北太平洋中尺度涡时空特征分析

利用1993~2011年19 a的AVISO卫星高度计资料研究了北太平洋(10°~60°N,120°E~100°W)中尺度涡的时空分布特征,结果表明:北太平洋每年约产生1 800余个涡旋,其中气旋涡稍多。北太平洋东部沿岸、西北沿岸、黑潮延伸体北侧、副热带逆流区是中尺度涡的高发区,春、冬季是涡旋的高发季节。涡极性分布以35°N为界,北部多反气旋涡,南部多气旋涡。涡旋半径以100 km左右为主,并且基本随纬度升高而减小,涡旋数量随着周期增长而急剧下降。反气旋涡的平均半径和周期均大于气旋涡。利用Argo浮标剖面资料分析的6个个例涡旋的垂直结构显示,每个涡旋都有其独特的冷暖核结构,深度不同。研究结果对于分析北太平洋涡动能分布及传输具有一定的参考价值。     

Zooplankton community structure in a cyclonic and mode-water eddy in the Sargasso Sea

Mesoscale eddies are important suppliers of nutrients to the surface waters of oligotrophic gyres, but little is known about the biological response, particularly that of higher trophic levels, to these physical perturbations. During the summers of 2004 and 2005, we followed the development of a cyclonic eddy and an anti-cyclonic mode-water eddy in the Sargasso Sea. Zooplankton (>150 μm) were collected across both eddies in 9 discrete depth intervals between 0 and 700 m. Comparison of the abundance of major taxa of mesozooplankton in the upper 150 m at eddy center and outside the eddies (day and night) indicated that the cyclone and mode-water eddy supported similar mesozooplankton communities, with several taxa significantly higher in abundance inside than outside the eddies, when compared with the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site as representative of mean conditions. In both eddies copepod peak abundance occurred in the 50-100 m depth interval, coincident with the chlorophyll a maximum, suggesting elevated food concentration in the eddies may have influenced zooplankton vertical distribution. The two eddies differed in the strength of diel vertical migration of zooplankton, as indicated by the ratio of night:day abundance in the epipelagic zone, which was higher at the center of the mode-water eddy for most taxa. Over the sampling interval of 1-2 months, abundance of the three most common taxa (copepods, chaetognaths, and ostracods) decreased in the cyclone and increased in the mode-water eddy. This further supports previous findings that over the sampling period the cyclone was in a decay phase, while the mode-water eddy was sustaining nutrient fluxes and high phytoplankton concentrations. A more detailed analysis of community structure in the mode-water eddy indicated the 0-700 m integrated abundance of doliolids was significantly higher inside the mode-water eddy than outside. The presence of a mesopelagic (200-700 m) layer of lepadid barnacle cyprids in this eddy highlights the potential of eddies to transport and disperse biota. We conclude that when compared with average ambient conditions (as measured at BATS), mesoscale eddies can influence zooplankton behavior and alter zooplankton community structure which can affect food-web interactions and biogeochemical cycling in the open ocean.     

Biogeochemical impacts due to mesoscale eddy activity in the Sargasso Sea as measured at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS)

A comparison of monthly biogeochemical measurements made from 1993 to 1995, combined with hydrography and satellite altimetry, was used to assess the impacts of nine eddy events on primary productivity and particle flux in the Sargasso Sea. Measurements of primary production, thorium-234 flux, nitrate+nitrite, and photosynthetic pigments made at the US JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site were used. During the 3 years of this study, four out of six high thorium-234 flux events occurred during the passage of an eddy. Primary production nearly as high as the spring bloom maximum was observed in two mode-water eddies (May 1993 and July 1995). The 1994 spring bloom at BATS was suppressed by the passage of an anticyclone. Distinct phytoplankton community shifts were observed in mode-water eddies, which had an increased percentage of diatoms and dinoflagellates, and in cyclones, which had an increased percentage of Synechococcus. These variations in species composition within mode-water eddies and cyclones may be associated with the ages of the sampled eddies, and/or differences in physical, chemical, and biological factors in these two distinct eddy types. In general, eddies that were 1–2 months old elicited a large biological response; eddies that were 3 months old may show a biological response and were accompanied by high thorium flux; eddies that were 4 months old or older did not show a biological response or high thorium flux. A conceptual model depicting temporal changes during eddy upwelling, maturation, and decay can explain the observations in all seven upwelling eddies present in the time-series investigated herein.     

Microbial dynamics in cyclonic and anticyclonic mode-water eddies in the northwestern Sargasso Sea

The EDdy Dynamics, mixing, Export, and Species composition (EDDIES) project provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the response of the microbial community and further understand the biological and biogeochemical consequences of mesoscale perturbation events in an oligotrophic system. In order to characterize microbial dynamics, we performed measurements of bacterial biomass (BB) and production (BP) and phytoplankton pigment analyses in two upwelling eddies in the Sargasso Sea sampled in 2004 and 2005. We also observed a 3-fold increase in BP at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site during the passage of a cyclonic eddy in 2003. Although the integrated BB and BP over 140 m in 2004 and 2005 eddies remained within the climatological range measured at the BATS site, there was systematic variability in bacterioplankton dynamics across both eddies. Cyclonic eddy C1 demonstrated decreased BP at the feature's center relative to its periphery, and BP was not correlated with total chlorophyll a (TChl a) variability. However, BP correlated with prymnesiophyte pigments throughout the feature. In contrast, mode-water eddy A4 showed an enhancement in BP at the eddy center (EC) relative to its edges and was coincident with elevated TChl a, high primary production measurements, and a high concentration of diatoms. In eddy A4, the tight relationship between enhanced BP, TChl a and specific phytoplankton taxa implies that the phytoplankton community structure was an important factor influencing BP variability. While the heterotrophic bacterial response in C1 and A4 was not enhanced relative to BATS summer climatology, these data and the presence of similar nutrient fields across both eddies suggest that BP and BB were influenced by the eddy perturbations and responded to changes in the phytoplankton community.     

Hawaii Cyclonic Eddies and Blue Marlin Catches: The Case Study of the 1995 Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament

The combination of prevailing northeasterly tradewinds and island topography results in the formation of vigorous, westward propagating cyclonic eddies in the lee of the Hawaiian Islands on time scales of 50–70 days. These mesoscale (∼10² km) features are nowhere more conspicuous or spin up more frequently than in the Alenuihaha Channel between the Island of Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. Cyclonic eddies in subtropical waters such as those around Hawaii vertically displace the underlying nutricline into the overlying, nutrient-depleted euphotic zone creating localized biologically enhanced patches. Insight into how these eddies may directly influence pelagic fish distribution is provided by examination of recreational fish catch data coinciding with the presence of eddies on the fishing grounds. We highlight the 1995 Hawaii International Billfish Tournament in which a cyclonic eddy dominated the ocean conditions during the weeklong event and the fish catch distribution differed significantly from the average historical tournament catch patterns. On the tournament fishing grounds, well-mixed surface layers and strong current flows induced by the eddy's presence characterized the inshore waters where the highest catches of the prized Pacific blue marlin (Makaira mazara) occurred, suggesting possible direct (e.g., physiological limitations) or indirect (e.g., prey availability) biological responses of blue marlin to the prevailing environment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Elevated biomass of mesozooplankton and enhanced fecal pellet flux in cyclonic and mode-water eddies in the Sargasso Sea

Accumulating evidence points to the importance of mesoscale eddies in supplying nutrients to surface waters in oligotrophic gyres. However, the nature of the biological response and its evolution over time has yet to be elucidated. Changes in mesozooplankton community composition due to eddy perturbation also could affect biogeochemical cycling. Over the course of two summers we sampled seven eddies in the Sargasso Sea. We focused on and followed a post-phytoplankton bloom cyclonic eddy (C1) in 2004 and a blooming mode-water anticyclonic eddy (A4) in 2005. We collected zooplankton in all eddies using a Multiple Opening and Closing Net Environmental Sampling System (MOCNESS) and quantified biomass (>0.15 mm, in five size fractions) from 0 to 700 m over nine discrete depth intervals. Zooplankton biomass (>0.5 mm) in the upper 150 m was similarly enhanced at night for the periphery of C1 and the center of A4 at 0.514 g m⁻² and 0.533 g m⁻², respectively, compared to outside (0.183 g m⁻² outside C1 and 0.197 g m⁻² outside A4). Despite minimal chlorophyll a enhancement and dominance by picoplankton in C1, zooplankton biomass increased most for the largest size class (>5 mm). Gut fluorescence for euphausiids and large copepods was also elevated on the C1 periphery. In A4, peak biomass occurred at eddy center coincident with peak primary production, but was highly variable (changing by >3-fold) over time, perhaps resulting from the dense, but patchy distribution of diatom chains in this region. Shifts in zooplankton community composition and abundance were reflected in enhancement of fecal pellet production and active transport by diel vertical migration in eddies. Inside C1 the flux of zooplankton fecal pellets at 150 m in June 2004 was 1.5-fold higher than outside the eddy, accounting for 9% of total particulate organic carbon (POC) flux. The flux of fecal pellets (mostly from copepods) increased through the summer in eddy A4, matching concurrent increases in zooplankton <2 mm in length, and accounting for up to 12% of total POC flux. Active carbon transport by vertically migrating zooplankton was 37% higher on the periphery of C1 and 74% higher at the center of A4 compared to the summer mean at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station. Despite contrasting responses by the phytoplankton community to cyclonic and mode-water eddies, mesozooplankton biomass was similarly enhanced, possibly due to differential physical and biological aggregation mechanisms, and resulted in important zooplankton-mediated changes in mesoscale biogeochemistry.     

晚春北极涛动对夏季西北太平洋热带气旋生成频数的影响

利用美国气象环境预报中心和美国国家大气研究中心(NCEP/NCAR)再分析资料以及中国气象局发布的热带气旋(TC)最佳路径数据集,本文探讨了1950–2018年期间晚春(5月)北极涛动(AO)与随后夏季(6–9月)西北太平洋上空热带气旋生成频数的关系.研究表明,晚春AO对夏季西北太平洋TC生成有明显的预报指示意义,二者...     

The transient oasis: Nutrient-phytoplankton dynamics and particle export in Hawaiian lee cyclones

Macronutrients, photosynthetic pigments, and particle export were assessed in two eddies during the E-Flux I and III cruises to investigate linkages between biogeochemical properties and export flux in Hawaiian lee cyclonic eddies. Cyclone Noah (E-Flux I), speculated to be in the ‘decay’ stage, exhibited modest increases in macronutrients and photosynthetic pigments at the eddy center compared to ambient waters. Cyclone Opal (E-Flux III) also exhibited modest increases in macronutrient concentrations, but a 2-fold enhancement in total chlorophyll a (TChl a) concentration within the eddy center. As indicated by fucoxanthin concentrations, the phytoplankton community in the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) of Opal was comprised mainly of diatoms. During an 8-day time series in the center of Opal, TChl a concentration and fucoxanthin in the DCM decreased by 50%, which was potentially triggered by silicic acid limitation. Despite the presence of a substantial diatom bloom, Opal did not deliver the expected export of particulate carbon and nitrogen, but rather a large biogenic silica export (4-fold increase relative to export in surrounding waters). Results suggest that controls on the life cycle of a Hawaiian lee cyclone are likely a combination of physical (eddy dynamics), chemical (nutrient limitation), and biological (growth and grazing imbalance) processes. Comparisons between Noah and Opal and previously studied cyclones in the region point to a relationship between the spin-up duration of a cyclone and the resulting biological response. Nonetheless, Hawaiian lee cyclones, which strongly influence the biogeochemistry of areas 100's of km in scale in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean, still remain an enigma.     

北半球热带中太平洋与印度洋海表温度梯度对夏季西北太平洋热带气旋生成频数变化的影响

基于1951—2018年哈德里中心海温资料、美国气象环境预报中心和美国国家大气研究中心再分析资料和第四代欧洲中心汉堡模式, 针对1994年、2018年等西北太平洋热带气旋(TC)生成异常多的年份, 研究了引起TC增加的海表温度异常(SSTA)模态及其影响机制。结果表明, 北半球热带中太平洋增暖与印度洋变冷是夏季西北太平洋TC生成频数增加的主要原因, 北大西洋负三极型式SSTA促使TC生成的进一步增加。热带中太平洋增暖与印度洋冷却在菲律宾以东激发出西风异常和气旋性环流异常。北大西洋负三极型式SSTA在我国南海、菲律宾至东南沿岸激发出气旋性环流异常。前者在西北太平洋中部, 后者在南海产生有利于TC生成的局地环境。1994年和2018年夏季热带中太平洋出现暖SSTA、印度洋为冷SSTA、北大西洋呈现负三极型式SSTA, 西北太平洋TC生成频数极端增多。近30年来, 当出现热带中太平洋增暖和印度洋冷却时, 北大西洋表现出比1989年以前更强的负三极型式SSTA, 使西北太平洋TC生成频数和北半球热带印度洋-太平洋SSTA梯度的线性相关更显著。     

Diatoms in the desert: Plankton community response to a mesoscale eddy in the subtropical North Pacific

As part of the E-Flux project, we documented spatial variability and temporal changes in plankton community structure in a cold-core cyclonic eddy in the lee of the Hawaiian Islands. Cyclone Opal spanned 200 km in diameter, with sharply uplifted isopycnals (80–100 m relative to surrounding waters) and a strongly expressed deep chlorophyll a maximum (DCM) in its central core region of 40 km diameter. Microscopic and flow cytometric analyses of samples from across the eddy revealed dramatic transitions in phytoplankton community structure, reflecting Opal's well-developed physical structure. Upper mixed-layer populations in the eddy resembled those outside the eddy and were dominated by picophytoplankton. In contrast, the DCM was composed of large chain-forming diatoms dominated by Chaetoceros and Rhizosolenia spp. Diatoms attained unprecedented levels of biomass (nearly 90 μg C l⁻¹) in the center of the eddy, accounting for 85% of photosynthetic biomass. Protozoan grazers displayed two- to three-fold higher biomass levels in the eddy center as well. We also found a distinct and persistent layer of senescent diatom cells overlying healthy populations, often separated by less than 10 m, indicating that we were sampling a bloom in a state of decline. Time-series sampling over 8 days showed a successional shift in community structure within the central diatom bloom, from the unexpected large chain-forming species to smaller forms more typical of the subtropical North Pacific. The diatom bloom of Cyclone Opal was a unique, and possibly extreme, example of biological response to physical forcing in the North Pacific subtropical gyre, and its detailed study may therefore help to improve our predictive understanding of environmental controls on plankton community structure.     

The role of meso-scale eddies in mixed layer deepening and mode water formation in the western North Pacific

Distributions of mixed layer depths around the centers of anti-cyclonic and cyclonic eddies in the North Pacific Ocean were composited by using satellite-derived sea surface height anomaly data and Argo profiling float data. The composite distributions showed that in late winter, deeper mixed layers were more (less) frequently observed inside the cores of the anti-cyclonic (cyclonic) eddies than outside. This relationship was the clearest in the region of 140°E–160°W and 35°N–40°N, where the temperature and salinity of the deep mixed layers were similar to those of the lighter variety of central mode water (L-CMW). A simple one-dimensional bulk mixed layer model showed that both strong sea-surface heat and momentum fluxes and weak preexisting stratification contributed to formation of the deep mixed layer. These conditions were associated with the anti-cyclonic eddies, suggesting that these eddies are important in the formation of mode waters, particularly L-CMW.     

北太平洋冬季SST、风场及环流对淡水强迫的响应

通过海气耦合模式CCSM3(The Community Climate System Model version 3),研究在北大西洋高纬度淡水强迫下,北太平洋冬季的海表温度SST、风场及流场的响应及其区域性差异。结果表明:淡水的注入使北太平洋整体变冷,但有部分区域异常增暖;在太平洋东部赤道两侧,SST的变化出现北负南正的偶极子型分布。阿留申低压北移的同时中纬度西风减弱,热带附近东北信风增强。黑潮和南赤道流减弱,北太平洋副热带逆流和北赤道流增强,日本海被南向流控制。风场及流场的改变共同导致了北太平洋SST异常出现复杂的空间差异:北太平洋中高纬度SST的降温主要由大气过程决定,海洋动力过程主要影响黑潮、日本海及副热带逆流区域的SST,太平洋热带地区SST异常由大气与海洋共同主导。     

Response of the North Pacific subtropical countercurrent and its variability to global warming

Response of the North Pacific subtropical countercurrent (STCC) and its variability to global warming is examined in a state-of-the-art coupled model that is forced by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Compared with the present climate, the upper ocean is more stratified, and the mixed layer depth (MLD) shoals in warmer climate. The maximum change of winter MLD appears in the Kuroshio–Oyashio extension (KOE) region, where the mean MLD is the deepest in the North Pacific. This weakens the MLD front and reduces lateral induction. As a result of the reduced subduction rate and a decrease in sea surface density in KOE, mode waters form on lighter isopycnals with reduced thickness. Advected southward, the weakened mode waters decelerate the STCC. On decadal timescales, the dominant mode of sea surface height in the central subtropical gyre represents STCC variability. This STCC mode decays as CO₂ concentrations double in the twenty-first century, owing both to weakened mode waters in the mean state and to reduced variability in mode waters. The reduced mode-water variability can be traced upstream to reduced variations in winter MLD front and subduction in the KOE region where mode water forms.     

北太平洋副热带海洋环流强度异常对长江中下游夏季降水的影响

利用SODA资料和ECCO资料计算得到的北太平洋副热带海洋环流强度,和国家气候中心整编的中国160站逐月降水资料,结合NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和Hadley中心海表面温度资料,分析了1970－2007年海洋环流强度异常同期的大尺度大气环流异常特征及对中国东部夏季降水的影响。结果表明:海洋环流强度变化与长江中下游地区降水存在密切的反相关。环流强度异常可以通过影响西太平洋副热带高压的南北位置异常进而影响长江中下游降水。海洋环流偏弱时,副高位置偏南,长江中下游地区受气旋性环流异常影响,来自副高西北侧的强西南水汽输送至此,在该地区形成强水汽辐合中心,同时伴随上升运动加强和对流的加强,进一步导致该地区降水偏多;当海洋环流偏强时,西太平洋副高位置偏北,长江中下游地区受反气旋性环流异常影响,伴随辐散下沉及水汽辐散,导致该地区降水偏少;海洋环流强度异常导致的中纬度海区海表面温度异常,可能是导致副高南北位置异常的主要原因。     

The alpha/beta ocean distinction: A perspective on freshwater fluxes, convection, nutrients and productivity in high-latitude seas

Stratification is perhaps the most important attribute of oceans with regards to climate and biology. Two simple aspects of the ocean's climate system appear to have a surprisingly important role in transforming waters that feed the global thermohaline circulation, dominating patterns of biogeochemical flux and establishing macroecological domains. First, largely because of meridional distillation (mainly due to the atmospheric transport of freshwater across the Isthmus of Panama) the North Pacific is fresher than the North Atlantic. Second, largely because of zonal distillation (e.g., warming and evaporation at low latitudes and poleward transport of latent heat and moisture by the atmosphere) the upper layers of subtropical seas are permanently stratified by temperature (N_T²=gαdT/dz>0; here called alpha oceans), while the upper layers of high-latitude seas are permanently stratified by salinity (N_S²=gβdS/dz>0; here called beta oceans). The physical basis for the boundary separating alpha and beta oceans is unclear, but may lie in the thermodynamical equations published by Fofonoff [1961. Energy transformations in the sea. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Report Series 109, 82pp]. Nevertheless, it is clear that the resulting thermohaline distributions establish a ‘downhill journey’ of low-salinity (and nutrient-rich) waters from the North Pacific to the Arctic and then into the North Atlantic. The Arctic Ocean—itself—acts a double estuary, whereby waters entering from the North Atlantic become either denser through cooling (negative estuary) or lighter by freshening (positive estuary) as they circulate within the basin and then return to the North Atlantic as a variety of components of the ocean's conveyor. Intermediate and deep waters generally form within cyclonic beta oceans in close proximity to alphas systems. Similar patterns of stratification, nutrients and biogeographical boundaries persist in the Southern Hemisphere. It is thus argued that this simple distinction—alpha versus beta oceans—provides a broad, conceptual framework for simple interpretation of key physical and biological processes and rates, including the impacts of climate variability.     

Why are rings regularly shed in the western equatorial Atlantic but not in the western Pacific?

The western equatorial Atlantic is characterized by the formation and shedding of 3–4 large anticyclonic rings per year. These rings originate from the North Brazil Current which, in response to the vanishing wind stress curl (over the ocean interior), retroflects and turns eastward at around 4°N. After their formation and shedding the rings propagate toward the northwest along the South American coast carrying an annual average of about 4Sv. As such, the rings constitute an important part of the meridional heat flux in the Atlantic.The same cannot be said, however, of the western equatorial Pacific. Here, the situation is entirely different even though the South Equatorial Current retroflects at roughly the same latitude as its Atlantic counterpart, the North Brazil Current. Although the South Equatorial Current retroflection is flanked by two quasi-permanent eddies (the so-called Halmahera and the Mindanao eddies), these eddies are an integral part of the current itself and are not shed. Consequently, they are not associated with any meridional heat flux. An important question is, then, why the two oceans behave in such a fundamentally different way even though the source of the rings, the retroflected currents, are very similar in the two oceans.To answer this question, the two oceans are compared using recently developed analytical and numerical models for the western equatorial oceans. It is first pointed out that, according to recent developments in the modelling of the western equatorial Atlantic, the North Brazil Current retroflection rings are formed, shed and drift to the west because, in the Atlantic, this is the only way by which the momentum flux of the approaching and retroflecting current can be balanced. In this scenario, the northwestward flow force exerted by the approaching and retroflecting North Brazil Current (analogous to the force created by a rocket) is balanced by the southwestward force exerted by the rings as they are formed (analogous in some sense to the kickback associated with a firing gun).On the other hand, in the western equatorial Pacific, the formation and shedding of rings is unnecessary because the southward flowing Mindanao Current provides an alternative mechanism for balancing the northward momentum flux of the South Equatorial Current. This implies that it is the absence of a counter current (such as the Mindanao) in the western Atlantic that causes the formation and shedding of North Brazil Current rings. A remaining difficulty with the above scenario is that most colliding and retroflecting currents (i.e. the Mindanao and South Equatorial currents) are not “balanced” in the sense that they cannot be stationary but rather must drift along the coast. It is shown that, in the case of the western Pacific, the long-shore migration is arrested by the Indonesian Throughflow which allows the “unbalanced” fraction of the approaching currents to leak out into the Indian Ocean. This resolves the above difficulty and allows the retroflection to be approximately steady.     

Kinematic elements of Antarctic Intermediate Water in the western South Atlantic

The northward flowing Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is a major contributor to the large-scale meridional circulation of water masses in the Atlantic. Together with bottom and thermocline water, AAIW replaces North Atlantic Deep Water that penetrates into the South Atlantic from the North. On the northbound propagation of AAIW from its formation area in the south-western region of the Argentine Basin, the AAIW progresses through a complex spreading pattern at the base of the main thermocline. This paper presents trajectories of 75 subsurface floats, seeded at AAIW depth. The floats were acoustically tracked, covering a period from December 1992 to October 1996. Discussions of selected trajectories focus on mesoscale kinematic elements that contribute to the spreading of AAIW. In the equatorial region, intermittent westward and eastward currents were observed, suggesting a seasonal cycle of the AAIW flow direction. At tropical latitudes, just offshore the intermediate western boundary current, the southward advection of an anticyclonic eddy was observed between 5^°S and 11°S. Farther offshore, the flow lacks an advective pattern and is governed by eddy diffusion. The westward subtropical gyre return current at about 28°S shows considerable stability, with the mean kinetic energy to eddy kinetic energy ratio being around one. Farther south, the eastward deeper South Atlantic Current is dominated by large-scale meanders with particle velocities in excess of 60 cm s^-1. At the Brazil–Falkland Current Confluence Zone, a cyclonic eddy near 40°S 50°W seems to act as injector of freshly mixed AAIW into the subtropical gyre. In general, much of the mixing of the various blends of AAIW is due to the activity of mesoscale eddies, which frequently reoccupy similar positions.     

Particle fluxes associated with mesoscale eddies in the Sargasso Sea

We examined the impact of a cyclonic eddy and mode-water eddy on particle flux in the Sargasso Sea. The primary method used to quantify flux was based on measurements of the natural radionuclide, ²³⁴Th, and these flux estimates were compared to results from sediment traps in both eddies, and a ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb flux method in the mode-water eddy. Particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes at 150 m ranged 1–4 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ and were comparable between methods, especially considering differences in integration times scales of each approach. Our main conclusion is that relative to summer mean conditions at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site, eddy-driven changes in biogeochemistry did not enhance local POC fluxes during this later, more mature stage of the eddy life cycle (>6 months old). The absence of an enhancement in POC flux puts a constraint on the timing of higher POC flux events, which are thought to have caused the local O₂ minima below each eddy, and must have taken place >2 months prior to our arrival. The mode-water eddy did enhance preferentially diatom biomass in its center, where we estimated a factor of three times higher biogenic Si flux than the BATS summer average. An unexpected finding in the highly depth-resolved ²³⁴Th data sets is narrow layers of particle export and remineralization within the eddy. In particular, a strong excess ²³⁴Th signal is seen below the deep chlorophyll maxima, which we attribute to remineralization of ²³⁴Th-bearing particles. At this depth below the euphotic zone, de novo particle production in the euphotic zone has stopped, yet particle remineralization continues via consumption of labile sinking material by bacteria and/or zooplankton. These data suggest that further study of processes in ocean layers is warranted not only within, but below the euphotic zone.     

Impact of Alaskan Stream eddies on chlorophyll distribution in the North Pacific

The impact of the Alaskan Stream (AS) eddies on the chlorophyll a (chl-a) distribution in the central subarctic North Pacific was investigated through analysis of chl-a and altimetry data from satellite observations. Altimetry observations provided the locations of mesoscale eddies in time and space within the maps of chlorophyll distributions. The climatological chl-a distributions averaged in the area and time showing presence of AS eddies suggested that AS eddies contributed significantly to the chl-a distribution in the deep-sea region of the subarctic North Pacific. The chl-a distribution was closely related to the AS eddies regardless of whether the eddy was located in or detached from the AS. A combination of two or three AS eddies sometimes formed high chl-a concentration belts that injected chlorophyll and coastal nutrient-rich waters southward from the Aleutian Islands far into the deep-sea region of the subarctic North Pacific. These results indicate that chl-a distribution in the central subarctic North Pacific was strongly impacted by AS eddies.     

Inversion of the three-dimensional temperature structure of mesoscale eddies in the Northwest Pacific based on deep learning

Mesoscale eddies, which are mainly caused by baroclinic effects in the ocean, are common oceanic phenomena in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and play very important roles in ocean circulation, ocean dynamics and material energy transport. The temperature structure of mesoscale eddies will lead to variations in oceanic baroclinity, which can be reflected in the sea level anomaly (SLA). Deep learning can automatically extract different features of data at multiple levels without human intervention, and find the hidden relations of data. Therefore, combining satellite SLA data with deep learning is a good way to invert the temperature structure inside eddies. This paper proposes a deep learning algorithm, eddy convolution neural network (ECN), which can train the relationship between mesoscale eddy temperature anomalies and sea level anomalies (SLAs), relying on the powerful feature extraction and learning abilities of convolutional neural networks. After obtaining the temperature structure model through ECN, according to climatic temperature data, the temperature structure of mesoscale eddies in the Northwest Pacific is retrieved with a spatial resolution of 0.25° at depths of 0–1 000 m. The overall accuracy of the ECN temperature structure is verified using Argo profiles at the locations of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies during 2015–2016. Taking 10% error as the acceptable threshold of accuracy, 89.64% and 87.25% of the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy temperature structures obtained by ECN met the threshold, respectively.