Significance of correspondence between river discharge and proloculus size of benthic Foraminifera in paleomonsoonal studies

Variations in the mean proloculus size (MPS) of the benthic foraminiferal speciesRotalidium annectens were studied in a core collected off Karwar (20 m water depth), on the west coast of India. Comparison of downcore variations in the MPS with rainfall (five-year average) over a period of 100 years from the catchment area of the Kali River shows a direct correlation. This implies that higher MPS values indicate high rainfall over the catchment area and thus confirms the earlier hypothesis that the MPS is inversely related to salinity. The correspondence between MPS and rainfall shows a high potential in generating proximity data for the reconstruction of a paleo-precipitational history.     

Effect of perturbed potentials on the non-linear stability of libration pointL 4 in the restricted problem

The non-linear stability of the libration pointL ₄ in the restricted problem has been studied when there are perturbations in the potentials between the bodies. It is seen that the pointL ₄ is stable for all mass ratios in the range of linear stability except for three mass ratios depending upon the perturbing functions. The theory is applied to the following four cases:

Long-Term Variability of the Wind Field over the Indian Ocean Based on ERA-Interim Reanalysis

A detailed study of long-term variability of winds using 30 years of data from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts global reanalysis (ERA-Interim) over the Indian Ocean has been carried out by partitioning the Indian Ocean into six zones based on local wind extrema. The trend of mean annual wind speed averaged over each zone shows a significant increase in the equatorial region, the Southern Ocean, and the southern part of the trade winds. This indicates that the Southern Ocean winds and the southeast trade winds are becoming stronger. However, the trend for the Bay of Bengal is negative, which might be caused by a weakening of the monsoon winds and northeast trade winds. Maximum interannual variability occurs in the Arabian Sea due to monsoon activity; a minimum is observed in the subtropical region because of the divergence of winds. Wind speed variations in all zones are weakly correlated with the Dipole Mode Index (DMI). However, the equatorial Indian Ocean, the southern part of the trade winds, and subtropical zones show a relatively strong positive correlation with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), indicating that the SOI has a zonal influence on wind speed in the Indian Ocean. Monsoon winds have a decreasing trend in the northern Indian Ocean, indicating monsoon weakening, and an increasing trend in the equatorial region because of enhancement of the westerlies. The negative trend observed during the non-monsoon period could be a result of weakening of the northeast trade winds over the past few decades. The mean flux of kinetic energy of wind (FKEW) reaches a minimum of about 100?W?m^?2 in the equatorial region and a maximum of about 1500?W?m^?2 in the Southern Ocean. The seasonal variability of FKEW is large, about 1600?W?m^?2, along the coast of Somalia in the northern Indian Ocean. The maximum monthly variability of the FKEW field averaged over each zone occurs during boreal summer. During the onset and withdrawal of monsoon, FKEW is as low as 50?W?m^?2. The Southern Ocean has a large variation of about 1280?W?m^?2 because of strong westerlies throughout the year.     

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation in twentieth century climate simulations: uneven progress from CMIP3 to CMIP5

Decadal variability in the climate system from the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is one of the major sources of variability at this temporal scale that climate models must properly incorporate because of its climate impact. The current analysis of historical simulations of the twentieth century climate from models participating in the CMIP3 and CMIP5 projects assesses how these models portray the observed spatiotemporal features of the sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation anomalies associated with the AMO. A short sample of the models is analyzed in detail by using all ensembles available of the models CCSM3, GFDL-CM2.1, UKMO-HadCM3, and ECHAM5/MPI-OM from the CMIP3 project, and the models CCSM4, GFDL-CM3, UKMO-HadGEM2-ES, and MPI-ESM-LR from the CMIP5 project. The structure and evolution of the SST anomalies of the AMO have not progressed consistently from the CMIP3 to the CMIP5 models. While the characteristic period of the AMO (smoothed with a binomial filter applied fifty times) is underestimated by the three of the models, the e-folding time of the autocorrelations shows that all models underestimate the 44-year value from observations by almost 50 %. Variability of the AMO in the 10–20/70–80 year ranges is overestimated/underestimated in the models and the variability in the 10–20 year range increases in three of the models from the CMIP3 to the CMIP5 versions. Spatial variability and correlation of the AMO regressed precipitation and SST anomalies in summer and fall indicate that models are not up to the task of simulating the AMO impact on the hydroclimate over the neighboring continents. This is in spite of the fact that the spatial variability and correlations in the SST anomalies improve from CMIP3 to CMIP5 versions in two of the models. However, a multi-model mean from a sample of 14 models whose first ensemble was analyzed indicated there were no improvements in the structure of the SST anomalies of the AMO or associated regional precipitation anomalies in summer and fall from CMIP3 to CMIP5 projects.     

Indian Ocean SST, evaporation, and precipitation during the South Asian summer monsoon in IPCC-AR4 coupled simulations

The veracity of modeled air–sea interactions in the Indian Ocean during the South Asian summer monsoon is examined. Representative simulations of the twentieth century climate, produced by coupled general circulation models as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, are the analysis targets along with observational data. The analysis shows the presence of large systematic biases in coupled simulations of boreal summer precipitation, evaporation, and sea surface temperature (SST) in the Indian Ocean, often exceeding 50% of the climatological values. Many of the biases are pervasive, being common to most simulations. The representation of air–sea interactions is also compromised. Coupled models tend to emphasize local forcing in the Indian Ocean as reflected by their large precipitation–SST correlations, at odds with the weak links in observations which suggest the importance of non-local controls. The evaporation–SST correlations are also differently represented, indicating atmospheric control on SST in some models and SST control on evaporation in others. The Indian monsoon rainfall–SST links are also misrepresented: the former is essentially uncorrelated with antecedent and contemporaneous Indian Ocean SSTs in nature, but not so in most of the simulations. Overall, coupled models are found deficient in portraying local and non-local air–sea interactions in the Indian Ocean during boreal summer. In our opinion, current models cannot provide durable insights on regional climate feedbacks nor credible projections of regional hydroclimate variability and change, should these involve ocean–atmosphere interactions in the Indian basin.     

Interannual Variation of Eddy Kinetic Energy from TOPEX Altimeter Observations

Monthly mesoscale eddy kinetic energy (EKE) per unit mass has been computed for four years, 1993-1996, from TOPEX altimeter data in the Indian Ocean. It ranges from 50 cm²/s² to 2,700 cm²/s² (about 4,000 cm²/s² near the Somali region in a few months). In the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, regions of high energies associated with various current systems under the influence of monsoonal winds have been delineated. Monthly variation of EKE near the Somali region has been studied. In this region the maximum EKE per unit mass has been observed during August every year, with variations in magnitude from year to year. The mesoscale eddy kinetic energy computed from TOPEX altimeter-derived SSH during 1993-1996 is highest near the Somali region during the SW monsoon, due to formation of mesoscale eddies and also because of upwelling. In the Bay of Bengal, high eddy kinetic energy is seen toward the western side during nonmonsoonal months due to the western boundary current. In the South Indian Ocean, it is high at a few places in some of the months. A large part of the Indian Ocean exhibits low eddy kinetic energy (less than 300 cm²/s²) year-round.     

Impact of Indian ocean dipole on the coastal upwelling features off the southwest coast of India

A three-dimensional regional ocean model is used to examine the impact of positive Indian ocean dipole (pIOD) events on the coastal upwelling features at the southwest coast of India (SWCI). Two model experiments are carried out with different surface boundary conditions that prevailed in the normal and pIOD years from 1982 to 2010. Model experiments demonstrate the weakening of coastal upwelling at the SWCI in the pIOD years. The reduced southward meridional wind stress off the SWCI leads to comparatively lower offshore Ekman transport during August–October in the pIOD years to that in normal years. The suppressed coastal upwelling results in warmer sea surface temperature and deeper thermocline in the pIOD years during June–September. The offshore spatial extent of upwelled colder (<?22 °C) water was up to 75.5° E in August–September in normal years that was limited up to 76.2° E in pIOD years. The heat budget analysis reveals the decreased contribution of vertical entrainment process to the mixed layer cooling in pIOD years which is almost half of that of normal years in October. The net heat flux term shows warming tendency during May–November with a higher magnitude (+?0.4 °C day^?1) in normal years than pIOD years (+?0.28 °C day^?1). The biological productivity is found to reduce during the pIOD years as the concentration of phytoplankton and zooplankton decreases over the region of coastal upwelling at SWCI. Nitrate concentration in the pIOD years dropped by half during August–September and dropped by an order of magnitude in October as compared to its ambient concentration of 13 μmol L^?1 in normal years.     

Benthic foraminiferal response to changes in mining pattern: a case study from the Zuari estuary,Goa, India

Being sensitive to environmental changes, foraminifera have been extensively used to monitor pollution level in the marine environment, including the effect of mining in coastal areas. In the Goa state of India, the rejects from opencast mining on land largely find their way to the estuaries, as washout during monsoon. Additionally, the Mormugao Port at the mouth of the Zuari estuary is the hub of activities due to the transport of ore from hinterland areas by barges and its subsequent loading for export. On the directive of the Supreme Court of India, all the mining-related activities abruptly stopped throughout India, including that in Goa in 2012, and got reinstated in 2015. Therefore, it provided a fit case to test the effectiveness of benthic foraminifera as an indicator of environmental impact due to mining activities. A total of ten surface sediment samples from five locations in Zuari estuary were collected from a depth range of 4.5–8.5 m in the years of 2013 and 2016 and were analyzed for both the living (stained) and dead benthic foraminifera. The year 2013 represents a time interval immediately after the closure of extensive mining activity, and the sampling during 2016 represents minimal mining. The living benthic foraminiferal abundance was higher (19–54/g sediment) during 2013 and decreased substantially during 2016 (3–22/g sediment), suggesting an adverse effect of activities associated with mine closure on benthic foraminifera. Additionally, the relative abundance of Ammonia was also significantly low during the year 2016. The temporal variation in dead foraminifera was, however, different than that of the living foraminifera. The differential response was attributed to the terrigenous dilution as a result of change in sedimentation rate. Therefore, we conclude that living foraminifera correctly incorporate the changes in mining pattern and may be used as an effective tool to monitor the impact of mining. We further suggest that the potential counter effect of terrigenous dilution on total and living benthic foraminiferal population should be considered while interpreting temporal variations in foraminiferal abundance in marginal marine settings.     

Screening of biofouling activity in marine bacterial isolate from ship hull

Biofouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae and animals on submerged structures especially ship hulls. Biofouling also occurs on the surface of living marine organisms. It is also found on membrane systems such as membrane bioreactors and reverse osmosis spiral wound membranes. In the same manner, it is found in cooling water cycles of large industrial equipments and power stations. In the present study, totally 11 isolates were obtained from three ships from Royapuram harbour, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Among the 11 isolates only DR4 showed maximum biofouling activity in the microtiter plate assay with a significant optical density of 0.596. Also an attempt was made to characterize the different biofouling bacterial isolates analyzing their morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics. The results of the present study based on the above characteristics revealed that the isolate DR4 was similar to Bacillus sp. This study also highlights the need for a safe and natural antifouling agent to control the biofouling bacteria in the marine environment.