Current Intensity Trends in the Labrador and Irminger Seas Based on Satellite Altimetry Data

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Sea level measurements from an absolute dynamic typography dataset for the period of 1993–2015 were used to study the variability in geostrophic...     

Formation and export of deep water in the Labrador and Irminger Seas in a GCM

The influence of changes in the rate of deep water formation in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre on the variability of the transport in the Deep Western Boundary Current is investigated in a realistic hind cast simulation of the North Atlantic during the 1953–2003 period. In the simulation, deep water formation takes place in the Irminger Sea, in the interior of the Labrador Sea and in the Labrador Current. In the Irminger Sea, deep water is formed close to the boundary currents. It is rapidly exported out of the Irminger Sea via an intensified East Greenland Current, and out of the Labrador Sea via increased southeastward transports. The newly formed deep water, which is advected to Flemish Cap in approximately one year, is preceded by fast propagating topographic waves. Deep water formed in the Labrador Sea interior tends to accumulate and recirculate within the basin, with a residence time of a few years in the Labrador Sea. Hence, it is only slowly exported northeastward to the Irminger Sea and southeastward to the subtropical North Atlantic, reaching Flemish Cap in 1–5 years. As a result, the transport in the Deep Western Boundary Current is mostly correlated with convection in the Irminger Sea. Finally, the deep water produced in the Labrador Current is lighter and is rapidly exported out of the Labrador Basin, reaching Flemish Cap in a few months. As the production of deep-water along the western periphery of the Labrador Sea is maximum when convection in the interior is minimum, there is some compensation between the deep water formed along the boundary and in the interior of the basin, which reduces the variability of its net transport. These mechanisms which have been suggested from hydrographic and tracer observations, help one to understand the variability of the transport in the Deep Western Boundary Current at the exit of the subpolar gyre.     

On the renewal of Labrador Sea Water in the Irminger Basin

New evidence of Labrador Sea Water renewal as a result of deep convection in the Irminger Basin is obtained on the basis of the analysis of the data of the distribution of the dissolved oxygen concentration over six sections in the Subpolar North Atlantic in March–October of 1997.     

Origin of the marine magnetic quiet zones in the Labrador and Greenland Seas

The central part of the northern Labrador Sea is a magnetic quiet zone, and is flanked by regions exhibiting well developed linear magnetic anomalies older than anomaly 24. The quiet zone dies out progressively to the south, where it becomes possible to correlate anomalies between adjacent profiles. A 45 degree change in spreading direction at anomaly 25 time was accompanied by a major jump in ridge position and orientation. As a consequence of this reorganisation, spreading in the northern Labrador Sea next occurred within a rift that was oriented at 45 degrees to the spreading direction, while to the south spreading occurred within in a rift that was orientated at 90 degrees to the spreading direction. Obliquity of spreading changed, between these limits, progressively along the ridge. The quiet zone may be present to the north because the oblique northern geometry resulted in a fragmented ridge composed of many small-offset transform faults joining many short spreading ridge segments. Each magnetic source block produced by magnetisation of sea floor at these small ridge segments will be surrounded by similar small blocks that have opposite polarity, so that none can be resolved at the sea surface. Supporting evidence comes from multi-channel seismic profiles across the Labrador Sea, which show that the basement is more textured within the quiet zone than outside, suggesting the presence of numerous small fracture zones in the quiet zone.A magnetic quiet zone is present in the northern Greenland Sea between margins that are oblique to the spreading direction. In contrast, there are clear lineated magnetic patterns in adjacent areas to north and south where the margins are orthogonal to the spreading direction. This quiet zone may also be due to the geometry of spreading.     

海平面季节变化及比容贡献

比容模型计算的带状平均海平面高度异常变化与高度计观测的海平面异常相符的很好,在南北半球都显示了较强的季节信号。热膨胀对大尺度平均海平面季节变化起了很大作用,尤其当对纬度带状区域取平均时,在某些纬度带比容的贡献率达80%以上,甚至其决定的高度相当于或超过了高度计的观测。而在高纬和低纬地区,振幅和相位都有较大的差别。同时通过比容模型计算的3月份海面高度异常在全球大部分区域也可以很好地表现出TOPEX/Poseidon、Jason-1的观测。     

Features of Seasonal Sea Level Oscillations in the Russian Arctic Seas

Oceanology - Based on the analysis of long series of monthly mean sea level values from the database of the PSMSL and ESIMO portals, we obtained estimates of the mean and extreme amplitudes of...     

格陵兰岛附近海域海平面变化的初步研究

利用17年5个月的卫星高度计资料,探讨格陵兰岛附近海域海平面的季节变化和年际变化特征,结果表明,该区域海平面变化存在显著的季节信号和年际信号。近20a来,格陵兰岛附近海域海平面的平均上升速率为1.7mm/a,小于全球海平面的平均上升速率。该海域的海平面变化存在很强的区域性,通常多年平均海面高度异常(SSHA)大的海区,海平面上升速率也大;多年平均SSHA低的海区,海平面上升速率则较小。EOF分析表明第一模态为季节模态,整个海域第一空间模态的位相相同,说明该海域海平面的季节变化趋势是相同的。该区域的SSHA与海冰面积指数呈负相关,海平面的季节变化受海冰面积大小的影响显著。SSHA与经向风应力距平的低频分量具有很好的正相关性,与纬向风应力距平的低频分量具有不显著的负相关,说明该海域海平面的年际变化受风应力的影响显著。     

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.     

联合卫星测高和卫星重力数据研究热容海平面变化

首先用卫星测高资料计算了1993～2009年6月的全球平均海平面变化。用GRACE(gravity recovery andclimate experiment)时变重力场系数反演了2003～2009年6月全球平均海水质量变化。联合GRACE和卫星测高资料计算了2003～2009年6月的热容海平面变化,该变化呈上升趋势。用日本气象局Ishii等提供的海温数据计算了1993～2006年的海水引起的平均热膨胀海平面变化,1993～2003年间,全球海洋热膨胀引起的热容海平面呈上升趋势,约占同期平均海平面变化的一半。利用ARGO温盐数据计算了2004～2009年6月平均热容海平面变化,也呈上升态势,只是变化速率有所减慢。     

Recent changes in the Labrador Sea Water within the Deep Western Boundary Current southeast of Cape Cod

Water properties measured by the central mooring in the Line W mooring array southeast of Cape Cod document a large character shift during the period of November 2001 to April 2008. The observed temperature, salinity and planetary potential vorticity (PPV) anomalies manifest changes in the formation region of the water masses present at Station W, specifically upper Labrador Sea Water (uLSW), deep Labrador Sea Water (dLSW) and Overflow Water (OW). During the observation period, the minimum in the PPV anomaly field relative to the record mean PPV profile migrated from 1500 m, where it was originally found, to 700 m. Temporal changes in the vertical distribution of temperature and salinity were correlated with the PPV changes. This suggests a dLSW-dominated first half of the record versus an uLSW-dominated second half. The structure of these anomalies is consistent with observations within the Labrador Sea, and their transit time to Line W agrees well with tracer-derived times for signals spreading along the western boundary. In that context, the observed water properties at Line W in the early 2000s reflected the intense deep convection in the Labrador Sea in the mid-1990s, with less intense convection subsequently affecting lighter isopycnals. The observed velocity field is dominated by high-frequency (periods of days to months) fluctuations, however, a fraction of the velocity variability is correlated with changes in water mass properties, and indicate a gradual acceleration of the southwestward flow, with a corresponding increase in Deep Western Boundary Current transport.     

1993—2016年中国近海海平面时空变化趋势

区域海平面变化是目前气候变化研究的热点问题.海平面变化具有时间和空间的异质性,分析海平面变化,应充分考虑时间和空间的差异.基于集合经验模态分解(Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition,EEMD)、最小二乘法,利用卫星高度计、验潮站数据,分析了1993—2016年间中国近海及周边海域海...     

中国海及邻近海域卫星观测资料同化试验

利用1个基于POMgcs海洋模式和多重网格三维变分同化方法建立的中国海及邻近海域海面高与三维温盐流数值预报模型,通过一系列数值试验,研究了同化卫星测高和卫星遥感海面温度观测资料对该模型预报能力的影响。试验结果表明,同化卫星测高资料可明显改善海面高度与三维温度和盐度的分析预报效果,使1 200 m以上的温度预报误差减小0.16℃,并能有效提高对海洋中尺度现象的预报能力;同化卫星遥感海面温度对100 m以上的温度和盐度的预报效果有所改善,可使海面温度的预报误差减小10%。     

Spatial demography of Calanus finmarchicus in the Irminger Sea

Continuous Plankton Recorder data suggest that the Irminger Sea supports a major proportion of the surface-living population of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus in the northern North Atlantic, but there have been few studies of its population dynamics in the region. In this paper, we document the seasonal changes in the demographic structure of C. finmarchicus in the Irminger Sea from a field programme during 2001/2002, and the associations between its developmental stages and various apparent bio-physical zones. Overwintering stages were found widely at depth (>500 m) across the Irminger Sea, and surviving females were widely distributed in the surface waters the following spring. However, recruitment of the subsequent generation was concentrated around the fringes of the Irminger Sea basin, along the edges of the Irminger and East Greenland Currents, and not in the central basin. In late summer animals were found descending back to overwintering depths in the Central Irminger Sea. The key factors dictating this pattern of recruitment appear to be (a) the general circulation regime, (b) predation on eggs in the spring, possibly by the surviving G0 stock, and (c) mortality of first feeding naupliar stages in the central basin where food concentrations appear to be low throughout the year.We compared the demographic patterns in 2001/2002 with observations from the only previous major survey in 1963 and with data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) surveys. In both previous data sets, the basic structure of G0 ascent from the central basin and G1 recruitment around the fringes was a robust feature, suggesting that it is a recurrent phenomenon. The Irminger Sea is a complex mixing zone between polar and Atlantic water masses, and it has also been identified as a site of sporadic deep convection. The physical oceanographic characteristics of the region are therefore potentially sensitive to climate fluctuations. Despite this, the abundance of C. finmarchicus in the region, as measured by the CPR surveys, appears not to have responded to climate factors linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation Index, in contrast with the stocks in eastern Atlantic areas. We speculate that this may because biological factors (production and mortality), rather than transport processes are the key factors affecting the population dynamics in the Irminger Sea.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Open Ocean Deep Convection with Application to the Deep Water Formation in the East Sea (Japan Sea)

Various important features could be found on the open ocean deep convection and the subsequent deep water formation from large eddy simulation (LES), and the results were applied to the East Sea (Japan Sea). It was found that under a strong cold wind outburst with the heat flux of 1000 Wm⁻² for 5 days generates a deep convection which can penetrate to the depth 1500 m, but under the continuous cooling with the heat flux of 250 Wm⁻² the growth of a mixed layer is suppressed at 700 m. The effects of the spatial and temporal variations of the surface forcing were investigated with regard to the penetrative depth of convection, the generation of baroclinic eddies, the volume of the water mass formation, and the intensity of the rim current. The deep water formations in the intermediate and deep layer of the East Sea were explained in terms of the simulation results, and the intensity of the consequent circulation and the volume of water mass formation were compared with the observation data. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of the Kuroshio Fluctuations on Sea Level Variations along the South Coast of Japan

The correlation between the Kuroshio and coastal sea level south of Japan has been examined using the altimetry and tide gauge data during the period 1992–2000. The sea level varies uniformly in a region bounded by the coast and the mean Kuroshio axis, which stretches for several hundred kilometers along the coast. These variations are related with the Kuroshio velocity, as coastal sea level decreases (or increases) when the Kuroshio is faster (or slower). To the east of the Kii Peninsula, where sea level variations are different from these to the west, movement of the Kuroshio axis additionally affects coastal sea level variations.     

中国近海验潮站长期观测资料的潮汐调和分析

对我国近海厦门、大连、北海、连云港、坎门、汕尾、东方、海口、香港北角、名濑、那霸、吕四、闸坡、石臼所共14个验潮站多年潮汐资料进行了分析。对1 a调和分析结果中的8个分潮(Q1,O1,P1,K1,N2,M2,S2,K2)进一步进行了分离,得到各分潮的调和常数,并和1 a潮汐调和分析中的假定值进行了比较。结果表明,有些分潮存在较大误差。用19 a分析所得的调和常数代替传统1 a分析的假定值,能够提高潮汐分析和预报精度,减小误差。     

Basalts from the Solomon and Bismarck Seas

Volcanic rocks collected from the Solomon Sea Basin are mostly ferrobasalt lavas similar to evolved MORB; an exception is a single sample of basaltic crystal tuff invaded by later basalt. The rocks contain labradorite, aluminous diopsidic augite, and titanomagnetite, with olivine and pigconite in the more vitrophyric samples, and segregation vesicles in some. Cobbles dredged from Gudaraba Canyon, south of the Solomon Sea Basin, include both MORB-like glassy lava and K-metasomatised basalt and andesite(?). Two small pieces of volcanic glass from the southern Bismarck Sea are more primitive MOR-type basalts.     

Basalts from the Solomon and Bismarck Seas

Volcanic rocks collected from the Solomon Sea Basin are mostly ferrobasalt lavas similar to evolved MORB; an exception is a single sample of basaltic crystal tuff invaded by later basalt. The rocks contain labradorite, aluminous diopsidic augite, and titanomagnetite, with olivine and pigconite in the more vitrophyric samples, and segregation vesicles in some. Cobbles dredged from Gudaraba Canyon, south of the Solomon Sea Basin, include both MORB-like glassy lava and K-metasomatised basalt and andesite(?). Two small pieces of volcanic glass from the southern Bismarck Sea are more primitive MOR-type basalts.