Greenland surface mass balance simulated by a regional climate model and comparison with satellite-derived data in 1990–1991

The 1990 and 1991 ablation seasons over Greenland are simulated with a coupled atmosphere-snow regional climate model with a 25-km horizontal resolution. The simulated snow water content allows a direct comparison with the satellite-derived melt signal. The model is forced with 6-hourly ERA-40 reanalysis at its boundaries. An evaluation of the simulated precipitation and a comparison of the modelled melt zone and the surface albedo with remote sensing observations are presented. Both the distribution and quantity of the simulated precipitation agree with observations from coastal weather stations, estimates from other models and the ERA-40 reanalysis. There are overestimations along the steep eastern coast, which are most likely due to the “topographic barrier effect”. The simulated extent and time evolution of the wet snow zone compare generally well with satellite-derived data, except during rainfall events on the ice sheet and because of a bias in the passive microwave retrieved melt signal. Although satellite-based surface albedo retrieval is only valid in the case of clear sky, the interpolation and the correction of these data enable us to validate the simulated albedo on the scale of the whole Greenland. These two comparisons highlight a large sensitivity of the remote sensing observations to weather conditions. Our high-resolution climate model was used to improve the retrieval algorithms by taking more fully into account the atmosphere variability. Finally, the good agreement of the simulated melting surface with the improved satellite signal allows a detailed estimation of the melting volume from the simulation.     

Interaction between an eddy and a zonal jet : Part II. Two-and-a-half-layer model

In a two-and-a-half-layer quasi-geostrophic model, a process study is conducted on the interaction between a vortex and a zonal jet, both with constant potential vorticity. The vortex is a stable anticyclone, initially located north of the eastward jet. The potential vorticity of the jet is allowed to have various vertical structures, while the vortex is concentrated in only one layer. The flow parameters are set to values characteristic of the Azores region.First, the jet is stable. Weak vortices steadily drift north of the jet without crossing it while strong vortices can cross the jet and tear off a cyclone with which they pair as a heton (baroclinic dipole). This heton often breaks later in the shear exerted by the jet; the two vortices finally drift apart. When crossed by deep anticyclones, the jet develops meanders with 375 km wavelength. These results exhibit a noticeable similarity with the one-and-a-half-layer case studied in Part I.Secondly, the jet is allowed to be linearly unstable. In the absence of the vortex, it develops meanders with 175 km wavelength and 25-day e-folding time on the β-plane. For various vertical structures of the jet, baroclinic instability is shown to barely affect jet–vortex interaction if the linear growth rate of unstable waves is smaller than 1/(14 days). Further simulations with a linearly unstable, nonlinearly equilibrated jet evidence its strong temporal variability when crossed by a deep vortex on the β-plane. In particular, long waves can dominate the spectrum for a few months after jet crossing by the vortex. Again in this process, the deep vortex couples with a surface cyclone and both drift southwestward.     

Western boundary upwelling dynamics off Oman

Despite its climatic and ecosystemic significance, the coastal upwelling that takes place off Oman is not well understood. A primitive-equation, regional model forced by climatological wind stress is used to investigate its dynamics and to compare it with the better-known Eastern Boundary Upwellings (EBUs). The solution compares favorably with existing observations, simulating well the seasonal cycles of thermal structure, surface circulation (mean and turbulent), and sea-surface temperature (SST). There is a 1.5-month lag between the maximum of the upwelling-favorable wind-stress-curl forcing and the oceanic response (minima in sea-surface height and SST), which we attribute to onshore-propagating Rossby waves. A southwestward-flowing undercurrent (opposite to the direction of the near-surface flow) is also simulated with a core depth of 1000 m, much deeper than found in EBUs (150–200 m). An EKE budget reveals that, in contrast to EBUs, the upwelling jet is more prone to barotropic than baroclinic instability and the contribution of locally-generated instabilities to EKE is higher by an order of magnitude. Advection and redistribution of EKE by standing mesoscale features also play a significant role in EKE budget.     

Assessing the accuracy of sequential gaussian simulation through statistical testing

Sequential Gaussian simulation is one of the most widespread algorithms for simulating regionalized variables in the earth sciences. Simplicity and flexibility of this algorithm are the most important reasons that make it popular, but its implementation is highly dependent on a screen effect approximation that allows users to use a moving neighborhood instead of a unique neighborhood. Because of this, the size of the moving neighborhood the number of conditioning data and the size of variogram range are important in the simulation process and should be chosen carefully. In this work, different synthetic and real case studies are presented to show the effect of the neighborhood size the number of conditioning data and the size of variogram range on the simulation result, with respect to the reproduction of the model first and second-order parameters. Results indicate that, in both conditional and non-conditional simulation cases, using a neighborhood with <50 conditioning data may lead to an inaccurate reproduction of the model statistics, and some cases require considering more than 200 conditioning data. It also can be understood from the result of example 3 that when the variogram range is beg compared to the simulation domain determination of inaccurate simulation program is harder.     

Source spectral phases of surface waves recovered from observed spectral amplitudes by using Hilbert transforms

Spectral phases of surface waves radiated at the seismic source are recovered by means of the Hilbert transform of spectral amplitudes. Through numerical simulations as well as the study of an earthquake with well known focal mechanism, it is shown that the recovered phases satisfy a criterion of coherency, so that they can be used in an inversion process for the retrieval of the seismic moment tensor.     

Effect of submerged aquatic vegetation on turbulence induced by an oscillating grid

In wetlands wind-induced turbulence significantly affects the bottom boundary, and the interaction between turbulence and plant canopies is therefore particularly important. The aim of this study is to advance understanding of the impact of this interaction in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV)¹ on vertical mixing in a fluid dominated by turbulence. Wind-generated turbulence was simulated in the laboratory using an oscillating grid. We quantify the vertical distribution of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE)² above and within different types of vegetation, measured by an acoustic Doppler velocimeter. Experimental conditions are analysed in two canopy models (rigid and semi-rigid) with seven solid plant fractions (SPFs)³, three stem diameters (d)⁴ and three oscillation grid frequencies (f)⁵ and four natural SAVs (Cladium mariscus, Potamogeton nodosus, Myriophyllum verticillatum and Ruppia maritima).     

Localized algal blooms induced by river inflows in a canyon type reservoir

The local response of the phytoplankton community to river inflow processes was investigated with modeling and field analyses in a long and narrow, stratified reservoir in mid-summer. The river water had high concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) and temperature had large variations at diurnal scales. As a consequence of the large variation in river temperature, the level of neutral buoyancy (the depth where the river water spreads laterally in the reservoir) oscillated between the surface (overflows) during the day, and the depth of the metalimnion (interflows) during the night. The reservoir remained strongly stratified, which favoured the presence of cyanobacteria. It is shown that under these conditions, nutrient-rich river water injected during overflows into the surface layers promoted the occurrence of localized algal blooms in the zones where the overflow mixed with the quiescent water of the reservoir. A series of hydrodynamic simulations of the reservoir were conducted both with synthetic and realistic forcing to assess the importance of river temperatures and wind-driven hydrodynamics for algal blooms. The simulations confirmed that the river inflow was the main forcing mechanism generating the localized bloom.     

Re-establishment of zooplankton communities in temporary ponds after autumn flooding: Does restoration age matter?

In temporary ponds, reestablishment of zooplankton communities depends on recruitment from the egg bank, the arrival of dispersers from within the region, and on successful establishment of newly arrived species following interaction with local abiotic and biotic factors. When the ponds dry up, zooplankton species may survive as dormant eggs, and since not all eggs hatch in the next season, eggs will accumulate in the sediment over time, representing an archive of the pond's historical biodiversity.To study the effect of “restoration age” (the time since a water body was restored), we studied groups of ponds that were restored in different years (1998, 2003 and 2007). The restoration process involved extensive dredging of sediments which were used to bury the ponds in the 1960s. Our expectation was that the oldest ponds would have the richest zooplankton community, as they have been accumulating biodiversity over a longer time period. We took weekly quantitative samples of zooplankton during four consecutive weeks after flooding to compare taxon richness and zooplankton community composition between ponds of different restoration age during an early stage of zooplankton community re-establishment.Taxon richness was high and similar to regional levels in all the ponds under investigation, suggesting restoration success and unlimited dispersal. Although cumulative richness at the end of the period was not significantly different between ponds, we observed temporal changes within the study period and certain age-related trends in relation to differences in zooplankton composition. These results suggest a difference in the succession of zooplankton communities depending on restoration age (which could be due to historical or local factors) and that this effect becomes evident from the beginning of the pond hydroperiod.     

Impact of digenean parasite infection on metallothionein synthesis by the cockle (Cerastoderma edule): a multivariate field monitoring

Metallothioneins (MT) are proteins that play an important role in metabolism of essential metals and detoxification of trace metals from living organisms. Their synthesis is induced by metal pollution but can also be exacerbated by other factors such as reproduction processes. In this context, we monitored MT concentrations in a cockle Cerastoderma edule (marine bivalve) population and highlighted the effect of a castrating digenean parasite, Labratrema minimus. In spent cockles, MT levels were low (ca. 5 nmol sites g(-1), fresh weight) but slightly higher in parasitized individuals. During gametogenesis, MT synthesis increased in all cockles, but concentrations were lower in parasitized individuals (18 against 27 nmol sites g(-1), fw in unparasitized cockles) in relation with gonad damage by parasites. Therefore, it is suggested that parasite infection in cockles can modulate MT synthesis that could consequently interfere with the response of these protective proteins in case of metal contamination.     

Late Quaternary biotic and abiotic controls on long-term sediment flux in a northern Australian tropical river system

The modern distribution of monsoonal rainforest in the Australian tropics is patchy and is mainly associated with river corridors and groundwater springs, which indicates a strong dependence on hydrologic and geomorphic conditions. While their present distribution is well known, very little data exists on past spatial and temporal dynamics of these ecosystems, or their medium- to longer-term controls. Factors such as (i) fire frequency and type, and/or (ii) hydroclimatic conditions (e.g. droughts) have been proposed to control riverine corridor rainforest extent. Recent observations, however, also suggest an additional (iii) geomorphic control induced by alluvial knickpoint migration. Sediment sequences provide valuable archives for the reconstruction of longer-term (a) floodplain sedimentary dynamics, (b) local vegetation history, and (c) catchment-wide fire histories. This study investigates such a sediment sequence at Wangi Creek, and shows that a phase of aggradation, lasting ~4000 years, was recently disrupted by channel incision and floodplain erosion. The aggradational phase is characterized by sand deposition with average vertical floodplain accretion rates of 0.8 cm/yr and includes phases of soil development. The recent incisional phase has changed hydro-geomorphic conditions and caused widespread degradation of vegetation, erosion and lowering of the macro-channel surface. While there is no evidence in our data for an erosional event of similar magnitude since the onset of late Holocene floodplain aggradation, Wangi Creek experienced significant erosion and incision immediately before ~4000 years, providing the first evidence for a tropical cut-and-fill river system. We hence argue that phases of aggradation mainly controlled by biotic processes alternate and depend on feedbacks with incision phases controlled mainly by abiotic processes. The results show that eco-hydro-geomorphic feedbacks may play a crucial role in the medium- to longer-term history of tropical fluvial systems and need to be considered when interpreting fluvial archives with regards to climate, fire or human induced change. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.