Response of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre to persistent North Atlantic oscillation like forcing

The response of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) to a persistent positive (or negative) phase of the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO) is investigated using an ocean general circulation model forced with idealized atmospheric reanalysis fields. The integrations are analyzed with reference to a base-line integration for which the model is forced with idealized fields representing a neutral state of the NAO. In the positive NAO case, the results suggest that the well-known cooling and strengthening of the SPG are, after about 10 years, replaced by a warming and subsequent weakening of the SPG. The latter changes are caused by the advection of warm water from the subtropical gyre (STG) region, driven by a spin-up of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the effect of an anomalous wind stress curl in the northeastern North Atlantic, which counteracts the local buoyancy forcing of the SPG. In the negative NAO case, however, the SPG response does not involve a sign reversal, but rather shows a gradual weakening throughout the integration. The asymmetric SPG-response to the sign of persistent NAO-like forcing and the different time scales involved demonstrate strong non-linearity in the North Atlantic Ocean circulation response to atmospheric forcing. The latter finding indicates that analysis based on the arithmetic difference between the two NAO-states, e.g. NAO+ minus NAO?, may hide important aspects of the ocean response to atmospheric forcing.     

Dynamical seasonal prediction using the global environmental multiscale model with a variable resolution modeling approach

In this work we evaluate seasonal forecasts performed with the global environmental multiscale model (GEM) using a variable resolution approach and with a high-resolution region over different geographical locations. Therefore, using two grid positions, one over North America and the other over the tropical Pacific-eastern Indian Ocean, we compare the seasonal predictions performed with the variable resolution approach with seasonal forecast performed with the uniform grid GEM model. For each model configuration, a ten-member ensemble forecast of 4?months is performed starting from the first of December of selected ENSO winters between 1982 and 2000. The sea surface temperature anomaly of the month preceding the forecast (November) is persisted throughout the forecast period. There is not enough evidence to indicate that a Stretch-Grid configuration has a clear advantage in seasonal prediction compared to a Uniform-Grid configuration. Forecasts with highly resolved grids placed over North America have more accurate seasonal mean anomalies and more skill in representing near surface temperature over the North American continent. For 500-hPa geopotential height, however, no configuration stands out to be consistently superior in forecasting the ENSO related seasonal mean anomalies and skill score.     

Mineralisation and structural changes during the initial phase of microbial degradation of pyrogenic plant residues in soil

The microbial recalcitrance of char accumulated after vegetation fires was studied using pyrogenic organic material (PyOM) with increasing degrees of charring, produced from rye grass (Lolium perenne) and pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) at 350 °C under oxic conditions. Solid state ¹³C and ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy confirmed increasing aromaticity and the formation of heterocyclic N with prolonged charring. After mixing with a mineral soil, the PyOM was aerobically incubated for 48 days at 30 °C. To account for the input of fresh litter after a fire event, unburnt rye grass residue was added as a co-substrate. The grass-derived PyOM showed the greatest extent of C mineralisation. After 48 days incubation, up to 3.2% of the organic C (OC) was converted to CO₂. More severe thermal alteration resulted in a decrease in the total C mineralisation to 2.5% of OC. In the pine-derived PyOM, only 0.7% and 0.5% of the initial C were mineralised. The co-substrate additions did not enhance PyOM mineralisation during initial degradation. ¹³C NMR spectroscopic analysis indicated structural changes during microbial degradation of the PyOM. Concomitant with a decrease in O-alkyl/alkyl-C, carboxyl/carbonyl C content increased, pointing to oxidation. Only the strongly thermally altered pine PyOM showed a reduction in aromaticity. The small C losses during the experiment indicated conversion of aryl C into other C groups. As revealed by the increase in carboxyl/carbonyl C, this conversion must have included the opening and partial oxidation of aromatic ring structures. Our study demonstrates that plant PyOM can be microbially attacked and mineralised at rates comparable to those for soil organic matter (SOM), so its role as a highly refractory SOM constituent may need re-evaluation.     

Visibility: a determinant of park visitor behavior

Regarding visual range experienced as an input in the household production function implies that households and individuals adjust their behavior in order to obtain optimal amounts. Sightseers have some control over visual range days by staying longer at a site that they believe will have optimal atmospheric conditions at a given time. Initial visibility conditions provide site visitors with information on which to base their length of stay. Deriving the measurement of these behavioral adjustments and presenting the results of a statistical test of the hypothesis at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado are the subjects of this paper.     

Influence of a Xenobiotic Mixture (PCB and TBT) Compared to Single Substances on Swimming Behavior or Reproduction of Daphnia magna

Aroclor 1254, a technical PCB mixture (polychlorinated biphenyls) and TBT (tributyltinchloride) are environmental pollutants that cause a broad spectrum of acute toxic and chronic effects in aquatic animals. In this paper, the sensitivity of Daphnia magna to chronic exposure to mixed xenobiotics was evaluated under laboratory conditions. The results show that xenobiotic mixtures (50 % each of the single compounds) were more toxic than individual xenobiotics alone. By measuring behavioral parameters of animals, it becomes evident that exposure to single xenobiotics significantly affects daphnids: exposure led finally to a rapid decrease in mean swimming activity and also caused changes in preferred swimming depth, with daphnids preferring the upper layers of aquaria. The mixture altered the swimming behavior even more strongly compared to the group stressed by single chemicals. Finally, all daphnids sank to the bottom of the aquaria, still alive, but inactive at the end of the exposure period. In addition, we investigated the reproductive capacity (number of newborn per female and day). PCB did not affect the number of newborn significantly, TBT‐stress led to an evidently decreased number of young daphnids and the xenobiotic mixture decreased reproduction even more. In conclusion, we found significant effects of the single compounds as well as approximately additive (swimming behavior) and synergistic (reproduction) effects of the chemical mixture on daphnids indicating the possibility of dramatic ecological consequences of the occurrence of mixed xenobiotic substances in the aquatic environment.     

Age of Jurassic continental tholeiites of French Guyana, Surinam and Guinea: Implications for the initial opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean

A detailed ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar study, of mineral separates from the Jurassic Atlantic Continental Tholeiites (JACT) of Guyana (French Guyana and Surinam, South America), and Guinea (West Africa) related to the initial opening of the Central Atlantic, has been carried out. In French Guyana, plateau ages of 196.0 ± 5.7 Ma and 196.1 ± 7.5 Ma were obtained on single, small amphibole grains from NNW—SSE trending dykes. In Guinea, single biotite grains from intrusive formations from the Kakoulima and Fouta Djalon areas yielded plateau ages of 200.4 ± 0.2 Ma and 194.8 ± 0.5 Ma, concordant with high temperature apparent ages on other biotites. The bulk plagioclase samples display disturbed age spectra due to alteration and excess argon. However, intermediate temperature, weighted mean plagioclase ages are similar in both regions of Guyana and Guinea, ranging from 200.2 ± 2.4 Ma to 188.7 ± 1.9 Ma, partly in agreement with the amphibole and biotite data.

These data, combined with previous ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U/Pb results from the northern part of the Central Atlantic margins, indicate intense magmatic activity distributed over a large area from Iberia to Liberia (ca. 4500 km long) for a short period of time (204-195 Ma, perhaps less for the bulk of the magmatism) during the initial break-up of Pangea continent. These data do not support an initiation of the magmatism from a radial volcano-tectonic system centred in the south of the region, as suggested by May [1], and the initial break-up seems to affect the whole Central Atlantic during a period of 9 Ma.     

Future extreme events in European climate: an exploration of regional climate model projections

This paper compares how well satellite versus weather station measurements of climate predict agricultural performance in Brazil, India, and the United States. Although weather stations give accurate measures of ground conditions, they entail sporadic observations that require interpolation where observations are missing. In contrast, satellites have trouble measuring some ground phenomenon such as precipitation but they provide complete spatial coverage of various parameters over a landscape. The satellite temperature measurements slightly outperform the interpolated ground station data but the precipitation ground measurements generally outperform the satellite surface wetness index. In India, the surface wetness index outperforms station precipitation but this may be reflecting irrigation, not climate. The results suggest that satellites provide promising measures of temperature but that ground station data may still be preferred for measuring precipitation in rural settings.     

Multi-isotope (Ba,C, O) partitioning during experimental carbonatization of a hyper-alkaline solution

Carbonates formed from hyperalkaline aqueous solutions at the Earth?s surface are known to bear the most extreme disequilibrium isotope signatures reported so far in nature. We present here the results for stable carbon (C), oxygen (O), and barium (Ba) isotope fractionation during the precipitation of witherite (BaCO₃) induced by the chemical absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) into an aqueous hyper-alkaline solution (at 4° and 21?°C; 1?atm total pressure). Independent from temperature, the barium carbonate formation was associated with a substantial enrichment of the lighter C and O isotopes in the solid compared to the atmosphere (C, O), close to previous results found in experiments and nature. A new approach is introduced to explain oxygen isotope fractionation upon hydroxylation of CO₂. With Ba isotope enrichment factors between ?0.45 and ?0.53‰ (^138/134ε) or ?0.34 and ?0.40‰ (^137/134ε), respectively, the synthesized BaCO₃ displays the highest kinetic enrichment of the light Ba isotope in the carbonate solid reported so far.