Monsoon-driven biogeochemical processes in the Arabian Sea

Although it is nominally a tropical locale, the semiannual wind reversals associated with the Monsoon system of the Arabian Sea result annually in two distinct periods of elevated biological activity. While in both cases monsoonal forcing drives surface layer nutrient enrichment that supports increased rates of primary productivity, fundamentally different entrainment mechanisms are operating in summer (Southwest) and winter (Northeast) Monsoons. Moreover, the intervening intermonsoon periods, during which the region relaxes toward oligotrophic conditions more typical of tropical environments, provide a stark contrast to the dynamic biogeochemical activity of the monsoons. The resulting spatial and temporal variability is great and provides a significant challenge for ship-based surveys attempting to characterize the physical and biogeochemical environments of the region. This was especially true for expeditions in the pre-satellite era.Here, we present an overview of the dynamical response to seasonal monsoonal forcing and the characteristics of the physical environment that fundamentally drive regional biogeochemical variability. We then review past observations of the biological distributions that provided our initial insights into the pelagic system of the Arabian Sea. These evolved through the 1980s as additional methodologies, in particular the first synoptic ocean color distributions gathered by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, became available. Through analyses of these observations and the first large-scale physical–biogeochemical modeling attempts, a pre-JGOFS understanding of the Arabian Sea emerged. During the 1990s, the in situ and remotely sensed observational databases were significantly extended by regional JGOFS activities and the onset of Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor ocean color measurements. Analyses of these new data and coupled physical–biogeochemical models have already advanced our understanding and have led to either an amplification or revision of the pre-JGOFS paradigms. Our understanding of this complex and variable ocean region is still evolving. Nonetheless, we have a much better understanding of time–space variability of biogeochemical properties in the Arabian Sea and much deeper insights about the physical and biological factors that drive them, as well as a number of challenging new directions to pursue.     

Tropical Atlantic variability in a coupled physical–biogeochemical ocean model

A three-dimensional ocean biogeochemical model of the tropical Atlantic Ocean was run for more than half a century (1949–2000) in order to characterize the ocean biogeochemical response to variable forcing over this period. The seasonal cycle in the equatorial upwelling zone agrees reasonably well with observations and other published simulations but underestimates phytoplankton biomass under strong upwelling conditions. Away from the equator, modelled nutrient flux and biological production are maximal in each hemisphere's winter season, and appear to be proximately forced by evaporative cooling and wind stirring rather than by Ekman upwelling. The fraction of the total variance associated with the seasonal cycle is considerably smaller for modelled biogeochemical fields than for sea-surface temperature over this long simulation, and much of the biogeochemical variance is associated with interdecadal changes. The model results suggest that the tropical Atlantic became more productive following the Pacific climate shift of 1976 and remained so until about 1989. Summer surface nitrate concentrations during the 1990s were lower than those in the 1980s. The relationship between the equatorial and off-equatorial regimes may have changed following the 1976 event, with equatorial variability dominating the basin-wide variance patterns after 1976.     

谱松弛动力降尺度方法及其在吕宋海峡黑潮模拟中的应用

本文采用区域高分辨率海洋数值模型,将谱松弛动力降尺度方法应用于吕宋海峡及其邻近区域,对吕宋海峡黑潮流径的流型特征进行模拟与分析。实验结果显示,应用谱松弛法能够较好地改善区域模型的模拟效果：通过约束大尺度误差,不仅能直接约束区域内的大尺度海洋状态,也间接调整了小尺度过程的演变规律,改善了吕宋海峡黑潮流径的模拟效果。     

Improvement of morphodynamic modeling of tidal channel migration by nudging

State-of-the-art process-based models have shown to be applicable to the simulation and prediction of coastal morphodynamics. On annual to decadal temporal scales, these models may show limitations in reproducing complex natural morphological evolution patterns, such as the movement of bars and tidal channels, e.g. the observed decadal migration of the Medem Channel in the Elbe Estuary, German Bight. Here a morphodynamic model is shown to simulate the hydrodynamics and sediment budgets of the domain to some extent, but fails to adequately reproduce the pronounced channel migration, due to the insufficient implementation of bank erosion processes. In order to allow for long-term simulations of the domain, a nudging method has been introduced to update the model-predicted bathymetries with observations. The model-predicted bathymetry is nudged towards true states in annual time steps. Sensitivity analysis of a user-defined correlation length scale, for the definition of the background error covariance matrix during the nudging procedure, suggests that the optimal error correlation length is similar to the grid cell size, here 80–90 m. Additionally, spatially heterogeneous correlation lengths produce more realistic channel depths than do spatially homogeneous correlation lengths. Consecutive application of the nudging method compensates for the (stand-alone) model prediction errors and corrects the channel migration pattern, with a Brier skill score of 0.78. The proposed nudging method in this study serves as an analytical approach to update model predictions towards a predefined ‘true’ state for the spatiotemporal interpolation of incomplete morphological data in long-term simulations.     

Height variability from the MIROC – IPCC model for the 20th century compared to that of the TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter

Planetary waves are key to large-scale dynamical adjustment in the global ocean as they transfer energy from the east to the west side of oceanic basins; they connect the forcing in the ocean interior with the variability at its boundaries; and they change the local heat content, thus coupling oceanic, atmospheric, and biological processes. Planetary waves, mostly of the first baroclinic mode, are observed as distinctive patterns in global time series of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and heat storage. The goal of this study is to compare and validate large-scale SSHA signals from coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC) with TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter observations. The last decade of the models’ time series is selected for comparison with the altimeter data. The wave patterns are separated from the meso- and large-scale SSHA signals by digital filters calibrated to select the same spectral bands in both model and altimeter data. The band-wise comparison allows for an assessment of the model skill to simulate the dynamical components of the observed wave field. Comparisons regarding both the seasonal cycle and the Rossby wave field differ significantly among basins. When carried within the same basin, differences can occur between equal latitudes in opposite hemispheres. Furthermore, at some latitudes the MIROC reproduces biannual, annual and semiannual planetary waves with phase speeds and average amplitudes similar to those observed by the altimeter, but with significant differences in phase.     

Reduction of geoid gradient error in ocean variability from satellite altimetry

Altimeter measurements of sea‐level variability have errors due to the altimeter not repeatedly sampling the same point on the ocean surface. The errors are proportional to the local slope of the mean sea surface. Accurate removal of geoid error is essential if altimeter data are to be used to study the relationship between geostrophic turbulence and bathymetry. The error can be reduced by using an accurate model of the mean surface. We use the multiyear TOPEX altimeter data set to develop a model for the mean sea surface along the TOPEX/POSEIDON ground track by estimating the coefficients of a local plane centered on every 2 km x 7 km bin sampled by the altimeter. We have evaluated the ability of this model. compared against two global mean sea‐surface models, to reduce the error associated with steep gradients. The two global models are the Center for Space Research 1995 model and the Ohio State University 1995 model. The three models show similar variability over the oceans, and none shows the large residual errors that can be seen in collinear analysis near some seamounts and trenches. The standard deviation of the variability using the plane model, however, is consistently smaller in low‐variability, high‐geoid‐gradient areas, indicating a slightly better performance than the two global models.     

Operational prediction of acoustic properties in the ocean using multi-model statistics

Super-ensemble (SE) multi-model forecasts optimize local combination of individual models which is superior to individual models because they allow for local correction and bias removal. Multi-model statistics are applied to optimize the forecast skills from ocean models with different resolution or configuration, run operationally during the MREA04 field experiment off the West coast of Portugal. The method, based on a training/forecast cycle uses linear regression optimization. The performance and the limitations of the different super-ensemble combinations and the individual models are discussed. The SE method is shown to reduce errors in sound velocity significantly for 24 h forecasts.     

一个重构的153年热带太平洋次表层上卷海温资料

次表层上卷海温对改进ENSO(厄尔尼诺-南方涛动,El Ni o-Southern Oscillation)模拟水平及ENSO年代际变化均具有重要作用。利用一个中等复杂程度耦合模式(intermediate coupled model,简称ICM)和Nudging(张弛逼近)同化方法,重构了1856—2008年间热带太平洋地区的次表层上卷海温。统计检验表明,重构的次表层上卷海温与近50年的3种分析资料间具有较高的相关性和较小的均方根误差。此外,通过此重构的次表层上卷海温资料重新驱动ICM模式,模拟得到的海表温度距平(sea surface temperature anomaly,简称SSTA)可以真实地反映出ENSO的年际和年代际变化,表明此重构的次表层上卷海温资料可用于气候研究,特别是用于ENSO的大尺度低频变化或年代际气候变化研究。     

一维海洋混合层模式应用于二维数值模拟的试验研究

基于一个一维湍能海洋混合层模式,发展了一个易于与大气或海洋模式耦合的,可应用于水平二维空间的模块化海洋混合层模式。并加入垂直上翻参数化方案,引入日平均海面温度及气候态松弛项,进行二维海洋模拟理想气旋实验和飓风实例模拟实验。理想气旋强迫实验表明,垂直上翻过程的参数化方案可有效地弥补原有一维海洋混合层模式无法形成气旋中心动力上翻的不足,消除了虚假暖水核心。卡特里娜飓风个例实验的结果表明,加入垂直上翻后,飓风中心附近的海表面温度误差明显减小。海洋混合层模式对海洋表面温度日变化模拟能力在二维应用中依然表现良好。经过上述改进,发展的海洋混合层模式可以较为真实地模拟平常海表温度高频日变化的同时,还对剧烈天气过程也有一定的模拟能力,具有广泛的应用前景。     

Observation and parameterization of small icebergs: Drifting breakwaters in the southern ocean

The variability of small-size iceberg distributions is revealed from a novel analysis of satellite altimeter data. A strong annual cycle is modulated by pulse-like events confined to single ocean basins, with dense iceberg populations in the South Atlantic in 2004–2005, and in the South Pacific in 2008. Anomalies in sea surface temperatures of the order of 1 °C may be related to the iceberg distribution. Icebergs also appear very strongly associated with anomalies in the heights of ocean waves. A preliminary parameterization of wave blocking by icebergs significantly reduces wave model errors in the region south of 45° South, and has a perceptible influence on all the west coasts of the Southern hemisphere.     

发展基于集合样本估计的SST张驰逼近方法用于气候模式的次表层海温场订正

An ensemble-based assimilation method is proposed for correcting the subsurface temperature field when nudging the sea surface temperature(SST) observations into the Max Planck Institute(MPI) climate model,ECHAM5/MPI-OM. This method can project SST directly to subsurface according to model ensemble-based correlations between SST and subsurface temperature. Results from a 50 year(1960–2009) assimilation experiment show the method can improve the subsurface temperature field up to 300 m compared to the qualitycontrolled subsurface ocean temperature objective analyses(EN4), through reducing the biases of the thermal states, improving the thermocline structure, and reducing the root mean square(RMS) errors. Moreover, as most of the improvements concentrate over the upper 100 m, the ocean heat content in the upper 100 m(OHT100 m)is further adopted as a property to validate the performance of the ensemble-based correction method. The results show that RMS errors of the global OHT100 m convergent to one value after several times iteration,indicating this method can represent the relationship between SST and subsurface temperature fields well, and then improve the accuracy of the simulation in the subsurface temperature of the climate model.     

The Long-term Ecosystem Observatory: an integrated coastalobservatory

An integrated ocean observatory has been developed and operated in the coastal waters off the central coast of New Jersey, USA. One major goal for the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO) is to develop a real-time capability for rapid environmental assessment and physical/biological forecasting in coastal waters. To this end, observational data are collected from satellites, aircrafts, ships, fixed/relocatable moorings and autonomous underwater vehicles. The majority of the data are available in real-time allowing for adaptive sampling of episodic events and are assimilated into ocean forecast models. In this observationally rich environment, model forecast errors are dominated by uncertainties in the model physics or future boundary conditions rather than initial conditions. Therefore, ensemble forecasts with differing model parameterizations provide a unique opportunity for model refinement and validation. The system has been operated during three annual coastal predictive skill experiments from 1998 through 2000. To illustrate the capabilities of the system, case studies on coastal upwelling and small-scale biological slicks are discussed. This observatory is one part of the expanding network of ocean observatories that will form the basis of a national observation network     

海洋中挥发性卤代烃的研究进展

挥发性卤代烃(Volatile halocarbons,VHCs)是大气中一类重要的痕量温室气体和主要的臭氧层破坏者,在全球气候变化中起着十分重要的作用。大量研究表明海洋是大气中VHCs的重要源汇区,研究海洋中VHCs的生物地球化学循环,对于进一步了解海洋中的VHCs对未来全球气候的影响具有重要意义。本文针对国内、外有关海洋中VHCs生物地球化学循环研究的进展进行了综述,介绍了VHCs在海洋中的来源和产生机制、它的分布规律及其影响因素,从而归纳了VHCs在海洋中的迁移转化过程。针对目前缺乏对于海洋中VHCs的生物、非生物形成机制及其在海洋中迁移转化机制的具体过程的深入研究,以及有限航次的海洋中VHCs的浓度监测数据和源汇收支不平衡的问题,提出未来的研究需要加强海洋中VHCs的来源、生成机制、迁移转化机制及其影响因素的深入探究,开展更系统的长时间尺度和空间维度上的全球海域中VHCs大数据监测,并完善海-气通量的计算方法,准确估算海洋中VHCs的源汇。     

基于CCSM3气候模式的同化模拟试验

基于美国NCAR及其他科学家合作发展的共同气候系统模式CCSM3,利用nudging方法开展了把15 m到465 m的次表层海温同化到该模式的研究。1980—2000年的同化试验结果表明,经过同化得到的模拟结果与实际较为一致,较好的再现了中低纬太平洋海洋和大气的平均特征和随时间演变的规律,但仍存在如海表温度偏高、降水偏强等问题。尤其是在大洋的东边界,陆地地形比较陡峭的地区,通常出现较大的偏差。     

Ocean temperature climate off North‐East New Zealand

The ocean temperature field off the north‐east coast of New Zealand is studied to quantify the annual cycle and reveal the intra‐ and inter‐annual variability. The data used are repeat expendable bathythermograph (XBT) sections between Auckland and either Suva or Honolulu which have been collected quarterly since 1986. These sections give temperature measurements between the surface and 800 m and Auckland and 30°S from 1986 to August 1999. The mean and annual cycle are compared with those from the NOAA World Ocean Atlas (WOA98). The results are similar; however WOA98 lacks the horizontal resolution to fully discern the East Auckland Current and North Cape Eddy, while the XBT analysis lacks the temporal resolution to discern higher frequency intra‐annual signals. The temperature variability in the mixed layer is dominated by the annual cycle, which accounts for 80–90% of the variance. The amplitude of the annual cycle diminishes rapidly with depth, from 2.8°C at the surface, to c. 0.1°C at 180 m. The phase of the annual cycle is retarded with depth, with peak temperatures occurring in February at the surface and in June/July at 180 m. Removing the annual cycle from the time series reveals the more subtle inter‐ and intra‐annual variability. This variability is of the order of 1°C in the upper 50 m, decreasing to 0.3°C at 400–500 m. The surface layer was cold between 1991 and 1994 (c. 0.7°C cooler than average), and 0.7°C warmer than average in 1999. The deeper ocean shows a different signal, being up to 0.3°C cooler in 1990–92, 0.3°C warmer in 1998, and c. 0.2°C warmer than average in 1999. The inter‐annual mixed layer variability is highly correlated with the Southern Oscillation Index and also with inter‐annual terrestrial air temperature and wind measurements from northern New Zealand. In contrast, at higher intra‐annual frequencies, the mixed layer variability is not correlated with air and wind measurements. At these higher frequencies, the air temperature is better correlated with the sea surface temperature (SST) than with the bulk mixed layer temperature.     

两种热通量边界条件对热带太平洋海温模拟的影响

利用中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室发展的气候海洋模式(LICOM),考察了两种热通量边界条件(牛顿冷却型边界条件和总体公式型边界条件)对热带太平洋海温平均态和年际变率模拟效果的影响.结果显示,在两种边界条件下,模式均能较好的再现海温的年平均空间分布特征和季节循环特征.对比分析发现,...     

Fast dynamical spin-up of ocean general circulation models using Newton–Krylov methods

Numerical models of the ocean play an important role in efforts to understand past climate variability and predict future climate changes. In many studies, ocean models are driven by forcings that are either time-independent or vary periodically (seasonally) and it is often highly desirable or even essential to obtain equilibrium solutions of the model. Existing methods, based on the simple, expedient idea of integrating the model until the transients have died out, are too expensive to use routinely because the ocean takes several thousand years to equilibrate. Here, we present a novel approach for efficiently computing equilibrium solutions of ocean models. Our general approach is to formulate the problem as a large system of nonlinear algebraic equations to be solved with a class of methods known as matrix-free Newton–Krylov, a combination of Newton-type methods for superlinearly convergent solution of nonlinear equations, and Krylov subspace methods for solving the Newton correction equations. As an initial demonstration of the feasibility of this approach, we apply it to find the equilibrium solutions of a quasi-geostrophic ocean model for both steady forcing and seasonally-varying forcing. We show that the matrix-free Newton–Krylov method converges to the solutions obtained by direct time integration of the model, but at a computational cost that is between 10 and 100 times smaller than direct integration. A key advantage of our approach is that it can be applied to any existing time-stepping code, including ocean general circulation models and biogeochemical models. However, effective preconditioning of the linear equations to be solved during the Newton iteration remains a challenge.     

Understanding the export of biogenic particles in oceanic waters: Is there consensus?

We examine progress towards a global view of oceanic export of particulate organic carbon (POC) and other nutrient elements (P, N, Si) from the surface (upper 100 m), through the subsurface, to the deep sea (>1000 m), focusing on syntheses published since 1999 and on the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study. Food-web structure is important, and surface and subsurface processes contribute similarly to determine the fraction of net primary production (NPP) reaching the deep sea. NPP by large cells generally favours high surface export of POC. Preferential remineralization of P and N (versus C) with depth is common, as is regional variation in subsurface POC flux attenuation.The role of mineral fluxes is complex. Annual mean fluxes of POC and minerals are correlated in global deep sediment trap records, but causality and the relative importance of different minerals depends on the assumptions made. Time-series observations at single sites can oppose the geographic trends, and their large seasonal variability in the contribution of POC to total flux is at odds with mechanistic models for POC transport by minerals. Despite generally positive correlations between biogenic carbonate and POC fluxes, the overall role of carbonate export is to decrease the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean. Both autotrophs and heterotrophs produce minerals, and progress in separating these contributions is required for the deconvolution of mineral ballast and food-web effects.Many recent models suggest global surface POC export of ∼10 GTC/yr, despite widely varying biological complexity. This limits the usefulness of their prediction of ecosystem and carbon cycle responses to global change. Progress requires better observations for model validation, and more efforts to relate the models to the observed complexity, rather than to overly simplified global syntheses. We advocate more time-series stations targeting under-studied biogeochemical regions, development of automated in situ tools for study of the subsurface ocean, and increased emphasis on combining ecological and biogeochemical methods.     

Multimegameter-range acoustic data obtained by bottom-mountedhydrophone arrays for measurement of ocean temperature

Acoustic signals transmitted from the ATOC source on Pioneer Seamount off the coast of California have been received at various sites around the Pacific Basin since January 1996. We describe data obtained using bottom-mounted receivers, including US Navy Sound Surveillance System arrays, at ranges up to 5 Mm from the Pioneer Seamount source. Stable identifiable ray arrivals are observed in several cases, but some receiving arrays are not well suited to detecting the direct ray arrivals. At 5-Mm range, travel-time variations at tidal frequencies (about 50 ms peak to peak) agree well with predicted values, providing verification of the acoustic measurements as well as the tidal model. On the longest and northernmost acoustic paths, the time series of resolved ray travel times show an annual cycle peak-to-peak variation of about 1 s and other fluctuations caused by natural oceanic variability. An annual cycle is not evident in travel times from shorter acoustic paths in the eastern Pacific, though only one realization of the annual cycle is available. The low-pass-filtered travel times are estimated to an accuracy of about 10 ms. This travel-time uncertainty corresponds to errors in range- and depth-averaged temperature of only a few millidegrees, while the annual peak-to-peak variation in temperature averaged horizontally over the acoustic path and vertically over the upper 1 km of ocean is up to 0.5°C     

Distinguishing coupled ocean–atmosphere interactions from background noise in the North Pacific

When considering physical mechanisms for decadal-timescale climate variability in the North Pacific, it is useful to describe in detail the expected response of the ocean to the chaotic atmospheric forcing. The expected response to this white-noise forcing includes strongly enhanced power in the decadal frequency band relative to higher frequencies, pronounced changes in basin-wide climate that resemble regime shifts, preferred patterns of spatial variability, and a depth-dependent profile that includes variability with a standard deviation of 0.2–0.4°C over the top 50–100 m. Weak spectral peaks are also possible, given ocean dynamics. Detecting coupled ocean–atmosphere modes of variability in the real climate system is difficult against the spectral and spatial structure of this ‘null-hypothesis’ of how the ocean and atmosphere interact, especially given the impossibility of experimentally decoupling the ocean from the atmosphere. Turning to coupled ocean–atmosphere models to address this question, a method for identifying coupled modes by using models of increasing physical complexity is illustrated. It is found that a coupled ocean–atmosphere mode accounts for enhanced variability with a time scale of 20 years/cycle in the Kuroshio extension region of the model's North Pacific. The observed Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) has many similarities to the expected noise-forced response and few similarities to the model's coupled ocean–atmosphere variability. However, model deficiencies and some analyses of observations by other workers indicate that the possibility that part of the PDO arises from a coupled ocean–atmosphere mode cannot be ruled out.