On the interannual variability of arctic sea‐level pressure and sea ice

Abstract

Monthly mean sea‐level pressure (SLP) data from the Northern Hemisphere for the period January 1952‐December 1987 are analysed. Fluctuations in this field over the Arctic on interannual time‐scales and their statistical association with fluctuations farther south are determined. The standard deviation of the interannual variability is largest compared with that of the annual cycle along the seaboards of the major land masses. The SLP anomalies are generally in phase over the entire Arctic Basin and extend south over the northern Russia and Canada, but tend to be out of phase with fluctuations at mid‐latitudes. The anomalies are most closely associated with fluctuations over the North Atlantic and Europe except near the Chukchi Sea to the north of Bering Strait. The associations with the North Pacific fluctuations become increasingly more prominent at most Arctic sites (e.g. the Canadian Arctic Archipelago) as the time‐scale increases.

Associations between the SLP fluctuations and atmospheric indices that represent processes affecting sea‐ice drift (wind stress and wind stress curl) are determined. In every case local associations dominate, but some remote ones are also evident. For example, changes in the magnitude of the wind stress curl over the Beaufort Sea are increased if the atmospheric circulation over the North Pacific is intensified; wind stress over the region where sea ice is exchanged between the Beaufort Gyre and the Transpolar Drift Stream is modulated by both the Southern and North Atlantic Oscillations.

Severe sea‐ice conditions in the Greenland Sea (as measured by the Koch Ice Index) coincide with a weakened atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic.     

Sedimentary facies of barataria bay,Louisiana determined by multivariate statistical techniques

A multivariate statistical strategy employing cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and ordination was used to classify and interpret depositional environments of Barataria Bay, Louisiana, from grain-size data tabulated by Krumbein and Aberdeen (1937). Weight-percent whole-phi variables for 69 samples were tested for redundancy using R-mode cluster analysis. These samples were partitioned into five environmentally significant facies using Q-mode cluster analysis: (1) beach-ridge sand; (2) shallow wave-zone sand; (3) channel sand and silty sand; (4) channel-margin silty sand; and (5) low-energy sandy silt and clayey silt. Then the classification was extended with discriminant analysis to the remaining 29 samples which exhibited incipient flocculation and whose constituents did not total unity. Environments of deposition were associated with each facies following the method of Visher (1969) and using gradient analysis on a two-dimensional Q-mode ordination. Wilk's lambda and discriminant analysis tested the statistical significance of these facies; they were further tested by comparing their distribution with field relations and known environmental processes.     

Generation and hydrocarbon entrapment within Gondwanan sediments of the Mandapeta area, Krishna-Godavari Basin, India

The discovery of hydrocarbons (mainly gas) in commercial quantities from Gondwanan sediments in the Mandapeta field of Krishna-Godavari Basin, India, provided impetus for intensified exploration in Mandapeta and the adjoining Kommugudem, Draksharama and Endamuru fields. Both oil and gas have been found in the reservoirs of Mandapeta (Triassic) and Golapalli (Early Cretaceous) formations. Mature, localised, basal shales (1.0–1.1% Ro) in the Mandapeta formation have sourced the oils from the Mandapeta Sandstone reservoir (Triassic). The oils being produced from Golapalli Sandstone reservoir (Early Cretaceous) are relatively less mature and have been sourced by the underlying shales in the Mandapeta Formation at a maturity level of 0.80–0.85% Ro. The source and maturity data preclude liquid hydrocarbon sourcing from the Kommugudem (Permian) sequence. Permian coals and shales of the Kommugudem Formation are the major source rocks for gaseous hydrocarbons in this area. The hydrocarbon generation started in Early Cretaceous in the Kommugudem Formation, but the intermittent tectonic activity (with associated structural developments) has resulted in reorientation and redistribution of the then existing trap configurations. The present day maturity level of the Permian sediments in the Mandapeta field is 1.2% Ro or greater, capable of generating gas dominantly. The Raghavapuram shale in the Mandapeta area is adequately mature and has good hydrocarbon potential for oil generation. The probability of finding hydrocarbon reserves in the sands of Raghavapuram shales and other suitable traps is high. Modern seismic information together with geologic models can give new exploration leads.     

A reanalysis of the relationship between strong westerlies and precipitation in the Great Plains and Midwest regions of North America

A conceptual model relating expanded or strengthened mid-latitude summer westerlies with summer precipitation patterns has been used to explain past drought events in the Great Plains and Midwest of North America, including drought between 1200 and 1400 AD. However, this relationship was originally described using 20 years of instrumental data from the mid 20{th} century, and has not been verified with modern datasets. We reinvestigated the relationship between July westerlies and precipitation in the United States using instrumental records of the last 55 years. We also investigated whether changes in summer zonal flow patterns associated with precipitation anomalies represent a shift in the latitude of peak westerly winds or an increase in wind speed, or a combination of both.Finally, we briefly compare the pattern of precipitation anomalies to paleoclimatic records of drought between 1200 and 1400 AD. Results confirm that strong westerlies are associated with a band of decreased precipitation extending from the northern Rockies into the Midwest. Changes in summer westerlies associated with these patterns are characterized by a strengthening of mean westerly winds, with only a slight southward shift of peak winds over the Atlantic. Changes in the strength of the westerlies over both the Pacific and Atlantic appear to be important to precipitation deficits in the Midwest. Proxy-climate records from 1200 to 1400 AD indicate widespread drought in the Great Plains and Midwest, consistent with the hypothesis of stronger westerlies at this time. However, drought conditions also extended to other regions of North America, indicating a more detailed understanding of the potential causes and synoptic climatology is needed.     

Migration of supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei

The migration of central black holes in galactic nuclei through their encounters with galactic globular clusters is studied. The black hole moves in the field of the galactic bulge with a fixed potential. The dependences of the black-hole drift amplitude on orbital parameters of the globular cluster, its mass, and bulge parameters have been found. The drift amplitude of the central black hole can reach several parsecs in our Galaxy and several tens of parsecs in early-type (Sa) and late-type (Sc) spiral galaxies.     

Pulsar velocities

Radio pulsars have long been established as having high velocities that are probably produced in the violence of their formation in Supernovae (Gunn & Ostriker 1970; Lyne, Anderson & Salter 1982). Three recent developments have resulted in a reassessment of their velocities: the adoption of a new distance scale (Taylor & Cordes 1993), many new determinations of proper motion (Harrison, Lyne & Anderson 1993; Bailes et al. 1989; Fomalont et al. 1992) and the realisation (Harrison & Lyne 1993) that estimates of speeds derived from scintillation measurements were systematically low by about a factor of 2. Taking into account a strong selection effect that makes the observed velocities unrepresentative of those acquired at birth, it seems that the mean space velocity of pulsars at birth is 450 ± 90 km s^-1 (Lyne and Lorimer 1994), about a factor of 3 greater than earlier estimates. The general migration from the Galactic plane is consistent with birth in the supernova of massive Population I stars. An outstanding question is how such velocities are produced in the kinetics of supernova collapse. This large increase in birth velocity is likely to have a major impact upon our understanding of the retention of neutron stars in binary systems, globular clusters and the Galaxy as it exceeds or is comparable with all their escape velocities. The rapid spatial separation of fast and slow pulsars will have a profound effect upon calculations of the galactic population and birth rate, both of which have been underestimated in the past. Furthermore, the distribution of dead neutron stars will be more isotropic and may better match the distribution of the gamma-ray burst sources. A small number of pulsars are at a large distance from the Galactic plane, but moving towards it. The most likely origin of these objects lies in OB runaway stars.     

Comparisons between the influences of habitat, body size and season on the dietary composition of the sparid Acanthopagrus latus in a large marine embayment

Seasonal samples from Shark Bay on the west coast of Australia were used to determine (1) the habitats occupied by the juveniles and adults of Acanthopagrus latus in this large subtropical marine embayment and (2) the extent to which the dietary composition of this sparid is influenced by habitat type, body length and season. Sampling was undertaken in two habitat types in which A. latus was known to be abundant, namely mangrove (Avicennia marina) creeks and nearby rocky areas, the latter comprising sandstone boulders and/or limestone reefs. The mean total length ±95% CLs of A. latus was far lower in mangrove creeks, 126 ± 6.1 mm, than in rocky areas, 313 ± 4.7 mm. As A. latus attains maturity at ca. 245 mm, the juveniles of this species typically occupy mangrove areas and then, with increasing body size, move to nearshore rocky areas, where they become adults. The species composition of the food ingested by juvenile A. latus in mangrove creeks differed markedly from that of large juveniles and adults in rocky areas. Based on analyses of data for both habitat types combined, this difference was far greater than that between size classes and season, which was negligible. There were indications, however, that, overall within each habitat, the dietary composition did change seasonally, although not with body size. Acanthopagrus latus fed predominantly on mangrove material, sesarmid crabs and small gastropods in mangrove habitats, and mainly on Brachidontes ustulatus in rocky areas, where this mytilid bivalve is very abundant. The mangrove material, which contributed nearly 40% of its overall dietary volume in mangrove creeks, consisted mainly of lateral root primordia. This apparently unique food source for a teleost is presumably ingested through subsurface nipping, which would be facilitated by the mouth and dentitional characteristics of sparids. The almost total lack of correspondence in the dietary compositions of fish in the length class that was well represented in both mangrove and rocky areas illustrates the extent to which this sparid is capable of opportunistic feeding behaviour.     

Simultaneous radio and optical observations of the mid-latitude atmospheric response to a major geomagnetic storm of 6–8 April 2000

Basic properties of the mid-latitude traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) during the maximum phase of a major magnetic storm of 6–8 April 2000 are shown. Total electron content (TEC) variations were studied by using data from GPS receivers located in Russia and Central Asia. The nightglow response to this storm at mesopause and termospheric altitudes was also measured by optical instruments FENIX located at the observatory of the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (51.9°N,103.0°E), and MORTI located at the observatory of the Institute of Ionosphere (43.2°N, 77.0°E). Observations of the O (557.7 and 630.0 nm) emissions originating from atmospheric layers centered at altitudes of 90 and 250 km were carried out at Irkutsk and of the O₂(b¹∑_g⁺−X³∑_g⁻) (0-1) emission originating from an atmospheric layer centered at altitude of 94 km was carried out at Almaty. Our radio and optical measurement network observed a storm-induced solitary large-scale wave with duration of 1 h and a wave front width of no less than 5000 km, while it traveled equatorward with a velocity of 200 m/s from 62°N to 38°N geographic latitude. The TEC disturbance, basically displaying an electron content depression in the maximum of the F2 region, reveals a good correlation with growing nightglow emission, the temporal shift between the TEC and emission variation maxima being different for different altitudes. A comparison of the auroral oval parameters with dynamic spectra of TEC variations and optical 630 nm emissions in the frequency range 0.4–4 mHz (250–2500 s periods) showed that as the auroral oval expands into mid-latitudes, also does the region with a developed medium-sale and small-scale TEC structure.     

Tectonic evolution at an early proterozoic continental margin: The Svecokarelides of eastern Finland

The early Proterozoic history of the Baltic Shield in Fennoscandia provides evidence of fragmentation of a late Archaean craton, continental sedimentation and then back-arc spreading, interpreted as being associated with the uprise of a mantle diapir. Basin subsidence and infilling with flysch debris is explained on the basis of thermal decay, locking of a subduction zone and erosion of an uplifted arc. Compressive tectonism in the Karelian part of the Svecokarelian orogen resulted in obduction of the contents of the back-arc basin on to the continental foreland. Further compression caused further thickening of the supracrustal pile and interdigitation of tectonic slices of basement and cover due to thrusting. Subsequently movement was resolved along major NW-trending wrench-faults that generally follow the margin of teh craton and which represent zones of reactivation of planar features developed in late Archaean times. As the crustal pile was warped and uplifted in subsequent deformational phases, the deep levels of the wrench-faults acted as sites of granitoid emplacement.The tectonic activity in the Karelian part of the Svecokarelides is interpreted as the response to the northward movement of oceanic lithosphere in the Svecofennian part of the orogen where successively-formed early Proterozoic island arcs moved northwards and were intensely deformed, associated with the development and emplacement of large masses of igneous material. The resultant orogen, consisting of a stable craton, obducted nappes, exotic terrane, transcurrent faults and island arcs that moved obliquely to the margin of the craton, shows many similarities in development to that of the western Cordillera of North America.     

Origins and evolution of rhyolitic magmas in the central Snake River Plain: insights from coupled high-precision geochronology,oxygen isotope,and hafnium isotope analyses of zircon

We present new high-precision CA-ID-TIMS and in situ U–Pb ages together with Hf and O isotopic analyses (analyses performed all on the same grains) from four tuffs from the 15?10 Ma Bruneau–Jarbidge center of the Snake River Plain and from three rhyolitic units from the Kimberly borehole in the neighboring 10?6 Ma Twin Falls volcanic center. We find significant intrasample diversity in zircon ages (ranges of up to 3 Myr) and in δ¹⁸O (ranges of up to 6‰) and ε_Hf (ranges of up to 24 ε units) values. Zircon rims are also more homogeneous than the associated cores, and we show that zircon rim growth occurs faster than the resolution of in situ dating techniques. CA-ID-TIMS dating of a subset of zircon grains from the Twin Falls samples reveals complex crystallization histories spanning 10⁴–10⁶ years prior to some eruptions, suggesting that magma genesis was characterized by the cyclic remelting of buried volcanic rocks and intrusions associated with previous magmatic episodes. Age-dependent trends in zircon isotopic compositions show that rhyolite production in the Yellowstone hotspot track is driven by the mixing of mantle-derived melts (normal δ¹⁸O and ε_Hf) and a combination of Precambrian basement rock (normal δ¹⁸O and ε_Hf down to ??60) and shallow Mesozoic and Cenozoic age rocks, some of which are hydrothermally altered (to low δ¹⁸O values) by earlier stages of Snake River Plain magmatism. These crustal melts hybridize with juvenile basalts and rhyolites to produce the erupted rhyolites. We also observe that the Precambrian basement rock is only an important component in the erupted magmas in the first eruption at each caldera center, suggesting that the accumulation of new intrusions quickly builds an upper crustal intrusive body which is isolated from the Precambrian basement and evolves towards more isotopically juvenile and lower-δ¹⁸O compositions over time.