Observations of the Labrador Sea eddy field

This paper is an observational study of small-scale coherent eddies in the Labrador Sea, a region of dense water formation thought to be of considerable importance to the North Atlantic overturning circulation. Numerical studies of deep convection emphasize coherent eddies as a mechanism for the lateral transport of heat, yet their small size has hindered observational progress. A large part of this paper is therefore devoted to developing new methods for identifying and describing coherent eddies in two observational platforms, current meter moorings and satellite altimetry. Details of the current and water mass structure of individual eddy events, as they are swept past by an advecting flow, can then be extracted from the mooring data. A transition is seen during mid-1997, with long-lived boundary current eddies dominating the central Labrador Sea year-round after this time, and convectively formed eddies similar to those seen in deep convection modeling studies apparent prior to this time. The TOPEX / Poseidon altimeter covers the Labrador Sea with a loose “net” of observations, through which coherent eddies can seem to appear and disappear. By concentrating on locating and describing anomalous events in individual altimeter tracks, a portrait of the spatial and temporal variability of the underlying eddy field can be constructed. The altimeter results reveal an annual “pulsation” of energy and of coherent eddies originating during the late fall at a particular location in the boundary current, pinpointing the time and place of the boundary current-type eddy formation. The interannual variability seen at the mooring is reproduced, but the mooring site is found to be within a localized region of greatly enhanced eddy activity. Notably lacking in both the annual cycle and interannual variability is a clear relationship between the eddies or eddy energy and the intensity of wintertime cooling. These eddy observations, as well as hydrographic evidence, suggest an active role for boundary current dynamics in shaping the energetics and water mass properties of the interior region.     

In situ and satellite observations of the eastward migration of the Western Alboran Sea Gyre

During October 2003 an intensive oceanographic survey (BIOMEGA) was carried out in the Alboran Sea, coinciding with a migration event of the Western Alboran Sea Gyre (WAG). The observations gathered during that cruise constitute the first field evidence of a migrated stage of the WAG. In this work we present the main differences between the 3D hydrodynamic fields observed during BIOMEGA and those corresponding to a WAG located at its usual position. The migration of the gyre was followed by satellite (altimetry and sea surface temperature) imagery. The causes of the gyre migration are explored in terms of the quasi-geostrophic tendency equation, in particular of the dynamics governing scales larger than the Rossby radius of deformation. It is shown that the steady state gyre must be almost equivalent barotropic and that the key process to break down the stationarity would be a density advection at gyre scale. The mechanisms to explain the migration of the WAG proposed by previous authors are discussed in light of the explanation proposed in this work.     

Large bio-geographical shifts in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean: From the subpolar gyre, via plankton, to blue whiting and pilot whales

Pronounced changes in fauna, extending from the English Channel in the south to the Barents Sea in the north-east and off Greenland in the north-west, have occurred in the late 1920s, the late 1960s and again in the late 1990s. We attribute these events to exchanges of subarctic and subtropical water masses in the north-eastern North Atlantic Ocean, associated with changes in the strength and extent of the subpolar gyre. These exchanges lead to variations in the influence exerted by the subarctic or Lusitanian biomes on the intermediate faunistic zone in the north-eastern Atlantic. This strong and persistent bottom-up bio-physical link is demonstrated using a numerical ocean general circulation model and data on four trophically connected levels in the food chain – phytoplankton, zooplankton, blue whiting, and pilot whales. The plankton data give a unique basin-scale depiction of these changes, and a long pilot whale record from the Faroe Islands offers an exceptional temporal perspective over three centuries. Recent advances in simulating the dynamics of the subpolar gyre suggests a potential for predicting the distribution of the main faunistic zones in the north-eastern Atlantic a few years into the future, which might facilitate a more rational management of the commercially important fisheries in this region.     

Improved Method for Calculating Anthropogenic CO2 in the Upper Layer of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre along 175°E

Seawater samples were collected in the North Pacific along 175°E during a cruise of the Northwest Pacific Carbon Cycle Study (NOPACCS) program in 1994. Many properties related to the carbonate system were analyzed. By using well-known ratios to correct for chemical changes in seawater, the CO₂ concentration at a given depth was back calculated to its initial concentration at the time when the water left the surface in winter. We estimated sea-surface CO₂ and titration alkalinity (TA) in present-day winter, from which we evaluated the degree of air-sea CO₂ disequilibrium in winter was. Using a correction factor for air-sea CO₂ disequilibrium in winter, we reconstructed sea-surface CO₂ in pre-industrial times. The difference between the back-calculated initial CO₂ and sea-surface CO₂ in pre-industrial times should correspond to anthropgenic CO₂ input. Although the mixing of different water masses may cause systematic error in the calculation, we found that the nonlinear effect induced by the mixing of different water masses was negligible in the upper layer of the North Pacific subtropical gyre along 175°E. The results of our improved method of assessing the distribution of anthropogenic CO₂ in that region show marked differences from those obtained using the previous back-calculation method.     

PDO的三维空间结构和时间演变特征

利用再分析次表层海温资料和CCSM3模式的1870-1999年130 a模拟试验的结果,分析了北太平洋年代际变化(PDO)的三维空间结构和时间演变特征.结果表明,CCSM3模式较好的模拟了北太平洋年代际变化的主要特征,对再分析资料和模式结果的分析都表明从北太平洋表层至次表层的中层,年代际变化是非常显著的,PDO不仅仅局...     

Subsurface Water Masses in the Central North Pacific Transition Region: The Repeat Section along the 18° Meridian

A repeat hydrographic section has been maintained over two decades along the 180° meridian across the subarctic-subtropical transition region. The section is naturally divided into at least three distinct zones. In the Subarctic Zone north of 46°N, the permanent halocline dominates the density stratification, supporting a subsurface temperature minimum (STM). The Subarctic Frontal Zone (SFZ) between 42°–46°N is the region where the subarctic halocline outcrops. To the south is the Subtropical Zone, where the permanent thermocline dominates the density stratification, containing a pycnostad of North Pacific Central Mode Water (CMW). The STM water colder than 4°C in the Subarctic Zone is originated in the winter mixed layer of the Bering Sea. The temporal variation of its core temperature lags 12–16 months behind the variations of both the winter sea surface temperature (SST) and the summer STM temperature in the Bering Sea, suggesting that the thermal anomalies imposed on the STM water by wintertime air-sea interaction in the Bering Sea spread over the western subarctic gyre, reaching the 180° meridian within a year or so. The CMW in this section originates in the winter mixed layer near the northern edge of the Subtropical Zone between 160°E and 180°. The CMW properties changed abruptly from 1988 to 1989; its temperature and salinity increased and its potential density decreased. It is argued that these changes were caused by the climate regime shift in 1988/1989 characterized by weakening of the Aleutian Low and the westerlies and increase in the SST in the subarctic-subtropical transition region. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

北太平洋副热带环流变异及其对我国近海动力环境的影响

我国东部陆架海和南海是国防安全的重要门户;位处第二岛链以西的副热带北太平洋既是各国争夺的重要海区,又是我国从近海走向大洋的重要通道.围绕"北太平洋副热带环流变异如何通过黑潮与我国近海动力环境之间相互作用"这一国际前沿科学问题,国家重点基础研究发展计划项目"北太平洋副热带环流变异及其对我国近海动力环境的影响"于2007年9月正式立项.该项目不仅有助于拓展和丰富海洋动力学理论,揭示我国近海及邻近大洋动力环境变异机制,提高预测能力,而且也将为维护我国国防安全和海洋权益,为可持续开发利用海洋资源提供海洋动力环境保障.该项目主要研究内容包括:①北太平洋副热带环流变异和调整机理;②黑潮与我国近海的能量与水体交换过程及机制;③北太平洋副热带环流变异与大气驱动力的耦合效应;④我国近海及邻近大洋动力环境变异的可预测性研究.拟解决的关键科学问题为:北太平洋副热带内区环流变异的机理及其对黑潮的影响;黑潮源头变异机理及其对吕宋海峡水交换的影响和黑潮变异机理及其对东部陆架海域动力环境的影响.     

两个相连湖泊的微生态系统——云南高原湖泊中浅水的星云湖和深水的抚仙湖研究

抚仙湖是中国云南省的一个深水湖，连接着富营养化的浅水湖－－星云湖，星云湖排放含绿藻的水进入抚仙湖。两湖位于省会昆明附近，由于地方文化、集约化农业、以及旅游业的发展，两湖已经富营养化。因为湖泊体积容量的级别差异，深水湖的富营养化几乎没被注意，抚仙湖秋季下层滞水带缺氧已经关注了20年，似乎下层滞水带是深水湖富营养化的指标或趋势。抚仙湖看起来目前情况尚好，可以说寡营养，然而，外界负荷是潜在的，且是以稳定的加速度进行的。在此对浅水湖富营养化的原因进行了讨论，包括在其它云南湖泊观察到富营养化的过程，再者，对两个连相湖的藻和蓝藻碎片的大小构成进行比照。为了与深水的抚仙湖状况进行比较，简略介绍了一个日本的深湖及其径流系统。其中，涡流和它的微生态系统，在两者中相关性很好。对于以涡流生态系统的见解判断微生态系统的深水湖富营养化问题将给予概括。     

中国24h台风路径预报难点及其大尺度环流分析

主要分析了2005—2012年中国24 h台风路径预报误差较大的样本及其对应的大尺度环流特征。基于850 hPa风场的低通滤波等分析发现:去除占总数3.9%的预报误差最大样本后,平均预报误差可以减小8.5%。这些预报误差最大的样本中有近60%呈现为移向误差较小、移速较观测慢的特点。与之相对应的大尺度环境场可分为气旋性环流、弱背景场和副热带高压西侧3类。气旋性环流包含近3/4的样本,其中又有一半受季风涡旋的影响。平均移动速度分析表明,这些台风起报时刻前后,平均移速的突然增加是预报移速较慢的主要原因,这是中国台风24 h路径预报的主要难点之一。     

Simulated sensitivity of tropical cyclone track to the moisture in an idealized monsoon gyre

In this study, the sensitivity of tropical cyclone (TC) track to the moisture condition in a nearby monsoon gyre (MG) is investigated. Numerical simulations reveal that TC track is highly sensitive to the spatial distribution of relative humidity (RH). In an experiment conducted with higher (lower) RH in the eastern (western) semicircle of an MG, the TC experiences a sharp northward turning. In contrast, when the RH pattern is reversed, the simulated TC does not show a sharp northward turning. The RH distribution modulates the intensity and structure of both the TC and MG, so that when the TC is initially embedded in a moister environment, convection is enhanced in the outer core, which favors an expansion of the outer core size. A TC with a larger outer size has greater beta-effect propagation, favoring a faster westward translational speed. Meanwhile, higher RH enhances the vorticity gradient within the MG and promotes a quicker attraction between the TC and MG centers through vorticity segregation process. These cumulative effects cause the TC to collocate with the MG center. Once the coalescence process takes place, the energy dispersion associated with the TC and MG is enhanced, which rapidly strengthens southwesterly flows on the eastern flanks. The resulting steering flow leads the TC to take a sharp northward track.