Tropical synoptic-scale wave disturbances over the western Pacific simulated by a global cloud-system resolving model

Lower-tropospheric tropical synoptic-scale disturbances (TSDs) are associated with severe weather systems in the Asian Monsoon region. Therefore, exact prediction of the development and behavior of TSDs using atmospheric general circulation models is expected to improve weather forecasting for this region. Recent state-of-the art global cloud-system resolving modeling approaches using a Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) may improve representation of TSDs. This study evaluates TSDs over the western Pacific in output from an Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP)-like control experiment using NICAM. Data analysis compared the simulated and observed fields. NICAM successfully simulates the average activity, three-dimensional structures, and characteristics of the TSDs during the Northern summer. The variance statistics and spectral analysis showed that the average activity of the simulated TSDs over the western Pacific during Northern summer broadly captures that of observations. The composite analysis revealed that the structures of the simulated TSDs resemble the observed TSDs to a large degree. The simulated TSDs exhibited a typical southeast- to northwest-oriented wave-train pattern that propagates northwestward from near the equator around 150 ^° E toward the southern coast of China. However, the location of the simulated wave train and wave activity center was displaced northward by approximately a few degrees of latitude from that in the observation. This displacement can be attributed to the structure and strength of the background basic flow in the simulated fields. Better representation of the background basic states is required for more successful simulation of TSDs.     

Predominance of parallel‐ and cross‐predation in anglerfish

Several studies in the last 20 years have revealed that morphological asymmetry in fish can be characterized as ‘antisymmetry’. Antisymmetry is a lateral dimorphism in which each population consists of individuals with well‐developed left sides (lefties) and well‐developed right sides (righties). This dimorphism influences predator–prey interactions. In some piscivorous fishes, it has been found that predators can catch more prey of the opposite morphological type to themselves (cross‐predation) than of the same morphological type (parallel‐predation). Our previous work clarified that the predominance of cross‐predation is caused by lateralized behaviors of predators and prey that correspond to their morphological antisymmetry. Moreover, based on the results of our behavioral observations, we hypothesized that parallel‐predation can predominate when predators encounter the potential prey frontally. To test this hypothesis, in the present study we investigated the relationship between lateral morphological types of anglerfish (Lophiomus setigerus) and those of the prey fishes found in their stomachs. Anglerfish attract potential prey using their first dorsal fin (illicium) as a lure, and their frontal encounters with potential prey fishes were photographed in situ and observed in an aquarium. The results of a stomach contents analysis indicated that parallel‐predation predominated in five benthopelagic prey fish species (perches and eels). By contrast, five benthic prey fishes (gobies and weevers) exhibited the predominance of cross‐predation. These results not only demonstrate the predominance of parallel‐predation in a natural fish community, but also suggest that the relationship between morphological types of predator and prey species can be reversed depending on the lifestyle of prey.     

Detecting red tides in the eastern Seto inland sea with satellite ocean color imagery

A multi-spectral classification scheme is proposed to identify water with red tide(s) using satellite ocean color imagery obtained by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The study area was the eastern Seto Inland Sea in Japan, where serious red tides frequently occur. “Background Ocean Colors” (BOCs hereafter), or colors of water around a red tide or those of the water before/after a red tide, are calculated as the monthly climatological average of normalized water-leaving radiances (nLw) with 0.01 degree spatial resolution with SeaWiFS imagery. Criteria for detecting red-tide pixels are established from analyses of characteristics of the nLws (in the 443, 490, 510, and 555 nm bands) anomalies from BOCs and the nLw spectra together with the red-tide records in Osaka Bay. The proposed scheme can efficiently indicate the presence or absence of red tides for independent match-ups with 83% accuracy. Additional validations of specific events indicate that the algorithm performed well in the study area. These results suggest that the scheme is appropriate to detect red tides in the optically complex coastal water of the eastern Seto Inland Sea.     

Modeling Arctic Ocean heat transport and warming episodes in the 20th century caused by the intruding Atlantic Water

This study investigates the Arctic Ocean warming episodes in the 20th century using both a high-resolution coupled global climate model and historical observations. The model, with no flux adjustment, reproduces well the Atlantic Water core temperature （AWCT） in the Arctic Ocean and shows that four largest decadalscale warming episodes occurred in the 1930s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, in agreement with the hydrographic observational data. The difference is that there was no pre-warming prior to the 1930s episode, while there were two pre-warming episodes in the 1970s and 80s prior to the 1990s, leading the 1990s into the largest and prolonged warming in the 20th century. Over the last century, the simulated heat transport via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea was estimated to be, on average, 31.32 TW and 14.82 TW, respectively, while the Bering Strait also provides 15.94 TW heat into the west- ern Arctic Ocean. Heat transport into the Arctic Ocean by the Atlantic Water via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea correlates significantly with AWCT （ C = 0.75 ） at 0- lag. The modeled North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） index has a significant correlation with the heat transport （ C = 0.37 ）. The observed AWCT has a significant correlation with both the modeled AWCT （ C =0.49） and the heat transport （ C =0.41 ）. However, the modeled NAO index does not significantly correlate with either the observed AWCT （ C = 0.03 ） or modeled AWCT （ C = 0.16 ） at a zero-lag, indicating that the Arctic climate system is far more complex than expected.     

Correction method for full-depth current velocity with lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP)

A new method is presented to process and correct full-depth current velocity data obtained from a lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP). The analysis shows that, except near the surface, the echo intensity of a reflected sound pulse is closely correlated with the magnitude of the difference in vertical shear of velocity between downcast and upcast, indicating an error in velocity shear. The present method features the use of echo intensity for the correction of velocity shear. The correction values are determined as to fit LADCP velocity to shipboard ADCP (SADCP) and LADCP bottom-tracked velocities. The method is as follows. Initially, a profile of velocity relative to the sea surface is obtained by integrating vertical shears of velocity after low-quality data are rejected. Second, the relative velocity is fitted to the velocity at 100–800 dbar measured by SADCP to obtain an “absolute” velocity profile. Third, the velocity shear is corrected using the relationship between the errors in velocity shears and echo intensity, in order to adjust the velocity at sea bottom to the bottom-tracked velocity measured by LADCP. Finally, the velocity profile is obtained from the SADCP-fitted velocity at depths less than 800 dbar and the corrected velocity shear at depths greater than 800 dbar. This method is valid for a full-depth LADCP cast throughout which the echo intensity is relatively high (greater than 75 dB in the present analysis). Although the processed velocity may include errors of 1–2 cm s⁻¹, this method produced qualitatively good current structures in the Northeast Pacific Basin that were consistent with the deep current structures inferred from silicate distribution, and the averaged velocities were significantly different from those calculated by the Visbeck (2002) method.     

Seasonal variation of circulations in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea

Seasonal variation of the water circulations in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea is investigated with use of a robust diagnostic numerical model. Water circulations in four season are calculated diagnostically from the observed water temperature and salinity data from JODC (Japan Oceanographic Data Center) and wind data from COADS (Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set). Counter-clockwise circulations are developed at the upper and middle layers and a clockwise one at the lower layer in the central part of he Yellow Sea in summer. On the other hand, a clockwise circualtion is developed from the surface to the bottom in the Yellow Sea and a counter-clockwise one in, the northern part of the East China Sea in winter.     

The Sun–Earth saddle point: characterization and opportunities to test general relativity

The saddle points are locations where the net gravitational accelerations balance. These regions are gathering more attention within the astrophysics community. Regions about the saddle points present clean, close-to-zero background acceleration environments where possible deviations from General Relativity can be tested and quantified. Their location suggests that flying through a saddle point can be accomplished by leveraging highly nonlinear orbits. In this paper, the geometrical and dynamical properties of the Sun–Earth saddle point are characterized. A systematic approach is devised to find ballistic orbits that experience one or multiple passages through this point. A parametric analysis is performed to consider spacecraft initially on \(L_{1,2}\) Lagrange point orbits. Sun–Earth saddle point ballistic fly-through trajectories are evaluated and classified for potential use. Results indicate an abundance of short-duration, regular solutions with a variety of characteristics.     

Molecular and isotopic characteristics of gas hydrate-bound hydrocarbons in southern and central Lake Baikal

We investigated the molecular composition (methane, ethane, and propane) and stable isotope composition (methane and ethane) of hydrate-bound gas in sediments of Lake Baikal. Hydrate-bearing sediment cores were retrieved from eight gas seep sites, located in the southern and central Baikal basins. Empirical classification of the methane stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δD) for all the seep sites indicated the dominant microbial origin of methane via methyl-type fermentation; however, a mixture of thermogenic and microbial gases resulted in relatively high methane δ¹³C signatures at two sites where ethane δ¹³C indicated a typical thermogenic origin. At one of the sites in the southern Baikal basin, we found gas hydrates of enclathrated microbial ethane in which ¹³C and deuterium were both highly depleted (mean δ¹³C and δD of –61.6‰ V-PDB and –285.4‰ V-SMOW, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C₂ δ¹³C–δD classification for hydrate-bound gas in either freshwater or marine environments.