Evaluation of the heat balance constituents of the upper mixed layer in the North Atlantic

Different physical mechanisms which cause interannual and interdecadal temperature anomalies in the upper mixed layer (UML) of the North Atlantic are investigated using the data of ORA-S3 reanalysis for the period of 1959–2011. It is shown that the annual mean heat budget in UML is mainly caused by the balance between advective heat transfer and horizontal turbulent mixing (estimated as a residual term in the equation of thermal balance). The local UML temperature change and contribution from the heat fluxes on the lower boundary of the UML to the heat budget of the upper layer are insignificant for the time scale under consideration. The contribution of the heat fluxes on the upper UML boundary to the low-frequency variability of the upper layer temperature in the whole North Atlantic area is substantially less than 30%. Areas like the northwestern part of the Northern Subtropical Anticyclonic Gyre (NSAG), where their contribution exceeds 30–60%, are exceptions. The typical time scales of advective heat transfer variability are revealed. In the NSAG area, an interannual variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation dominates, while in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, an interdecadal variability of advective transfers with periods of more than 30 years prevails.     

Quasi-isopycnic layer model for large-scale ocean circulation

A hydrothermodynamic model of a multilayer ocean, incorporating the upper mixed layer (UML) is described. The model is based on a system of primitive equations integrated within each layer. All layers are assumed to be horizontally-inhomogeneous, however, the density in each thermocline layer changes within the limits determineda priori by the prescribed basic stratification. It is assumed that the layers may outcrop. Results of the numerical experiment on subduction simulation (downwelling of UML waters toward the main thermocline layers) are given.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Modelling of upwelling and downwelling in the ocean

Numerical experiments on the reconstruction of upwelling and downwelling at the eastern boundary of the ocean were carried out in the framework of a multilayer model of the ocean involving the upper mixed layer (UML). The peculiarities of these phenomena when they are formed and attenuated owing to the strong intensification and abatement of the longshore wind have been studied. It is shown that cold waters are always involved from the thermocline to the UML during upwelling. In downwelling, this occurs as a rule. However, during upwelling the abatement of the wind may result in subduction —the inflow of warm waters from the UML to the thermocline.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Organic matter characterization and fate in the sub-arctic Norwegian fjords during the late spring/summer period

The organic matter (OM) pool has been studied in two sub-arctic north Norwegian fjords, Balsfjord and Ullsfjord, in July 2001 and June 2003. Besides general OM parameters such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON), the distribution of specific compounds such as folic acid and surface active substances (SAS) was followed. The results are supported with data of salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll a (Chl a). This approach allowed assessment of the fate of the OM pool, and its distinct vertical, spatial, and seasonal variations. Fjord waters could be vertically divided into two layers: the upper mixed layer (UML), until 40 m depth, and the deep aphotic layer. Spatial variability between the two fjords is a consequence of different influences of shelf waters on the fjords. Significant enrichment of POC and PON concentrations (3–5 times), as well as those of particulate SAS and folic acid (up to 3.2 times) in the UML was recorded during the period of new production, in early June. Depletion of particulate OM in deep waters was ascribed to fast dissolution or remineralization in the UML or upper part of aphotic layer. OM in July 2001 was characterized with 15.9% higher DOC pool compared to June 2003, and had refractory properties, suggesting the fjords to be an important source of organic matter for the continental shelf ecosystem. The DOC pool in these subarctic fjords represents the major component of the OM pool. The DOC concentrations in fjords are lower than those in previously studied warmer seas (e.g. the Adriatic Sea), whereas the concentrations of folic acid and SAS are comparable to those in the Adriatic Sea.     

Modelling of the upper mixed layer in the Tropical Atlantic

A method for the computation of the spatial-temporal variability of the upper mixed layer (UML) within the framework of a model for the multilayer ocean is proposed. Using a three-layer ocean (UML, thermocline, and abyssal regions) as an example, the formation of the UML topography from the state of rest and the current and temperature fields in the Tropical Atlantic are considered.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

A hydrothermodynamic quasi-isopycnic model of the ocean thermocline

The results of a numerical experiment on the formation of the large-scale circulation and the main thermocline in the temperate latitudes of an ocean at steady external factors are discussed. A multilayer model [1] is used which involves the upper mixed layer (UML). The boundaries of the areas where the internal layers reach the UML are calculated. The zones where seawater is entrapped from the thermocline to the UML are revealed, as well as the subduction zones where seawater is brought from the UML to the internal layers and moves there, ventilating the thermocline.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov. UDK 551.465.     

Modelling of the generation and evolution of the cold intermediate layer in the Black Sea

This paper discusses the results of a numerical experiment on modelling the seasonal variability of the water circulation and temperature/salinity fields in the Black Sea. A multi-layered quasi-isopycnic model is used based on primitive equations and incorporating the upper mixed layer (UML). It is shown that during springtime warming, relatively cold layers emerge in some areas, due to subduction, from the UML, which then spread virtually over the entire basin and persist until they become absorbed by the rapidly deepening UML during the period of cooling in winter. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Model of the Tropical Atlantic incorporating the upper mixed layer

We present a multilayer ocean model incorporating a non-local integral model of the upper mixed layer (UML). In the framework of a three-layer Tropical Atlantic model, we study the model's response to various closure hypotheses for heat fluxes at the UML lower boundary.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

有限海域海水表温数值预报改进模式

以海洋上部混合层(UML)存在为基础,建立了考虑UML深度变化的二维层模式。探讨有限区域的短期海表温(SST)业务数值预报模式。预报方程有三:低频流(黑潮及其分支)的无幅散化余流方程组、动力预报方程和模式物理学方程。本模式用于3～5d的SST预报,同时也给出UML平均漂流的预报。指出在大风状况下的降温,UML深是一个重要的影响因子,并与UML为平底时情况进行了比较。     

Connections between the Long-Period Variability Modes of Both Temperature and Depth of the Upper Mixed Layer of the North Atlantic and the Climate Variability Indices

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The interannual–multidecadal variability of the temperature and depth of the upper mixed layer (UML) in the North Atlantic (NA) is analyzed on the...     

Short-term photoacclimation effects on photoinhibition of phytoplankton in the Drake Passage (Southern Ocean)

We assessed whether short-term photoacclimation responses of natural phytoplankton populations in the Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) were affecting protection from photodamage as cells are mixed up to the surface from depth. To this end, we measured phytoplankton fluorescence characteristics and their ratio of xanthophyll cycle pigment to photosynthetic pigments within the upper mixed layer (UML) and in short-term deck incubation experiments. Phytoplankton within the UML photoacclimated by increasing their ratio of xanthophyll cycle (diadinoxanthin [dd] and diatoxanthin [dt]) pigments to chlorophyll a. The photoacclimation processes observed within the UML did, however, not influence the protection of phytoplankton from photodamage during short-term near-surface irradiance experiments. Exposure to near-surface irradiance resulted in photodamage in all experiments, regardless of the phytoplankton community composition and irradiance levels. Incubating phytoplankton for six hours at either 2% or 50% of surface irradiance prior to exposure to near-surface irradiance did not alter the photodamage characteristics. This suggests that short-term photoacclimation processes within the UML are not adequate to protect phytoplankton from photodamage when cells are mixed up to the surface from depth, and that repair of damaged photosystems is crucial for maintaining photosynthesis under fluctuating irradiance conditions, even at very low mean irradiance levels. Likely, continuously operating photoacclimation processes offset to some extent the negative effects of photodamage on photosynthetic performance, albeit with increased metabolic costs.     

Characteristics of variations of water properties and density structure around the Kuroshio in the East China Sea

Quarterly data of CTD at the PN line in the East China Sea during 1988–94 were analyzed to examine the variations of water properties and density structure in relation to the Kuroshio. The Kuroshio flows over the continental slope at the PN line. Water properties in the surface layer less than 100 db change greatly and show a clear seasonal cycle, while those in the subsurface layer are much less variable. The small isobaric variations in the subsurface layer are almost due to the vertical movement of isopycnals, on which the water properties vary little. The subsurface variations of salinity, temperature and isopycnal depth are classified into four groups occurring in the four regions, divided vertically by the middle of the main pycnocline and horizontally by the offshore edge of the Kuroshio, named Groups 1 (upper Kuroshio), 2 (upper offshore region), 3 (lower Kuroshio), and 4 (lower offshore region). The difference in averaged isopycnal depth between Groups 1 and 2 (3 and 4) is highly correlated with the vertical shear of the Kuroshio velocity in the upper (lower) pycnocline. The isopycnal depth of Groups 1 and 3 has little annual cycle (with large intraseasonal variations in Group 3), while that of Groups 2 and 4 shows a clear seasonal variation with the minimum in fall. As a result, the Kuroshio velocity is smallest in fall almost every year, although the amplitude of seasonal variation and the season of maximum velocity are different from year to year. Interannual variations of isopycnal depth are characterized by a large amplitude of Group 2 and an opposite phase between Groups 3 and 4, so that the variations of difference in isopycnal depth between Groups 1 and 2 and Groups 3 and 4, i.e., the upper and lower shear of the Kuroshio velocity, are comparably significant.     

Grain size,La/Yb and Th/Sc of settling particles in the western North Pacific: Evidence for lateral transport of small Asian loess

To understand the transport process of lithogenic particles in the ocean, we measured the grain size distributions of lithogenic particles and measured the opal, La, Yb, Th, and Sc concentrations of the settling particles collected from time-series sediment traps at Sta. KNOT (44°N, 155°E, water depth 5320 m) from June 2002 to May 2004. The annual mean lithogenic particle flux observed at the lower sediment trap (5100 m) was twice as high as that at the upper sediment trap (770 m). The contribution of Asian loess estimated by the La/Yb and the Th/Sc ratios in the lower layer was greater than that in the upper layer. The fluxes of small lithogenic particles with sizes of 3–4 μm at the lower layer (5 to 65 mg/m²/day) were approximately four times larger than that at the upper layer (0.6 to 27 mg/m²/day). These results indicate that the horizontal addition of small particle sizes of Asian loess is a main factor in the increase of lithogenic particles at the lower layer. The temporal variations in the small lithogenic particle flux at the lower layer had a positive correlation with those at the upper layer (r = 0.71). The small lithogenic particle fluxes showed a strong positive correlation with the opal fluxes (r = 0.9). We therefore conclude that the small lithogenic particles were laterally transported and scavenged by the formation of aggregates with opal.     

东北印度洋上层海水热含量及影响要素的季节变化

探讨了影响东北印度洋上层海水热含量变化的各要素的季节变化,以及其对热含量变化的贡献和作用过程.根据MOM4数值模拟所得的气候态数据,利用热力学方程积分所得的热通量方程,分析了热含量和各影响要素的季节变化过程.结果表明,东北印度洋海洋动力过程的作用主要存在于海洋上层100 m以内;该区域上层海水热含量的季节变化,是典型的海-气相互作用的结果,由动力过程和海表净热通量共同控制,2种作用都有明显的季节变化特征,并且随区域的变化两者贡献有所变化;西南季风爆发前,上层海洋热含量最大值的出现,是之前几个月动力作用和海表净热通量共同加热的结果.     

Contrasting hydrography and phytoplankton distribution in the upper layers of cyclonic eddies in the Mozambique Basin and Mozambique Channel

Hydrographic data collected in cyclonic eddies in the Mozambique Channel and Basin revealed notable differences in temperature and salinity at a depth of 100 m, the upper mixed layer, the nitracline depths, and vertical distribution of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a). Differences in temperature and salinity did not show any consistent patterns. In contrast, the differences in the upper mixed layer, nitracline depths and the vertical Chl-a profile appeared to be driven by combined effects of eddy dynamics (i.e. shoaling of isopleths) and the seasonal variation in light availability and mixing conditions in the upper layers. Cyclonic eddies studied during austral spring and summer in the Mozambique Channel exhibited shallower upper mixed layers and nitracline depths, and deeper euphotic zones. Distinct subsurface Chl-a maxima (SCM) were associated with the stratified conditions in the upper layers of these eddies. In contrast, a cyclonic eddy studied during mid-austral winter in the Mozambique Basin had a shallower euphotic zone, deeper upper mixed layer and uniform Chl-a profiles. Another eddy sampled in the Mozambique Basin toward the end of winter showed a less pronounced SCM and roughly equal euphotic zone and upper mixed layer depths, suggestive of a transition from a well-mixed upper layer during winter to stratified conditions in summer.     

Mechanism for the Formation of Temperature Anomalies in the Upper Layer of the North Atlantic

ORA-S3 oceanological reanalysis data for 1959–2011 is applied to analyze the role different factors play in forming advective heat transfer anomalies on an interannual–decadal scale in the upper mixed layer of the North Atlantic. Regions are revealed in which horizontal heat advection anomalies are determined by variations in current intensity, temperature gradients, and their joint influence. It is demonstrated that the contribution of different mechanisms responsible for advective heat transfer anomalies in the upper mixed layer to the total anomalies of advective origin varies fundamentally from one current to another in the North Atlantic. In the Gulf Stream area (after it separates from the continental slope), horizontal heat advection anomalies in the upper mixed layer result mainly from fluctuations in current intensity, while in the Caribbean Current and the Gulf Stream area (until its separation), they result from variations in the horizontal temperature gradients in the upper mixed layer. In the Labrador Current, both of these mechanisms have the same sign and approximately the same absolute values. In the East Greenland Current, they compensate each other. The contribution of anomalies in horizontal temperature gradients transferred by anomalous currents to the formation of heat transfer anomalies in the upper layer of the North Atlantic are, on the whole, relatively small throughout the water area. The areas of the North Atlantic and West Greenland currents are exceptions.     

Evolution and decay of a warm-core ring within the western subarctic gyre of the North Pacific,as observed by profiling floats

This study investigated temporal variations in the vertical structure and water properties of a warm-core ring that migrated into the western subarctic gyre of the North Pacific, based on analyses of temperature and salinity data derived from two profiling floats, together with shipboard and satellite observation data. The floats were initially deployed into cold and fresh Oyashio water in September 2003, and were entrained into a warm-core ring in October 2003, remaining within the ring until detrainment in December 2004. Drastic cooling and freshening of the upper core water of the ring were observed during the above entrainment of the floats with cold and fresh water into the ring, whereas moderate variations in structure and water properties were observed during a quasi-isolated phase from November 2003 to November 2004 when the ring did not experience major interactions with ambient hydrographic features. The upper part of the core water (upper core), with relatively warm/saline water above 26.6 σ _θ , was under the influence of the atmosphere in winter via the formation of a deep mixed layer exceeding 300 dB, and had a prominent pycnostad below the seasonal pycnocline from spring to autumn. In contrast, the lower core, with relatively cold and fresh water below 26.6 σ _θ , was not ventilated throughout the observation period. Isopycnal surfaces showed a shoaling trend of about 50 dB/year during the quasi-isolated phase, suggesting viscous decay over a timescale of several years. Markedly cold and thick water was also frequently observed within the ring, indicating the intrusion of water from the Sea of Okhotsk.     

A quantitative analysis of sources for summertime phytoplankton variability over 18 years in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) region

Eighteen years of summertime hydrographic and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) data (～2700 stations) from the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) region show that a “bell-shaped” (unimodal) distribution of phytoplankton biomass results annually when plotted against the inshore to offshore gradient in surface salinity. The maximum for this unimodal Chl-a distribution corresponds with a shallow upper mixed layer (UML) in iron-rich waters that occurs at salinities ～34. Methods of gradient analysis are used to distinguish sources of variability for bloom development among years. The control of phytoplankton biomass is resolved across the salinity gradient that separates the co-limiting conditions of deep UML depths and low-iron concentrations as opposing end-members. Chlorophyll-fluorescence yield data (a proxy for Fe-stress) showed that at salinities ～34, phytoplankton biomass was unlikely to be limited by Fe. Instead, blooming at salinities ～34 (1.3±1 mg Chl-a m^?3) co-varied with shallow UML depths (41±19 m) that occurred as a function of higher UML temperature (1.5±0.5 °C) among years, and is evidence that atmospheric climate variability impacts summertime phytoplankton biomass and production in this Southern Ocean seascape.     

南沙群岛海域混合层深度季节变化特征

基于南沙群岛海域综合科学考察11个航次的实测资料,研究了南沙群岛海域的混合层深度季节变化特征。研究结果表明,南沙群岛海域混合层深度存在明显的季节变化,并且与季风和海表热通量的变化密切相关。春季,风速较小且风向不稳定,海面得到的净热通量全年最大,上层水体层结稳定,混合层深度较小;夏季,南海西南季风盛行,上层为反气旋式环流,海面得到的净热通量减少,混合层呈加深的趋势;秋季,海面净热通量继续减少,混合层深度达到最大值;冬季,东北季风驱动下形成的上层气旋式环流引起深层冷水的上升,限制了混合层的加深。     

Fortnightly and monthly variability of the exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar

The fortnightly and monthly variability of the exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar has been studied from two simultaneous five-month long moored datasets, at Camarinal Sill and the East Section. The study focuses on the M_sf and M_m tidal components and their role for the subinertial exchange. A significant monthly signal is observed in the upper layer transport. Also, a significant fortnightly signal is observed in the lower layer transport, which minimum (maximum flow toward the Atlantic) takes place approximately on spring tides. In consequence the net transport has both signals, with maximum taking place during neap tides and a small monthly inequality. Fortnightly and monthly variability in the interface depth is also observed at Camarinal Sill, the interface being deeper on neap and shallower on spring tides. At the East Section the interface depth signals are not significant.The subinertial variability of the transports is separated in two contributions. The first one is called quasistatic transport and arises from the subinertial fluctuations of currents. The second contribution, called tidally rectified transports, arise from the non-linear correlation of currents and interface depth at tidal frequencies. The tidally rectified transports are important at Camarinal but not at the East Section. An apparent contradiction between the fortnightly signals of the subinertial currents and subinertial transports is resolved when the fortnightly signal of the tidally rectified transports are considered. The fortnightly signal of the quasistatic and tidally rectified transports mutually cancel in the upper layer, but not in the lower layer where the rectified transports dominate. A simple model for the spring-tide mixing forcing accounts for the fortnightly variability of the lower layer quasistatic transports but underestimates it for the upper layer. Finally, the observed lower layer transport is compatible with the hydraulic control condition at Camarinal Sill except for certain periods during intense spring tides.