Modeling abiotic production of apparent oxygen utilisation in the oligotrophic subtropical North Atlantic

Apparent oxygen utilisation is potentially biased by abiotic, physical processes. Using a coupled 3-D circulation-oxygen model, this potential is quantitatively estimated for a region in the eastern subtropical North Atlantic, called the Beta Triangle, where an inconsistency exists between observational estimates of high carbon export from the euphotic zone, based on oxygen utilisation rates in the thermocline (Jenkins 1982), and those of low nutrient supply to the euphotic zone (Lewis et al. 1986, 2004). Our results indicate that in the upper ocean, the Jenkins (1982) estimate is indeed biased high by approximately 10% due to abiotic processes feigning respiration, thus contributing to the apparent inconsistency. Vertical integration, however, yields an abiotic fraction of less than 3%, so the apparent observational discrepancy can not be resolved.Responsible Editor: Franciscus Colijn     

Narrow-beam X-ray tests of CCD edge response

The physical boundaries of a fully-depleted CCD can lead to distorted field lines and non-uniform response. We study this response with a beam of X-rays constrained to a width of less than one pixel (15 \upmu\upmum), and a system to map the CCD response as a function of transverse position.     

A sensitivity study of the WRF model in offshore wind modeling over the Baltic Sea

Accurate wind modeling is important for wind resources assessment and wind power forecasting.To improve the WRF model configuration for the offshore wind modeling over the Baltic Sea,this study per-formed a sensitivity study of the WRF model to multiple model configurations,including domain setup,grid resolution,sea surface temperature,land surface data,and atmosphere-wave coupling.The simu-lated offshore wind was evaluated against LiDAR observations under different wind directions,atmo-spheric stabilities,and sea status.Generally,the simulated wind profiles matched observations,despite systematic underestimations.Strengthening the forcing from the reanalysis data through reducing the number of nested domains played the largest role in improving wind modeling.Atmosphere-wave cou-pling further improved the simulated wind,especially under the growing and mature sea conditions.Increasing the vertical resolution,and updating the sea surface temperature and the land surface infor-mation only had a slight impact,mainly visible during very stable conditions.Increasing the horizontal resolution also only had a slight impact,most visible during unstable conditions.Our study can help to improve the wind resources assessment and wind power forecasting over the Baltic Sea.