The Continuous Plankton Recorder survey and the North Atlantic Oscillation: Interannual- to Multidecadal-scale patterns of phytoplankton variability in the North Atlantic Ocean

At interannual to multidecadal time scales, much of the oceanographic and climatic variability in the North Atlantic Ocean can be associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). While evidence suggests that there is a relationship between the NAO and zooplankton dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean, the phytoplankton response to NAO-induced changes in the environment is less clear. Time series of monthly mean phytoplankton colour values, as compiled by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, are analysed to infer relationships between the NAO and phytoplankton dynamics throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. While a few areas display highly significant (p < 0.05) trends in the CPR colour time series during the period 1948–2000, nominally significant (p < 0.20) positive trends are widespread across the basin, particularly on the continental shelves and in a transition zone stretching across the Central North Atlantic. When long-term trends are removed from both the NAO index and CPR colour time series, the correlation between them ceases to be significant. Several hypotheses are proposed to explain the observed variability in the CPR colour and its relationship with climate in the North Atlantic.     

东北大西洋北海渔场鱼类群落结构年际变化研究

根据2001-2015年东北大西洋北海渔场进行的国际底拖网调查渔获数据,采用生物多样性指数和多元统计分析研究该海域群落结构的年际变化,并利用格局转变贯序t检验的方法研究鱼类种群的转变规律,结合环境因素与捕捞因素分析群落结构变化的原因。结果显示:2001-2015年北海渔场共出现280种渔业资源,其中鱼类有222种,资源丰度波动较大;物种多样性整体呈上升趋势。聚类分析和非度量多维标度排序分析表明,研究期间大致分为2001-2003年、2004-2011年和2012-2015年3个阶段。大西洋鲱分别在2004年和2014年种群结构发生格局转变,格局转变指数（RSI）分别为-0.45和0.41;黑线鳕在2003年和2012年格局发生转变,RSI值分别为-0.58和-0.66;黍鲱在2014年格局发生转变,RSI值为2。通过对环境因素与捕捞因素的分析发现,北海渔场群落格局第一次发生转变主要受捕捞因素影响,第二次发生转变主要受环境因素影响。     

Crustal transect across the North Atlantic

Two dimensional crustal models derived from four different ocean bottom seismographic (OBS) surveys have been compiled into a 1,580 km long transect across the North Atlantic, from the Norwegian Møre coast, across the extinct Aegir Ridge, the continental Jan Mayen Ridge, the presently active Kolbeinsey Ridge north of Iceland, into Scoresby Sund in East Greenland. Backstripping of the transect suggests that the continental break-up at ca. 55 Ma occurred along a west-dipping detachment localized near the western end of a ca. 300 km wide basin thinned to less than 20 km crustal thickness. It is likely that an east-dipping detachment near the present day Liverpool Land Escarpment was active during the late stages of continental rifting. A lower crustal high-velocity layer (7.2–7.4 km/s) interpreted as mafic intrusions/underplating, was present beneath the entire basin. The observations are consistent with the plume hypothesis, involving the Early Tertiary arrival of a mantle plume beneath central Greenland and focused decompression melting beneath the thinnest portions of the lithosphere. The mid-Eocene to Oligocene continental extension in East Greenland is interpreted as fairly symmetric and strongly concentrated in the lower crustal layer. Continental break-up which rifted off the Jan Mayen Ridge, occurred at ca. 25 Ma, when the Aegir Ridge became extinct. The first ca. 2 m.y. of oceanic accretion along the Kolbeinsey Ridge was characterized by thin magmatic crust (ca. 5.5 km), whereas the oceanic crustal formation since ca. 23 Ma documents ca. 8 km thick crust and high magma budget.     

Production and respiration control the marine microbial metabolic balance in the eastern North Atlantic subtropical gyre

Two main contrasted hypotheses have arisen during the last decades about the factors controlling the planktonic net metabolic balance in oligotrophic waters: gross primary production controls net community production vs. variability of net community production is also influenced by changes in microbial respiration. This work discusses both hypotheses analyzing the variability of metabolic rates along a gradient from the margin to the centre of the North Atlantic oligotrophic gyre, i.e. from relatively productive to more oligotrophic conditions. Net community production (NCP) was close to zero (between −3.34 and −11.77 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹) at the margin of the gyre and tended towards net heterotrophy (−44.03 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹) to the centre of the gyre as both gross primary production (GPP) and community respiration (CR) decreased. The strong relationships found between nutrient availability and both NCP and GPP suggest that factors controlling GPP are prevalent in determining NCP variability in this biogeographic region. However implementation of existing models to predict NCP from the measured GPP indicates that the precise estimation of NCP in different oligotrophic systems requires consideration of the magnitude and variability of microbial respiration rates.     

Nutrient irrigation of the North Atlantic

The North Atlantic, as all major oceans, has a remarkable duality in primary production, manifested by the existence of well-defined high and low mean primary production regions. The largest region is the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (NASTG), an anticyclone characterized by bowl shaped isopycnals and low production. The NASTG is surrounded at its margins by smaller cyclonic high-production regions, where these isopycnals approach the sea surface. The most extensive cyclonic regions are those at the latitudinal extremes, i.e. the subpolar and tropical oceans, though smaller ones do occur at the zonal boundaries. In this article we review historical data and present new analyses of climatological data and a selected number of hydrographic cruises in the western/northwestern and eastern/southeastern boundaries of the NASTG, with the objective of investigating the importance of upward epipycnal advection of nutrient-rich subsurface layers (irrigation) in maintaining high primary production in the euphotic layers. In the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (NASPG) irrigation implies intergyre exchange caused by the outcropping extension of the Gulf Stream (GS), following the formation of the deep winter mixed-layer. In the eastern boundary of the NASTG irrigation is attained through a permanent upwelling cell, which feeds the Canary Upwelling Current (CUC). In the southeastern corner irrigation occurs in fall, when the Guinea Dome (GD) is reinforced, and in winter, when the CUC reaches its southernmost extension. Other characteristics of the north/south extension of the GS/CUC are the seasonal nutrient replenishing of subsurface layers (spring restratification of NASPG and winter relaxation of the GD) and the maintenance of high levels of diapycnal mixing during the last phase of nutrient transfer to the euphotic layers. Off the Mid-Atlantic Bight the GS transports a total of about 700 kmol s⁻¹ of nitrate, with almost 100 kmol s⁻¹ carried in the surface (σ_θ < 26.8) layers and some 350 kmol s⁻¹ in the intermediate (26.8 < σ_θ < 27.5) layers. A box model suggests that north of Cape Hatteras most surface and upper-thermocline nitrates are used to sustain the high levels of primary production in the NASPG. Off Cape Blanc there is winter along-shore convergence of order 10 kmol s⁻¹ of nitrate in the near-surface layers (possibly larger in summer), with only a small fraction used to sustain local primary production in the coastal upwelling band and the remainder carried to the interior ocean. Nutrients and biomass exported from these cyclonic regions may account for the concentration levels observed within the NASTG.     

Adaptive model of plankton dynamics for the North Atlantic

Plankton ecosystems in the North Atlantic display strong regional and interannual variability in productivity and trophic structure, which cannot be captured by simple plankton models. Additional compartments subdividing functional groups can increase predictive power, but the high number of parameters tends to compromise portability and robustness of model predictions. An alternative strategy is to use property state variables, such as cell size, normally considered constant parameters in ecosystem models, to define the structure of functional groups in terms of both behaviour and response to physical forcing. This strategy may allow us to simulate realistically regional and temporal differences among plankton communities while keeping model complexity at a minimum.We fit a model of plankton and DOM dynamics globally and individually to observed climatologies at three diverse locations in the North Atlantic. Introducing additional property state variables is shown to improve the model fit both locally and globally, make the model more portable, and help identify model deficiencies. The zooplankton formulation exerts strong control on model performance. Our results suggest that the current paradigm on zooplankton allometric functional relationships might be at odds with observed plankton dynamics. Our parameter estimation resulted in more realistic estimates of parameters important for primary production than previous data assimilation studies.Property state variables generate complex emergent functional relationships, and might be used like tracers to differentiate between locally produced and advected biomass. The model results suggest that the observed temperature dependence of heterotrophic growth efficiency [Rivkin, R.B., Legendre, L., 2001. Biogenic carbon cycling in the upper ocean: effects of microbial respiration. Science 291 (5512) 2398-2400] could be an emergent relation due to intercorrelations among temperature, nutrient concentration and growth efficiency. A major advantage of using property state variables is that no additional parameters are required, such that differences in model performance can be directly related to model structure rather than parameter tuning.     

Meridional carbon dioxide transport in the northern North Atlantic

Combination of estimated water transport and accurate measurements of total carbon dioxide (TCO₂) on a hydrographic section at 58 °N allows the assessment of meridional inorganic carbon transport in the northern North Atlantic Ocean. The transport has been decomposed into contributions from the large-scale baroclinic overturning, the Ekman transport, baroclinic and a barotropic eddy terms, and an estimated contribution of the East Greenland Current. These terms are −0.27 · 10⁶, +0.03 · 10⁶, +0.03 · 10⁶, +0.10 · 10⁶, and +0.05 · 10⁶ mol s⁻¹, respectively, which result in a total southward inorganic carbon transport of only −0.06 · 10⁶ mol s⁻¹. An order of magnitude estimate of the meridional transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) has shown that in general this term cannot be ignored in the total carbon flux, this being +0.04 · 10⁶ to +0.16 · 10⁶ mol s⁻¹ at 58 °N. A simple carbon budget has been formulated for the temperate North Atlantic, using our flux estimates as well as those of Brewer et al. (1989). This budget shows that the divergence of the meridional carbon flux, connected with the freshwater balance of the ocean may be of the same order of magnitude as the divergence of the total inorganic carbon flux. For an accurate estimate of the total carbon budget of the ocean it will be necessary to take both the DOC transport and the effects of the freshwater balance into account.     

Assessment of excess nitrate development in the subtropical North Atlantic

Geochemical estimates of N₂ fixation in the North Atlantic often serve as a foundation for estimating global marine diazotrophy. Yet despite being well-studied, estimations of nitrogen fixation rates in this basin vary widely. Here we investigate the variability in published estimates of excess nitrogen accumulation rates in the main thermocline of the subtropical North Atlantic, testing the assumptions and choices made in the analyses. Employing one of these previously described methods, modified here with improved estimates of excess N spatial gradients and ventilation rates of the main thermocline, we determine a total excess N accumulation rate of 7.8 ± 1.7 × 10¹¹ mol N yr^− 1. Contributions to excess N development include atmospheric deposition of high N:P nutrients (adding excess N at a rate of 3.0 ± 0.9 × 10¹¹ mol N yr^− 1 for  38% of the total), high N:P dissolved organic matter advected into and mineralized in the main thermocline (adding excess N at 2.2 ± 1.1 × 10¹¹ mol N yr^− 1 for  28% of the total), and, calculated by mass balance of the excess N field, N₂ fixation (adding excess N at 2.6 ± 2.2 × 10¹¹ mol N yr^− 1 for  33% of the total). Assuming an N:P of 40 and this rate of excess N accumulation due to the process, N₂ fixation in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre is estimated at  4 × 10¹¹ mol N yr^− 1. This relatively low rate of N₂ fixation suggests that i) the rate of N₂ fixation in the North Atlantic is greatly overestimated in some previous analyses, ii) the main thermocline is not the primary repository of N fixed by diazotrophs, and/or iii) the N:P ratio of exported diazotrophic organic matter is much lower than generally assumed. It is this last possibility, and our uncertainty in the N:P ratios of exported material supporting excess N development, that greatly lessens our confidence in geochemical measures of N₂ fixation.     

On the mechanisms behind salinity anomaly signals of the northern North Atlantic

Hydrographic time series from the northern North Atlantic throughout the 20th century show oscillations in temperature and salinity at more or less regular intervals. The Great Salinity Anomalies described during the 1970s [Dickson, R.R., Meincke, J., Malmberg, S.-A., Lee, A.J., 1988. The “Great Salinity Anomaly” in the North Atlantic, 1968-1982. Progress in Oceanography 20, 103-151.], during the 1980s [Belkin, I.M., Levitus, S., Antonov, J., Malmberg, S.-A., 1998. “Great Salinity Anomalies” in the North Atlantic. Progress in Oceanography 41, 1-68.], and during the 1990s [Belkin, I.M., 2004. Propagation of the “Great Salinity Anomaly” of the 1990s around the northern North Atlantic. Geophysical Research Letters 31(8), L08306, doi:10.1029/2003GL019334.] have distinct amplitudes, and all three of them were interpreted as low salinity anomalies propagating downstream through the anti-clockwise circulation system of the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Further inspection of time series from the Northeast Atlantic and the Northwest Atlantic over the past century shows, however, several other distinct negative anomalies of lesser amplitudes. Additionally, a number of high salinity anomalies can be identified. The present paper analyses further the propagation of the negative and positive anomalies and links them together. It is shown that they have varying speeds of propagation, and that the varying speeds are correlated across the North Atlantic. We propose that varying volume fluxes in and out of the Arctic Basin is the causal mechanism behind the anomaly signals, and that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) partly has influence on the flux variations described. Periods of large decadal-scale amplitudes of the NAO coincide with periods of large decadal-scale oscillation in the marine climate.     

Historical storminess and climate ‘see-saws’ in the North Atlantic region

The existence of a well-defined climate ‘see-saw’ across the North Atlantic region and surrounding areas has been known for over 200 years. The occurrence of severe winters in western Greenland frequently coincides with mild winters in northern Europe. Conversely, mild winters in western Greenland are frequently associated with cold winters across northern Europe. Whereas this ‘see-saw’ is normally discussed in terms of air temperature and pressure differences, here we explore how the climate ‘see-saw’ is reflected in records of historic storminess from Scotland, NW Ireland and Iceland. It is concluded that the stormiest winters in these regions during the last ca. 150 years have occurred when western Greenland temperatures have been significantly below average. In contrast, winters of reduced storminess have coincided with winters when air temperatures have been significantly above average in western Greenland. This reconstruction of winter storminess implies a relationship between chronologies of coastal erosion and the history of North Atlantic climate ‘see-saw’ dynamics with sustained winter storminess, and hence increased coastal erosion, taking place when the Icelandic low pressure cell is strongly anchored within the circulation of the northern hemisphere. Considered over the last ca. 2000 years, it would appear that winter storminess and climate-driven coastal erosion was at a minimum during the Medieval Warm Period. By contrast, the time interval from ca. AD 1420 until present has been associated with sustained winter storminess across the North Atlantic that has resulted in accelerated coastal erosion and sand drift.     

火山活动对于北大西洋涛动的激发作用

为了探索北大西洋涛动形成的大尺度大气物理场背景条件和外部强迫因子,通过对比分析、相关分析和环流系统温压场垂直结构分析得到:(1)强火山活动指数距平与冰岛低压和亚速尔高压海平面气压场(SLP)距平总体相关函数符号相反,强火山活动指数与冰岛低压SLP为反相关,与亚速尔高压SLP为正相关,就是说火山活动指数异常引起了高纬度冰岛低压和中低纬度亚速尔高压海平面气压场相反的变化趋势,形成高低纬之间海平面气压场反相振荡;(2)夏季7月亚速尔高压对流层中下层至海平面,温度距平中心和位势高度距平中心距平符号大致正正相对负负相对,说明夏季亚速尔高压为深厚暖性系统,低层温度升高亚速尔高压加强,低层温度降低亚速尔高压减弱,所以火山活动指数与亚速尔高压SLP均呈反相关关系;冬季1月对流层中下层至海平面,温度距平和位势高度距平符号大致正负相对,说明冬季亚速尔高压为浅薄系统,低层温度升高亚速尔高压减弱,低层温度降低亚速尔高压加强,所以火山活动指数与亚速尔高压SLP均呈正相关关系;(3)冬季1月冰岛低压对流层中下层至海平面,温度距平中心和位势高度距平中心距平符号大致正正相对负负相对,说明冬季冰岛低压为深厚冷性系统,低层温度升高冰岛低压减弱,低层温度降低冰岛低压加深,所以火山活动指数与冰岛低压SLP均呈反相关关系;夏季7月对流层中下层至海平面,温度距平和位势高度距平符号大致正负相对,说明夏季冰岛低压为浅薄系统,低层温度升高冰岛低压减弱,低层温度降低冰岛低压加深,所以火山活动指数与冰岛低压SLP均呈正相关关系;(4).由于对流层中下层至海平面冰岛低压和亚速尔高压冬、夏季温压场结构特点基本相反,火山活动指数异常在两个环流系统中引起了相反响应,导致高低纬之间海平面气压场反相振荡,形成了影响广泛的著名的北大西洋涛动现象。     

基于WOA13数据的北大西洋声传播分析

应用WOA13季节平均数据和BELLHOP模型,在季节、声源频率、声源深度和掠射角等因素确定的情况下,分析北大西洋冬季(1-3月)声道轴深度、最小声速值、表层声速值的分布,通过仿真计算研究选用位置点5 m深度声源的声传播规律:反转深度随纬度升高而降低,低纬度海岭东西两侧差别不大,15°N以北为西侧大于东侧。55°N以南海区可形成汇聚区波导,海岭西侧的汇聚区跨度大于海岭东侧,有混合层时还存在一定强度的表面波导,汇聚区处5 m、100 m和250 m接收深度上的传播损失差异较小,增益为7～19 dB,55°N以北海区则为有焦散结构的表面波导。以北大西洋35°N为界,以南以汇聚区波导探测有利,以北以表面波导探测有利。     

Were glacial iceberg surges in the North Atlantic triggered by climatic warming?

High-resolution physical, mineralogical, sedimentological and micropalaeontological studies were carried out on North Atlantic cores from the Reykjanes Ridge at 59°N and from the region southwest of the Faeroe Islands. All core sites are situated along the pathway of Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and the various parameters measured display similar features. Previously identified carbonate oscillations [Keigwin and Jones (1994) J. Geophys. Res., 99, 12397-12410] in the time span back to the Marine Isotope Stage 5-4 transition and Late Glacial lithic events [Bond and Lotti (1995) Science, 267, 1005-1010], such as the Heinrich ice-rafting events, are all represented in the core records. Long-term trends and higher-frequency changes in ISOW intensity were reconstructed on the basis of various independent proxy records. The long-term trends in circulation match theoretical orbitally forced insolation changes. Our observed links between ice-rafted detritus (IRD) input, variations in sea surface temperature (SST) and circulation at greater depth point to the need to re-examine the origin of IRD events. We suggest that these events may have been triggered by enhanced, partly sub-surface, heat transport to the north. Enhanced northward heat transport may have caused bottom melting of floating outlet glaciers and ice shelves, leading to increased iceberg discharge and ice sheet destabilization. This discharge resulted in lower SST’s and a lower temperature over Greenland. Thus, as shown by our records, this scenario implies a temporary de-coupling of surface processes and circulation at greater depth. A key feature is the occurrence of a saw-tooth pattern in the marine data, which is similar to the Greenland ice core records. Moreover, the ‘warming’ theory of IRD events would explain the observed ‘out-of-phase’ relationship between the Greenland and Antarctic ice core records and also the rapid establishment of higher temperatures over Greenland immediately after the cold phases (stadials) of the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles.     

Biogeochemistry of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in the surface microlayer and subsurface water of the western North Atlantic during spring

Sixteen surface microlayer samples and corresponding subsurface water samples were collected in the western North Atlantic during April–May 2003 to study the distribution and cycling of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and the factors influencing them. In the surface microlayer, high concentrations of DMS appeared mostly in the samples containing high levels of chlorophyll a, and a significant correlation was found between DMS and chlorophyll a concentrations. In addition, microlayer DMS concentrations were correlated with microlayer DMSPd (dissolved) concentrations. DMSPd was found to be enriched in the microlayer with an average enrichment factor (EF) of 5.19. However, no microlayer enrichment of DMS was found for most samples collected. Interestingly, the DMS production rates in the microlayer were much higher than those in the subsurface water. Enhanced DMS production in the microlayer was likely due to the higher concentrations of DMSPd in the microlayer. A consistent pattern was observed in this study in which the concentrations of DMS, DMSPd, DMSPp (particulate) and chlorophyll a in the microlayer were closely related to their corresponding subsurface water concentrations, suggesting that these constituents in the microlayer were directly dependent on the transport from the bulk liquid below. Enhanced DMS production in the microlayer further reinforces the conclusion that the surface microlayer has greater biological activity relative to the underlying water.     

New Determinations of the Ages of Tide in the North Atlantic Ocean

Ages of tide provide relevant information about the spatial distribution of existing anomalies in the normal modes of the oceans, because a delay may be associated with bottom friction energy dissipation, closely located resonances, bathymetric gradients, or radiational effects. The determination of other parameters, such as the age of diurnal tide or age of parallax, also provide further knowledge about the ocean's hydrodynamical response to acting forces. Following the development of new ocean models and the availability of a greater amount of data, these parameters can be redetermined. We present the spatial distribution of these parameters in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, obtained from 507 stations. The results are discussed in terms of bathymetric models, coastal features, sea surface temperature, wind and other environmental factors.     

New Determinations of the Ages of Tide in the North Atlantic Ocean

Ages of tide provide relevant information about the spatial distribution of existing anomalies in the normal modes of the oceans, because a delay may be associated with bottom friction energy dissipation, closely located resonances, bathymetric gradients, or radiational effects. The determination of other parameters, such as the age of diurnal tide or age of parallax, also provide further knowledge about the ocean's hydrodynamical response to acting forces. Following the development of new ocean models and the availability of a greater amount of data, these parameters can be redetermined. We present the spatial distribution of these parameters in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, obtained from 507 stations. The results are discussed in terms of bathymetric models, coastal features, sea surface temperature, wind and other environmental factors.