The East Greenland Spill Jet as an important component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

The recently discovered East Greenland Spill Jet is a bottom-intensified current on the upper continental slope south of Denmark Strait, transporting intermediate density water equatorward. Until now the Spill Jet has only been observed with limited summertime measurements from ships. Here we present the first year-round mooring observations demonstrating that the current is a ubiquitous feature with a volume transport similar to the well-known plume of Denmark Strait overflow water farther downslope. Using reverse particle tracking in a high-resolution numerical model, we investigate the upstream sources feeding the Spill Jet. Three main pathways are identified: particles flowing directly into the Spill Jet from the Denmark Strait sill; particles progressing southward on the East Greenland shelf that subsequently spill over the shelfbreak into the current; and ambient water from the Irminger Sea that gets entrained into the flow. The two Spill Jet pathways emanating from Denmark Strait are newly resolved, and long-term hydrographic data from the strait verifies that dense water is present far onto the Greenland shelf. Additional measurements near the southern tip of Greenland suggest that the Spill Jet ultimately merges with the deep portion of the shelfbreak current, originally thought to be a lateral circulation associated with the sub-polar gyre. Our study thus reveals a previously unrecognized significant component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that needs to be considered to understand fully the ocean׳s role in climate.     

An exploration for deep-sea fish sounds off Vancouver Island from the NEPTUNE Canada ocean observing system

Our understanding of the significance of sound production to the ecology of deep-sea fish communities has improved little since anatomical surveys in the 1950s first suggested that sound production is widespread among slope-water fishes. The recent implementation of cabled ocean observatory networks around the world that include passive acoustic recording instruments provides scientists an opportunity to search for evidence of deep-sea fish sounds. We examined deep-sea acoustic recordings made at the NEPTUNE Canada Barkley Canyon Axis Pod (985 m) located off the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Northeast Pacific between June 2010 and May 2011 to determine the presence of fish sounds. A subset of over 300 5-min files was examined by selecting one day each month and analyzing one file for each hour over the 24 h day. Despite the frequent occurrence of marine mammal sounds, no examples of fish sounds were identified. However, we report examples of isolated unknown sounds that might be produced by fish, invertebrates, or more likely marine mammals. This finding is in direct contrast to recent smaller studies in the Atlantic where potential fish sounds appear to be more common. A review of the literature indicates 32 species found off British Columbia that potentially produce sound could occur in depths greater than 700 m but of these only Anoplopoma fimbria and Coryphaenoides spp. have been previously reported at the site. The lack of fish sounds observed here may be directly related to the low diversity and abundance of fishes present at the Barkley Canyon site. Other contributing factors include possible masking of low amplitude biological signals by self-generated noise from the platform instrumentation and ship noise. We suggest that examination of data both from noise-reduced ocean observatories around the world and from dedicated instrument surveys designed to search for deep-sea fish sounds to provide a larger-scale, more conclusive investigation into the role, or potential lack thereof, of sound production.     

Decadal modes of sea surface salinity and the water cycle in the tropical Pacific Ocean: The anomalous late 1990s

Limitations in sea surface salinity (SSS) observations and timescale separation methods have led to an incomplete picture of the mechanisms of SSS decadal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean, where the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dominates. Little is known regarding the roles of the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the large-scale SSS variability over the tropical basin. A self-organizing map (SOM) clustering analysis is performed on the intrinsic mode function (IMF) maps, which are decomposed from SSS and other hydrological fields by ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), to extract their asymmetric features on decadal timescales over the tropical Pacific. For SSS, an anomalous pattern appeared during 1997 to 2004, a period referred to as the anomalous late 1990s, when strong freshening prevailed in large areas over the southwestern basin and moderate salinization occurred in the western equatorial Pacific. During this period, the precipitation and surface currents were simultaneously subjected to anomalous fluctuations: the precipitation dipole and zonal current divergence along the equator coincided with the SSS increase in the far western equatorial Pacific, while the weak zonal current convergence in the southwestern basin and large-scale southward meridional currents tended to induce SSS decreases there. The dominant decadal modes of SSS and sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific both resemble the NPGO but occur predominantly during the negative and positive NPGO phases, respectively. The similarities between the NPGO and Central Pacific ENSO (CP-ENSO) in their power spectra and associated spatial patterns in the tropics imply their dynamical links; the correspondence between the NPGO-like patterns during negative (positive) phases and the CP La Niña (CP El Niño) patterns for SSS is also discussed.     

东太平洋海隆深海热液区沉积物古菌多样性分析

采用PCR-RFLP方法对东太平洋海隆深海热液区3个站位沉积物中的古菌多样性进行了初步研究.结果显示,从古菌16S rRNA基因文库中随机挑取的296个阳性克隆分属奇古菌门（Thaumarchaeota,47.64%）、广古菌门（Euryarchaeota,44.93%）、泉古菌门（Crenarchaeota,6.77%）和未分类古菌（0.68%）,其中优势菌群为奇古菌门的亚硝化侏儒菌属（Nitrosopumilus,35.47%）和广古菌门的热原体纲（Thermoplasmata,27.03%）,DHVE3、DHVE5、DHVE6、MBGB和MBGE类群在沉积物样品中也均有发现.另外,3个站位沉积物中古菌类群组成存在差异,S5-TVG1站位样品文库的97个古菌克隆分属奇古菌门（49.48%）、广古菌门（49.48%）和泉古菌门（1.03%）,S14-TVG10站位样品文库的103个古菌克隆由奇古菌门（84.47%）和广古菌门（15.53%）组成,S16-TVG12站位样品文库的96个古菌克隆包括广古菌门（71.88%）、泉古菌门（19.79%）、奇古菌门（6.25%）和未分类古菌（2.08%）.研究结果表明,东太平洋海隆深海热液区沉积物中古菌多样性丰富,存在着许多新的古菌菌群;不同站位古菌菌群结构以及多样性存在差异,这与其所处环境的热液活动密切相关.     

CMIP5/AMIP GCM simulations of East Asian summer monsoon

The East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） is a distinctive component of the Asian climate system and critically influences the economy and society of the region.To understand the ability of AGCMs in capturing the major features of EASM,10 models that participated in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project/Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project （CMIP5/AMIP）,which used observational SST and sea ice to drive AGCMs during the period 1979-2008,were evaluated by comparing with observations and AMIP Ⅱ simulations.The results indicated that the multi-model ensemble （MME） of CMIP5/AMIP captures the main characteristics of precipitation and monsoon circulation,and shows the best skill in EASM simulation,better than the AMIP Ⅱ MME.As for the Meiyu/Changma/Baiyu rainbelt,the intensity of rainfall is underestimated in all the models.The biases are caused by a weak western Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） and accompanying eastward southwesterly winds in group Ⅰ models,and by a too strong and west-extended WPSH as well as westerly winds in group Ⅱ models.Considerable systematic errors exist in the simulated seasonal migration of rainfall,and the notable northward jumps and rainfall persistence remain a challenge for all the models.However,the CMIP5/AMIP MME is skillful in simulating the western North Pacific monsoon index （WNPMI）.     

Heat budget of the south-central equatorial Pacific in CMIP3 models

ABSTRACT Using data from 17 coupled models and nine sets of corresponding Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project （AMIP） results, we investigated annual and seasonal variation biases in the upper 50 m of the south-central equatorial Pacific, with a focus on the double-ITCZ bias, and examined the causes for the amplitude biases by using heat budget analysis. The results showed that, in the research region, most of the models simulate SSTs that are higher than or similar to observed. The simulated seasonal phase is close to that observed, but the amplitudes of more than half of the model results are larger than or equal to observations. Heat budget analysis demonstrated that strong shortwave radiation in individual atmospheric models is the main factor that leads to high SST values and that weak southward cold advection is an important mechanism for maintaining a high SST. For seasonal circulation, large surface shortwave radiation amplitudes cause large SST amplitudes.     

The Interdecadal Changes of South Pacific Sea Surface Temperature in the Mid-1990s and Their Connections with ENSO简

The characteristic changes of South Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） for the period January 1979 to December 2011, during which the 1990s Pacific pan-decadal variability （PDV） interdecadal regime shifts occurred, were examined. Empirical Orthogonal Function （EOF） analysis was applied to the monthly mean SSTA for two sub-periods： January 1979 to December 1994 （P 1） and January 1996 to December 2011 （P2）. Both the spatial and temporal features of the leading EOF mode for P1 and P2 showed a remarkable difference. The spatial structure of the leading EOF changed from a tripolar pattern for P 1 （EOF-P 1） to a dipole-like pattern for P2 （EOF-P2）. Besides, EOF-P 1 （EOF-P2） had significant spectral peaks at 4.6 yr （2.7 yr）. EOF-P2 not only had a closer association with E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO）, but also showed a faster response to ENSO than EOF-P1 based on their lead-lag relationships with ENSO. During the development of ENSO, the South Pacific SSTA associated with ENSO for both PI and P2 showed a significant eastward propagation. However, after the peak of ENSO, EOF-P1 showed a stronger persistence than EOF-P2, which still showed eastward propagation. The variability of the SSTA associated with the whole process of ENSO evolution during P1 and the SSTA associated with the development of ENSO during P2 support the existence of ocean-to-atmosphere forcing, but the SSTA associated with the decay of ENSO shows the phenomenon of atmosphere-to-ocean forcing.     

The response of the East Asian summer monsoon to strong tropical volcanic eruptions

A 600-year integration performed with the Bergen Climate Model and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） reanalysis data were used to investigate the impact of strong tropical volcanic eruptions on the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） and EASM rainfall.Both the simulation and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data show a weakening of the EASM in strong eruption years.The model simulation suggests that North and South China experience droughts and the Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley experiences floods during eruption years.In response to strong tropical volcanic eruptions,the meridional air temperature gradient in the upper troposphere is enhanced,which leads to a southward shift and an increase of the East Asian subtropical westerly jet stream （EASWJ）.At the same time,the land-sea thermal contrast between the Asian land mass and Northwest Pacific Ocean is weakened.The southward shift and increase of the EASWJ and reduction of the land-sea thermal contrast all contribute to a weakening of the EASM and EASM rainfall anomaly.     

新疆哈密东盐池附近变质基底特征及控矿探讨

新疆哈密东盐池附近变质基底属于塔里木板块北缘北山古生代裂谷带西段一部分,而板块北缘的北山地区古生代进入了陆块裂解、陆内裂谷发展演化时期。笔者对东盐池附近的变质岩进行了研究,将该区域变质作用分为区域变质、动力变质及接触变质等3个类型;将区内变质相分为低角闪岩相、高绿片岩相、低绿片岩相及葡萄石—绿纤石相等4个变质相带相系。研究了地质事件与变质变形的演化趋势,即变质作用从区域中高温变质、区域低温动力变质到区域埋深变质,变质作用的温度和压力随时代更新逐次降低。探讨了变质作用与矿产的关系,即变质作用控制变质矿产的分布。各种变质作用所形成的热液与其他热液一起促使成矿物质的活化迁移至有利部位成矿,形成了黑色岩系中的磷矿、石墨矿和钒矿等。     

蒙古—鄂霍茨克构造带中段构造变形及动力学特征

蒙古—鄂霍茨克构造带作为中亚造山带的重要组成部分,其构造变形和动力学特征一直是地质界关注的问题。沿着该构造带中段,对5个韧性变形点及1个脆性变形点进行详细解析,揭示了该构造带变形及动力学特征。B型褶皱、揉皱、A型褶皱、矿物拉伸线理、S-C组构都显示了该构造带明显的NW—SE剪切作用。剪切方向稳定而单一,未发现多方向变形叠加现象,可能指示了蒙古—鄂霍茨克构造带的形成过程为一期主要的俯冲碰撞或多期同向的俯冲碰撞。对蒙古—鄂霍茨克构造带形成时间和动力学背景进行了讨论,认为该构造带主要形成于中晚侏罗世—早白垩世东亚多向汇聚动力学背景之下。对构造带内地质点mg6脆性断层面上滑动矢量进行了统计和古应力场反演,得出两期古构造应力场,一期为NW—SE挤压,一期为近E—W挤压。NW—SE挤压应力场可能对应了中晚侏罗世—白垩纪古太平洋板块向西俯冲对中亚地区的远程影响;而近E—W向挤压可能反映了早新生代印度—欧亚板块碰撞对中亚地区的远程效应。