the presence of water, partial melt or a change in the deformation mechanism cannot be ruled out as yet. A similar observation is made for old oceans, but not for young ones where VSH> VSV appears likely down to 670 km depth and VPH> VPV down to 400 km depth. The change of sign in P-wave anisotropy seems to be qualitatively correlated with the presence of the Lehmann discontinuity, generally observed beneath continents and some oceans but not beneath ridges. Parameter η shows a similar age-related depth pattern as shear-wave anisotropy in the uppermost mantle and it undergoes the same change of sign as P-wave anisotropy at 220 km depth. The ratio between dln Vs and dln Vp suggests that a chemical component is needed to explain the anomalies in most places at depths greater than 220 km. More tests are needed to infer the robustness of the results for density, but they do not affect the results for anisotropy.

Seismological Imaging of Melt Production Regions Beneath the Backarc Spreading Center and Volcanic Arc, Mariana Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Wiens, Douglas; Pozgay, Sara; Barklage, Mitchell; Pyle, Moira; Shiobara, Hajime; Sugioka, Hiroko

2010-05-01

We image the seismic velocity and attenuation structure of the mantle melt production regions associated with the Mariana Backarc Spreading Center and Mariana Volcanic Arc using data from the Mariana Subduction Factory Imaging Experiment. The passive component of this experiment consisted of 20 broadband seismographs deployed on the island chain and 58 ocean-bottom seismographs from June, 2003 until April, 2004. We obtained the 3D P and S wave velocity structure of the Mariana mantle wedge from a tomographic inversion of body wave arrivals from local earthquakes as well as P and S arrival times from large teleseismic earthquakes determined by multi-channel cross correlation. We also determine the 2-D attenuation structure of the mantle wedge using attenuation tomography based on local and regional earthquake spectra, and a broader-scale, lower resolution 3-D shear velocity structure from inversion of Rayleigh wave phase velocities using a two plane wave array analysis approach. We observe low velocity, high attenuation anomalies in the upper mantle beneath both the arc and backarc spreading center. These anomalies are separated by a higher velocity, lower attenuation region at shallow depths (< 80 km), implying distinct magma production regions for the arc and backarc in the uppermost mantle. The largest magnitude anomaly beneath the backarc spreading center is found at shallower depth (25-50 km) compared to the arc (50-100 km), consistent with melting depths estimated from the geochemistry of arc and backarc basalts (K. Kelley, pers. communication). The velocity and attenuation signature of the backarc spreading center is narrower than the corresponding anomaly found beneath the East Pacific Rise by the MELT experiment, perhaps implying a component of focused upwelling beneath the spreading center. The strong velocity and attenuation anomaly beneath the spreading center contrasts strongly with preliminary MT inversion results showing no conductivity anomaly in the

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Druzhinin, O; Troitskaya, Yu; Zilitinkevich, S

2016-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Hao; Zheng, Fei; Zhu, Jiang

2017-12-01

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2007-11-15

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

Ocean Color Measurements from Landsat-8 OLI using SeaDAS

Science.gov (United States)

Franz, Bryan Alden; Bailey, Sean W.; Kuring, Norman; Werdell, P. Jeremy

2014-01-01

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) is a multi-spectral radiometer hosted on the recently launched Landsat-8 satellite. OLI includes a suite of relatively narrow spectral bands at 30-meter spatial resolution in the visible to shortwave infrared that make it a potential tool for ocean color radiometry: measurement of the reflected spectral radiance upwelling from beneath the ocean surface that carries information on the biogeochemical constituents of the upper ocean euphotic zone. To evaluate the potential of OLI to measure ocean color, processing support was implemented in SeaDAS, which is an open-source software package distributed by NASA for processing, analysis, and display of ocean remote sensing measurements from a variety of satellite-based multi-spectral radiometers. Here we describe the implementation of OLI processing capabilities within SeaDAS, including support for various methods of atmospheric correction to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and absorption and retrieve the spectral remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs; sr exp 1). The quality of the retrieved Rrs imagery will be assessed, as will the derived water column constituents such as the concentration of the phytoplankton pigment chlorophyll a.

Radial anisotropy of the North American upper mantle based on adjoint tomography with USArray

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hejun; Komatitsch, Dimitri; Tromp, Jeroen

2017-10-01

We use seismic data from USArray to image the upper mantle underneath the United States based on a so-called `adjoint tomography', an iterative full waveform inversion technique. The inversion uses data from 180 regional earthquakes recorded by 4516 seismographic stations, resulting in 586 185 frequency-dependent measurements. Three-component short-period body waves and long-period surface waves are combined to simultaneously constrain deep and shallow structures. The transversely isotropic model US22 is the result of 22 pre-conditioned conjugate-gradient iterations. Approximate Hessian maps and point-spread function tests demonstrate good illumination of the study region and limited trade-offs among different model parameters. We observe a distinct wave-speed contrast between the stable eastern US and the tectonically active western US. This boundary is well correlated with the Rocky Mountain Front. Stable cratonic regions are characterized by fast anomalies down to 250-300 km, reflecting the thickness of the North American lithosphere. Several fast anomalies are observed beneath the North American lithosphere, suggesting the possibility of lithospheric delamination. Slow wave-speed channels are imaged beneath the lithosphere, which might indicate weak asthenosphere. Beneath the mantle transition zone of the central US, an elongated north-south fast anomaly is observed, which might be the ancient subducted Farallon slab. The tectonically active western US is dominated by prominent slow anomalies with magnitudes greater than -6 per cent down to approximately 250 km. No continuous lower to upper mantle upwellings are observed beneath Yellowstone. In addition, our results confirm previously observed differences between oceans and continents in the anisotropic parameter ξ = (βh/βv)2. A slow wave-speed channel with ξ > 1 is imaged beneath the eastern Pacific at depths from 100 to 200 km, reflecting horizontal shear within the asthenosphere. Underneath continental

The Subduction of an Exhumed and Serpentinized Magma-Poor Basement Beneath the Northern Lesser Antilles Reveals the Early Tectonic Fabric at Slow-Spreading Mid-Oceanic Ridges

Science.gov (United States)

Marcaillou, B.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Laurencin, M.; Biari, Y.; Graindorge, D.; Jean-Frederic, L.; Laigle, M.; Lallemand, S.

2017-12-01

Multichannel and wide-angle seismic data as well as heat-flow measurements (ANTITHESIS cruise, 2016) reveal a 200x200km patch of magma-poor oceanic basement in the trench and beneath the outer fore-arc offshore of Antigua to Saint Martin in the Northern Lesser Antilles. These data highlight an oceanic basement with the following features: 1/ Absence of any reflection at typical Moho depth and layer2/layer3 limit depths. 2/ High Velocity Vp at the top (>5.5 km/s), low velocity gradient with depth (serpentinized at the slow-spreading mid-Atlantic Ridge 80 Myr ago, is currently subducting beneath the Northern Lesser Antilles. During the exhumation, early extension triggers penetrative shear zones sub-parallel to the ridge and to the transform fault. Eventually, this early extension generates sliding along the so-called detachment fault, while the other proto-detachment abort. Approaching the trench, the plate bending reactivates these weak zones in normal faults and fluid pathways promoting deep serpentinisation and localizing tectonic deformation at the plate interface. These subducting fluid-rich mechanically weak mantle rocks rise questions about their relation to the faster slab deepening, the lower seismic activity and the pervasive tectonic partitioning in this margin segment.

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

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

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

Seasonal variations of the upper ocean salinity stratification in the Tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Maes, Christophe; O'Kane, Terence J.

2014-03-01

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

The African upper mantle and its relationship to tectonics and surface geology

Science.gov (United States)

Priestley, Keith; McKenzie, Dan; Debayle, Eric; Pilidou, Sylvana

2008-12-01

This paper focuses on the upper-mantle velocity structure of the African continent and its relationship to the surface geology. The distribution of seismographs and earthquakes providing seismograms for this study results in good fundamental and higher mode path coverage by a large number of relatively short propagation paths, allowing us to image the SV-wave speed structure, with a horizontal resolution of several hundred kilometres and a vertical resolution of ~50 km, to a depth of about 400 km. The difference in mantle structure between the Archean and Pan-African terranes is apparent in our African upper-mantle shear wave model. High-velocity (4-7 per cent) roots exist beneath the cratons. Below the West African, Congo and Tanzanian Cratons, these extend to 225-250 km depth, but beneath the Kalahari Craton, the high wave speed root extends to only ~170 km. With the exception of the Damara Belt that separates the Congo and Kalahari Cratons, any high-speed upper-mantle lid below the Pan-African terranes is too thin to be resolved by our long-period surface wave technique. The Damara Belt is underlain by higher wave speeds, similar to those observed beneath the Kalahari Craton. Extremely low SV-wave speeds occur to the bottom of our model beneath the Afar region. The temperature of the African upper mantle is determined from the SV-wave speed model. Large temperature variations occur at 125 km depth with low temperatures beneath west Africa and all of southern Africa and warm mantle beneath the Pan-African terrane of northern Africa. At 175 km depth, cool upper mantle occurs below the West African, Congo, Tanzanian and Kalahari Cratons and anomalously warm mantle occurs below a zone in northcentral Africa and beneath the region surrounding the Red Sea. All of the African volcanic centres are located above regions of warm upper mantle. The temperature profiles were fit to a geotherm to determine the thickness of the African lithosphere. Thick lithosphere exists

Melt migration modeling in partially molten upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Ghods, Abdolreza

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the importance of melt migration in shaping major characteristics of geological features associated with the partial melting of the upper mantle, such as sea-floor spreading, continental flood basalts and rifting. The partial melting produces permeable partially molten rocks and a buoyant low viscosity melt. Melt migrates through the partially molten rocks, and transfers mass and heat. Due to its much faster velocity and appreciable buoyancy, melt migration has the potential to modify dynamics of the upwelling partially molten plumes. I develop a 2-D, two-phase flow model and apply it to investigate effects of melt migration on the dynamics and melt generation of upwelling mantle plumes and focusing of melt migration beneath mid-ocean ridges. Melt migration changes distribution of the melt-retention buoyancy force and therefore affects the dynamics of the upwelling plume. This is investigated by modeling a plume with a constant initial melt of 10% where no further melting is considered. Melt migration polarizes melt-retention buoyancy force into high and low melt fraction regions at the top and bottom portions of the plume and therefore results in formation of a more slender and faster upwelling plume. Allowing the plume to melt as it ascends through the upper mantle also produces a slender and faster plume. It is shown that melt produced by decompressional melting of the plume migrates to the upper horizons of the plume, increases the upwelling velocity and thus, the volume of melt generated by the plume. Melt migration produces a plume which lacks the mushroom shape observed for the plume models without melt migration. Melt migration forms a high melt fraction layer beneath the sloping base of the impermeable oceanic lithosphere. Using realistic conditions of melting, freezing and melt extraction, I examine whether the high melt fraction layer is able to focus melt from a wide partial melting zone to a narrow region

Living and Working Beneath the Sea – Next Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rowiński Lech

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The idea of living beneath the sea is very new if compared with millennia of shipping activity. In fact, ocean surface was considered mainly as medium suitable for transport of persons and goods as well as aggression and robbery. More practical attempts to live “on” the water surface are limited to well protected internal waters.

Crustal structure beneath the southern Korean Peninsula from local earthquakes

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kwang-Hee; Park, Jung-Ho; Park, Yongcheol; Hao, Tian-Yao; Kim, Han-Joon

2017-05-01

The 3-D subsurface structure beneath the southern Korean Peninsula is poorly known, even though such information could be key in verifying or rejecting several competing models of the tectonic evolution of East Asia. We constructed a 3-D velocity model of the upper crust beneath the southern Korean Peninsula using 19 935 P-wave arrivals from 747 earthquakes recorded by high-density local seismic networks. Results show significant lateral and vertical variations: velocity increases from northwest to southeast at shallow depths, and significant velocity variations are observed across the South Korea Tectonic Line between the Okcheon Fold Belt and the Youngnam Massif. Collision between the North and South China blocks during the Early Cretaceous might have caused extensive deformation and the observed negative velocity anomalies in the region. The results of the tomographic inversion, combined with the findings of previous studies of Bouguer and isostatic gravity anomalies, indicate the presence of high-density material in the upper and middle crust beneath the Gyeongsang Basin in the southeastern Korean Peninsula. Although our results partially support the indentation tectonic model, it is still premature to discard other tectonic evolution models because our study only covers the southern half of the peninsula.

Crustal structure beneath Beijing and its surrounding regions derived from gravity data

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wenliang; Zhang, Jingfa; Lu, Xiaocui; Lu, Jing

2011-06-01

In this paper we use gravity data to study fine crustal structure and seismogenic environment beneath Beijing and its surrounding regions. Multi-scale wavelet analysis method is applied to separating gravity fields. Logarithmic power spectrum method is also used to calculate depth of gravity field source. The results show that the crustal structure is very complicated beneath Beijing and its surrounding areas. The crustal density exhibits laterally inhomogeneous. There are three large scale tectonic zones in North China, i.e., WNW-striking Zhangjiakou-Bohai tectonic zone (ZBTZ), NE-striking Taihang piedmont tectonic zone (TPTZ) and Cangxian tectonic zone (CTZ). ZBTZ and TPTZ intersect with each other beneath Beijing area and both of them cut through the lithosphere. The upper and middle crusts consist of many small-scale faults, uplifts and depressions. In the lower crust, these small-scale tectonic units disappear gradually, and they are replaced by large-scale tectonic units. In surrounding regions of Beijing, ZBTZ intersects with several other NE-striking tectonic units, such as Cangxian uplift, Jizhong depression and Shanxi Graben System (SGS). In west of Taihangshan uplift, gravity anomalies in upper and middle crusts are correlated with geological and topographic features on the surface. Compared with the crust, the structure is comparatively simple in uppermost mantle. Earthquakes mainly occurred in upper and middle crusts, especially in transitional regions between high gravity anomaly and low gravity anomaly. Occurrence of large earthquakes may be related to the upwelling of upper mantle and asthenosphere heat flow materials, such as Sanhe earthquake ( M S8.0) and Tangshan earthquake ( M S7.8).

Autonomous Observations of the Upper Ocean Stratification and Velocity Field about the Seasonally-Retreating Marginal Ice Zone

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-30

wavelength shifted towards smaller scales as ice concentration changed from greater than 95% to 70-95%. This work was reported at the 2016 Ocean ...71 ITP- 78 ITP-79 ITP-SO c. 2 - 1 -2 Figure 3. Time series of the wind stress work ( blue and black) and the ocean stress work (red) on one of...From - To) 12/30/2016 final 01-Nov-2011 to 30-Sep-2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Sa. CONTRACT NUMBER Autonomous observations of the upper ocean

Autonomous Observations of the Upper Ocean Stratification and Velocity Field about the Seasonality Retreating Marginal Ice Zone

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-30

fluxes of heat, salt, and momentum. Hourly GPS fixes tracked the motion of the supporting ice floes and T/C recorders sampled the ocean waters just... sampled in a range of ice conditions from full ice cover to nearly open water and observed a variety of stratification and ocean velocity signals (e.g...From - To) 12/30/2016 final 01-Nov-2011to 30-Sep-201 6 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Sa. CONTRACT NUMBER Autonomous observations of the upper ocean

Nutrient transport and transformation beneath an infiltration basin

Science.gov (United States)

Sumner, D.M.; Rolston, D.E.; Bradner, L.A.

1998-01-01

Field experiments were conducted to examine nutrient transport and transformation beneath an infiltration basin used for the disposal of treated wastewater. Removal of nitrogen from infiltrating water by denitrification was negligible beneath the basin, probably because of subsurface aeration as a result of daily interruptions in basin loading. Retention of organic nitrogen in the upper 4.6 m of the unsaturated zone (water table depth of approximately 11 m) during basin loading resulted in concentrations of nitrate as much as 10 times that of the applied treated wastewater, following basin 'rest' periods of several weeks, which allowed time for mineralization and nitrification. Approximately 90% of the phosphorus in treated wastewater was removed within the upper 4.6 m of the subsurface, primarily by adsorption reactions, with abundant iron and aluminum oxyhydroxides occurring as soil coatings. A reduction in the flow rate of infiltrating water arriving at the water table may explain the accumulation of relatively coarse (>0.45 ??m), organic forms of nitrogen and phosphorus slightly below the water table. Mineralization and nitrification reactions at this second location of organic nitrogen accumulation contributed to concentrations of nitrate as much as three times that of the applied treated wastewater. Phosphorus, which accumulated below the water table, was immobilized by adsorption or precipitation reactions during basin rest periods.Field experiments were conducted to examine nutrient transport and transformation beneath an infiltration basin used for the disposal of treated wastewater. Removal of nitrogen from infiltrating water by denitrification was negligible beneath the basin, probably because of subsurface aeration as a result of daily interruptions in basin loading. Retention of organic nitrogen in the upper 4.6 m of the unsaturated zone (water table depth of approximately 11 m) during basin loading resulted in concentrations of nitrate as much as 10

Mapping the mantle transition zone beneath the central Mid-Atlantic Ridge using Ps receiver functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Agius, M. R.; Rychert, C.; Harmon, N.; Kendall, J. M.

2017-12-01

Determining the mechanisms taking place beneath ridges is important in order to understand how tectonic plates form and interact. Of particular interest is establishing the depth at which these processes originate. Anomalies such as higher temperature within the mantle transition zone may be inferred seismically if present. However, most ridges are found in remote locations beneath the oceans restricting seismologists to use far away land-based seismometers, which in turn limits the imaging resolution. In 2016, 39 broadband ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, along the Romanche and Chain fracture zones as part of the PI-LAB research project (Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere and Asthenosphere Boundary). The one-year long seismic data is now retrieved and analysed to image the mantle transition zone beneath the ridge. We determine P-to-s (Ps) receiver functions to illuminate the 410- and 660-km depth mantle discontinuities using the extended multitaper deconvolution. The data from ocean-bottom seismometers have tilt and compliance noise corrections and is filtered between 0.05-0.2 Hz to enhance the signal. 51 teleseismic earthquakes generated hundreds of good quality waveforms, which are then migrated to depth in 3-D. The topography at the d410 deepens towards the west of the Romanche and Chain fracture zone by 15 km, whereas the topography of d660 shallows beneath the ridge between the two zones. Transition zone thickness thins from 5 to 20 km. Thermal anomalies determined from temperature relationships with transition zone thickness and depth variations of the d410 and d660 suggests hotter temperatures of about 200 K. Overall, the result suggests mid-ocean ridges may have associated thermal signatures as deep as the transition zone.

Relationship between diversity and the vertical structure of the upper ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Longhurst, Alan R.

1985-12-01

The sources of diversity in the plankton ecosystem of the upper 250 m in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are explored in the data from LHPR plankton profiles. Though there is good evidence for resource partitioning among feeding guilds of congeners, and for specialization in predation—both known to create diversity in simple aquatic ecosystems—the existence of a stable vertical structure, including a thermocline, may be one of the more important causes of variation in regional plankton diversity in the euphotic zone.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-07-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Carranza, Magdalena M.

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

Box Tomography: first application to the imaging of upper-mantle shear velocity and radial anisotropy structure beneath the North American continent

Science.gov (United States)

Clouzet, P.; Masson, Y.; Romanowicz, B.

2018-06-01

The EarthScope Transpotable Array (TA) deployment provides dense array coverage throughout the continental United States and with it, the opportunity for high-resolution 3-D seismic velocity imaging of the stable part of the North American (NA) upper mantle. Building upon our previous long-period waveform tomographic modeling, we present a higher resolution 3-D isotropic and radially anisotropic shear wave velocity model of the NA lithosphere and asthenosphere. The model is constructed using a combination of teleseismic and regional waveforms down to 40 s period and wavefield computations are performed using the spectral element method both for regional and teleseismic data. Our study is the first tomographic application of `Box Tomography', which allows us to include teleseismic events in our inversion, while computing the teleseismic wavefield only once, thus significantly reducing the numerical computational cost of several iterations of the regional inversion. We confirm the presence of high-velocity roots beneath the Archean part of the continent, reaching 200-250 km in some areas, however the thickness of these roots is not everywhere correlated to the crustal age of the corresponding cratonic province. In particular, the lithosphere is thick (˜250 km) in the western part of the Superior craton, while it is much thinner (˜150 km) in its eastern part. This may be related to a thermomechanical erosion of the cratonic root due to the passage of the NA plate over the Great Meteor hotspot during the opening of the Atlantic ocean 200-110 Ma. Below the lithosphere, an upper-mantle low-velocity zone (LVZ) is present everywhere under the NA continent, even under the thickest parts of the craton, although it is less developed there. The depth of the minimum in shear velocity has strong lateral variations, whereas the bottom of the LVZ is everywhere relatively flat around 270-300 km depth, with minor undulations of maximum 30 km that show upwarping under the thickest

Variations in Crust and Upper Mantle Structure Beneath Diverse Geologic Provinces in Asia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schwartz, Susan H

1997-01-01

This report presents results of a two year effort to determine crust and mantle lithospheric structure beneath Eurasia and to explore the effects that structural variations have on regional wave propagation...

Upper ocean response to the passage of two sequential typhoons

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Renhao; Li, Chunyan

2018-02-01

Two sequential typhoons, separated by five days, Chan-hom and Nangka in the summer of 2015, provided a unique opportunity to study the oceanic response and cold wake evolution. The upper ocean response to the passage of these two typhoons was investigated using multi-satellite, Argo float data and HYCOM global model output. The sea surface cooling (SSC) induced by Chan-hom was gradually enhanced along its track when the storm was intensified while moving over the ocean with shallow mixed layer. The location of maximum cooling of sea surface was determined by the storm's translation speed as well as pre-typhoon oceanic conditions. As a fast-moving storm, Chan-hom induced significant SSC on the right side of its track. Localized maximum cooling patches are found over a cyclonic eddy (CE). An analysis of data from Argo floats near the track of Chan-hom demonstrated that the mixed layer temperature (MLT) and mixed layer depth (MLD) had more variabilities on the right side than those on the left side of Chan-hom's track, while mixed layer salinity (MLS) response was different from those of MLT and MLD with an increase in salinity to the right side and a decrease in salinity to the left side of the track. Subsequently, because of the remnant effect of Chan-hom, the strong upwelling induced by Typhoon Nangka, the pre-existing CE as well as a slow translation speed (process. The enhancement of chlorophyll-a concentrations was also noticed at both the CE region and close to Chan-hom's track.

3-D Upper-Mantle Shear Velocity Model Beneath the Contiguous United States Based on Broadband Surface Wave from Ambient Seismic Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Jun; Chu, Risheng; Yang, Yingjie

2018-05-01

Ambient noise seismic tomography has been widely used to study crustal and upper-mantle shear velocity structures. Most studies, however, concentrate on short period (structure on a continental scale. We use broadband Rayleigh wave phase velocities to obtain a 3-D V S structures beneath the contiguous United States at period band of 10-150 s. During the inversion, 1-D shear wave velocity profile is parameterized using B-spline at each grid point and is inverted with nonlinear Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. Then, a 3-D shear velocity model is constructed by assembling all the 1-D shear velocity profiles. Our model is overall consistent with existing models which are based on multiple datasets or data from earthquakes. Our model along with the other post-USArray models reveal lithosphere structures in the upper mantle, which are consistent with the geological tectonic background (e.g., the craton root and regional upwelling provinces). The model has comparable resolution on lithosphere structures compared with many published results and can be used for future detailed regional or continental studies and analysis.

Crustal structure beneath two seismic stations in the Sunda-Banda arc transition zone derived from receiver function analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Syuhada, E-mail: hadda9@gmail.com [Graduate Research on Earthquake and Active Tectonics (GREAT), Bandung Institute of Technology, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia); Research Centre for Physics - Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Kompleks Puspiptek Serpong, Tangsel 15314, Banten Indonesia (Indonesia); Hananto, Nugroho D.; Handayani, Lina [Research Centre for Geotechnology - Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jl. Sangkuriang (Kompleks LIPI) Bandung 40135 (Indonesia); Puspito, Nanang T; Yudistira, Tedi [Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering ITB, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia); Anggono, Titi [Research Centre for Physics - Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Kompleks Puspiptek Serpong, Tangsel 15314, Banten Indonesia (Indonesia)

2015-04-24

We analyzed receiver functions to estimate the crustal thickness and velocity structure beneath two stations of Geofon (GE) network in the Sunda-Banda arc transition zone. The stations are located in two different tectonic regimes: Sumbawa Island (station PLAI) and Timor Island (station SOEI) representing the oceanic and continental characters, respectively. We analyzed teleseismic events of 80 earthquakes to calculate the receiver functions using the time-domain iterative deconvolution technique. We employed 2D grid search (H-κ) algorithm based on the Moho interaction phases to estimate crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratio. We also derived the S-wave velocity variation with depth beneath both stations by inverting the receiver functions. We obtained that beneath station PLAI the crustal thickness is about 27.8 km with Vp/Vs ratio 2.01. As station SOEI is covered by very thick low-velocity sediment causing unstable solution for the inversion, we modified the initial velocity model by adding the sediment thickness estimated using high frequency content of receiver functions in H-κ stacking process. We obtained the crustal thickness is about 37 km with VP/Vs ratio 2.2 beneath station SOEI. We suggest that the high Vp/Vs in station PLAI may indicate the presence of fluid ascending from the subducted plate to the volcanic arc, whereas the high Vp/Vs in station SOEI could be due to the presence of sediment and rich mafic composition in the upper crust and possibly related to the serpentinization process in the lower crust. We also suggest that the difference in velocity models and crustal thicknesses between stations PLAI and SOEI are consistent with their contrasting tectonic environments.

Controls on thallium uptake during hydrothermal alteration of the upper ocean crust

Science.gov (United States)

Coggon, Rosalind M.; Rehkämper, Mark; Atteck, Charlotte; Teagle, Damon A. H.; Alt, Jeffrey C.; Cooper, Matthew J.

2014-11-01

Hydrothermal circulation is a fundamental component of global biogeochemical cycles. However, the magnitude of the high temperature axial hydrothermal fluid flux remains disputed, and the lower temperature ridge flank fluid flux is difficult to quantify. Thallium (Tl) isotopes behave differently in axial compared to ridge flank systems, with Tl near-quantitatively stripped from the intrusive crust by high temperature hydrothermal reactions, but added to the lavas during low temperature reaction with seawater. This contrasting behavior provides a unique approach to determine the fluid fluxes associated with axial and ridge flank environments. Unfortunately, our understanding of the Tl isotopic mass balance is hindered by poor knowledge of the mineralogical, physical and chemical controls on Tl-uptake by the ocean crust. Here we use analyses of basaltic volcanic upper crust from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Hole U1301B on the Juan de Fuca Ridge flank, combined with published analyses of dredged seafloor basalts and upper crustal basalts from Holes 504B and 896A, to investigate the controls on Tl-uptake by mid-ocean ridge basalts and evaluate when in the evolution of the ridge flank hydrothermal system Tl-uptake occurs. Seafloor basalts indicate an association between basaltic uptake of Tl from cold seawater and uptake of Cs and Rb, which are known to partition into K-rich phases. Although there is no clear relationship between Tl and K contents of seafloor basalts, the data do not rule out the incorporation of at least some Tl into the same minerals as the alkali elements. In contrast, we find no relationship between the Tl content and either the abundance of secondary phyllosilicate minerals, or the K, Cs or Rb contents in upper crustal basalts. We conclude that the uptake of Tl and alkali elements during hydrothermal alteration of the upper crust involves different processes and/or mineral phases compared to those that govern seafloor weathering. Furthermore

Simulation of flow in the unsaturated zone beneath Pagany Wash, Yucca Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwicklis, E.M.; Healy, R.W.; Flint, A.L.

1994-01-01

A one-dimensional numerical model was created to simulate water movement beneath Pagany Wash, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Model stratigraphy and properties were based on data obtained from boreholes UE-25 UZ No. 4 and UE-25 UZ No. 5, which was drilled in the alluvial channel and bedrock sideslope of Pagany Wash. Although unable to account for multidimensional or preferential flowpaths beneath the wash, the model proved a useful conceptual tool with which to develop hypotheses and, in some cases, provide bounding calculations. The model indicated that liquid flux decreases with depth in the upper 120 m beneath the wash, with fluxes of several tens mm/yr in the nonwelded base of the Tiva Canyon Member and fluxes on the order of a tenth mm/yr in the upper Topopah Spring Member. Capillary barrier effects were indicated by the model to significantly delay the entry of large fluxes into the potential repository horizon during periods of increasing net infiltration, and to inhibit rapid drainage of water from the nonwelded and bedded intervals into the potential repository horizon during periods of moisture redistribution. Lateral moisture redistribution can be expected to be promoted by these effects

Upper mantle compositional variations and discontinuity topography imaged beneath Australia from Bayesian inversion of surface-wave phase velocities and thermochemical modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khan, A.; Zunino, Andrea; Deschamps, F.

2013-01-01

Here we discuss the nature of velocity heterogeneities seen in seismic tomography images of Earth's mantle whose origins and relation to thermochemical variations are yet to be understood. We illustrate this by inverting fundamental-mode and higher-order surface-wave phase velocities for radial....../Fe and Mg/Si values relative to surrounding mantle. Correlated herewith are thermal variations that closely follow surface tectonics. We also observe a strong contribution to lateral variations in structure and topography across the “410 km” seismic discontinuity from thermochemically induced phase......-wave tomography models with other regional models is encouraging. Radial anisotropy is strongest at 150/200 km depth beneath oceanic/continental areas, respectively, and appears weak and homogeneous below. Finally, geoid anomalies are computed for a subset of sampled model and compared to observations....

Upper mantle low velocity heterogeneities beneath NE China revealed by source- and receiver-side converted waves

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Z.; Niu, F.

2017-12-01

Common-conversion-point (CCP) stacking of receiver function is a powerful tool in mapping upper mantle heterogeneities. However, reverberations from shallow boundaries with large velocity contrast could contaminate the imaging profiles severely. Applying the refined Slowness Weighted CCP (SWCCP) stacking technique (Guan and Niu, 2017) on NECESSArray data, we eliminated the multiple effects and systematically imaged the upper mantle low velocity heterogeneities in NE China where there exist rich unconsolidated sediments. The SWCCP profiles reveal a 350 km low velocity heterogeneity which is possibly associated with the Changbai Mountain volcanism and interpreted as a negatively buoyant silicate melt lying atop of the 410 km discontinuity. Besides, the imaging results are also suggestive of a sporadic 580-620 km low velocity heterogeneity locating in the easternmost part of NE China with a velocity contrast comparable with the 660-km discontinuity. In addition, between 42º N and 45º N, we also found a double 660-km discontinuity at the two sides of the localized depression in the longitudinal range of 128º E to 131º E. On the other hand, we gathered USArray and Alaska regional array seismic data of deep earthquakes occurring beneath NE China and the surrounding areas and employed stacking technique to study the source side S-to-P conversions. The source-side stacking also showed a strong S-to-P conversion at 600 km deep, consistent with the SWCCP stacks. Meanwhile, we also confirmed the double 660-km discontinuity feature from the source-side conversions. The receiver- and source-side observations provide strong constraints on these low velocity anomalies that may offer insights on the subduction dynamics of the Pacific plate.

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

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

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

2012-01-01

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

Lateral variations in upper-mantle seismic anisotropy in the Pacific from inversion of a surface-wave dispersion dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Eddy, C. L.; Ekstrom, G.; Nettles, M.; Gaherty, J. B.

2017-12-01

We present a three-dimensional model of the anisotropic velocity structure of the Pacific lithosphere and asthenosphere. The presence of seismic anisotropy in the oceanic upper mantle provides information about the geometry of flow in the mantle, the nature of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, and the possible presence of partial melt in the asthenosphere. Our dataset consists of fundamental-mode dispersion for Rayleigh and Love waves measured between 25-250 s with paths crossing the Pacific Ocean. We invert the phase anomaly measurements directly for three-dimensional anisotropic velocity structure. Our models are radially anisotropic and include the full set of elastic parameters that describe azimuthal variations in velocity (e.g. Gc, Gs). We investigate the age dependence of seismic velocity and radial anisotropy and find that there are significant deviations from the velocities predicted by a simple oceanic plate cooling model. We observe strong radial anisotropy with vsh > vsv in the asthenosphere of the central Pacific. We investigate the radial anisotropy in the shallow lithosphere, where previous models have reported conflicting results. There is a contrast in both upper-mantle isotropic velocities and radial anisotropy between the Pacific and Nazca plates, across the East Pacific Rise. We also investigate lateral variations in azimuthal anisotropy throughout the Pacific upper mantle and find that there are large areas over which the anisotropy fast axis does not align with absolute plate motion, suggesting the presence of small-scale convection or pressure-driven flow beneath the base of the oceanic plate.

Diurnal variability of upper ocean temperature and heat budget in the southern Bay of Bengal during October-November, 1998 (BOBMEX-Pilot)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, V.S.N.; RameshBabu, V.; Rao, L.V.G.; Prabhu, C.V.; Tilvi, V.

°N locations along 87°E during October -- November, 1998 under BOBMEX-Pilot programme. These data have been analysed to examine the diurnal variability of upper oceanic heat budget and to estimate the eddy diffusivity coefficient of heat in the upper...

Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals

Science.gov (United States)

Charrassin, J.-B.; Hindell, M.; Rintoul, S. R.; Roquet, F.; Sokolov, S.; Biuw, M.; Costa, D.; Boehme, L.; Lovell, P.; Coleman, R.; Timmermann, R.; Meijers, A.; Meredith, M.; Park, Y.-H.; Bailleul, F.; Goebel, M.; Tremblay, Y.; Bost, C.-A.; McMahon, C. R.; Field, I. C.; Fedak, M. A.; Guinet, C.

2008-01-01

Polar regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the potential for significant feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, and the ocean carbon cycle. However, the difficulty in obtaining in situ data means that our ability to detect and interpret change is very limited, especially in the Southern Ocean, where the ocean beneath the sea ice remains almost entirely unobserved and the rate of sea-ice formation is poorly known. Here, we show that southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) equipped with oceanographic sensors can measure ocean structure and water mass changes in regions and seasons rarely observed with traditional oceanographic platforms. In particular, seals provided a 30-fold increase in hydrographic profiles from the sea-ice zone, allowing the major fronts to be mapped south of 60°S and sea-ice formation rates to be inferred from changes in upper ocean salinity. Sea-ice production rates peaked in early winter (April–May) during the rapid northward expansion of the pack ice and declined by a factor of 2 to 3 between May and August, in agreement with a three-dimensional coupled ocean–sea-ice model. By measuring the high-latitude ocean during winter, elephant seals fill a “blind spot” in our sampling coverage, enabling the establishment of a truly global ocean-observing system. PMID:18695241

Observations of the upper ocean response to storm forcing in the South Atlantic Roaring Forties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Marsh

1995-10-01

Full Text Available In the austral summer of 1992–1993 the passage of a storm system drove a strong upper ocean response at 45°S in the mid-South Atlantic. Good in situ observations were obtained. CTD casts revealed that the mixed layer deepened by ~40 m over 4 days. Wind stirring dominated over buoyancy flux-driven mixing during the onset of high winds. Doppler shear currents further reveal this to be intimately related to inertial dynamics. The penetration depth of inertial currents, which are confined to the mixed layer, increases with time after a wind event, matched by a downward propagation of low values of the Richardson number. This suggests that inertial current shear is instrumental in producing turbulence at the base of the mixed layer. Evolution of inertial transport is simulated using a time series of ship-observed wind stress. Simulated transport is only 30–50% of the observed transport, suggesting that much of the observed inertial motion was forced by an earlier (possibly remote storm. Close proximity of the subtropical front further complicates the upper ocean response to the storm. A simple heat balance for the upper 100 m reveals that surface cooling and mixing (during the storm can account for only a small fraction of an apparent ~1 °C mixed layer cooling.

Seismic characteristics of central Brazil crust and upper mantle: A deep seismic refraction study

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, J.E.; Berrocal, J.; Fuck, R.A.; Mooney, W.D.; Ventura, D.B.R.

2006-01-01

A two-dimensional model of the Brazilian central crust and upper mantle was obtained from the traveltime interpretation of deep seismic refraction data from the Porangatu and Cavalcante lines, each approximately 300 km long. When the lines were deployed, they overlapped by 50 km, forming an E-W transect approximately 530 km long across the Tocantins Province and western Sa??o Francisco Craton. The Tocantins Province formed during the Neoproterozoic when the Sa??o Francisco, the Paranapanema, and the Amazon cratons collided, following the subduction of the former Goia??s ocean basin. Average crustal VP and VP/VS ratios, Moho topography, and lateral discontinuities within crustal layers suggest that the crust beneath central Brazil can be associated with major geological domains recognized at the surface. The Moho is an irregular interface, between 36 and 44 km deep, that shows evidences of first-order tectonic structures. The 8.05 and 8.23 km s-1 P wave velocities identify the upper mantle beneath the Porangatu and Cavalcante lines, respectively. The observed seismic features allow for the identification of (1) the crust has largely felsic composition in the studied region, (2) the absence of the mafic-ultramafic root beneath the Goia??s magmatic arc, and (3) block tectonics in the foreland fold-and-thrust belt of the northern Brasi??lia Belt during the Neoproterozoic. Seismic data also suggested that the Bouguer gravimetric discontinuities are mainly compensated by differences in mass distribution within the lithospheric mantle. Finally, the Goia??s-Tocantins seismic belt can be interpreted as a natural seismic alignment related to the Neoproterozoic mantle domain. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Seismic imaging of the upper mantle beneath the northern Central Andean Plateau: Implications for surface topography

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, K. M.; Zandt, G.; Beck, S. L.; Wagner, L. S.

2015-12-01

Extending over 1,800 km along the active South American Cordilleran margin, the Central Andean Plateau (CAP) as defined by the 3 km elevation contour is second only to the Tibetan Plateau in geographic extent. The uplift history of the 4 km high Plateau remains uncertain with paleoelevation studies along the CAP suggesting a complex, non-uniform uplift history. As part of the Central Andean Uplift and the Geodynamics of High Topography (CAUGHT) project, we use surface waves measured from ambient noise and two-plane wave tomography to image the S-wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle to investigate the upper mantle component of plateau uplift. We observe three main features in our S-wave velocity model including (1), a high velocity slab (2), a low velocity anomaly above the slab where the slab changes dip from near horizontal to a normal dip, and (3), a high-velocity feature in the mantle above the slab that extends along the length of the Altiplano from the base of the Moho to a depth of ~120 km with the highest velocities observed under Lake Titicaca. A strong spatial correlation exists between the lateral extent of this high-velocity feature beneath the Altiplano and the lower elevations of the Altiplano basin suggesting a potential relationship. Non-uniqueness in our seismic models preclude uniquely constraining this feature as an uppermost mantle feature bellow the Moho or as a connected eastward dipping feature extending up to 300 km in the mantle as seen in deeper mantle tomography studies. Determining if the high velocity feature represents a small lithospheric root or a delaminating lithospheric root extending ~300 km into the mantle requires more integration of observations, but either interpretation shows a strong geodynamic connection with the uppermost mantle and the current topography of the northern CAP.

Seismological observations at the Northern Andean region of Colombia: Evidence for a shallowly subducting Caribbean Slab and an extensional regime in the upper plate

Science.gov (United States)

Monsalve, G.; Cardona, A.; Yarce, J.; Alvira, D.; Poveda, E.

2013-05-01

A number of seismological observations, among which we can mention teleseismic travel time residuals, P to S receiver functions and Pn velocity quantification, suggest a clear distinction between the seismic structure of the crust and uppermost mantle between the plains on the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the mountains at the Northern Andean region. Absolute and relative travel time residuals indicate the presence of a seismically fast material in the upper mantle beneath northern Colombia; preliminary results of Pn studies show a region of relatively slow Pn velocities (between 7.8 and 7.9 km/s) underneath the Caribbean coast, contrasting with values greater than 8 km/s beneath the Central and Western cordilleras of Colombia, and the Pacific coast; receiver functions suggest a significantly thinner crust beneath the Caribbean coast, with a crustal thickness between 25 and 30 km, than beneath the Northern Andean zone at the cordilleras of Colombia, where it exceeds 40 km and reaches about 57 km at the location of Bogota. Besides the obviuos discrepancies that appear in response to different topography, we think that the seismological observations are a consequence of the presence of two very distinct slab segments beneath Colombia and contrasting behaviors of the upper plate, which correspond to Caribbean and Nazca subductions. Our seismic observations can be explained by a shallowly subducting Caribbean Plate, in the absence of an asthenospheric wedge, that steepens at about the location of the Bucaramanga nest, and a thinned continental crust that reflects an extensional component linked to oblique convergence of the Caribbean, which contrasts with the crustal thickening in the Andean Cordillera linked to crustal shortening and Nazca plate subuction. These new data are consistent with the idea of of a relatively warm Nazca slab of Neogene age which seems to have a relatively frontal convergence, and a colder, more buoyant Caribbean slab which represents an

Upper Arctic Ocean water masses harbor distinct communities of heterotrophic flagellates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Monier

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The ubiquity of heterotrophic flagellates (HFL in marine waters has been recognized for several decades, but the phylogenetic diversity of these small (ca. 0.8–20 μm cell diameter, mostly phagotrophic protists in the upper pelagic zone of the ocean is underappreciated. Community composition of microbes, including HFL, is the result of past and current environmental selection, and different taxa may be indicative of food webs that cycle carbon and energy very differently. While all oceanic water columns can be density stratified due to the temperature and salinity characteristics of different water masses, the Arctic Ocean is particularly well stratified, with nutrients often limiting in surface waters and most photosynthetic biomass confined to a subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer, where light and nutrients are both available. This physically well-characterized system provided an opportunity to explore the community diversity of HFL from different water masses within the water column. We used high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques as a rapid means of surveying the diversity of HFL communities in the southern Beaufort Sea (Canada, targeting the surface, the subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer (SCM and just below the SCM. In addition to identifying major clades and their distribution, we explored the micro-diversity within the globally significant but uncultivated clade of marine stramenopiles (MAST-1 to examine the possibility of niche differentiation within the stratified water column. Our results strongly suggested that HFL community composition was determined by water mass rather than geographical location across the Beaufort Sea. Future work should focus on the biogeochemical and ecological repercussions of different HFL communities in the face of climate-driven changes to the physical structure of the Arctic Ocean.

What's Cooler Than Being Cool? Icefin: Robotic Exploration Beneath Antarctic Ice Shelves

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, J.; Schmidt, B. E.; Meister, M. R.; Glass, J. B.; Bowman, J. S.; Stockton, A. M.; Dichek, D.; Hurwitz, B.; Ramey, C.; Spears, A.; Walker, C. C.

2017-12-01

The 2017-18 Antarctic field season marks the first of three under the RISEUP project (Ross Ice Shelf & Europa Underwater Probe, NASA PSTAR program grant NNX16AL07G, PI B. E. Schmidt). RISEUP expands our efforts to understand the physical processes governing ice-ocean interactions from beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) to the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS), utilizing the modular autonomous or remotely operable submersible vehicle (AUV/ROV) Icefin. The remote, aphotic regions below Antarctic shelves present a unique opportunity- they are both poorly understood terrestrial environments and analogs for similar systems hypothesized to be present on other bodies in our solar system, such as Europa and Enceladus. By developing new robotic technologies to access and explore ice shelf cavities we are advancing our understanding of how temperature, pressure, and salinity influence the ice-ocean interface, the limits of habitable environments on Earth, and what biological processes and adaptations enable the life discovered by the RISP and WISSARD programs during initial exploration beneath the RIS. These investigations further our understanding of ocean world habitability and support planned and proposed planetary missions (e.g. Europa Clipper, Europa Lander) via improved constraint of marine ice accretion processes, organic entrainment, and interface habitability. Custom built at Georgia Tech and first deployed during the 2014/15 Antarctic season, Icefin is 3.5 m, 125 kg modular vehicle that now carries a full suite of oceanographic sensors (including conductivity, temperature, depth, dissolved O2, dissolved organic matter, turbidity, pH, eH, and sonar) that can be deployed through boreholes as small as 25 cm in diameter. Here we present continued analysis of basal ice and oceanographic observations in the McMurdo Sound region from 2012-2015 with, pending anticipated field work, comparisons to preliminary data from the 2017/18 field season beneath both the McMurdo and Ross Ice

Average Potential Temperature of the Upper Mantle and Excess Temperatures Beneath Regions of Active Upwelling

Science.gov (United States)

Putirka, K. D.

2006-05-01

The question as to whether any particular oceanic island is the result of a thermal mantle plume, is a question of whether volcanism is the result of passive upwelling, as at mid-ocean ridges, or active upwelling, driven by thermally buoyant material. When upwelling is passive, mantle temperatures reflect average or ambient upper mantle values. In contrast, sites of thermally driven active upwellings will have elevated (or excess) mantle temperatures, driven by some source of excess heat. Skeptics of the plume hypothesis suggest that the maximum temperatures at ocean islands are similar to maximum temperatures at mid-ocean ridges (Anderson, 2000; Green et al., 2001). Olivine-liquid thermometry, when applied to Hawaii, Iceland, and global MORB, belie this hypothesis. Olivine-liquid equilibria provide the most accurate means of estimating mantle temperatures, which are highly sensitive to the forsterite (Fo) contents of olivines, and the FeO content of coexisting liquids. Their application shows that mantle temperatures in the MORB source region are less than temperatures at both Hawaii and Iceland. The Siqueiros Transform may provide the most precise estimate of TpMORB because high MgO glass compositions there have been affected only by olivine fractionation, so primitive FeOliq is known; olivine thermometry yields TpSiqueiros = 1430 ±59°C. A global database of 22,000 MORB show that most MORB have slightly higher FeOliq than at Siqueiros, which translates to higher calculated mantle potential temperatures. If the values for Fomax (= 91.5) and KD (Fe-Mg)ol-liq (= 0.29) at Siqueiros apply globally, then upper mantle Tp is closer to 1485 ± 59°C. Averaging this global estimate with that recovered at Siqueiros yields TpMORB = 1458 ± 78°C, which is used to calculate plume excess temperatures, Te. The estimate for TpMORB defines the convective mantle geotherm, and is consistent with estimates from sea floor bathymetry and heat flow (Stein and Stein, 1992), and

Changes in Ocean Heat, Carbon Content, and Ventilation: A Review of the First Decade of GO-SHIP Global Repeat Hydrography.

Science.gov (United States)

Talley, L D; Feely, R A; Sloyan, B M; Wanninkhof, R; Baringer, M O; Bullister, J L; Carlson, C A; Doney, S C; Fine, R A; Firing, E; Gruber, N; Hansell, D A; Ishii, M; Johnson, G C; Katsumata, K; Key, R M; Kramp, M; Langdon, C; Macdonald, A M; Mathis, J T; McDonagh, E L; Mecking, S; Millero, F J; Mordy, C W; Nakano, T; Sabine, C L; Smethie, W M; Swift, J H; Tanhua, T; Thurnherr, A M; Warner, M J; Zhang, J-Z

2016-01-01

Global ship-based programs, with highly accurate, full water column physical and biogeochemical observations repeated decadally since the 1970s, provide a crucial resource for documenting ocean change. The ocean, a central component of Earth's climate system, is taking up most of Earth's excess anthropogenic heat, with about 19% of this excess in the abyssal ocean beneath 2,000 m, dominated by Southern Ocean warming. The ocean also has taken up about 27% of anthropogenic carbon, resulting in acidification of the upper ocean. Increased stratification has resulted in a decline in oxygen and increase in nutrients in the Northern Hemisphere thermocline and an expansion of tropical oxygen minimum zones. Southern Hemisphere thermocline oxygen increased in the 2000s owing to stronger wind forcing and ventilation. The most recent decade of global hydrography has mapped dissolved organic carbon, a large, bioactive reservoir, for the first time and quantified its contribution to export production (∼20%) and deep-ocean oxygen utilization. Ship-based measurements also show that vertical diffusivity increases from a minimum in the thermocline to a maximum within the bottom 1,500 m, shifting our physical paradigm of the ocean's overturning circulation.

Relationships between seismic wave-Speed, density, and electrical conductivity beneath Australia from seismology, mineralogy, and laboratory-based conductivity profiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khan, A.; Koch, S.; Shankland, T. J.

2015-01-01

We present maps of the three-dimensional density (ρ), electrical conductivity (σ), and shear-wave speed (VS) structure of the mantle beneath Australia and surrounding ocean in the depth range of 100–800 km. These maps derived from stochastic inversion of seismic surface-wave dispersion data...... shear-wave speeds, low densities, and high conductivities. This trend appears to continue to depths well below 300 km. The slow-fast shear-wave speed distribution found here is also observed in independent seismic tomographic models of the Australian region, whereas the coupled slow-fast shear......-wave speed, low-high density, and high-low electrical conductivity distribution has not been observed previously. Toward the bottom of the upper mantle at 400 km depth marking the olivine ⃗ wadsleyite transformation (the “410–km” seismic discontinuity), the correlation between VS, ρ, and σ weakens...

Summer microbial community composition governed by upper-ocean stratification and nutrient availability in northern Marguerite Bay, Antarctica

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rozema, Patrick D.; Biggs, Tristan; Sprong, Pim A.A.; Buma, Anita G.J.; Venables, Hugh J.; Evans, Claire; Meredith, Michael P.; Bolhuis, Henk

The Western Antarctic Peninsula warmed significantly during the second half of the twentieth century, with a concurrent retreat of the majority of its glaciers, and marked changes in the sea-ice field. These changes may affect summertime upper-ocean stratification, and thereby the seasonal dynamics

Summer microbial community composition governed by upper-ocean stratification and nutrient availability in northern Marguerite Bay, Antarctica

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rozema, P.D.; Biggs, T.; Sprong, P.A.A.; Buma, A.G.J.; Venables, H.J.; Evans, C.; Meredith, M.P.; Bolhuis, H.

2017-01-01

The Western Antarctic Peninsula warmed significantly during the second half of the twentieth century, with a concurrent retreat of the majority of its glaciers, and marked changes in the sea-ice field. These changes may affect summertime upper-ocean stratification, and thereby the seasonal dynamics

Three-dimensional crust and upper mantle structure at the Nevada test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, S.R.

1983-01-01

The three-dimensional crust and upper mantle structure at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) is derived by combining teleseismic P wave travel time residuals with Pn source time terms. The NTS time terms and relative teleseismic residuals are calculated by treating the explosions as a network of 'receivers' which record 'shots' located at the surrounding stations. Utilization of the Pn time terms allows for better crustal resolution than is possible from teleseismic information alone. Average relative teleseismic P wave residuals show a consistent progression of positive (late arrivals) to negative residuals from east to west across the NTS. However, Pn time terms beneath Rainier Mesa are at least 0.3 and 0.5 s less than those beneath Pahute Mesa and Yucca Flat, respectively, indicating the presence of high-velocity crustal material or crustal thinning beneath Rainier Mesa. The time terms at Pahute Mesa are surprisingly uniform, and the largest time terms and residuals are observed in the northwest and southern parts of Yucca Flat. The Pn time terms show a slight correlation with the working-point velocity at the shot point for Pahute Mesa and Yucca Flat, indicating that part of the observed lateral variations are caused by shallow effects of the upper crust. Three-dimensional inversion of the travel time residuals suggests that Yucca Flat is characterized by low-velocity anomalies confined to the upper crust, Rainer Mesa by very high velocities in the upper and middle crust, and Pahute Mesa by a high-velocity anomaly extending through the crust and into the upper mantle. Relatively low velocities are observed in the lower crust beneath the Timber Mountain caldera south of Pahute Mesa with no expression in the upper mantle. These observed differences in velocity beneath the Tertiary Silent Canyon and Timber Mountain calderas may be related to their magma volume and mode of enrichment from a mantle-derived magma source

Seismic evidence of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath Izu-Bonin area

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, H.; Gao, Y.; Zhou, Y.

2016-12-01

The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), separating the rigid lithosphere and the ductile asthenosphere layers, is the seismic discontinuity with the negative velocity contrast of the Earth's interior [Fischer et al., 2010]. The LAB has been also termed the Gutenberg (G) discontinuity that defines the top of the low velocity zone in the upper mantle [Gutenberg, 1959; Revenaugh and Jordan, 1991]. The seismic velocity, viscosity, resistivity and other physical parameters change rapidly with the depths across the boundary [Eaton et al., 2009]. Seismic detections on the LAB in subduction zone regions are of great help to understand the interactions between the lithosphere and asthenosphere layers and the geodynamic processes related with the slab subductions. In this study, the vertical broadband waveforms are collected from three deep earthquake events occurring from 2000 to 2014 with the focal depths of 400 600 km beneath the Izu-Bonin area. The waveform data is processed with the linear slant stack method [Zang and Zhou, 2002] to obtain the vespagrams in the relative travel-time to slowness domain and the stacked waveforms. The sP precursors reflected on the LAB (sLABP), which have the negative polarities with the amplitude ratios of 0.17 0.21 relative to the sP phases, are successfully extracted. Based on the one-dimensional modified velocity model (IASP91-IB), we obtain the distributions for six reflected points of the sLABP phases near the source region. Our results reveal that the LAB depths range between 58 and 65 km beneath the Izu-Bonin Arc, with the average depth of 62 km and the small topography of 7 km. Compared with the results of the tectonic stable areas in Philippine Sea [Kawakatsu et al., 2009; Kumar and Kawakatsu, 2011], the oceanic lithosphere beneath the Izu-Bonin Arc shows the obvious thinning phenomena. We infer that the lithospheric thinning is closely related with the partial melting, which is caused by the volatiles continuously released

Velocity Models of the Upper Mantle Beneath the MER, Somali Platform, and Ethiopian Highlands from Body Wave Tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Hariharan, A.; Keranen, K. M.; Alemayehu, S.; Ayele, A.; Bastow, I. D.; Eilon, Z.

2016-12-01

The Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) presents a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of an active continental rift. Here we use body wave tomography to generate compressional and shear wave velocity models of the region beneath the rift. The models help us understand the rifting process over the broader region around the MER, extending the geographic region beyond that captured in past studies. We use differential arrival times of body waves from teleseismic earthquakes and multi-channel cross correlation to generate travel time residuals relative to the global IASP91 1-d velocity model. The events used for the tomographic velocity model include 200 teleseismic earthquakes with moment magnitudes greater than 5.5 from our recent 2014-2016 deployment in combination with 200 earthquakes from the earlier EBSE and EAGLE deployments (Bastow et al. 2008). We use the finite-frequency tomography analysis of Schmandt et al. (2010), which uses a first Fresnel zone paraxial approximation to the Born theoretical kernel with spatial smoothing and model norm damping in an iterative LSQR algorithm. Results show a broad, slow region beneath the rift with a distinct low-velocity anomaly beneath the northwest shoulder. This robust and well-resolved low-velocity anomaly is visible at a range of depths beneath the Ethiopian plateau, within the footprint of Oligocene flood basalts, and near surface expressions of diking. We interpret this anomaly as a possible plume conduit, or a low-velocity finger rising from a deeper, larger plume. Within the rift, results are consistent with previous work, exhibiting rift segmentation and low-velocities beneath the rift valley.

Magnitude corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1978-01-01

Since 1969, a consistent discrepancy in seismic magnitudes of nuclear detonations at NTS compared with magnitudes of detonations elsewhere in the world has been observed. This discrepancy can be explained in terms of a relatively high seismic attenuation for compressional waves in the upper mantle beneath the NTS and in certain other locations. A correction has been developed for this attenuation based on a relationship between the velocity of compressional waves at the top of the earth's mantle (just beneath the Mohorovicic discontinuity) and the seismic attenuation further down in the upper mantle. Our new definition of body-wave magnitude includes corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle at both ends of the teleseismic body-wave path. These corrections bring the NTS oservations into line with measurements of foreign events, and enable one to make more reliable estimates of yields of underground nuclear explosions, wherever the explosion occurs

Imaging Canary Island hotspot material beneath the lithosphere of Morocco and southern Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Meghan S.; O'Driscoll, Leland J.; Butcher, Amber J.; Thomas, Christine

2015-12-01

The westernmost Mediterranean has developed into its present day tectonic configuration as a result of complex interactions between late stage subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean, continental collision of Africa and Eurasia, and the Canary Island mantle plume. This study utilizes S receiver functions (SRFs) from over 360 broadband seismic stations to seismically image the lithosphere and uppermost mantle from southern Spain through Morocco and the Canary Islands. The lithospheric thickness ranges from ∼65 km beneath the Atlas Mountains and the active volcanic islands to over ∼210 km beneath the cratonic lithosphere in southern Morocco. The common conversion point (CCP) volume of the SRFs indicates that thinned lithosphere extends from beneath the Canary Islands offshore southwestern Morocco, to beneath the continental lithosphere of the Atlas Mountains, and then thickens abruptly at the West African craton. Beneath thin lithosphere between the Canary hot spot and southern Spain, including below the Atlas Mountains and the Alboran Sea, there are distinct pockets of low velocity material, as inferred from high amplitude positive, sub-lithospheric conversions in the SRFs. These regions of low seismic velocity at the base of the lithosphere extend beneath the areas of Pliocene-Quaternary magmatism, which has been linked to a Canary hotspot source via geochemical signatures. However, we find that this volume of low velocity material is discontinuous along strike and occurs only in areas of recent volcanism and where asthenospheric mantle flow is identified with shear wave splitting analyses. We propose that the low velocity structure beneath the lithosphere is material flowing sub-horizontally northeastwards beneath Morocco from the tilted Canary Island plume, and the small, localized volcanoes are the result of small-scale upwellings from this material.

Slab melting and magma formation beneath the southern Cascade arc

Science.gov (United States)

Walowski, Kristina J.; Wallace, Paul J.; Clynne, Michael A.; Rasmussen, D.J.; Weis, D.

2016-01-01

The processes that drive magma formation beneath the Cascade arc and other warm-slab subduction zones have been debated because young oceanic crust is predicted to largely dehydrate beneath the forearc during subduction. In addition, geochemical variability along strike in the Cascades has led to contrasting interpretations about the role of volatiles in magma generation. Here, we focus on the Lassen segment of the Cascade arc, where previous work has demonstrated across-arc geochemical variations related to subduction enrichment, and H-isotope data suggest that H2O in basaltic magmas is derived from the final breakdown of chlorite in the mantle portion of the slab. We use naturally glassy, olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MI) from the tephra deposits of eight primitive (MgO>7 wt%) basaltic cinder cones to quantify the pre-eruptive volatile contents of mantle-derived melts in this region. The melt inclusions have B concentrations and isotope ratios that are similar to mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), suggesting extensive dehydration of the downgoing plate prior to reaching sub-arc depths and little input of slab-derived B into the mantle wedge. However, correlations of volatile and trace element ratios (H2O/Ce, Cl/Nb, Sr/Nd) in the melt inclusions demonstrate that geochemical variability is the result of variable addition of a hydrous subduction component to the mantle wedge. Furthermore, correlations between subduction component tracers and radiogenic isotope ratios show that the subduction component has less radiogenic Sr and Pb than the Lassen sub-arc mantle, which can be explained by melting of subducted Gorda MORB beneath the arc. Agreement between pMELTS melting models and melt inclusion volatile, major, and trace element data suggests that hydrous slab melt addition to the mantle wedge can produce the range in primitive compositions erupted in the Lassen region. Our results provide further evidence that chlorite-derived fluids from the mantle portion of the

Complex structure of the lithospheric slab beneath the Banda arc, eastern Indonesia depicted by a seismic tomographic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sri Widiyantoro

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Seismic tomography with a non-linear approach has been successfully applied to image the P-wave velocity structure beneath the Banda arc in detail. Nearly one million compressional phases including the surfacereflected depth phases pP and pwP from events within the Indonesian region have been used. The depth phases have been incorporated in order to improve the sampling of the uppermantle structure, particularly below the Banda Sea in the back-arc regions. For the model parameterization, we have combined a highresolution regional inversion with a low-resolution global inversion to allow detailed images of slab structures within the study region and to minimize the mapping of distant aspherical mantle structure into the volume under study. In this paper, we focus our discussion on the upper mantle and transition zone structure beneath the curved Banda arc. The tomographic images confirm previous observations of the twisting of the slab in the upper mantle, forming a spoon-shaped structure beneath the Banda arc. A slab lying flat on the 660 km discontinuity beneath the Banda Sea is also well imaged. Further interpretations of the resulting tomograms and seismicity data support the scenario of the Banda arc subduction rollback.

Imaging of Upper-Mantle Upwelling Beneath the Salton Trough, Southern California, by Joint Inversion of Ambient Noise Dispersion Curves and Receiver Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Klemperer, S. L.; Barak, S.

2016-12-01

We present a new 2D shear-wave velocity model of the crust and upper-mantle across the Salton Trough, southern California, obtained by jointly inverting our new dataset of receiver functions and our previously published Rayleigh-wave group-velocity model (Barak et al., G-cubed, 2015), obtained from ambient-noise tomography. Our results show an upper-mantle low-velocity zone (LVZ) with Vs ≤4.2 km/s extending from the Elsinore Fault to the Sand Hills Fault, that together bracket the full width of major San Andreas dextral motion since its inception 6 Ma b.p., and underlying the full width of low topography of the Imperial Valley and Salton Trough. The lateral extent of the LVZ is coincident with the lateral extent of an upper-mantle anisotropic region interpreted as a zone of SAF-parallel melt pockets (Barak & Klemperer, Geology, 2016). The shallowest part of the LVZ is 40 km depth, coincident with S-receiver function images. The western part of the LVZ, between the Elsinore and San Jacinto faults (the region of greatest modern dextral slip), appears to continue to significantly greater depth; but a puzzling feature of our preliminary models is that the eastern part of the LVZ, from the San Jacinto Fault to the Sand Hills Fault, appears to be underlain by more-normalvelocity upper mantle (Vs ≥ 4.5 km/s) below 75 km depth. We compare our model to the current SCEC community models CVM-H and CVM-S, and to P-wave velocity models obtained by the active-source Salton Sea Imaging Project (SSIP). The hypothesized lower-crustal low-velocity zone beneath the Salton Trough in our previous model (Barak et al., G-cubed, 2015), there interpreted as a region of partial melt, is not supported by our new modeling. Melt may be largely absent from the lower crust of the Salton trough; but appears required in the upper mantle at depths as shallow as 40 km.

Large-scale global convection in the mantle beneath Australia from 55 Ma to now

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, M.

1999-01-01

Full text: The global-scale mantle convection cells in the asthenosphere are not geochemically homogeneous. The heterogeneity is most prominently reflected in the isotopic compositions (Pb-Sr-Nd) of the mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) that are direct partial melts from the underlying asthenosphere. Of particular relevance to Australia's geodynamic evolution from about 100 million years, are the distinctive geochemical signatures of the asthenosphere beneath the Pacific Ocean (Pacific MORB) and Indian Ocean (Indian MORB). Therefore, delineation of the boundary between the two distinct mantle reservoirs and any change in that boundary with time provide information about the patterns of global-scale asthenospheric mantle convection. This information has also allowed us to track large-scale mantle chemical reservoirs such as the distinctive Gondwana lithospheric mantle, and hence better understand the geodynamic evolution of the Australian continent from the time of Gondwana dispersal. Pb-Sr-Nd isotope data for Cenozoic basalts in eastern Australia (Zhang et al, 1999) indicate that Pacific-MORB type isotopic signatures characterise the lava-field basalts (55-14 Ma) in southeastern Australia, whereas Indian-MORB type isotopic signatures characterise younger basalts (6-0 Ma) from northeastern Australia. This discovery helps to constrain the changing locus of the major asthenospheric mantle convection cells represented by the Pacific and Indian MORB sources during and following the breakup of the eastern part of Gondwana, and locates, for the first time, the boundary of these convection cells beneath the Australian continent. This extends previous work in the SW Pacific back-arc basins (eg Hickey-Vargas et al., 1995) and the Southern Ocean (Lanyon et al., 1995) that indicates that the 1- and P-MORB mantle convection cells have been moving in opposite directions since the early Tertiary. These new data also indicate that the Indian-MORB source is a long-term asthenospheric

The Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Air-Sea Surface Heat Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Elizabeth Wing-See

-or-less fixed. The surplus energy, from absorbing increasing levels of infrared radiation, is found to adjust the curvature of the thermal skin layer such that there is a smaller gradient at the interface between the thermal skin layer and the mixed layer beneath. The vertical conduction of heat from the mixed layer to the surface is therefore hindered while the additional energy within the thermal skin layer is supporting the gradient changes of the skin layer's temperature profile. This results in heat beneath the thermal skin layer, which is a product of the absorption of solar radiation during the day, to be retained and cause an increase in upper ocean heat content. The accuracy of four published skin layer models were evaluated by comparison with the field results. The results show a need to include radiative effects, which are currently absent, in such models as they do not replicate the findings from the field data and do not elucidate the effects of the absorption of infrared radiation.

The extent of continental crust beneath the Seychelles

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, J. O. S.; Kendall, J.-M.; Collier, J. S.; Rümpker, G.

2013-11-01

The granitic islands of the Seychelles Plateau have long been recognised to overlie continental crust, isolated from Madagascar and India during the formation of the Indian Ocean. However, to date the extent of continental crust beneath the Seychelles region remains unknown. This is particularly true beneath the Mascarene Basin between the Seychelles Plateau and Madagascar and beneath the Amirante Arc. Constraining the size and shape of the Seychelles continental fragment is needed for accurate plate reconstructions of the breakup of Gondwana and has implications for the processes of continental breakup in general. Here we present new estimates of crustal thickness and VP/VS from H-κ stacking of receiver functions from a year long deployment of seismic stations across the Seychelles covering the topographic plateau, the Amirante Ridge and the northern Mascarene Basin. These results, combined with gravity modelling of historical ship track data, confirm that continental crust is present beneath the Seychelles Plateau. This is ˜30-33 km thick, but with a relatively high velocity lower crustal layer. This layer thins southwards from ˜10 km to ˜1 km over a distance of ˜50 km, which is consistent with the Seychelles being at the edge of the Deccan plume prior to its separation from India. In contrast, the majority of the Seychelles Islands away from the topographic plateau show no direct evidence for continental crust. The exception to this is the island of Desroche on the northern Amirante Ridge, where thicker low density crust, consistent with a block of continental material is present. We suggest that the northern Amirantes are likely continental in nature and that small fragments of continental material are a common feature of plume affected continental breakup.

A mechanistic model of an upper bound on oceanic carbon export as a function of mixed layer depth and temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Li

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Export production reflects the amount of organic matter transferred from the ocean surface to depth through biological processes. This export is in large part controlled by nutrient and light availability, which are conditioned by mixed layer depth (MLD. In this study, building on Sverdrup's critical depth hypothesis, we derive a mechanistic model of an upper bound on carbon export based on the metabolic balance between photosynthesis and respiration as a function of MLD and temperature. We find that the upper bound is a positively skewed bell-shaped function of MLD. Specifically, the upper bound increases with deepening mixed layers down to a critical depth, beyond which a long tail of decreasing carbon export is associated with increasing heterotrophic activity and decreasing light availability. We also show that in cold regions the upper bound on carbon export decreases with increasing temperature when mixed layers are deep, but increases with temperature when mixed layers are shallow. A meta-analysis shows that our model envelopes field estimates of carbon export from the mixed layer. When compared to satellite export production estimates, our model indicates that export production in some regions of the Southern Ocean, particularly the subantarctic zone, is likely limited by light for a significant portion of the growing season.

Surface wave effect on the upper ocean in marine forecast

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-04-01

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

Observing the seasonal cycle of the upper ocean in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, with autonomous profiling floats

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, D. F.; Springer, S. R.; Padman, L.; Fricker, H. A.; Bell, R. E.

2017-12-01

The upper layers of the Southern Ocean where it meets the Antarctic ice sheet undergoes a large seasonal cycle controlled by surface radiation and by freshwater fluxes, both of which are strongly influenced by sea ice. In regions where seasonal sea ice and icebergs limit use of ice-tethered profilers and conventional moorings, autonomous profiling floats can sample the upper ocean. The deployment of seven Apex floats (by sea) and six ALAMO floats (by air) provides unique upper ocean hydrographic data in the Ross Sea close to the Ross Ice Shelf front. A novel choice of mission parameters - setting parking depth deeper than the seabed - limits their drift, allowing us to deploy the floats close to the ice shelf front, while sea ice avoidance algorithms allow the floats to to sample through winter under sea ice. Hydrographic profiles show the detailed development of the seasonal mixed layer close to the Ross front, and interannual variability of the seasonal mixed layer and deeper water masses on the central Ross Sea continental shelf. After the sea ice breakup in spring, a warm and fresh surface mixed layer develops, further warming and deepening throughout the summer. The mixed layer deepens, with maximum temperatures exceeding 0ºC in mid-February. By March, the surface energy budget becomes negative and sea ice begins to form, creating a cold, saline and dense surface layer. Once these processes overcome the stable summer stratification, convection erodes the surface mixed layer, mixing some heat downwards to deeper layers. There is considerable interannual variability in the evolution and strength of the surface mixed layer: summers with shorter ice-free periods result in a cooler and shallower surface mixed layer, which accumulates less heat than the summers with longer ice-free periods. Early ice breakup occurred in all floats in 2016/17 summer, enhancing the absorbed solar flux leading to a warmer surface mixed layer. Together, these unique measurements from

Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qiang; Zhao, Junmeng; Yuan, Xiaohui; Liu, Hongbing; Pei, Shunping

2017-10-01

We analyze the teleseismic waveform data recorded by 42 temporary stations from the Y2 and ANTILOPE-1 arrays using the P and S receiver function techniques to investigate the lithospheric structure beneath western Tibet. The Moho is reliably identified as a prominent feature at depths of 55-82 km in the stacked traces and in depth migrated images. It has a concave shape and reaches the deepest location at about 80 km north of the Indus-Yarlung suture (IYS). An intracrustal discontinuity is observed at 55 km depth below the southern Lhasa terrane, which could represent the upper border of the eclogitized underthrusting Indian lower crust. Underthrusting of the Indian crust has been widely observed beneath the Lhasa terrane and correlates well with the Bouguer gravity low, suggesting that the gravity anomalies in the Lhasa terrane are induced by topography of the Moho. At 20 km depth, a midcrustal low-velocity zone (LVZ) is observed beneath the Tethyan Himalaya and southern Lhasa terrane, suggesting a layer of partial melts that decouples the thrust/fold deformation of the upper crust from the shortening and underthrusting in the lower crust. The Sp conversions at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) can be recognized at depths of 130-200 km, showing that the Indian lithospheric mantle is underthrusting with a ramp-flat shape beneath southern Tibet and probably is detached from the lower crust immediately under the IYS. Our observations reconstruct the configuration of the underthrusting Indian lithosphere and indicate significant along strike variations.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Joel R.

2005-01-01

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

The northern Lesser Antilles oblique subduction zone: new insight about the upper plate deformation, 3D slab geometry and interplate coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcaillou, B.; Laurencin, M.; Graindorge, D.; Klingelhoefer, F.

2017-12-01

In subduction zones, the 3D geometry of the plate interface is thought to be a key parameter for the control of margin tectonic deformation, interplate coupling and seismogenic behavior. In the northern Caribbean subduction, precisely between the Virgin Islands and northern Lesser Antilles, these subjects remain controversial or unresolved. During the ANTITHESIS cruises (2013-2016), we recorded wide-angle seismic, multichannel reflection seismic and bathymetric data along this zone in order to constrain the nature and the geometry of the subducting and upper plate. This experiment results in the following conclusions: 1) The Anegada Passage is a 450-km long structure accross the forearc related to the extension due to the collision with the Bahamas platform. 2) More recently, the tectonic partitioning due to the plate convergence obliquity re-activated the Anegada Passage in the left-lateral strike-slip system. The partitioning also generated the left-lateral strike-slip Bunce Fault, separating the accretionary prism from the forearc. 3) Offshore of the Virgin Islands margin, the subducting plate shows normal faults parallel to the ancient spreading center that correspond to the primary fabric of the oceanic crust. In contrast, offshore of Barbuda Island, the oceanic crust fabric is unresolved (fracture zone?, exhumed mantle? ). 4) In the direction of the plate convergence vector, the slab deepening angle decreases northward. It results in a shallower slab beneath the Virgin Islands Platform compared to the St Martin-Barbuda forearc. In the past, the collision of the Bahamas platform likely changed the geodynamic settings of the northeastern corner of the Caribbean subduction zone and we present a revised geodynamic history of the region. Currently, various features are likely to control the 3D geometry of the slab: the margin convexity, the convergence obliquity, the heterogeneity of the primary fabric of the oceanic crust and the Bahamas docking. We suggest that

New seismic observation on the lithosphere and slab subduction beneath the Indo-Myanmar block: Implications for continent oblique subduction and transition to oceanic slab subduction

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, M.; He, Y.; Zheng, T.; Mon, C. T.; Thant, M.; Hou, G.; Ai, Y.; Chen, Q. F.; Sein, K.

2017-12-01

The Indo-Myanmar block locates to the southern and southeastern of the Eastern Himalayan Syntax (EHS) and marks a torsional boundary of the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. There are two fundamental questions concerned on the tectonics of Indo-Myanmar block since the Cenozoic time. One is whether and how the oblique subduction is active in the deep; the other is where and how the transition from oceanic subduction and continental subduction operates. However, the two problems are still under heated debate mainly because the image of deep structure beneath this region is still blurring. Since June, 2016, we have executed the China-Myanmar Geophysical Survey in the Myanmar Orogen (CMGSMO) and deployed the first portable seismic array in Myanmar in cooperation with Myanmar Geosciences Society (MGS). This array contains 70 stations with a dense-deployed main profile across the Indo-Myanmar Range, Central Basin and Shan State Plateau along latitude of 22° and a 2-D network covering the Indo-Myanmar Range and the western part of the Central Basin. Based on the seismic data collected by the new array, we conducted the studies on the lithospheric structure using the routine surface wave tomography and receiver function CCP stacking. The preliminary results of surface wave tomography displayed a remarkable high seismic velocity fabric in the uppermost of mantle beneath the Indo-Myanmar Range and Central Basin, which was interpreted as the subducted slab eastward. Particularly, we found a low velocity bulk within the high-velocity slab, which was likely to be a slab window due to the slab tearing. The preliminary results of receiver function CCP stacking showed the obvious variations of the lithospheric structures from the Indo-Myanmar Range to the Central Basin and Shan State Plateau. The lithospheric structure beneath the Indo-Myanmar Range is more complex than that beneath the Central Basin and Shan State Plateau. Our resultant high-resolution images

Driving Forces of Plate Tectonics and Evolution of the Oceanic Lithosphere and Asthenosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Forsyth, D. W.

2017-12-01

As plate tectonics became established as an excellent kinematic description of the relative motions of different blocks of the Earth's lithosphere, many investigators also began exploring the forces involved in driving the plate motions. Because the plates move at nearly constant velocities over long periods of time and inertial terms are unimportant, driving forces must always be balanced by resisting forces in a way that regulates the velocities. Forsyth and Uyeda (1975) incorporated the balancing of torques on the individual plates to help constrain the relative importance of the driving and resisting forces, as parameterized in a way based on prior model investigations of individual parts of the convecting system. We found that the primary driving force was sinking of subducting lithosphere at trenches, balanced largely by viscous resisting forces in the sub-asthenospheric mantle; that viscous drag beneath the oceanic plates was negligible; and that mid-ocean ridges provided a relatively small push. One of the early questions was whether there was buoyant upwelling on a large scale beneath mid-ocean ridges as part of a whole mantle convection system with subduction of the plates representing the downwelling limb. If so, then it would be likely that the plates were just riding on top of large convection cells. Seismic tomography has demonstrated that, on average, there are no deep roots beneath mid-ocean ridges, so that active, buoyant upwelling from the deep mantle does not exist beneath spreading centers. However, more recent tomographic studies have found asymmetry of the shear velocity structure beneath ridges in some areas, pointing to a smaller scale of active convection in the shallow mantle perhaps induced by melt retention buoyancy or the local effects of ridge/hotspot interaction.

Age and microfacies of oceanic Upper Triassic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange in the Zlatibor Mountains (Inner Dinarides, Serbia and their provenance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gawlick Hans-Jürgen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Oceanic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange between Trnava and Rožanstvo in the Zlatibor Mountains (Dinaridic Ophiolite Belt west of the Drina–Ivanjica unit yield Late Triassic radiolarian ages. The microfacies characteristics of the radiolarites show pure ribbon radiolarites without crinoids or thin-shelled bivalves. Beside their age and the preservation of the radiolarians this points to a deposition of the radiolarites on top of the oceanic crust of the Neo-Tethys, which started to open in the Late Anisian. South of the study area the ophiolitic mélange (Gostilje–Ljubiš–Visoka–Radoševo mélange contains a mixture of blocks of 1 oceanic crust, 2 Middle and Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites, and 3 open marine limestones from the continental slope. On the basis of this composition we can conclude that the Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts derive either from 1 the younger parts of the sedimentary succession above the oceanic crust near the continental slope or, more convincingly 2 the sedimentary cover of ophiolites in a higher nappe position, because Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites are only expected in more distal oceanic areas. The ophiolitic mélange in the study area overlies different carbonate blocks of an underlying carbonate-clastic mélange (Sirogojno mélange. We date and describe three localities with different Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts in a mélange, which occurs A on top of Upper Triassic fore-reef to reefal limestones (Dachstein reef, B between an Upper Triassic reefal limestone block and a Lower Carnian reef limestone (Wetterstein reef, and C in fissures of an Upper Triassic lagoonal to back-reef limestone (Dachstein lagoon. The sedimentary features point to a sedimentary and not to a tectonic emplacement of the ophiolitic mélange (= sedimentary mélange filling the rough topography of the topmost carbonate-clastic mélange below. The block spectrum of the underlying and

Age and microfacies of oceanic Upper Triassic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange in the Zlatibor Mountains (Inner Dinarides, Serbia) and their provenance

Science.gov (United States)

Gawlick, Hans-Jürgen; Djerić, Nevenka; Missoni, Sigrid; Bragin, Nikita Yu.; Lein, Richard; Sudar, Milan; Jovanović, Divna

2017-08-01

Oceanic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange between Trnava and Rožanstvo in the Zlatibor Mountains (Dinaridic Ophiolite Belt) west of the Drina-Ivanjica unit yield Late Triassic radiolarian ages. The microfacies characteristics of the radiolarites show pure ribbon radiolarites without crinoids or thin-shelled bivalves. Beside their age and the preservation of the radiolarians this points to a deposition of the radiolarites on top of the oceanic crust of the Neo-Tethys, which started to open in the Late Anisian. South of the study area the ophiolitic mélange (Gostilje-Ljubiš-Visoka-Radoševo mélange) contains a mixture of blocks of 1) oceanic crust, 2) Middle and Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites, and 3) open marine limestones from the continental slope. On the basis of this composition we can conclude that the Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts derive either from 1) the younger parts of the sedimentary succession above the oceanic crust near the continental slope or, more convincingly 2) the sedimentary cover of ophiolites in a higher nappe position, because Upper Triassic ribbon radiolarites are only expected in more distal oceanic areas. The ophiolitic mélange in the study area overlies different carbonate blocks of an underlying carbonate-clastic mélange (Sirogojno mélange). We date and describe three localities with different Upper Triassic radiolarite clasts in a mélange, which occurs A) on top of Upper Triassic fore-reef to reefal limestones (Dachstein reef), B) between an Upper Triassic reefal limestone block and a Lower Carnian reef limestone (Wetterstein reef), and C) in fissures of an Upper Triassic lagoonal to back-reef limestone (Dachstein lagoon). The sedimentary features point to a sedimentary and not to a tectonic emplacement of the ophiolitic mélange (= sedimentary mélange) filling the rough topography of the topmost carbonate-clastic mélange below. The block spectrum of the underlying and slightly older

Structure of the Crust beneath Cameroon, West Africa, from the Joint Inversion of Rayleigh Wave Group Velocities and Receiver Functions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tokam, A K; Tabod, C T; Nyblade, A A; Julia, J; Wiens, D A; Pasyanos, M E

2010-02-18

The Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) is a major geologic feature that cuts across Cameroon from the south west to the north east. It is a unique volcanic lineament which has both an oceanic and a continental sector and consists of a chain of Tertiary to Recent, generally alkaline volcanoes stretching from the Atlantic island of Pagalu to the interior of the African continent. The oceanic sector includes the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Po) and Sao Tome and Principe while the continental sector includes the Etinde, Cameroon, Manengouba, Bamboutos, Oku and Mandara mountains, as well as the Adamawa and Biu Plateaus. In addition to the CVL, three other major tectonic features characterize the region: the Benue Trough located northwest of the CVL, the Central African Shear Zone (CASZ), trending N70 degrees E, roughly parallel to the CVL, and the Congo Craton in southern Cameroon. The origin of the CVL is still the subject of considerable debate, with both plume and non-plume models invoked by many authors (e.g., Deruelle et al., 2007; Ngako et al, 2006; Ritsema and Allen, 2003; Burke, 2001; Ebinger and Sleep, 1998; Lee et al, 1994; Dorbath et al., 1986; Fairhead and Binks, 1991; King and Ritsema, 2000; Reusch et al., 2010). Crustal structure beneath Cameroon has been investigated previously using active (Stuart et al, 1985) and passive (Dorbath et al., 1986; Tabod, 1991; Tabod et al, 1992; Plomerova et al, 1993) source seismic data, revealing a crust about 33 km thick at the south-western end of the continental portion of the CVL (Tabod, 1991) and the Adamawa Plateau, and thinner crust (23 km thick) beneath the Garoua Rift in the north (Stuart et al, 1985) (Figure 1). Estimates of crustal thickness obtained using gravity data show similar variations between the Garoua rift, Adamawa Plateau, and southern part of the CVL (Poudjom et al., 1995; Nnange et al., 2000). In this study, we investigate further crustal structure beneath the CVL and the adjacent regions in

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-12-01

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

Deformation in D″ Beneath North America From Anisotropy

Science.gov (United States)

Nowacki, A. J.; Wookey, J.; Kendall, J. M.

2009-12-01

The lowermost few hundred kilometres of the Earth's mantle—known as D″—form the boundary between it and the core below, control the Earth's convective system, and are the site of probable large thermochemical heterogeneity. Seismic observations of D″ show a strong heterogeneity in seismic wave velocity and significant seismic anisotropy (the variation of wave speed with direction) are present in many parts of the region. On the basis of continuous regions of fast shear velocity (VS) anomalies in global models, it is also proposed as the resting place of subducted slabs, notably the Farallon beneath North America. A phase change of MgSiO3-perovskite (pv) to a post-perovskite (ppv) structure at near-core-mantle boundary (CMB) conditions is a compelling mechanism to explain the seismic features of D″. An outstanding question is how this and other mineral phases may deform to produce anisotropy, with different mechanisms possible. With knowledge either of mantle flow or which slip system is responsible for causing deformation, we can potentially determine the other with observations of the resulting seismic anisotropy. We investigate the dynamics at the CMB beneath North America using differential shear wave splitting in S and ScS phases from earthquakes of magnitude MW>5.5 in South and Central America, Hawaii the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise. They are detected on ~500 stations in North America, giving ~700 measurements of anisotropy in D″. We achieve this by correcting for anisotropy in the upper mantle (UM) beneath both the source and receiver. The measurements cover three regions beneath western USA, the Yucatan peninsula and Florida. In each case, two different, crossing ray paths are used, so that the style of anisotropy can be constrained—a single azimuth cannot distinguish differing cases. Our results showing ~1% anisotropy dependent on azimuth are not consistent with transverse isotropy with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI) anywhere. The

Upper ocean physical processes in the Tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, L.V.G.; Ram, P.S.

This monograph is the outcome of an attempt by the authors to present a synthesis of the studies on physical processes in the Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) in relation to air-sea interaction, monsoon/climate variability and biological productivity...

Community respiration/production and bacterial activity in the upper water column of the central Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Sherr, Barry F.; Sherr, Evelyn B.

2003-04-01

Community metabolism (respiration and production) and bacterial activity were assessed in the upper water column of the central Arctic Ocean during the SHEBA/JOIS ice camp experiment, October 1997-September 1998. In the upper 50 m, decrease in integrated dissolved oxygen (DO) stocks over a period of 124 d in mid-winter suggested a respiration rate of ˜3.3 nM O 2 h -1 and a carbon demand of ˜4.5 gC m -2. Increase in 0-50 m integrated stocks of DO during summer implied a net community production of ˜20 gC m -2. Community respiration rates were directly measured via rate of decrease in DO in whole seawater during 72-h dark incubation experiments. Incubation-based respiration rates were on average 3-fold lower during winter (11.0±10.6 nM O 2 h -1) compared to summer (35.3±24.8 nM O 2 h -1). Bacterial heterotrophic activity responded strongly, without noticeable lag, to phytoplankton growth. Rate of leucine incorporation by bacteria (a proxy for protein synthesis and cell growth) increased ˜10-fold, and the cell-specific rate of leucine incorporation ˜5-fold, from winter to summer. Rates of production of bacterial biomass in the upper 50 m were, however, low compared to other oceanic regions, averaging 0.52±0.47 ngC l -1 h -1 during winter and 5.1±3.1 ngC l -1 h -1 during summer. Total carbon demand based on respiration experiments averaged 2.4±2.3 mgC m -3 d -1 in winter and 7.8±5.5 mgC m -3 d -1 in summer. Estimated bacterial carbon demand based on bacterial productivity and an assumed 10% gross growth efficiency was much lower, averaging about 0.12±0.12 mgC m -3 d -1 in winter and 1.3±0.7 mgC m -3 d -1 in summer. Our estimates of bacterial activity during summer were an order of magnitude less than rates reported from a summer 1994 study in the central Arctic Ocean, implying significant inter-annual variability of microbial processes in this region.

3-D crustal structure beneath the southern Korean Peninsula from local earthquakes

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Kim, K. H.; Park, J. H.; Park, Y.; Hao, T.; Kang, S. Y.; Kim, H. J.

2017-12-01

Located at the eastern margin of the Eurasian continent, the geology and tectonic evolution of the Korean Peninsula are closely related to the rest of the Asian continent. Although the widespread deformation of eastern Asia and its relation to the geology and tectonics of the Korean Peninsula have been extensively studied, the answers to many fundamental questions about the peninsula's history remain inconclusive. The three-dimensional subsurface structure beneath the southern Korean Peninsula is poorly known, even though such information could be key in verifying or rejecting several competing models of the tectonic evolution of East Asia. We constructed a three-dimensional velocity model of the upper crust beneath the southern Korean Peninsula using 19,935 P-wave arrivals from 747 earthquakes recorded by high-density local seismic networks maintained by Korea Meteorological Administration and Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources. Results show significant lateral and vertical variations: velocity increases from northwest to southeast at shallow depths, and significant velocity variations are observed across the South Korea Tectonic Line between the Okcheon Fold Belt and the Youngnam Massif. Collision between the North China and South China blocks during the Early Cretaceous might have caused extensive deformation and the observed negative velocity anomalies in the region. The results of the tomographic inversion, combined with the findings of previous studies of Bouguer and isostatic gravity anomalies, indicate the presence of high-density material in the upper and middle crust beneath the Gyeongsang Basin in the southeastern Korean Peninsula. Although our results partially support the indentation tectonic model, it is still premature to discard other tectonic evolution models because our study only covers the southern half of the peninsula.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-04-01

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

Ejecta from Ocean Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Kyte, Frank T.

2003-01-01

Numerical simulations of deep-ocean impact provide some limits on the size of a projectile that will not mix with the ocean floor during a deep-ocean impact. For a vertical impact at asteroidal velocities (approx. 20 km/s), mixing is only likely when the projectile diameter is greater than 112 of the water depth. For oblique impacts, even larger projectiles will not mix with ocean floor silicates. Given the typical water depths of 4 to 5 km in deep-ocean basins, asteroidal projectiles with diameters as large as 2 or 3 km may commonly produce silicate ejecta that is composed only of meteoritic materials and seawater salts. However, the compressed water column beneath the projectile can still disrupt and shock metamorphose the ocean floor. Therefore, production of a separate, terrestrial ejecta component is not ruled out in the most extreme case. With increasing projectile size (or energy) relative to water depths, there must be a gradation between oceanic impacts and more conventional continental impacts. Given that 60% of the Earth's surface is covered by oceanic lithosphere and 500 m projectiles impact the Earth on 10(exp 5) y timescales, there must be hundreds of oceanic impact deposits in the sediment record awaiting discovery.

Stress Drops for Oceanic Crust and Mantle Intraplate Earthquakes in the Subduction Zone of Northeastern Japan Inferred from the Spectral Inversion Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Si, H.; Ishikawa, K.; Arai, T.; Ibrahim, R.

2017-12-01

Understanding stress drop related to intraplate earthquakes in the subducting plate is very important for seismic hazard mitigation. In previous studies, Kita et al. (2015) analyzed stress drops for intraplate earthquakes under Hokkaido, Northern Japan, using S-coda wave spectral ratio analysis methods, and found that the stress drop for events occurring more than 10 km beneath the upper surface of the subducting plate (within the oceanic mantle) was larger than the stress drop for events occurring within 10 km of the upper surface of the subducting plate (in the oceanic crust). In this study, we focus on intraplate earthquakes that occur under Tohoku, Northeastern Japan, to determine whether similar stress drop differences may exist between earthquakes occurring within the upper 10 km of the subducting plate (within the oceanic crust) and those occurring deeper than 10 km (within the oceanic mantle), based on spectral inversion analysis of seismic waveforms recorded during the earthquakes. We selected 64 earthquakes with focal depths between 49-76 km and Mw 3.5-5.0 that occurred in the source area of the 2003 Miyagi-ken-oki earthquake (Mw 7.0) (region 1), and 82 earthquakes with focal depths between 49-67 km and Mw 3.5-5.5 in the source area of the 2011 Miyagi- ken-oki earthquake (Mw 7.1) (region 2). Records from the target earthquakes at 24 stations in region 1 and 21 stations in region 2 were used in the analysis. A 5-sec time window following S-wave onset was used for each station record. Borehole records of KiK-net station (MYGH04) was used as a reference station for both regions 1 and 2. We applied the spectral inversion analysis method of Matsunami et al. (2003) separately to regions 1 and 2. Our results show that stress drop generally increases with focal depth and that the stress drop for events occurring deeper than 10 km in the plate (within the oceanic mantle) were larger than the stress drop for events occurring within 10 km of the upper surface of the

Inferring global upper-mantle shear attenuation structure by waveform tomography using the spectral element method

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Karaoǧlu, Haydar; Romanowicz, Barbara

2018-06-01

We present a global upper-mantle shear wave attenuation model that is built through a hybrid full-waveform inversion algorithm applied to long-period waveforms, using the spectral element method for wavefield computations. Our inversion strategy is based on an iterative approach that involves the inversion for successive updates in the attenuation parameter (δ Q^{-1}_μ) and elastic parameters (isotropic velocity VS, and radial anisotropy parameter ξ) through a Gauss-Newton-type optimization scheme that employs envelope- and waveform-type misfit functionals for the two steps, respectively. We also include source and receiver terms in the inversion steps for attenuation structure. We conducted a total of eight iterations (six for attenuation and two for elastic structure), and one inversion for updates to source parameters. The starting model included the elastic part of the relatively high-resolution 3-D whole mantle seismic velocity model, SEMUCB-WM1, which served to account for elastic focusing effects. The data set is a subset of the three-component surface waveform data set, filtered between 400 and 60 s, that contributed to the construction of the whole-mantle tomographic model SEMUCB-WM1. We applied strict selection criteria to this data set for the attenuation iteration steps, and investigated the effect of attenuation crustal structure on the retrieved mantle attenuation structure. While a constant 1-D Qμ model with a constant value of 165 throughout the upper mantle was used as starting model for attenuation inversion, we were able to recover, in depth extent and strength, the high-attenuation zone present in the depth range 80-200 km. The final 3-D model, SEMUCB-UMQ, shows strong correlation with tectonic features down to 200-250 km depth, with low attenuation beneath the cratons, stable parts of continents and regions of old oceanic crust, and high attenuation along mid-ocean ridges and backarcs. Below 250 km, we observe strong attenuation in the

Trust but Verify: a spot check for the new stratified model of upper mantle anisotropy beneath North America

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, V. L.; Yuan, H.

2011-12-01

A newly developed 3D model of shear wave velocity and anisotropy beneath the North American continent (Yuan et al, 2011) offers a Solomonic solution to the long-standing dispute regarding the provenance of seismic anisotropy, with directional dependency of wave speed placed into both the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. However, due to its continent-wide coverage, the new model has lateral resolution on the scale of 500 km and is expected to average, and thus misrepresent, structure in regions with abrupt lateral changes in properties. The north-eastern US, especially along the coast, presents an example of such complex region. One of the earliest cases for stratified anisotropy was built on data from this part of North America (Levin et al., 1999), and also this is a region with significant, and enigmatic, lateral changes in isotropic velocity (van der Lee and Nolet, 1997; Nettles and Dziewonski, 2008). A decade since the initial studies of the region were performed, we have vastly more data that facilitate a new look at the seismic anisotropy parameters of the upper mantle beneath this region. We use shear wave splitting observations and anisotropy-aware receiver functions to develop high-quality constraints on the vertical and lateral variation in attributes of anisotropy, which we then compare (and contrast) with structure predicted for this region by the Yuan et al. (2011) model. Our goals are both to test the new model in one place, and to develop a strategy for such testing. Our primary data set comes from one of the longest-operating broad-band stations, HRV (Harvard, MA). Here, P wave receiver functions (PRFs) confirm the presence of features previously associated with the LAB and a mid-lithosphere discontinuity by Rychert et al. (2007). Notably, both features have very significant anisotropic components, with likely orientation of anisotropic symmetry axes being ~130SE or ~220SW. Similar symmetry is seen in PRFs constructed for other nearby sites

Ocean acidification in a geoengineering context

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Phillip; Turley, Carol

2012-01-01

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

Seasonal variations in the aragonite saturation state in the upper open-ocean waters of the North Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Tae-Wook; Park, Geun-Ha; Kim, Dongseon; Lee, Kitack; Feely, Richard A.; Millero, Frank J.

2015-06-01

Seasonal variability of the aragonite saturation state (ΩAR) in the upper (50 m and 100 m depths) North Pacific Ocean (NPO) was investigated using multiple linear regression (MLR). The MLR algorithm derived from a high-quality carbon data set accurately predicted the ΩAR of evaluation data sets (three time series stations and P02 section) with acceptable uncertainty (<0.1 ΩAR). The algorithm was combined with seasonal climatology data, and the estimated ΩAR varied in the range of 0.4-0.6 in the midlatitude western NPO, with the largest variation found for the tropical eastern NPO. These marked variations were largely controlled by seasonal changes in vertical mixing and thermocline depth, both of which determine the degree of entrainment of CO2-rich corrosive waters from deeper depths. Our MLR-based subsurface ΩAR climatology is complementary to surface climatology based on pCO2 measurements.

Late Archean Surface Ocean Oxygenation (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, B.; Reinhard, C.; Lyons, T. W.; Kaufman, A. J.; Anbar, A. D.

2009-12-01

Oxygenic photosynthesis must have evolved by 2.45-2.32 Ga, when atmospheric oxygen abundances first rose above 0.001% present atmospheric level (Great Oxidation Event; GOE). Biomarker evidence for a time lag between the evolution of cyanobacterial oxygenic photosynthesis and the GOE continues to be debated. Geochemical signatures from sedimentary rocks (redox-sensitive trace metal abundances, sedimentary Fe geochemistry, and S isotopes) represent an alternative tool for tracing the history of Earth surface oxygenation. Integrated high-resolution chemostratigraphic profiles through the 2.5 Ga Mt. McRae Shale (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) suggest a ‘whiff’ of oxygen in the surface environment at least 50 M.y. prior to the GOE. However, the geochemical data from the Mt. McRae Shale does not uniquely constrain the presence or extent of Late Archean ocean oxygenation. Here, we present high-resolution chemostratigraphic profiles from 2.6-2.5 Ga black shales (upper Campbellrand Subgroup, Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa) that provide the earliest direct evidence for an oxygenated ocean water column. On the slope beneath the Campbellrand - Malmani carbonate platform (Nauga Formation), a mildly oxygenated water column (highly reactive iron to total iron ratios [FeHR/FeT] ≤ 0.4) was underlain by oxidizing sediments (low Re and Mo abundances) or mildly reducing sediments (high Re but low Mo abundances). After drowning of the carbonate platform (Klein Naute Formation), the local bottom waters became anoxic (FeHR/FeT > 0.4) and intermittently sulphidic (pyrite iron to highly reactive iron ratios [FePY/FeHR] > 0.8), conducive to enrichment of both Re and Mo in sediments, followed by anoxic and Fe2+-rich (ferruginous) conditions (high FeT, FePY/FeHR near 0). Widespread surface ocean oxygenation is suggested by Re enrichment in the broadly correlative Klein Naute Formation and Mt. McRae Shale, deposited ~1000 km apart in the Griqualand West and Hamersley basins

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-01-01

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

Depth variations of the 410 and 520 km-discontinuities beneath Asia and the Pacific from PP precursors

Science.gov (United States)

Schäfer, J.; Wölbern, I.; Rümpker, G.

2009-06-01

We investigate depth variations of the 410 and 520 km-discontinuities beneath Asia and the Pacific which serve as examples for a continental and an oceanic region, respectively. The depths are derived from travel-time differences between the PP-phase and its precursors that are reflected at the discontinuities. After accounting for differences in average crustal thickness, we find that the depth of the ‘410’ is rather uniform but larger than expected beneath both regions with a value of approximately 418 km. Signals from the ‘520’ are slightly less pronounced. However, while the average depth of the ‘520’ beneath Asia is about 519 km, we obtain a value of about 531.5 km for the Pacific. Here, the depression of the discontinuities can be explained in view of thermal anomalies in relation to mantle plumes. For Asia, however, the observations seem to require a more complex pattern of thermal anomalies possibly complemented by variations in chemical composition.

Thermal Coupling Between the Ocean and Mantle of Europa: Implications for Ocean Convection

Science.gov (United States)

Soderlund, Krista M.; Schmidt, Britney E.; Wicht, Johannes; Blankenship, Donald D.

2015-11-01

Magnetic induction signatures at Europa indicate the presence of a subsurface ocean beneath the cold icy crust. The underlying mantle is heated by radioactive decay and tidal dissipation, leading to a thermal contrast sufficient to drive convection and active dynamics within the ocean. Radiogenic heat sources may be distributed uniformly in the interior, while tidal heating varies spatially with a pattern that depends on whether eccentricity or obliquity tides are dominant. The distribution of mantle heat flow along the seafloor may therefore be heterogeneous and impact the regional vigor of ocean convection. Here, we use numerical simulations of thermal convection in a global, Europa-like ocean to test the sensitivity of ocean dynamics to variations in mantle heat flow patterns. Towards this end, three end-member cases are considered: an isothermal seafloor associated with dominant radiogenic heating, enhanced seafloor temperatures at high latitudes associated with eccentricity tides, and enhanced equatorial seafloor temperatures associated with obliquity tides. Our analyses will focus on convective heat transfer since the heat flux pattern along the ice-ocean interface can directly impact the ice shell and the potential for geologic activity within it.

Geophysical Investigation of Upper Mantle Anomalies of the Australian-Antarctic Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Park, S. H.; Choi, H.; Kim, S. S.; Lin, J.

2017-12-01

upper mantle beneath the AAR may thus be manifested as shallow axial depths and prominent negative gravity anomalies. Here we present exploratory geophysical data analyses of the AAR to estimate the spatial variation of the Southern Ocean mantle.

Global variations in gravity-derived oceanic crustal thickness: Implications on oceanic crustal accretion and hotspot-lithosphere interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, J.; Zhu, J.

2012-12-01

the relatively wide partial melting zones in the upper mantle beneath the fast and intermediately fast ridges might act as "buffer" zones, thus diluting the melt anomalies from the underlying hotspots or regions of mantle heterogeneities. (3) As the crustal age increases and the lithospheric plate thickens, regions of thickened crust start to develop on ocean basins that were originally created at fast and intermediately fast ridges. The integrated crustal volume for fast and intermediately fast ocean crust appears to reach peak values for certain geological periods, such as 40-50 Ma and 70-80 Ma. The newly constructed global models of gravity-derived crustal thickness, combining with geochemical and other constraints, can be used to investigate the processes of oceanic crustal accretion and hotspot-lithosphere interactions.

Migrating Toward Fully 4-D Geodynamical Models of Asthenospheric Circulation and Melt Production at Mid-Ocean Ridges

Science.gov (United States)

van Dam, L.; Kincaid, C. R.; Pockalny, R. A.; Sylvia, R. T.; Hall, P. S.

2017-12-01

Lateral migration of mid-ocean ridge spreading centers is a well-documented phenomenon leading to asymmetric melt production and the surficial expressions thereof. This form of plate motion has been difficult to incorporate into both numerical and analogue geodynamical models, and consequently, current estimates of time-dependent flow, material transport, and melting in the mantle beneath ridges are lacking. To address this, we have designed and built an innovative research apparatus that allows for precise and repeatable simulations of mid-ocean ridge spreading and migration. Three pairs of counter-rotating belts with adjustable lateral orientations are scaled to simulate spreading at, and flow beneath, three 600km wide ridge segments with up to 300km transform offsets. This apparatus is attached to a drive system that allows us to test a full range of axis-parallel to axis-normal migration directions, and is suspended above a reservoir of viscous glucose syrup, a scaled analogue for the upper mantle, and neutrally buoyant tracers. We image plate-driven flow in the syrup with high-resolution digital cameras and use particle image velocimetry methods to obtain information about transport pathlines and flow-induced anisotropy. Suites of experiments are run with and without ridge migration to determine the overall significance of migration on spatial and temporal characteristics of shallow mantle flow. Our experiments cover an expansive parameter space by including various spreading rates, migration speeds and directions, degrees of spreading asymmetry, transform-offset lengths, and upper mantle viscosity conditions. Preliminary results highlight the importance of modeling migratory plate forces. Mantle material exhibits a significant degree of lateral transport, particularly between ridge segments and towards the melt triangle. Magma supply to the melting region is highly complex; parcels of material do not necessarily move along fixed streamlines, rather, they can

3D velocity structure of upper crust beneath NW Bohemia/Vogtland

Science.gov (United States)

Javad Fallahi, Mohammad; Mousavi, Sima; Korn, Michael; Sens-Schönfelder, Christoph; Bauer, Klaus; Rößler, Dirk

2013-04-01

The 3D structure of the upper crust beneath west Bohemia/Vogtland region, analyzed with travel time tomography and ambient noise surface wave tomography using existing data. This region is characterized by a series of phenomena like occurrence of repeated earthquake swarms, surface exhalation, CO2 enriched fluids, mofettes, mineral springs and enhanced heat flow, and has been proposed as an excellent location for an ICDP drilling project targeted to a better understanding of the crust in an active magmatic environment. We performed a 3D tomography using P-and S-wave travel times of local earthquakes and explosions. The data set were taken from permanent and temporary seismic networks in Germany and Czech Republic from 2000 to 2010, as well as active seismic experiments like Celebration 2000 and quarry blasts. After picking P and S wave arrival times, 399 events which were recorded by 9 or more stations and azimuthal gap<160° were selected for inversion. A simultaneous inversion of P and S wave 1D velocity models together with relocations of hypocenters and station corrections was performed. The obtained minimum 1D velocity model was used as starting model for the 3D Vp and Vp/Vs velocity models. P and S wave travel time tomography employs damped least-square method and ray tracing by pseudo-bending algorithm. For model parametrization different cell node spacings have been tested to evaluate the resolution in each node. Synthetic checkerboard tests have been done to check the structural resolution. Then Vp and Vp/Vs in the preferred 3D grid model have been determined. Earthquakes locations in iteration process change till the hypocenter adjustments and travel time residuals become smaller than the defined threshold criteria. Finally the analysis of the resolution depicts the well resolved features for interpretation. We observed lower Vp/Vs ratio in depth of 5-10 km close to the foci of earthquake swarms and higher Vp/Vs ratio is observed in Saxoturingian zone and

A high resolution 3D velocity model beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan area by MeSO-net

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, S.; Sakai, S.; Honda, R.; Kimura, H.; Hirata, N.

2015-12-01

Beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) subducts and causes devastating mega-thrust earthquakes, such as the 1703 Genroku earthquake (M8.0) and the 1923 Kanto earthquake (M7.9). An M7 or greater (M7+) earthquake in this area at present has high potential to produce devastating serious loss of life and property with even greater global economic repercussions. The Central Disaster Management Council of Japan estimates that an M7+ earthquake will cause 23,000 fatalities and 95 trillion yen (about 1 trillion US$) economic loss. We have launched the Special Project for Reducing Vulnerability for Urban Mega Earthquake Disasters in collaboration with scientists, engineers, and social-scientists in nationwide institutions since 2012. We analyze data from the dense seismic array called Metropolitan Seismic Observation network (MeSO-net), which has 296 seismic stations with spacing of 5 km (Sakai and Hirata, 2009; Kasahara et al., 2009). We applied the double-difference tomography method (Zhang and Thurber, 2003) and estimated the velocity structure and the upper boundary of PSP (Nakagawa et al., 2010). The 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (M9.0) has activated seismicity also in Kanto region, providing better coverage of ray paths for tomographic analysis. We obtain much higher resolution velocity models from whole dataset observed by MeSO-net between 2008 and 2015. A detailed image of tomograms shows that PSP contacts Pacific plate at a depth of 50 km beneath northern Tokyo bay. A variation of velocity along the oceanic crust suggests dehydration reaction to produce seismicity in a slab, which may related to the M7+ earthquake. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by the Special Project for Reducing Vulnerability for Urban Mega Earthquake Disasters of MEXT, Japan and the Earthquake Research Institute cooperative research program.

Structure of the oceanic lithosphere and upper mantle north of the Gloria Fault in the eastern mid-Atlantic by receiver function analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hannemann, Katrin; Krüger, Frank; Dahm, Torsten; Lange, Dietrich

2017-10-01

Receiver functions (RF) have been used for several decades to study structures beneath seismic stations. Although most available stations are deployed on shore, the number of ocean bottom station (OBS) experiments has increased in recent years. Almost all OBSs have to deal with higher noise levels and a limited deployment time (˜1 year), resulting in a small number of usable records of teleseismic earthquakes. Here we use OBSs deployed as midaperture array in the deep ocean (4.5-5.5 km water depth) of the eastern mid-Atlantic. We use evaluation criteria for OBS data and beamforming to enhance the quality of the RFs. Although some stations show reverberations caused by sedimentary cover, we are able to identify the Moho signal, indicating a normal thickness (5-8 km) of oceanic crust. Observations at single stations with thin sediments (300-400 m) indicate that a probable sharp lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) might exist at a depth of ˜70-80 km which is in line with LAB depth estimates for similar lithospheric ages in the Pacific. The mantle discontinuities at ˜410 km and ˜660 km are clearly identifiable. Their delay times are in agreement with PREM. Overall the usage of beam-formed earthquake recordings for OBS RF analysis is an excellent way to increase the signal quality and the number of usable events.

Subduction and volcanism in the Iberia-North Africa collision zone from tomographic images of the upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Villaseñor, Antonio; Chevrot, Sébastien; Harnafi, Mimoun; Gallart, Josep; Pazos, Antonio; Serrano, Inmaculada; Córdoba, Diego; Pulgar, Javier A.; Ibarra, Pedro

2015-11-01

New tomographic images of the upper mantle beneath the westernmost Mediterranean suggest that the evolution of the region experienced two subduction-related episodes. First subduction of oceanic and/or extended continental lithosphere, now located mainly beneath the Betics at depths greater than 400 km, took place on a NW-SE oriented subduction zone. This was followed by a slab-tear process that initiated in the east and propagated to the west, leading to westward slab rollback and possibly lower crustal delamination. The current position of the slab tear is located approximately at 4°W, and to the west of this location the subducted lithosphere is still attached to the surface along the Gibraltar Arc. Our new P-wave velocity model is able to image the attached subducted lithosphere as a narrow high-velocity body extending to shallow depths, coinciding with the region of maximum curvature of the Gibraltar Arc, the occurrence of intermediate-depth earthquakes, and anomalously thick crust. This thick crust has a large influence in the measured teleseismic travel time residuals and therefore in the obtained P-wave tomographic model. We show that removing the effects of the thick crust significantly improves the shallow images of the slab and therefore the interpretations based on the seismic structure.

New constraints on the crustal structure beneath northern Tyrrhenian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, V. L.; Park, J. J.

2009-12-01

We present new seismological data on the seismic structure beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea between Corsica and the coast of Italy. Teleseismic receiver functions from two Tyrrhenian islands (Elba and Gorgona) identify clear P-to-S mode-converted waves from two distinct interfaces, at ~20 and ~45 km depth. Both interfaces are characterized by an increase of seismic wavespeed with depth. Using a summation of direct and multiply-reflected body waves within the P wave coda we estimate the mean ratio of compressional and shear wave speeds above the 45 km interface to be 1.75-1.80. Using reflectivity computations in 1D layered models we develop a model of seismic wavespeed distribution that yields synthetic seismograms very similar to those observed. We apply a Ps-multiple summation procedure to the synthetic waveforms to further verify the match between observed and predicted wavefields. The lower layer of our model, between 20 and 45 km, has Vp ~ 7.5 km/sec, a value that can be ascribed to either very fast crustal rocks or very slow upper mantle rocks. The Vp/Vs ratio is ~1.8 in this intermediate layer. On the basis of a well-constrained downward increase in seismic wave speed beneath this second layer, we interpret it as the magmatically reworked lower crust, a lithology that has been proposed to explain high-Vp layers in the crustal roots of island-arc terranes and volcanically altered continental margins, as well as lower-crustal high-Vp features sometimes seen beneath continental rifts. The presence of a thick layer of high-Vp, but crustal, lithology beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea differs considerably from previous estimates that interpreted the interface at ~20 km as the Moho. Our new interpretation obviates a need for a crustal thickness change of over 20 km at the crest of the Apennines orogen. We propose an alteration in the properties of the lower crust instead. We argue that ongoing convergent subduction of the Adriatic lithospehre is not required beneath northern

Mantle transition zone structure beneath the Canadian Shield

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, D. A.; Helffrich, G. R.; Bastow, I. D.; Kendall, J. M.; Wookey, J.; Eaton, D. W.; Snyder, D. B.

2010-12-01

The Canadian Shield is underlain by one of the deepest and most laterally extensive continental roots on the planet. Seismological constraints on the mantle structure beneath the region are presently lacking due to the paucity of stations in this remote area. Presented here is a receiver function study on transition zone structure using data from recently deployed seismic networks from the Hudson Bay region. High resolution images based on high signal-to-noise ratio data show clear arrivals from the 410 km and 660 km discontinuities, revealing remarkably little variation in transition zone structure. Transition zone thickness is close to the global average (averaging 245 km across the study area), and any deviations in Pds arrival time from reference Earth models can be readily explained by upper-mantle velocity structure. The 520 km discontinuity is not a ubiquitous feature, and is only weakly observed in localised areas. These results imply that the Laurentian root is likely confined to the upper-mantle and if any mantle downwelling exists, possibly explaining the existence of Hudson Bay, it is also confined to the upper 400 km. Any thermal perturbations at transition zone depths associated with the existence of the root, whether they be cold downwellings or elevated temperatures due to the insulating effect of the root, are thus either non-existent or below the resolution of the study.

Crustal thickness and Vp/Vs beneath the southeastern United States: Constraints from receiver function stacking

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Q.; Gao, S. S.; Liu, K. H.

2017-12-01

To provide new constraints on crustal structure and evolution models beneath a collage of tectonic provinces in the southeastern United States, a total of 10,753 teleseismic receiver functions recorded by 125 USArray and other seismic stations are used to compute crustal thickness and Vp/Vs values. The resulting crustal thicknesses range from 25 km at the coast to 51 km beneath the peak of the southern Appalachians with an average of 36.2 km ± 5.5 km. The resulting crustal thicknesses correlate well with surface elevation and Bouguer gravity anomalies. Beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the crustal thicknesses show a clear eastward thinning with a magnitude of 10 km, from about 40 km beneath the western margin to 30 km beneath the coast. The Vp/Vs values for the entire study area range from 1.71 to 1.90 with a mean value of 1.80 ± 0.04. The mean Vp/Vs value is 1.82±0.035 in the southern Appalachian Mountain. The slightly larger than normal crustal Vp/Vs for this area might be the result of significant erosion of the felsic upper crust over the past 300 million years. Alternatively, it could also suggest the existence of pervasive magmatic intrusion into the Appalachian crust. The Vp/Vs measurements in the Atlantic Coastal Plain increase toward the east, ranging from 1.75 to 1.82, probably indicating a gradual increase of mafic magmatic intrusion into thinner crust during the development of the passive continental margin.

Observations of rapid changes in N:P ratio associated with non-Redfield nutrient utilization in mesoscale eddies in the upper ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, M.; Xu, Y.; Kao, S. J.; Huang, B.; Sun, J.; Sun, Z.

2016-02-01

The concept of Redfield Ratio,or the ocean's nutrient stoichiometry has been fundamental to understanding the ocean biogeochemistry, reflecting the balance of elements between the organisms and the chemical environment and thereby modulating to a large extent the metabolic status of an ecosystem as well as the ecosystem structure. Nutrient stoichiometry of the deep ocean as a consequence of the organic matter regeneration therein is very much homogeneous worldwide while at the upper ocean, changes in nutrient stoichiometryas being frequently observed are to be better understood in terms of their mechanism. Here we report direct observations of fast on a weekly time scale and large fluctuations of nitrate+nitrite (N+N) to soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) ratios in the ambient seawater in responding to development of meso-scale eddies in an oligotrophic sea, the South China Sea. At the spin up and/or matured stages of eddies, the N:P ratio fluctuated up to 44 in the upper 100 m water column. Along the decay of theeddy, N:P ratio declined back to 3- 20; similar to a "no eddy" condition of 4-22. Along with the fluctuations of N:P ratio was the diatom dominance with the eddy development, while the community structure of the region in typical or non-eddy conditions was predominated by the pico-/nano-plankton as revealed by both the taxa identification and biogenic silicate measurements. This fast growing diatom group apparently had lower nutrient utilization of nitrogenrelative to silicate and/or phosphorus, augmenting the ambient seawater N:P and N:Si. Such preferential P utilization therefore by the fast growing diatomsresulted in significant variations during the different stages of the eddy development.

Heterogeneous Structure and Seismicity beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, S.; Kato, A.; Sakai, S.; Nanjo, K.; Panayotopoulos, Y.; Kurashimo, E.; Obara, K.; Kasahara, K.; Aketagawa, T.; Kimura, H.; Hirata, N.

2010-12-01

Beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) subducts and causes damaged mega-thrust earthquakes. Sato et al. (2005) revealed the geometry of upper surface of PSP, and Hagiwara et al. (2006) estimated the velocity structure beneath Boso peninsula. However, these results are not sufficient for the assessment of the entire picture of the seismic hazards beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area including those due to an intra-slab M7+ earthquake. So, we launched the Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in the Tokyo Metropolitan area (Hirata et al., 2009). Proving the more detailed geometry and physical properties (e.g. velocities, densities, attenuation) and stress field within PSP is very important to attain this issue. The core item of this project is a dense seismic array called Metropolitan Seismic Observation network (MeSO-net) for making observations in the metropolitan area (Sakai and Hirata, 2009; Kasahara et al., 2009). We deployed the 249 seismic stations with a spacing of 5 km. Some parts of stations construct 5 linear arrays at interval of 2 km such as Tsukuba-Fujisawa (TF) array, etc. The TF array runs from northeast to southwest through the center of Tokyo. In this study, we applied the tomography method to image the heterogeneous structure under the Tokyo metropolitan area. We selected events from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) unified earthquake list. All data of MeSO-net were edited into event data by the selected JMA unified earthquake list. We picked the P and S wave arrival times. The total number of stations and events are 421 and 1,256, respectively. Then, we applied the double-difference tomography method (Zhang and Thurber, 2003) to this dataset and estimated the fine-scale velocity structure. The grid nodes locate 10 km interval in parallel with the array, 20 km interval in perpendicular to the array; and on depth direction, 5 km interval to a depth of less than 50 km and 10 km interval at a depth of more

Seismic properties of the upper mantle beneath Lanzarote (Canary Islands): Model predictions based on texture measurements by EBSD

Science.gov (United States)

Vonlanthen, Pierre; Kunze, Karsten; Burlini, Luigi; Grobety, Bernard

2006-12-01

We present a petrophysical analysis of upper mantle xenoliths, collected in the Quaternary alkali basalt fields (Series III and IV) from the island of Lanzarote. The samples consist of eight harzburgite and four dunite nodules, 5 to 15 cm in size, and exhibit a typical protogranular to porphyroclastic texture. An anomalous foliation resulting from strong recovery processes is observed in half of the specimens. The lattice preferred orientations (LPO) of olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene were measured using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). In most samples, olivine exhibits LPOs intermediate between the typical single crystal texture and the [100] fiber texture. Occasionally, the [010] fiber texture was also observed. Simultaneous occurrence of both types of fiber textures suggests the existence of more than one deformation regime, probably dominated by a simple shear component under low strain rate and moderate to high temperature. Orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene display a weaker but significant texture. The LPO data were used to calculate the seismic properties of the xenoliths at PT conditions obtained from geothermobarometry, and were compared to field geophysical data reported from the literature. The velocity of P-waves (7.9 km/s) obtained for a direction corresponding to the existing seismic transect is in good agreement with the most recent geophysical interpretation. Our results are consistent with a roughly W-E oriented fastest P-wave propagation direction in the uppermost mantle beneath the Canary Islands, and with the lithosphere structure proposed by previous authors involving a crust-mantle boundary at around 18 km in depth, overlaid by intermediate material between 11 and 18 km.

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

Data.gov (United States)

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

Seismic Velocity Variation and Evolution of the Upper Oceanic Crust across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 1.3°S

Science.gov (United States)

Jian, H.; Singh, S. C.

2017-12-01

The oceanic crust that covers >70% of the solid earth is formed at mid-ocean ridges, but get modified as it ages. Understanding the evolution of oceanic crust requires investigations of crustal structures that extend from zero-age on the ridge axis to old crust. In this study, we analyze a part of a 2000-km-long seismic transect that crosses the Mid-Atlantic Ridge segment at 1.3°S, south of the Chain transform fault. The seismic data were acquired using a 12-km-long multi-sensor streamer and dense air-gun shots. Using a combination of downward continuation and seismic tomography methods, we have derived a high-resolution upper crustal velocity structure down to 2-2.5 km depth below the seafloor, from the ridge axis to 3.5 Ma on both sides of the ridge axis. The results demonstrate that velocities increase at all depths in the upper crust as the crust ages, suggesting that hydrothermal precipitations seal the upper crustal pore spaces. This effect is most significant in layer 2A, causing a velocity increase of 0.5-1 km/s after 1-1.5 Ma, beyond which the velocity increase is very small. Furthermore, the results exhibit a significant decrease in both the frequency and amplitude of the low-velocity anomalies associated with faults beyond 1-1.5 Ma, when faults become inactive, suggesting a linkage between the sealing of fault space and the extinction of hydrothermal activity. Besides, the off-axis velocities are systematically higher on the eastern side of the ridge axis compared to on the western side, suggesting that a higher hydrothermal activity should exist on the outside-corner ridge flank than on the inside-corner flank. While the tomography results shown here cover 0-3.5 Ma crust, the ongoing research will further extend the study area to older crust and also incorporating pre-stack migration and full waveform inversion methods to improve the seismic structure.

Variable crustal thickness beneath Thwaites Glacier revealed from airborne gravimetry, possible implications for geothermal heat flux in West Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Damiani, Theresa M.; Jordan, Tom A.; Ferraccioli, Fausto; Young, Duncan A.; Blankenship, Donald D.

2014-12-01

Thwaites Glacier has one of the largest glacial catchments in West Antarctica. The future stability of Thwaites Glacier's catchment is of great concern, as this part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has recently been hypothesized to already be en route towards collapse. Although an oceanic trigger is thought to be responsible for current change at the grounding line of Thwaites Glacier, in order to determine the effects of this coastal change further in the interior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet it is essential to also better constrain basal conditions that control the dynamics of fast glacial flow within the catchment itself. One major contributor to fast glacial flow is the presence of subglacial water, the production of which is a result of both glaciological shear heating and geothermal heat flux. The primary goal of our study is to investigate the crustal thickness beneath Thwaites Glacier, which is an important contributor to regional-scale geothermal heat flux patterns. Crustal structure is an indicator of past tectonic events and hence provides a geophysical proxy for the thermal status of the crust and mantle. Terrain-corrected Bouguer gravity disturbances are used here to estimate depths to the Moho and mid-crustal boundary. The thin continental crust we reveal beneath Thwaites Glacier supports the hypothesis that the West Antarctic Rift System underlies the region and is expressed topographically as the Byrd Subglacial Basin. This rifted crust is of similar thickness to that calculated from airborne gravity data beneath neighboring Pine Island Glacier, and is more extended than crust in the adjacent Siple Coast sector of the Ross Sea Embayment. A zone of thinner crust is also identified near the area's subaerial volcanoes lending support to a recent interpretation predicting that this part of Marie Byrd Land is a major volcanic dome, likely within the West Antarctic Rift System itself. Near-zero Bouguer gravity disturbances for the subglacial highlands

Adaptation of an unstructured-mesh, finite-element ocean model to the simulation of ocean circulation beneath ice shelves

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Satoshi; Candy, Adam S.; Holland, Paul R.; Piggott, Matthew D.; Jenkins, Adrian

2013-07-01

Several different classes of ocean model are capable of representing floating glacial ice shelves. We describe the incorporation of ice shelves into Fluidity-ICOM, a nonhydrostatic finite-element ocean model with the capacity to utilize meshes that are unstructured and adaptive in three dimensions. This geometric flexibility offers several advantages over previous approaches. The model represents melting and freezing on all ice-shelf surfaces including vertical faces, treats the ice shelf topography as continuous rather than stepped, and does not require any smoothing of the ice topography or any of the additional parameterisations of the ocean mixed layer used in isopycnal or z-coordinate models. The model can also represent a water column that decreases to zero thickness at the 'grounding line', where the floating ice shelf is joined to its tributary ice streams. The model is applied to idealised ice-shelf geometries in order to demonstrate these capabilities. In these simple experiments, arbitrarily coarsening the mesh outside the ice-shelf cavity has little effect on the ice-shelf melt rate, while the mesh resolution within the cavity is found to be highly influential. Smoothing the vertical ice front results in faster flow along the smoothed ice front, allowing greater exchange with the ocean than in simulations with a realistic ice front. A vanishing water-column thickness at the grounding line has little effect in the simulations studied. We also investigate the response of ice shelf basal melting to variations in deep water temperature in the presence of salt stratification.

Upper-mantle fabrics beneath the Northern Apennines revealed by seismic anisotropy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Munzarová, Helena; Plomerová, Jaroslava; Babuška, Vladislav; Vecsey, Luděk

2013-01-01

Roč. 14, č. 4 (2013), s. 1156-1181 ISSN 1525-2027 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA300120709; GA ČR GAP210/12/2381 Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : body-wave anisotropy * Northern Apennines * upper mantle Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure Impact factor: 3.054, year: 2013

The oceanic sediment barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, T.J.G.; Searle, R.C.; Wilson, T.R.S.

1986-01-01

Burial within the sediments of the deep ocean floor is one of the options that have been proposed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. An international research programme is in progress to determine whether oceanic sediments have the requisite properties for this purpose. After summarizing the salient features of this programme, the paper focuses on the Great Meteor East study area in the Northeast Atlantic, where most oceanographic effort has been concentrated. The geological geochemical and geotechnical properties of the sediments in the area are discussed. Measurements designed to determine the rate of pore water movement through the sediment column are described. Our understanding of the chemistry of both the solid and pore-water phases of the sediment are outlined, emphasizing the control that redox conditions have on the mobility of, for example, naturally occurring manganese and uranium. The burial of instrumented free-fall penetrators to depths of 30 m beneath the ocean floor is described, modelling one of the methods by which waste might be emplaced. Finally, the nature of this oceanic environment is compared with geological environments on land and attention is drawn to the gaps in our knowledge that must be filled before oceanic burial can be regarded as an acceptable disposal option. (author)

Multi-centennial upper-ocean heat content reconstruction using online data assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, W. A.; Hakim, G. J.

2017-12-01

The Last Millennium Reanalysis (LMR) provides an advanced paleoclimate ensemble data assimilation framework for multi-variate climate field reconstructions over the Common Era. Although reconstructions in this framework with full Earth system models remain prohibitively expensive, recent work has shown improved ensemble reconstruction validation using computationally inexpensive linear inverse models (LIMs). Here we leverage these techniques in pursuit of a new multi-centennial field reconstruction of upper-ocean heat content (OHC), synthesizing model dynamics with observational constraints from proxy records. OHC is an important indicator of internal climate variability and responds to planetary energy imbalances. Therefore, a consistent extension of the OHC record in time will help inform aspects of low-frequency climate variability. We use the Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4) and Max Planck Institute (MPI) last millennium simulations to derive the LIMs, and the PAGES2K v.2.0 proxy database to perform annually resolved reconstructions of upper-OHC, surface air temperature, and wind stress over the last 500 years. Annual OHC reconstructions and uncertainties for both the global mean and regional basins are compared against observational and reanalysis data. We then investigate differences in dynamical behavior at decadal and longer time scales between the reconstruction and simulations in the last-millennium Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5). Preliminary investigation of 1-year forecast skill for an OHC-only LIM shows largely positive spatial grid point local anomaly correlations (LAC) with a global average LAC of 0.37. Compared to 1-year OHC persistence forecast LAC (global average LAC of 0.30), the LIM outperforms the persistence forecasts in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, the equatorial Atlantic, and in certain regions near the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In other regions, the forecast correlations are less than the

Characterizing the chaotic nature of ocean ventilation

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-09-01

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

Lithospheric structure of southern Indian shield and adjoining oceans: integrated modelling of topography, gravity, geoid and heat flow data

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Niraj; Zeyen, H.; Singh, A. P.; Singh, B.

2013-07-01

For the present 2-D lithospheric density modelling, we selected three geotransects of more than 1000 km in length each crossing the southern Indian shield, south of 16°N, in N-S and E-W directions. The model is based on the assumption of local isostatic equilibrium and is constrained by the topography, gravity and geoid anomalies, by geothermal data, and where available by seismic data. Our integrated modelling approach reveals a crustal configuration with the Moho depth varying from ˜40 km beneath the Dharwar Craton, and ˜39 km beneath the Southern Granulite Terrane to about 15-20 km beneath the adjoining oceans. The lithospheric thickness varies significantly along the three profiles from ˜70-100 km under the adjoining oceans to ˜130-135 km under the southern block of Southern Granulite Terrane including Sri Lanka and increasing gradually to ˜165-180 km beneath the northern block of Southern Granulite Terrane and the Dharwar Craton. This step-like lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) structure indicates a normal lithospheric thickness beneath the adjoining oceans, the northern block of Southern Granulite Terrane and the Dharwar Craton. The thin lithosphere below the southern block of Southern Granulite Terrane including Sri Lanka is, however, atypical considering its age. Our results suggest that the southern Indian shield as a whole cannot be supported isostatically only by thickened crust; a thin and hot lithosphere beneath the southern block of Southern Granulite Terrane including Sri Lanka is required to explain the high topography, gravity, geoid and crustal temperatures. The widespread thermal perturbation during Pan-African (550 Ma) metamorphism and the breakup of Gondwana during late Cretaceous are proposed as twin cause mechanism for the stretching and/or convective removal of the lower part of lithospheric mantle and its replacement by hotter and lighter asthenosphere in the southern block of Southern Granulite Terrane including Sri Lanka

Neogene subduction beneath Java, Indonesia: Slab tearing and changes in magmatism

Science.gov (United States)

Cottam, Michael; Hall, Robert; Cross, Lanu; Clements, Benjamin; Spakman, Wim

2010-05-01

Java is a Neogene calc-alkaline volcanic island arc formed by the northwards subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath Sundaland, the continental core of SE Asia. The island has a complex history of volcanism and displays unusual subduction characteristics. These characteristics are consistent with the subduction of a hole in the down going slab that was formed by the arrival of a buoyant oceanic plateau at the trench. Subduction beneath Java began in the Eocene. However, the position and character of the calc-alkaline arc has changed over time. An older Paleogene arc ceased activity in the Early Miocene. Volcanic activity resumed in the Late Miocene producing a younger arc to the north of the older arc, and continues to the present day. An episode of Late Miocene thrusting at about 7 Ma is observed throughout Java and appears to be linked to northward movement of the arc. Arc rocks display typical calc-alkaline characteristics and reflect melting of the mantle wedge and subducted sediments associated with high fluid fluxes. Between West Java and Bali the present arc-trench gap is unusually wide at about 300 km. Seismicity identifies subducted Indian Ocean lithosphere that dips north at about 20° between the trench and the arc and then dips more steeply at about 60-70° from 100 to 600 km depth. In East Java there is gap in seismicity between about 250 and 500 km. Seismic tomography shows that this gap is not an aseismic section of the subduction zone but a hole in the slab. East Java is also unusual in the presence of K-rich volcanoes, now inactive, to the north of the calc-alkaline volcanoes of the active arc. In contrast to the calc-alkaline volcanism of the main arc, these K-rich melts imply lower fluid fluxes and a different mantle source. We suggest that all these observations can be explained by the tearing of the subducting slab when a buoyant oceanic plateau arrived at the trench south of East Java at about 8 Ma. With the slab unable to subduct

Indian summer monsoon rainfall variability during 2014 and 2015 and associated Indo-Pacific upper ocean temperature patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Kakatkar, Rashmi; Gnanaseelan, C.; Chowdary, J. S.; Parekh, Anant; Deepa, J. S.

2018-02-01

In this study, factors responsible for the deficit Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall in 2014 and 2015 and the ability of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology-Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (IITM-GODAS) in representing the oceanic features are examined. IITM-GODAS has been used to provide initial conditions for seasonal forecast in India during 2014 and 2015. The years 2014 and 2015 witnessed deficit ISM rainfall but were evolved from two entirely different preconditions over Pacific. This raises concern over the present understanding of the role of Pacific Ocean on ISM variability. Analysis reveals that the mechanisms associated with the rainfall deficit over the Indian Subcontinent are different in the two years. It is found that remote forcing in summer of 2015 due to El Niño is mostly responsible for the deficit monsoon rainfall through changes in Walker circulation and large-scale subsidence. In the case of the summer of 2014, both local circulation with anomalous anticyclone over central India and intrusion of mid-latitude dry winds from north have contributed for the deficit rainfall. In addition to the above, Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) sea surface temperature (SST) and remote forcing from Pacific Ocean also modulated the ISM rainfall. It is observed that Pacific SST warming has extended westward in 2014, making it a basin scale warming unlike the strong El Niño year 2015. The eastern equatorial Indian Ocean is anomalously warmer than west in summer of 2014, and vice versa in 2015. These differences in SST in both tropical Pacific and TIO have considerable impact on ISM rainfall in 2014 and 2015. The study reveals that initializing coupled forecast models with proper upper ocean temperature over the Indo-Pacific is therefore essential for improved model forecast. It is important to note that the IITM-GODAS which assimilates only array for real-time geostrophic oceanography (ARGO) temperature and salinity profiles could capture most of the

Upper mantle beneath foothills of the western Himalaya: subducted lithospheric slab or a keel of the Indian shield?

Science.gov (United States)

Vinnik, L.; Singh, A.; Kiselev, S.; Kumar, M. Ravi

2007-12-01

The fate of the mantle lithosphere of the Indian Plate in the India-Eurasia collision zone is not well understood. Tomographic studies reveal high P velocity in the uppermost mantle to the south of the western Himalaya, and these high velocities are sometimes interpreted as an image of subducting Indian lithosphere. We suggest that these high velocities are unrelated to the ongoing subduction but correspond to a near-horizontal mantle keel of the Indian shield. In the south of the Indian shield upper-mantle velocities are anomalously low, and relatively high velocities may signify a recovery of the normal shield structure in the north. Our analysis is based on the recordings of seismograph station NIL in the foothills of the western Himalaya. The T component of the P receiver functions is weak relative to the Q component, which is indicative of a subhorizontally layered structure. Joint inversion of the P and S receiver functions favours high uppermost mantle velocities, typical of the lithosphere of Archean cratons. The arrival of the Ps converted phase from 410 km discontinuity at NIL is 2.2 s earlier than in IASP91 global model. This can be an effect of remnants of Tethys subduction in the mantle transition zone and of high velocities in the keel of the Indian shield. Joint inversion of SKS particle motions and P receiver functions reveals a change in the fast direction of seismic azimuthal anisotropy from 60° at 80-160 km depths to 150° at 160-220 km. The fast direction in the lower layer is parallel to the trend of the Himalaya. The change of deformation regimes at a depth of 160 km suggests that this is the base of the lithosphere of the Indian shield. A similar boundary was found with similar techniques in central Europe and the Tien Shan region, but the base of the lithosphere in these regions is relatively shallow, in agreement with the higher upper-mantle temperatures. The ongoing continental collision is expressed in crustal structure: the crust

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-06-01

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

Alien seas oceans in space

CERN Document Server

Lopes, Rosaly

2013-01-01

In the early days of planetary observation, oceans were thought to exist in all corners of the Solar System. Carbonated seas percolated beneath the clouds of Venus. Features on the Moon's surface were given names such as "the Bay of Rainbows” and the "Ocean of Storms." With the advent of modern telescopes and spacecraft exploration these ancient concepts of planetary seas have been replaced by the reality of something even more exotic. Alien Seas serves up the current research, past beliefs, and new theories to offer a rich array of the "seas" on other worlds. It is organized by location and by the material composing the oceans under discussion, with expert authors penning chapters on their  specialty. Each chapter features new original art depicting alien seas, as well as the latest ground-based and spacecraft images. With the contributors as guides, readers can explore the wild seas of Jupiter's watery satellite Europa, believed similar in composition to battery acid. Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan see...

Annual cycle of the upper-ocean circulation and properties in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ocean dynamics and its influence on ocean properties in the tropical western Indian Ocean. Surface winds and heat fluxes from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis forced the model (Model_NCEP) with initial and ...

Wind energy input into the upper ocean over a lengthening open water season

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, A. R.; Rolph, R.; Walsh, J. E.

2017-12-01

Wind energy input into the ocean has important consequences for upper ocean mixing, heat and gas exchange, and air-sea momentum transfer. In the Arctic, the open water season is increasing and extending further into the fall storm season, allowing for more wind energy input into the water column. The rate at which the delayed freeze-up timing extends into fall storm season is an important metric to evaluate because the expanding overlap between the open water period and storm season could contribute a significant amount of wind energy into the water column in a relatively short period of time. We have shown that time-integrated wind speeds over open water in the Chukchi Sea and southern Beaufort region have increased since 1979 through 2014. An integrated wind energy input value is calculated for each year in this domain over the open water season, as well as for periods over partial concentrations of ice cover. Spatial variation of this integrated wind energy is shown along the Alaskan coastline, which can have implications for different rates of coastal erosion. Spatial correlation between average wind speed over open water and open water season length from 1979-2014 show positive values in the southern Beaufort, but negative values in the northern Chukchi. This suggests possible differences in the role of the ocean on open water season length depending on region. We speculate that the warm Pacific water outflow plays a more dominant role in extending the open water season length in the northern Chukchi when compared to the southern Beaufort, and might help explain why we can show there is a relatively longer open water season length there. The negative and positive correlations in wind speeds over open water and open water season length might also be explained by oceanic changes tending to operate on longer timescales than the atmosphere. Seasonal timescales of wind events such as regional differences in overlap of the extended open water season due to regional

Upper mantle flow in the western Mediterranean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panza, G F [Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste (Italy) and Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy); Raykova, R [Geophysical Institute of BAS, Sofia (Bulgaria) and Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Carminati, E; Doglioni, C [Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste (Italy)

2006-07-15

Two cross-sections of the western Mediterranean Neogene-to-present backarc basin are presented, in which geological and geophysical data of the Transmed project are tied to a new shear-wave tomography. Major results are i) the presence of a well stratified upper mantle beneath the older African continent, with a marked low-velocity layer between 130-200 km of depth; ii) the dilution of this layer within the younger western Mediterranean backarc basin to the north, and iii) the easterly raising of a shallower low-velocity layer from about 140 km to about 30 km in the Tyrrhenian active part of the backarc basin. These findings suggest upper mantle circulation in the western Mediterranean backarc basin, mostly easterly-directed and affecting the boundary between upper asthenosphere (LVZ) and lower asthenosphere, which undulates between about 180 km and 280 km. (author)

Upper mantle flow in the western Mediterranean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panza, G.F.; Raykova, R.; Carminati, E.; Doglioni, C.

2006-07-01

Two cross-sections of the western Mediterranean Neogene-to-present backarc basin are presented, in which geological and geophysical data of the Transmed project are tied to a new shear-wave tomography. Major results are i) the presence of a well stratified upper mantle beneath the older African continent, with a marked low-velocity layer between 130-200 km of depth; ii) the dilution of this layer within the younger western Mediterranean backarc basin to the north, and iii) the easterly raising of a shallower low-velocity layer from about 140 km to about 30 km in the Tyrrhenian active part of the backarc basin. These findings suggest upper mantle circulation in the western Mediterranean backarc basin, mostly easterly-directed and affecting the boundary between upper asthenosphere (LVZ) and lower asthenosphere, which undulates between about 180 km and 280 km. (author)

Vigorous lateral export of the meltwater outflow from beneath an Antarctic ice shelf.

Science.gov (United States)

Garabato, Alberto C Naveira; Forryan, Alexander; Dutrieux, Pierre; Brannigan, Liam; Biddle, Louise C; Heywood, Karen J; Jenkins, Adrian; Firing, Yvonne L; Kimura, Satoshi

2017-02-09

The instability and accelerated melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are among the foremost elements of contemporary global climate change. The increased freshwater output from Antarctica is important in determining sea level rise, the fate of Antarctic sea ice and its effect on the Earth's albedo, ongoing changes in global deep-ocean ventilation, and the evolution of Southern Ocean ecosystems and carbon cycling. A key uncertainty in assessing and predicting the impacts of Antarctic Ice Sheet melting concerns the vertical distribution of the exported meltwater. This is usually represented by climate-scale models as a near-surface freshwater input to the ocean, yet measurements around Antarctica reveal the meltwater to be concentrated at deeper levels. Here we use observations of the turbulent properties of the meltwater outflows from beneath a rapidly melting Antarctic ice shelf to identify the mechanism responsible for the depth of the meltwater. We show that the initial ascent of the meltwater outflow from the ice shelf cavity triggers a centrifugal overturning instability that grows by extracting kinetic energy from the lateral shear of the background oceanic flow. The instability promotes vigorous lateral export, rapid dilution by turbulent mixing, and finally settling of meltwater at depth. We use an idealized ocean circulation model to show that this mechanism is relevant to a broad spectrum of Antarctic ice shelves. Our findings demonstrate that the mechanism producing meltwater at depth is a dynamically robust feature of Antarctic melting that should be incorporated into climate-scale models.

Hot upwelling conduit beneath the Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Daoyuan; Miller, Meghan S.; Holt, Adam F.; Becker, Thorsten W.

2014-11-01

The Atlas Mountains of Morocco display high topography, no deep crustal root, and regions of localized Cenozoic alkaline volcanism. Previous seismic imaging and geophysical studies have implied a hot mantle upwelling as the source of the volcanism and high elevation. However, the existence, shape, and physical properties of an associated mantle anomaly are debated. Here we use seismic waveform analysis from a broadband deployment and geodynamic modeling to define the physical properties and morphology of the anomaly. The imaged low-velocity structure extends to ~200 km beneath the Atlas and appears ~350 K hotter than the ambient mantle with possible partial melting. It includes a lateral conduit, which suggests that the Quaternary volcanism arises from the upper mantle. Moreover, the shape and temperature of the imaged anomaly indicate that the unusually high topography of the Atlas Mountains is due to active mantle support.

Structure and seismicity of the upper mantle using deployments of broadband seismographs in Antarctica and the Mariana Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Barklage, Mitchell

. We investigate seismic velocity structure of the upper mantle across the Central Mariana subduction system using data from the 2003-2004 Mariana Subduction Factory Imaging Experiment. This 11-month experiment consisted of 20 broadband seismic stations deployed on islands and 58 semi-broadband ocean bottom seismographs deployed across the forearc, island arc, and back-arc spreading center. We determine Vp and Vp/Vs structure on a three dimensional grid using over 25,000 local travel time observations as well as over 2000 teleseismic arrival times determined by waveform cross correlation. The mantle wedge is characterized by a region of low velocity and high Vp/Vs beneath the forearc, an inclined zone of low velocity underlying the volcanic front, and a broad region of low velocity beneath the back-arc spreading center. The slow velocity anomalies are strongest at roughly 20-30 km depth in the forearc, 60-70 km depth beneath the volcanic arc, and 20-30 km beneath the back-arc spreading center. The slow velocity anomalies beneath the arc and back-arc appear as separate and distinct features in our images, with a small channel of connectivity occurring at approximately 75 km depth. The subducting Pacific plate is characterized by high seismic velocities. An exception occurs in the forearc beneath the big blue seamount and at the top of the slab at roughly 80 km depth where slow velocities are observed. We interpret the forearc anomalies to represent a region of large scale serpentinization of the mantle whereas the arc and back-arc anomalies represent regions of high temperature with a small amount of increased water content and/or melt and constrain the source regions in the mantle for arc and back-arc lavas. We investigate the double seismic zone (dsz) beneath the Central Mariana Arc using data from a land-sea array of 58 ocean bottom seismographs and 20 land seismographs deployed during 2003-2004. Nearly 600 well-recorded earthquakes were located using a P and S wave

Electrical resistivity dynamics beneath a fractured sedimentary bedrock riverbed in response to temperature and groundwater–surface water exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. M. Steelman

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Bedrock rivers occur where surface water flows along an exposed rock surface. Fractured sedimentary bedrock can exhibit variable groundwater residence times, anisotropic flow paths, and heterogeneity, along with diffusive exchange between fractures and rock matrix. These properties of the rock will affect thermal transients in the riverbed and groundwater–surface water exchange. In this study, surface electrical methods were used as a non-invasive technique to assess the scale and temporal variability of riverbed temperature and groundwater–surface water interaction beneath a sedimentary bedrock riverbed. Conditions were monitored at a semi-daily to semi-weekly interval over a full annual period that included a seasonal freeze–thaw cycle. Surface electromagnetic induction (EMI and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT methods captured conditions beneath the riverbed along a pool–riffle sequence of the Eramosa River in Canada. Geophysical datasets were accompanied by continuous measurements of aqueous specific conductance, temperature, and river stage. Time-lapse vertical temperature trolling within a lined borehole adjacent to the river revealed active groundwater flow zones along fracture networks within the upper 10 m of rock. EMI measurements collected during cooler high-flow and warmer low-flow periods identified a spatiotemporal riverbed response that was largely dependent upon riverbed morphology and seasonal groundwater temperature. Time-lapse ERT profiles across the pool and riffle sequence identified seasonal transients within the upper 2 and 3 m of rock, respectively, with spatial variations controlled by riverbed morphology (pool versus riffle and dominant surficial rock properties (competent versus weathered rock rubble surface. While the pool and riffle both exhibited a dynamic resistivity through seasonal cooling and warming cycles, conditions beneath the pool were more variable, largely due to the formation of river

Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Using Sound Speed

Science.gov (United States)

Dukhovskoy, D. S.; Johnson, M. A.

2002-05-01

The monthly and annual means from three Arctic ocean - sea ice climate model simulations are compared for the period 1979-1997. Sound speed is used to integrate model outputs of temperature and salinity along a section between Barrow and Franz Josef Land. A statistical approach is used to test for differences among the three models for two basic data subsets. We integrated and then analyzed an upper layer between 2 m - 50 m, and also a deep layer from 500 m to the bottom. The deep layer is characterized by low time-variability. No high-frequency signals appear in the deep layer having been filtered out in the upper layer. There is no seasonal signal in the deep layer and the monthly means insignificantly oscillate about the long-period mean. For the deep ocean the long-period mean can be considered quasi-constant, at least within the 19 year period of our analysis. Thus we assumed that the deep ocean would be the best choice for comparing the means of the model outputs. The upper (mixed) layer was chosen to contrast the deep layer dynamics. There are distinct seasonal and interannual signals in the sound speed time series in this layer. The mixed layer is a major link in the ocean - air interaction mechanism. Thus, different mean states of the upper layer in the models might cause different responses in other components of the Arctic climate system. The upper layer also strongly reflects any differences in atmosphere forcing. To compare data from the three models we have used a one-way t-test for the population mean, the Wilcoxon one-sample signed-rank test (when the requirement of normality of tested data is violated), and one-way ANOVA method and F-test to verify our hypothesis that the model outputs have the same mean sound speed. The different statistical approaches have shown that all models have different mean characteristics of the deep and upper layers of the Arctic Ocean.

Helium as a tracer for fluids released from Juan de Fuca lithosphere beneath the Cascadia forearc

Science.gov (United States)

McCrory, Patricia A.; Constantz, James E.; Hunt, Andrew G.; Blair, James Luke

2016-01-01

The ratio between helium isotopes (3He/4He) provides an excellent geochemical tracer for investigating the sources of fluids sampled at the Earth's surface. 3He/4He values observed in 25 mineral springs and wells above the Cascadia forearc document a significant component of mantle-derived helium above Juan de Fuca lithosphere, as well as variability in 3He enrichment across the forearc. Sample sites arcward of the forearc mantle corner (FMC) generally yield significantly higher ratios (1.2-4.0 RA) than those seaward of the corner (0.03-0.7 RA). The highest ratios in the Cascadia forearc coincide with slab depths (40-45 km) where metamorphic dehydration of young oceanic lithosphere is expected to release significant fluid and where tectonic tremor occurs, whereas little fluid is expected to be released from the slab depths (25-30 km) beneath sites seaward of the corner.Tremor (considered a marker for high fluid pressure) and high RA values in the forearc are spatially correlated. The Cascadia tremor band is centered on its FMC, and we tentatively postulate that hydrated forearc mantle beneath Cascadia deflects a significant portion of slab-derived fluids updip along the subduction interface, to vent in the vicinity of its corner. Furthermore, high RA values within the tremor band just arcward of the FMC, suggest that the innermost mantle wedge is relatively permeable.Conceptual models require: (1) a deep fluid source as a medium to transport primordial 3He; (2) conduits through the lithosphere which serve to speed fluid ascent to the surface before significant dilution from radiogenic 4He can occur; and (3) near lithostatic fluid pressure to keep conduits open. Our spatial correlation between high RA values and tectonic tremor provides independent evidence that tremor is associated with deep fluids, and it further suggests that high pore pressures associated with tremor may serve to keep fractures open for 3He migration through ductile upper mantle and lower crust.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

A Survey of Scattering, Attenuation, and Size Spectra Studies of Bubble Layers and Plumes Beneath the Air-Sea Interface.

Science.gov (United States)

1991-08-30

soluble iron in the ocean [201] - a factor which may have global ecological implications since these creatures may account for a significant removal...submerged plateau) and seamount -dense environments. In these contexts the existing measurements in lakes and shallow water need follow-up work in...Studies of Bubble Layers and Plumes Beneath the Air-Sea Interface EDWARD POWELL Acoustic Svstems Branch Acoustics Division August 30, 1991 Si~ T 91-10188

Effect of bend faulting on the hydration state of oceanic crust: Electromagnetic constraints from the Middle America Trench

Science.gov (United States)

Naif, S.; Key, K.; Constable, S.; Evans, R. L.

2017-12-01

In Northern Central America, the portion of the incoming Cocos oceanic plate formed at the East Pacific Rise has a seafloor spreading fabric that is oriented nearly parallel to the trench axis, whereby flexural bending at the outer rise reactivates a dense network of dormant abyssal hill faults. If bending-induced normal faults behave as fluid pathways they may promote extensive mantle hydration and significantly raise the flux of fluids into the subduction system. Multi-channel seismic reflection data imaged bend faults that extend several kilometers beneath the Moho offshore Nicaragua, coincident with seismic refraction data showing significant P-wave velocity reductions in both the crust and uppermost mantle. Ignoring the effect of fracture porosity, the observed mantle velocity reduction is equivalent to an upper bound of 15-20% serpentinization (or 2.0-2.5 wt% H2O). Yet the impact of bend faulting on porosity structure and crustal hydration are not well known. Here, we present results on the electrical resistivity structure of the incoming Cocos plate offshore Nicaragua, the first controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) experiment at a subduction zone. The CSEM data imaged several sub-vertical conductive channels extending beneath fault scarps to 5.5 km below seafloor, providing independent evidence for fluid infiltration into the oceanic crust via bending faults. We applied Archie's Law to estimate porosity from the resistivity observations: the dike and gabbro layers increase from 2.7% and 0.7% porosity at 100 km to 4.8% and 1.7% within 20 km of the trench, respectively. In contrast the resistivity, and hence porosity, remain relatively unchanged at sub-Moho depths. Therefore, either the faults do not provide an additional flux of free water to the mantle or, in light of the reduced seismic velocities, the volumetric expansion resulting from mantle serpentinization rapidly consumes any fault-generated porosity. Since our crustal porosity estimates seaward

Anomalous Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans: A Preliminary Analysis Based on Bathymetry, Gravity and Crustal Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Barantsrva, O.

2014-12-01

We present a preliminary analysis of the crustal and upper mantle structure for off-shore regions in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. These regions have anomalous oceanic lithosphere: the upper mantle of the North Atlantic ocean is affected by the Iceland plume, while the Arctic ocean has some of the slowest spreading rates. Our specific goal is to constrain the density structure of the upper mantle in order to understand the links between the deep lithosphere dynamics, ocean spreading, ocean floor bathymetry, heat flow and structure of the oceanic lithosphere in the regions where classical models of evolution of the oceanic lithosphere may not be valid. The major focus is on the oceanic lithosphere, but the Arctic shelves with a sufficient data coverage are also included into the analysis. Out major interest is the density structure of the upper mantle, and the analysis is based on the interpretation of GOCE satellite gravity data. To separate gravity anomalies caused by subcrustal anomalous masses, the gravitational effect of water, crust and the deep mantle is removed from the observed gravity field. For bathymetry we use the global NOAA database ETOPO1. The crustal correction to gravity is based on two crustal models: (1) global model CRUST1.0 (Laske, 2013) and, for a comparison, (2) a regional seismic model EUNAseis (Artemieva and Thybo, 2013). The crustal density structure required for the crustal correction is constrained from Vp data. Previous studies have shown that a large range of density values corresponds to any Vp value. To overcome this problem and to reduce uncertainty associated with the velocity-density conversion, we account for regional tectonic variations in the Northern Atlantics as constrained by numerous published seismic profiles and potential-field models across the Norwegian off-shore crust (e.g. Breivik et al., 2005, 2007), and apply different Vp-density conversions for different parts of the region. We present preliminary results

Magnetically-driven oceans on Jovian satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Gissinger, C.; Petitdemange, L.

2017-12-01

During the last decade, data from Galileo space missions have added strong support for the existence of subsurface liquid oceans on several moons of Jupiter. For instance, it is now commonly accepted that an electrically conducting fluid beneath the icy crust of Europa's surface may explain the variations of the induced field measured near the satellite. These observations have raised many questions regarding the size and the salinity of such subsurface ocean, or how and why the water remains liquid. In addition, the hydrodynamics of such oceans is mostly unknown. These questions are of primary importance since Europa is often considered as a good candidate for the presence of life beyond the Earth. Here, we present the first numerical modeling of the rapidly-rotating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow generated in Europa's interior: due to Jupiter's rotation with respect to Europa, we show that the Lorentz force induced by the time-varying Jovian magnetic field is able to generate an oceanic flow of a few km/h. Our results are understood in the framework of a simple theoretical model and we obtain a scaling law for the prediction of the mean oceanic velocity and the total heating generated inside the ocean of Europa. Finally, by comparing our simulations to Galileo observations, we make predictions on both the thickness and the electrical conductivity of the ocean of different Jovian's satellites.

Formation of heterogeneous magmatic series beneath North Santorini, South Aegean island arc

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bailey, John C; Jensen, E.S.; Hansen, A.

2008-01-01

magma formation beneath North Santorini throughout its 500 ka history is attributed to variable transfer of sedimentary components - either terrigenous or pelagic, as bulk sediments or high-temperature partial melts rather than fluids or low-temperature partial melts - from a rupture zone...... in the subducted slab to the overlying mantle. The three main magmatic series followed independent paths of assimilation of upper crustal materials during fractional crystallization. Assimilation was more pronounced at the basaltic stage. The long-lived histories of the three main magmatic series imply repetitive...... melting of isolated mantle regions, ascent of magmas through independent feeder systems, and their residence in separate crustal magma chambers....

Deep Ocean Contribution to Sea Level Rise

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, L.; Sun, W.; Tang, H.; Wang, Q.

2017-12-01

The ocean temperature and salinity change in the upper 2000m can be detected by Argo floats, so we can know the steric height change of the ocean. But the ocean layers above 2000m represent only 50% of the total ocean volume. Although the temperature and salinity change are small compared to the upper ocean, the deep ocean contribution to sea level might be significant because of its large volume. There has been some research on the deep ocean rely on the very sparse situ observation and are limited to decadal and longer-term rates of change. The available observational data in the deep ocean are too spares to determine the temporal variability, and the long-term changes may have a bias. We will use the Argo date and combine the situ data and topographic data to estimate the temperature and salinity of the sea water below 2000m, so we can obtain a monthly data. We will analyze the seasonal and annual change of the steric height change due to the deep ocean between 2005 and 2016. And we will evaluate the result combination the present-day satellite and in situ observing systems. The deep ocean contribution can be inferred indirectly as the difference between the altimetry minus GRACE and Argo-based steric sea level.

Geophysical Investigations of Crustal and Upper Mantle Structure of Oceanic Intraplate Volcanoes (OIVs)

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, A. H.; Peirce, C.; Funnell, M.; Watts, A. B.; Grevemeyer, I.

2016-12-01

Oceanic intraplate volcanoes (OIVs) represent a record of the modification of the oceanic crust by volcanism related to a range of processes including hot-spots, small scale mantle convection, and localised lithospheric extension. Geophysical studies of OIVs show a diversity in crustal and upper mantle structures, proposed to exist on a spectrum between two end-members where the main control is the age of the lithosphere at the time of volcanism. This hypothesis states that where the lithosphere is older, colder, and thicker it is more resistant to vertical magmatism than younger, hotter, thinner lithosphere. It is suggested that the Moho acts as a density filter, permitting relatively buoyant magma to vertically intrude the crust, but preventing denser magma from ascending to shallow levels. A key control may therefore be the melting depth, known to affect magma composition, and itself related to lithosphere age. Combined geophysical approaches allow us to develop robust models for OIV crustal structures with quantifiable resolution and uncertainty. As a case study, we present results from a multi-approach geophysical experiment at the Louisville Ridge Seamount Chain, believed to have formed on young (travel-time modelling of picked arrivals, is tested against reflection and gravity data. We compare our observations with studies of other OIVs to test whether lithospheric age controls OIV structure. Comparisons are limited by the temporal and spatial distribution of lithosphere and volcano ages, but suggest the hypothesis does not hold for all OIV features. While age may be the main control on OIV structure, as it determines lithosphere thermal and mechanical properties, other factors such as thermal rejuvenation, mechanical weakening, and volcano load size and distribution, may also come into play.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2006-12-01

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

Spreading rate dependence of gravity anomalies along oceanic transform faults.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Patricia M; Lin, Jian; Behn, Mark D; Montési, Laurent G J

2007-07-12

Mid-ocean ridge morphology and crustal accretion are known to depend on the spreading rate of the ridge. Slow-spreading mid-ocean-ridge segments exhibit significant crustal thinning towards transform and non-transform offsets, which is thought to arise from a three-dimensional process of buoyant mantle upwelling and melt migration focused beneath the centres of ridge segments. In contrast, fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges are characterized by smaller, segment-scale variations in crustal thickness, which reflect more uniform mantle upwelling beneath the ridge axis. Here we present a systematic study of the residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly of 19 oceanic transform faults that reveals a strong correlation between gravity signature and spreading rate. Previous studies have shown that slow-slipping transform faults are marked by more positive gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments, but our analysis reveals that intermediate and fast-slipping transform faults exhibit more negative gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments. This finding indicates that there is a mass deficit at intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults, which could reflect increased rock porosity, serpentinization of mantle peridotite, and/or crustal thickening. The most negative anomalies correspond to topographic highs flanking the transform faults, rather than to transform troughs (where deformation is probably focused and porosity and alteration are expected to be greatest), indicating that crustal thickening could be an important contributor to the negative gravity anomalies observed. This finding in turn suggests that three-dimensional magma accretion may occur near intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults.

Geophysical constraints on geodynamic processes at convergent margins: A global perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Artemieva, Irina; Thybo, Hans; Shulgin, Alexey

2016-04-01

Convergent margins, being the boundaries between colliding lithospheric plates, form the most disastrous areas in the world due to intensive, strong seismicity and volcanism. We review global geophysical data in order to illustrate the effects of the plate tectonic processes at convergent margins on the crustal and upper mantle structure, seismicity, and geometry of subducting slab. We present global maps of free-air and Bouguer gravity anomalies, heat flow, seismicity, seismic Vs anomalies in the upper mantle, and plate convergence rate, as well as 20 profiles across different convergent margins. A global analysis of these data for three types of convergent margins, formed by ocean-ocean, ocean-continent, and continent-continent collisions, allows us to recognize the following patterns. (1) Plate convergence rate depends on the type of convergent margins and it is significantly larger when, at least, one of the plates is oceanic. However, the oldest oceanic plate in the Pacific ocean has the smallest convergence rate. (2) The presence of an oceanic plate is, in general, required for generation of high-magnitude (M N 8.0) earthquakes and for generating intermediate and deep seismicity along the convergent margins. When oceanic slabs subduct beneath a continent, a gap in the seismogenic zone exists at depths between ca. 250 km and 500 km. Given that the seismogenic zone terminates at ca. 200 km depth in case of continent-continent collision, we propose oceanic origin of subducting slabs beneath the Zagros, the Pamir, and the Vrancea zone. (3) Dip angle of the subducting slab in continent-ocean collision does not correlate neither with the age of subducting oceanic slab, nor with the convergence rate. For ocean-ocean subduction, clear trends are recognized: steeply dipping slabs are characteristic of young subducting plates and of oceanic plates with high convergence rate, with slab rotation towards a near-vertical dip angle at depths below ca. 500 km at very high

Determining Ocean-Bottom Seismometer Orientations from the RHUM-RUM experiment from P-wave and Rayleigh wave polarizations

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, John-Robert; Barruol, Guilhem; Fontaine, Fabrice R.; Sigloch, Karin

2016-04-01

To image the upper mantle structure beneath La Réunion hotspot, a large-scale seismic network has been deployed on land and at sea in the frame of the RHUM-RUM project (Réunion Hotspot and Upper Mantle - Réunions Unterer Mantel). This French-German passive seismic experiment was designed to investigate and image the deep structure beneath La Réunion, from crust to core, to precise the shape and depth origin of a mantle plume, if any, and to precise the horizontal and vertical mantle flow associated to a possible plume upwelling, to its interaction with the overlying plate and with the neighboring Indian ridges. For this purpose, 57 Ocean-Bottom Seismometers (OBS) were installed around La Réunion and along the Central and Southwest Indian ridges. Broad-band instruments were deployed with the French R/V Marion Dufresne in late 2012 (cruise MD192), and recovered 13 months later by the German R/V Meteor (cruise M101). The pool of OBS was complemented by ~60 terrestrial stations, installed on different islands in the western Indian Ocean, such as La Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mayotte and the Îles Éparses in the Mozambique channel. The OBS installation is a free-fall down to the seafloor, where they landed in an unknown orientation. Since seismologic investigations of crustal and upper mantle structure (e.g., receiver functions) and azimuthal anisotropy (e.g., SKS-splitting and Rayleigh waves) rely on the knowledge of the correct OBS orientation with respect to the geographic reference frame, it is of importance to determine the orientations of the OBS while recording on the seafloor. In an isotropic, horizontally homogeneous and non-dipping layered globe, the misorientation of each station refers to the offset between theoretical and recorded back-azimuth angle of a passive seismic event. Using large earthquakes (MW > 5.0), it is possible to establish multiple successful measurements per station and thus to determine with good confidence the

Mantle wedge structure beneath the Yamato Basin, southern part of the Japan Sea, revealed by long-term seafloor seismic observations

Science.gov (United States)

Shinohara, M.; Nakahigashi, K.; Yamashita, Y.; Yamada, T.; Mochizuki, K.; Shiobara, H.

2016-12-01

The Japanese Islands are located at subduction zones where Philippine Sea (PHS) plate subducts from the southeast beneath the Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate descends from the east beneath the PHS and Eurasian plates and have a high density of seismic stations. Many seismic tomography studies using land seismic station data were conducted to reveal the seismic structure. These studies discussed the relationship between heterogeneous structures and the release of fluids from the subducting slab, magma generation and movement in the subduction zone. However, regional tomography using the land station data did not have a sufficient resolution to image a deep structure beneath the Japan Sea.To obtain the deep structure, observations of natural earthquakes within the Japan Sea are essential. Therefore, we started the repeating long-term seismic observations using ocean bottom seismometers(OBSs) in the Yamato Basin from 2013 to 2016. We apply travel-time tomography method to the regional earthquake and teleseismic arrival-data recorded by OBSs and land stations. In this presentation, we will report the P and S wave tomographic images down to a depth of 300 km beneath the southern part of the Japan Sea. This study was supported by "Integrated Research Project on Seismic and Tsunami Hazards around the Sea of Japan" conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan.

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The P–T conditions suggest that the geothermal gradient of the upper mantle beneath the study area is approximately similar to oceanic geotherm which may be caused by asthenosphere upwelling. We suggested that lithospheric mantle thinning accompanied by asthenosphere upwelling has occurred and a newly ...

Array-Based Receiver Function Analysis of the Subducting Juan de Fuca Plate Beneath the Mount St. Helens Region and its Implications for Subduction Geometry and Metamorphism

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, M. E.; Abers, G. A.; Creager, K. C.; Ulberg, C. W.; Crosbie, K.

2017-12-01

Mount St. Helens (MSH) is unusual as a prolific arc volcano located 50 km towards the forearc of the main Cascade arc. The iMUSH (imaging Magma Under mount St. Helens) broadband deployment featured 70 seismometers at 10-km spacing in a 50-km radius around MSH, spanning a sufficient width for testing along-strike variation in subsurface geometry as well as deep controls on volcanism in the Cascade arc. Previous estimates of the geometry of the subducting Juan de Fuca (JdF) slab are extrapolated to MSH from several hundred km to the north and south. We analyze both P-to-S receiver functions and 2-D Born migrations of the full data set to locate the upper plate Moho and the dip and depth of the subducting slab. The strongest coherent phase off the subducting slab is the primary reverberation (Ppxs; topside P-to-S reflection) from the Moho of the subducting JdF plate, as indicated by its polarity and spatial pattern. Migration images show a dipping low velocity layer at depths less than 50 km that we interpret as the subducting JdF crust. Its disappearance beyond 50 km depth may indicate dehydration of subducting crust or disruption of high fluid pressures along the megathrust. The lower boundary of the low velocity zone, the JdF Moho, persists in the migration image to depths of at least 90 km and is imaged at 74 km beneath MSH, dipping 23 degrees. The slab surface is 68 km beneath MSH and 85 km beneath Mount Adams volcano to the east. The JdF Moho exhibits 10% velocity contrasts as deep as 85 km, an observation difficult to reconcile with simple models of crustal eclogitization. The geometry and thickness of the JdF crust and upper plate Moho is consistent with similar transects of Cascadia and does not vary along strike beneath iMUSH, indicating a continuous slab with no major disruption. The upper plate Moho is clear on the east side of the array but it disappears west of MSH, a feature we interpret as a result of both serpentinization of the mantle wedge and a

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-03-01

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

Eddy-resolving simulations of the Fimbul Ice Shelf cavity circulation: Basal melting and exchange with open ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Hattermann, T.; Smedsrud, L. H.; Nøst, O. A.; Lilly, J. M.; Galton-Fenzi, B. K.

2014-10-01

Melting at the base of floating ice shelves is a dominant term in the overall Antarctic mass budget. This study applies a high-resolution regional ice shelf/ocean model, constrained by observations, to (i) quantify present basal mass loss at the Fimbul Ice Shelf (FIS); and (ii) investigate the oceanic mechanisms that govern the heat supply to ice shelves in the Eastern Weddell Sea. The simulations confirm the low melt rates suggested by observations and show that melting is primarily determined by the depth of the coastal thermocline, regulating deep ocean heat fluxes towards the ice. Furthermore, the uneven distribution of ice shelf area at different depths modulates the melting response to oceanic forcing, causing the existence of two distinct states of melting at the FIS. In the simulated present-day state, only small amounts of Modified Warm Deep Water enter the continental shelf, and ocean temperatures beneath the ice are close to the surface freezing point. The basal mass loss in this so-called state of "shallow melting" is mainly controlled by the seasonal inflow of solar-heated surface water affecting large areas of shallow ice in the upper part of the cavity. This is in contrast to a state of "deep melting", in which the thermocline rises above the shelf break depth, establishing a continuous inflow of Warm Deep Water towards the deep ice. The transition between the two states is found to be determined by a complex response of the Antarctic Slope Front overturning circulation to varying climate forcings. A proper representation of these frontal dynamics in climate models will therefore be crucial when assessing the evolution of ice shelf basal melting along this sector of Antarctica.

Behaviour of nickel, copper, zinc and cadmium in the upper 300 m of a transect in the Southern Ocean (57°-62°S, 49°W)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nolting, R.F.; Baar, H.J.W. de

1994-01-01

The distributions of Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd in relation to phosphate, nitrate and silicate in the upper 300 m of a transect in the Southern Ocean were studied. This transect covers the Scotia Sea, the Confluence and the Weddell Sea. These three watermasses are clearly separated by their temperature and

S-P wave travel time residuals and lateral inhomogeneity in the mantle beneath Tibet and the Himalaya

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, P.; Chen, W.-P.

1984-01-01

S-P wave travel time residuals were measured in earthquakes in Tibet and the Himalaya in order to study lateral inhomogeneities in the earth's mantle. Average S-P residuals, measured with respect to Jeffrey-Bullen (J-B) tables for 11 earthquakes in the Himalaya are less than +1 second. Average J-B S-P from 10 of 11 earthquakes in Tibet, however, are greater than +1 second even when corrected for local crustal thickness. The largest values, ranging between 2.5 and 4.9 seconds are for five events in central and northern Tibet, and they imply that the average velocities in the crust and upper mantle in this part of Tibet are 4 to 10 percent lower than those beneath the Himalaya. On the basis of the data, it is concluded that it is unlikely that a shield structure lies beneath north central Tibet unless the S-P residuals are due to structural variations occurring deeper than 250 km.

Spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the upper ocean of the South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Xiao-Dong; Liang, Chang-Rong; Chen, Gui-Ying

2017-06-01

The spatial distribution of the dissipation rate (ɛ) and diapycnal diffusivity (κ) in the upper ocean of the South China Sea (SCS) is presented from a measurement program conducted from 26 April to 23 May 2010. In the vertical distribution, the dissipation rates below the surface mixed layer were predominantly high in the thermocline where shear and stratification were strong. In the regional distribution, high dissipation rates and diapycnal diffusivities were observed in the region to the west of the Luzon Strait, with an average dissipation rate and diapycnal diffusivity of 8.3 × 10-9 W kg-1 and 2.7 × 10-5 m2 s-1, respectively, almost 1 order of magnitude higher than those in the central and southern SCS. In the region to the west of the Luzon Strait, the water column was characterized by strong shear and weak stratification. Elevated dissipation rates (ɛ > 10-7 W kg-1) and diapycnal diffusivities (κ > 10-4 m2 s-1), induced by shear instability, occurred in the water column. In the central and southern SCS, the water column was characterized by strong stratification and weak shear and the turbulent mixing was weak. Internal waves and internal tides generated near the Luzon Strait are expected to make a dominant contribution to the strong turbulent mixing and shear in the region to the west of the Luzon Strait. The observed dissipation rates were found to scale positively with the shear and stratification, which were consistent with the MacKinnon-Gregg model used for the continental shelf but different from the Gregg-Henyey scaling used for the open ocean.

Glider and remote sensing observations of the upper ocean response to an extended shallow coastal diversion of wastewater effluent

KAUST Repository

Seegers, Bridget N.

2016-06-21

The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) diverted wastewater discharge (5.3 × 108 l d−1) from its primary deep (56 m) outfall 8 km offshore, to a secondary shallower (16 m) outfall 1.6 km offshore for a period of three weeks. It was anticipated that the low salinity and density of the effluent would cause it to rise to the surface with limited dilution, elevating nutrient concentrations in near-surface waters and stimulating phytoplankton blooms in the region. Three Teledyne Webb Slocum gliders and a Liquid Robotics surface wave glider were deployed on transects near the outfalls to acquire high spatial and temporal coverage of physical and chemical parameters before, during, and after the wastewater diversion. Combined autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and MODIS-Aqua satellite ocean color data indicated that phytoplankton biomass increased in the upper water column in response to the diversion, but that the magnitude of the response was spatially patchy and significantly less than expected. Little evidence of the plume or its effects was detectable 72 h following the diversion. The effluent plume exhibited high rates of dilution and mixed throughout the upper 20 m and occasionally throughout the upper 40 m during the diversion. Rapid plume advection and dilution appeared to contribute to the muted impact of the nutrient-rich effluent on the phytoplankton community in this coastal ecosystem.

Glider and remote sensing observations of the upper ocean response to an extended shallow coastal diversion of wastewater effluent

KAUST Repository

Seegers, Bridget N.; Teel, Elizabeth N.; Kudela, Raphael M.; Caron, David A.; Jones, Burton

2016-01-01

The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) diverted wastewater discharge (5.3 × 108 l d−1) from its primary deep (56 m) outfall 8 km offshore, to a secondary shallower (16 m) outfall 1.6 km offshore for a period of three weeks. It was anticipated that the low salinity and density of the effluent would cause it to rise to the surface with limited dilution, elevating nutrient concentrations in near-surface waters and stimulating phytoplankton blooms in the region. Three Teledyne Webb Slocum gliders and a Liquid Robotics surface wave glider were deployed on transects near the outfalls to acquire high spatial and temporal coverage of physical and chemical parameters before, during, and after the wastewater diversion. Combined autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and MODIS-Aqua satellite ocean color data indicated that phytoplankton biomass increased in the upper water column in response to the diversion, but that the magnitude of the response was spatially patchy and significantly less than expected. Little evidence of the plume or its effects was detectable 72 h following the diversion. The effluent plume exhibited high rates of dilution and mixed throughout the upper 20 m and occasionally throughout the upper 40 m during the diversion. Rapid plume advection and dilution appeared to contribute to the muted impact of the nutrient-rich effluent on the phytoplankton community in this coastal ecosystem.

Glider and remote sensing observations of the upper ocean response to an extended shallow coastal diversion of wastewater effluent

Science.gov (United States)

Seegers, Bridget N.; Teel, Elizabeth N.; Kudela, Raphael M.; Caron, David A.; Jones, Burton H.

2017-02-01

The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) diverted wastewater discharge (5.3 × 108 l d-1) from its primary deep (56 m) outfall 8 km offshore, to a secondary shallower (16 m) outfall 1.6 km offshore for a period of three weeks. It was anticipated that the low salinity and density of the effluent would cause it to rise to the surface with limited dilution, elevating nutrient concentrations in near-surface waters and stimulating phytoplankton blooms in the region. Three Teledyne Webb Slocum gliders and a Liquid Robotics surface wave glider were deployed on transects near the outfalls to acquire high spatial and temporal coverage of physical and chemical parameters before, during, and after the wastewater diversion. Combined autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and MODIS-Aqua satellite ocean color data indicated that phytoplankton biomass increased in the upper water column in response to the diversion, but that the magnitude of the response was spatially patchy and significantly less than expected. Little evidence of the plume or its effects was detectable 72 h following the diversion. The effluent plume exhibited high rates of dilution and mixed throughout the upper 20 m and occasionally throughout the upper 40 m during the diversion. Rapid plume advection and dilution appeared to contribute to the muted impact of the nutrient-rich effluent on the phytoplankton community in this coastal ecosystem.

Role of the upper ocean structure in the response of ENSO-like SST variability to global warming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yeh, Sang-Wook [Hanyang University, Department of Environmental Marine Science, Ansan (Korea); Dewitte, Boris [Laboratoire d' Etude en Geophysique et Oceanographie Spatiale, Toulouse (France); Yim, Bo Young; Noh, Yign [Yonsei University, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Global Environmental Laboratory, Seoul (Korea)

2010-08-15

The response of El Nino and Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like variability to global warming varies comparatively between the two different climate system models, i.e., the Meteorological Research Institute (MRI) and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Coupled General Circulation Models (CGCMs). Here, we examine the role of the simulated upper ocean temperature structure in the different sensitivities of the simulated ENSO variability in the models based on the different level of CO{sub 2} concentrations. In the MRI model, the sea surface temperature (SST) undergoes a rather drastic modification, namely a tendency toward a permanent El Nino-like state. This is associated with an enhanced stratification which results in greater ENSO amplitude for the MRI model. On the other hand, the ENSO simulated by GFDL model is hardly modified although the mean temperature in the near surface layer increases. In order to understand the associated mechanisms we carry out a vertical mode decomposition of the mean equatorial stratification and a simplified heat balance analysis using an intermediate tropical Pacific model tuned from the CGCM outputs. It is found that in the MRI model the increased stratification is associated with an enhancement of the zonal advective feedback and the non-linear advection. In the GFDL model, on the other hand, the thermocline variability and associated anomalous vertical advection are reduced in the eastern equatorial Pacific under global warming, which erodes the thermocline feedback and explains why the ENSO amplitude is reduced in a warmer climate in this model. It is suggested that change in stratification associated with global warming impacts the equatorial wave dynamics in a way that enhances the second baroclinic mode over the gravest one, which leads to the change in feedback processes in the CGCMs. Our results illustrate that the upper ocean vertical structure simulated in the CGCMs is a key parameter of the sensitivity of ENSO

Water content within the oceanic upper mantle of the Southwest Indian Ridge: a FTIR analysis of orthopyroxenes of abyssal peridotites

Science.gov (United States)

Li, W.; Li, H.; Tao, C.; Jin, Z.

2013-12-01

Water can be present in the oceanic upper mantle as structural OH in nominally anhydrous minerals. Such water has marked effects on manlte melting and rheology properties. However, the water content of MORB source is mainly inferred from MORB glass data that the water budget of oceanic upper mantle is poorly constrained. Here we present water analysis of peridotites from different sites on the Southwest Indian Ridge. The mineral assemblages of these peridotites are olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel. As the peridotites have been serpentinized to different degrees, only water contents in orthopyroxnene can be better determined by FTIR spectrometry. The IR absorption bands of all measured orthopyroxenes can be devided into four different groups: (1)3562-3596 cm-1, (2)3515-3520 cm-1, (3)3415-3420 cm-1, (4)3200-3210 cm-1. The positions of these absorption bands are in good agreement with perivious reports. Hydrogen profile measurements performed on larger opx grains in each suite of samples show no obvious variations between core and rims regions, indicating that diffusion of H in orthopyroxene is insignificant. Preliminary measured water contents of orthopyroxene differ by up to one order of magnitude. Opx water contents (80-220 ppm) of most samples are within the range of those found in mantle xenoliths of contentinal settings [1]. Opx water contents of one sample (VM-21V-S9-D5-2: 38-64 ppm) are similar to those from Gakkel Ridge abyssal peridotites (25-60 ppm) [2] but higher than those from Mid-Atlantic Ridge ODP-Leg 209(~15 ppm) [3]. Two other samples show high water concentrations (VM-19ΙΙΙ-S3-TVG2-4: 260-275 ppm, Wb-18-b: 190-265 ppm) which compare well with those from Mid-Atlantic Ridge ODP-Leg 153(160-270 ppm) [4]. Most opx water contents decrease with increasing depletion degree (spl Cr#) consistent with an incompatible behavior of water during partial melting. Recalculated bulk water contents (27-117 ppm) of these peridotites overlap

Seismic constraints on magma evolution beneath Mount Baekdu (Changbai) volcano from transdimensional Bayesian inversion of ambient noise data

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seongryong; Tkalčić, Hrvoje; Rhie, Junkee

2017-07-01

The magmatic process of continental intraplate volcanism (CIV) is difficult to understand due to heterogeneous interactions with the crust and the lithospheric upper mantle. Mount Baekdu (Changbai) volcano (MBV) is one of the prominent CIVs in northeast Asia that has shown a complex history of eruptions and associated magmatic structures. In addition, the relationship between the crustal magmatic structures and upper mantle phenomena are enigmatic due to the lack of consistent seismic constraints for the lithospheric structure. To enhance comprehensive understanding of the MBV magma evolution, we image the lithospheric structure beneath the MBV and surrounding regions using ambient noise data and the following two approaches: (1) multiple measures of ambient noise dispersion are acquired through different methods and (2) a transdimensional Bayesian inversion method is utilized to obtain unbiased results in joint analysis of the multiple data sets. The estimated Earth structure shows a thick crust ( 40 km) and a crustal anomaly with relatively high S wave velocity in the depth range 20-40 km. This type of structure extends to 100 km north from the MBV and is accompanied by the shallow and rapid S wave velocity decrease beneath the mantle lid ( 80 km). Through a comparison with previous P wave models, we interpret this structure as a consequence of compositional partitioning by mafic underplating and overlying cooled felsic layers as a result of fractional crystalization.

Surface wind mixing in the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Robin; Hartlipp, Paul

2017-12-01

Mixing at the ocean surface is key for atmosphere-ocean interactions and the distribution of heat, energy, and gases in the upper ocean. Winds are the primary force for surface mixing. To properly simulate upper ocean dynamics and the flux of these quantities within the upper ocean, models must reproduce mixing in the upper ocean. To evaluate the performance of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) in replicating the surface mixing, the results of four different vertical mixing parameterizations were compared against observations, using the surface mixed layer depth, the temperature fields, and observed diffusivities for comparisons. The vertical mixing parameterizations investigated were Mellor- Yamada 2.5 level turbulent closure (MY), Large- McWilliams- Doney Kpp (LMD), Nakanishi- Niino (NN), and the generic length scale (GLS) schemes. This was done for one temperate site in deep water in the Eastern Pacific and three shallow water sites in the Baltic Sea. The model reproduced the surface mixed layer depth reasonably well for all sites; however, the temperature fields were reproduced well for the deep site, but not for the shallow Baltic Sea sites. In the Baltic Sea, the models overmixed the water column after a few days. Vertical temperature diffusivities were higher than those observed and did not show the temporal fluctuations present in the observations. The best performance was by NN and MY; however, MY became unstable in two of the shallow simulations with high winds. The performance of GLS nearly as good as NN and MY. LMD had the poorest performance as it generated temperature diffusivities that were too high and induced too much mixing. Further observational comparisons are needed to evaluate the effects of different stratification and wind conditions and the limitations on the vertical mixing parameterizations.

A new approach for the determination of the drag coefficient from the upper ocean response to a tropical cyclone: A feasibility study

KAUST Repository

Zedler, Sarah

2011-12-30

We seek to determine if a small number of measurements of upper ocean temperature and currents can be used to make estimates of the drag coefficient that have a smaller range of uncertainty than previously found. We adopt a numerical approach using forward models of the ocean\\'s response to a tropical cyclone, whereby the probability density function of drag coefficient values as a function of wind speed that results from adding realistic levels of noise to the simulated ocean response variables is sought. Allowing the drag coefficient two parameters of freedom, namely the values at 35 and at 45 m/s, we found that the uncertainty in the optimal value is about 20% for levels of instrument noise up to 1 K for a misfit function based on temperature, or 1.0 m/s for a misfit function based on 15 m velocity components. This is within tolerable limits considering the spread of measurement-based drag coefficient estimates. The results are robust for several different instrument arrays; the noise levels do not decrease by much for arrays with more than 40 sensors when the sensor positions are random. Our results suggest that for an ideal case, having a small number of sensors (20-40) in a data assimilation problem would provide sufficient accuracy in the estimated drag coefficient. © 2011 The Oceanographic Society of Japan and Springer.

Crustal and upper mantle shear velocities of Iberia, the Alboran Sea, and North Africa from ambient noise and ballistic finite-frequency Rayleigh wave tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Palomeras, I.; Villasenor, A.; Thurner, S.; Levander, A.; Gallart, J.; mimoun, H.

2013-12-01

The complex Mesozoic-Cenozoic Alpine deformation in the western Mediterranean extends from the Pyrenees in northern Spain to the Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco. The Iberian plate was accreted to the European plate in late Cretaceous, resulting in the formation of the Pyrenees. Cenozoic African-European convergence resulted in subduction of the Tethys oceanic plate beneath Europe. Rapid Oligocene slab rollback from eastern Iberia spread eastward and southward, with the trench breaking into three segments by the time it reached the African coast. One trench segment moved southwestward and westward creating the Alboran Sea, floored by highly extended continental crust, and building the encircling Betics Rif mountains comprising the Gibraltar arc, and the Atlas mountains, which formed as the inversion of a Jurassic rift. A number of recent experiments have instrumented this region with broad-band arrays (the US PICASSO array, Spanish IberArray and Siberia arrays, the University of Munster array), which, including the Spanish, Portuguese, and Moroccan permanent networks, provide a combined array of 350 stations having an average interstation spacing of ~60 km. Taking advantage of this dense deployment, we have calculated the Rayleigh waves phase velocities from ambient noise for short periods (4 s to 40 s) and teleseismic events for longer periods (20 s to 167 s). Approximately 50,000 stations pairs were used to measure the phase velocity from ambient noise and more than 160 teleseismic events to measure phase velocity for longer periods. The inversion of the phase velocity dispersion curves provides a 3D shear velocity for the crust and uppermost mantle. Our results show differences between the various tectonic regions that extend to upper mantle depths (~200 km). In Iberia we obtain, on average, higher upper mantle shear velocities in the western Variscan region than in the younger eastern part. We map high upper mantle velocities (>4.6 km/s) beneath the

Avulsions, channel evolution and floodplain sedimentation rates of the anastomosing upper Columbia River, British Columbia, Canada

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Makaske, B.; Smith, D.G.; Berendsen, H.J.A.

2002-01-01

Ages of channels of the anastomosing upper Columbia River, south-eastern British Columbia, Canada, were investigated in a cross-valley transect by C-14 dating of subsurface floodplain organic material from beneath levees. The avulsion history within the transect was deduced from these data, and

Fate of effluent-borne contaminants beneath septic tank drainfields overlying a Karst aquifer.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Brian G; Griffin, Dale W; McMahon, Peter B; Harden, Harmon S; Wade, Edgar; Hicks, Richard W; Chanton, Jeffrey P

2010-01-01

Groundwater quality effects from septic tanks were investigated in the Woodville Karst Plain, an area that contains numerous sinkholes and a thin veneer of sands and clays overlying the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA). Concerns have emerged about elevated nitrate concentrations in the UFA, which is the source of water supply in this area of northern Florida. At three sites during dry and wet periods in 2007-2008, water samples were collected from the septic tank, shallow and deep lysimeters, and drainfield and background wells in the UFA and analyzed for multiple chemical indicators including nutrients, nitrate isotopes, organic wastewater compounds (OWCs), pharmaceutical compounds, and microbiological indicators (bacteria and viruses). Median NO3-N concentration in groundwater beneath the septic tank drainfields was 20 mg L(-1) (8.0-26 mg L(-1)). After adjusting for dilution, about 25 to 40% N loss (from denitrification, ammonium sorption, and ammonia volatilization) occurs as septic tank effluent moves through the unsaturated zone to the water table. Nitrogen loading rates to groundwater were highly variable at each site (3.9-12 kg N yr(-1)), as were N and chloride depth profiles in the unsaturated zone. Most OWCs and pharmaceutical compounds were highly attenuated beneath the drainfields; however, five Cs (caffeine, 1,7-dimethylxanthine, phenol, galaxolide, and tris(dichloroisotopropyl)phosphate) and two pharmaceutical compounds (acetaminophen and sulfamethoxazole) were detected in groundwater samples. Indicator bacteria and human enteric viruses were detected in septic tank effluent samples but only intermittently in soil water and groundwater. Contaminant movement to groundwater beneath each septic tank system also was related to water use and differences in lithology at each site.

Magnetotelluric investigations of the lithosphere beneath the central Rae craton, mainland Nunavut, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Spratt, Jessica E.; Skulski, Thomas; Craven, James A.; Jones, Alan G.; Snyder, David B.; Kiyan, Duygu

2014-03-01

New magnetotelluric soundings at 64 locations throughout the central Rae craton on mainland Nunavut constrain 2-D resistivity models of the crust and lithospheric mantle beneath three regional transects. Responses determined from colocated broadband and long-period magnetotelluric recording instruments enabled resistivity imaging to depths of > 300 km. Strike analysis and distortion decomposition on all data reveal a regional trend of 45-53°, but locally the geoelectric strike angle varies laterally and with depth. The 2-D models reveal a resistive upper crust to depths of 15-35 km that is underlain by a conductive layer that appears to be discontinuous at or near major mapped geological boundaries. Surface projections of the conductive layer coincide with areas of high grade, Archean metasedimentary rocks. Tectonic burial of these rocks and thickening of the crust occurred during the Paleoproterozoic Arrowsmith (2.3 Ga) and Trans-Hudson orogenies (1.85 Ga). Overall, the uppermost mantle of the Rae craton shows resistivity values that range from 3000 Ω m in the northeast (beneath Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula) to 10,000 Ω m beneath the central Rae craton, to >50,000 Ω m in the south near the Hearne Domain. Near-vertical zones of reduced resistivity are identified within the uppermost mantle lithosphere that may be related to areas affected by mantle melt or metasomatism associated with emplacement of Hudsonian granites. A regional decrease in resistivities to values of 500 Ω m at depths of 180-220 km, increasing to 300 km near the southern margin of the Rae craton, is interpreted as the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary.

Autonomous observing strategies for the ocean carbon cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bishop, James K.; Davis, Russ E.

2000-07-26

Understanding the exchanges of carbon between the atmosphere and ocean and the fate of carbon delivered to the deep sea is fundamental to the evaluation of ocean carbon sequestration options. An additional key requirement is that sequestration must be verifiable and that environmental effects be monitored and minimized. These needs can be addressed by carbon system observations made from low-cost autonomous ocean-profiling floats and gliders. We have developed a prototype ocean carbon system profiler based on the Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangian Observer (SOLO; Davis et al., 1999). The SOLO/ carbon profiler will measure the two biomass components of the carbon system and their relationship to physical variables, such as upper ocean stratification and mixing. The autonomous observations within the upper 1500 m will be made on daily time scales for periods of months to seasons and will be carried out in biologically dynamic locations in the world's oceans that are difficult to access with ships (due to weather) or observe using remote sensing satellites (due to cloud cover). Such an observational capability not only will serve an important role in carbon sequestration research but will provide key observations of the global ocean's natural carbon cycle.

The Lithosphere-asthenosphere Boundary beneath the South Island of New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, J.; Fischer, K. M.; Savage, M. K.

2017-12-01

Lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) properties beneath the South Island of New Zealand have been imaged by Sp receiver function common-conversion point stacking. In this transpressional boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates, dextral offset on the Alpine fault and convergence have occurred for the past 20 My, with the Alpine fault now bounded by Australian plate subduction to the south and Pacific plate subduction to the north. This study takes advantage of the long-duration and high-density seismometer networks deployed on or near the South Island, especially 29 broadband stations of the New Zealand permanent seismic network (GeoNet). We obtained 24,980 individual receiver functions by extended-time multi-taper deconvolution, mapping to three-dimensional space using a Fresnel zone approximation. Pervasive strong positive Sp phases are observed in the LAB depth range indicated by surface wave tomography (Ball et al., 2015) and geochemical studies. These phases are interpreted as conversions from a velocity decrease across the LAB. In the central South Island, the LAB is observed to be deeper and broader to the west of the Alpine fault. The deeper LAB to the west of the Alpine fault is consistent with oceanic lithosphere attached to the Australian plate that was partially subducted while also translating parallel to the Alpine fault (e.g. Sutherland, 2000). However, models in which the Pacific lithosphere has been underthrust to the west past the Alpine fault cannot be ruled out. Further north, a zone of thin lithosphere with a strong and vertically localized LAB velocity gradient occurs to the west of the fault, juxtaposed against a region of anomalously weak LAB conversions to the east of the fault. This structure, similar to results of Sp imaging beneath the central segment of the San Andreas fault (Ford et al., 2014), also suggests that lithospheric blocks with contrasting LAB properties meet beneath the Alpine fault. The observed variations in

Crustal rifting and magmatic underplating in the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) intra-oceanic arc detected by active source seismic studies

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, N.; Kodaira, S.; Yamashita, M.; Miura, S.; Sato, T.; No, T.; Tatsumi, Y.; Kaneda, Y.

2009-12-01

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) has carried out seismic experiments using a multichannel reflection system and ocean bottom seismographs (OBSs) in the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana (IBM) arc region since 2002 to understand growth process of continental crust. The source was an airgun array with a total capacity of 12,000 cubic inches and the OBSs as the receiver were deployed with an interval of 5 km for all seismic refraction experiments. As the results, we obtained crustal structures across the whole IBM arc with an interval of 50 km and detected the structural characteristics showing the crustal growth process. The IBM arc is one of typical oceanic island arc, which crustal growth started from subduction of an oceanic crust beneath the other oceanic crust. The arc crust has developed through repeatedly magmatic accretion from subduction slab and backarc opening. The volcanism has activated in Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene and Quaternary (e.g., Taylor, 1992), however, these detailed locations of past volcanic arc has been remained as one of unknown issues. In addition, a role of crustal rifting for the crustal growth has also been still unknown issue yet. Our seismic structures show three rows of past volcanic arc crusts except current arc. A rear arc and a forearc side have one and two, respectively. The first one, which was already reported by Kodaira et al. (2008), distributes in northern side from 27 N of the rear arc region. The second one, which develops in the forearc region next to the recent volcanic front, distributes in whole of the Izu-Ogasawara arc having crustal variation along arc direction. Ones of them sometimes have thicker crust than that beneath current volcanic front and no clear topographic high. Last one in the forearc connects to the Ogasawara Ridge. However, thickest crust is not always located beneath these volcanic arcs. The initial rifting region like the northern end of the Mariana Trough and the Sumisu

The Mafic Lower Crust of Neoproterozoic age beneath Western Arabia: Implications for Understanding African Lower Crust

Science.gov (United States)

Stern, R. J.; Mooney, W. D.

2011-12-01

We review evidence that the lower crust of Arabia - and by implication, that beneath much of Africa was formed at the same time as the upper crust, rather than being a product of Cenozoic magmatic underplating. Arabia is a recent orphan of Africa, separated by opening of the Red Sea ~20 Ma, so our understanding of its lower crust provides insights into that of Africa. Arabian Shield (exposed in W. Arabia) is mostly Neoproterozoic (880-540 Ma) reflecting a 300-million year process of continental crustal growth due to amalgamated juvenile magmatic arcs welded together by granitoid intrusions that make up as much as 50% of the Shield's surface. Seismic refraction studies of SW Arabia (Mooney et al., 1985) reveal two layers, each ~20 km thick, separated by a well-defined Conrad discontinuity. The upper crust has average Vp ~6.3 km/sec whereas the lower crust has average Vp ~7.0 km/sec, corresponding to a granitic upper crust and gabbroic lower crust. Neogene (<30 ma) lava fields in Arabia (harrats) extend over 2500 km, from Yemen to Syria. Many of these lavas contain xenoliths, providing a remarkable glimpse of the lower-crustal and upper-mantle lithosphere beneath W. Arabia. Lower crustal xenoliths brought up in 8 harrats in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria are mostly 2-pyroxene granulites of igneous (gabbroic, anorthositic, and dioritic) origin. They contain plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene, and a few contain garnet and rare amphibole and yield mineral-equilibrium temperatures of 700-900°C. Pyroxene-rich and plagioclase-rich suites have mean Al2O3 contents of 13% and 19%, respectively: otherwise the two groups have similar elemental compositions, with ~50% SiO2 and ~1% TiO2, with low K2O (<0.5%) and Na2O (1-3%). Both groups show tholeiitic affinities, unrelated to their alkali basalt hosts. Mean pyroxene-rich and plagioclase-rich suites show distinct mean MgO contents (11% vs. 7%), Mg# (67 vs. 55), and contents of compatible elements Ni (169 vs. 66 ppm

Mismatch between observed and modeled trends in dissolved upper-ocean oxygen over the last 50 yr

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Stramma

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Observations and model runs indicate trends in dissolved oxygen (DO associated with current and ongoing global warming. However, a large-scale observation-to-model comparison has been missing and is presented here. This study presents a first global compilation of DO measurements covering the last 50 yr. It shows declining upper-ocean DO levels in many regions, especially the tropical oceans, whereas areas with increasing trends are found in the subtropics and in some subpolar regions. For the Atlantic Ocean south of 20° N, the DO history could even be extended back to about 70 yr, showing decreasing DO in the subtropical South Atlantic. The global mean DO trend between 50° S and 50° N at 300 dbar for the period 1960 to 2010 is –0.066 μmol kg⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Results of a numerical biogeochemical Earth system model reveal that the magnitude of the observed change is consistent with CO₂-induced climate change. However, the pattern correlation between simulated and observed patterns of past DO change is negative, indicating that the model does not correctly reproduce the processes responsible for observed regional oxygen changes in the past 50 yr. A negative pattern correlation is also obtained for model configurations with particularly low and particularly high diapycnal mixing, for a configuration that assumes a CO₂-induced enhancement of the C : N ratios of exported organic matter and irrespective of whether climatological or realistic winds from reanalysis products are used to force the model. Depending on the model configuration the 300 dbar DO trend between 50° S and 50° N is −0.027 to –0.047 μmol kg⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for climatological wind forcing, with a much larger range of –0.083 to +0.027 μmol kg⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for different initializations of sensitivity runs with reanalysis wind forcing. Although numerical models reproduce the overall sign and, to

Deformation mechanisms and melt nano-structures in experimentally deformed olivine-orthopyroxene rocks with low melt fractions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kloe, P.A. de

2001-01-01

The major part of the Earth’s upper mantle is thought to be solid, with some regions in the mantle where the rocks contain a small melt fraction These partially molten rocks are associated with important geological processes such as magma production beneath mid-oceanic ridges and may also play an

Ocean deoxygenation in a warming world.

Science.gov (United States)

Keeling, Ralph E; Körtzinger, Arne; Gruber, Nicolas

2010-01-01

Ocean warming and increased stratification of the upper ocean caused by global climate change will likely lead to declines in dissolved O2 in the ocean interior (ocean deoxygenation) with implications for ocean productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, and marine habitat. Ocean models predict declines of 1 to 7% in the global ocean O2 inventory over the next century, with declines continuing for a thousand years or more into the future. An important consequence may be an expansion in the area and volume of so-called oxygen minimum zones, where O2 levels are too low to support many macrofauna and profound changes in biogeochemical cycling occur. Significant deoxygenation has occurred over the past 50 years in the North Pacific and tropical oceans, suggesting larger changes are looming. The potential for larger O2 declines in the future suggests the need for an improved observing system for tracking ocean 02 changes.

Hydrogeologic setting and ground water flow beneath a section of Indian River Bay, Delaware

Science.gov (United States)

Krantz, David E.; Manheim, Frank T.; Bratton, John F.; Phelan, Daniel J.

2004-01-01

The small bays along the Atlantic coast of the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) are a valuable natural resource, and an asset for commerce and recreation. These coastal bays also are vulnerable to eutrophication from the input of excess nutrients derived from agriculture and other human activities in the watersheds. Ground water discharge may be an appreciable source of fresh water and a transport pathway for nutrients entering the bays. This paper presents results from an investigation of the physical properties of the surficial aquifer and the processes associated with ground water flow beneath Indian River Bay, Delaware. A key aspect of the project was the deployment of a new technology, streaming horizontal resistivity, to map the subsurface distribution of fresh and saline ground water beneath the bay. The resistivity profiles showed complex patterns of ground water flow, modes of mixing, and submarine ground water discharge. Cores, gamma and electromagnetic-induction logs, and in situ ground water samples collected during a coring operation in Indian River Bay verified the interpretation of the resistivity profiles. The shore-parallel resistivity lines show subsurface zones of fresh ground water alternating with zones dominated by the flow of salt water from the estuary down into the aquifer. Advective flow produces plumes of fresh ground water 400 to 600 m wide and 20 m thick that may extend more than 1 km beneath the estuary. Zones of dispersive mixing between fresh and saline ground water develop on the upper, lower, and lateral boundaries of the the plume. the plumes generally underlie small incised valleys that can be traced landward to stream draining the upland. The incised valleys are filled with 1 to 2 m of silt and peat that act as a semiconfining layer to restrict the downward flow of salt water from the estuary. Active circulation of both the fresh and saline ground water masses beneath the bay is inferred from the geophysical

Crustal processes of the Mid-Ocean Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Ballard, Richard D.; Craig, H.; Edmond, J.; Einaudi, M.; Holcomb, R.; Holland, H.D.; Hopson, C.A.; Luyendyk, B.P.; Macdonald, K.; Morton, J.; Orcutt, J.; Sleep, N.

1981-01-01

Independent geological and geophysical investigations of the Mid-Ocean Ridge system have begun to focus on the nature of the magma chamber system underlying its central axis. Thermal models predict the existence of a steady-state chamber beneath a thin crustal lid ranging in thickness from 2 to 13 kilometers. The only aspect of the system that these models fail to account for is the extremely slow spreading rates. Seismological studies reveal the existence of a low-velocity zone beneath segments of the East Pacific Rise, which is thought to correspond to a chamber system having a half-width of approximately 5 to 10 kilometers. These estimates compare favorably with those derived separately through petrological investigations of deep-sea drilling results, various sampling programs, and field and laboratory studies of ophiolites. The chamber is thought to be wing-shaped and to remain continuously open; it is thought to be fed from the center while simultaneously solidifying at the sides as spreading carries the two halves apart. Progressive fractionation occurs by crystal settling coupled with repeated replenishment and magma mixing in an open steady-state system. Near-bottom studies reveal that the zone of extrusion above the chamber is narrow, but its eruptive history is cyclic in nature, in conflict with the predictions of a steady-state model. On-bottom gravity data at 21 ??N on the East Pacific Rise reveal a negative gravity anomaly that may be related to the uppermost part of the chamber. The anomaly is only 2 kilometers wide and 1 kilometer below the sea floor. This feature may be associated with a short-term upper magma reservoir. The cyclic volcanic activity is directly related to the active phase of hydrothermal circulation responsible for the observed negative thermal anomaly. The volume of water associated with this circulation is equal to the entire ocean volume passing through the accretion zone approximately every 8 million years. This is about 0

Crustal processes of the mid-ocean ridge.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-07-03

Independent geological and geophysical investigations of the Mid-Ocean Ridge system have begun to focus on the nature of the magma chamber system underlying its central axis. Thermal models predict the existence of a steady-state chamber beneath a thin crustal lid ranging in thickness from 2 to 13 kilometers. The only aspect of the system that these models fail to account for is the extremely slow spreading rates. Seismological studies reveal the existence of a low-velocity zone beneath segments of the East Pacific Rise, which is thought to correspond to a chamber system having a half-width of approximately 5 to 10 kilometers. These estimates compare favorably with those derived separately through petrological investigations of deep-sea drilling results, various sampling programs, and field and laboratory studies of ophiolites. The chamber is thought to be wing-shaped and to remain continuously open; it is thought to be fed from the center while simultaneously solidifying at the sides as spreading carries the two halves apart. Progressive fractionation occurs by crystal settling coupled with repeated replenishment and magma mixing in an open steady-state system. Near-bottom studies reveal that the zone of extrusion above the chamber is narrow, but its eruptive history is cyclic in nature, in conflict with the predictions of a steady-state model. On-bottom gravity data at 21 degrees N on the East Pacific Rise reveal a negative gravity anomaly that may be related to the uppermost part of the chamber. The anomaly is only 2 kilometers wide and 1 kilometer below the sea floor. This feature may be associated with a short-term upper magma reservoir. The cyclic volcanic activity is directly related to the active phase of hydrothermal circulation responsible for the observed negative thermal anomaly. The volume of water associated with this circulation is equal to the entire ocean volume passing through the accretion zone approximately every 8 million years. This is about 0

Magma source evolution beneath the Caribbean oceanic plateau: New insights from elemental and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic studies of ODP Leg 165, Site 1001 basalts

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, A. C.; Pearson, G.; Nowell, G.

2008-12-01

Ocean Drilling Project Leg 165 sampled 38m of the basaltic basement of the Caribbean plate at Site 1001 on the Hess Escarpment. The recovered section consists of 12 basaltic flow units which yield a weighted mean Ar-Ar age of 80.9±0.9 Ma (Sinton et al., 2000). The basalts (6.4-8.5 wt.% MgO) are remarkably homogeneous in composition and are more depleted in incompatible trace elements than N-MORB. Markedly, depleted initial radiogenic isotope ratios reveal a long-term history of depletion. Although the Site 1001 basalts are superficially similar to N-MORB, radiogenic isotopes in conjunction with incompatible trace element ratios show that the basalts have more similarity to the depleted basalts and komatiites of Gorgona Island. This chemical composition strongly implies that the Site 1001 basalts are derived from a depleted mantle plume component and not from depleted ambient upper mantle. Therefore the Site 1001 basalts are, both compositionally and tectonically, a constituent part of the Caribbean oceanic plateau. Mantle melt modelling suggests that the Site 1001 lavas have a composition which is consistent with second-stage melting of compositionally heterogeneous mantle plume source material which had already been melted, most likely to form the 90Ma basalts of the plateau. The prolonged residence (>10m.y.) of residual mantle plume source material below the region, confirms computational model predictions and places significant constraints on tectonic models of Caribbean evolution in the late Cretaceous, and the consequent environmental impact of oceanic plateau volcanism. Reference Sinton, C.W., et al., 2000. Geochronology and petrology of the igneous basement at the lower Nicaraguan Rise, Site 1001. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results. Leg 165. pp. 233-236.

Spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the upper ocean of the South China Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X.-D. Shang

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The spatial distribution of the dissipation rate (ε and diapycnal diffusivity (κ in the upper ocean of the South China Sea (SCS is presented from a measurement program conducted from 26 April to 23 May 2010. In the vertical distribution, the dissipation rates below the surface mixed layer were predominantly high in the thermocline where shear and stratification were strong. In the regional distribution, high dissipation rates and diapycnal diffusivities were observed in the region to the west of the Luzon Strait, with an average dissipation rate and diapycnal diffusivity of 8.3  ×  10−9 W kg−1 and 2.7  ×  10−5 m2 s−1, respectively, almost 1 order of magnitude higher than those in the central and southern SCS. In the region to the west of the Luzon Strait, the water column was characterized by strong shear and weak stratification. Elevated dissipation rates (ε > 10−7 W kg−1 and diapycnal diffusivities (κ > 10−4 m2 s−1, induced by shear instability, occurred in the water column. In the central and southern SCS, the water column was characterized by strong stratification and weak shear and the turbulent mixing was weak. Internal waves and internal tides generated near the Luzon Strait are expected to make a dominant contribution to the strong turbulent mixing and shear in the region to the west of the Luzon Strait. The observed dissipation rates were found to scale positively with the shear and stratification, which were consistent with the MacKinnon–Gregg model used for the continental shelf but different from the Gregg–Henyey scaling used for the open ocean.

Seismic structure of the lithosphere beneath NW Namibia: Impact of the Tristan da Cunha mantle plume

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Xiaohui; Heit, Benjamin; Brune, Sascha; Steinberger, Bernhard; Geissler, Wolfram H.; Jokat, Wilfried; Weber, Michael

2017-01-01

Northwestern Namibia, at the landfall of the Walvis Ridge, was affected by the Tristan da Cunha mantle plume during continental rupture between Africa and South America, as evidenced by the presence of the Etendeka continental flood basalts. Here we use data from a passive-source seismological network to investigate the upper mantle structure and to elucidate the Cretaceous mantle plume-lithosphere interaction. Receiver functions reveal an interface associated with a negative velocity contrast within the lithosphere at an average depth of 80 km. We interpret this interface as the relic of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) formed during the Mesozoic by interaction of the Tristan da Cunha plume head with the pre-existing lithosphere. The velocity contrast might be explained by stagnated and "frozen" melts beneath an intensively depleted and dehydrated peridotitic mantle. The present-day LAB is poorly visible with converted waves, indicating a gradual impedance contrast. Beneath much of the study area, converted phases of the 410 and 660 km mantle transition zone discontinuities arrive 1.5 s earlier than in the landward plume-unaffected continental interior, suggesting high velocities in the upper mantle caused by a thick lithosphere. This indicates that after lithospheric thinning during continental breakup, the lithosphere has increased in thickness during the last 132 Myr. Thermal cooling of the continental lithosphere alone cannot produce the lithospheric thickness required here. We propose that the remnant plume material, which has a higher seismic velocity than the ambient mantle due to melt depletion and dehydration, significantly contributed to the thickening of the mantle lithosphere.

Surface signature of Mediterranean water eddies in the Northeastern Atlantic: effect of the upper ocean stratification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Bashmachnikov

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Meddies, intra-thermocline eddies of Mediterranean water, can often be detected at the sea surface as positive sea-level anomalies. Here we study the surface signature of several meddies tracked with RAFOS floats and AVISO altimetry.

While pushing its way through the water column, a meddy raises isopycnals above. As a consequence of potential vorticity conservation, negative relative vorticity is generated in the upper layer. During the initial period of meddy acceleration after meddy formation or after a stagnation stage, a cyclonic signal is also generated at the sea-surface, but mostly the anticyclonic surface signal follows the meddy.

Based on geostrophy and potential vorticity balance, we present theoretical estimates of the intensity of the surface signature. It appears to be proportional to the meddy core radius and to the Coriolis parameter, and inversely proportional to the core depth and buoyancy frequency. This indicates that surface signature of a meddy may be strongly reduced by the upper ocean stratification. Using climatic distribution of the stratification intensity, we claim that the southernmost limit for detection in altimetry of small meddies (with radii on the order of 10–15 km should lie in the subtropics (35–45° N, while large meddies (with radii of 25–30 km could be detected as far south as the northern tropics (25–35° N. Those results agree with observations.

Climate, carbon cycling, and deep-ocean ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, K L; Ruhl, H A; Bett, B J; Billett, D S M; Lampitt, R S; Kaufmann, R S

2009-11-17

Climate variation affects surface ocean processes and the production of organic carbon, which ultimately comprises the primary food supply to the deep-sea ecosystems that occupy approximately 60% of the Earth's surface. Warming trends in atmospheric and upper ocean temperatures, attributed to anthropogenic influence, have occurred over the past four decades. Changes in upper ocean temperature influence stratification and can affect the availability of nutrients for phytoplankton production. Global warming has been predicted to intensify stratification and reduce vertical mixing. Research also suggests that such reduced mixing will enhance variability in primary production and carbon export flux to the deep sea. The dependence of deep-sea communities on surface water production has raised important questions about how climate change will affect carbon cycling and deep-ocean ecosystem function. Recently, unprecedented time-series studies conducted over the past two decades in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic at >4,000-m depth have revealed unexpectedly large changes in deep-ocean ecosystems significantly correlated to climate-driven changes in the surface ocean that can impact the global carbon cycle. Climate-driven variation affects oceanic communities from surface waters to the much-overlooked deep sea and will have impacts on the global carbon cycle. Data from these two widely separated areas of the deep ocean provide compelling evidence that changes in climate can readily influence deep-sea processes. However, the limited geographic coverage of these existing time-series studies stresses the importance of developing a more global effort to monitor deep-sea ecosystems under modern conditions of rapidly changing climate.

Unusually thickened crust beneath the Emeishan large igneous province detected by virtual deep seismic sounding

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhen; Tian, Xiaobo; Chen, Yun; Xu, Tao; Bai, Zhiming; Liang, Xiaofeng; Iqbal, Javed; Xu, Yigang

2017-11-01

The Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) in southwest China represents the erosional remnant of a vast basalt field emplaced during the Permian Period. Spanning 0.25 million km2, the ELIP occupies a relatively small area relative to other Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) such as the Siberian Traps and Ontong Java Plateau. The original volume of an ancient LIP can be constrained from estimates of its intrusive component. We used virtual deep seismic sounding (VDSS) to detect the boundary between the crust and the upper mantle (Moho) beneath the ELIP. A strong set of reflections from depths of 60-70 km indicate an unusually thick crust having a P-wave velocity of 7.0-7.4 km/s located beneath the inner zone of the ELIP. A high-velocity lower crustal body (HVLCB) of this thickness may have been formed by ponding magmas derived from the Emeishan mantle plume and associated fractionated materials. Combined images of crustal structure allow re-estimation of Emeishan magmatic volume. With a total estimated volume of 1.76-3.2 × 106 km3, the ELIP appears to have been a typical sized plume-generated LIP relative to other global examples.

Baseline mapping study of the Steed Pond aquifer and vadose zone beneath A/M Area, Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, D.G. Jr.

2000-01-01

This report presents the second phase of a baseline mapping project conducted for the Environmental Restoration Department (ERD) at Savannah River Site. The purpose of this second phase is to map the structure and distribution of mud (clay and silt-sized sediment) within the vadose zone beneath A/M Area. The results presented in this report will assist future characterization and remediation activities in the vadose zone and upper aquifer zones in A/M Area

Decrease in oceanic crustal thickness since the breakup of Pangaea

Science.gov (United States)

van Avendonk, Harm J. A.; Davis, Joshua K.; Harding, Jennifer L.; Lawver, Lawrence A.

2017-01-01

Earth's mantle has cooled by 6-11 °C every 100 million years since the Archaean, 2.5 billion years ago. In more recent times, the surface heat loss that led to this temperature drop may have been enhanced by plate-tectonic processes, such as continental breakup, the continuous creation of oceanic lithosphere at mid-ocean ridges and subduction at deep-sea trenches. Here we use a compilation of marine seismic refraction data from ocean basins globally to analyse changes in the thickness of oceanic crust over time. We find that oceanic crust formed in the mid-Jurassic, about 170 million years ago, is 1.7 km thicker on average than crust produced along the present-day mid-ocean ridge system. If a higher mantle temperature is the cause of thicker Jurassic ocean crust, the upper mantle may have cooled by 15-20 °C per 100 million years over this time period. The difference between this and the long-term mantle cooling rate indeed suggests that modern plate tectonics coincide with greater mantle heat loss. We also find that the increase of ocean crustal thickness with plate age is stronger in the Indian and Atlantic oceans compared with the Pacific Ocean. This observation supports the idea that upper mantle temperature in the Jurassic was higher in the wake of the fragmented supercontinent Pangaea due to the effect of continental insulation.

Trends of coastal and oceanic ST along the Western Iberian Peninsula over the period 1975- 2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, F.; Gómez-Gesteira, M.; deCastro, M.; Álvarez, I.; Sousa, M. C.

2012-04-01

Temperature is observed to have different trends at coastal and oceanic locations along the western Iberian Peninsula (from 43.25oN to 37.25oN and from 9.75°W to 14.75°W) from 1975 to 2006. This period corresponds with the last warming period in the area under study. The analysis was carried out by means of the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) package. Reanalysis of ocean climate variability are available at monthly scale with a horizontal resolution of 0.5o- 0.5o and a vertical resolution of 40 levels which allows us to obtain information beneath the sea surface levels (http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~ocean/). Only the first 21 vertical levels (from 5.0 m to 729.35 m) were considered since the most important changes in the heat content observed in the world ocean during the last decades, correspond to the upper 700m (Levitus et al., 2009). Warming was observed to be considerably higher at ocean locations than at coastal ones at the same latitude. This behavior is observed throughout the water column. Ocean warming ranged from values on the order of 0.3 °C dec-1 near surface to 0.1 °C dec-1 at 500 m depth. On the contrary, the coastal warming is much smaller, reaching values close to 0.2 °C dec-1 near surface and decreasing rapidly at values below 0.1 °C dec-1 for depths on the order of 50 m. Actually, coastal warming is practically negligible under 50 m. The different warming rates near coast and at ocean locations have been previously described for SST by the authors (Santos et al, 2011, 2012). The weaker coastal warming compared with the ocean warming at the same latitude was related to the presence of coastal upwelling. Coastal upwelling is the most importing forcing mechanism in the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula pumping cold water from below to near surface layers. In this sense, the heat diffusion from the atmosphere is constrained to near surface area by advection, which mixes deeper colder water with warmer surface water. The heat content

Simulations of Precipitation Variability over the Upper Rio Grande Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costigan, Keeley R.; Bossert, James E.; Langley, David L.

1997-10-01

In this research, we study Albuquerque's water and how it may be affected by changes in the regional climate, as manifested by variations in Rio Grande water levels. To do this, we rely on the use of coupled atmospheric, runoff, and ground water models. Preliminary work on the project has focused on uncoupled simulations of the aquifer beneath Albuquerque and winter precipitation simulations of the upper Rio Grande Basin. The latter is discussed in this paper

Historical and future trends in ocean climate and biogeochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2014-01-01

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

Intermediate-depth earthquakes within young Cocos plate beneath Central Mexico: A hypothesis test for dehydration embrittlement and shear instability

Science.gov (United States)

Song, T.

2010-12-01

Subducting slab undergoes a series of dehydration reactions on their ways into the mantle and these processes are responsible for transporting water, recycling volatiles and chemical elements in arc magmas. It is generally accepted that the SOC is hydrated. However, it is not clear if subducting oceanic mantle (SOM) is hydrated and how deep the hydration is. Seismic refraction studies found that normal-fault type faulting can extend 12-20 km deep into the interior of the slab off Nicaragua, suggesting deep hydration of the SOM. Seismic refraction studies also found that the uppermost SOM is seismically slow and is partially serpentinized. The fluids released from dehydration inside the SOM can reduce the normal stress locally and facilitate the occurrences of intra-slab events through dehydration embrittlement and hydraulic fracture. It has been suggested that the dehydration of antigorite at about 600C is particularly important in facilitating the lower plane of the double seismic zone. To link the dehydration process to the occurrences of intra-slab events, it is critical to clarify where these events are located, either located at the dehydration boundary or in the neighborhood rocks. However, if the SOM is anhydrous, other mechanism, such as shear instabilities, has to be invoked to explain the occurrences of intermediate-depth intraslab earthquakes. Here I discuss locations of intermediate-depth intraslab earthquakes in Central Mexico subduction zone, where young Cocos plate subducts beneath North America plate. Recent studies involving local converted wave modeling and receiver function analysis indicate the presence of an ultra-slow velocity layer (USL) of about 3 km thick, likely an over-pressured upper oceanic crust. Most events display anomalously large converted SP waves that are 2-2.5 secs after direct P waves and finite difference modeling converge the location of these events about 9 km below the lower boundary USL. With a lower oceanic crust of about

Upper Mantle Dynamics of Bangladesh by Splitting Analyzes of Core Refracted SKS and SKKS Waves

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, A. K.; Bhushan, K.; Eken, T.; Singh, A.

2017-12-01

New shear wave splitting measurements are obtained from hitherto less studied Bengal Basin using core refracted SKS and SKKS phases. Splitting parameters, time delays (δt) and fast polarization directions (Φ) were estimated through analysis of 64 high-quality waveforms (≥ 2.5 signal to noise ratio) from 29 earthquakes with magnitude ≥5.5 recorded at eight seismic stations deployed over Bangladesh. We found no evidence of splitting which indicates azimuthal isotropy beneath the region. Null measurements can be explained by near vertical axis of anisotropy or by the presence of multiple anisotropic layers with different fast polarization directions, where combined effect results in null. We consider that the presence of partial melts within the upper mantle due to Kerguelen mantle plume activities may be the potential geodynamic cause for observed null measurements. It locally perturbed mantle convection flow beneath the region and reoriented the lattice preferred orientation of the upper mantle mineral mainly olivine as this disabled the core refracted SKS and SKKS phases to scan the anisotropic characteristics of the region, and hence null measurements are obtained.

Electromagnetic exploration of the oceanic mantle.

Science.gov (United States)

Utada, Hisashi

2015-01-01

Electromagnetic exploration is a geophysical method for examining the Earth's interior through observations of natural or artificial electromagnetic field fluctuations. The method has been in practice for more than 70 years, and 40 years ago it was first applied to ocean areas. During the past few decades, there has been noticeable progress in the methods of instrumentation, data acquisition (observation), data processing and inversion. Due to this progress, applications of this method to oceanic regions have revealed electrical features of the oceanic upper mantle down to depths of several hundred kilometers for different geologic and tectonic environments such as areas around mid-oceanic ridges, areas around hot-spot volcanoes, subduction zones, and normal ocean areas between mid-oceanic ridges and subduction zones. All these results estimate the distribution of the electrical conductivity in the oceanic mantle, which is key for understanding the dynamics and evolution of the Earth together with different physical properties obtained through other geophysical methods such as seismological techniques.

Delaware River and Upper Bay Sediment Data

Data.gov (United States)

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

Tropical cyclone turbulent mixing as observed by autonomous oceanic profilers with the high repetition rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranowski, D B; Malinowski, S P; Flatau, P J

2011-01-01

Changes in the ocean mixed layer caused by passage of two consecutive typhoons in the Western Pacific are presented. Ocean profiles were measured by a unique Argo float sampling the upper ocean in high repetition cycle with a period of about one day. It is shown that the typhoon passage coincides with cooling of the mixed layer and variations of its salinity. Independent data from satellite measurements of surface winds were used to set-up an and idealized numerical simulation of mixed layer evolution. Results, compared to Argo profiles, confirm known effect that cooling is a result of increased entrainment from the thermocline due to enhancement of turbulence in the upper ocean by the wind stress. Observed pattern of salinity changes in the mixed layer suggest important role of typhoon precipitation. Fast changes of the mixed layer in course of typhoon passage show that fast profiling (at least once a day) is crucial to study response of the upper ocean to tropical cyclone.

Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions off Sabrina and Adelie Coasts During NBP1402 and AU1402

Science.gov (United States)

Orsi, A. H.; Zielinski, N. J.; Webb, C.; Huber, B. A.

2015-12-01

Diverse interactions of winds, currents and ice around Antarctica dictate how, where and when the world's densest waters form, massive floating ice shelves and glaciers melt, gases are exchanged at the sea surface, and primary productivity. Compelled by recent rate estimates of East Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss, we contrast the paths and mixing histories of oceanic waters reaching the continental ice edge off the Sabrina and Adelie coasts relying on a the first synoptic shipboard measurements made by U.S. (NBP1402) and Australian (AU1402) scientists. Analysis of historical hydrography and sea ice concentration fields within the Mertz Polynya indicates the apparent effect of evolving ocean-ice- atmosphere interactions on the characteristics of local Shelf Water (SW) sources. A polynya dominated water mass structure similar to that observed off the Adelie Coast before the removal of the Mertz Ice Tongue was expected to the west of the Dalton Ice Tongue (DIT). However, there was no evidence of dense SW off Sabrina Coast during both summer cruises of 2014 and 2015, thus lessening the region's preconceived influence to global meridional overturning. Present sea ice production within the eastern Dalton Polynya is overshadowed by freshwater input to relatively stable interior upper waters. The Antarctic Coastal Current (ACoC) picks up distinct meltwater contributions along the DIT western flank and in front of the Moscow University Ice Shelf (MUIS) and Totten Glacier (TG). Unlike over other highly influential margins to global sea level rise, the main evidence of inflow and mixing of relatively warm oceanic waters is reduced to relatively cold thermocline water (< 0.3°C) from the continental slope. This source water enters the eastern trough off Sabrina Coast and is swiftly steered poleward by complex underlying topography. Meltwater export from beneath the MUIS and TG is observed at newly discovered trenches that effectively constrain sub-cavity inflow to low salinity

The Upper- to Middle-Crustal Section of the Alisitos Oceanic Arc, (Baja, Mexico): an Analog of the Izu-Bonin-Marianas (IBM) Arc

Science.gov (United States)

Medynski, S.; Busby, C.; DeBari, S. M.; Morris, R.; Andrews, G. D.; Brown, S. R.; Schmitt, A. K.

2016-12-01

The Rosario segment of the Cretaceous Alisitos arc in Baja California is an outstanding field analog for the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc, because it is structurally intact, unmetamorphosed, and has superior three-dimensional exposures of an upper- to middle-crustal section through an extensional oceanic arc. Previous work1, done in the pre-digital era, used geologic mapping to define two phases of arc evolution, with normal faulting in both phases: (1) extensional oceanic arc, with silicic calderas, and (2) oceanic arc rifting, with widespread diking and dominantly mafic effusions. Our new geochemical data match the extensional zone immediately behind the Izu arc front, and is different from the arc front and rear arc, consistent with geologic relations. Our study is developing a 3D oceanic arc crustal model, with geologic maps draped on Google Earth images, and GPS-located outcrop information linked to new geochemical, geochronological and petrographic data, with the goal of detailing the relationships between plutonic, hypabyssal, and volcanic rocks. This model will be used by scientists as a reference model for past (IBM-1, 2, 3) and proposed IBM (IBM-4) drilling activities. New single-crystal zircon analysis by TIMS supports the interpretation, based on batch SIMS analysis of chemically-abraded zircon1, that the entire upper-middle crustal section accumulated in about 1.5 Myr. Like the IBM, volcanic zircons are very sparse, but zircon chemistry on the plutonic rocks shows trace element compositions that overlap to those measured in IBM volcanic zircons by A. Schmitt (unpublished data). Zircons have U-Pb ages up to 20 Myr older than the eruptive age, suggesting remelting of older parts of the arc, similar to that proposed for IBM (using different evidence). Like IBM, some very old zircons are also present, indicating the presence of old crustal fragments, or sediments derived from them, in the basement. However, our geochemical data show that the magmas are

Depth variations of P-wave azimuthal anisotropy beneath East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, W.; Zhao, D.; Xu, J.

2017-12-01

We present a new P-wave anisotropic tomographic model beneath East Asia by inverting a total of 1,488,531 P wave arrival-time data recorded by the regional seismic networks in East Asia and temporary seismic arrays deployed on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results provide important new insights into the subducting Indian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates and mantle dynamics in East Asia. Our tomographic images show that the northern limit of the subducting Indian plate has reached the Jinsha River suture in eastern Tibet. A striking variation of P-wave azimuthal anisotropy is revealed in the Indian lithosphere: the fast velocity direction (FVD) is NE-SW beneath the Indian continent, whereas the FVD is arc parallel beneath the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, which may reflect re-orientation of minerals due to lithospheric extension, in response to the India-Eurasia collision. The FVD in the subducting Philippine Sea plate beneath the Ryukyu arc is NE-SW(trench parallel), which is consistent with the spreading direction of the West Philippine Basin during its initial opening stage, suggesting that it may reflect the fossil anisotropy. A circular pattern of FVDs is revealed around the Philippine Sea slab beneath SE China. We suggest that it reflects asthenospheric strain caused by toroidal mantle flow around the edge of the subducting slab. We find a striking variation of the FVD with depth in the subducting Pacific slab beneath the Northeast Japan arc. It may be caused by slab dehydration that changed elastic properties of the slab with depth. The FVD in the mantle wedge beneath the Northeast Japan and Ryukyu arcs is trench normal, which reflects subduction-induced convection. Beneath the Kuril and Izu-Bonin arcs where oblique subduction occurs, the FVD in the mantle wedge is nearly normal to the moving direction of the downgoing Pacific plate, suggesting that the oblique subduction together with the complex slab morphology have disturbed the mantle flow.

Mercury biogeochemical cycling in the ocean and policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-11-01

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

Evidence for Late Permian-Upper Triassic ocean acidification from calcium isotopes in carbonate of the Kamura section in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, F.; Zhao, L., Sr.; Chen, Z. Q.; Wang, X.

2017-12-01

Calcium and carbon cycles are tightly related in the ocean, for example, through continental weathering and deposition of carbonate, thus, very important for exploring evolutions of marine environment during the earth history. The end-Permian mass extinction is the biggest biological disaster in the Phanerozoic and there are several studies talking about variations of calcium isotopes across the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB). However, these studies are all from the Tethys regions (Payne et al., 2010; Hinojosa et al., 2012), while the Panthalassic Ocean is still unknown to people. Moreover, evolutions of the calcium isotopes during the Early to Late Triassic is also poorly studied (Blattler et al., 2012). Here, we studied an Uppermost Permian to Upper Triassic shallow water successions (Kamura section, Southwest Japan) in the Central Panthalassic Ocean. The Kamura section is far away from the continent without any clastic pollution, therefore, could preserved reliable δ44/40Cacarb signals. Conodont zonation and carbonate carbon isotope also provide precious time framework which is necessary for the explaining of the δ44/40Cacarb profile. In Kamura, δ44/40Cacarb and δ13Ccarb both exhibit negative excursions across the PTB, the δ44/40Cacarb value in the end-Permian is 1.0398‰ then abrupt decrease to the minimum value of 0.1524‰. CO2-driven global ocean acidification best explains the coincidence of the δ44/40Cacarb excursion with negative excursions in the δ13Ccarb of carbonates until the Early Smithian(N1a, N1b, N1c, P1, N2, P2). In the Middle and the Late Triassic, the δ44/40 Cacarb average approximately 1.1‰. During the Middle and Late Triassic, strong relationships between δ44/40Cacarb and δ13Ccarb are collapsed, indicating a normal pH values of the seawater in those time. The Siberian Trap volcanism probably played a significant role on the δ44/40Cacarb until the late Early Triassic. After that, δ44/40Cacarb was mostly controlled by carbonate

The Experience of Using Autonomous Drifters for Studying the Ice Fields and the Ocean Upper Layer in the Arctic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.V. Motyzhev

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The constructional and operational features of the BTC60/GPS/ice temperature-profiling drifters, developed in Marine Hydrophysical institute RAS for investigation of polar areas, are considered in this article. The drifters operated in completely automatic mode measuring air pressure, water temperatures at 17 depths down to 60 m, ocean pressures at 20, 40 and 60 m nominal depths and current locations. Accuracies of measurements were: +/-2 hPa for air pressure, +/-0.1°C for temperatures, +/-30 hPa for ocean pressure, 60 m for locations. Iridium satellite communication system was used for data transfer. Time delay between sample and delivery to a user did not exceed 10 minutes. More than 30 thermodrifters were developed in the Beaufort Sea – Canada Basin and central Arctic for the period from September 2012 to September 2014. Total duration of drifting buoys in operation was more of 4800 days. It was accepted the data of hourly samples about variability of ice-flows and ice field as a whole movements, thermo processes within upper water layer below ice, air pressure in near surface atmosphere of the Arctic region. The article includes some results of statistical analysis of data from drifter ID247950, the 3-year trajectory of which depended on the processes of transfer and evolution of ice fields in the Beaufort Sea – Canada Basin. Over a long period of time the Arctic buoy in-situ experiments allowed resulting about capability and reasonability to create reliable, technological and low-cost buoy network on basis of BTC60/GPS/ice drifters to monitor Arctic area of the World Ocean.

Ocean heat content and ocean energy budget: make better use of historical global subsurface temperature dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, L.; Zhu, J.

2016-02-01

Ocean heat content (OHC) change contributes substantially to global sea level rise, also is a key metric of the ocean/global energy budget, so it is a vital task for the climate research community to estimate historical OHC. While there are large uncertainties regarding its value, here we review the OHC calculation by using the historical global subsurface temperature dataset, and discuss the sources of its uncertainty. The presentation briefly introduces how to correct to the systematic biases in expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data, a alternative way of filling data gaps (which is main focus of this talk), and how to choose a proper climatology. A new reconstruction of historical upper (0-700 m) OHC change will be presented, which is the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) version of historical upper OHC assessment. The authors also want to highlight the impact of observation system change on OHC calculation, which could lead to bias in OHC estimates. Furthermore, we will compare the updated observational-based estimates on ocean heat content change since 1970s with CMIP5 results. This comparison shows good agreement, increasing the confidence of the climate models in representing the climate history.

Satellite-based Calibration of Heat Flux at the Ocean Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, C. N.; Dastugue, J. M.; May, J. C.; Rowley, C. D.; Smith, S. R.; Spence, P. L.; Gremes-Cordero, S.

2016-02-01

Model forecasts of upper ocean heat content and variability on diurnal to daily scales are highly dependent on estimates of heat flux through the air-sea interface. Satellite remote sensing is applied to not only inform the initial ocean state but also to mitigate errors in surface heat flux and model representations affecting the distribution of heat in the upper ocean. Traditional assimilation of sea surface temperature (SST) observations re-centers ocean models at the start of each forecast cycle. Subsequent evolution depends on estimates of surface heat fluxes and upper-ocean processes over the forecast period. The COFFEE project (Calibration of Ocean Forcing with satellite Flux Estimates) endeavors to correct ocean forecast bias through a responsive error partition among surface heat flux and ocean dynamics sources. A suite of experiments in the southern California Current demonstrates a range of COFFEE capabilities, showing the impact on forecast error relative to a baseline three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation using Navy operational global or regional atmospheric forcing. COFFEE addresses satellite-calibration of surface fluxes to estimate surface error covariances and links these to the ocean interior. Experiment cases combine different levels of flux calibration with different assimilation alternatives. The cases may use the original fluxes, apply full satellite corrections during the forecast period, or extend hindcast corrections into the forecast period. Assimilation is either baseline 3DVAR or standard strong-constraint 4DVAR, with work proceeding to add a 4DVAR expanded to include a weak constraint treatment of the surface flux errors. Covariance of flux errors is estimated from the recent time series of forecast and calibrated flux terms. While the California Current examples are shown, the approach is equally applicable to other regions. These approaches within a 3DVAR application are anticipated to be useful for global and larger

Effects of UVB radiation on net community production in the upper global ocean

KAUST Repository

Garcia-Corral, Lara S.

2016-08-31

Aim Erosion of the stratospheric ozone layer together with oligotrophication of the subtropical ocean is leading to enhanced exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation in ocean surface waters. The impact of increased exposure to UVB on planktonic primary producers and heterotrophs is uncertain. Here we test the null hypothesis that net community production (NCP) of plankton communities in surface waters of the tropical and subtropical ocean is not affected by ambient UVB radiation and extend this test to the global ocean, including the polar oceans and the Mediterranean Sea using previous results. Location We conducted experiments with 131 surface communities sampled during a circumnavigation cruise along the tropical and subtropical ocean and combined these results with 89 previous reports encompassing the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Southern Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. Methods The use of quartz (transparent to UVB radiation) and borosilicate glass materials (opaque to most UVB) for incubations allowed us to compare NCP between communities where UVB is excluded and those receiving natural UVB radiation. Results We found that NCP varies when exposed to natural UVB radiation compared to those where UVB was removed. NCP of autotrophic communities tended to decrease under natural UVB radiation, whereas the NCP of heterotrophic communities tended to increase. However, these variations showed the opposite trend under higher levels of UVB radiation. Main conclusions Our results suggest that earlier estimates of NCP for surface communities, which were hitherto derived using materials blocking UVB radiation were biased, with the direction and magnitude of this bias depending on the metabolic status of the communities and the underwater penetration of UVB radiation.

Geodynamics of oceanic plateau and plume head accretion and their role in Phanerozoic orogenic systems of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter G. Betts

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present three 3D numerical models of deep subduction where buoyant material from an oceanic plateau and a plume interact with the overriding plate to assess the influence on subduction dynamics, trench geometry, and mechanisms for plateau accretion and continental growth. Transient instabilities of the convergent margin are produced, resulting in: contorted trench geometry; trench migration parallel with the plate margin; folding of the subducting slab and orocline development at the convergent margin; and transfer of the plateau to the overriding plate. The presence of plume material beneath the oceanic plateau causes flat subduction above the plume, resulting in a “bowed” shaped subducting slab. In plateau-only models, plateau accretion at the edge of the overriding plate results in trench migration around the edge of the plateau before subduction is re-established directly behind the trailing edge of the plateau. The plateau shortens and some plateau material subducts. The presence of buoyant plume material beneath the oceanic plateau has a profound influence on the behaviour of the convergent margin. In the plateau + plume model, plateau accretion causes rapid trench advance. Plate convergence is accommodated by shearing at the base of the plateau and shortening in the overriding plate. The trench migrates around the edge of the plateau and subduction is re-established well behind the trailing edge of the plateau, effectively embedding the plateau into the overriding plate. A slab window forms beneath the accreted plateau and plume material is transferred from the subducting plate to the overriding plate through the window. In all of the models, the subduction zone maintains a relatively stable configuration away from the buoyancy anomalies within the downgoing plate. The models provide a dynamic context for plateau and plume accretion in Phanerozoic accretionary orogenic systems such as the East China Orogen and the Central Asian

Structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean)

Science.gov (United States)

Banda, E.; Ansorge, J.; Boloix, M.; Córdoba, D.

1980-09-01

Data are presented from deep seismic sounding along the strike of the Balearic Islands carried out in 1976. The interpretation of the data gives the following results: A sedimentary cover of 4 km around Ibiza to 7 km under Mallorca overlies the crystalline basement. This basement with a P-wave velocity of 6.0 km/s at the top reaches a depth of at least 15 km under Ibiza and 17 km under Mallorca with an increase to 6.1 km/s at these depths. The crust-mantle boundary lies at a depth of 20 km and 25 km, respectively. A well documented upper-mantle velocity of 7.7 km/s is found along the entire profile. The Moho rises to a depth of 20 km about 30 km north of Mallorca and probably continues rising towards the center of the North Balearic Sea. The newly deduced crustal structure together with previously determined velocity-depth sections in the North Balearic Sea as well as heat flow and aeromagnetic data can be interpreted as an extended rift structure caused by large-scale tensional processes in the upper mantle. The available data suggest that the entire zone from the eastern Alboran Sea to the area north of the Balearic Islands represents the southeastern flank of this rift system. In this model the provinces of Spain along the east coast would represent the northwestern rift flank.

Eclogitization of the Subducted Oceanic Crust and Its Implications for the Mechanism of Slow Earthquakes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xinyang; Zhao, Dapeng; Suzuki, Haruhiko; Li, Jiabiao; Ruan, Aiguo

2017-12-01

The generating mechanism and process of slow earthquakes can help us to better understand the seismogenic process and the petrological evolution of the subduction system, but they are still not very clear. In this work we present robust P and S wave tomography and Poisson's ratio images of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate beneath the Kii peninsula in Southwest Japan. Our results clearly reveal the spatial extent and variation of a low-velocity and high Poisson's ratio layer which is interpreted as the remnant of the subducted oceanic crust. The low-velocity layer disappears at depths >50 km, which is attributed to crustal eclogitization and consumption of fluids. The crustal eclogitization and destruction of the impermeable seal play a key role in the generation of slow earthquakes. The Moho depth of the overlying plate is an important factor affecting the depth range of slow earthquakes in warm subduction zones due to the transition of interface permeability from low to high there. The possible mechanism of the deep slow earthquakes is the dehydrated oceanic crustal rupture and shear slip at the transition zone in response to the crustal eclogitization and the temporal stress/strain field. A potential cause of the slow event gap existing beneath easternmost Shikoku and the Kii channel is the premature rupture of the subducted oceanic crust due to the large tensional force.

Variability of Basal Melt Beneath the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf, West Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Bindschadler, Robert; Vaughan, David G.; Vornberger, Patricia

2011-01-01

Observations from satellite and airborne platforms are combined with model calculations to infer the nature and efficiency of basal melting of the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, West Antarctica, by ocean waters. Satellite imagery shows surface features that suggest ice-shelf-wide changes to the ocean s influence on the ice shelf as the grounding line retreated. Longitudinal profiles of ice surface and bottom elevations are analyzed to reveal a spatially dependent pattern of basal melt with an annual melt flux of 40.5 Gt/a. One profile captures a persistent set of surface waves that correlates with quasi-annual variations of atmospheric forcing of Amundsen Sea circulation patterns, establishing a direct connection between atmospheric variability and sub-ice-shelf melting. Ice surface troughs are hydrostatically compensated by ice-bottom voids up to 150m deep. Voids form dynamically at the grounding line, triggered by enhanced melting when warmer-than-average water arrives. Subsequent enlargement of the voids is thermally inefficient (4% or less) compared with an overall melting efficiency beneath the ice shelf of 22%. Residual warm water is believed to cause three persistent polynyas at the ice-shelf front seen in Landsat imagery. Landsat thermal imagery confirms the occurrence of warm water at the same locations.

Upper Triassic limestones from the northern part of Japan: new insights on the Panthalassa Ocean and Hokkaido Island

Science.gov (United States)

Peyrotty, Giovan; Peybernes, Camille; Ueda, Hayato; Martini, Rossana

2017-04-01

In comparison with the well-known Tethyan domain, Upper Triassic limestones from the Panthalassa Ocean are still poorly known. However, these carbonates represent a unique opportunity to have a more accurate view of the Panthalassa Ocean during the Triassic. Their study will allow comparison and correlation of biotic assemblages, biostratigraphy, diagenesis, and depositional settings of different Triassic localities from Tethyan and Panthalassic domains. Moreover, investigation of these carbonates will provide data for taxonomic revisions and helps to better constrain palaeobiogeographic models. One of the best targets for the study of these carbonates is Hokkaido Island (north of Japan). Indeed, this island is a part of the South-North continuity of Jurassic to Paleogene accretionary complexes, going from the Philippines to Sakhalin Island (Far East Russia). Jurassic and Cretaceous accretionary complexes of Japan and Philippines contain Triassic mid-oceanic seamount carbonates from the western Panthalassa Ocean (Onoue & Sano, 2007; Kiessling & Flügel, 2000). They have been accreted either as isolated limestone slabs or as clasts and boulders, and are associated with mudstones, cherts, breccias and basaltic rocks. Two major tectonic units forming Hokkaido Island and containing Triassic limestones have been accurately explored and extensively sampled: the Oshima Belt (west Hokkaido) a Jurassic accretionary complex, and the Cretaceous Sorachi-Yezo Belt (central Hokkaido). The Sorachi-Yezo Belt is composed of Cretaceous accretionary complexes in the east and of Cretaceous clastic basin sediments deposited on a Jurassic basement in the west (Ueda, 2016), both containing Triassic limestones. The origin of this belt is still matter of debate especially because of its western part which is not in continuity with any other accretionary complex known in the other islands of Japan and also due to the lack of data in this region. One of the main goals of this study is to

Hydrologic assessment of the shallow groundwater flow system beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands, Suffolk County, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Noll, Michael L.; Rivera, Simonette L.; Busciolano, Ronald J.

2016-12-02

west.Water levels in many of the wells in the network fluctuated in response to precipitation, upgradient groundwater flow, and tidal flux in Shinnecock Bay. Water level altitudes ranged from 6.66 to 0.47 feet (ft) above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 during the spring measurement period, and from 5.25 to -0.24 ft (NAVD 88) during fall 2014. Historically, annual and seasonal precipitation seem to indicate long-term water level trends in an index well located in the town of Southampton, correlates with changes in storage in the upper glacial aquifer, but does not necessarily indicate water level extremes in the shallow groundwater system. To place the study period in perspective, calendar year 2014 was the 32d wettest year on record, with precipitation for the year totaling 48.1 inches, a 2.6-percent increase from the annual average (46.9 inches per year), based on 81 years of complete record at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service cooperative meteorological station at Bridgehampton, New York. Estimated recharge to the water table beneath the tribal lands from precipitation for 2014 is 25.4 inches.Tidal flux caused water levels in wells to fluctuate from 0.30 to -0.24 ft during May 2014. Water levels in wells located north of Old Fort Pond and beneath the southernmost extent of the tribal lands were most influenced by tidal flux. During June 2014, hydrographs indicate that tidal flux influenced water levels by 0.48 ft in a well located near the southernmost extent of the tribal lands approximately 0.3 miles north of Shinnecock Bay, and was zero at a well located approximately 0.5 miles south of Montauk Highway, and 0.4 miles west of Heady Creek, near the geographic center of the tribal lands. Tidal-influence delay time (time interval between peak high-tide stage and corresponding peak high-water level) ranged from 1.75 hours at the well located near the southernmost extent of the tribal lands, to more than 4

Diurnal variability of surface fluxes at an oceanic station in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, Y.V.B.; Rao, D.P.

Diurnal variability of the surface fluxes and ocean heat content was studied using the time-series data on marine surface meteorological parameters and upper ocean temperature collected at an oceanic station in the Bay of Bengal during 1st to 8th...

Ocean barrier layers' effect on tropical cyclone intensification.

Science.gov (United States)

Balaguru, Karthik; Chang, Ping; Saravanan, R; Leung, L Ruby; Xu, Zhao; Li, Mingkui; Hsieh, Jen-Shan

2012-09-04

Improving a tropical cyclone's forecast and mitigating its destructive potential requires knowledge of various environmental factors that influence the cyclone's path and intensity. Herein, using a combination of observations and model simulations, we systematically demonstrate that tropical cyclone intensification is significantly affected by salinity-induced barrier layers, which are "quasi-permanent" features in the upper tropical oceans. When tropical cyclones pass over regions with barrier layers, the increased stratification and stability within the layer reduce storm-induced vertical mixing and sea surface temperature cooling. This causes an increase in enthalpy flux from the ocean to the atmosphere and, consequently, an intensification of tropical cyclones. On average, the tropical cyclone intensification rate is nearly 50% higher over regions with barrier layers, compared to regions without. Our finding, which underscores the importance of observing not only the upper-ocean thermal structure but also the salinity structure in deep tropical barrier layer regions, may be a key to more skillful predictions of tropical cyclone intensities through improved ocean state estimates and simulations of barrier layer processes. As the hydrological cycle responds to global warming, any associated changes in the barrier layer distribution must be considered in projecting future tropical cyclone activity.

State of Climate 2011 - Global Ocean Phytoplankton

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, D. A.; Antoine, D.; Behrenfeld, M. J.; d'Andon, O. H. Fanton; Fields, E.; Franz, B. A.; Goryl, P.; Maritorena, S.; McClain, C. R.; Wang, M.;

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2008-12-23

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

Soil property control of biogeochemical processes beneath two subtropical stormwater infiltration basins.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Reilly, Andrew M; Wanielista, Martin P; Chang, Ni-Bin; Harris, Willie G; Xuan, Zhemin

2012-01-01

Substantially different biogeochemical processes affecting nitrogen fate and transport were observed beneath two stormwater infiltration basins in north-central Florida. Differences are related to soil textural properties that deeply link hydroclimatic conditions with soil moisture variations in a humid, subtropical climate. During 2008, shallow groundwater beneath the basin with predominantly clayey soils (median, 41% silt+clay) exhibited decreases in dissolved oxygen from 3.8 to 0.1 mg L and decreases in nitrate nitrogen (NO-N) from 2.7 mg L to soils (median, 2% silt+clay), aerobic conditions persisted from 2007 through 2009 (dissolved oxygen, 5.0-7.8 mg L), resulting in NO-N of 1.3 to 3.3 mg L in shallow groundwater. Enrichment of δN and δO of NO combined with water chemistry data indicates denitrification beneath the clayey basin and relatively conservative NO transport beneath the sandy basin. Soil-extractable NO-N was significantly lower and the copper-containing nitrite reductase gene density was significantly higher beneath the clayey basin. Differences in moisture retention capacity between fine- and coarse-textured soils resulted in median volumetric gas-phase contents of 0.04 beneath the clayey basin and 0.19 beneath the sandy basin, inhibiting surface/subsurface oxygen exchange beneath the clayey basin. Results can inform development of soil amendments to maintain elevated moisture content in shallow soils of stormwater infiltration basins, which can be incorporated in improved best management practices to mitigate NO impacts. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-12-01

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

Elastic and Anelastic Structure Beneath Eurasia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ekstrom, Goran

1997-01-01

The primary objective of this work has been to map the variations of elastic mantle properties beneath Eurasia over horizontal length scales of approximately 1000-1500 kilometers and vertial length...

Tomography images of the Alpine roots and surrounding upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Plomerova, Jaroslava; Babuska, Vladislav

2017-04-01

Teleseismic body-wave tomography represents powerful tool to study regional velocity structure of the upper mantle and to image velocity anomalies, such as subducted lithosphere plates in collisional zones. In this contribution, we recapitulate 3D models of the upper mantle beneath the Alps, which developed at a collision zone of the Eurasian and African plates. Seismic tomography studies indicate a leading role of the rigid mantle lithosphere that functioned as a major stress guide during the plate collisions. Interactions of the European lithosphere with several micro-plates in the south resulted in an arcuate shape of this mountain range on the surface and in a complicated geometry of the Alpine subductions in the mantle. Early models with one bended lithosphere root have been replaced with more advanced models showing two separate lithosphere roots beneath the Western and Eastern Alps (Babuska et al., Tectonophysics 1990; Lippitsch et al., JGR 2003). The standard isotropic velocity tomography, based on pre-AlpArray data (the currently performed passive seismic experiment in the Alps and surroundings) images the south-eastward dipping curved slab of the Eurasian lithosphere in the Western Alps. On the contrary, beneath the Eastern Alps the results indicate a very steep northward dipping root that resulted from the collision of the European plate with the Adriatic microplate. Dando et al. (2011) interpret high-velocity heterogeneities at the bottom of their regional tomographic model as a graveyard of old subducted lithospheres. High density of stations, large amount of rays and dense ray-coverage of the volume studied are not the only essential pre-requisites for reliable tomography results. A compromise between the amount of pre-processed data and the high-quality of the tomography input (travel-time residuals) is of the high importance as well. For the first time, the existence of two separate roots beneath the Alps has been revealed from carefully pre

The Indian Ocean as a Connector

Science.gov (United States)

Durgadoo, J. V.; Biastoch, A.; Boning, C. W.

2016-02-01

The Indian Ocean is a conduit for the upper ocean flow of the global thermohaline circulation. It receives water from the Pacific Ocean through the Indonesian throughflow and the Tasman leakage, and exports water into the Atlantic by means of Agulhas leakage. A small contribution from the northern Indian Ocean is also detectable within Agulhas leakage. Changes on different timescales in the various components of the Pacific inflows and the Atlantic outflow have been reported. Little is known on the role of the Indian Ocean circulation in communicating changes from the Pacific into the Atlantic, let alone any eventual alterations in response to climate change. The precise routes and timescales of Indonesian throughflow, Tasman leakage, Red Sea and Persian Gulf Waters towards the Atlantic are examined in a Lagrangian framework within a high-resolution global ocean model. In this presentation, the following questions are addressed: How are Pacific waters modified in the Indian Ocean before reaching the Agulhas system? On what timescale is water that enters the Indian Ocean from the Pacific flushed out? How important are detours in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea?

Consensuses and discrepancies of basin-scale ocean heat content changes in different ocean analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gongjie; Cheng, Lijing; Abraham, John; Li, Chongyin

2018-04-01

Inconsistent global/basin ocean heat content (OHC) changes were found in different ocean subsurface temperature analyses, especially in recent studies related to the slowdown in global surface temperature rise. This finding challenges the reliability of the ocean subsurface temperature analyses and motivates a more comprehensive inter-comparison between the analyses. Here we compare the OHC changes in three ocean analyses (Ishii, EN4 and IAP) to investigate the uncertainty in OHC in four major ocean basins from decadal to multi-decadal scales. First, all products show an increase of OHC since 1970 in each ocean basin revealing a robust warming, although the warming rates are not identical. The geographical patterns, the key modes and the vertical structure of OHC changes are consistent among the three datasets, implying that the main OHC variabilities can be robustly represented. However, large discrepancies are found in the percentage of basinal ocean heating related to the global ocean, with the largest differences in the Pacific and Southern Ocean. Meanwhile, we find a large discrepancy of ocean heat storage in different layers, especially within 300-700 m in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Furthermore, the near surface analysis of Ishii and IAP are consistent with sea surface temperature (SST) products, but EN4 is found to underestimate the long-term trend. Compared with ocean heat storage derived from the atmospheric budget equation, all products show consistent seasonal cycles of OHC in the upper 1500 m especially during 2008 to 2012. Overall, our analyses further the understanding of the observed OHC variations, and we recommend a careful quantification of errors in the ocean analyses.

A new tomographic image on the Philippine Sea Slab beneath Tokyo - Implication to seismic hazard in the Tokyo metropolitan region -

Science.gov (United States)

Hirata, N.; Sakai, S.; Nakagawa, S.; Ishikawa, M.; Sato, H.; Kasahara, K.; Kimura, H.; Honda, R.

2012-12-01

In central Japan, the Philippine Sea plate (PSP) subducts beneath the Tokyo metropolitan region. Devastating M8-class earthquakes occurred on the upper surface of the Philippine Sea plate (SPS), examples of which are the Genroku earthquake of 1703 (magnitude M=8.0) and the Kanto earthquake of 1923 (M=7.9), which had 105,000 fatalities. A M7 or greater (M7+) earthquake in this region at present has high potential to produce devastating loss of life and property with even greater global economic repercussions although it is smaller than the megathrust type M8-class earthquakes. This great earthquake is evaluated to occur with a probability of 70 % in 30 years by the Earthquake Research Committee of Japan. The M7+ earthquakes may occur either on the upper surface or intra slab of PSP. The Central Disaster Management Council of Japan estimates the next great M7+ earthquake will cause 11,000 fatalities and 112 trillion yen (1 trillion US$) economic loss at worst case if it occur beneath northern Tokyo bay with M7.3. However, the estimate is based on a source fault model by conventional studies about the PSP geometry. To evaluate seismic hazard due to the great quake we need to clarify the geometry of PSP and also the Pacific palate (PAP) that subducs beneath PSP. We identify those plates with use of seismic tomography and available deep seismic reflection profiling and borehole data in southern Kanto area. We deployed about 300 seismic stations in the greater Tokyo urban region under the Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in Tokyo Metropolitan Area. We obtain clear P- and S- wave velocity (Vp and Vs) tomograms which show a clear image of PSP and PAP. A depth to the top of PSP, 20 to 30 kilometer beneath northern part of Tokyo bay, is about 10 km shallower than previous estimates based on the distribution of seismicity (Ishida, 1992). This shallower plate geometry changes estimations of strong ground motion for seismic hazards analysis within the Tokyo

Simulating and understanding the gap outflow and oceanic response over the Gulf of Tehuantepec during GOTEX

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Xiaodong; Peng, Melinda; Wang, Shouping; Wang, Qing

2018-06-01

Tehuantepecer is a strong mountain gap wind traveling through Chivela Pass into eastern Pacific coast in southern Mexico, most commonly between October and February and brings huge impacts on local and surrounding meteorology and oceanography. Gulf of Tehuantepec EXperiment (GOTEX) was conducted in February 2004 to enhance the understanding of the strong offshore gap wind, ocean cooling, vertical circulations and interactions among them. The gap wind event during GOTEX was simulated using the U.S. Navy Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®). The simulations are compared and validated with the observations retrieved from several satellites (GOES 10-12, MODIS/Aqua/Terra, TMI, and QuikSCAT) and Airborne EXpendable BathyThermograph (AXBT). The study shows that the gap wind outflow has a fanlike pattern expending from the coast and with a strong diurnal variability. The surface wind stress and cooling along the axis of the gap wind outflow caused intense upwelling and vertical mixing in the upper ocean; both contributed to the cooling of the ocean mixed layer under the gap wind. The cooling pattern of sea surface temperature (SST) also reflects temperature advection by the nearby ocean eddies to have a crescent shape. Two sensitivity experiments were conducted to understand the relative roles of the wind stress and heat flux on the ocean cooling. The control has more cooling right under the gap flow region than either the wind-stress-only or the heat-flux-only experiment. Overall, the wind stress has a slightly larger effect in bringing down the ocean temperature near the surface and plays a more important role in local ocean circulations beneath the mixed layer. The impact of surface heat flux on the ocean is more limited to the top 30 m within the mixed layer and is symmetric to the gap flow region by cooling the ocean under the gap flow region and reducing the warming on both sides. The effect of surface wind stress is to induce more cooling

Seismic observation of a sharp post-garnet phase transition within the Farallon crust: Evidence for oceanic plateau subduction

Science.gov (United States)

Maguire, R.; Ritsema, J.

2017-12-01

The tectonic evolution of North America over the past 150 million years was heavily influenced by the complex subduction history of the Farallon plate. In particular, Laramide mountain building may have been triggered by the initiation of flat slab subduction in the late Cretaceous. While it has been proposed that the cause of slab flattening is related to the subduction of an oceanic plateau[1], direct geophysical evidence of a subducted oceanic plateau is lacking. Here, using P-to-S receiver functions, we detect a sharp seismic discontinuity at 720-km depth beneath the southeastern United States and Gulf of Mexico. We interpret this discontinuity as a garnet-to-bridgmanite phase transition occurring within a thickened Farallon crust. Our results are consistent with a subducted oceanic plateau (likely the conjugate half of the Hess rise) which is foundering below the base of the mantle transition zone. Additionally, we find a strong 520-km discontinuity beneath the southeastern United States which may indicate a hydrous transition zone due to the release of H2O from the Farallon slab. These results provide insight into the dynamics of flat slab subduction as well as the tectonic history of North America. [1] Livaccari, R. F., Burke, K., & Şengör, A. M. C. (1981). Was the Laramide orogeny related to subduction of an oceanic plateau? Nature, v. 289, p. 276-278, doi: 10.1038/289276a0

Increase in acidifying water in the western Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Di; Chen, Liqi; Chen, Baoshan; Gao, Zhongyong; Zhong, Wenli; Feely, Richard A.; Anderson, Leif G.; Sun, Heng; Chen, Jianfang; Chen, Min; Zhan, Liyang; Zhang, Yuanhui; Cai, Wei-Jun

2017-02-01

The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean decreases seawater pH and carbonate mineral aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), a process known as Ocean Acidification (OA). This can be detrimental to marine organisms and ecosystems. The Arctic Ocean is particularly sensitive to climate change and aragonite is expected to become undersaturated (Ωarag Pacific Winter Water transport, driven by an anomalous circulation pattern and sea-ice retreat, is primarily responsible for the expansion, although local carbon recycling and anthropogenic CO2 uptake have also contributed. These results indicate more rapid acidification is occurring in the Arctic Ocean than the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, with the western Arctic Ocean the first open-ocean region with large-scale expansion of `acidified’ water directly observed in the upper water column.

Observations of Near-Surface Current Shear Help Describe Oceanic Oil and Plastic Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Laxague, Nathan J. M.; Ö-zgökmen, Tamay M.; Haus, Brian K.; Novelli, Guillaume; Shcherbina, Andrey; Sutherland, Peter; Guigand, Cédric M.; Lund, Björn; Mehta, Sanchit; Alday, Matias; Molemaker, Jeroen

2018-01-01

Plastics and spilled oil pose a critical threat to marine life and human health. As a result of wind forcing and wave motions, theoretical and laboratory studies predict very strong velocity variation with depth over the upper few centimeters of the water column, an observational blind spot in the real ocean. Here we present the first-ever ocean measurements of the current vector profile defined to within 1 cm of the free surface. In our illustrative example, the current magnitude averaged over the upper 1 cm of the ocean is shown to be nearly four times the average over the upper 10 m, even for mild forcing. Our findings indicate that this shear will rapidly separate pieces of marine debris which vary in size or buoyancy, making consideration of these dynamics essential to an improved understanding of the pathways along which marine plastics and oil are transported.

Modeling Europa's Ice-Ocean Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Elsenousy, A.; Vance, S.; Bills, B. G.

2014-12-01

This work focuses on modeling the ice-ocean interface on Jupiter's Moon (Europa); mainly from the standpoint of heat and salt transfer relationship with emphasis on the basal ice growth rate and its implications to Europa's tidal response. Modeling the heat and salt flux at Europa's ice/ocean interface is necessary to understand the dynamics of Europa's ocean and its interaction with the upper ice shell as well as the history of active turbulence at this area. To achieve this goal, we used McPhee et al., 2008 parameterizations on Earth's ice/ocean interface that was developed to meet Europa's ocean dynamics. We varied one parameter at a time to test its influence on both; "h" the basal ice growth rate and on "R" the double diffusion tendency strength. The double diffusion tendency "R" was calculated as the ratio between the interface heat exchange coefficient αh to the interface salt exchange coefficient αs. Our preliminary results showed a strong double diffusion tendency R ~200 at Europa's ice-ocean interface for plausible changes in the heat flux due to onset or elimination of a hydrothermal activity, suggesting supercooling and a strong tendency for forming frazil ice.

Receiver Function Imaging of Mantle Transition Zone Discontinuities Beneath Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Dahm, Haider Hassan Faraj

Subduction of tectonic plates is one of the most important tectonic processes, yet many aspects of subduction zone geodynamics remain unsolved and poorly understood, such as the depth extent of the subducted slab and its geometry. The Alaska subduction zone, which is associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North America plate, has a complex tectonic setting and carries a series of subduction episodes, and represents an excellent target to study such plate tectonic processes. Previous seismological studies in Alaska have proposed different depth estimations and geometry for the subducted slab. The Mantle transition zone discontinuities of the 410km and the 660 km provide independent constraints on the depth extent of the subducted slabs. We conducted a receiver function study to map the topography of the 410 km and the 660 km discontinuities beneath Alaska and its adjacent areas by taking advantage of the teleseismic data from the new USArray deployment in Alaska and northwestern Canada. Stacking over 75,000 high-quality radial receiver functions recorded in Alaska with more than 40 years of recording period, the topographies of the 410 km and 660 km are mapped. The depths of both d410 and d660 show systematic spatial variations, the mean depth of d410 and d660 are within 6 km and 6 km from the global average, respectively. The mean MTZ thickness of the entire study area is within -2 km from the global average of 250 km, suggesting normal MTZ conditions on average. Central and south-central Alaska are characterized by a larger than normal MTZ thickness, suggesting that the subducting Pacific slab is thermally interacted with the MTZ. This study shows that lateral upper mantle velocity variations contribute the bulk of the observed apparent undulations of the MTZ discontinuities.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1992-01-01

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

230Th-238U disequilibrium and the melting processes beneath ridge axes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKenzie, D.

1985-01-01

The activity ratio ( 230 Th/ 238 U) is calculated for a simple model of melting, for which the melt fraction in chemical and radioactive equilibrium with the solid residium remains constant as melting proceeds. The activity ratio in the melt is only significantly different from unity if the melting is slow compared with the half-life of 230 Th and if the melt fraction present at any time does not exceed a few percent. The observation that ( 230 Th/ 238 U) is about 1.25 for many ocean ridge basalts is therefore most easily explained if the melt fraction in the source region is less than 2% and if the melting occurs in a broad region more than 100 km wide beneath the ridge axis. These results are compatible with other geophysical observations. Measurements of ( 226 Ra/ 238 U) might provide useful constraints on the time required to reach chemical equilibrium between the melt and the matrix. (orig.)

Deformation associated to exhumation by detachment faulting of upper mantle rocks in a fossil Ocean Continent Transition: The example of the Totalp unit in SE Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Picazo, S.; Manatschal, G.; Cannat, M.

2013-12-01

The exhumation of upper mantle rocks along detachment faults is widespread at Mid-Ocean Ridges and at the Ocean-Continent Transition (OCT) of rifted continental margins. Thermo-mechanical models indicate that significant strain softening of the fault rocks in the footwall is required in order to produce such large fault offsets. Our work focuses on deformation textures, and the associated mineralogy in ultramafic rocks sampled in the upper levels of the footwall next to the exhumation fault. We present two OCT examples, the Totalp relict of a paleo-Tethys OCT exposed in SE Switzerland, and the Iberian distal margin (ODP Leg 173 Site 1070). We built a new geological map and a section of the Totalp unit near Davos (SE Switzerland) and interpreted this area as a local exposure of a paleo-seafloor that is formed by an exhumed detachment surface and serpentinized peridotites. The top of the exhumed mantle rocks is made of ophicalcites that resulted from the carbonation of serpentine under static conditions at the seafloor. The ophicalcites preserve depositional contacts with Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous pelagic sediments. These sequences did not exceed prehnite-pumpellyite metamorphic facies conditions, and locally escaped Alpine deformation. Thin mylonitic shear zones as well as foliated amphibole-bearing ultramafic rocks have been mapped. The age of these rocks and the link with the final exhumation history are yet unknown but since amphibole-bearing ultramafic rocks can be found as clasts in cataclasites related to the detachment fault, they pre-date detachment faulting. Our petrostructural study of the exhumed serpentinized rocks also reveals a deformation gradient from cataclasis to gouge formation within 150m in the footwall of the proposed paleo-detachment fault. This deformation postdates serpentinization. It involves a component of plastic deformation of serpentine in the most highly strained intervals that has suffered pronounced grain-size reduction and

The subcontinental mantle beneath southern New Zealand, characterised by helium isotopes in intraplate basalts and gas-rich springs

Science.gov (United States)

Hoke, L.; Poreda, R.; Reay, A.; Weaver, S. D.

2000-07-01

New helium isotope data measured in Cenozoic intraplate basalts and their mantle xenoliths are compared with present-day mantle helium emission on a regional scale from thermal and nonthermal gas discharges on the South Island of New Zealand and the offshore Chatham Islands. Cenozoic intraplate basaltic volcanism in southern New Zealand has ocean island basalt affinities but is restricted to continental areas and absent from adjacent Pacific oceanic crust. Its distribution is diffuse and widespread, it is of intermittent timing and characterised by low magma volumes. Most of the 3He/ 4He ratios measured in fluid inclusions in mantle xenocrysts and basalt phenocrysts such as olivine, garnet, and amphibole fall within the narrow range of 8.5 ± 1.5 Ra (Ra is the atmospheric 3He/ 4He ratio) with a maximum value of 11.5 Ra. This range is characteristic of the relatively homogeneous and degassed upper MORB-mantle helium reservoir. No helium isotope ratios typical of the lower less degassed mantle (>12 Ra), such as exemplified by the modern hot-spot region of Hawaii (with up to 32 Ra) were measured. Helium isotope ratios of less than 8 Ra are interpreted in terms of dilution of upper mantle helium with a radiogenic component, due to either age of crystallisation or small-scale mantle heterogeneities caused by mixing of crustal material into the upper mantle. The crude correlation between age of samples and helium isotopes with generally lower R/Ra values in mantle xenoliths compared with host rock phenocrysts and the in general depleted Nd and Sr isotope ratios and the light rare earth element enrichment of the basalts supports derivation of melts as small melt fractions from a depleted upper mantle, with posteruptive ingrowth of radiogenic helium as a function of lithospheric age. In comparison, the regional helium isotope survey of thermal and nonthermal gas discharges of the South Island of New Zealand shows that mantle 3He anomalies in general do not show an obvious

Crustal structure beneath Eastern Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reiche, Sönke; Thybo, H.; Kaip, G.

2011-01-01

is recorded by 350 Reftek Texan receivers for 10 equidistant shot points along the profile. We use forward ray tracing modelling to construct a two-dimensional velocity model from the observed travel times. These results show the first images of the subsurface velocity structure beneath the Greenland ice...

Two-component mantle melting-mixing model for the generation of mid-ocean ridge basalts: Implications for the volatile content of the Pacific upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Kei; Saal, Alberto E.; Myers, Corinne E.; Nagle, Ashley N.; Hauri, Erik H.; Forsyth, Donald W.; Kamenetsky, Vadim S.; Niu, Yaoling

2016-03-01

We report major, trace, and volatile element (CO2, H2O, F, Cl, S) contents and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) glasses from the Northern East Pacific Rise (NEPR) off-axis seamounts, the Quebrada-Discovery-GoFar (QDG) transform fault system, and the Macquarie Island. The incompatible trace element (ITE) contents of the samples range from highly depleted (DMORB, Th/La ⩽ 0.035) to enriched (EMORB, Th/La ⩾ 0.07), and the isotopic composition spans the entire range observed in EPR MORB. Our data suggest that at the time of melt generation, the source that generated the EMORB was essentially peridotitic, and that the composition of NMORB might not represent melting of a single upper mantle source (DMM), but rather mixing of melts from a two-component mantle (depleted and enriched DMM or D-DMM and E-DMM, respectively). After filtering the volatile element data for secondary processes (degassing, sulfide saturation, assimilation of seawater-derived component, and fractional crystallization), we use the volatiles to ITE ratios of our samples and a two-component mantle melting-mixing model to estimate the volatile content of the D-DMM (CO2 = 22 ppm, H2O = 59 ppm, F = 8 ppm, Cl = 0.4 ppm, and S = 100 ppm) and the E-DMM (CO2 = 990 ppm, H2O = 660 ppm, F = 31 ppm, Cl = 22 ppm, and S = 165 ppm). Our two-component mantle melting-mixing model reproduces the kernel density estimates (KDE) of Th/La and 143Nd/144Nd ratios for our samples and for EPR axial MORB compiled from the literature. This model suggests that: (1) 78% of the Pacific upper mantle is highly depleted (D-DMM) while 22% is enriched (E-DMM) in volatile and refractory ITE, (2) the melts produced during variable degrees of melting of the E-DMM controls most of the MORB geochemical variation, and (3) a fraction (∼65% to 80%) of the low degree EMORB melts (produced by ∼1.3% melting) may escape melt aggregation by freezing at the base of the oceanic lithosphere, significantly enriching it in

ONR Ocean Wave Dynamics Workshop

Science.gov (United States)

In anticipation of the start (in Fiscal Year 1988) of a new Office of Naval Research (ONR) Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI) on Ocean Surface Wave Dynamics, a workshop was held August 5-7, 1986, at Woods Hole, Mass., to discuss new ideas and directions of research. This new ARI on Ocean Surface Wave Dynamics is a 5-year effort that is organized by the ONR Physical Oceanography Program in cooperation with the ONR Fluid Mechanics Program and the Physical Oceanography Branch at the Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity (NORDA). The central theme is improvement of our understanding of the basic physics and dynamics of surface wave phenomena, with emphasis on the following areas: precise air-sea coupling mechanisms,dynamics of nonlinear wave-wave interaction under realistic environmental conditions,wave breaking and dissipation of energy,interaction between surface waves and upper ocean boundary layer dynamics, andsurface statistical and boundary layer coherent structures.

Seismic Discontinuities within the Crust and Mantle Beneath Indonesia as Inferred from P Receiver Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Woelbern, I.; Rumpker, G.

2015-12-01

Indonesia is situated at the southern margin of SE Asia, which comprises an assemblage of Gondwana-derived continental terranes, suture zones and volcanic arcs. The formation of SE Asia is believed to have started in Early Devonian. Its complex history involves the opening and closure of three distinct Tethys oceans, each accompanied by the rifting of continental fragments. We apply the receiver function technique to data of the temporary MERAMEX network operated in Central Java from May to October 2004 by the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam. The network consisted of 112 mobile stations with a spacing of about 10 km covering the full width of the island between the southern and northern coast lines. The tectonic history is reflected in a complex crustal structure of Central Java exhibiting strong topography of the Moho discontinuity related to different tectonic units. A discontinuity of negative impedance contrast is observed throughout the mid-crust interpreted as the top of a low-velocity layer which shows no depth correlation with the Moho interface. Converted phases generated at greater depth beneath Indonesia indicate the existence of multiple seismic discontinuities within the upper mantle and even below. The strongest signal originates from the base of the mantle transition zone, i.e. the 660 km discontinuity. The phase related to the 410 km discontinuity is less pronounced, but clearly identifiable as well. The derived thickness of the mantle-transition zone is in good agreement with the IASP91 velocity model. Additional phases are observed at roughly 33 s and 90 s relative to the P onset, corresponding to about 300 km and 920 km, respectively. A signal of reversed polarity indicates the top of a low velocity layer at about 370 km depth overlying the mantle transition zone.

Mission Moho: Rationale for drilling deep through the ocean crust into the upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Ildefonse, B.; Abe, N.; Kelemen, P. B.; Kumagai, H.; Teagle, D. A. H.; Wilson, D. S.; Moho Proponents, Mission

2009-04-01

Sampling a complete section of the ocean crust to the Moho was the original inspiration for scientific ocean drilling, and remains the main goal of the 21st Century Mohole Initiative in the IODP Science Plan. Fundamental questions about the composition, structure, and geophysical characteristics of the ocean lithosphere, and about the magnitude of chemical exchanges between the mantle, crust and oceans remain unresolved due to the absence of in-situ samples and measurements. The geological nature of the Mohorovičić discontinuity itself remains poorly constrained. "Mission Moho" is a proposal that was submitted to IODP in April 2007, with the ambition to drill completely through intact oceanic crust formed at a fast spreading rate, across the Moho and into the uppermost mantle. Although, eventually, no long-term mission was approved by IODP, the scientific objectives related to deep drilling in the ocean crust remain essential to our understanding of the Earth. These objectives are to : - Determine the geological meaning of the Moho in different oceanic settings, determine the in situ composition, structure and physical properties of the uppermost mantle, and understand mantle melt migration, - Determine the bulk composition of the oceanic crust to establish the chemical links between erupted lavas and primary mantle melts, understand the extent and intensity of seawater hydrothermal exchange with the lithosphere, and estimate the chemical fluxes returned to the mantle by subduction, - Test competing hypotheses of the ocean crust accretion at fast spreading mid-ocean ridges, and quantify the linkages and feedbacks between magma intrusion, hydrothermal circulation and tectonic activity, - Calibrate regional seismic measurements against recovered cores and borehole measurements, and understand the origin of marine magnetic anomalies, - Establish the limits of life in the ocean lithosphere. The "MoHole" was planned as the final stage of Mission Moho, which requires

Estimation of the drag coefficient from the upper ocean response to a hurricane: A variational data assimilation approach

KAUST Repository

Zedler, Sarah

2013-08-01

We seek to determine whether a small number of measurements of upper ocean temperature and currents can be used to make estimates of the drag coefficient that have a smaller range of uncertainty than previously found. We adopt a numerical approach in an inverse problem setup using an ocean model and its adjoint, to assimilate data and to adjust the drag coefficient parameterization (here the free parameter) with wind speed that corresponds to the minimum of a model minus data misfit or cost function. Pseudo data are generated from a reference forward simulation, and are perturbed with different levels of Gaussian distributed noise. It is found that it is necessary to assimilate both surface current speed and temperature data to obtain improvement over previous estimates of the drag coefficient. When data is assimilated without any smoothing or constraints on the solution, the drag coefficient is overestimated at low wind speeds and there are unrealistic, high frequency oscillations in the adjusted drag coefficient curve. When second derivatives of the drag coefficient curve are penalized and the solution is constrained to experimental values at low wind speeds, the adjusted drag coefficient is within 10% of its target value. This result is robust to the addition of realistic random noise meant to represent turbulence due to the presence of mesoscale background features in the assimilated data, or to the wind speed time series to model its unsteady and gusty character. When an eddy is added to the background flow field in both the initial condition and the assimilated data time series, the target and adjusted drag coefficient are within 10% of one another, regardless of whether random noise is added to the assimilated data. However, when the eddy is present in the assimilated data but is not in the initial conditions, the drag coefficient is overestimated by as much as 30%. This carries the implication that when real data is assimilated, care needs to be taken in

Imaging of upper crustal structure beneath East Java-Bali, Indonesia with ambient noise tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Martha, Agustya Adi; Cummins, Phil; Saygin, Erdinc; Sri Widiyantoro; Masturyono

2017-12-01

The complex geological structures in East Java and Bali provide important opportunities for natural resource exploitation, but also harbor perils associated with natural disasters. Such a condition makes the East Java region an important area for exploration of the subsurface seismic wave velocity structure, especially in its upper crust. We employed the ambient noise tomography method to image the upper crustal structure under this study area. We used seismic data recorded at 24 seismographs of BMKG spread over East Java and Bali. In addition, we installed 28 portable seismographs in East Java from April 2013 to January 2014 for 2-8 weeks, and we installed an additional 28 seismographs simultaneously throughout East Java from August 2015 to April 2016. We constructed inter-station Rayleigh wave Green's functions through cross-correlations of the vertical component of seismic noise recordings at 1500 pairs of stations. We used the Neighborhood Algorithm to construct depth profiles of shear wave velocity (Vs). The main result obtained from this study is the thickness of sediment cover. East Java's southern mountain zone is dominated by higher Vs, the Kendeng basin in the center is dominated by very low Vs, and the Rembang zone (to the North of Kendeng zone) is associated with medium Vs. The existence of structures with oil and gas potential in the Kendeng and Rembang zones can be identified by low Vs.

Biophysical processes in the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mc; Murtugudde, R.; Vialard, J.; Vinayachandran, P.N.; Wiggert, J.D.; Hood, R.R.; Shankar, D.; Shetye, S.R.

Ocean Biogeochemical Processes and Ecological Variability Geophysical Monograph Series 185 Copyright 200� by the American Geophysical Union. 10.102�/2008GM000768 Biophysical Processes in the Indian Ocean J. P. McCreary, 1 R. Murtugudde, 2 J. Vialard, 3...) also plots the upper-layer thickness, h 1 , from the model of McCreary et al. [1��3] (hereinafter referred to as MKM); h 1 simulates the structure of the top of the actual thermocline reasonably well, except that it is somewhat too thin from 5...

Distribution of 137Cs in samples of ocean bottom sediments of the baltic sea in 1982-1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gedenov, L.I.; Flegontov, V.M.; Ivanova, L.M.; Kostandov, K.A.

1986-01-01

The concentration of Cs-137 in samples of ocean bottom sediments picked up in 1979 in the Gulf of Finland with a geological nozzle pipe varied within a wide interval of values. The results could indicate nonuniformity of the Cs-137 distribution in ocean bottom sediments as well as the penetration of significant amounts of Cs-137 to large depths. The main error resulted from the sampling technique employed because the upper part of the sediment could be lost. In 1982, a special ground-sampling device, with which the upper layer of sediments in the water layer close to the ocean bottom could be sampled, was tested in the Gulf of Finland and the Northeastern part of the Baltic Sea. The results of a layerwise determination of the Cs-137 concentration in samples of ocean bottom sediments of the Gulf of Finland and of the Baltic Sea are listed. The new soil-sampling device for picking samples of ocean sediments of undisturbed stratification will allow a correct determination of the radionuclide accumulation in the upper layers of ocean bottom sediments in the Baltic Sea

Influence of upper ocean stratification interannual variability on tropical cyclones

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vincent, E.M.; Emanuel, K.A; Lengaigne, M.; Vialard, J.; Madec, G.

in each TC-prone region. While subsurface oceanic variations do not significantly affect the number of moderate (Category 3 or less) TCs, they do induce a 30% change of Category 5 TC-days globally, and a 70% change for TCs exceeding 85 m s2^-1

The influence of bubble populations generated under windy conditions on the blue-green light transmission in the upper ocean: An exploratory approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chengan; Tan, Jianyu; Lai, Qingzhi

2016-12-01

The “blue-green window” in the ocean plays an important role in functions such as communication between vessels, underwater target identification, and remote sensing. In this study, the transmission process of blue-green light in the upper ocean is analyzed numerically using the Monte Carlo method. First, the effect of total number of photons on the numerical results is evaluated, and the most favorable number is chosen to ensure accuracy without excessive costs for calculation. Then, the physical and mathematical models are constructed. The rough sea surface is generated under windy conditions and the transmission signals are measured in the far field. Therefore, it can be conceptualized as a 1D slab with a rough boundary surface. Under windy conditions, these bubbles form layers that are horizontally homogeneous and decay exponentially with depth under the influence of gravity. The effects of bubble populations on the process of blue-green light transmission at different wind speeds, wavelengths, angle of incidence and chlorophyll-a concentrations are studied for both air-incident and water-incident cases. The results of this study indicate that the transmission process of blue-green light is significantly influenced by bubbles under high wind-speed conditions.

Observations of turbulent energy dissipation rate in the upper ocean of the central South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, G.

2016-02-01

Measurements of turbulent energy dissipation rate, velocity, temperature, and salinity were obtained in the upper ocean of the central South China Sea (14.5˚N, 117.0˚E) during an experimental campaign from May 11th to 13th 2010. Dissipation rate was elevated ( 10-7 Wkg-1) at night by convection mixing and was weakened ( 10-9 Wkg-1) in daytime due to the warming stratification. Thermocline dissipation rate varied with time ( 10-9 Wkg-1 to 10-8 Wkg-1) under the influence of internal waves. Energy was transferred from the diurnal internal tides to high frequency internal waves through nonlinear wave-wave interactions. This energy cascade process was accompanied by elevated shear and enhanced dissipation, which played an important role in the turbulent mixing in thermocline. Compare with the thermocline dissipation, dissipation below the thermocline was more stable and weak ( 10-10 Wkg-1). The observed dissipation rate during the measurement was well parameterized by the MacKinnon-Gregg parameterization (a model based on a reinterpretation of wave-wave interaction theory), whereas the Gregg-Henyey parameterization was not in good agreement with the observed dissipation rate.

Monte Carlo simulation of spectral reflectance and BRDF of the bubble layer in the upper ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Lanxin; Wang, Fuqiang; Wang, Chengan; Wang, Chengchao; Tan, Jianyu

2015-09-21

The presence of bubbles can significantly change the radiative properties of seawater and these changes will affect remote sensing and underwater target detection. In this work, the spectral reflectance and bidirectional reflectance characteristics of the bubble layer in the upper ocean are investigated using the Monte Carlo method. The Hall-Novarini (HN) bubble population model, which considers the effect of wind speed and depth on the bubble size distribution, is used. The scattering coefficients and the scattering phase functions of bubbles in seawater are calculated using Mie theory, and the inherent optical properties of seawater for wavelengths between 300 nm and 800 nm are related to chlorophyll concentration (Chl). The effects of bubble coating, Chl, and bubble number density on the spectral reflectance of the bubble layer are studied. The bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of the bubble layer for both normal and oblique incidence is also investigated. The results show that bubble populations in clear waters under high wind speed conditions significantly influence the reflection characteristics of the bubble layer. Furthermore, the contribution of bubble populations to the reflection characteristics is mainly due to the strong backscattering of bubbles that are coated with an organic film.

Petrology and geochemistry of the high-Cr podiform chromitites of the Köycegiz ophiolite, southwest Turkey: implications for the multi-stage evolution of the oceanic upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Fahui; Yang, Jingsui; Dilek, Yildirim; Wang, ChunLian; Hao, Xiaolin; Xu, Xiangzhen; Lian, Dongyang

2018-03-01

Ophiolites exposed across the western Tauride belt in Turkey represent tectonically emplaced fragments of oceanic lithosphere obducted onto the continental margin following the closure of the Neotethys Ocean during the Late Cretaceous. The ultramafic massif of Köycegiz, which is located in the ophiolitic belt of southwestern Turkey, is a major source of metallurgical chromitite ore. The massif comprises a base of tectonized harzburgite with minor dunite overlain by a magmatic sequence of wehrlite, pyroxenite, troctolite and gabbro. Only sparse refractory chromitites occur within the harzburgites; in contrast, the upper and middle sections of the peridotite sequence contain abundant metallurgical chromitites. The peridotites record abundant evidence of mantle metasomatism on various scales, as the Fo values of olivine in harzburgite are 90.1-95.4, whereas those in dunite are 90.1-91.8. The compositions of the melts passing through the peridotites changed gradually from arc tholeiite to boninite due to melt-rock reactions, thus producing more Cr-rich chromitites in the upper part of the body. Most of the chromitites have high Cr numbers (77-78), although systematic changes in the compositions of the olivine and chromian spinel occur from the harzburgites to the dunite envelopes to the chromitites, reflecting melt-rock reactions. The calculated ΔlogfO2 (FMQ) values range from - 2.77 to + 1.03 in the chromitites, - 2.73 to -0.01 in the harzburgites, and - 1.65 to + 0.45 in the dunites. All of the available evidence suggests that the Köycegiz ophiolite formed in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) mantle wedge. These models indicate that the harzburgites represent the products of first-stage melting and low degrees of melt-rock interaction that occurred in a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) environment. In contrast, the chromitites and dunites represent the products of second-stage melting and related refertilization, which occurred in an SSZ environment.

Tests of Parameterized Langmuir Circulation Mixing in the Oceans Surface Mixed Layer II

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-11

inertial oscillations in the ocean are governed by three-dimensional processes that are not accounted for in a one-dimensional simulation , and it was...Unlimited 52 Paul Martin (228) 688-5447 Recent large-eddy simulations (LES) of Langmuir circulation (LC) within the surface mixed layer (SML) of...used in the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) and tested for (a) a simple wind-mixing case, (b) simulations of the upper ocean thermal structure at Ocean

Why and Where do Large Shallow Slab Earthquakes Occur?

Science.gov (United States)

Seno, T.; Yoshida, M.

2001-12-01

Within a shallow portion (20-60 km depth) of subducting slabs, it has been believed that large earthquakes seldom occur because the differential stress is generally expected to be low between bending at the trench-outer rise and unbending at the intermediate-depth. However, there are several regions in which large ( M>=7.0 ) earthquakes, including three events early in this year, have occurred in this portion. Searching such events from published individual studies and Harvard University centroid moment tensor catalogue, we find nineteen events in eastern Hokkaido, Kyushu-SW Japan, Mariana, Manila, Sumatra, Vanuatu, Chile, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, and Cascadia. Slab stresses revealed from the mechanism solutions of those large events and smaller events are tensional in a slab dip direction. However, ages of the subducting oceanic plates are generally young, which denies a possibility that the slab pull works as a cause. Except for Manila and Sumatra, the stresses in the overriding plates are characterized by the change in {σ }Hmax direction from arc-parallel in the back-arc to arc-perpendicular in the fore-arc, which implies that a horizontal stress gradient exists in the across-arc direction. Peru and Chile, where the back-arc is compressional, can be categorized into this type, because a horizontal stress gradient exists over the continent from tension in east to compression in the west. In these regions, it is expected that mantle drag forces are operating beneath the upper plates, which drive the upper plates to the trenchward overriding the subducting oceanic plates. Assuming that the mantle drag forces beneath the upper plates originate from the mantle convection currents or upwelling plumes, we infer that the upper plates driven by the convection suck the oceanic plates, making the shallow portion of the slabs in extra-tension, thus resulting in the large shallow slab earthquakes in this tectonic regime.

Anisotropy tomography beneath east-central China and its geodynamic implications

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, G.; Zhang, G.

2017-12-01

The east-central China primary consists of the southeastern part of the North China Block (NCB), the Middle-Lower Yangtze Block (MLYB), the northern part of Cathaysia Block (CB) and the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu Orogen (QDSO) (Fig. 1). Previous studies have suggested that both the rich mineralization in MLYB and the ultra-high pressure metamorphic belts in QDSO are closely to the Cretaceous magmatism in the east-central China. For discussing the geodynamic process, we have used the teleseismic tomography to study the 3D P-wave velocity structure down to 800 km deep and proposed a double-slab subduction model. In the present study, we introduce another two parameters representing the azimuthal anisotropy based on the isotropy tomography. Compared with the SKS method, the anisotropy tomography can provide the velocity anisotropy structure in different depths. The new anisotropy results show that (1) high-velocity (high-V) anomalies exist beneath the Middle Yangtze Block (MYB) from 200 km to 700 km depths and beneath the Lower Yangtze Block from 500 km to 700 km depths, and (2) low-velocity (low-V) anomalies exist beneath the Lower Yangtze Block from 50 km to 200 km depths and beneath the CB from 300 km to 700 km depths, respectively, and (3) the fast directions of P-wave velocity at 50-100 km depths are chaotic, however they show some regular changes from 200 km to 600 km depths. At 200-km deep, the fast direction of the low-V beneath the LYB is nearly E-W-trending. With the depth increasing, the fast directions of the low-V beneath the CB from 300 km to 600 km depths change to NEE-trending. In other side, the fast directions of eastern part of the high-V beneath the MYB, close to the low-V beneath the CB, denote NW-trending from 300 km to 600 depths. Combing with previous studies, we explain the high-V and the low-V, mentioned above, as the ancient Yangtze Craton and the upwelling asthenospheric materials, respectively. In addition, the NE-trending fast directions in the

Crust and uppermost-mantle structure of Greenland and the Northwest Atlantic from Rayleigh wave group velocity tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Darbyshire, Fiona A.; Dahl-Jensen, Trine; Larsen, Tine B.; Voss, Peter H.; Joyal, Guillaume

2018-03-01

The Greenland landmass preserves ˜4 billion years of tectonic history, but much of the continent is inaccessible to geological study due to the extensive inland ice cap. We map out, for the first time, the 3-D crustal structure of Greenland and the NW Atlantic ocean, using Rayleigh wave anisotropic group velocity tomography, in the period range 10-80 s, from regional earthquakes and the ongoing GLATIS/GLISN seismograph networks. 1-D inversion gives a pseudo-3-D model of shear wave velocity structure to depths of ˜100 km with a horizontal resolution of ˜200 km. Crustal thickness across mainland Greenland ranges from ˜25 km to over 50 km, and the velocity structure shows considerable heterogeneity. The large sedimentary basins on the continental shelf are clearly visible as low velocities in the upper ˜5-15 km. Within the upper continental basement, velocities are systematically lower in northern Greenland than in the south, and exhibit a broadly NW-SE trend. The thinning of the crust at the continental margins is also clearly imaged. Upper-mantle velocities show a clear distinction between typical fast cratonic lithosphere (Vs ≥4.6 km s-1) beneath Greenland and its NE margin and anomalously slow oceanic mantle (Vs ˜4.3-4.4 km s-1) beneath the NW Atlantic. We do not observe any sign of pervasive lithospheric modification across Greenland in the regions associated with the presumed Iceland hotspot track, though the average crustal velocity in this region is higher than that of areas to the north and south. Crustal anisotropy beneath Greenland is strong and complex, likely reflecting numerous episodes of tectonic deformation. Beneath the North Atlantic and Baffin Bay, the dominant anisotropy directions are perpendicular to the active and extinct spreading centres. Anisotropy in the subcontinental lithosphere is weaker than that of the crust, but still significant, consistent with cratonic lithosphere worldwide.

Strong seismic wave scattering beneath Kanto region derived from dense K-NET/KiK-net strong motion network and numerical simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Takemura, S.; Yoshimoto, K.

2013-12-01

Observed seismograms, which consist of the high-frequency body waves through the low-velocity (LV) region at depth of 20-40 km beneath northwestern Chiba in Kanto, show strong peak delay and spindle shape of S waves. By analyzing dense seismic records from K-NET/KiK-net, such spindle-shape S waves are clearly observed in the frequency range of 1-8 Hz. In order to investigate a specific heterogeneous structure to generate such observations, we conduct 3-D finite-difference method (FDM) simulation using realistic heterogeneous models and compare the simulation results with dense strong motion array observations. Our 3-D simulation model is covering the zone 150 km by 64 km in horizontal directions and 75 km in vertical direction, which has been discretized with uniform grid size 0.05 km. We assume a layered background velocity structure, which includes basin structure, crust, mantle and subducting oceanic plate, base on the model proposed by Koketsu et al. (2008). In order to introduce the effect of seismic wave scattering, we assume a stochastic random velocity fluctuation in each layer. Random velocity fluctuations are characterized by exponential-type auto-correlation function (ACF) with correlation distance a = 3 km and rms value of fluctuation e = 0.05 in the upper crust, a = 3 km and e = 0.07 in the lower crust, a = 10 km and e = 0.02 in the mantle. In the subducting oceanic plate, we assume an anisotropic random velocity fluctuation characterized by exponential-type ACF with aH = 10 km in horizontal direction, aZ = 0.5 km in vertical direction and e = 0.02 (e.g., Furumura and Kennett, 2005). In addition, we assume a LV zone at northeastern part of Chiba with depth of 20-40 km (e.g., Matsubara et al., 2004). In the LV zone, random velocity fluctuation characterized by Gaussian-type ACF with a = 1 km and e = 0.07 is superposed on exponential-type ACF with a = 3 km and e = 0.07, in order to modulate the S-wave propagation in the dominant frequency range of

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

Data.gov (United States)

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

Stratified coastal ocean interactions with tropical cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

Glenn, S. M.; Miles, T. N.; Seroka, G. N.; Xu, Y.; Forney, R. K.; Yu, F.; Roarty, H.; Schofield, O.; Kohut, J.

2016-01-01

Hurricane-intensity forecast improvements currently lag the progress achieved for hurricane tracks. Integrated ocean observations and simulations during hurricane Irene (2011) reveal that the wind-forced two-layer circulation of the stratified coastal ocean, and resultant shear-induced mixing, led to significant and rapid ahead-of-eye-centre cooling (at least 6 °C and up to 11 °C) over a wide swath of the continental shelf. Atmospheric simulations establish this cooling as the missing contribution required to reproduce Irene's accelerated intensity reduction. Historical buoys from 1985 to 2015 show that ahead-of-eye-centre cooling occurred beneath all 11 tropical cyclones that traversed the Mid-Atlantic Bight continental shelf during stratified summer conditions. A Yellow Sea buoy similarly revealed significant and rapid ahead-of-eye-centre cooling during Typhoon Muifa (2011). These findings establish that including realistic coastal baroclinic processes in forecasts of storm intensity and impacts will be increasingly critical to mid-latitude population centres as sea levels rise and tropical cyclone maximum intensities migrate poleward. PMID:26953963

Anomalous circulation in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean during southwest monsoon of 1994

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Unnikrishnan, A.S.; Murty, V.S.N.; Babu, M.T.; Gopinathan, C.K.; Charyulu, R.J.K.

and an eastward flow, constituting the southwest monsoon current (SWMC), in the vicinity of the equator characterise the upper ocean circulation. While low salinity waters (33.5 -34.75) in the upper layer are advected westward from 88 E via the westward flow...

Vertical Motions of Oceanic Volcanoes

Science.gov (United States)

Clague, D. A.; Moore, J. G.

2006-12-01

Oceanic volcanoes offer abundant evidence of changes in their elevations through time. Their large-scale motions begin with a period of rapid subsidence lasting hundreds of thousands of years caused by isostatic compensation of the added mass of the volcano on the ocean lithosphere. The response is within thousands of years and lasts as long as the active volcano keeps adding mass on the ocean floor. Downward flexure caused by volcanic loading creates troughs around the growing volcanoes that eventually fill with sediment. Seismic surveys show that the overall depression of the old ocean floor beneath Hawaiian volcanoes such as Mauna Loa is about 10 km. This gross subsidence means that the drowned shorelines only record a small part of the total subsidence the islands experienced. In Hawaii, this history is recorded by long-term tide-gauge data, the depth in drill holes of subaerial lava flows and soil horizons, former shorelines presently located below sea level. Offshore Hawaii, a series of at least 7 drowned reefs and terraces record subsidence of about 1325 m during the last half million years. Older sequences of drowned reefs and terraces define the early rapid phase of subsidence of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. Volcanic islands, such as Maui, tip down toward the next younger volcano as it begins rapid growth and subsidence. Such tipping results in drowned reefs on Haleakala as deep as 2400 m where they are tipped towards Hawaii. Flat-topped volcanoes on submarine rift zones also record this tipping towards the next younger volcano. This early rapid subsidence phase is followed by a period of slow subsidence lasting for millions of years caused by thermal contraction of the aging ocean lithosphere beneath the volcano. The well-known evolution along the Hawaiian chain from high to low volcanic island, to coral island, and to guyot is due to this process. This history of rapid and then slow subsidence is interrupted by a period of minor uplift

Determination of Mantle Discontinuity Depths beneath the South Pacific Superswell As Inferred Using Data From Broadband OBS Array

Science.gov (United States)

Suetsugu, D.; Shiobara, H.; Sugioka, H.; Kanazawa, T.; Fukao, Y.

2005-12-01

We determined depths of the mantle discontinuities (the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities) beneath the South Pacific Superswell using waveform data from broadband ocean bottom seismograph (BBOBS) array to image presumed mantle plumes and their temperature anomalies. Seismic structure beneath this region had not previously been well explored in spite of its significance for mantle dynamics. The region is characterized by a topographic high of more than 680 m (Adam and Bonneville, 2005), a concentration of hotspot chains (e.g., Society, Cook-Austral, Marquesas, and Pitcairn) whose volcanic rocks have isotopic characteristics suggesting deep mantle origin, and a broad low velocity anomaly in the lower mantle revealed by seismic tomography. These observations suggest the presence of a whole-mantle scale upwelling beneath the region, which is called a 'superplume' (McNutt, 1998). However, the seismic structure has been only poorly resolved so far and the maximum depth of anomalous material beneath the hotspots has not yet been determined, mainly due to the sparseness of seismic stations in the region. To improve the seismic coverage, we deployed an array of 10 BBOBS over the French Polynesia area from 2003 to 2005. The BBOBS has been developed by Earthquake Research Institute of University of Tokyo and are equipped with the broadband CMG-3T/EBB sensor. The observation was conducted as a Japan-France cooperative project (Suetsugu et al., 2005, submitted to EOS). We computed receiver functions from the BBOBS data to detect Ps waves from the mantle discontinuities. The Velocity Spectrum Stacking method (Gurrola et al., 1994) were employed to enhance the Ps waves for determination of the discontinuity depths, in which receiver functions were stacked in a depth-velocity space. The Ps-waves from the mantle discontinuities were successfully detected at the most of the BBOBS stations, from which the discontinuity depths were determined with the Iasp91 velocity model. The 410-km

Evolution of ocean-induced ice melt beneath Zachariæ Isstrøm, Northeast Greenland combining observations and an ocean general circulation model from 1978 to present

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, C.; Rignot, E. J.; Menemenlis, D.; Millan, R.; Bjørk, A. A.; Khan, S. A.; Charolais, A.

2017-12-01

Zachariæ Isstrøm, a major ice stream in northeast Greenland, lost a large fraction of its ice shelf during the last decade. We study the evolution of subaqueous melting of its floating section from 1978 to present. The ice shelf melt rate depends on thermal forcing from warm, salty, subsurface ocean waters of Atlantic origin (AW), the mixing of AW with fresh, buoyant subglacial discharge at the calving margin, and the shape of the sub-ice-shelf cavity. Subglacial discharge doubled as a result of enhanced ice sheet runoff caused by warmer air temperatures. Ocean thermal forcing has increased due to enhanced advection of AW. Using an Eulerian method, MEaSUREs ice velocity, Operation IceBridge (OIB) ice thickness, and RACMO2.3 surface balance data, we evaluate the ice shelf melt rate in 1978, 1999 and 2010. The melt rate doubled from 1999 to 2010. Using a Lagrangian method with World View imagery, we map the melt rate in detail from 2011 to 2016. We compare the results with 2D simulations from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm), at a high spatial resolution (20-m horizontal and 40-m vertical grid spacing), using OIB ice thickness and sub-ice-shelf cavity for years 1978, 1996, 2010 and 2011, combined with in-situ ocean temperature/salinity data from Ocean Melting Greenland (OMG) 2017. We find that winter melt rates are 2 3 times smaller than summer rates and melt rates increase by one order magnitude during the transition from ice shelf termination to near-vertical calving wall termination. As the last remaining bits of floating ice shelf disappear, ice-ocean interaction will therefore play an increasing role in driving the glacier retreat into its marine-based basin. This work was performed under a contract with NASA Cryosphere Program at UC Irvine and Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Intra-continental subduction and contemporaneous lateral extrusion of the upper plate: insights into Alps-Adria interactions

Science.gov (United States)

van Gelder, Inge; Willingshofer, Ernst; Sokoutis, Dimitrios; Cloetingh, Sierd

2017-04-01

tectonics of the Eastern Alps, where subduction of the adjacent Adriatic plate beneath the Eastern Alps is debated. Our results highlight that both indentation and subduction of Adria are valid collisional mechanisms to provoke lateral extrusion-type deformation within the Eastern Alps lithosphere, i.e. the upper plate. Moreover, the insights suggest that the Oligocene to Late Miocene structural evolution of the Eastern Alps is best described by phases of oblique and subsequent orthogonal subduction which is in line with Miocene rotations of the Adriatic plate. Furthermore, oblique subduction of the Adriatic plate provides a viable mechanism to explain the rapid decrease in slab length beneath the Eastern Alps towards the Pannonian Basin, also implying that the Adriatic slab can behave and form independently with regards to the adjacent subduction of Adria beneath the Dinarides.

Seismic attenuation structure beneath Nazca Plate subduction zone in southern Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, H.; Kim, Y.; Clayton, R. W.

2017-12-01

We estimate seismic attenuation in terms of quality factors, QP and QS using P and S phases, respectively, beneath Nazca Plate subduction zone between 10°S and 18.5°S latitude in southern Peru. We first relocate 298 earthquakes with magnitude ranges of 4.0-6.5 and depth ranges of 20-280 km. We measure t*, which is an integrated attenuation through the seismic raypath between the regional earthquakes and stations. The measured t* are inverted to construct three-dimensional attenuation structures of southern Peru. Checkerboard test results for both QP and QS structures ensure good resolution in the slab-dip transition zone between flat and normal slab subduction down to a depth of 200 km. Both QP and QS results show higher attenuation continued down to a depth of 50 km beneath volcanic arc and also beneath the Quimsachata volcano, the northernmost young volcano, located far east of the main volcanic front. We also observe high attenuation in mantle wedge especially beneath the normal subduction region in both QP and QS (100-130 in QP and 100-125 in QS) and slightly higher QP and QS beneath the flat-subduction and slab-dip transition regions. We plan to relate measured attenuation in the mantle wedge to material properties such as viscosity to understand the subduction zone dynamics.

International Search for Life in Ocean Worlds

Science.gov (United States)

Sherwood, B.

2015-12-01

We now know that our solar system contains diverse "ocean worlds." One has abundant surface water and life; another had significant surface water in the distant past and has drawn significant exploration attention; several contain large amounts of water beneath ice shells; and several others evince unexpected, diverse transient or dynamic water-related processes. In this century, humanity will explore these worlds, searching for life beyond Earth and seeking thereby to understand the limits of habitability. Of our ocean worlds, Enceladus presents a unique combination of attributes: large reservoir of subsurface water already known to contain salts, organics, and silica nanoparticles originating from hydrothermal activity; and able to be sampled via a plume predictably expressed into space. These special circumstances immediately tag Enceladus as a key destination for potential missions to search for evidence of non-Earth life, and lead to a range of potential mission concepts: for orbital reconnaissance; in situ and returned-sample analysis of plume and surface-fallback material; and direct sulcus, vent, cavern, and ocean exploration. Each mission type can address a unique set of science questions, and would require a unique set of capabilities, most of which are not yet developed. Both the questions and the capability developments can be sequenced into a programmatic precedence network, the realization of which requires international cooperation. Three factors make this true: exploring remote oceans autonomously will cost a lot; the Outer Space Treaty governs planetary protection; and discovery of non-Earth life is an epochal human imperative. Results of current planning will be presented in AGU session 8599: how ocean-world science questions and capability requirements can be parsed into programmatically acceptable mission increments; how one mission proposed into the Discovery program in 2015 would take the next step on this path; the Decadal calendar of

The monsoon currents in the north Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shankar, D.; Vinayachandran, P.N.; Unnikrishnan, A.S.

. Journal of Geo- physical Research 97, 20169?20178. Pond, S., Pickard, G. L., 1983. Introductory dynamical oceanography, 2nd Edition. Pergamon Press, Oxford. Potemra, J. T., Luther, M. E., O'Brien, J. J., 1991. The seasonal circulation of the upper ocean...

The Southern Ocean's role in ocean circulation and climate transients

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, A. F.; Stewart, A.; Hines, S.; Adkins, J. F.

2017-12-01

The ventilation of deep and intermediate density classes at the surface of the Southern Ocean impacts water mass modification and the air-sea exchange of heat and trace gases, which in turn influences the global overturning circulation and Earth's climate. Zonal variability occurs along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Antarctic margins related to flow-topography interactions, variations in surface boundary conditions, and exchange with northern basins. Information about these zonal variations, and their impact on mass and tracer transport, are suppressed when the overturning is depicted as a two-dimensional (depth-latitude) streamfunction. Here we present an idealized, multi-basin, time-dependent circulation model that applies residual circulation theory in the Southern Ocean and allows for zonal water mass transfer between different ocean basins. This model efficiently determines the temporal evolution of the ocean's stratification, ventilation and overturning strength in response to perturbations in the external forcing. With this model we explore the dynamics that lead to transitions in the circulation structure between multiple, isolated cells and a three-dimensional, "figure-of-eight," circulation in which traditional upper and lower cells are interleaved. The transient model is also used to support a mechanistic explanation of the hemispheric asymmetry and phase lag associated with Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events during the last glacial period. In particular, the 200 year lag in southern hemisphere temperatures, following a perturbation in North Atlantic deep water formation, depends critically on the migration of Southern Ocean isopycnal outcropping in response to low-latitude stratification changes. Our results provide a self-consistent dynamical framework to explain various ocean overturning transitions that have occurred over the Earth's last 100,000 years, and motivate an exploration of these mechanisms in more sophisticated climate models.

Evolution of oceanic molybdenum and uranium reservoir size around the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition: Evidence from western Zhejiang, South China

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Lei; Schoepfer, Shane D.; Shen, Shu-zhong; Cao, Chang-qun; Zhang, Hua

2017-04-01

The "Cambrian explosion" is one of the most fascinating episodes of diversification in the history of life; however, its relationship to the oxygenation of the oceans and atmosphere around the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition is not fully understood. Marine inventories of redox-sensitive trace elements reflect the relative balance of oxidative weathering on land and deposition in anoxic water masses, and can be used to explore the evolution of oceanic and atmospheric redox conditions. For this study, we conducted a series of geochemical analyses on the upper Lantian, Piyuancun, and Hetang formations in the Chunye-1 well, part of the lower Yangtze Block in western Zhejiang. Iron speciation results indicate that the entire studied interval was deposited under anoxic conditions, with three intervals of persistent euxinia occurring in the uppermost Lantian Fm., the lower Hetang Formation (Fm.), and the upper Hetang Fm. Molybdenum (Mo) and uranium (U) contents and Mo/TOC and U/TOC ratios from the anoxic/euxinic intervals of the Chunye-1 well, combined with published data from the sections in the middle and upper Yangtze Block, suggest that the oceanic Mo reservoir declined consistently from the Ediacaran to Cambrian Stage 3, while the size of the oceanic U reservoir remained relatively constant. Both metals were depleted in the ocean in lower Cambrian Stage 4, before increasing markedly at the end of Stage 4. The lack of an apparent increase in the size of the marine Mo and U reservoir from the upper Ediacaran to Cambrian Stage 3 suggests that oxic water masses did not expand until Cambrian Stage 4. The increase in marine Mo and U availability in the upper Hetang Fm. may have been due to the expansion of oxic water masses in the oceans, associated with oxygenation of the atmosphere during Cambrian Stage 4. This expansion of oxic waters in the global ocean postdates the main phase of Cambrian diversification, suggesting that pervasive oxygenation of the ocean on a large

Evidence for ice-ocean albedo feedback in the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Kashiwase, Haruhiko; Ohshima, Kay I; Nihashi, Sohey; Eicken, Hajo

2017-08-15

Ice-albedo feedback due to the albedo contrast between water and ice is a major factor in seasonal sea ice retreat, and has received increasing attention with the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice cover. However, quantitative evaluation of such feedbacks is still insufficient. Here we provide quantitative evidence that heat input through the open water fraction is the primary driver of seasonal and interannual variations in Arctic sea ice retreat. Analyses of satellite data (1979-2014) and a simplified ice-upper ocean coupled model reveal that divergent ice motion in the early melt season triggers large-scale feedback which subsequently amplifies summer sea ice anomalies. The magnitude of divergence controlling the feedback has doubled since 2000 due to a more mobile ice cover, which can partly explain the recent drastic ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean.

Complex, multilayered azimuthal anisotropy beneath Tibet: evidence for co-existing channel flow and pure-shear crustal thickening

Science.gov (United States)

Agius, Matthew R.; Lebedev, Sergei

2017-09-01

Of the two debated, end-member models for the late-Cenozoic thickening of Tibetan crust, one invokes 'channel flow' (rapid viscous flow of the mid-lower crust, driven by topography-induced pressure gradients and transporting crustal rocks eastward) and the other 'pure shear' (faulting and folding in the upper crust, with viscous shortening in the mid-lower crust). Deep-crustal deformation implied by each model is different and would produce different anisotropic rock fabric. Observations of seismic anisotropy can thus offer a discriminant. We use broad-band phase-velocity curves-each a robust average of tens to hundreds of measurements-to determine azimuthal anisotropy in the entire lithosphere-asthenosphere depth range and constrain its amplitude. Inversions of the differential dispersion from path pairs, region-average inversions and phase-velocity tomography yield mutually consistent results, defining two highly anisotropic layers with different fast-propagation directions within each: the middle crust and the asthenosphere. In the asthenosphere beneath central and eastern Tibet, anisotropy is 2-4 per cent and has an NNE-SSW fast-propagation azimuth, indicating flow probably driven by the NNE-ward, shallow-angle subduction of India. The distribution and complexity of published shear wave splitting measurements can be accounted for by the different anisotropy in the mid-lower crust and asthenosphere. The estimated splitting times that would be accumulated in the crust alone are 0.25-0.8 s; in the upper mantle-0.5-1.2 s, depending on location. In the middle crust (20-45 km depth) beneath southern and central Tibet, azimuthal anisotropy is 3-5 and 4-6 per cent, respectively, and its E-W fast-propagation directions are parallel to the current extension at the surface. The rate of the extension is relatively low, however, whereas the large radial anisotropy observed in the middle crust requires strong alignment of mica crystals, implying large finite strain and

Crustal Structure beneath Alaska from Receiver Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Li, A.

2017-12-01

The crustal structure in Alaska has not been well resolved due to the remote nature of much of the state. The USArray Transportable Array (TA), which is operating in Alaska and northwestern Canada, significantly increases the coverage of broadband seismic stations in the region and allows for a more comprehensive study of the crust. We have analyzed P-receiver functions from earthquake data recorded by 76 stations of the TA and AK networks. Both common conversion point (CCP) and H-K methods are used to estimate the mean crustal thickness. The results from the CCP stacking method show that the Denali fault marks a sharp transition from thick crust in the south to thin crust in the north. The thickest crust up to 52 km is located in the St. Elias Range, which has been formed by oblique collision between the Yakutat microplate and North America. A thick crust of 48 km is also observed beneath the eastern Alaska Range. These observations suggest that high topography in Alaska is largely compensated by the thick crust root. The Moho depth ranges from 28 km to 35 km beneath the northern lowlands and increases to 40-45 km under the Books Range. The preliminary crustal thickness from the H-K method generally agrees with that from the CCP stacking with thicker crust beneath high mountain ranges and thinner crust beneath lowlands and basins. However, the offshore part is not well constrained due to the limited coverage of stations. The mean Vp/Vs ratio is around 1.7 in the Yukon-Tanana terrane and central-northern Alaska. The ratio is about 1.9 in central and southern Alaska with higher values at the Alaska Range, Wrangell Mountains, and St. Elias Range. Further data analyses are needed for obtaining more details of the crustal structure in Alaska to decipher the origin and development of different tectonic terranes.

Mantle melting and melt refertilization beneath the Southwest Indian Ridge: Mineral composition of abyssal peridotites

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ling; Zhu, Jihao; Chu, Fengyou; Dong, Yan-hui; Liu, Jiqiang; Li, Zhenggang; Zhu, Zhimin; Tang, Limei

2017-04-01

As one of the slowest spreading ridges of the global ocean ridge system, the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) is characterized by discontinued magmatism. The 53°E segment between the Gallieni fracture zone (FZ) (52°20'E) and the Gazelle FZ (53°30'E) is a typical amagmatic segment (crustal thickness 1cm) Opx, and Mg-rich mineral compositions akin to harzburgite xenoliths that sample old continental lithospheric mantle (Kelemen et al., 1998). Melt refertilization model shows that Group 2 peridotites were affected by an enriched low-degree partial melt from the garnet stability field. These results indicate that depleted mantle which experiences ancient melting event are more sensitive to melt refertilization, thus may reduce the melt flux, leading to extremely thin crust at 53°E segment. This research was granted by the National Basic Research Programme of China (973 programme) (grant No. 2013CB429705) and the Fundamental Research Funds of Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration (JG1603, SZ1507). References: Johnson K T M, Dick H J B, Shimizu N. Melting in the oceanic upper mantle: An ion microprobe study of diopsides in abyssal peridotites[J]. Journal of Geophysical Research, 1990, 95(B3):2661-2678. Kelemen P B, Hart S R, Bernstein S. Silica enrichment in the continental upper mantle via melt/rock reaction[J]. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 1998, 164(1-2):387-406. Zhou H, Dick H J. Thin crust as evidence for depleted mantle supporting the Marion Rise.[J]. Nature, 2013, 494(7436):195-200.

Deep long-period earthquakes beneath Washington and Oregon volcanoes

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, M.L.; Malone, S.D.; Moran, S.C.; Thelen, W.A.; Vidale, J.E.

2011-01-01

Deep long-period (DLP) earthquakes are an enigmatic type of seismicity occurring near or beneath volcanoes. They are commonly associated with the presence of magma, and found in some cases to correlate with eruptive activity. To more thoroughly understand and characterize DLP occurrence near volcanoes in Washington and Oregon, we systematically searched the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) triggered earthquake catalog for DLPs occurring between 1980 (when PNSN began collecting digital data) and October 2009. Through our analysis we identified 60 DLPs beneath six Cascade volcanic centers. No DLPs were associated with volcanic activity, including the 1980-1986 and 2004-2008 eruptions at Mount St. Helens. More than half of the events occurred near Mount Baker, where the background flux of magmatic gases is greatest among Washington and Oregon volcanoes. The six volcanoes with DLPs (counts in parentheses) are Mount Baker (31), Glacier Peak (9), Mount Rainier (9), Mount St. Helens (9), Three Sisters (1), and Crater Lake (1). No DLPs were identified beneath Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, or Newberry Volcano, although (except at Hood) that may be due in part to poorer network coverage. In cases where the DLPs do not occur directly beneath the volcanic edifice, the locations coincide with large structural faults that extend into the deep crust. Our observations suggest the occurrence of DLPs in these areas could represent fluid and/or magma transport along pre-existing tectonic structures in the middle crust. ?? 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Calibration of Ocean Forcing with satellite Flux Estimates (COFFEE)

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, Charlie; Jan, Dastugue; Jackie, May; Rowley, Clark; Smith, Scott; Spence, Peter; Gremes-Cordero, Silvia

2016-04-01

Predicting the evolution of ocean temperature in regional ocean models depends on estimates of surface heat fluxes and upper-ocean processes over the forecast period. Within the COFFEE project (Calibration of Ocean Forcing with satellite Flux Estimates, real-time satellite observations are used to estimate shortwave, longwave, sensible, and latent air-sea heat flux corrections to a background estimate from the prior day's regional or global model forecast. These satellite-corrected fluxes are used to prepare a corrected ocean hindcast and to estimate flux error covariances to project the heat flux corrections for a 3-5 day forecast. In this way, satellite remote sensing is applied to not only inform the initial ocean state but also to mitigate errors in surface heat flux and model representations affecting the distribution of heat in the upper ocean. While traditional assimilation of sea surface temperature (SST) observations re-centers ocean models at the start of each forecast cycle, COFFEE endeavors to appropriately partition and reduce among various surface heat flux and ocean dynamics sources. A suite of experiments in the southern California Current demonstrates a range of COFFEE capabilities, showing the impact on forecast error relative to a baseline three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation using operational global or regional atmospheric forcing. Experiment cases combine different levels of flux calibration with assimilation alternatives. The cases use the original fluxes, apply full satellite corrections during the forecast period, or extend hindcast corrections into the forecast period. Assimilation is either baseline 3DVAR or standard strong-constraint 4DVAR, with work proceeding to add a 4DVAR expanded to include a weak constraint treatment of the surface flux errors. Covariance of flux errors is estimated from the recent time series of forecast and calibrated flux terms. While the California Current examples are shown, the approach is

Petrological Constraints on Melt Generation Beneath the Asal Rift (Djibouti)

Science.gov (United States)

Pinzuti, P.; Humler, E.; Manighetti, I.; Gaudemer, Y.; Bézos, A.

2010-12-01

The temporal evolution of the mantle melting processes in the Asal Rift is evaluated from the chemical composition of 95 lava flows sampled along 10 km of the rift axis and 8 km off-axis (that is for the last 650 ky). The major element composition and the trace element ratios of aphyric basalts across the Asal Rift show a symmetric pattern relative to the rift axis and preserved a clear signal of mantle melting depth variations. FeO, Fe8.0, Sm/YbN and Zr/Y increase, whereas SiO2 and Lu/HfN decrease from the rift axis to the rift shoulders. These variations are qualitatively consistent with a shallower melting beneath the rift axis than off-axis and the data show that the melting regime is inconsistent with a passive upwelling model. In order to quantify the depth range and extent of melting, we invert Na8.0 and Fe8.0 contents of basalts based on a pure active upwelling model. Beneath the rift axis, melting paths are shallow, from 60 to 30 km. These melting paths are consistent with adiabatic melting in normal-temperature asthenosphere, beneath an extensively thinned mantle lithosphere. In contrast, melting on the rift shoulders occurred beneath a thick mantle lithosphere and required mantle solidus temperature 180°C hotter than normal (melting paths from 110 to 75 km). The calculated rate of lithospheric thinning is high (6.0 cm yr-1) and could explain the survival of a metastable garnet within the mantle at depth shallower than 90 km beneath the modern Asal Rift.

Triassic rejuvenation of unexposed Archean-Paleoproterozoic deep crust beneath the western Cathaysia block, South China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xi-Yao; Zheng, Jian-Ping; Xiong, Qing; Zhou, Xiang; Xiang, Lu

2018-01-01

Jurassic (ca. 150 Ma) Daoxian basalts from the western Cathaysia block (South China) entrained a suite of deep-seated crustal xenoliths, including felsic schist, gneiss and granulite, and mafic two-pyroxene granulite and metagabbro. Zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic, whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions have been determined for these valuable xenoliths to reveal the poorly-known, unexposed deep crust beneath South China. Detrital zircons from the garnet-biotite schists show several populations of ages at 0.65-0.5 Ga, 1.1-0.75 Ga, 1.6-1.4 Ga, 1.8-1.7 Ga, 2.5-2.4 Ga, 2.8 Ga, and 3.5 Ga, representing a multi-sourced, meta-sedimentary origin with deposition time at the early Cambrian. One mafic granulite contains zircons with concordant U-Pb ages of Neoarchean ( 2520 Ma), as well as Hf model ages of 2.8-2.6 Ga and positive εHf(t) values (up to 6.3), suggesting an accretion of juvenile crust in Neoarchean, probably as the main framework of the lower crust. Geochemical and geochronological evidence shows the mafic granulite and metagabbro were produced by underplating of magmas derived from the depleted asthenosphere and mixed with EM2-type materials during the Late Triassic (205-196 Ma). This magmatic underplating also resulted in the widespread metamorphism of the mafic lower crust and felsic middle crust (e.g., the felsic granulite and gneiss) at 202-201 Ma. We suggest the existence of a highly evolved Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement beneath the western Cathaysia block, which experienced episodic accretion and reworking and the strong rejuvenation during the Triassic. A three-layered structure of the lower crust could exist beneath the Daoxian area during the Jurassic time: its upper layer is an evolved Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement; the middle hybrid layer represents a mixture of Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement with newly accreted/reworked Proterozoic to Phanerozoic materials; and the deeper layer consists of mafic granulites derived from the

Piecewise delamination of Moroccan lithosphere from beneath the Atlas Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Bezada, M. J.; Humphreys, E. D.; Davila, J. M.; Carbonell, R.; Harnafi, M.; Palomeras, I.; Levander, A.

2014-04-01

The elevation of the intracontinental Atlas Mountains of Morocco and surrounding regions requires a mantle component of buoyancy, and there is consensus that this buoyancy results from an abnormally thin lithosphere. Lithospheric delamination under the Atlas Mountains and thermal erosion caused by upwelling mantle have each been suggested as thinning mechanisms. We use seismic tomography to image the upper mantle of Morocco. Our imaging resolves the location and shape of lithospheric cavities and of delaminated lithosphere ˜400 km beneath the Middle Atlas. We propose discontinuous delamination of an intrinsically unstable Atlas lithosphere, enabled by the presence of anomalously hot mantle, as a mechanism for producing the imaged structures. The Atlas lithosphere was made unstable by a combination of tectonic shortening and eclogite loading during Mesozoic rifting and Cenozoic magmatism. The presence of hot mantle sourced from regional upwellings in northern Africa or the Canary Islands enhanced the instability of this lithosphere. Flow around the retreating Alboran slab focused upwelling mantle under the Middle Atlas, which we infer to be the site of the most recent delamination. The Atlas Mountains of Morocco stand as an example of large-scale lithospheric loss in a mildly contractional orogen.

Shear wave splitting and upper mantle deformation in French Polynesia: Evidence for small-scale heterogeneity related to the Society hotspot

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, R. M.; Okal, E. A.

1998-07-01

We determined shear wave splitting parameters at four island sites in French Polynesia: Tiputa (TPT) on Rangiroa in the Tuamotu archipelago; Papeete (PPT) on Tahiti in the Society Islands; Tubuai (TBI) in the Cook-Austral island chain; and Rikitea (RKT) on Mangareva in the Gambier Islands. We also examined splitting at Pitcairn (PTCN) on Pitcairn Island; because of the short time of operation of PTCN, our results there are preliminary. We find substantial differences in splitting, most likely caused by variable upper mantle deformation beneath the five stations. At TPT the fast split shear wave (ϕ) direction is N66°W±4°, parallel to the current Pacific-hotspots relative motion (APM) vector; the delay time between fast and slow waves is 1.3±0.2 s. At PPT, on Tahiti, we could detect no splitting despite many clear SKS observations. At TBI, on Tubuai we detected splitting with a delay time of 1.1±0.1 s and a ϕ direction midway between the local APM direction and the fossil spreading direction (N86°W±2°), as locally indicated by the nearby Austral Fracture Zone. At RKT in the Gambier Islands, ϕ trends N53°W±6°, 16° clockwise of the local APM azimuth, and delay time at RKT is 1.1±0.1 s. Results at PTCN include ϕ near N38°W±9° and a delay time of 1.1±0.3 s. These different results imply variable upper mantle deformation beneath the five sites. We interpret splitting at TPT and, possibly, RKT as indicative of asthenospheric flow or shear in the APM direction beneath the stations. At PPT, azimuthal isotropy indicates deformed upper mantle with a vertical symmetry axis, or absence of strong or consistently oriented mantle deformation fabric beneath Tahiti. Either effect could be related to recent hotspot magmatism on Tahiti. At TBI, splitting may be complicated by juxtaposition of different lithospheric thicknesses along the nearby Austral Fracture Zone, resulting in perturbation of asthenospheric flow. The absence of splitting related to fossil

Geodynamic Constraints on the Sources of Seismic Anisotropy Beneath Madagascar

Science.gov (United States)

Rajaonarison, T. A.; Stamps, D. S.; Fishwick, S.

2017-12-01

majority of the seismic anisotropy are due to sub-lithospheric asthenospheric flow beneath Madagascar. Our results suggest the dislocation creep regime extends beneath the lithosphere, which implies the rheology of the upper asthenosphere deforms by dislocation creep rather than diffusion creep.

Linking small-scale circulation dynamics with large-scale seasonal production (phytoplankton) in the Southern Ocean

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Nicholson, S

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Understanding the seasonal and intra-seasonal (daily to weekly) changes of the upper ocean and the impact on the primary production in the Southern Ocean is key to better understanding the sensitivities of the global carbon cycle....

Heterogeneous distribution of water in the mantle transition zone beneath United States inferred from seismic observations

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y.; Pavlis, G. L.; Li, M.

2017-12-01

The amount of water in the Earth's deep mantle is critical for the evolution of the solid Earth and the atmosphere. Mineral physics studies have revealed that Wadsleyite and Ringwoodite in the mantle transition zone could store several times the volume of water in the ocean. However, the water content and its distribution in the transition zone remain enigmatic due to lack of direct observations. Here we use seismic data from the full deployment of the Earthscope Transportable Array to produce 3D image of P to S scattering of the mantle transition zone beneath the United States. We compute the image volume from 141,080 pairs of high quality receiver functions defined by the Earthscope Automated Receiver Survey, reprocessed by the generalized iterative deconvolution method and imaged by the plane wave migration method. We find that the transition zone is filled with previously unrecognized small-scale heterogeneities that produce pervasive, negative polarity P to S conversions. Seismic synthetic modeling using a point source simulation method suggests two possible structures for these objects: 1) a set of randomly distributed blobs of slight difference in size, and 2) near vertical diapir structures from small scale convections. Combining with geodynamic simulations, we interpret the observation as compositional heterogeneity from small-scale, low-velocity bodies that are water enriched. Our results indicate there is a heterogeneous distribution of water through the entire mantle transition zone beneath the contiguous United States.

Evidence for magmatic underplating and partial melt beneath the Canary Islands derived using teleseismic receiver functions

Science.gov (United States)

Lodge, A.; Nippress, S. E. J.; Rietbrock, A.; García-Yeguas, A.; Ibáñez, J. M.

2012-12-01

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focussed on resolving the internal structure of ocean island volcanoes. Traditionally, active source seismic experiments have been used to image the volcano edifice. Here we present results using the analysis of compressional to shear (P to S) converted seismic phases from teleseismic events, recorded by stations involved in an active source experiment "TOM-TEIDEVS" (Ibáñez et al., 2008), on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands. We supplement this data with receiver function (RF) analysis of seismograms from the Canary Islands of Lanzarote and La Palma, applying the extended-time multitaper frequency domain cross-correlation estimation method (Helffrich, 2006). We use the neighbourhood inversion approach of Sambridge (1999a,b) to model the RFs and our results indicate magmatic underplating exists beneath all three islands, ranging from 2 to 8 km, but showing no clear correlation with the age of the island. Beneath both La Palma and Tenerife, we find localized low velocity zones (LVZs), which we interpret as due to partial melt, supported by their correlation with the location of historical earthquakes (La Palma) and recent earthquakes (Tenerife). For Lanzarote, we do not sample the most recently volcanically active region and find no evidence for a LVZ. Instead, we find a simple gradational velocity structure, with discontinuities at ˜4, 10 and 18 km depth, in line with previous studies.

Design and Operation of Automated Ice-Tethered Profilers for Real-Time Seawater Observations in the Polar Oceans

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Toole, J; Proshutinsky, A; Krishfield, R; Doherty, K; Frye, Daniel E; Hammar, T; Kemp, J; Peters, D; Heydt, K. von der

2006-01-01

An automated, easily-deployed Ice-Tethered Profiler (ITP) has been developed for deployment on perennial sea ice in polar oceans to measure changes in upper ocean temperature and salinity in all seasons...

Drusen-like beneath retinal deposits in type II mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis: a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Hage Amaro

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to do a review of Drusen-like beneath retinal deposits in type II mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis. Drusenlike beneath retinal deposits in type II mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis appear to develop at an early age, often second decade of life different of drusen from age-related macular degeneration (AMD.Long term follow-up of the cases in this disease shows in the most of them, no progression of the of drusen-like beneath retinal deposits in type II mesangiocapillary glomerulonefritis, the most of subjects retain good visual acuity and no specific treatment is indicated.

Density heterogeneity of the upper mantle beneath Siberia from satellite gravity and a new regional crustal model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herceg, Matija; Thybo, Hans; Artemieva, Irina

2013-01-01

We present a new regional model for the density structure of the upper mantle below Siberia. The residual mantle gravity anomalies are based on gravity data derived from the GOCE gravity gradients and geopotential models, with crustal correction to the gravity field being calculated from a new...... on regional and global crustal models. We analyze how uncertainties and errors in the crustal model propagate from crustal densities to mantle residual gravity anomalies and the density model of the upper mantle. The new regional density model for the Siberian craton and the West Siberian Basin complements...... regional crustal model. This newly compiled database on the crustal seismic structure, complemented by additional constraints from petrological analysis of near-surface rocks and lower crustal xenoliths, allows for a high-resolution correction of the crustal effects as compared to previous studies based...

Sulfide enrichment at an oceanic crust-mantle transition zone: Kane Megamullion (23°N, MAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Ciazela, Jakub; Koepke, Juergen; Dick, Henry J. B.; Botcharnikov, Roman; Muszynski, Andrzej; Lazarov, Marina; Schuth, Stephan; Pieterek, Bartosz; Kuhn, Thomas

2018-06-01

The Kane Megamullion oceanic core complex located along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (23°30‧N, 45°20‧W) exposes lower crust and upper mantle directly on the ocean floor. We studied chalcophile elements and sulfides in the ultramafic and mafic rocks of the crust-mantle transition and the mantle underneath. We determined mineralogical and elemental composition and the Cu isotope composition of the respective sulfides along with the mineralogical and elemental composition of the respective serpentines. The rocks of the crust-mantle transition zone (i.e., plagioclase harzburgite, peridotite-gabbro contacts, and dunite) overlaid by troctolites are by one order of magnitude enriched in several chalcophile elements with respect to the spinel harzburgites of the mantle beneath. Whereas the range of Cu concentrations in spinel harzburgites is 7-69 ppm, the Cu concentrations are highly elevated in plagioclase harzburgites with a range of 90-209 ppm. The zones of the peridotite-gabbro contacts are even more enriched, exhibiting up to 305 ppm Cu and highly elevated concentrations of As, Zn, Ga, Sb and Tl. High Cu concentrations show pronounced correlation with bulk S concentrations at the crust-mantle transition zone implying an enrichment process in this horizon of the oceanic lithosphere. We interpret this enrichment as related to melt-mantle reaction, which is extensive in crust-mantle transition zones. In spite of the ubiquitous serpentinization of primary rocks, we found magmatic chalcopyrites [CuFeS2] as inclusions in plagioclase as well as associated with pentlandite [(Fe,Ni)9S8] and pyrrhotite [Fe1-xS] in polysulfide grains. These chalcopyrites show a primary magmatic δ65Cu signature ranging from -0.04 to +0.29 ‰. Other chalcopyrites have been dissolved during serpentinization. Due to the low temperature (enrichment, increased sulfide modes, and potentially formation of small sulfide deposits could be expected globally along the petrological Moho.

New Constraints on Upper Mantle Structure Underlying the Diamondiferous Central Slave Craton, Canada, from Teleseismic Body Wave Tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Esteve, C.; Schaeffer, A. J.; Audet, P.

2017-12-01

Over the past number of decades, the Slave Craton (Canada) has been extensively studied for its diamondiferous kimberlites. Not only are diamonds a valuable resource, but their kimberlitic host rocks provide an otherwise unique direct source of information on the deep upper mantle (and potentially transition zone). Many of the Canadian Diamond mines are located within the Slave Craton. As a result of the propensity for diamondiferous kimberlites, it is imperative to probe the deep mantle structure beneath the Slave Craton. This work is further motivated by the increase in high-quality broadband seismic data across the Northern Canadian Cordillera over the past decade. To this end we have generated a P and S body wave tomography model of the Slave Craton and its surroundings. Furthermore, tomographic inversion techniques are growing ever more capable of producing high resolution Earth models which capture detailed structure and dynamics across a range of scale lengths. Here, we present preliminary results on the structure of the upper mantle underlying the Slave Craton. These results are generated using data from eight different seismic networks such as the Canadian National Seismic Network (CNSN), Yukon Northwest Seismic Network (YNSN), older Portable Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Reseach Investigating Seismicity (POLARIS), Regional Alberta Observatory for Earthquake Studies Network (RV), USArray Transportable Array (TA), older Canadian Northwest Experiment (CANOE), Batholith Broadband (XY) and the Yukon Observatory (YO). This regional model brings new insights about the upper mantle structure beneath the Slave Craton, Canada.

15N natural abundance in warm-core rings of the Gulf Stream: studies of the upper-ocean nitrogen cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altabet, M.A.

1984-01-01

An extensive study of 15 N natural abundance in particulate organic nitrogen (PON) from warm-core rings of the Gulf Stream was carried out to test its use as an in situ tracer of the marine nitrogen cycle. Ring 82-B exhibited large temporal changes in the delta 15 N of PON. It was found that delta 15 N values for euphotic zone PON were low in April before stratification and higher in June after stratification had occurred. Below 400 meters, in the permanent thermocline, the change was opposite going from very high values to ones similar to those at the surface. Examination of vertical profiles for delta 15 N in the upper 200 meters demonstrated that in stratified waters a delta 15 N minimum for PON occurs with both the top of the nitracline and a maximum in PON concentration. Often a minimum in C/N ratio also occurs at the depth of the delta 15 N minimum. A mathematical model of nitrogen flux into and out of the euphotic zone and associated isotopic fractionation qualitatively reproduced the observed patterns for the delta 15 N of PON, PON concentration and NO 3 - concentration. Levels of PON increased as a result of either increasing NO 3 - flux into the euphotic zone or increasing the residence time of PON in the euphotic zone. These results lend general support to current views regarding the nature and significance of the vertical fluxes of nitrogen in the upper-ocean and the hypotheses presented concerning the factors which control the delta 15 N of PON

Atmospheric deposition of methanol over the Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-01

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

Crustal volumes of the continents and of oceanic and continental submarine plateaus

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, G.; Sandwell, D.

1989-01-01

Using global topographic data and the assumption of Airy isostasy, it is estimated that the crustal volume of the continents is 7182 X 10 to the 6th cu km. The crustal volumes of the oceanic and continental submarine plateaus are calculated at 369 X 10 to the 6th cu km and 242 X 10 to the 6th cu km, respectively. The total continental crustal volume is found to be 7581 X 10 to the 6th cu km, 3.2 percent of which is comprised of continental submarine plateaus on the seafloor. An upper bound on the contintental crust addition rate by the accretion of oceanic plateaus is set at 3.7 cu km/yr. Subduction of continental submarine plateaus with the oceanic lithosphere on a 100 Myr time scale yields an upper bound to the continental crustal subtraction rate of 2.4 cu km/yr.

Mapping magnetic lineaments and subsurface basement beneath ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

65

studied the basement structures beneath parts of the Lower Benue Trough (LBT). Anudu et .... order vertical derivatives can be calculated respectively using the relations below: 145. ( ) ... minerals as in the case of the FVD-RTP-TMI (Figure 6).

Examples and applications in long-range ocean acoustics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vera, M D

2007-01-01

Acoustic energy propagates effectively to long ranges in the ocean interior because of the physical properties of the marine environment. Sound propagation in the ocean is relevant to a variety of studies in communication, climatology and marine biology. Examples drawn from ocean acoustics, therefore, are compelling to students with a variety of interests. The dependence of sound speed on depth results in a waveguide that permits the detection of acoustic energy at ranges, in some experiments, of thousands of kilometres. This effect serves as an illustration of Snell's law with a continuously variable index of refraction. Acoustic tomography also offers a means for imaging the ocean's thermal structure, because of the dependence of sound speed on temperature. The ability to perform acoustic thermometry for large transects of the ocean provides an effective means of studying climate change. This application in an area of substantial popular attention allows for an effective introduction to concepts in ray propagation. Aspects of computational ocean acoustics can be productive classroom examples in courses ranging from introductory physics to upper-division mathematical methods courses

2006 Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) Lidar: Upper Myakka District

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — EarthData International collected ALS-50-derived LiDAR over Upper Myakka Florida with a one-meter post spacing. The period of collection was between 3 October and 12...

Depth of origin of ocean-circulation-induced magnetic signals

Science.gov (United States)

Irrgang, Christopher; Saynisch-Wagner, Jan; Thomas, Maik

2018-01-01

As the world ocean moves through the ambient geomagnetic core field, electric currents are generated in the entire ocean basin. These oceanic electric currents induce weak magnetic signals that are principally observable outside of the ocean and allow inferences about large-scale oceanic transports of water, heat, and salinity. The ocean-induced magnetic field is an integral quantity and, to first order, it is proportional to depth-integrated and conductivity-weighted ocean currents. However, the specific contribution of oceanic transports at different depths to the motional induction process remains unclear and is examined in this study. We show that large-scale motional induction due to the general ocean circulation is dominantly generated by ocean currents in the upper 2000 m of the ocean basin. In particular, our findings allow relating regional patterns of the oceanic magnetic field to corresponding oceanic transports at different depths. Ocean currents below 3000 m, in contrast, only contribute a small fraction to the ocean-induced magnetic signal strength with values up to 0.2 nT at sea surface and less than 0.1 nT at the Swarm satellite altitude. Thereby, potential satellite observations of ocean-circulation-induced magnetic signals are found to be likely insensitive to deep ocean currents. Furthermore, it is shown that annual temporal variations of the ocean-induced magnetic field in the region of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current contain information about sub-surface ocean currents below 1000 m with intra-annual periods. Specifically, ocean currents with sub-monthly periods dominate the annual temporal variability of the ocean-induced magnetic field.

Warm ocean processes and carbon cycling in the Eocene.

Science.gov (United States)

John, Eleanor H; Pearson, Paul N; Coxall, Helen K; Birch, Heather; Wade, Bridget S; Foster, Gavin L

2013-10-28

Sea surface and subsurface temperatures over large parts of the ocean during the Eocene epoch (55.5-33.7 Ma) exceeded modern values by several degrees, which must have affected a number of oceanic processes. Here, we focus on the effect of elevated water column temperatures on the efficiency of the biological pump, particularly in relation to carbon and nutrient cycling. We use stable isotope values from exceptionally well-preserved planktonic foraminiferal calcite from Tanzania and Mexico to reconstruct vertical carbon isotope gradients in the upper water column, exploiting the fact that individual species lived and calcified at different depths. The oxygen isotope ratios of different species' tests are used to estimate the temperature of calcification, which we converted to absolute depths using Eocene temperature profiles generated by general circulation models. This approach, along with potential pitfalls, is illustrated using data from modern core-top assemblages from the same area. Our results indicate that, during the Early and Middle Eocene, carbon isotope gradients were steeper (and larger) through the upper thermocline than in the modern ocean. This is consistent with a shallower average depth of organic matter remineralization and supports previously proposed hypotheses that invoke high metabolic rates in a warm Eocene ocean, leading to more efficient recycling of organic matter and reduced burial rates of organic carbon.

S-wave attenuation structure beneath the northern Izu-Bonin arc

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Tsutomu; Obana, Koichiro; Kodaira, Shuichi

2016-04-01

To understand temperature structure or magma distribution in the crust and uppermost mantle, it is essential to know their attenuation structure. This study estimated the 3-D S-wave attenuation structure in the crust and uppermost mantle at the northern Izu-Bonin arc, taking into account the apparent attenuation due to multiple forward scattering. In the uppermost mantle, two areas of high seismic attenuation (high Q -1) imaged beneath the volcanic front were mostly colocated with low-velocity anomalies. This coincidence suggests that these high- Q -1 areas in low-velocity zones are the most likely candidates for high-temperature regions beneath volcanoes. The distribution of random inhomogeneities indicated the presence of three anomalies beneath the volcanic front: Two were in high- Q -1 areas but the third was in a moderate- Q -1 area, indicating a low correlation between random inhomogeneities and Q -1. All three anomalies of random inhomogeneities were rich in short-wavelength spectra. The most probable interpretation of such spectra is the presence of volcanic rock, which would be related to accumulated magma intrusion during episodes of volcanic activity. Therefore, the different distributions of Q -1 and random inhomogeneities imply that the positions of hot regions in the uppermost mantle beneath this arc have changed temporally; therefore, they may provide important constraints on the evolutionary processes of arc crust and volcanoes.

Response of the equatorial Pacific to chlorophyll pigment in a mixed layer isopycnal ocean general circulation model

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nakamoto, S.; PrasannaKumar, S.; Oberhuber, J.M.; Ishizaka, J.; Muneyama, K.; Frouin, R.

The influence of phytoplankton on the upper ocean dynamics and thermodynamics in the equatorial Pacific is investigated using an isopycnal ocean general circulation model (OPYC) coupled with a mixed layer model and remotely sensed chlorophyll...

A Southern Ocean variability study using the Argo-based Model for Investigation of the Global Ocean (AMIGO)

Science.gov (United States)

Lebedev, Konstantin

2017-04-01

The era of satellite observations of the ocean surface that started at the end of the 20th century and the development of the Argo project in the first years of the 21st century, designed to collect information of the upper 2000 m of the ocean using satellites, provides unique opportunities for continuous monitoring of the Global Ocean state. Starting from 2005, measurements with the Argo floats have been performed over the majority of the World Ocean. In November 2007, the Argo program reached coverage of 3000 simultaneously operating floats (one float in a three-degree square) planned during the development of the program. Currently, 4000 Argo floats autonomously profile the upper 2000-m water column of the ocean from Antarctica to Spitsbergen increasing World Ocean temperature and salinity databases by 12000 profiles per month. This makes it possible to solve problems on reconstructing and monitoring the ocean state on an almost real-time basis, study the ocean dynamics, obtain reasonable estimates of the climatic state of the ocean in the last decade and estimate existing intraclimatic trends. We present the newly developed Argo-Based Model for Investigation of the Global Ocean (AMIGO), which consists of a block for variational interpolation of the profiles of drifting Argo floats to a regular grid and a block for model hydrodynamic adjustment of variationally interpolated fields. Such a method makes it possible to obtain a full set of oceanographic characteristics - temperature, salinity, density, and current velocity - using irregularly located Argo measurements (the principle of the variational interpolation technique entails minimization of the misfit between the interpolated fields defined on the regular grid and irregularly distributed data; hence the optimal solution passes as close to the data as possible). The simulations were performed for the entire globe limited in the north by 85.5° N using 1° grid spacing in both longitude and latitude. At the

Morphological indicators of a mascon beneath Ceres' largest crater, Kerwan

Science.gov (United States)

Bland, Michael T.; Ermakov, Anton; Raymond, Carol A.; Williams, David A.; Bowling, Tim J.; Preusker, F.; Park, Ryan S.; Marchi, Simone; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Fu, R.R.; Russell, Christopher T.

2018-01-01

Gravity data of Ceres returned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dawn spacecraft is consistent with a lower density crust of variable thickness overlying a higher density mantle. Crustal thickness variations can affect the long‐term, postimpact modification of impact craters on Ceres. Here we show that the unusual morphology of the 280 km diameter crater Kerwan may result from viscous relaxation in an outer layer that thins substantially beneath the crater floor. We propose that such a structure is consistent with either impact‐induced uplift of the high‐density mantle beneath the crater or from volatile loss during the impact event. In either case, the subsurface structure inferred from the crater morphology is superisostatic, and the mass excess would result in a positive Bouguer anomaly beneath the crater, consistent with the highest‐degree gravity data from Dawn. Ceres joins the Moon, Mars, and Mercury in having basin‐associated gravity anomalies, although their origin may differ substantially.

Morphological Indicators of a Mascon Beneath Ceres's Largest Crater, Kerwan

Science.gov (United States)

Bland, M. T.; Ermakov, A. I.; Raymond, C. A.; Williams, D. A.; Bowling, T. J.; Preusker, F.; Park, R. S.; Marchi, S.; Castillo-Rogez, J. C.; Fu, R. R.; Russell, C. T.

2018-02-01

Gravity data of Ceres returned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dawn spacecraft is consistent with a lower density crust of variable thickness overlying a higher density mantle. Crustal thickness variations can affect the long-term, postimpact modification of impact craters on Ceres. Here we show that the unusual morphology of the 280 km diameter crater Kerwan may result from viscous relaxation in an outer layer that thins substantially beneath the crater floor. We propose that such a structure is consistent with either impact-induced uplift of the high-density mantle beneath the crater or from volatile loss during the impact event. In either case, the subsurface structure inferred from the crater morphology is superisostatic, and the mass excess would result in a positive Bouguer anomaly beneath the crater, consistent with the highest-degree gravity data from Dawn. Ceres joins the Moon, Mars, and Mercury in having basin-associated gravity anomalies, although their origin may differ substantially.

The response of grounded ice to ocean temperature forcing in a coupled ice sheet-ice shelf-ocean cavity model

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-12-01

Ice shelves provide a pathway for the heat content of the ocean to influence continental ice sheets. Changes in the rate or location of basal melting can alter their geometry and effect changes in stress conditions at the grounding line, leading to a grounded ice response. Recent observations of ice streams and ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica have been consistent with this story. On the other hand, ice dynamics in the grounding zone control flux into the shelf and thus ice shelf geometry, which has a strong influence on the circulation in the cavity beneath the shelf. Thus the coupling between the two systems, ocean and ice sheet-ice shelf, can be quite strong. We examine the response of the ice sheet-ice shelf-ocean cavity system to changes in ocean temperature using a recently developed coupled model. The coupled model consists a 3-D ocean model (GFDL's Generalized Ocean Layered Dynamics model, or GOLD) to a two-dimensional ice sheet-ice shelf model (Goldberg et al, 2009), and allows for changing cavity geometry and a migrating grounding line. Steady states of the coupled system are found even under considerable forcing. The ice shelf morphology and basal melt rate patterns of the steady states exhibit detailed structure, and furthermore seem to be unique and robust. The relationship between temperature forcing and area-averaged melt rate is influenced by the response of ice shelf morphology to thermal forcing, and is found to be sublinear in the range of forcing considered. However, results suggest that area-averaged melt rate is not the best predictor of overall system response, as grounding line stability depends on local aspects of the basal melt field. Goldberg, D N, D M Holland and C G Schoof, 2009. Grounding line movement and ice shelf buttressing in marine ice sheets, Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surfaces, 114, F04026.

Evidence for early hunters beneath the Great Lakes.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Shea, John M; Meadows, Guy A

2009-06-23

Scholars have hypothesized that the poorly understood and rarely encountered archaeological sites from the terminal Paleoindian and Archaic periods associated with the Lake Stanley low water stage (10,000-7,500 BP) are lost beneath the modern Great Lakes. Acoustic and video survey on the Alpena-Amberley ridge, a feature that would have been a dry land corridor crossing the Lake Huron basin during this time period, reveals the presence of a series of stone features that match, in form and location, structures used for caribou hunting in both prehistoric and ethnographic times. These results present evidence for early hunters on the Alpena-Amberley corridor, and raise the possibility that intact settlements and ancient landscapes are preserved beneath Lake Huron.

What drives the Tibetan crust to the South East Asia? Role of upper mantle density discontinuities as inferred from the continental geoid anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Rajesh, S.

2012-04-01

The Himalaya-Tibet orogen formed as a result of the northward convergence of India into the Asia over the past 55 Ma had caused the north south crustal shortening and Cenozoic upliftment of the Tibetan plateau, which significantly affected the tectonic and climatic framework of the Asia. Geodetic measurements have also shown eastward crustal extrusion of Tibet, especially along major east-southeast strike slip faults at a slip rate of 15-20 mm a-1 and around 40 mm a-1. Such continental scale deformations have been modeled as block rotation by fault boundary stresses developed due to the India-Eurasia collision. However, the Thin Sheet model explained the crustal deformation mechanism by considering varying gravitational potential energy arise out of varying crustal thickness of the viscous lithosphere. The Channel Flow model, which also suggests extrusion is a boundary fault guided flow along the shallow crustal brittle-ductile regime. Although many models have proposed, but no consensus in these models to explain the dynamics of measured surface geodetic deformation of the Tibetan plateau. But what remains conspicuous is the origin of driving forces that cause the observed Tibetan crustal flow towards the South East Asia. Is the crustal flow originated only because of the differential stresses that developed in the shallow crustal brittle-ductile regime? Or should the stress transfer to the shallow crustal layers as a result of gravitational potential energy gradient driven upper mantle flow also to be accounted. In this work, I examine the role of latter in the light of depth distribution of continental geoid anomalies beneath the Himalaya-Tibet across major upper mantle density discontinuities. These discontinuity surfaces in the upper mantle are susceptible to hold the plastic deformation that may occur as a result of the density gradient driven flow. The distribution of geoid anomalies across these density discontinuities at 220, 410 and 660 km depth in the

Lunar Magma Ocean Crystallization: Constraints from Fractional Crystallization Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Rapp, J. F.; Draper, D. S.

2015-01-01

The currently accepted paradigm of lunar formation is that of accretion from the ejecta of a giant impact, followed by crystallization of a global scale magma ocean. This model accounts for the formation of the anorthosite highlands crust, which is globally distributed and old, and the formation of the younger mare basalts which are derived from a source region that has experienced plagioclase extraction. Several attempts at modelling the crystallization of such a lunar magma ocean (LMO) have been made, but our ever-increasing knowledge of the lunar samples and surface have raised as many questions as these models have answered. Geodynamic models of lunar accretion suggest that shortly following accretion the bulk of the lunar mass was hot, likely at least above the solidus]. Models of LMO crystallization that assume a deep magma ocean are therefore geodynamically favorable, but they have been difficult to reconcile with a thick plagioclase-rich crust. A refractory element enriched bulk composition, a shallow magma ocean, or a combination of the two have been suggested as a way to produce enough plagioclase to account for the assumed thickness of the crust. Recently however, geophysical data from the GRAIL mission have indicated that the lunar anorthositic crust is not as thick as was initially estimated, which allows for both a deeper magma ocean and a bulk composition more similar to the terrestrial upper mantle. We report on experimental simulations of the fractional crystallization of a deep (approximately 100km) LMO with a terrestrial upper mantle-like (LPUM) bulk composition. Our experimental results will help to define the composition of the lunar crust and mantle cumulates, and allow us to consider important questions such as source regions of the mare basalts and Mg-suite, the role of mantle overturn after magma ocean crystallization and the nature of KREEP

On the Revealing Firsthand Probing of Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions off Sabrina Coast During NBP1402

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, B. A.; Orsi, A. H.; Zielinski, N. J.; Durkin, W. J., IV; Clark, P.; Wiederwohl, C. L.; Rosenberg, M. A.; Gwyther, D.; Greenbaum, J. S.; Lavoie, C.; Shevenell, A.; Leventer, A.; Blankenship, D. D.; Gulick, S. P. S.; Domack, E. W.

2014-12-01

Diverse interactions of winds, currents and ice around Antarctica dictate how, where and when the world's densest waters form and massive floating ice shelves and glaciers melt, as well as control sea surface gas exchange and primary productivity. Compelled by recent rate estimates of East Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss, we contrast the paths and mixing histories of oceanic waters reaching the continental ice edge off the Sabrina and Adelie coasts relying on the unique set of synoptic shipboard measurements from NBP1402 (swath bathymetry, ADCP, underway CTD). Analysis of historical hydrography and sea ice concentration fields within the Mertz Polynya indicates the apparent effect of evolving ocean-ice-atmosphere interactions on the characteristics of local Shelf Water (SW) sources to current outflow of newly formed Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). A polynya dominated water mass structure similar to that observed off the Adelie Coast before the removal of the Mertz Ice Tongue was expected to the west of the Dalton Ice Tongue (DIT). However, we found no evidence of dense SW off Sabrina Coast, which may lessen the region's preconceived influence to global meridional overturning. Present sea ice production within the eastern Dalton Polynya is overshadowed by freshwater input to relatively stable interior upper waters. The Antarctic Coastal Current (ACoC) picks up distinct meltwater contributions along the DIT western flank and in front of the Moscow University Ice Shelf (MUIS) and Totten Glacier (TG). Unlike over other highly influential margins to global sea level rise, there is no evidence of local cross-shelf inflow and mixing of warm Circumpolar Deep Water. Relatively cold thermocline waters from the continental slope enter the eastern trough off Sabrina Coast, and they are swiftly steered poleward by complex underlying topography. Meltwater export from beneath the MUIS and TG is observed at newly discovered trenches that effectively constrain sub-cavity inflow to low

Estimating Net Primary Productivity Beneath Snowpack Using Snowpack Radiative Transfer Modeling and Global Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, D. E.; Peterson, M. C.

2002-05-01

Sufficient photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) penetrates snow for plants to grow beneath snowpack during late winter or early spring in tundra ecosystems. During the spring in this ecosystem, the snowpack creates an environment with higher humidity and less variable and milder temperatures than on the snow-free land. Under these conditions, the amount of PAR available is likely to be the limiting factor for plant growth. Current methods for determining net primary productivity (NPP) of tundra ecosystems do not account for this plant growth beneath snowpack, apparently resulting in underestimating plant production there. We are currently in the process of estimating the magnitude of this early growth beneath snow for tundra ecosystems. Our method includes a radiative transfer model that simulates diffuse and direct PAR penetrating snowpack based on downwelling PAR values and snow depth data from global satellite databases. These PAR levels are convolved with plant growth for vegetation that thrives beneath snowpacks, such as lichen. We expect to present the net primary production for Cladonia species (a common Arctic lichen) that has the capability of photosynthesizing at low temperatures beneath snowpack. This method may also be used to study photosynthesis beneath snowpacks in other hardy plants. Lichens are used here as they are common in snow-covered regions, flourish under snowpack, and provide an important food source for tundra herbivores (e.g. caribou). In addition, lichens are common in arctic-alpine environments and our results can be applied to these ecosystems as well. Finally, the NPP of lichen beneath snowpack is relatively well understood compared to other plants, making it ideal vegetation for this first effort at estimating the potential importance of photosynthesis at large scales. We are examining other candidate plants for their photosynthetic potential beneath snowpack at this time; however, little research has been done on this topic. We

Observed Seasonal Variations of the Upper Ocean Structure and Air-Sea Interactions in the Andaman Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yanliang; Li, Kuiping; Ning, Chunlin; Yang, Yang; Wang, Haiyuan; Liu, Jianjun; Skhokiattiwong, Somkiat; Yu, Weidong

2018-02-01

The Andaman Sea (AS) is a poorly observed basin, where even the fundamental physical characteristics have not been fully documented. Here the seasonal variations of the upper ocean structure and the air-sea interactions in the central AS were studied using a moored surface buoy. The seasonal double-peak pattern of the sea surface temperature (SST) was identified with the corresponding mixed layer variations. Compared with the buoys in the Bay of Bengal (BOB), the thermal stratification in the central AS was much stronger in the winter to spring, when a shallower isothermal layer and a thinner barrier layer were sustained. The temperature inversion was strongest from June to July because of substantial surface heat loss and subsurface prewarming. The heat budget analysis of the mixed layer showed that the net surface heat fluxes dominated the seasonal SST cycle. Vertical entrainment was significant from April to July. It had a strong cooling effect from April to May and a striking warming effect from June to July. A sensitivity experiment highlighted the importance of salinity. The AS warmer surface water in the winter was associated with weak heat loss caused by weaker longwave radiation and latent heat losses. However, the AS latent heat loss was larger than the BOB in summer due to its lower relative humidity.

Core drilling provides information about Santa Fe Group aquifer system beneath Albuquerque's West Mesa

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, B.D.; Connell, S.D.; Hawley, J.W.; Stone, B.D.

1998-01-01

Core samples from the upper ???1500 ft of the Santa Fe Group in the Albuquerque West Mesa area provide a first-hand look at the sediments and at subsurface stratigraphic relationships in this important part of the basin-fill aquifer system. Two major hydrostratigraphic subunits consisting of a lower coarse-grained, sandy interval and an overlying fine-grained, interbedded silty sand and clay interval lie beneath the water table at the 98th St core hole. Borehole electrical conductivity measurements reproduce major textural changes observed in the recovered cores and support subsurface correlations of hydrostratigraphic units in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system based on geophysical logs. Comparison of electrical logs from the core hole and from nearby city wells reveals laterally consistent lithostratigraphic patterns over much of the metropolitan area west of the Rio Grande that may be used to delineate structural and related stratigraphic features that have a direct bearing on the availability of ground water.

Satellite Tidal Magnetic Signals Constrain Oceanic Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary Earth Tomography with Tidal Magnetic Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Grayver, Alexander V.; Schnepf, Neesha R.; Kuvshinov, Alexey V.; Sabaka, Terence J.; Chandrasekharan, Manoj; Olsen, Niles

2016-01-01

The tidal flow of electrically conductive oceans through the geomagnetic field results in the generation of secondary magnetic signals, which provide information on the subsurface structure. Data from the new generation of satellites were shown to contain magnetic signals due to tidal flow; however, there are no reports that these signals have been used to infer subsurface structure. Here we use satellite-detected tidal magnetic fields to image the global electrical structure of the oceanic lithosphere and upper mantle down to a depth of about 250 km. The model derived from more than 12 years of satellite data reveals an Approximately 72 km thick upper resistive layer followed by a sharp increase in electrical conductivity likely associated with the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, which separates colder rigid oceanic plates from the ductile and hotter asthenosphere.

Seismological evidence for a sub-volcanic arc mantle wedge beneath the Denali volcanic gap, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, D.E.; Pasyanos, M.E.

2002-01-01

Arc volcanism in Alaska is strongly correlated with the 100 km depth contour of the western Aluetian Wadati-Benioff zone. Above the eastern portion of the Wadati-Benioff zone however, there is a distinct lack of volcanism (the Denali volcanic gap). We observe high Poisson's ratio values (0.29-0.33) over the entire length of the Alaskan subduction zone mantle wedge based on regional variations of Pn and Sn velocities. High Poisson's ratios at this depth (40-70 km), adjacent to the subducting slab, are attributed to melting of mantle-wedge peridotites, caused by fluids liberated from the subducting oceanic crust and sediments. Observations of high values of Poisson's ratio, beneath the Denali volcanic gap suggest that the mantle wedge contains melted material that is unable to reach the surface. We suggest that its inability to migrate through the overlying crust is due to increased compression in the crust at the northern apex of the curved Denali fault.

Integrating biogeochemistry and ecology into ocean data assimilation systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brasseur, Pierre; Gruber, Nicolas; Barciela, Rosa

2009-01-01

that are not yet considered essential, such as upper-ocean vertical fluxes that are critically important to biological activity. Further, the observing systems will need to be expanded in terms of in situ platforms (with intensified deployments of sensors for O-2 and chlorophyll, and inclusion of new sensors...... for nutrients, zooplankton, micronekton biomass, and others), satellite missions (e.g., hyperspectral instruments for ocean color, lidar systems for mixed-layer depths, and wide-swath altimeters for coastal sea level), and improved methods to assimilate these new measurements....

Interactions of the tropical oceans. Rev.ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latif, M.; Barnett, T.P.

1994-01-01

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

Lithospheric shear velocity structure of South Island, New Zealand, from amphibious Rayleigh wave tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, Justin S.; Sheehan, Anne F.; Stachnik, Joshua C.; Lin, Fan-Chi; Yeck, William L.; Collins, John A.

2016-05-01

We present a crust and mantle 3-D shear velocity model extending well offshore of New Zealand's South Island, imaging the lithosphere beneath the South Island as well as the Campbell and Challenger Plateaus. Our model is constructed via linearized inversion of both teleseismic (18-70 s period) and ambient noise-based (8-25 s period) Rayleigh wave dispersion measurements. We augment an array of 4 land-based and 29 ocean bottom instruments deployed off the South Island's east and west coasts in 2009-2010 by the Marine Observations of Anisotropy Near Aotearoa experiment with 28 land-based seismometers from New Zealand's permanent GeoNet array. Major features of our shear wave velocity (Vs) model include a low-velocity (Vs 50 km) beneath the central South Island exhibits strong spatial correlation with upper mantle earthquake hypocenters beneath the Alpine Fault. The ~400 km long low-velocity zone we image beneath eastern South Island and the inner Bounty Trough underlies Cenozoic volcanics and the locations of mantle-derived helium measurements, consistent with asthenospheric upwelling in the region.

Lateral Variations of the Mantle Transition Zone Structure beneath the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by P-wave Receiver Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Y.; Ai, Y.; Jiang, M.; He, Y.; Chen, Q.

2017-12-01

The deep structure of the southeastern Tibetan plateau is of great scientific importance to a better understanding of the India-Eurasia collision as well as the evolution of the magnificent Tibetan plateau. In this study, we collected 566 permanent and temporary seismic stations deployed in SE Tibet, with a total of 77853 high quality P-wave receiver functions been extracted by maximum entropy deconvolution method. On the basis of the Common Conversion Point (CCP) stacking technique, we mapped the topography of the 410km and 660km discontinuities (hereinafter called the `410' and the `660'), and further investigated the lateral variation of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) thickness beneath this region. The background velocity model deduced from H-κ stacking results and a previous body-wave tomographic research was applied for the correction of the crustal and upper mantle heterogeneities beneath SE Tibet for CCP stacking. Our results reveal two significantly thickened MTZ anomalies aligned nearly in the south-north direction. The magnitude of both anomalies are 30km above the global average of 250km. The southern anomaly located beneath the Dianzhong sub-block and the Indo-China block is characterized by a slightly deeper `410' and a greater-than-normal `660', while the northern anomaly beneath western Sichuan has an uplifted `410' and a depressed `660'. Combining with previous studies in the adjacent region, we suggest that slab break-off may occurred during the eastward subduction of the Burma plate, with the lower part of the cold slab penetrated into the MTZ and stagnated at the bottom of the `660' which may cause the southern anomaly in our receiver function images. The origin of the Tengchong volcano is probably connected to the upwelling of the asthenospheric material caused by the slab break-off or to the ascending of the hot and wet material triggered by the dehydration of stagnant slab in the MTZ. The anomaly in the north, on the other hand, might be

Thermally driven gas flow beneath Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amter, S.; Lu, Ning; Ross, B.

1991-01-01

A coupled thermopneumatic model is developed for simulating heat transfer, rock-gas flow and carbon-14 travel time beneath Yucca Mountain, NV. The aim of this work is to understand the coupling of heat transfer and gas flow. Heat transfer in and near the potential repository region depends on several factors, including the geothermal gradient, climate, and local sources of heat such as radioactive wastes. Our numerical study shows that small temperature changes at the surface can change both the temperature field and the gas flow pattern beneath Yucca Mountain. A lateral temperature difference of 1 K is sufficient to create convection cells hundreds of meters in size. Differences in relative humidities between gas inside the mountain and air outside the mountain also significantly affect the gas flow field. 6 refs., 7 figs

Experimental simulation of magma-carbonate interaction beneath Mt. Vesuvius, Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Jolis, E. M.; Freda, C.; Troll, V. R.; Deegan, F. M.; Blythe, L. S.; McLeod, C. L.; Davidson, J. P.

2013-11-01

We simulated the process of magma-carbonate interaction beneath Mt. Vesuvius in short duration piston-cylinder experiments under controlled magmatic conditions (from 0 to 300 s at 0.5 GPa and 1,200 °C), using a Vesuvius shoshonite composition and upper crustal limestone and dolostone as starting materials. Backscattered electron images and chemical analysis (major and trace elements and Sr isotopes) of sequential experimental products allow us to identify the textural and chemical evolution of carbonated products during the assimilation process. We demonstrate that melt-carbonate interaction can be extremely fast (minutes), and results in dynamic contamination of the host melt with respect to Ca, Mg and 87Sr/86Sr, coupled with intense CO2 vesiculation at the melt-carbonate interface. Binary mixing between carbonate and uncontaminated melt cannot explain the geochemical variations of the experimental charges in full and convection and diffusion likely also operated in the charges. Physical mixing and mingling driven by exsolving volatiles seems to be a key process to promote melt homogenisation. Our results reinforce hypotheses that magma-carbonate interaction is a relevant and ongoing process at Mt. Vesuvius and one that may operate not only on a geological, but on a human timescale.

Origin of seamount volcanism in northeast Indian Ocean with emphasis on Christmas Island

Science.gov (United States)

Taneja, R.; O'Neill, C.; Rushmer, T. A.; Jourdan, F.; Blichert-Toft, J.; Turner, S.; Lackie, M. A.

2012-12-01

The Northeast Indian Ocean has been a central point of research in the recent past due to its intraplate geophysical and geochemical characteristics. It is dominated by sub-aerial volcanic islands and submerged guyots and two islands, namely, Cocos (Keeling) Island and Christmas Island. Christmas Island, the focus of this study, consists of limestone and mafic intraplate volcanics. The origin of most of the features in northeast Indian Ocean is not fully understood. Christmas Island has experienced multiple stages of intraplate volcanic activity as previously established by 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic analyses of basalts from the island (Hoernl et al., 2011). Here, we present new 40Ar/39Ar ages where the rock samples from Waterfall Spring (WS), Ethel Beach (EB) & Dolly Beach (DB) on the east coast of the island yielded plateau and mini-plateau ages of 37.75±0.77 Ma, 37.10±0.66 Ma and 43.37±0.45 Ma respectively, whereas a sample from Flying Fish Cove (FFC) in the north of the island yielded a minimum age of 38.6±0.5 Ma. All these units are part of the Lower Volcanics Series. The samples from the west coast (Winifred Beach, WB) are younger with an age of 4.32 ± 0.17 Ma, and are part of the Upper Volcanic Series. This confirms two stages of volcanism at the island with a gap of around 38 Ma. The 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic ages were overlayed on Gplates and seismic tomography models to determine its paleo motion. The present position of the island is 10.5°S, 105.5°E. During Eocene its reconstructed position was 30°S latitude. Seismic tomography models have highlighted a low velocity zone beneath the island during Eocene. Geochemically, the two volcanic suites (Upper & Lower) are mostly similar in their major and trace element composition. The majority of localities (WS, EB, and WB) are basanites; where as that from Dolly Beach is basaltic. The Dale's (west coast), are trachyte and appear evolved with high SiO2. They also have low Ba and Sr ~25ppm, whereas those from

Remote sensing signatures of oceanic whitecap at different wavelengths

Science.gov (United States)

Anguelova, M. D.; Dowgiallo, D. J.; Smith, G. B.; Means, S. L.; Savelyev, I.; Frick, G. M.; Snow, C. M.; Schindall, J. A.; Bobak, J. P.

2012-12-01

Oceanic whitecaps are the most direct surface expression of breaking wind waves in the ocean. Whitecap fraction quantifies the breaking events and is thus a suitable forcing variable for parameterizing and predicting various air-sea interaction processes. To this end, we have compiled a database of whitecap fraction W from satellites-borne microwave radiometric observations. These observations provide the total W including foam generated during active breaking of wind-driven waves and residual foam left behind by these breaking waves. However, the whitecap fraction associated with the actively breaking waves WA is needed for dynamic air-sea processes in the upper ocean such as turbulent mixing, gas exchange, ocean ambient noise, and spray-mediated intensification of tropical storms. To parameterize such processes, a database of WA separate from W is needed. We pursue this separation of WA from W by combining the Phillips concept of breaking wave statistics which connects WA with the energy dissipation rate of breaking waves and parametric estimates of energy dissipation from wave spectra measured from buoys. We seek additional physical understanding of, and experimental support for, this separation with a multi-instrumental field campaign. The instrumentation deployed includes a suite of sensors recording the whitecaps and breaking waves on the surface over wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum: visible (video cameras), infrared (IR camera), and microwave (radiometers at two frequencies, 10 GHz and 37 GHz). An acoustic array with three nested-aperture array at frequencies up to 2.4 kHz and aerosol/particle counter provide data for the bubbles generated beneath and sea spray produced above the whitecaps. We also deployed a transmitter horn to collect data useful to asses Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), which affects the collection and accuracy of satellite-based data. Various auxiliary data such as wind speed, air temperature, humidity, wave field, and

Decadal variation of ocean heat content and tropical cyclone activity ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The upper ocean heat content up to 700 m depth (OHC700) is an important ... made to examine the inter-decadal variations of tropical cyclone (TC) activity and OHC700 over the ..... In: Climate change 2007: The physical science basis (eds).

Analysis of groundwater flow beneath ice sheets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boulton, G. S.; Zatsepin, S.; Maillot, B. [Univ. of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics

2001-03-01

The large-scale pattern of subglacial groundwater flow beneath European ice sheets was analysed in a previous report. It was based on a two-dimensional flowline model. In this report, the analysis is extended to three dimensions by exploring the interactions between groundwater and tunnel flow. A theory is developed which suggests that the large-scale geometry of the hydraulic system beneath an ice sheet is a coupled, self-organising system. In this system the pressure distribution along tunnels is a function of discharge derived from basal meltwater delivered to tunnels by groundwater flow, and the pressure along tunnels itself sets the base pressure which determines the geometry of catchments and flow towards the tunnel. The large-scale geometry of tunnel distribution is a product of the pattern of basal meltwater production and the transmissive properties of the bed. The tunnel discharge from the ice margin of the glacier, its seasonal fluctuation and the sedimentary characteristics of eskers are largely determined by the discharge of surface meltwater which penetrates to the bed in the terminal zone. The theory explains many of the characteristics of esker systems and can account for tunnel valleys. It is concluded that the large-scale hydraulic regime beneath ice sheets is largely a consequence of groundwater/tunnel flow interactions and that it is essential similar to non-glacial hydraulic regimes. Experimental data from an Icelandic glacier, which demonstrates measured relationships between subglacial tunnel flow and groundwater flow during the transition from summer to winter seasons for a modern glacier, and which support the general conclusions of the theory is summarised in an appendix.

Analysis of groundwater flow beneath ice sheets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulton, G. S.; Zatsepin, S.; Maillot, B.

2001-03-01

The large-scale pattern of subglacial groundwater flow beneath European ice sheets was analysed in a previous report. It was based on a two-dimensional flowline model. In this report, the analysis is extended to three dimensions by exploring the interactions between groundwater and tunnel flow. A theory is developed which suggests that the large-scale geometry of the hydraulic system beneath an ice sheet is a coupled, self-organising system. In this system the pressure distribution along tunnels is a function of discharge derived from basal meltwater delivered to tunnels by groundwater flow, and the pressure along tunnels itself sets the base pressure which determines the geometry of catchments and flow towards the tunnel. The large-scale geometry of tunnel distribution is a product of the pattern of basal meltwater production and the transmissive properties of the bed. The tunnel discharge from the ice margin of the glacier, its seasonal fluctuation and the sedimentary characteristics of eskers are largely determined by the discharge of surface meltwater which penetrates to the bed in the terminal zone. The theory explains many of the characteristics of esker systems and can account for tunnel valleys. It is concluded that the large-scale hydraulic regime beneath ice sheets is largely a consequence of groundwater/tunnel flow interactions and that it is essential similar to non-glacial hydraulic regimes. Experimental data from an Icelandic glacier, which demonstrates measured relationships between subglacial tunnel flow and groundwater flow during the transition from summer to winter seasons for a modern glacier, and which support the general conclusions of the theory is summarised in an appendix

Seismic Evidence for the North China Plate Underthrusting Beneath Northeastern Tibet and its Implications for Plateau Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Z.; Gao, R.; Li, Q.; Zhang, H.

2016-12-01

The effects of India-Asia collision and the subsequent interaction between the two continents on northeastern Tibet (NE Tibet), i.e., the tectonic transition zone between the Tibetan plateau and the North China craton (NCC) for example, remain uncertain due to inadequate geophysical data coverage in NE Tibet. Here in this research, based on new dataset collected from a dense linear array of 38 broadband seismograph stations, we applied seismic receiver functions (Sp and Ps converted waves) to imaging the lithospheric structure and shear wave splitting (XKS waves) to inspecting the anisotropy in the lithosphere and upper mantle beneath NE Tibet. The seismic array traverses NE Tibet to the westernmost NCC (Alxa block) in an SSW-NNE direction. The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is clearly defined and appears as a south-dipping interface that runs continuously from the Alxa interior to the Qilian orogen on the S-wave receiver function images. Shear wave splitting measurements show significant lateral variations of seismic anisotropy across NE Tibet. Under joint constraints from both the lithospheric structure imaging and the regional anisotropic regime, combined with previous studies and through a thorough analysis/comparison/integration, we finally constructed a comprehensive lithospheric model of NE Tibet. The model tells that the NCC lithospheric mantle has been persistently underthrust beneath the Qilian orogen in response to on-going convergence/compression between the interior Tibetan plateau and the NCC. This process forms the syntectonic crustal thrust. The regional anisotropic regime can be well accommodated in our interpretation. The lithospheric model summarized here can be well accommodated in a scenario of northeastward migration of stepwise/multiple Aisan mantle lithosphere underthrusting beneath the Tibetan plateau. The multiple Aisan lithospheric blocks underthrust the plateau stepwise in small scale. Our results provide a new section from

Duality of Ross Ice Shelf systems: crustal boundary, ice sheet processes and ocean circulation from ROSETTA-Ice surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Tinto, K. J.; Siddoway, C. S.; Padman, L.; Fricker, H. A.; Das, I.; Porter, D. F.; Springer, S. R.; Siegfried, M. R.; Caratori Tontini, F.; Bell, R. E.

2017-12-01

Bathymetry beneath Antarctic ice shelves controls sub-ice-shelf ocean circulation and has a major influence on the stability and dynamics of the ice sheets. Beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, the sea-floor bathymetry is a product of both tectonics and glacial processes, and is influenced by the processes it controls. New aerogeophysical surveys have revealed a fundamental crustal boundary bisecting the Ross Ice Shelf and imparting a duality to the Ross Ice Shelf systems, encompassing bathymetry, ocean circulation and ice flow history. The ROSETTA-Ice surveys were designed to increase the resolution of Ross Ice Shelf mapping from the 55 km RIGGS survey of the 1970s to a 10 km survey grid, flown over three years from New York Air National Guard LC130s. Radar, LiDAR, gravity and magnetic instruments provide a top to bottom profile of the ice shelf and the underlying seafloor, with 20 km resolution achieved in the first two survey seasons (2015 and 2016). ALAMO ocean-profiling floats deployed in the 2016 season are measuring the temperature and salinity of water entering and exiting the sub-ice water cavity. A significant east-west contrast in the character of the magnetic and gravity fields reveals that the lithospheric boundary between East and West Antarctica exists not at the base of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), as previously thought, but 300 km further east. The newly-identified boundary spatially coincides with the southward extension of the Central High, a rib of shallow basement identified in the Ross Sea. The East Antarctic side is characterized by lower amplitude magnetic anomalies and denser TAM-type lithosphere compared to the West Antarctic side. The crustal structure imparts a fundamental duality on the overlying ice and ocean, with deeper bathymetry and thinner ice on the East Antarctic side creating a larger sub-ice cavity for ocean circulation. The West Antarctic side has a shallower seabed, more restricted ocean access and a more complex history of

Research in connexion with the possible disposal of high level radioactive waste on or beneath the ocean floor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

Progress on five research contracts, selection and evaluation of areas and sites, the properties of ocean sediments, biological transfer of materials between seabed and surface, studies of the benthic boundary layer and dispersion in the Northwest Atlantic, is reported. (U.K.)

Magma Supply of Southwest Indian Ocean: Implication from Crustal Thickness Anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Chiheng, L.; Jianghai, L.; Huatian, Z.; Qingkai, F.

2017-12-01

The Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) is one of the world's slowest spreading ridges with a full spreading rate of 14mm a-1, belonging to ultraslow spreading ridge, which are a novel class of spreading centers symbolized by non-uniform magma supply and crustal accretion. Therefore, the crustal thickness of Southwest Indian Ocean is a way to explore the magmatic and tectonic process of SWIR and the hotspots around it. Our paper uses Residual Mantle Bouguer Anomaly processed with the latest global public data to invert the relative crustal thickness and correct it according to seismic achievements. Gravity-derived crustal thickness model reveals a huge range of crustal thickness in Southwest Indian Ocean from 0.04km to 24km, 7.5km of average crustal thickness, and 3.5km of standard deviation. In addition, statistics data of crustal thickness reveal the frequency has a bimodal mixed skewed distribution, which indicates the crustal accretion by ridge and ridge-plume interaction. Base on the crustal thickness model, we divide three types of crustal thickness in Southwest Indian Ocean. About 20.31% of oceanic crust is 9.8km thick as thick crust. Furthermore, Prominent thin crust anomalies are associated with the trend of most transform faults, but thick crust anomalies presents to northeast of Andrew Bain transform fault. Cold and depleted mantle are also the key factors to form the thin crust. The thick crust anomalies are constrained by hotspots, which provide abundant heat to the mantle beneath mid-ocean ridge or ocean basin. Finally, we roughly delineate the range of ridge-plume interaction and transform fault effect.

Constraining the hydration of the subducting Nazca plate beneath Northern Chile using subduction zone guided waves

Science.gov (United States)

Garth, Tom; Rietbrock, Andreas

2017-09-01

Guided wave dispersion is observed from earthquakes at 180-280 km depth recorded at stations in the fore-arc of Northern Chile, where the 44 Ma Nazca plate subducts beneath South America. Characteristic P-wave dispersion is observed at several stations in the Chilean fore-arc with high frequency energy (>5 Hz) arriving up to 3 s after low frequency (accounted for if dipping low velocity fault zones are included within the subducting lithospheric mantle. A grid search over possible LVL and faults zone parameters (width, velocity contrast and separation distance) was carried out to constrain the best fitting model parameters. Our results imply that fault zone structures of 0.5-1.0 km thickness, and 5-10 km spacing, consistent with observations at the outer rise are present within the subducted slab at intermediate depths. We propose that these low velocity fault zone structures represent the hydrated structure within the lithospheric mantle. They may be formed initially by normal faults at the outer rise, which act as a pathway for fluids to penetrate the deeper slab due to the bending and unbending stresses within the subducting plate. Our observations suggest that the lithospheric mantle is 5-15% serpentinised, and therefore may transport approximately 13-42 Tg/Myr of water per meter of arc. The guided wave observations also suggest that a thin LVL (∼1 km thick) interpreted as un-eclogitised subducted oceanic crust persists to depths of at least 220 km. Comparison of the inferred seismic velocities with those predicted for various MORB assemblages suggest that this thin LVL may be accounted for by low velocity lawsonite-bearing assemblages, suggesting that some mineral-bound water within the oceanic crust may be transported well beyond the volcanic arc. While older subducting slabs may carry more water per metre of arc, approximately one third of the oceanic material subducted globally is of a similar age to the Nazca plate. This suggests that subducting oceanic

Evolution of Summer Ocean Mixed Layer Heat Content and Ocean/Ice Fluxes in the Arctic Ocean During the Last Decade

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, T. P.; Shaw, W. J.

2014-12-01

Since 2002, a series of 28 Autonomous Ocean Flux Buoys have been deployed in the Beaufort Sea and from the North Pole Environmental Observatory. These long-term ice-deployed instrument systems primarily measure vertical turbulent fluxes of heat, salt and momentum at a depth of 2 - 6 m below the ocean/ice interface, while concurrently measuring current profile every 2m down to approximately 40-50m depth, within the seasonal pycnocline. Additional sensors have been added to measure local ice melt rates acoustically, and finescale thermal structure from the eddy correlation flux sensor up into the ice to resolve summer near-surface heating. The AOFB buoys have typically been co-located with Ice Tethered Profilers, that measure the upper ocean T/S structure and ice mass balance instruments. Comparisons of near-surface heat fluxes, heat content and vertical structure over the last decade will be made for buoys in the Beaufort Sea and Transpolar Drift between the North Pole and Spitzbergen. The effects of enhanced basal melting from ice/albedo feedbacks can be clearly seen in the low ice concentration summer conditions found more recently in the Beaufort Sea, while there are less pronounced effects of enhanced summer surface heating in the higher ice concentrations still found in the transpolar drift.

Air-Sea Momentum and Enthalpy Exchange in Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Modeling of Tropical Cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

Curcic, M.; Chen, S. S.

2016-02-01

The atmosphere and ocean are coupled through momentum, enthalpy, and mass fluxes. Accurate representation of these fluxes in a wide range of weather and climate conditions is one of major challenges in prediction models. Their current parameterizations are based on sparse observations in low-to-moderate winds and are not suited for high wind conditions such as tropical cyclones (TCs) and winter storms. In this study, we use the Unified Wave INterface - Coupled Model (UWIN-CM), a high resolution, fully-coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model, to better understand the role of ocean surface waves in mediating air-sea momentum and enthalpy exchange in TCs. In particular, we focus on the explicit treatment of wave growth and dissipation for calculating atmospheric and oceanic stress, and its role in upper ocean mixing and surface cooling in the wake of the storm. Wind-wave misalignment and local wave disequilibrium result in difference between atmospheric and oceanic stress being largest on the left side of the storm. We find that explicit wave calculation in the coupled model reduces momentum transfer into the ocean by more than 10% on average, resulting in reduced cooling in TC's wake and subsequent weakening of the storm. We also investigate the impacts of sea surface temperature and upper ocean parameterization on air-sea enthalpy fluxes in the fully coupled model. High-resolution UWIN-CM simulations of TCs with various intensities and structure are conducted in this study to better understand the complex TC-ocean interaction and improve the representation of air-sea coupling processes in coupled prediction models.

Ground-water quality beneath solid-waste disposal sites at anchorage, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Zenone, Chester; Donaldson, D.E.; Grunwaldt, J.J.

1975-01-01

Studies at three solid-waste disposal sites in the Anchorage area suggest that differences in local geohydrologic conditions influence ground-water quality. A leachate was detected in ground water within and beneath two sites where the water table is very near land surface and refuse is deposited either at or below the water table in some parts of the filled areas. No leachate was detected in ground water beneath a third site where waste disposal is well above the local water table.

Ocean eddies and climate predictability.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

Modeling and Inversion of three-dimensional crustal structures beneath the Pyrenees and their foreland basins based upon geological, gravimetric and seismological data

Science.gov (United States)

Spangenberg, Hannah; Chevrot, Sébastien; Courrioux, Gabriel; Guillen, Antonio

2017-04-01

Our goal is to obtain a three-dimensional (3D) model of mass density and seismic velocities beneath the Pyrenees and their foreland basins (Aquitaine and Ebro basins), which accounts for all the geological and geophysical information available for that region. This model covers the whole mountain range going from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Iberian range to the Massif Central. The model is described by different units: the lower, middle, and upper crusts, the accretionary prism, and the consolidated and unconsolidated sediment layers. Furthermore, a sub-continental, serpentinized European mantle is introduced to describe the exhumed mantle bodies which are responsible for the positive Bouguer gravity anomalies in the western Pyrenees. We build a first 3D model using all the geological information: drill-hole surveys, seismic sections, and the geological map. We use the potential field method implemented in Geomodeler to interpolate these geological data. However, these data are too sparse to build a model that explains seismic travel times or gravimetric data, especially the Labourd and the St. Gaudens Bouguer gravity anomalies. In addition, inconsistencies between the different data sets exist. We thus add by trial and error additional data points, comparing modeled and observed Bouguer gravimetric anomalies. The result of this procedure is a 3D geological model that respects the geological data and explains the measured Bouguer gravimetric anomalies. In a second step, we use this model to determine the average density and seismic velocities inside each geological unit assuming uniform layers. To constrain the seismic velocities we use travel time picks extracted from the bulletin of the Pyrenean seismicity released by the Observatoire Midi Pyrenées. In a third step, we use this 3D a priori model in a Monte Carlo inversion to invert jointly gravimetric data and seismic travel times from the bulletin. This probabilistic approach

A previously unrecognized path of early Holocene base flow and elevated discharge from Lake Minong to Lake Chippewa across eastern Upper Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

Loope, Walter L.; Jol, Harry M.; Fisher, Timothy G.; Blewett, William L.; Loope, Henry M.; Legg, Robert J.

2014-01-01

It has long been hypothesized that flux of fresh meltwater from glacial Lake Minong in North America's Superior Basin to the North Atlantic Ocean triggered rapid climatic shifts during the early Holocene. The spatial context of recent support for this idea demands a reevaluation of the exit point of meltwater from the Superior Basin. We used ground penetrating radar (GPR), foundation borings from six highway bridges, a GIS model of surface topography, geologic maps, U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resources Conservation Service soils maps, and well logs to investigate the possible linkage of Lake Minong with Lake Chippewa in the Lake Michigan Basin across eastern Upper Michigan. GPR suggests that a connecting channel lies buried beneath the present interlake divide at Danaher. A single optical age hints that the channel aggraded to 225 m as elevated receipt of Lake Agassiz meltwater in the Superior Basin began to wane GIS model of Minong's shoreline are consistent with another transgression of Minong after ca. 9.5 ka. At the peak of the latter transgression, the southeastern rim of the Superior Basin (Nadoway Drift Barrier) failed, ending Lake Minong. Upon Minong's final drop, aggradational sediments were deposited at Danaher, infilling the prior breach.

3D Density Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere Affected by A Plume: A Case Study from the Greater Jan Mayen-East Greenland Region (NE Atlantic)

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, P.; Sippel, J.; Breivik, A. J.; Scheck-Wenderoth, M.; Meeßen, C.

2017-12-01

Unraveling the density structure of the oceanic lithosphere north of Iceland is key for understanding the effects of the Iceland Plume on the mid-ocean ridges of the greater Jan Mayen-East Greenland Region. We use a data-integrative approach for 3D gravity modeling to develop new insights into the crust and upper mantle density structure of this region. First, we obtain the 3D density structure of the sediments and crust from interpretations of regional reflection and refraction seismic lines. Then, the temperature and density structure of the mantle between 50 and 250 km are derived from a published shear-wave velocity (Vs) tomography model. To assess the density configuration between the Moho and 50 km depth, we follow a combined forward and inverse 3D gravity modeling approach. The Vs tomography and derived density of the deeper mantle (>50 km depth) reveal that the low-density anomaly related to the Iceland plume gets weaker with increasing distance from the plume, i.e. from the strongly influenced Middle Kolbeinsey Ridge (MKR) to the Mohn's Ridge. The West Jan Mayen Fracture Zone is identified as a main mantle density contrast, indicative of differences in the thermal evolution of the ridge systems it separates. Beneath the MKR region, the low-density anomaly at depths of >50 km continues upwards into the uppermost mantle, where its lateral dimensions narrow considerably. This elongated density anomaly is consistent with a basement high and indicates a channelization of the Iceland plume effects. The NE-SW elongated mantle anomaly does not, however, coincide with the topographical NNE-SSW striking ridge axis. Thus, the modelled plume-affected oceanic lithosphere reveals discrepancies with the half-space cooling model. We discuss the 3D density model in terms of such spatial relations between deeper mantle anomalies and the shallow crustal structure.

Three-Dimensional Seismic Tomography Beneath Tangshan, China

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, J. C.; Keranen, K. M.; Keller, G.; Qu, G.; Harder, S. H.

2010-12-01

The 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, China ranks as the deadliest earthquake in modern times. Though the exact number of casualties remains disputed, it is widely accepted that at least a quarter of a million people died. The high casualty level is surprising since the earthquake was not unusually large (Mw 7.5). Amplification of ground motion by thick sediment fill in the basin underlying the city is a likely cause for the extensive destruction. However, the extent of the unconsolidated material and the broader subsurface geology beneath Tangshan and surrounding areas needs to be better-constrained to properly model predicted ground motion and mitigate the hazards of future earthquakes. From a broader perspective, the Tangshan area is at the northern edge of the Bohai Bay basin province that has experienced both Cenozoic extension and related strike-slip tectonism. In January 2010, our group conducted a three-dimensional seismic investigation centered on the city of Tangshan. In an area of approximately 40 km x 60 km, we deployed 500 REFTEK 125A (“Texan”) recorders at 500 m spacing. A number of different sources, 20 altogether, were recorded during the two-day listening window, which include our large shots, smaller explosive shots from a co-spatial reflection survey, blasts from nearby quarries, and a small (Mearthquake. Our preliminary analyses suggest that the sediment fill is, on average, less than 1 km thick. Sediment fill is thinner to the north, as evidenced by outcropping bedrock, and thickens to the south. Sediment seismic velocity is about 1.8 km/s. Upper crustal velocities are 5.2 to 6.6 km/s, and increase to 7.0 km/s at mid-crustal depths.

Crustal evolution derived from the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc velocity images

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, N.; Kodaira, S.; Tatsumi, Y.; Miura, S.; Sato, T.; Yamashita, M.; No, T.; Takahashi, T.; Noguchi, N.; Takizawa, K.; Kaiho, Y.; Kaneda, Y.

2010-12-01

The Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc is known as one of typical oceanic island arcs, which has developed by subduction between oceanic crusts producing continental materials. Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology has carried out seismic surveys using a multi-channel reflection survey system (MCS) and ocean bottom seismographs (OBSs) in the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc since 2002, and reported these crustal images. As the results, we identified the structural characteristics of whole Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc. Rough structural characteristics are, 1) middle crust with Vp of 6 km/s, 2) upper part of the lower crust with Vp of 6.5-6.8 km/s, 3) lower part of the lower crust with Vp of 6.8-7.5 km/s, and 4) lower mantle velocity beneath the arc crusts. In addition, structural variation along the volcanic front, for example, thickness variation of andesitic layers was imaged and the distributions is consistent with those of rhyolite volcanoes, that is, it suggested that the cause the structural variation is various degree of crustal growth (Kodaira et al., 2007). Moreover, crustal thinning with high velocity lower crust across arc was also imaged, and it is interpreted that such crust has been influenced backarc opening (Takahashi et al., 2009). According to Tatsumi et al. (2008), andesitic middle crust is produced by differentiation of basaltic lower crust and a part of the restites are transformed to the upper mantle. This means that region showing much crustal differentiation has large volume of transformation of dense crustal materials to the mantle. We calculated volume profiles of the lower crust along all seismic lines based on the petrologic model, and compared them with observed real volumes obtained by seismic images. If the real volume of the lower crust is large, it means that the underplating of dense materials to the crustal bottom is dominant rather than transformation of dense materials to the upper mantle. According to obtained profiles to judge if the

Imaging magma plumbing beneath Askja volcano, Iceland

Science.gov (United States)

Greenfield, Tim; White, Robert S.

2015-04-01

Volcanoes during repose periods are not commonly monitored by dense instrumentation networks and so activity during periods of unrest is difficult to put in context. We have operated a dense seismic network of 3-component, broadband instruments around Askja, a large central volcano in the Northern Volcanic Zone, Iceland, since 2006. Askja last erupted in 1961, with a relatively small basaltic lava flow. Since 1975 the central caldera has been subsiding and there has been no indication of volcanic activity. Despite this, Askja has been one of the more seismically active volcanoes in Iceland. The majority of these events are due to an extensive geothermal area within the caldera and tectonically induced earthquakes to the northeast which are not related to the magma plumbing system. More intriguing are the less numerous deeper earthquakes at 12-24km depth, situated in three distinct areas within the volcanic system. These earthquakes often show a frequency content which is lower than the shallower activity, but they still show strong P and S wave arrivals indicative of brittle failure, despite their location being well below the brittle-ductile boundary, which, in Askja is ~7km bsl. These earthquakes indicate the presence of melt moving or degassing at depth while the volcano is not inflating, as only high strain rates or increased pore fluid pressures would cause brittle fracture in what is normally an aseismic region in the ductile zone. The lower frequency content must be the result of a slower source time function as earthquakes which are both high frequency and low frequency come from the same cluster, thereby discounting a highly attenuating lower crust. To image the plumbing system beneath Askja, local and regional earthquakes have been used as sources to solve for the velocity structure beneath the volcano. Travel-time tables were created using a finite difference technique and the residuals were used to solve simultaneously for both the earthquake locations

Enhanced deep ocean ventilation and oxygenation with global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Froelicher, T. L.; Jaccard, S.; Dunne, J. P.; Paynter, D.; Gruber, N.

2014-12-01

Twenty-first century coupled climate model simulations, observations from the recent past, and theoretical arguments suggest a consistent trend towards warmer ocean temperatures and fresher polar surface oceans in response to increased radiative forcing resulting in increased upper ocean stratification and reduced ventilation and oxygenation of the deep ocean. Paleo-proxy records of the warming at the end of the last ice age, however, suggests a different outcome, namely a better ventilated and oxygenated deep ocean with global warming. Here we use a four thousand year global warming simulation from a comprehensive Earth System Model (GFDL ESM2M) to show that this conundrum is a consequence of different rates of warming and that the deep ocean is actually better ventilated and oxygenated in a future warmer equilibrated climate consistent with paleo-proxy records. The enhanced deep ocean ventilation in the Southern Ocean occurs in spite of increased positive surface buoyancy fluxes and a constancy of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds - circumstances that would otherwise be expected to lead to a reduction in deep ocean ventilation. This ventilation recovery occurs through a global scale interaction of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation undergoing a multi-centennial recovery after an initial century of transient decrease and transports salinity-rich waters inform the subtropical surface ocean to the Southern Ocean interior on multi-century timescales. The subsequent upwelling of salinity-rich waters in the Southern Ocean strips away the freshwater cap that maintains vertical stability and increases open ocean convection and the formation of Antarctic Bottom Waters. As a result, the global ocean oxygen content and the nutrient supply from the deep ocean to the surface are higher in a warmer ocean. The implications for past and future changes in ocean heat and carbon storage will be discussed.

Ocean Fertilization for Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Philip W.

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

The sequestration switch. Removing industrial CO2 by direct ocean absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ametistova, Lioudmila; Briden, James; Twidell, John

2002-01-01

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

Potential feedback mechanism between phytoplankton and upper ocean circulation with oceanic radiative transfer processes influenced by phytoplankton - Numerical ocean, general circulation models and an analytical solution

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nakamoto, S.; Kano, M.; PrasannaKumar, S.; Oberhuber, J.M.; Muneyama, K.; Ueyoshi, K.; Subrahmanyam, B.; Nakata, K.; Lai, C.A.; Frouin, R.

29208, USA 'Ocean Engineering Department, Tokai University, Shimizu, Japan "LOS Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA *Corresponding author. E-mail address: nakamotoocean@aol.com (S. Nakamoto?. Elsevier Oceanography Series 73 255 Edited...

Global Discontinuity Structure of the Mantle Transition Zone from Finite-Frequency Tomography of SS Precursors

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Z.; Zhou, Y.

2017-12-01

We report global structure of the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities from finite-frequency tomography using frequency-dependent traveltime measurements of SS precursors recorded at the Global Seismological Network (GSN). Finite-frequency sensitivity kernels for discontinuity depth perturbations are calculated in the framework of traveling-wave mode coupling. We parametrize the global discontinuities using a set of spherical triangular grid points and solve the tomographic inverse problem based on singular value decomposition. Our global 410-km and 660-km discontinuity models reveal distinctly different characteristics beneath the oceans and subduction zones. In general, oceanic regions are associated with a thinner mantle transition zone and depth perturbations of the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities are anti-correlated, in agreement with a thermal origin and an overall warm and dry mantle beneath the oceans. The perturbations are not uniform throughout the oceans but show strong small-scale variations, indicating complex processes in the mantle transition zone. In major subduction zones (except for South America where data coverage is sparse), depth perturbations of the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities are correlated, with both the 410-km and the 660-km discontinuities occurring at greater depths. The distributions of the anomalies are consistent with cold stagnant slabs just above the 660-km discontinuity and ascending return flows in a superadiabatic upper mantle.

Ocean heat content variability and change in an ensemble of ocean reanalyses

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, M. D.; Roberts, C. D.; Balmaseda, M.; Chang, Y.-S.; Chepurin, G.; Ferry, N.; Fujii, Y.; Good, S. A.; Guinehut, S.; Haines, K.; Hernandez, F.; Köhl, A.; Lee, T.; Martin, M. J.; Masina, S.; Masuda, S.; Peterson, K. A.; Storto, A.; Toyoda, T.; Valdivieso, M.; Vernieres, G.; Wang, O.; Xue, Y.

2017-08-01

Accurate knowledge of the location and magnitude of ocean heat content (OHC) variability and change is essential for understanding the processes that govern decadal variations in surface temperature, quantifying changes in the planetary energy budget, and developing constraints on the transient climate response to external forcings. We present an overview of the temporal and spatial characteristics of OHC variability and change as represented by an ensemble of dynamical and statistical ocean reanalyses (ORAs). Spatial maps of the 0-300 m layer show large regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans where the interannual variability of the ensemble mean exceeds ensemble spread, indicating that OHC variations are well-constrained by the available observations over the period 1993-2009. At deeper levels, the ORAs are less well-constrained by observations with the largest differences across the ensemble mostly associated with areas of high eddy kinetic energy, such as the Southern Ocean and boundary current regions. Spatial patterns of OHC change for the period 1997-2009 show good agreement in the upper 300 m and are characterized by a strong dipole pattern in the Pacific Ocean. There is less agreement in the patterns of change at deeper levels, potentially linked to differences in the representation of ocean dynamics, such as water mass formation processes. However, the Atlantic and Southern Oceans are regions in which many ORAs show widespread warming below 700 m over the period 1997-2009. Annual time series of global and hemispheric OHC change for 0-700 m show the largest spread for the data sparse Southern Hemisphere and a number of ORAs seem to be subject to large initialization `shock' over the first few years. In agreement with previous studies, a number of ORAs exhibit enhanced ocean heat uptake below 300 and 700 m during the mid-1990s or early 2000s. The ORA ensemble mean (±1 standard deviation) of rolling 5-year trends in full-depth OHC shows a relatively steady

Feasibility of disposal of high-level radioactive waste into the seabed. Volume 5: Dispersal of radionuclides in the oceans: Models, data sets and regional descriptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marietta, M.G.; Simmons, W.F.

1988-01-01

One of the options suggested for disposal of high-level radioactive waste resulting from the generation of nuclear power is burial beneath the deep ocean floor in geologically stable sediment formations which have no economic value. The 8-volume series provides an assessment of the technical feasibility and radiological safety of this disposal concept based on the results obtained by ten years of co-operation and information exchange among the Member countries participating in the NEA Seabed Working Group. This report summarizes the development of a realistic and credible methodology to describe the oceanic dispersion of radionuclides for risk assessment calculations

Temporal variability of dissolved iron species in the mesopelagic zone at Ocean Station PAPA

Science.gov (United States)

Schallenberg, Christina; Ross, Andrew R. S.; Davidson, Ashley B.; Stewart, Gillian M.; Cullen, Jay T.

2017-08-01

Deposition of atmospheric aerosols to the surface ocean is considered an important mechanism for the supply of iron (Fe) to remote ocean regions, but direct observations of the oceanic response to aerosol deposition are sparse. In the high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) subarctic Pacific Ocean we observed a dissolved Fe and Fe(II) anomaly at depth that is best explained as the result of aerosol deposition from Siberian forest fires in May 2012. Interestingly, there was no evidence of enhanced dFe concentrations in surface waters, nor was there a detectable phytoplankton bloom in response to the suspected aerosol deposition. Dissolved Fe (dFe) and Fe(II) showed the strongest enhancement in the subsurface oxygen deficient zone (ODZ), where oxygen concentrations <50 μmol kg-1 are prevalent. In the upper 200 m, dFe concentrations were at or below historic background levels, consistent with a short residence time of aerosol particles in surface waters and possible scavenging loss of dFe. Aerosol toxicity and/or dominance of particle scavenging over dissolution of Fe in the upper water column may have contributed to the lack of a strong phytoplankton response.

Revisions to the original extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System

Science.gov (United States)

Enomoto, Catherine B.; Rouse, William A.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.

2016-04-11

Technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in continuous accumulations are present in Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province. The province includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian strata are part of the previously defined Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System (TPS) that extends from New York to Tennessee. This publication presents a revision to the extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS. The most significant modification to the maximum extent of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic TPS is to the south and southwest, adding areas in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi where Devonian strata, including potential petroleum source rocks, are present in the subsurface up to the outcrop. The Middle to Upper Devonian Chattanooga Shale extends from southeastern Kentucky to Alabama and eastern Mississippi. Production from Devonian shale has been established in the Appalachian fold and thrust belt of northeastern Alabama. Exploratory drilling has encountered Middle to Upper Devonian strata containing organic-rich shale in west-central Alabama. The areas added to the TPS are located in the Valley and Ridge, Interior Low Plateaus, and Appalachian Plateaus physiographic provinces, including the portion of the Appalachian fold and thrust belt buried beneath Cretaceous and younger sediments that were deposited on the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain.

The salinity effect in a mixed layer ocean model

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, J. R.

1976-01-01

A model of the thermally mixed layer in the upper ocean as developed by Kraus and Turner and extended by Denman is further extended to investigate the effects of salinity. In the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean rapid increases in salinity occur at the bottom of a uniformly mixed surface layer. The most significant effects produced by the inclusion of salinity are the reduction of the deepening rate and the corresponding change in the heating characteristics of the mixed layer. If the net surface heating is positive, but small, salinity effects must be included to determine whether the mixed layer temperature will increase or decrease. Precipitation over tropical oceans leads to the development of a shallow stable layer accompanied by a decrease in the temperature and salinity at the sea surface.

Interaction Between Downwelling Flow and the Laterally-Varying Thickness of the North American Lithosphere Inferred from Seismic Anisotropy

Science.gov (United States)

Behn, M. D.; Conrad, C. P.; Silver, P. G.

2005-12-01

Shear flow in the asthenosphere tends to align olivine crystals in the direction of shear, producing a seismically anisotropic asthenosphere that can be detected using a number of seismic techniques (e.g., shear-wave splitting (SWS) and surface waves). In the ocean basins, where the asthenosphere has a relatively uniform thickness and lithospheric anisotropy appears to be small, observed azimuthal anisotropy is well fit by asthenospheric shear flow in global flow models driven by a combination of plate motions and mantle density heterogeneity. In contrast, beneath the continents both the lithospheric ceiling and asthenospheric thickness may vary considerably across cratonic regions and ocean-continent boundaries. To examine the influence of a continental lithosphere with variable thickness on predictions of continental seismic anisotropy, we impose lateral variations in lithospheric viscosity in global models of mantle flow driven by plate motions and mantle density heterogeneity. For the North American continent, the Farallon slab descends beneath a deep cratonic root, producing downwelling flow in the upper mantle and convergent flow beneath the cratonic lithosphere. We evaluate both the orientation of the predicted azimuthal anisotropy and the depth dependence of radial anisotropy for this downwelling flow and find that the inclusion of a strong continental root provides an improved fit to observed SWS observations beneath the North American craton. Thus, we hypothesize that at least some continental anisotropy is associated with sub-lithospheric viscous shear, although fossil anisotropy in the lithospheric layer may also contribute significantly. Although we do not observe significant variations in the direction of predicted anisotropy with depth, we do find that the inclusion of deep continental roots pushes the depth of the anisotropy layer deeper into the upper mantle. We test several different models of laterally-varying lithosphere and asthenosphere

2012 Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC) Topographic LiDAR: Upper Naches River, Washington

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Watershed Sciences, Inc. (WSI) collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data of the Upper Naches River Valley and Nile Slide area of interest on September 30th,...

An isopycnic ocean carbon cycle model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. M. Assmann

2010-02-01

Full Text Available The carbon cycle is a major forcing component in the global climate system. Modelling studies, aiming to explain recent and past climatic changes and to project future ones, increasingly include the interaction between the physical and biogeochemical systems. Their ocean components are generally z-coordinate models that are conceptually easy to use but that employ a vertical coordinate that is alien to the real ocean structure. Here, we present first results from a newly-developed isopycnic carbon cycle model and demonstrate the viability of using an isopycnic physical component for this purpose. As expected, the model represents well the interior ocean transport of biogeochemical tracers and produces realistic tracer distributions. Difficulties in employing a purely isopycnic coordinate lie mainly in the treatment of the surface boundary layer which is often represented by a bulk mixed layer. The most significant adjustments of the ocean biogeochemistry model HAMOCC, for use with an isopycnic coordinate, were in the representation of upper ocean biological production. We present a series of sensitivity studies exploring the effect of changes in biogeochemical and physical processes on export production and nutrient distribution. Apart from giving us pointers for further model development, they highlight the importance of preformed nutrient distributions in the Southern Ocean for global nutrient distributions. The sensitivity studies show that iron limitation for biological particle production, the treatment of light penetration for biological production, and the role of diapycnal mixing result in significant changes of nutrient distributions and liniting factors of biological production.

Acoustic observation of living organisms reveals the upper limit of the oxygen minimum zone.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnaud Bertrand

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs are expanding in the World Ocean as a result of climate change and direct anthropogenic influence. OMZ expansion greatly affects biogeochemical processes and marine life, especially by constraining the vertical habitat of most marine organisms. Currently, monitoring the variability of the upper limit of the OMZs relies on time intensive sampling protocols, causing poor spatial resolution. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using routine underwater acoustic observations of the vertical distribution of marine organisms, we propose a new method that allows determination of the upper limit of the OMZ with a high precision. Applied in the eastern South-Pacific, this original sampling technique provides high-resolution information on the depth of the upper OMZ allowing documentation of mesoscale and submesoscale features (e.g., eddies and filaments that structure the upper ocean and the marine ecosystems. We also use this information to estimate the habitable volume for the world's most exploited fish, the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This opportunistic method could be implemented on any vessel geared with multi-frequency echosounders to perform comprehensive high-resolution monitoring of the upper limit of the OMZ. Our approach is a novel way of studying the impact of physical processes on marine life and extracting valid information about the pelagic habitat and its spatial structure, a crucial aspect of Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management in the current context of climate change.

Europa's Compositional Evolution and Ocean Salinity

Science.gov (United States)

Vance, S.; Glein, C.; Bouquet, A.; Cammarano, F.; McKinnon, W. B.

2017-12-01

Europa's ocean depth and composition have likely evolved through time, in step with the temperature of its mantle, and in concert with the loss of water and hydrogen to space and accretion of water and other chemical species from comets, dust, and Io's volcanism. A key aspect to understanding the consequences of these processes is combining internal structure models with detailed calculations of ocean composition, which to date has not been done. This owes in part to the unavailability of suitable thermodynamic databases for aqueous chemistry above 0.5 GPa. Recent advances in high pressure aqueous chemistry and water-rock interactions allow us to compute the equilibrium ionic conditions and pH everywhere in Europa's interior. In this work, we develop radial structure and composition models for Europa that include self-consistent thermodynamics of all materials, developed using the PlanetProfile software. We will describe the potential hydration states and porosity of the rocky interior, and the partitioning of primordial sulfur between this layer, an underlying metallic core, and the ocean above. We will use these results to compute the ocean's salinity by extraction from the upper part of the rocky layer. In this context, we will also consider the fluxes of reductants from Europa's interior due to high-temperature hydrothermalism, serpentinization, and endogenic radiolysis.

Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic data of Indian Ocean ridges: New evidence of large-scale mapping of mantle heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamelin, B.; Dupre, B.; Allegre, C.J.

1986-01-01

A Pb-Sr-Nd isotope study of South West and East Indian Ridges confirms that the Indian Ocean belongs to a specific regional isotopic domain, as previously suggested by the results from islands of this ocean. The isotopic domain defined by the Indian MORB is indeed different from that of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. This demonstrates that the convective circulation of the upper mantle does not allow a rapid homogenization from one region to the other. The isotopic data of the Indian ridges can be interpreted by a contamination model, in which the depleted upper mantle (identical to that under the North Atlantic) is contaminated by two different types of contaminant, one corresponding to the source of the ''central Indian Ocean'' islands (Amsterdam, St. Paul, Marion, Prince Edward, Reunion, Rodriguez, Mauritius), and the other to a source similar to that of Walvis or Ninety East aseismic ridges. These two contaminants would have contributed to the ridge volcanism in different proportion over time. (orig.)

Thermal structure of the Western Indian Ocean during the southwest monsoon, 1983

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, Y.V.B.; Sarma, M.S.S.; Rao, L.V.G.

The thermal structure and the variability of heat content of the upper 400 m of the Western Indian Ocean were examined using the expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data collected onboard RV Sagar Kanya during July-August, 1983. Vertical displacement...

Deep structure of crust and the upper mantle of the Mendeleev Rise on the Arktic­-2012 DSS profile

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kashubin, Sergey; Petrov, Oleg; Artemieva, Irina

2016-01-01

During high­latitude combined geological and geophysical expedition “Arctic­-2012”, deep seismic sounding (DSS) with ocean bottom seismometers were carried out in the Arctic Ocean along the line 740 km long, crossing the Mendeleev Rise at about 77° N. Crustal and upper mantle Vp­velocity and Vp...

Basement characterization and crustal structure beneath the Arabia-Eurasia collision (Iran): A combined gravity and magnetic study

Science.gov (United States)

Mousavi, Naeim; Ebbing, Jörg

2018-04-01

We present a study on the depth to basement and magnetic crustal domains beneath the Iranian Plateau by modeling aeromagnetic and gravity data. First, field processing of the aeromagnetic data was undertaken to estimate the general characteristics of the magnetic basement. Afterwards, inverse modeling of aeromagnetic data was carried out to estimate the depth to basement. The obtained model of basement was refined using combined gravity and magnetic forward modeling. Hereby, we were able to distinguish different magnetic domains in the uppermost crust (10-20 km depths) influencing the medium to long wavelength trends of the magnetic anomalies. Magnetic basement mapping shows that prominent shallow magnetic features are furthermore located in the volcanic areas, e.g. the Urumieh Dokhtar Magmatic Assemblage. The presence of ophiolite outcrops in SE Iran implies that shallow oceanic crust (with high magnetization) is the main source of one of the biggest magnetic anomalies in entire Iran area located north of the Makran.

A new look at ocean carbon remineralization for estimating deepwater sequestration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guidi, L.; Legendre, L.; Reygondeau, Gabriel

2015-01-01

provinces, where these estimates range between -50 and +100% of the commonly used globally uniform remineralization value. We apply the regionalized values to satellite-derived estimates of upper ocean POC export to calculate regionalized and ocean-wide deep carbon fluxes and sequestration. The resulting....... These results stress that variable remineralization and sequestration depth should be used to model ocean carbon sequestration and feedback on the atmosphere......The "biological carbon pump" causes carbon sequestration in deep waters by downward transfer of organic matter, mostly as particles. This mechanism depends to a great extent on the uptake of CO2 by marine plankton in surface waters and subsequent sinking of particulate organic carbon (POC) through...

Seasonality and vertical structure of microbial communities in an ocean gyre.

Science.gov (United States)

Treusch, Alexander H; Vergin, Kevin L; Finlay, Liam A; Donatz, Michael G; Burton, Robert M; Carlson, Craig A; Giovannoni, Stephen J

2009-10-01

Vertical, seasonal and geographical patterns in ocean microbial communities have been observed in many studies, but the resolution of community dynamics has been limited by the scope of data sets, which are seldom up to the task of illuminating the highly structured and rhythmic patterns of change found in ocean ecosystems. We studied vertical and temporal patterns in the microbial community composition in a set of 412 samples collected from the upper 300 m of the water column in the northwestern Sargasso Sea, on cruises between 1991 and 2004. The region sampled spans the extent of deep winter mixing and the transition between the euphotic and the upper mesopelagic zones, where most carbon fixation and reoxidation occurs. A bioinformatic pipeline was developed to de-noise, normalize and align terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) data from three restriction enzymes and link T-RFLP peaks to microbial clades. Non-metric multidimensional scaling statistics resolved three microbial communities with distinctive composition during seasonal stratification: a surface community in the region of lowest nutrients, a deep chlorophyll maximum community and an upper mesopelagic community. A fourth microbial community was associated with annual spring blooms of eukaryotic phytoplankton that occur in the northwestern Sargasso Sea as a consequence of winter convective mixing that entrains nutrients to the surface. Many bacterial clades bloomed in seasonal patterns that shifted with the progression of stratification. These richly detailed patterns of community change suggest that highly specialized adaptations and interactions govern the success of microbial populations in the oligotrophic ocean.

Electrical structure beneath the Hangai Dome, Mongolia, from magnetotelluric data

Science.gov (United States)

Comeau, Matthew; Käufl, Johannes; Becken, Michael; Kuvshinov, Alexey; Demberel, Sodnomsambuu; Sukhbaatar, Usnikh; Batmagnai, Erdenechimeg; Tserendug, Shoovdor; Nasan, Ochir

2017-04-01

The Hangai Dome in west-central Mongolia is an unusual high-elevation intra-continental plateau located far from tectonic plate boundaries and characterized by dispersed, low-volume, basaltic volcanism. This region is an ideal natural laboratory for studying intra-continental orogenic and magmatic processes resulting from crust-mantle interactions. The processes responsible for developing the Hangai Dome remain unexplained, due in part to a lack of high resolution geophysical data over the area. Here we present newly acquired broadband (0.008 - 3,000 s) magnetotelluric (MT) data from a large-scale ( 200 x 450 km) and high resolution (site spacing > 5 km) survey across the Hangai Dome. A total of 125 sites were collected and include full MT sites and telluric-only sites where inter-station transfer functions were computed. The MT data are used to generate an electrical resistivity model of the crust and upper mantle below the Hangai Dome. The model shows that the lower crust ( 30 - 50 km; below the brittle-ductile transition zone) beneath the Hangai Dome contains anomalous discrete pockets of low-resistivity ( 30 ohm-m) material that indicate the presence of local accumulations of fluids and/or low-percent partial melts. These anomalous regions appear to be spatially associated with the surface expressions of past volcanism, hydrothermal activity, and an increase in heat flow. They also correlate with observed crustal low-density and low-velocity anomalies. However they are in contrast to some geochemical and petrological studies which show long-lived crustal melt storage is impossible below the Hangai due to limited crustal assimilation and crustal contamination, arguing for a single parent-source at mantle depths. The upper mantle ( 6%) at this location. The results are consistent with modern geochemical and geophysical data, which show a thin lithosphere below the Hangai region. Furthermore the results agree with geodynamic models that require a low-heat flux

VM-ADCP measured upper ocean currents in the southeastern Arabian Sea and Equatorial Indian Ocean during December, 2000

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, V.S.N.; Suryanarayana, A.; Somayajulu, Y.K.; Raikar, V.; Tilvi, V.

west wind forcing through December and retroflection of NEC. The transport of the NECC in the upper 100 m varies from 4x10@u6@@ m@u3@@ /s at 83 degrees E to 7x10@u6@@ m@u3@@ /s at 93 degrees E. The data details the structure of the South Equatorial...

How does ocean ventilation change under global warming?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Gnanadesikan

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Since the upper ocean takes up much of the heat added to the earth system by anthropogenic global warming, one would expect that global warming would lead to an increase in stratification and a decrease in the ventilation of the ocean interior. However, multiple simulations in global coupled climate models using an ideal age tracer which is set to zero in the mixed layer and ages at 1 yr/yr outside this layer show that the intermediate depths in the low latitudes, Northwest Atlantic, and parts of the Arctic Ocean become younger under global warming. This paper reconciles these apparently contradictory trends, showing that the decreases result from changes in the relative contributions of old deep waters and younger surface waters. Implications for the tropical oxygen minimum zones, which play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycling are considered in detail.

2015 Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) Oregon Lidar: Upper Rogue 3DEP

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Quantum Spatial collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data for the Oregon LiDAR Consortium (OLC) Upper Rogue 2015 study area. The collection of high...

Investigating the Indian Ocean Geoid Low

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, A.; Gollapalli, T.; Steinberger, B. M.

2016-12-01

The lowest geoid anomaly on Earth lies in the Indian Ocean just south of the Indian peninsula.Several theories have been proposed to explain this geoid low, most of which invoke past subduction. Some recent studies have alsoargued that high velocity anomalies in the lower mantle coupled with low velocity anomalies in the upper mantle are responsible for these negative geoidanomalies. However, there is no general consensus regarding the source of the Indian Ocean negative geoid. We investigate the source of this geoid low by using forward models of density driven mantle convection using CitcomS. We test various tomography models in our flow calculations with different radial and lateral viscosity variations. Many tomography modelsproduce a fairly high correlation to the global geoid, however none could match the precise location of the geoid low in the Indian Ocean. Amerged P-wave model of LLNL-G3DV3 in the Indian Ocean region and S40rts elsewhere yields a good fit to the geoid anomaly, both in pattern and magnitude.The source of this geoid low seems to stem from a low velocity anomaly stretching from a depth of 300 km up to 700 km in the northern Indian Ocean region.This velocity anomaly could potentially arise from material rising along the edge of the African LLSVP and moving towards the northeast, facilitated by the movementof the Indian plate in the same direction.

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.

Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil: Upper Coast of Texas: REPTILES (Reptile Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for sea turtles, estuarine reptiles, and terrestrial endangered species occurrences for the Upper Coast of...

Continuous Flow of Upper Labrador Sea Water around Cape Hatteras.

Science.gov (United States)

Andres, Magdalena; Muglia, Mike; Bahr, Frank; Bane, John

2018-03-14

Six velocity sections straddling Cape Hatteras show a deep counterflow rounding the Cape wedged beneath the poleward flowing Gulf Stream and the continental slope. This counterflow is likely the upper part of the equatorward-flowing Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). Hydrographic data suggest that the equatorward flow sampled by the shipboard 38 kHz ADCP comprises the Upper Labrador Sea Water (ULSW) layer and top of the Classical Labrador Sea Water (CLSW) layer. Continuous DWBC flow around the Cape implied by the closely-spaced velocity sections here is also corroborated by the trajectory of an Argo float. These findings contrast with previous studies based on floats and tracers in which the lightest DWBC constituents did not follow the boundary to cross under the Gulf Stream at Cape Hatteras but were diverted into the interior as the DWBC encountered the Gulf Stream in the crossover region. Additionally, our six quasi-synoptic velocity sections confirm that the Gulf Stream intensified markedly at that time as it approached the separation point and flowed into deeper waters. Downstream increases were observed not only in the poleward transport across the sections but also in the current's maximum speed.

Imaging voids beneath bridge bent using electrical resistivity tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-02-01

Five electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profiles and borehole control were acquired beneath two bridges on the bank of the : Gasconade River in order to determine extension of the underground water-filled openings in rock encountered during a dr...

Trace element and isotopic effects arising from magma migration beneath mid-ocean ridges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenyon, P.M.

1990-01-01

The trace element concentrations and isotopic ratios in the magma erupted on mid-ocean ridges may differ from those in the source material due to physical effects such as porous flow dispersion, exchange of trace elements between the fluid and solid phases during magma migration, and convective mixing in magma chambers. These differences are in addition to those produced by better known processes such as fractional crystallization and partial melting. The effects of the three former processes are described. It is predicted that magma typically reaches the sub-ridge magma chambers with a spatial heterogeneity only slightly reduced from that of the source material, but with a subdued variation in time. Convective mixing then further reduces the spatial heterogeneity. Application of the results for convective mixing to a recent Fourier analysis of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr variations along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge suggests that the falloff in amplitude of variation observed with decreasing wavelength in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge data cannot be explained by convective mixing in magma chambers. Instead, it is postulated that this falloff is due to the mechanics of the production and/or the solid-state convective mixing of chemical and isotopic heterogeneities in the solid mantle. (orig.)

Mapping lithosphere thickness beneath the Southern Caribbean and Venezuela using body wave reflectivity and surface wave tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Masy, J.; Niu, F.; Levander, A.; Schmitz, M.

2012-12-01

lateral resolution (Yang and Forsyth, 2006). The phase velocities were inverted for 1D shear velocity structure on a 0.5 by 0.5 degree grid. Crustal thickness for the starting models was previously determined from BOLIVAR and other wide-angle seismic experiments and receiver function analysis (Schmitz et al., 2001; Niu et al., 2007; Bezada et al., 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Guedez, 2008; Magnani et al., 2009; Bezada et al., 2010a). The resulting 3D shear velocity model was then used to determine the depth of the LAB in conjunction with Ps and Sp receiver functions. LAB depth is approximately 120-140 km beneath the Archean-Proterozoic Guayana Shield, in reasonable agreement with body wave tomography. The lithosphere thins to the west beneath the Barinas Apure Basin to about 90 km, and to the north beneath the Sierra del Interior to 80 to 90 km. Offshore beneath the Cariaco basin the LAB is ~60 km. At depths up to 200 km beneath the Peninsula the Paria, there are high velocities interepreted as the subducting oceanic part of the South American Plate, a result that is consistent with finite-frequency P wave tomography (Bezada et al., 2010b).

Arctic Freshwater Switchyard Project: Spring temperature and Salinity data collected by aircraft in the Arctic Ocean, May 2006 - May 2007 (NODC Accession 0057319)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A program to study freshwater circulation (sea ice + upper ocean) in the "freshwater switchyard" between Alert (Ellesmere Island) and the North Pole. The project...

Three-dimensional Seismic Survey of the Continental-Ocean Transition Zone of the Northern South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, M.; Wang, Q.; Sibuet, J. C.; Sun, L.; Sun, Z.; Qiu, X.

2017-12-01

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the largest marginal seas in the western Pacific, which has experienced extension, rifting, breakup, post-spreading magmatism on its northern margin during the Cenozoic era. The complexity of this margin is exacerbated by rifting and seafloor spreading processes, which developed at the expenses of the subducting proto-South China Sea. Based on Sun et al. (2014, 2016) proposals, 6 sites were drilled on the northern SCS margin from February to June 2017, during IODP Expeditions 367/368. The preliminary results indicate that the width of the COT is about 20 km and is different from the typical magma-poor Iberia margin whose width is around 100 km. The combination of three-dimensional (3D) Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) refractive survey with IODP drilling results, will improve the drilling achievement and greatly contribute to the understanding of the specific mechanism of rifting and breakup processes of the northern SCS. In particular, it is expected to constrain: 1) the nature of the crust in the COT, 2) the degree of serpentinization of the upper mantle beneath the COT, and 3) the 3D extension of the COT, the oceanic crust and the serpentinized mantle. We firstly carry out the resolution tests and calculate the interval of OBSs using a ray tracing and travel time modelling software. 7-km interval between OBSs is the optimal interval for the resolution tests and ray coverage, which will provide optimal constraints for the characterization of the 20-km wide COT. The 3D seismic survey will be carried out in 2018. The design of the OBSs arrangement and the location of shooting lines are extremely important. At present, we propose 5 main profiles and 14 shooting lines along the multi-channel seismic lines already acquired in the vicinity of the 6 drilling sites. Any comments and suggestions concerning the OBSs arrangement will be appreciated. This work is supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (contracts

An Ocean Biology-induced Negative Feedback on ENSO in the Tropical Pacific Climate System

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, R. H.

2016-02-01

Biological conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean (e.g., phytoplankton biomass) are strongly regulated by physical changes associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The existence and variation of phytoplankton biomass, in turn, act to modulate the vertical penetration of the incoming sunlight in the upper ocean, presenting an ocean biology-induced heating (OBH) effect on the climate system. Previously, a penetration depth of solar radiation in the upper ocean (Hp) is defined to describe the related bio-climate connections. Parameterized in terms of its relationship with the sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific, an empirical model for interannual Hp variability has been derived from remotely sensed ocean color data, which is incorporated into a hybrid coupled model (HCM) to represent OBH effects. In this paper, various HCM experiments are performed to demonstrate the bio-feedback onto ENSO, including a climatological Hp run (in which Hp is prescribed as seasonally varying only), interannual Hp runs (with different intensities of interannually varying OBH effects), and a run in which the sign of the OBH effect is artificially reversed. Significant modulating impacts on interannual variability are found in the HCM, characterized by a negative feedback between ocean biology and the climate system in the tropical Pacific: the stronger the OBH feedback, the weaker the interannual variability. Processes involved in the feedback are analyzed; it is illustrated that the SST is modulated indirectly by ocean dynamical processes induced by OBH. The significance and implication of the OBH effects are discussed for their roles in ENSO variability and model biases in the tropical Pacific.

A 2D double-porosity model for melting and melt migration beneath mid-oceanic ridges

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, B.; Liang, Y.; Parmentier, E.

2017-12-01

Several lines of evidence suggest that the melting and melt extraction region of the MORB mantle is heterogeneous consisting of an interconnected network of high permeability dunite channels in a low porosity harzburgite or lherzolite matrix. In principle, one can include channel formation into the tectonic-scale geodynamic models by solving conservation equations for a chemically reactive and viscously deformable porous medium. Such an approach eventually runs into computational limitations such as resolving fractal-like channels that have a spectrum of width. To better understand first order features of melting and melt-rock interaction beneath MOR, we have formulated a 2D double porosity model in which we treat the triangular melting region as two overlapping continua occupied by the low-porosity matrix and interconnected high-porosity channels. We use melt productivity derived from a thermodynamic model and melt suction rate to close our problem. We use a high-order accurate numerical method to solve the conservation equations in 2D for porosity, solid and melt velocities and concentrations of chemical tracers in the melting region. We carry out numerical simulations to systematically study effects of matrix-to-channel melt suction and spatially distributed channels on the distributions of porosity and trace element and isotopic ratios in the melting region. For near fractional melting with 10 vol% channel in the melting region, the flow field of the matrix melt follows closely to that of the solid because the small porosity (exchange between the melt and the solid. The smearing effect can be approximated by dispersion coefficient. For slowly diffusing trace elements (e.g., LREE and HFSE), the melt migration induced dispersion can be as effective as thermal diffusion. Therefore, sub-kilometer scale heterogeneities of Nd and Hf isotopes are significantly damped or homogenized in the melting region.

Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil: Upper Coast of Texas: NESTS (Nest Points)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for shorebirds, diving birds, raptors, waterfowl, wading birds, terns, and gulls for the Upper Coast of...

CRCP-Water temperature data from loggers deployed at various reef sites off the upper Florida Keys

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature loggers were deployed at various monitoring sites off the upper Florida Keys where other ecological studies were underway, most focused on aspects of...

A Bed-Deformation Experiment Beneath Engabreen, Norway

Science.gov (United States)

Iverson, N. R.; Hooyer, T. S.; Fischer, U. H.; Cohen, D.; Jackson, M.; Moore, P. L.; Lappegard, G.; Kohler, J.

2001-12-01

Although deformation of sediment beneath ice masses may contribute to their motion and may sometimes enable fast glacier flow, both the kinematics and mechanics of deformation are controversial. This controversy stems, in part, from subglacial measurements that are difficult to interpret. Measurements have been made either beneath ice margins or remotely through boreholes with interpretive limitations caused by uncertain instrument position and performance, uncertain sediment thickness and bed geometry, and unknown disturbance of the bed and stress state by drilling. We have used a different approach made possible by the Svartisen Subglacial Laboratory, which enables human access to the bed of Engabreen, Norway, beneath 230 m of temperate ice. A trough (2 m x 1.5 m x 0.4 m deep) was blasted in the rock bed and filled with sediment (75 percent sand and gravel, 20 percent silt, 5 percent clay). Instruments were placed in the sediment to record shear deformation (tiltmeters), dilation and contraction, total normal stress, and pore-water pressure. Pore pressure was manipulated by feeding water to the base of the sediment with a high-pressure pump, operated in a rock tunnel 4 m below the bed surface. After irregular deformation during closure of ice on the sediment, shear deformation and volume change stopped, and total normal stress became constant at 2.2 MPa. Subsequent pump tests, which lasted several hours, induced pore-water pressures greater than 70 percent of the total normal stress and resulted in shear deformation over most of the sediment thickness with attendant dilation. Ice separated from the sediment when effective normal stress was lowest, arresting shear deformation. Displacement profiles during pump tests were similar to those observed by Boulton and co-workers at Breidamerkurjökull, Iceland, with rates of shear strain increasing upward toward the glacier sole. Such deformation does not require viscous deformation resistance and is expected in a

Upper Mantle Seismic Anisotropy Beneath West Antarctica from Shear Wave Splitting Analysis of POLENET/ANET Data

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Accardo, N.; Wiens, D. A.; Hernandez, S.; Aster, R. C.; Nyblade, A.; Anandakrishnan, S.; Huerta, A. D.; Wilson, T. J.

2011-12-01

We constrain azimuthal anisotropy in the Antarctic upper mantle using shear wave splitting parameters obtained from teleseismic SKS, SKKS, and PKS phases recorded at 30 broad-band seismometers deployed in West Antarctica, and the Transantarctic Mountains as a part of POLENET/ANET. The first seismometers were deployed in late 2007 and additional seismometers were deployed in 2008 and 2009. The seismometers generally operate year-round using solar power, insulated boxes, and either rechargeable AGM or primary lithium batteries. We used an eigenvalue technique to linearize the rotated and shifted shear wave particle motions and determine the best splitting parameters. Robust windows around the individual phases were chosen using the Teanby cluster-analysis algorithm. We visually inspected all results and assigned a quality rating based on factors including signal-to-noise ratios, particle motions, and error contours. The best results for each station were then stacked to get an average splitting direction and delay time. The delay times range from 0.33 to 1.33 s, but generally average about 1 s. We conclude that the splitting results from anisotropy in the upper mantle, since the large splitting times cannot be accumulated in the relatively thin crust (20-30 km) of the region. Overall, fast directions in West Antarctica are at large angles to the direction of Antarctic absolute plate motion in either hotspot or no-net rotation frameworks, showing that the anisotropic fabric does not result from shear associated with the motion of Antarctica over the mantle. The West Antarctic fast directions are also much different than those found in East Antarctica by previous studies. We suggest that the East Antarctic splitting results from anisotropy frozen into the cold cratonic continental lithosphere, whereas West Antarctic splitting is related to Cenozoic tectonism. Stations within the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS), a region of Cenozoic extension, show fast directions

Evidence for small-scale convection in the Pacific and Atlantic upper mantle from joint analysis of surface wave phase velocity and seafloor bathymetry

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Ma, Z.; Dalton, C. A.

2017-12-01

It has been long observed that the rate of seafloor subsidence in the Pacific Ocean is lower than predicted by half-space cooling at ages older than 70 Myr. The magnitude, geographical distribution, onset time, and physical origin of the flattening are fundamental to our understanding of the evolution of oceanic lithosphere, and give important constraints on the Earth's heat budget and ocean volume throughout its history. However, none of these quantities is well established even after a long history of debates. Here, we present evidence from bathymetry and seismic tomography for the wide-scale operation of small-scale convection in the Pacific and Atlantic upper mantle. We track the temporal evolution of surface wave phase velocity and seafloor topography along age trajectories, which connect each piece of seafloor with the ridge segment that created it. The half-space cooling model (HSCM) and plate cooling model are used to predict the age dependence of phase velocity and bathymetry and to identify, for each age trajectory, the age at which the HSCM fails to explain the observations. The phase velocity and bathymetry are analyzed independently and yet yield identical results for more than 80% of points. We observe a wide range of ages at which the HSCM fails in the Atlantic and a much narrower range in the Pacific. We find that the age at which the HSCM fails is anti-correlated with the present-day depth of the ridge axis, with younger failure ages corresponding to deeper ridge axes and therefore colder mantle beneath the ridge.Such dependence is best explained by the small-scale convection model in which the effective viscosity of the lithosphere is regulated by the dehydration process that happens at the mid-ocean ridges. Decompression melting at a ridge removes water from the mantle and generates a depleted, dehydrated, and viscous layer. Since high mantle potential temperatures cause decompression melting to begin at greater depths, the thickness of the

Lithospheric strucutre and relationship to seismicity beneath the Southeastern US using reciever functions

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Cunningham, E.; Lekic, V.

2017-12-01

Despite being on a passive margin for millions of years, the Southeastern United States (SEUS) contains numerous seismogenic zones with the ability to produce damaging earthquakes. However, mechanisms controlling these intraplate earthquakes are poorly understood. Recently, Biryol et al. 2016 use P-wave tomography suggest that upper mantle structures beneath the SEUS correlate with areas of seismicity and seismic quiescence. Specifically, thick and fast velocity lithosphere beneath North Carolina is stable and indicative of areas of low seismicity. In contrast, thin and slow velocity lithosphere is weak, and the transition between the strong and weak lithosphere may be correlated with seismogenic zones found in the SEUS. (eg. Eastern Tennessee seismic zone and the Central Virginia seismic zone) Therefore, I systematically map the heterogeneity of the mantle lithosphere using converted seismic waves and quantify the spatial correlation between seismicity and lithospheric structure. The extensive network of seismometers that makes up the Earthscope USArray combined with the numerous seismic deployments in the Southeastern United States allows for unprecedented opportunity to map changes in lithospheric structure across seismogenic zones and seismic quiescent regions. To do so, I will use both P-to-s and S-to-p receiver functions (RFS). Since RFs are sensitive to seismic wavespeeds and density discontinuities with depth, they particularly useful for studying lithospheric structure. Ps receiver functions contain high frequency information allowing for high resolution, but can become contaminated by large sediment signals; therefore, I removed sediment multiples and correct for time delays of later phases using the method of Yu et. al 2015 which will allow us to see later arriving phases associated with lithospheric discontinuities. S-to-p receiver functions are not contaminated by shallow layers, making them ideal to study deep lithospheric structures but they can

Tomographic Imaging of the Seismic Structure Beneath the East Anatolian Plateau, Eastern Turkey

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Gökalp, Hüseyin

2012-10-01

The high level of seismic activity in eastern Turkey is thought to be mainly associated with the continuing collision of the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The determination of a detailed three-dimensional (3D) structure is crucial for a better understanding of this on-going collision or subduction process; therefore, a body wave tomographic inversion technique was performed on the region. The tomographic inversion used high quality arrival times from earthquakes occurring in the region from 1999 to 2001 recorded by a temporary 29 station broadband IRIS-PASSCAL array operated by research groups from the Universities of Boğaziçi (Turkey) and Cornell (USA). The data was inverted and consisted of 3,114 P- and 2,298 S-wave arrival times from 252 local events with magnitudes ( M D) ranging from 2.5 to 4.8. The stability and resolution of the results were qualitatively assessed by two synthetic tests: a spike test and checkerboard resolution test and it was found that the models were well resolved for most parts of the imaged domain. The tomographic inversion results reveal significant lateral heterogeneities in the study area to a depth of ~20 km. The P- and S-wave velocity models are consistent with each other and provide evidence for marked heterogeneities in the upper crustal structure beneath eastern Turkey. One of the most important features in the acquired tomographic images is the high velocity anomalies, which are generally parallel to the main tectonic units in the region, existing at shallow depths. This may relate to the existence of ophiolitic units at shallow depths. The other feature is that low velocities are widely dispersed through the 3D structure beneath the region at deeper crustal depths. This feature can be an indicator of the mantle upwelling or support the hypothesis that the Anatolian Plateau is underlain by a partially molten uppermost mantle.