A singular evolutive extended Kalman filter to assimilate ocean color data in a coupled physical–biochemical model of the North Atlantic ocean

Within the European DIADEM project, a data assimilation system for coupled ocean circulation and marine ecosystem models has been implemented for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. One objective of this project is to demonstrate the relevance of sophisticated methods to assimilate satellite data such as altimetry, surface temperature and ocean color, into realistic ocean models. In this paper, the singular evolutive extended Kalman (SEEK) filter, which is an advanced assimilation scheme where three-dimensional, multivariate error statistics are taken into account, is used to assimilate ocean color data into the biological component of the coupled system. The marine ecosystem model, derived from the FDM model [J. Mar. Res. 48 (1990) 591], includes 11 nitrogen and carbon compartments and describes the synthesis of organic matter in the euphotic zone, its consumption by animals of upper trophic levels, and the recycling of detritic material in the deep ocean. The circulation model coupled to the ecosystem is the Miami isopycnic coordinate ocean model (MICOM), which covers the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans with an enhanced resolution in the North Atlantic basin. The model is forced with realistic ECMWF ocean/atmosphere fluxes, which permits to resolve the seasonal variability of the circulation and mixed layer properties. In the twin assimimation experiments reported here, the predictions of the coupled model are corrected every 10 days using pseudo-measurements of surface phytoplankton as a substitute to chlorophyll concentrations measured from space. The diagnostics of these experiments indicate that the assimilation is feasible with a reduced-order Kalman filter of small rank (of order 10) as long as a sufficiently good identification of the error structure is available. In addition, the control of non-observed quantities such as zooplankton and nitrate concentrations is made possible, owing to the multivariate nature of the analysis scheme. However, a too severe truncation of the error sub-space downgrades the propagation of surface information below the mixed layer. The reduction of the actual state vector to the surface layers is therefore investigated to improve the estimation process in the perspective of sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor (SeaWiFS) data assimilation experiments.     

Seasonal variations in faunal distribution and activity across the continental slope of the goban spur area (NE Atlantic)

Density, biomass and community structure of macrofauna were estimated together with several sediment characteristics at seven stations ranging from 208 m to 4460 m water depth along the OMEX transect in the Goban Spur area (NE Atlantic) during three seasons (October 1993, May 1994, and August 1995). Median grain size decreased with increasing water depth and showed no differences between the seasons. The percentages of organic carbon and total nitrogen were highest at mid-slope depths (1000 to 1500 m), and were significantly higher in August at the upper part of the slope to a depth of 1500 m. The C:N ratio in the surface layer amounted to 7 to 8 in May, 10 to 12 in August and 14 to 17 in October at all stations (except the deepest at 4460 m, where it was 11 in May and August), indicating arrival of fresh phytodetritus in May, and therefore seasonality in food input to the benthos. Densities of macrofauna decreased exponentially with increasing water depth. Significantly higher densities of macrofauna were found in May at the upper part of the slope to a depth of 1500 m. These differences were mainly due to high numbers of postlarvae of echinoids at the shallowest station and ophiuroids at the deeper stations. Biomass values also decreased with increasing water depth, but biomass was relatively high at the 1000 m station and low at 1500 m, due to relatively high and low mean weights of the individual macrofaunal specimens. No significant differences in biomass were found between the seasons. Respiration was high (15 to 20 mgC·m⁻²·d⁻¹) in May at the upper part of the slope to a depth of 1000 m and low (1–3 mg C·m⁻²·d⁻¹) at the deeper part. At the shallowest stations to a depth of 1000 m respiration was highest in May, at the mid-slope stations (1400–2200 m) it was highest in August, whereas the deepest stations (3600 to 4500 m) did not show any differences in respiration rates. In conclusion; seasonal variation in organic input is reflected in denstiy, community structure and activity of the macrofauna along the continental slope in the NE Atlantic.     

Mid-Holocene evolution and paleoenvironments of the shoreface–offshore transition, north-eastern Argentina: New evidence based on benthic microfauna

A sedimentary record spanning 5792–5511 cal yr BP and 3188–2854 cal yr BP was recovered at 36° 45′ 43″ S–56 ° 37′ 13″ W, south-west South Atlantic. The sedimentological features and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera and ostracoda) content were analyzed in order to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Considerable environmental fluctuations are indicated by all these proxies. Five different stages were distinguished: Stage 1 (ca. 5800–5000 cal yr BP) consists of muddy sand with abundant microfossils. In this interval, species typical for inner marine shelf environments maintained a high abundance. Stage 2 consists of plastic light greenish grey clays barren of microfossils, and probably represents fluvial input from the de la Plata River to the shelf contemporaneous of a lowering of sea level. Stage 3 is composed of brownish yellow sandy silts, and represents increasing marine conditions in the area as reflected by higher faunal diversity and typical foraminifera of inner shelf environments. Stage 4 is made of homogeneous mud, barren of microfossil, which represents a new pulse of fluvial input to the shelf in consequence of a new fall in sea level. The final part of the core (Stage 5) is a coarsening upward sequence, grading from greeny brown clayey sandy silts to coarse shelly sands and represents the modern sedimentation in the area. This interpretation strengthens the stepped model of late-Holocene sea-level fall between 5511–5792 cal yr BP and 2854–3188 cal yr BP in Buenos Aires coast, and agrees with the relative sea-level history previously proposed by some authors from western South Atlantic coasts.     

大西洋中脊热液硫化物的矿物学研究

利用１９８９年在大西洋热液活动区采集的块状硫化物样品，采用矿相显微镜、电子显微镜和电子探针等手段，进行了矿物共生组合、矿物形态与成分标型及其演化特征研究。结果表明，大西洋热液成矿作用可以划分为热液期与沉积期两个成矿期，和石英－黄铁矿阶段、黄铁矿阶段、多金属硫化物阶段、胶状黄铁矿阶段和非晶质ＳｉＯ２阶段等５个成矿阶段；不同成矿阶段黄铁矿的共生矿物和矿物特征不同，在晶体形态上具有从单形晶－聚形晶－胶状     

Synchronism of Holocene East Asian monsoon variations and North Atlantic drift-ice tracers

Eighteen radiocarbon-dated eolian and paleosol profiles within a 1500-km-long belt along the arid to semi-arid transition zone of north-central China record variations in the extent and strength of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene. Dated paleosols and peat layers represent intervals when the zone was dominated by a mild, moist summer monsoon climate that favored pedogenesis and peat accumulation. Brief intervals of enhanced eolian activity that resulted in the deposition of loess and eolian sand were times when strengthened winter monsoon conditions produced a colder, drier climate. The monsoon variations correlate closely with variations in North Atlantic drift-ice tracers that represent episodic advection of drift ice and cold polar surface water southward and eastward into warmer subpolar water. The correspondence of these records over the full span of Holocene time implies a close relationship between North Atlantic climate and the monsoon climate of central China.     

Spatial and temporal variability of Holocene temperature in the North Atlantic region

The early Holocene climate of the North Atlantic region was influenced by two boundary conditions that were fundamentally different from the present: the presence of the decaying Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) and higher than present summer solar insolation. In order to assess spatial and temporal patterns of Holocene climate evolution across this region, we collated quantitative paleotemperature records at sub-millennial resolution and synthesized their temporal variability using principal components analysis (PCA). The analysis reveals considerable spatial variability, most notably in the time-transgressive expression of the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM). Most of the region, but especially areas peripheral to the Labrador Sea and hence closest to the locus of LIS disintegration, experienced maximum Holocene temperatures that lagged peak summer insolation by 1000-3000 years. Many sites from the northeastern North Atlantic sector, including the Nordic Seas and Scandinavia, either warmed in phase with maximum summer insolation (11,000-9000 years ago) or were less strongly lagged than the Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea region. These spatially complex patterns of Holocene climate development, which are defined by the PCA, resulted from the interplay between final decay of the LIS and solar insolation forcing.     

Contrasting rifted margin styles south of Greenland: implications for mantle plume dynamics

We present new and reprocessed seismic reflection data from the area where the southeast and southwest Greenland margins intersected to form a triple junction south of Greenland in the early Tertiary. During breakup at 56 Ma, thick igneous crust was accreted along the entire 1300-km-long southeast Greenland margin from the Greenland Iceland Ridge to, and possibly 100 km beyond, the triple junction into the Labrador Sea. However, highly extended and thin crust 250 km to the west of the triple junction suggests that magmatically starved crustal formation occurred on the southwest Greenland margin at the same time. Thus, a transition from a volcanic to a non-volcanic margin over only 100–200 km is observed. Magmatism related to the impact of the Iceland plume below the North Atlantic around 61 Ma is known from central-west and southeast Greenland. The new seismic data also suggest the presence of a small volcanic plateau of similar age close to the triple junction. The extent of initial plume-related volcanism inferred from these observations is explained by a model of lateral flow of plume material that is guided by relief at the base of the lithosphere. Plume mantle is channelled to great distances provided that significant melting does not take place. Melting causes cooling and dehydration of the plume mantle. The associated viscosity increase acts against lateral flow and restricts plume material to its point of entry into an actively spreading rift. We further suggest that thick Archaean lithosphere blocked direct flow of plume material into the magma-starved southwest Greenland margin while the plume was free to flow into the central west and east Greenland margins. The model is consistent with a plume layer that is only moderately hotter, 100–200°C, than ambient mantle temperature, and has a thickness comparable to lithospheric thickness variations, 50–100 km. Lithospheric architecture, the timing of continental rifting and viscosity changes due to melting of the plume material are therefore critical parameters for understanding the distribution of magmatism.