Energetics of tidally generated internal waves for nonuniform stratification

The generation of internal waves from barotropic tides can be quantified in terms of the conversion rates. These have often been obtained by applying the WKB approximation, which yields an expression for the conversion rates which is proportional to the seabed buoyancy frequency   N _B   . For small values of   N _B   or strong variations of the buoyancy profile   N ( z )  , this gives unreliable results. Using homogenization theory it is here shown that the conversion rate instead depends on the value of   N ( z )  averaged over a vertical region at the bottom of the same magnitude as the vertical length-scale of the internal wave, which for the lowest modes is of the same order as the entire ocean depth. This gives a substantially larger conversion rate.     

Asynchronous data assimilation with the EnKF

This study revisits the problem of assimilation of asynchronous observations, or four-dimensional data assimilation, with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). We show that for a system with perfect model and linear dynamics the ensemble Kalman smoother (EnKS) provides a simple and efficient solution for the problem: one just needs to use the ensemble observations (that is, the forecast observations for each ensemble member) from the time of observation during the update, for each assimilated observation. This recipe can be used for assimilating both past and future data; in the context of assimilating generic asynchronous observations we refer to it as the asynchronous EnKF. The asynchronous EnKF is essentially equivalent to the four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4D-Var). It requires only one forward integration of the system to obtain and store the data necessary for the analysis, and therefore is feasible for large-scale applications. Unlike 4D-Var, the asynchronous EnKF requires no tangent linear or adjoint model.     

Cessation and partial reversal of deep water freshening in the northern North Atlantic: observation-based estimates and attribution

Recent decadal salinity changes in the Greenland-Scotland overflow-derived deep waters are quantified using CTD data from repeated hydrographic sections in the Irminger Sea. The Denmark Strait Overflow Water salinity record shows the absence of any net change over the 1980s–2000s; changes in the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and in the deep water column (σ₀ > 27.82), enclosing both overflows, show a distinct freshening reversal in the early 2000s. The observed freshening reversal is a lagged consequence of the persistent ISOW salinification that occurred upstream, in the Iceland Basin, after 1996 in response to salinification of the northeast Atlantic waters entrained into the overflow. The entrainment salinity increase is explained by the earlier documented North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-induced contraction of the subpolar gyre and corresponding northwestward advance of subtropical waters that followed the NAO decline in the mid-1990s and continued through the mid-2000s. Remarkably, the ISOW freshening reversal is not associated with changes in the overflow water salinity. This suggests that changes in the NAO-dependent relative contributions of subpolar and subtropical waters to the entrainment south of the Iceland–Scotland Ridge may dominate over changes in the Nordic Seas freshwater balance with respect to their effect on the ISOW salinity.     

Aircraft study of aerosol vertical distributions over Beijing and their optical properties

A set of 152 vertical profiles of aerosol number concentration and size distribution with diameter ranging from 0.12 to 3.0 μm observed by the airborne optical spectrometer probe in Beijing, China, between February 2005 and September 2006 is analysed and discussed. The statistic of aerosol number concentration ( N _a) reveals a high aerosol number density in this region with average surface level number concentration ( N ₀) of about 6600 cm⁻³ (0.12–3.0 μm). The average vertical profile of N _a approximately satisfies an exponential decline function with a scale height of 1419 m. The N _a profiles are influenced by the structures of planetary boundary layer (PBL) significantly and two typical types of N _a profile under different conditions of PBL are presented and parametrized in this study. The observations of aerosol size distribution show that, in most cases the aerosol size distributions are not very sensitive to altitude, with effective radii ranging from 0.16 to 0.28 μm. Comparison between aircraft-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-derived AOD shows good agreement. The Mie model calculations suggest that the surface level number concentration, the PBL height and the structure of PBL can influence the AOD significantly.     

A recent build-up of atmospheric CO2 over Europe. Part 1: observed signals and possible explanations

We analysed interannual and decadal changes in the atmospheric CO₂ concentration gradient (ΔCO₂) between Europe and the Atlantic Ocean over the period 1995–2007. Fourteen measurement stations are used, with Mace-Head being used to define background conditions. The variability of ΔCO₂ reflects fossil fuel emissions and natural sinks activity over Europe, as well as atmospheric transport variability. The mean ΔCO₂ increased by 1–2 ppm at Eastern European stations (∼30% growth), between 1990–1995 and 2000–2005. This built up of CO₂ over the continent is predominantly a winter signal. If the observed increase of ΔCO₂ is explained by changes in ecosystem fluxes, a loss of about 0.46 Pg C per year would be required during 2000–2005. Even if severe droughts have impacted Western Europe in 2003 and 2005, a sustained CO₂ loss of that magnitude is unlikely to be true. We sought alternative explanations for the observed CO₂ build-up into transport changes and into regional redistribution of fossil fuel CO₂ emissions. Boundary layer heights becoming shallower can only explain 32% of the variance of the signal. Regional changes of emissions may explain up to 27% of the build-up. More insights are given in the Aulagnier et al. companion paper.     

Ice nuclei characteristics from M-PACE and their relation to ice formation in clouds

This paper presents airborne measurements of ice nuclei (IN) number concentration and elemental composition from the mixed-phase Arctic cloud experiment (M-PACE) in northern Alaska during October 2004. Although the project average IN concentration was low, less than 1 L⁻¹ STP, there was significant spatial and temporal variability, with local maximum concentrations of nearly 60 L⁻¹ STP. Immersion and/or condensation freezing appear to be the dominant freezing mechanisms, whereas mechanisms that occur below water saturation played a smaller role. The dominant particle types identified as IN were metal oxides/dust (39%), carbonaceous particles (35%) and mixtures of metal oxides/dust with either carbonaceous components or salts/sulphates (25%), although there was significant variability in elemental composition. Trajectory analysis suggests both local and remote sources, including biomass burning and volcanic ash. Seasonal variability of IN number concentrations based on this study and data from SHEBA/FIRE-ACE indicates that fall concentrations are depleted relative to spring by about a factor of five. Average IN number concentrations from both studies compare favorably with cloud ice number concentrations of cloud particles larger than 125 μm, for temperatures less than −10 °C. Cloud ice number concentrations also were enhanced in spring, by a factor of ∼2, but only over a limited temperature range.     

The effects of black carbon and sulphate aerosols in China regions on East Asia monsoons

In this paper, we examine the direct effects of sulphate and black carbon (BC) aerosols in China on East Asia monsoons and its precipitation processes by using the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) 3.0 model. It is demonstrated that sulphate and BC aerosols in China both have the effects to weaken East Asia monsoons in both summer and winter seasons. However, they certainly differ from each other in affecting vertical structures of temperature and atmospheric circulations. Their differences are expected because of their distinct optical properties, that is, scattering versus absorbing. Even for a single type of aerosol, its effects on temperature structures and atmospheric circulations are largely season-dependent. Applications of T -test on our results indicate that forcing from BC aerosols over China is relatively weak and limited. It is also evident from our results that the effects of synthetic aerosols (sulphate and BC together) on monsoons are not simply a linear summation between these two types of aerosols. Instead, they are determined by their integrated optical properties. Synthetic aerosols to a large degree resemble effects of sulphate aerosols. This implies a likely scattering property for the integration of BC and sulphate aerosols in China.     

Climate effects on atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last century

The buildup of atmospheric CO₂ since 1958 is surprisingly well explained by the simple premise that 57% of the industrial emissions (fossil fuel burning and cement manufacture) has remained airborne. This premise accounts well for the rise both before and after 1980 despite a decrease in the growth rate of fossil fuel CO₂ emissions, which occurred at that time, and by itself should have caused the airborne fraction to decrease. In contrast, the buildup prior to 1958 was not simply proportional to cumulative fossil fuel emissions, and notably included a period during the 1940s when CO₂ growth stalled despite continued fossil fuel emissions. Here we show that the constancy of the airborne fraction since 1958 can be in part explained by decadal variations in global land air temperature, which caused a warming-induced release of CO₂ from the land biosphere to the atmosphere. We also show that the 1940s plateau may be related to these decadal temperature variations. Furthermore, we show that there is a close connection between the phenomenology producing CO₂ variability on multidecadal and El Niño timescales.     

Investigation of parameters controlling the soil sink of atmospheric molecular hydrogen

Enclosure measurements have been performed on a bare mineral soil at an experimental field site near Heidelberg, Germany. From observed molecular hydrogen (H₂) mixing ratio changes in the enclosure, deposition velocities were calculated ranging from  8.4 × 10⁻³  to  8.2 × 10⁻² cm s⁻¹  and with an annual mean value of  3.1 × 10⁻² cm s⁻¹  . In the studied range of  2– 27 °C  , the uptake showed a significant temperature dependence. However, this turned out not to be the primary driving mechanism of the uptake flux. Soil moisture content, co-varying with temperature, was identified as the major parameter being responsible for the diffusive permeability of H₂ in the soil and the final rate of H₂ uptake. A simple Millington–Quirk diffusion model approach could largely explain this behaviour and yielded a diffusion path length of H₂ in the studied soil of only 0.2–1.8 cm, suggesting that total H₂ consumption occurs within the first few centimetres of the soil. The diffusion model, when applied to continuous measurements of soil moisture content, atmospheric pressure, temperature and the mixing ratio of H₂ in the atmosphere, could largely reproduce the measured deposition flux densities, assuming a mean thickness of the diffusion path length of 0.7 cm.