Intensifying tropical cyclones over the North Indian Ocean during summer monsoon—Global warming

The anomalously strong cyclonic activity in the North Indian Ocean (NIO) during the recent years led to a controversy about the impact of global warming on cyclonic activity in the NIO Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ) plays an important role in the formation of tropical cyclones (TC) over the NIO during summer monsoon season, but in the recent year it is decreasing. This is because of higher warming on the equatorial side of the TEJ than on the northern side, although on both sides a significant warming trend is seen. This warming seems to be a part of the general warming trend known to be occurring since mid 1970s. The vertical wind shear shows a positive correlation with the number of severe storms suggesting that a decrease in easterly shear is favourable for the formation of severe storms. Here I show that the sea surface temperature change over a long period is a key parameter to control the vertical wind shear over the NIO, an important quantity for cyclone activity. The stronger warming of the tropical North Indian Ocean during recent years drove reduced vertical wind shear Thus if the present decreasing trend of TEJ intensity continues, which is highly probable in view of presently occurring green-house warming, there is a strong likelihood of the formation of tropical cyclones of hurricane intensity even during the summer monsoon. Presently the intense systems are known to form only in the pre and post-monsoon seasons, when the vertical wind shear is small.     

A preliminary estimate of changing calcrete carbon storage on land since the Last Glacial Maximum

The glacial-to-interglacial shift in land carbon storage is important in understanding the global carbon cycle and history of the climate system. While organic carbon storage on land appears to have been much less than present during the cold, dry glacial maximum, calcrete (soil carbonate) carbon storage would have been greater. Here we attempt a global estimation of this change; we use published figures for present soil carbonate by biome to estimate changing global soil carbonate storage, on the basis of reconstruction of vegetation areas for four timeslices since the Last Glacial Maximum. It appears that there would most likely have been around a 30–45% decrease in calcrete carbon on land accompanying the transition between glacial and interglacial conditions. This represents a change of about 500–400 GtC (outer error limits are estimated at 750–200 GtC) . In order to be weathered into dissolved bicarbonate, this would take up an additional 500–400 GtC (750–200 GtC) in CO₂ from ocean/atmosphere sources. An equivalent amount to the carbonate leaving the caliche reservoir on land may have accumulated in coral reefs and other calcareous marine sediments during the Holocene, liberating an equimolar quantity of CO₂ back into the ocean-atmosphere system as the bicarbonate ion breaks up.     

Liquid water oceans in ice giants

Aptly named, ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune contain significant amounts of water. While this water cannot be present near the cloud tops, it must be abundant in the deep interior. We investigate the likelihood of a liquid water ocean existing in the hydrogen-rich region between the cloud tops and deep interior. Starting from an assumed temperature at a given upper tropospheric pressure (the photosphere), we follow a moist adiabat downward. The mixing ratio of water to hydrogen in the gas phase is small in the photosphere and increases with depth. The mixing ratio in the condensed phase is near unity in the photosphere and decreases with depth; this gives two possible outcomes. If at some pressure level the mixing ratio of water in the gas phase is equal to that in the deep interior, then that level is the cloud base. The gas below the cloud base has constant mixing ratio. Alternately, if the mixing ratio of water in the condensed phase reaches that in the deep interior, then the surface of a liquid ocean will occur. Below this ocean surface, the mixing ratio of water will be constant. A cloud base occurs when the photospheric temperature is high. For a family of ice giants with different photospheric temperatures, the cooler ice giants will have warmer cloud bases. For an ice giant with a cool enough photospheric temperature, the cloud base will exist at the critical temperature. For still cooler ice giants, ocean surfaces will result. A high mixing ratio of water in the deep interior favors a liquid ocean. We find that Neptune is both too warm (photospheric temperature too high) and too dry (mixing ratio of water in the deep interior too low) for liquid oceans to exist at present. To have a liquid ocean, Neptune's deep interior water to gas ratio would have to be higher than current models allow, and the density at 19 kbar would have to be ≈0.8 g/cm³. Such a high density is inconsistent with gravitational data obtained during the Voyager flyby. In our model, Neptune's water cloud base occurs around 660 K and 11 kbar, and the density there is consistent with Voyager gravitational data. As Neptune cools, the probability of a liquid ocean increases. Extrasolar “hot Neptunes,” which presumably migrate inward toward their parent stars, cannot harbor liquid water oceans unless they have lost almost all of the hydrogen and helium from their deep interiors.     

A comparison of simulated monsoon circulations and snow accumulation in Asia during the mid-Holocene and at the Last Glacial Maximum

Tropical climatology through the last glacial cycle is believed to have ranged from colder, windier conditions at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to relatively warm, stable conditions during the Holocene. Changes in strength of the South Asian monsoon have previously been determined from a variety of proxy data and have been attributed primarily to changes in radiative forcing, although tropical sea surface temperature (SST) is known to play a fundamental role in regulating monsoon strength and is also believed to have changed throughout the late Quaternary.In this study, the monsoons simulated in a coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (GCM) configured for the mid-Holocene (6000 years B.P.) and for the LGM (21,000 years B.P.) are compared. The colder and windier conditions simulated for the LGM produced a summer monsoon whose westerly winds are stronger and whose precipitation and snowfall into the eastern Himalaya are increased, with drier conditions over the rest of the Indian subcontinent and over most of southwest Asia.The mid-Holocene monsoon circulation is stronger than today, and annual mean snow accumulation is increased over the northwestern Himalaya. These changes in precipitation and snow accumulation are analyzed in terms of the altered atmospheric circulations, which are in turn driven by changes in radiative forcing, sea surface temperatures, and sea surface height. All of these factors are therefore demonstrated to be important in governing the spatial distribution of snow and ice deposition in the Himalaya during the late Quaternary, and are likely to have contributed to the observed asynchroneity of Himalayan glaciation and Northern Hemisphere ice sheet volume.     

Sea level budget over 2003–2008: A reevaluation from GRACE space gravimetry,satellite altimetry and Argo

From the IPCC 4th Assessment Report published in 2007, ocean thermal expansion contributed by ～ 50% to the 3.1 mm/yr observed global mean sea level rise during the 1993–2003 decade, the remaining rate of rise being essentially explained by shrinking of land ice. Recently published results suggest that since about 2003, ocean thermal expansion change, based on the newly deployed Argo system, is showing a plateau while sea level is still rising, although at a reduced rate (～ 2.5 mm/yr). Using space gravimetry observations from GRACE, we show that recent years sea level rise can be mostly explained by an increase of the mass of the oceans. Estimating GRACE-based ice sheet mass balance and using published estimates for glaciers melting, we further show that ocean mass increase since 2003 results by about half from an enhanced contribution of the polar ice sheets – compared to the previous decade – and half from mountain glaciers melting. Taking also into account the small GRACE-based contribution from continental waters (< 0.2 mm/yr), we find a total ocean mass contribution of ～ 2 mm/yr over 2003–2008. Such a value represents ～ 80% of the altimetry-based rate of sea level rise over that period. We next estimate the steric sea level (i.e., ocean thermal expansion plus salinity effects) contribution from: (1) the difference between altimetry-based sea level and ocean mass change and (2) Argo data. Inferred steric sea level rate from (1) (～ 0.3 mm/yr over 2003–2008) agrees well with the Argo-based value also estimated here (0.37 mm/yr over 2004–2008). Furthermore, the sea level budget approach presented in this study allows us to constrain independent estimates of the Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) correction applied to GRACE-based ocean and ice sheet mass changes, as well as of glaciers melting. Values for the GIA correction and glacier contribution needed to close the sea level budget and explain GRACE-based mass estimates over the recent years agree well with totally independent determinations.     

Thermosteric sea level rise for the past 50 years; comparison with tide gauges and inference on water mass contribution

In this paper we compare sea level trends observed at a few selected tide gauges of good quality records with thermosteric (i.e., due to ocean temperature change) sea level trends over 1950–1998 using different gridded ocean temperature data sets from Levitus et al. (2000) [Levitus, S., Stephens, C., Antonov, J.I., Boyer, T.P., 2000. Yearly and Year-Season Upper Ocean Temperature Anomaly Fields, 1948–1998. U.S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. pp. 23.], Ishii et al. (2003) [Ishii, M., Kimoto, M., Kachi, M., 2003. Historical ocean subsurface temperature analysis with error estimates, Mon. Weather Rev., 131, 51–73.] and Levitus et al. (2005) [Levitus S., Antonov, J.I., Boyer, T.P., 2005. Warming of the world ocean, 1955–2003. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L02604. doi:10.1029/2004GL021592.]. When using the Levitus data, we observe very high thermosteric rates at sites located along the northeast coast of the US, north of 37°N. Such high rates are not observed with the Ishii data. Elsewhere, thermosteric rates agree reasonably well whatever the data set. Excluding the northeast US coastline sites north of 37°N, we compare tide gauge-based sea level trends with thermosteric trends and note that, in spite of a significant correlation, the latter are too small to explain the observed trends. After correcting for thermosteric sea level trends, residual (observed minus thermosteric) trends have an average value of 1.4 ± 0.5 mm/year, which should have an eustatic (i.e., due to ocean mass change) origin. This result supports the recent investigation by Miller and Douglas (2004) [Miller, L., Douglas, B.C., 2004. Mass and volume contributions to 20th century global sea level rise. Nature 428, 406–408.] which suggests that a dominant eustatic contribution is needed to explain the rate of sea level rise of the last decades observed by tide gauges, and shows that Cabanes et al. (2001) [Cabanes, C., Cazenave, A., Le Provost, C., 2001. Sea level rise during past 40 years determined from satellite and in situ observations. Science 294, 840–842.] arrived at an incorrect conclusion due to peculiarities in the gridded Levitus et al. (2000) [Levitus, S., Stephens, C., Antonov, J.I., and Boyer, T.P., 2000. Yearly and Year-Season Upper Ocean Temperature Anomaly Fields, 1948–1998. U.S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. pp. 23.] data set.     

Salinity changes in the western tropical South Atlantic during the last 30 kyr

The hydrographic changes in the western tropical South Atlantic during the last 30 kyr were reconstructed based in the faunal and isotopic analyses of planktonic foraminifera of three cores taken along the Brazilian Continental Margin between 14°S and 25°S. The application of the SIMMAX–MAT method on faunal counts data provided the sea surface temperature estimates. Sea surface salinity estimates were based on the oxygen isotope composition of Globigerinoides ruber (white). Additionally, the abundance record of the planktonic foraminifera Globorotalia truncatulinoides (right) was used as a proxy for vertical mixing of surface waters. Sea surface temperature estimates suggest a relative stability of the area during the last 30 kyr. However, significant changes in the isotopic composition of G. ruber (white) suggest that the isotopic signal is dominated by the influence of sea surface salinity changes. The observed salinity changes are related to both the local hydrological balance and global circulation. Orbital forcing and sea surface salinity changes were responsible for considerable changes in the stability of the upper water column and consequently in the depth of the mixed layer, as indicated by the abundance record of G. truncatulinoides (right).     

The effect of gateways on ocean circulation patterns in the Cenozoic

Both geological data and climate model studies indicate that substantially different patterns of the global ocean circulation have existed throughout the Cenozoic. In a climate model study of the late Oligocene [von der Heydt, A., Dijkstra, H.A. (2006). Effect of ocean gateways on the global ocean circulation in the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Paleoceanography, 21, PA1011] a “northern sinking” type of circulation was found, with (shallow) deep water formation in both the North Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. This is in contrast to the present-day “conveyor” circulation, where there is deep water formation in the North Atlantic but not in the North Pacific. In order to explain these differences, we use an ocean general circulation model for idealized two-basin flows and study the effect of asymmetries in the continental geometry on the circulation patterns. Two types of asymmetry are considered: (i) the relative northward extent of the Pacific and the Atlantic basin, and (ii) the existence of a circum-global gateway at low latitudes. The more northward extent of the Pacific basin in the Oligocene makes the Conveyor solution less likely and facilitates deep water formation in the North Pacific compared to the North Atlantic. The low-latitude gateway on the other hand, allows salinity and heat exchange between the two main ocean basins and therefore leads to deep water formation in both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific.     

Response of the Atlantic overturning circulation to South Atlantic sources of buoyancy

The heat and salt input from the Indian to Atlantic Oceans by Agulhas Leakage is found to influence the Atlantic overturning circulation in a low-resolution Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM). The model used is the Hamburg Large-Scale Geostrophic (LSG) model, which is forced by mixed boundary conditions. Agulhas Leakage is parameterized by sources of heat and salt in the upper South Atlantic Ocean, which extend well into the intermediate layers.It is shown that the model's overturning circulation is sensitive to the applied sources of heat and salt. The response of the overturning strength to changes in the source amplitudes is mainly linear, interrupted once by a stepwise change. The South Atlantic buoyancy sources influence the Atlantic overturning strength by modifying the basin-scale meridional density and pressure gradients. The non-linear, stepwise response is caused by abrupt changes in the convective activity in the northern North Atlantic.Two additional experiments illustrate the adjustment of the overturning circulation upon sudden introduction of heat and salt sources in the South Atlantic. The North Atlantic overturning circulation responds within a few years after the sources are switched on. This is the time it takes for barotropic and baroclinic Kelvin waves to reach the northern North Atlantic in this model. The advection of the anomalies takes three decades to reach the northern North Atlantic.The model results give support to the hypothesis that the re-opening of the Agulhas Gap at the end of the last ice-age, as indicated by palaeoclimatological data, may have stimulated the coincident strengthening of the Atlantic overturning circulation.     

Enceladus: A hypothesis for bringing both heat and chemicals to the surface

The eruptive plumes and large heat flow (～15 GW) observed by Cassini in the South Polar Region of Enceladus may be expressions of hydrothermal activity inside Enceladus. We hypothesize that a subsurface ocean is the heat reservoir for thermal anomalies on the surface and the source of heat and chemicals necessary for the plumes. The ocean is believed to contain dissolved gases, mostly CO₂ and is found to be relatively warm (～0 °C). Regular tidal forces open cracks in the icy crust above the ocean. Ocean water fills these fissures. There, the conditions are met for the upward movement of water and the dissolved gases to exsolve and form bubbles, lowering the bulk density of the water column and making the pressure at its bottom less than that at the top of the ocean. This pressure difference drives ocean water into and up the conduits toward the surface. This transportation mechanism supports the thermal anomalies and delivers heat and chemicals to the chambers from which the plumes erupt. Water enters these chambers and there its bubbles pop and loft an aerosol mist into the ullage. The exiting plume gas entrains some of these small droplets. Thus, nonvolatile chemical species in ocean water can be present in the plume particles. A CO₂ equivalent-gas molar fraction of ～4 × 10^?4 for the ocean is sufficient to support the circulation. A source of heat is needed to keep the ocean warm at ～0 °C (about two degrees above its freezing point). The source of heat is unknown, but our hypothesis is not dependent on any particular mechanism for producing the heat.     

Thermal evolution of Pluto and implications for surface tectonics and a subsurface ocean

Determining whether or not Pluto possesses, or once possessed, a subsurface ocean is crucial to understanding its astrobiological potential. In this study we use a 3D convection model to investigate Pluto’s thermal and spin evolution, and the present-day observational consequences of different evolutionary pathways. We test the sensitivity of our model results to different initial temperature profiles, initial spin periods, silicate potassium concentrations and ice reference viscosities. The ice reference viscosity is the primary factor controlling whether or not an ocean develops and whether that ocean survives to the present day. In most of our models present-day Pluto consists of a convective ice shell without an ocean. However if the reference viscosity is higher than 5 × 10¹⁵ Pa s, the shell will be conductive and an ocean should be present. For the nominal potassium concentration the present-day ocean and conductive shell thickness are both about 165 km; in conductive cases an ocean will be present unless the potassium content of the silicate mantle is less than 10% of its nominal value. If Pluto never developed an ocean, predominantly extensional surface tectonics should result, and a fossil rotational bulge will be present. For the cases which possess, or once possessed, an ocean, no fossil bulge should exist. A present-day ocean implies that compressional surface stresses should dominate, perhaps with minor recent extension. An ocean that formed and then re-froze should result in a roughly equal balance between (older) compressional and (younger) extensional features. These predictions may be tested by the New Horizons mission.     

Southern Ocean biogeochemical impact on the tropical ocean: Stable isotope records from the Pacific for the past 25,000 years

Modeling of oceanic nutrient fields indicates that the Southern Ocean may have a strong impact on the chemistry of the thermocline waters which upwell in the eastern tropical oceans and feed biological productivity there. The subantarctic is a primary source of equatorial undercurrent (EUC) waters. The Southern Ocean to equator connection has been shown through modeling to have a potential influence on atmospheric carbon dioxide content via an increase in the efficiency of the tropical biotic pump (silica leakage hypothesis). On the glacial–interglacial timescale the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) has a thermocline (EUC) carbon isotope record which is consistent with that idea and a stronger ice age biologic drawdown in the subantarctic. This carbon isotope record features glacial values more positive than those of the Holocene, which is the reverse of what is seen in the non-equatorial, stratified, ocean. We report planktonic carbon isotope records from the Pacific subantarctic in an effort to trace the unique EEP carbon isotope signature to its source. Our results are compatible with the subantarctic as a source of the tropical carbon isotope signature. Analysis of the glacial to Holocene isotopic pattern in terms of causative process indicates that an increased glacial subantarctic biotic pump accounts best for our observations. This supports the hypothesis of Southern Ocean drive on tropical biological production, and potential impact on the global carbon cycle.     

The detection of carbonate in the martian soil at the Phoenix Landing site: A laboratory investigation and comparison with the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) data

Data collected by Phoenix Lander’s Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (Phoenix-TEGA) indicate carbonate thermal decomposition at both low and high temperatures. The high-temperature thermal decomposition is consistent with calcite, dolomite, or ankerite, (3–6 wt.%) or any combination of these phase or, presumably, solid solutions of these phases having intermediate composition. The low-temperature thermal decomposition is consistent with the presence of magnesite or siderite, their solid solutions, or any combination of magnesite and siderite, and possibly other carbon-bearing phases (e.g., organics). The carbonate concentration for the low temperature release, assuming magnesite–siderite, is ～1.0 wt.%. This revised interpretation of the Phoenix-TEGA data resulted from new laboratory measurements of carbonate decomposition at a Phoenix-like 12 mbar atmospheric pressure. Phoenix carbonate was inherited in ejecta from the Vastitas Borealis and Scandia regions, inherited from material deposited by aeolian processes, and/or formed in situ at the Phoenix Landing site (pedogenesis). Inherited carbonate implies multiple formation pathways may be represented by carbonates at the Phoenix Landing site. Soil carbonates and associated moderate alkalinity indicate that the soil pH is favorable for microbial activity at the Phoenix Landing site and presumably throughout the martian northern plains.     

Thermal evolution of the early Moon

The early thermal evolution of Moon has been numerically simulated to understand the magnitude of the impact-induced heating and the initially stored thermal energy of the accreting moonlets. The main objective of the present study was to understand the nature of processes leading to core–mantle differentiation and the production and cooling of the initial convective magma ocean. The accretion of Moon was commenced over a time scale of 100 yr after the giant impact event around 30–100 million years in the early solar system. We studied the dependence of the planetary processes on the impact scenarios, the initial average temperature of the accreting moonlets, and the size of the protomoon that accreted rapidly beyond the Roche limit within the initial 1 yr after the giant impact. The simulations indicate that the accreting moonlets should have a minimum initial averaged temperature around 1600 K. The impacts would provide additional thermal energy. The initial thermal state of the moonlets depends upon the environment prevailing within the Roche limit that experienced episodes of extensive vaporization and recondensation of silicates. The initial convective magma ocean of depth more than 1000 km is produced in the majority of simulations along with the global core–mantle differentiation in case the melt percolation of the molten metal through porous flow from bulk silicates was not the major mode of core–mantle differentiation. The possibility of shallow magma oceans cannot be ruled out in the presence of the porous flow. Our simulations indicate the core–mantle differentiation within the initial 10² to 10³ yr of the Moon accretion. The majority of the convective magma ocean cooled down for crystallization within the initial 10³ to 10⁴ yr.     

Modeling the interannual variability and trends in gross and net primary productivity of tropical forests from 1982 to 1999

The role of tropical ecosystems in global carbon cycling is uncertain, at least partially due to an incomplete understanding of climatic forcings of carbon fluxes. To reduce this uncertainty, we simulated and analyzed 1982–1999 Amazonian, African, and Asian carbon fluxes using the Biome-BGC prognostic carbon cycle model driven by National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis daily climate data. We first characterized the individual contribution of temperature, precipitation, radiation, and vapor pressure deficit to interannual variations in carbon fluxes and then calculated trends in gross primary productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP). In tropical ecosystems, variations in solar radiation and, to a lesser extent, temperature and precipitation, explained most interannual variation in GPP. On the other hand, temperature followed by solar radiation primarily determined variation in NPP. Tropical GPP gradually increased in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂. Confirming earlier studies, changes in solar radiation played a dominant role in CO₂ uptake over the Amazon relative to other tropical regions. Model results showed negligible impacts from variations and trends in precipitation or vapor pressure deficits on CO₂ uptake.     

Oxygen compounds in Titan's stratosphere as observed by Cassini CIRS

We have investigated the abundances of Titan's stratospheric oxygen compounds using 0.5 cm⁻¹ resolution spectra from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer on the Cassini orbiter. The CO abundance was derived for several observations of far-infrared nadir spectra, taken at a range of latitudes (75° S-35° N) and emission angles (0°-60°), using rotational lines that have not been analysed before the arrival of Cassini at Saturn. The derived volume mixing ratios for the different observations are mutually consistent regardless of latitude. The weighted mean CO volume mixing ratio is 47±8 ppm if CO is assumed to be uniform with latitude. H₂O could not be detected and an upper limit of 0.9 ppb was determined. CO₂ abundances derived from mid-infrared nadir spectra show no significant latitudinal variations, with typical values of 16±2 ppb. Mid-infrared limb spectra at 55° S were used to constrain the vertical profile of CO₂ for the first time. A vertical CO₂ profile that is constant above the condensation level at a volume mixing ratio of 15 ppb reproduces the limb spectra very well below 200 km. This is consistent with the long chemical lifetime of CO₂ in Titan's stratosphere. Above 200 km the CO₂ volume mixing ratio is not well constrained and an increase with altitude cannot be ruled out there.     

Late Pleistocene deep-water circulation in the subantarctic eastern Atlantic

We present three new benthic foraminiferal δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, and total organic carbon time series from the eastern Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean between 41°S and 47°S. The measured glacial δ¹³C values belong to the lowest hitherto reported. We demonstrate a coincidence between depleted late Holocene (LH) δ¹³C values and positions of sites relative to ocean surface productivity. A correction of +0.3 to +0.4 [‰ VPDB] for a productivity-induced depletion of Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) benthic δ¹³C values of these cores is suggested. The new data are compiled with published data from 13 sediment cores from the eastern Atlantic Ocean between 19°S and 47°S, and the regional deep and bottom water circulation is reconstructed for LH (4–0 ka) and LGM (22–16 ka) times. This extends earlier eastern Atlantic-wide synoptic reconstructions which suffered from the lack of data south of 20°S. A conceptual model of LGM deep-water circulation is discussed that, after correction of southernmost cores below the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) for a productivity-induced artifact, suggests a reduced formation of both North Atlantic Deep Water in the northern Atlantic and bottom water in the southwestern Weddell Sea. This reduction was compensated for by the formation of deep water in the zone of extended winter sea-ice coverage at the northern rim of the Weddell Sea, where air–sea gas exchange was reduced. This shift from LGM deep-water formation in the region south of the ACC to Holocene bottom water formation in the southwestern Weddell Sea, can explain lower preformed δ¹³C_DIC values of glacial circumantarctic deep water of approximately 0.3‰ to 0.4‰. Our reconstruction brings Atlantic and Southern Ocean δ¹³C and Cd/Ca data into better agreement, but is in conflict, however, with a scenario of an essentially unchanged thermohaline deep circulation on a global scale. Benthic δ¹⁸O-derived LGM bottom water temperatures, by 1.9°C and 0.3°C lower than during the LH at deepest southern and shallowest northern sites, respectively, agree with the here proposed reconstruction of deep-water circulation in the eastern South Atlantic Ocean.     

Constraints on interpretation of the Eltanin impact from numerical simulations

The results of numerical simulations of the Eltanin impact are combined with the available geological data in order to reconstruct the impact dynamics and to get some constraints on the impact parameters. Numerical simulations show that the Eltanin projectile size should be less than 2 km for a 45° oblique impact and less than 1.5 km for a vertical impact. On the other hand, we demonstrate that the projectile diameter cannot be considerably smaller than 1 km; otherwise, the impact‐induced water flow cannot transport eroded sediments across large distances. The maximum displacement approximately equals the water crater radius and rapidly decreases with increasing distances. Numerical simulations also show that ejecta deposits strongly depend on impact angle and projectile size and, therefore, cannot be used for reliable estimates of the initial projectile mass. The initial amplitudes of tsunami‐like waves are estimated. The presence of clay‐rich sediments, typical for the abyssal basins in cores PS2709 and PS2708 on the Freeden Seamounts (Bellingshausen Sea, Southern Ocean) combined with numerical data allow us to suggest a probable point of impact to the east of the seamounts. The results do not exclude the possibility that a crater in the ocean bottom may exist, but such a structure has not been found yet.     

Satellite observed long-term averaged seasonal and spatial ozone variations in the stratosphere

Nine years of Nimbus-7 SBUV ozone mixing ratio data (October 1978–September 1987) have been used to analyze the distributions of the long-term average annual and semiannual ozone oscillations in the lower, middle, and upper stratosphere over the region 65°S to 65°N. It is shown that the derived harmonics are consistent with the results of earlier investigations based on limited sets of data. Year-to-year changes of amplitudes of the annual and semiannual variations are generally small except in the tropical midstratosphere (due to the effect of El Chichon) and the southern subpolar upper stratosphere.

Analyses are also presented to show the vertical and seasonal distribution of the zonal ozone variations. It is shown that, for the long-term averaged data, wave 1 is larger during winter than summer and in winter larger in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere. The importance of photochemical and thermal/dynamic processes in modifying the time and zonal variations is discussed.     

Diagnostics of Titan's stratospheric dynamics using Cassini/CIRS data and the 2-dimensional IPSL circulation model

The dynamics of Titan's stratosphere is discussed in this study, based on a comparison between observations by the CIRS instrument on board the Cassini spacecraft, and results of the 2-dimensional circulation model developed at the Institute Pierre-Simon Laplace, available at http://www.lmd.jussieu.fr/titanDbase [Rannou, P., Lebonnois, S., Hourdin, F., Luz, D., 2005. Adv. Space Res. 36, 2194-2198]. The comparison aims at both evaluating the model's capabilities and interpreting the observations concerning: (1) dynamical and thermal structure using temperature retrievals from Cassini/CIRS and the vertical profile of zonal wind at the Huygens landing site obtained by Huygens/DWE; and (2) vertical and latitudinal profiles of stratospheric gases deduced from Cassini/CIRS data. The modeled thermal structure is similar to that inferred from observations (Cassini/CIRS and Earth-based observations). However, the upper stratosphere (above 0.05 mbar) is systematically too hot in the 2D-CM, and therefore the stratopause region is not well represented. This bias may be related to the haze structure and to misrepresented radiative effects in this region, such as the cooling effect of hydrogen cyanide (HCN). The 2D-CM produces a strong atmospheric superrotation, with zonal winds reaching 200 m s⁻¹ at high winter latitudes between 200 and 300 km altitude (0.1-1 mbar). The modeled zonal winds are in good agreement with retrieved wind fields from occultation observations, Cassini/CIRS and Huygens/DWE. Changes to the thermal structure are coupled to changes in the meridional circulation and polar vortex extension, and therefore affect chemical distributions, especially in winter polar regions. When a higher altitude haze production source is used, the resulting modeled meridional circulation is weaker and the vertical and horizontal mixing due to the polar vortex is less extended in latitude. There is an overall good agreement between modeled chemical distributions and observations in equatorial regions. The difference in observed vertical gradients of C₂H₂ and HCN may be an indicator of the relative strength of circulation and chemical loss of HCN. The negative vertical gradient of ethylene in the low stratosphere at 15° S, cannot be modeled with simple 1-dimensional models, where a strong photochemical sink in the middle stratosphere would be necessary. It is explained here by dynamical advection from the winter pole towards the equator in the low stratosphere and by the fact that ethylene does not condense. Near the winter pole (80° N), some compounds (C₄H₂, C₃H₄) exhibit an (interior) minimum in the observed abundance vertical profiles, whereas 2D-CM profiles are well mixed all along the atmospheric column. This minimum can be a diagnostic of the strength of the meridional circulation, and of the spatial extension of the winter polar vortex where strong descending motions are present. In the summer hemisphere, observed stratospheric abundances are uniform in latitude, whereas the model maintains a residual enrichment over the summer pole from the spring cell due to a secondary meridional overturning between 1 and 50 mbar, at latitudes south of 40-50° S. The strength, as well as spatial and temporal extensions of this structure are a difficulty, that may be linked to possible misrepresentation of horizontally mixing processes, due to the restricted 2-dimensional nature of the model. This restriction should also be kept in mind as a possible source of other discrepancies.