冰期-间冰期大西洋下部深层水的变化--据西赤道大西洋粉砂级颗粒分析和碳酸盐保存的推断

Ceara海隆ODP92 7站位(5°2 7 7′N ,44°2 8 8′W )的陆源和钙质粉砂组分的颗粒分析,浮游有孔虫和底栖有孔虫稳定同位素(C Wuellerstorfi的δ1 3C、δ1 8O值)保存数据被用来重建0 3～0 8Ma时段底层流的强度、水体交换和深层水碳酸盐溶蚀变化的历史。与间冰期相比,冰期一般具有陆源粉砂组分的平均粒径较小、δ1 3C值较低和浮游有孔虫保存较差的特征,表明底层流的流速较快、营养成分较高和深层水的溶蚀性较强。与此相反,较大的平均粒径、高δ1 3C值和保存完好的浮游有孔虫表明,间冰期存在强环流和水体交换好的深水团。上述变化与大西…     

Labrador Sea convection and subpolar North Atlantic Deep Water export in the SODA assimilation model

Labrador Sea convection was most intense and reached the greatest depths in the early 1990s, followed by weaker, shallower, and more variable convection after 1995. The Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) version 2.0.2/2.0.4 assimilation model is used to explore convective activity in the North Atlantic Ocean for the period from 1992 to 2007. Hydrographic conditions, which are relatively well observed during this period, are used to compare modeled and observed winter mixed-layer depths and water mass anomalies in relation to Deep Western Boundary Current transports and meridional overturning circulation (MOC) changes at the exit of the subpolar basin. The assimilation differs markedly from local observations in the March mixed-layer depth, which represents deep convection and water mass transformation. However, mean MOC rates at the exit of the subpolar gyre, forced by stratification in the mid-latitudes, are similar to estimates based on observations and show no significant decrease during the 1992–2007 period. SODA reproduces the deep Labrador Sea Water formation in the western North Atlantic without any clear indication of significant formation in the Irminger Sea while the lighter upper Labrador Sea Water density range is reached in the Irminger Sea in the 1990s, in agreement with existing assumptions of deep convection in the Irminger Sea and also supported by computed lag correlations with the Labrador Sea. Deep Water transformation mainly takes place in the eastern North Atlantic. The introduction of CFC-11 into the SODA model as a tracer reproduces the mean and multiyear variations of observed distributions.     

Tracing the North Atlantic Deep Water through the Romanche and Chain fracture zones with chlorofluoromethanes

Chlorofluoromethanes (CFMs) F-11 and F-12 were measured during August 1991 and November 1992 in the Romanche and Chain Fracture Zones in the equatorial Atlantic. The CFM distributions showed the two familiar signatures of the more recently ventilated North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) seen in the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). The upper maximum is centered around 1600 m at the level of the Upper North Atlantic Deep water (UNADW) and the deeper maximum around 3800 m at level of the Lower North Atlantic Deep Water (LNADW). These observations suggest a bifurcation at the western boundary, some of the NADW spreading eastward with the LNADW entering the Romanche and the Chain Fracture Zones. The upper core (σ_1.5=34.70 kg m^-3) was observed eastward as far as 5°W. The deep CFM maximum (σ₄=45.87 kg m^-3), associated with an oxygen maximum, decreased dramatically at the sills of the Romanche Fracture Zone: east of the sills, the shape of the CFM profiles reflects mixing and deepening of isopycnals. Mean apparent water “ages” computed from the F-11/F-12 ratio are estimated. Near the bottom, no enrichment in CFMs is detected at the entrance of the fracture zones in the cold water mass originating from the Antarctic Bottom Water flow.     

Deep North Atlantic freshening simulated in a coupled climate model

The observed recent freshening trend in the deep North Atlantic and the Labrador Sea is investigated in three forced ensembles and a long control simulations using the HadCM3 coupled ocean–atmosphere–sea-ice climate model. The 40 yr freshening trend during the late half of the 20th century is captured in the all forcings ensemble that applies all major external (natural and anthropogenic) forcing factors. Each ensemble has four members with different initial conditions taking from the control run at a 100 yr interval. No similar freshening trend is found in each of the four corresponding periods of the control simulation. However, there are five large freshening events in a 1640 yr period of the control run, each following a sudden salinity increase. A process analysis revealed that the increase in salinity in the Labrador Sea is closely linked to deep convections while the following freshening trend is accompanied by a period of very weak convective activities.The fact that none of the five large freshening events appears in the four corresponding periods following the initial conditions of the four members of the all forcings ensemble suggest that external forcings may have contributed to triggering the events. Further analyses of two other ensemble simulations (natural forcings only and anthropogenic forcings only) have shown that natural rather than anthropogenic factors are responsible. Based on our model results, we can not attribute the simulated freshening to anthropogenic climate change.     

Determination of water component age in ocean models: application to the fate of North Atlantic Deep Water

A method allowing the calculation of both concentration and age of an individual water component is used to examine the penetration and fate of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in a global ocean model. The method is consistent with the recent theory of water component age by Delhez et al. Its application in ocean models is straightforward and involves specification of two ideal tracers, and its efficacy is verified here via comparison with water component ages obtained by a second method, involving the time history of a single ideal tracer, and whose application is rather more restricted. Age estimates by the two methods are compared in the case of an interior ocean source region (suitable for marking the model's NADW, and forming the main focus of the study) and in the case of a ocean surface source region (featuring high density surface water in the far Northern Atlantic). The concentration and age of NADW are determined for two versions of the model, differing only in the inclusion or exclusion of isoneutral diffusion. The age and, especially, the concentration of NADW in the deep Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans are significantly lower in the version with isoneutral diffusion. Both versions indicate that most of the NADW ultimately reaches the surface in the model Southern Ocean.     

New perspectives on eighteen-degree water formation in the North Atlantic

In this report, eighteen-degree water (EDW) formation will be discussed, with emphasis on advances in understanding emerging within the past decade. In particular, a recently completed field study of EDW (CLIMODE) is suggesting that EDW formation within a given winter can have at least two different dominant physics and distinct locations: one type formed in the northern Sargasso Sea, largely away from the strong flows of the Gulf Stream where 1D physics may apply, and a second type formed along the southern flank of the Gulf Stream, in a region where the background vorticity of the flow and cross-frontal mixing play key roles in the convective formation process.     

Geotechnical characteristics of deep-sea sediments from the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans

Geotechnical properties from a series of deep-sea sites in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans are examined to evaluate overall trends and to compare with similar fine-grained soils found on land. The study areas encompass a range of sedimentary environments dominated by combinations of turbidite and pelagic deposits. Carbonate content in excess of 20% is seen to result in a decrease in liquid limit and compressibility. Vertical profiles of geotechnical properties in the North Pacific show broader changes in down-core geotechnical properties compared to the North Atlantic and reflect the effects of long-term climatic changes and seafloor spreading. Sediments in the North Atlantic indicate significant differences depending on location, which is attributed to variability in turbidite deposition, water depth, distance from sediment sources, and the effects of bottom currents. Compared to equivalent fine-grained soils on land, deep-sea sediments are generally softer, more compressible and have higher friction angles at comparable Atterberg limits. Deeper and older sediments in the North Pacific are characterized by unusually large plastic limits, which are attributed to the presence of volcanic fractions. Empirical relationships for compression index and friction angle are discussed for sediments from both oceans.     

The geochemistry of basal sediments from the North Atlantic Ocean

Chemical analyses of North Atlantic D.S.D.P. (Deep Sea Drilling Project) sediments indicate that basal sediments generally contain higher concentrations of Fe, Mn, Mg, Pb, and Ni, and similar or lower concentrations of Ti, Al, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Li than the material overlying them. Partition studies on selected samples indicate that the enriched metals in the basal sediments are usually held in a fashion similar to that in basal sediments from the Pacific, other D.S.D.P. sediments, and modern North Atlantic ridge and non-ridge material.Although, on average, chemical differences between basal sediments of varying ages are apparent, normalization of the data indicates that the processes leading to metal enrichment on the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge appear to have been approximately constant in intensity since Cretaceous times. In addition, the bulk composition of detrital sediments also appears to have been relatively constant over the same time period. Paleocene sediments from site 118 are, however, an exception to this rule, there apparently having been an increased detrital influx during this period.The bulk geochemistry, partitioning patterns, and mineralogy of sediments from D.S.D.P. 9A indicates that post-depositional migration of such elements as Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb may have occurred. The basement encountered at the base of site 138 is thought to be a basaltic sill, but the overlying basal sediments are geochemically similar to other metalliferous basal sediments from the North Atlantic. These results, as well as those from site 114 where true oceanic basement was encountered, but where there was an estimated 7 m.y. hiatus between basaltic extrusion and basal sediment deposition, indicate that ridge-crest sediments are not necessarily deposited during active volcanism but can be formed after the volcanism has ceased. The predominant processes for metal enrichment in these deposits and those formed in association with other submarine volcanic features is a combination of shallow hydrothermal activity, submarine weathering of basalt, and the formation of ferromanganese oxides which can scavenge metals from seawater. In addition, it seems as though the formation of submarine metalliferous sediments is not restricted to active-ridge areas.     

Variability and propagation of Labrador Sea Water in the southern subpolar North Atlantic

The variability of two modes of Labrador Sea Water (LSW) (upper and deep Labrador Sea Water) and their respective spreading in the interior North Atlantic Ocean are investigated by means of repeated ship surveys carried out along the zonal WOCE line A2/AR19 located at 43–48°N (1993–2007) and along the GOOS line at about 48–51°N (1997–2002). Hydrographic section data are complemented by temperature, salinity, and velocity time series recorded by two moorings. They have been deployed at the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in the Newfoundland Basin during 1996–2004. The analysis of hydrographic anomalies at various longitudes points to a gradual eastward propagation of LSW-related signals, which happens on time scales of 3–6 years from the formation region towards the MAR. Interactions of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) with the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) close to Flemish Cap point to the NAC being the main distributor of the different types of LSW into the interior of the Newfoundland Basin. Comparisons between the ship data and the mooring records revealed that the mooring sites are located in a region affected by highly variable flow. The mooring time series demonstrate an elevated level of variability with eddy activity and variability associated with the NAC considerably influencing the LSW signals in this region. Hydrographic data taken from Argo profiles from the vicinity of the mooring sites turned out to mimic quite well the temporal evolution captured by the moorings. There is some indication of occasional southward flow in the LSW layer near the MAR. If this can be considered as a hint to an interior LSW-route, it is at least of minor importance in comparison to the DWBC. It acts as an important supplier for the interior North Atlantic, distributing older and recently formed LSW modes southward along the MAR.     

Variability of the Characteristics of the Antarctic Bottom Water in the Subtropical North Atlantic

Oceanology - In this study, we estimated the transport and potential temperature of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and its variability on intra-annual, interannual, and decadal scales based on...     

Dissolved organic carbon in sediments from the eastern North Atlantic

Profiles of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured in the pore water of sediments from 1000, 2000 and 3500 m water depth in the eastern North Atlantic. A net DOC accumulation in the pore waters was observed, which followed closely the zonation of microbial respiration in these sediments. The concentration of pore water DOC in the zone of oxic respiration was elevated relative to that in the bottom ocean water. The resulting upward gradient across the sediment–water interface indicated a steady state diffusive benthic flux, F_DOC, of 0.25–0.44 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ from these sediments. Subsequent increase in the concentration of DOC in the pore water occurred only in the sediments from 1000 and 2000 m water depth that supported anoxic respiration, leading to a deep concentration maximum. By contrast, in the sediments from 3500 m water depth, a deep concentration minimum was measured, coincident with minimal postoxic respiration in this near-abyssal setting. The gradient-based F_DOC represented approximately 14% of the total remineralized organic carbon (TCR=sum of F_DOC and depth-integrated organic carbon oxidation rate) in the sediments from 1000 and 2000 m water depth, while it was 36% of the TCR in the sediments from 3500 m water depth. A covariance of particulate organic carbon (POC) and pore water DOC with depth in the sediments was evident, more consistently at the deepest site. While the covariance can be related to biotic processes in these sediments, an alternative interpretation suggests a possible contribution of sorption to the biotic control on sedimentary organic carbon cycling. The steady state diagenetic conditions in which this may occur can be conceivable for some organic-poor deep-sea locations, but direct evidence is clearly required to validate them.     

Year-long float trajectories in the Labrador Sea Water of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean

Year-long Lagrangian trajectories within the Labrador Sea Water of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean are analysed for basic flow statistics. Root-mean-square velocities at 1750 m depth are about 2 cm/s, except within the North Atlantic Current, where they are twice as large. These values are consistent with previous Eulerian measurements and extend those results to a much larger domain of the eastern basin. Mean flow estimates in boxes large enough to contain about 1 float-year of data indicate that Labrador Sea Water, having crossed the Mid- Atlantic Ridge (not resolved) near 50–55^°N, presumably with the North Atlantic Current, partially recirculates to the north in the subpolar gyre, as well as entering the subtropical gyre and continuing south and west. The circulation of this water mass, as defined by the 1 yr average velocities, is stronger than traditional models of deep circulation would suggest, with an interior flow of roughly 1 cm/s. Mean speeds up to 3 cm/s were observed, with the highest values near the Azores Plateau. North of 45°N–55°N, mean eastward speeds closer to 0.2 cm/s were observed. Wind-generated barotropic fluctuations may be responsible for some part of the transport at this depth.     

Chemical Composition of North Atlantic Aerosols

The paper presents new information on the chemical composition of the insoluble aerosol fraction in the atmospheric surface boundary layer of different climatic zones of the North Atlantic (temperate humid, arid and semiarid, equatorial humid). The material for this study was collected during 12 expeditions. Nylon meshes were used to catch aerosols along the course of vessels. Aerosols above the North Atlantic consist of lithogenic, biogenic, and anthropogenic particles transported from different regions, which governs the differences in their concentrations and mineral and chemical compositions. Significant (by more than an order of magnitude) enrichment of aerosols in Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb, Sb, and Se is related to anthropogenic atmospheric pollution.     

Nutrient irrigation of the North Atlantic

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

On the influence of Mediterranean Water on the Central Waters of the North Atlantic Ocean

Within the Central waters of the North Atlantic Ocean there is a significant east–west difference in salinity, similar to that caused by Mediterranean Water at deeper levels. In this paper we hypothesize that the salinity of the Central Water is influenced by the saline Mediterranean Outflow Water, despite physical separation of the two water masses by a salinity minimum over most of the ocean basin. It is suggested that there occurs a cross-isopycnal flux of salinity from the Mediterranean Outflow Water towards the low-density Central Water (detrainment) in the eastern Gulf of Cadiz, not far from the Strait of Gibraltar, where the two water masses are in physical contact. Laboratory experiments, inverse modeling and direct current observations are applied to support the hypothesis.     

Organic matter of the North Atlantic

The areas that we studied in the North Atlantic (53 and 60°N) and in the Labrador Sea in the summer were characterized by a wide variability of the concentrations of dissolved and particulate organic matter and its elemental composition both in the surface and in the deep waters. The concentrations of dissolved and particulate C_org varied within 69–360 μM and 0.7–25.6 μM, respectively; the N_org and P_org contents varied within 1.4–22.2 μM and 0.02–0.86 μM, respectively. The maximal concentrations were registered in the photic layer and in the zones of mixing between the waters of different genesis. The particulate matter contribution to the total organic matter (OM) content varied from 0.5 to 15.4%. The waters of the photic layer contained more particulate C_org than those of the near-bottom layer. The values of the C/N molar ratios from the surface to the bottom over the entire aquatic area surveyed varied 5-to 6-fold; at that, the values of the C/P molar ratios varied more than tenfold. In the most productive waters, the values of the C/N ratios were close to the Redfield ratios (6–10). The values of the C/P molar ratios varied from 160 in the photic layer to 4831 in the deep waters. The pronounced non-uniformity in the spatial distribution of the OM and its elemental composition is caused not only by the penetration of the waters of different origins but also by the changes in the microplankton metabolism under mixing of these waters.     

Input of metals to the North Atlantic from two large Canadian estuaries

The freshwater discharge from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay accounts for more than 80% of the total freshwater discharge from eastern Canada and approximately 70% of the total discharge from the eastern seaboard of North America, from Baffin Island to Florida. If the Gulf of Mexico is included, the Gulf of St. Lawrence/Hudson Bay discharge is still more than half of the total.Both the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay have some distinctly estuarine characteristics and discharges of metals can be estimated using estuarine models. For Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn, the distributions can be described by simple, highly significant relationships with salinity. These regressions can be used in conjunction with knowledge of water discharges to estimate net metal inputs to the North Atlantic from these two systems.Most of the discharge from the Gulf of St. Lawrence flows along the Scotian Shelf to the Gulf of Maine. Metal-salinity relationships can also be used to estimate metal transports through this region for some metals. The applicability of this estuarine model, however, tends to break down as the oceanography becomes more complex and metal distributions are determined more by oceanic rather than estuarine processes.     

Transport and bottom boundary layerobservations of the North Atlantic Deep Western Boundary Current at the Blake Outer Ridge

The North Atlantic Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) was surveyed at the Blake Outer Ridge over 14 days in July and August 1992 to determine its volume transport and to investigate its bottom boundary layer (BBL). This site was chosen because previous investigations showed the DWBC to be strong and bottom-intensified on the ridge’s flanks and to have a thick BBL. The primary instrument used was the Absolute Velocity Profiler, a free-falling velocity and conductivity–temperature–depth device. In two sections across the width of the DWBC, volume transports of 17±1 Sv and 18±1 Sv were measured for all water flowing equatorward below a potential temperature of 6°C (1 Sv=1×10⁶ m³ s^-1). Transport values were derived using both absolute velocities and AVP-referenced geostrophic velocities and were the same within experimental uncertainty. Good agreement was found between our results and historical ones when both were similarly bounded and referenced. Although this was a short-term survey, the mean of a 9-day time series of absolute velocity profiles was the same as the means of year-long current-meter records at three depths in the same location. A turbulent planetary BBL was found everywhere under the current. The thickness of the bottom mixed layer (BML), where concentrations of density, nutrients, and suspended sediments were vertically uniform, was asymmetrical across the current and up to 5 times thicker than the BBL. There was no velocity shear above the BBL within the thicker BMLs, and the across-slope density gradient was very small. The extra-thick BML is perhaps maintained by a combination of processes, including turbulence, downwelling Ekman transport, a weak up-slope return flow above the BBL, and buoyant convection from the BBL into the BML. The frictional bottom stress was mostly balanced by a down-stream change in the current’s external potential energy evidenced by a drop in the velocity core of the current.     

Water mass interaction at intermediate depths in the southern Rockall Trough,northeastern North Atlantic

Mooring time series, CTD data, and Argo float data were analysed to investigate some aspects of the circulation at the southern entrance to the Rockall Trough during 2003–2004. The in situ data are used to describe the distribution at intermediate levels of Sub-Arctic Intermediate Water (SAIW) and Mediterranean Water (MW), as well as the temporal variability in the presence of these two water masses. Salty, MW-influenced water was found in the southeastern part of the study area, near the continental slope as far north as Porcupine Bank, consistent with earlier reports. Apart from the main tongue, the distribution of MW is patchy, and MW parcels were found not only adjacent to the slope but also offshore. Further north and west, water at intermediate depths was influenced by the fresher SAIW. Unlike in some earlier studies, SAIW did not extend as far east as the continental shelf. The year-long hydrographic and current time series from a mooring on the western slope of the entrance, at the southern end of Feni Ridge, showed pulses of SAIW influenced water throughout winter and spring. In late spring, the fresh pulses almost completely ceased; throughout summer only a few weak and shortlived fresh anomalies appeared. The weakening of the SAIW signal did not seem to be caused by winter convection, which did not extend to sufficient depth that winter. The relatively weak SAIW presence during most of the study period may be linked to the near neutral state of the NAO index. The warm and saline conditions observed at the southern entrance to Rockall Trough were in agreement with the rising temperatures and salinities found over large parts of the subpolar North Atlantic in the late 1990s and early 2000s.     

Bacterial abundance and activity in deep-sea sediments from the eastern North Atlantic

Results are presented from four cruises to the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP site) that took place during the BENGAL project from September 1996 to March 1998, and two cruises to the PAP and an oligotrophic site (EUMELI) that took place during the DEEPSEAS project between September 1993 and March 1994. Bacterial abundances in sediment and sediment contact water were measured by epifluorescence microscopy. Bacterial activity was determined by ³H-thymidine incorporation as a measure of DNA synthesis, and by ³H-leucine incorporation as a measure of protein synthesis. Activities were measured under atmospheric and in situ pressures and temperatures. Bacterial activity was usually higher in samples incubated at in situ pressure than those incubated at atmospheric pressure indicating that a barophilic community was dominant. Inter-cruise comparisons of abundance and activity during the BENGAL project showed no firm evidence of there being a seasonal response in the benthic microbial community to any episodic phytodetritus event. This was probably because of inter-annual variations in the quality and quantity of phytodetritus deposition at the PAP site, the rapid remineralization of fresh organic material by the microbial communities and the timing of cruises to the study area. ³H-thymidine and ³H-leucine incorporation in sediments was higher during the BENGAL period than the DEEPSEAS programme. A methodological change in the ³H-thymidine incorporation technique for sediments may explain the differences in DNA synthesis observed between the two projects, whereas the lower levels of protein synthesis observed during the DEEPSEAS programme probably reflected both inter-annual variations in activity at the PAP site and the lower productivity that prevailed at surface at the EUMELI oligotrophic site. Rates of ³H-thymidine incorporation in sediment contact water were similar during both projects.