Effects of elevated CO2 on the reproduction of two calanoid copepods

Some planktonic groups suffer negative effects from ocean acidification (OA), although copepods might be less sensitive. We investigated the effect of predicted CO₂ levels (range 480–750 ppm), on egg production and hatching success of two copepod species, Centropages typicus and Temora longicornis. In these short-term incubations there was no significant effect of high CO₂ on these parameters. Additionally a very high CO₂ treatment, (CO₂ = 9830 ppm), representative of carbon capture and storage scenarios, resulted in a reduction of egg production rate and hatching success of C. typicus, but not T. longicornis. In conclusion, reproduction of C. typicus was more sensitive to acute elevated seawater CO₂ than that of T. longicornis, but neither species was affected by exposure to CO₂ levels predicted for the year 2100. The duration and seasonal timing of exposures to high pCO₂, however, might have a significant effect on the reproduction success of calanoid copepods.     

Evolution of sea-level trends along the Norwegian coast from 1960 to 2100

Ocean Dynamics - A first national analysis of the evolution of sea-level rates along the Norwegian coast for the period 1960–2100 has been accomplished by exploring tide-gauge records,...     

Atmospheric mesoscale conditions during the Boothbay meteotsunami: a numerical sensitivity study using a high-resolution mesoscale model

The article aims to test the sensitivity of high-resolution mesoscale atmospheric model to fairly reproduce atmospheric processes that were present during the Boothbay Harbor meteotsunami on 28 October 2008. The simulations were performed by the Weather and Research Forecasting (WRF) model at 1-km horizontal grid spacing by varying initial conditions (ICs) and lateral boundary conditions (LBCs), nesting strategy, simulation lead time and microphysics and convective parameterizations. It seems that the simulations that used higher-resolution IC and LBC were more successful in reproduction of precipitation zone and surface pressure oscillations caused by internal gravity waves observed during the event. The results were very sensitive to the simulation lead time and to the choice of convective parameterization, while the choice of microphysics parameterization and the type of nesting strategy (one-way or two-way) was less important for reproducibility of the event. The success of the WRF model appears limited to very short-range forecasting, most advanced parameterizations, and very high-resolution grid spacing; therefore, the applicability of present atmospheric mesoscale models to future operational meteotsunami warning systems still has a lot of room for improvements.     

ECMWF seasonal forecast system 3 and its prediction of sea surface temperature

The latest operational version of the ECMWF seasonal forecasting system is described. It shows noticeably improved skill for sea surface temperature (SST) prediction compared with previous versions, particularly with respect to El Nino related variability. Substantial skill is shown for lead times up to 1?year, although at this range the spread in the ensemble forecast implies a loss of predictability large enough to account for most of the forecast error variance, suggesting only moderate scope for improving long range El Nino forecasts. At shorter ranges, particularly 3?C6?months, skill is still substantially below the model-estimated predictability limit. SST forecast skill is higher for more recent periods than earlier ones. Analysis shows that although various factors can affect scores in particular periods, the improvement from 1994 onwards seems to be robust, and is most plausibly due to improvements in the observing system made at that time. The improvement in forecast skill is most evident for 3-month forecasts starting in February, where predictions of NINO3.4 SST from 1994 to present have been almost without fault. It is argued that in situations where the impact of model error is small, the value of improved observational data can be seen most clearly. Significant skill is also shown in the equatorial Indian Ocean, although predictive skill in parts of the tropical Atlantic are relatively poor. SST forecast errors can be especially high in the Southern Ocean.     

The feasibility of low CO2 concentration targets and the role of bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC 1992) calls for stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. We use three global energy system models to investigate the technological and economic attainability of meeting CO₂ concentration targets below current levels. Our scenario studies reveal that while energy portfolios from a broad range of energy technologies are needed to attain low concentrations, negative emission technologies—e.g., biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)—significantly enhances the possibility to meet low concentration targets (at around 350 ppm CO₂).     

Failure to protect beaches under slowly rising sea level

The increase in population and the improvement of life standards are stretching the boundaries between water-energy-land management, and demanding innovative and holistic solutions. This article proposes an approach for increasing the water availability of two or more water basins taking into consideration land use and wind patterns, and was named Land, Water, and Wind Watershed Cycle (L3WC). This approach can be applied to one watershed or a combination of watersheds. In the first case, if wind patterns blow mainly in the opposite direction of the main river flow, plantations with high water demand should be focused on the lowest part of the basin. The transpired moisture would then return to the basin with the wind and possibly increase the water availability of the basin. Applying this method to a series of basins, water is transposed from one basin to another, used for irrigated agriculture, returned to the atmosphere with evapotranspiration and pushed back to the basin where the water was extracted by the wind. Case studies of this methodology are presented in the São Francisco basin and between the Tocantins, Amazonas, and Paraná basins and the São Francisco basin in Brazil. The São Francisco basin was selected because it is located in a dry region, its flow has considerably reduced in the past decade and because the trade winds blow constantly from the ocean into the continent all year around. L3WC is a strategy to plan the allocation of water consumption in a watershed, taking into account wind patterns to support the sustainable development of a region. It has the potential of increasing water availability and creating a climate change adaptation mechanism to control the climate and reduce vulnerability to climatic variations.     

Ensemble of sea ice initial conditions for interannual climate predictions

Polar climate studies are severely hampered by the sparseness of the sea ice observations. We aim at filling this critical gap by producing two 5-member sea ice historical simulations strongly constrained by ocean and atmosphere observational data and covering the 1958–2006 and 1979–2012 periods. This is the first multi-member sea ice reconstruction covering more than 50 years. The obtained sea ice conditions are in reasonable agreement with the few available observations. These best estimates of sea ice conditions serve subsequently as initial sea ice conditions for a set of 28 3-year-long retrospective climate predictions. We compare it to a set in which the sea ice initial conditions are taken from a single-member sea ice historical simulation constrained by atmosphere observations only. We find an improved skill in predicting the Arctic sea ice area and Arctic near surface temperature but a slightly degraded skill in predicting the Antarctic sea ice area. We also obtain a larger spread between the members for the sea ice variables, thus more representative of the forecast error.     

Sediments in the estuarine environment of the tigris/euphrates delta; Iraq; Arabian Gulf

Studies on surface water characters of the estuarine environment of Iraq, northwestern Arabian Gulf, define three subdivisions of salinity: oligohaline, polyhaline, and euhaline. Textural analysis reveals that surface sediments covering the bottom are composed of six distinct classes: silty clay, clayey silt, sand-silt-clays, clayey sand, silty sand and sand. Five physiographic subdivisions are identified and described fluvial-estuarine, tidal mud flats (subtidal flat, lower intertidal flat, upper intertidal flat, supratidal flat), sand bars, Abdallah-Shetana channel and submerged estuarine distributary channel and bar systems. The content of organic matter in the sediments ranges from 0.24-3.69 per cent by weight. High values were recorded from the Abdallah-Shetana channel while lower values are confined to sand bars and submerged estuarine distributary channel and bar systems. Carbonates, quartz, feldspar, and halite are the main mineral constituents of the non-clay grade sediments; carbonates are present mainly as low-magnesium calcite followed by dolomite and high-magnesium calcite. Aragonite is present only in trace amounts. Both detrital and biogenic sources are suggested for low-magnesium calcite. A detrital source for dolomite and a biogenic source for high-magnesium calcite and aragonite are proposed.