ALBERT

Description: The Mediterranean Sea system: a review and an introduction to the special issue Ocean Science, 9, 789-803, 2013 Author(s): T. Tanhua, D. Hainbucher, K. Schroeder, V. Cardin, M. Álvarez, and G. Civitarese The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea characterized by high salinities, temperatures and densities. The net evaporation exceeds the precipitation, driving an anti-estuarine circulation through the Strait of Gibraltar, contributing to very low nutrient concentrations. The Mediterranean Sea has an active overturning circulation, one shallow cell that communicates directly with the Atlantic Ocean, and two deep overturning cells, one in each of the two main basins. It is surrounded by populated areas and is thus sensitive to anthropogenic forcing. Several dramatic changes in the oceanographic and biogeochemical conditions have been observed during the past several decades, emphasizing the need to better monitor and understand the changing conditions and their drivers. During 2011 three oceanographic cruises were conducted in a coordinated fashion in order to produce baseline data of important physical and biogeochemical parameters that can be compared to historic data and be used as reference for future observational campaigns. In this article we provide information on the Mediterranean Sea oceanographic situation, and present a short review that will serve as background information for the special issue in Ocean Science on "Physical, chemical and biological oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea". An important contribution of this article is the set of figures showing the large-scale distributions of physical and chemical properties along the full length of the Mediterranean Sea.

Description: Corrigendum to "NEMO on the shelf: assessment of the Iberia–Biscay–Ireland configuration" published in Ocean Sci., 9, 745–771, 2013 Ocean Science, 9, 787-787, 2013 Author(s): C. Maraldi, J. Chanut, B. Levier, N. Ayoub, P. De Mey, G. Reffray, F. Lyard, S. Cailleau, M. Drévillon, E. A. Fanjul, M. G. Sotillo, P. Marsaleix, and the Mercator Research and Development Team No abstract available.

Description: ENSO components of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and their relation to North Atlantic interannual coastal sea level anomalies Ocean Science, 9, 535-543, 2013 Author(s): J. Park and G. Dusek The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) are known to influence coastal water levels along the East Coast of the United States. By identifying empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), which coherently contribute from the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) to the AMO index (AMOI), we characterize both the expression of ENSO in the unsmoothed AMOI, and coherent relationships between these indices and interannual sea level anomalies at six stations in the Gulf of Mexico and western North Atlantic. Within the ENSO band (2–7 yr periods) the total contribution of MEI to unsmoothed AMOI variability is 79%. Cross correlation suggests that the MEI leads expression of the ENSO signature in the AMOI by six months, consistent with the mechanism of an atmospheric bridge. Within the ENSO band, essentially all of the coupling between the unsmoothed AMOI and sea level anomalies is the result of ENSO expression in the AMOI. At longer periods we find decadal components of sea level anomalies linked to the AMOI at three southern stations (Key West, Pensacola, Charleston), but not at the northern stations (Baltimore, Boston, Portland), with values of coherence ranging from 20 to 50%. The coherence of MEI to coastal sea level anomalies has a different structure and is generally weaker than that of the ENSO expressed AMOI influence, suggesting distinct physical mechanisms are influencing sea level anomalies due to a direct ENSO teleconnection when compared to teleconnections based on ENSO expression in the AMOI. It is expected that applying this analysis to extremes of sea level anomalies will reveal additional influences.

Description: From the chlorophyll a in the surface layer to its vertical profile: a Greenland Sea relationship for satellite applications Ocean Science, 9, 431-445, 2013 Author(s): A. Cherkasheva, E.-M. Nöthig, E. Bauerfeind, C. Melsheimer, and A. Bracher Current estimates of global marine primary production range over a factor of two. Improving these estimates requires an accurate knowledge of the chlorophyll vertical profiles, since they are the basis for most primary production models. At high latitudes, the uncertainty in primary production estimates is larger than globally, because here phytoplankton absorption shows specific characteristics due to the low-light adaptation, and in situ data and ocean colour observations are scarce. To date, studies describing the typical chlorophyll profile based on the chlorophyll in the surface layer have not included the Arctic region, or, if it was included, the dependence of the profile shape on surface concentration was neglected. The goal of our study was to derive and describe the typical Greenland Sea chlorophyll profiles, categorized according to the chlorophyll concentration in the surface layer and further monthly resolved profiles. The Greenland Sea was chosen because it is known to be one of the most productive regions of the Arctic and is among the regions in the Arctic where most chlorophyll field data are available. Our database contained 1199 chlorophyll profiles from R/Vs Polarstern and Maria S. Merian cruises combined with data from the ARCSS-PP database (Arctic primary production in situ database) for the years 1957–2010. The profiles were categorized according to their mean concentration in the surface layer, and then monthly median profiles within each category were calculated. The category with the surface layer chlorophyll (CHL) exceeding 0.7 mg C m −3 showed values gradually decreasing from April to August. A similar seasonal pattern was observed when monthly profiles were averaged over all the surface CHL concentrations. The maxima of all chlorophyll profiles moved from the greater depths to the surface from spring to late summer respectively. The profiles with the smallest surface values always showed a subsurface chlorophyll maximum with its median magnitude reaching up to three times the surface concentration. While the variability of the Greenland Sea season in April, May and June followed the global non-monthly resolved relationship of the chlorophyll profile to surface chlorophyll concentrations described by the model of Morel and Berthon (1989), it deviated significantly from the model in the other months (July–September), when the maxima of the chlorophyll are at quite different depths. The Greenland Sea dimensionless monthly median profiles intersected roughly at one common depth within each category. By applying a Gaussian fit with 0.1 mg C m −3 surface chlorophyll steps to the median monthly resolved chlorophyll profiles of the defined categories, mathematical approximations were determined. They generally reproduce the magnitude and position of the CHL maximum, resulting in an average 4% underestimation in C tot (and 2% in rough primary production estimates) when compared to in situ estimates. These mathematical approximations can be used as the input to the satellite-based primary production models that estimate primary production in the Arctic regions.

Description: Large-scale temperature and salinity changes in the upper Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean at a time of a drastic Arctic Oscillation inversion Ocean Science, 9, 447-460, 2013 Author(s): P. Bourgain, J. C. Gascard, J. Shi, and J. Zhao Between 2008 and 2010, the Arctic Oscillation index over Arctic regions shifted from positive values corresponding to more cyclonic conditions prevailing during the 4th International Polar Year (IPY) period (2007–2008) to extremely negative values corresponding to strong anticyclonic conditions in 2010. In this context, we investigated the recent large-scale evolution of the upper western Arctic Ocean, based on temperature and salinity summertime observations collected during icebreaker campaigns and from ice-tethered profilers (ITPs) drifting across the region in 2008 and 2010. Particularly, we focused on (1) the freshwater content which was extensively studied during previous years, (2) the near-surface temperature maximum due to incoming solar radiation, and (3) the water masses advected from the Pacific Ocean into the Arctic Ocean. The observations revealed a freshwater content change in the Canadian Basin during this time period. South of 80° N, the freshwater content increased, while north of 80° N, less freshening occurred in 2010 compared to 2008. This was more likely due to the strong anticyclonicity characteristic of a low AO index mode that enhanced both a wind-generated Ekman pumping in the Beaufort Gyre and a possible diversion of the Siberian River runoff toward the Eurasian Basin at the same time. The near-surface temperature maximum due to incoming solar radiation was almost 1 °C colder in the southern Canada Basin (south of 75° N) in 2010 compared to 2008, which contrasted with the positive trend observed during previous years. This was more likely due to higher summer sea ice concentration in 2010 compared to 2008 in that region, and surface albedo feedback reflecting more sun radiation back in space. The Pacific water (PaW) was also subjected to strong spatial and temporal variability between 2008 and 2010. In the Canada Basin, both summer and winter PaW signatures were stronger between 75° N and 80° N. This was more likely due to a strong recirculation within the Beaufort Gyre. In contrast, south of 75° N, the cooling and warming of the summer and winter PaW, respectively, suggest that either the PaW was less present in 2010 than in 2008 in this region, and/or the PaW was older in 2010 than in 2008. In addition, in the vicinity of the Chukchi Sea, both summer and winter PaW were significantly warmer in 2010 than in 2008, as a consequence of a general warming trend of the PaW entering in the deep Arctic Ocean as of 2008.

Description: Seasonality of intermediate waters hydrography west of the Iberian Peninsula from an 8 yr semiannual time series of an oceanographic section Ocean Science, 9, 411-429, 2013 Author(s): E. Prieto, C. González-Pola, A. Lavín, R. F. Sánchez, and M. Ruiz-Villarreal Seasonality of hydrographical properties at depth in the western Iberian margin (eastern North Atlantic) is analysed from a 2003–2010 time series of a semiannual oceanographic section extending ∼200 nm off Cape Finisterre (43° N). All water masses down to the permanent thermocline (2000 dbar) show a consistent seasonal signature in their thermohaline properties and there is a notable asymmetry between the slope region and the outer ocean (in the surroundings of the Galicia Bank). There is overall cooling and freshening of eastern North Atlantic central waters in summertime, which is larger and deeper-reaching on the slope. In summertime, Mediterranean Water (MW) gets tightly attached against the slope and is uplifted, reinforcing its thermohaline signature and diminishing its presence at the outer ocean. In wintertime the situation reverses, MW seems to detach from the slope and spreads out to the open ocean, even being observed a secondary branch around the Galicia Bank. Thermohaline seasonality at depth shows values up to 0.4 °C and 0.08 in salinity at the lower MW, of the order of 20% of the overall interannual variability observed during the whole period. Decomposition of thermohaline changes at isobaric levels to changes along isoneutral surfaces and changes due to vertical displacements help analyse the physical processes behind the observed seasonality in terms of (1) the large-scale seasonality of the subtropical gyre in response to the seasonal migration of the subtropical high pressure system and subsequent anomalies in Ekman transport and wind stress curl, (2) the continental slope dynamics, characterized by summer upwelling, winter development of the Iberian Poleward Current and Mediterranean water spreading, and (3) the possible influence of seasonal changes of water mass properties at their formation sources.

Description: Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales within the south-eastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data Ocean Science, 9, 399-410, 2013 Author(s): A. Fontán, G. Esnaola, J. Sáenz, and M. González Two high-frequency (HF) radar stations were installed on the coast of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage of currents in the area for the first time. This has made it possible to quantitatively assess the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales for the period 2009–2010. The analysis was conducted using the Barnett–Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived surface currents. The CCA yields two canonical patterns: the first wind–current interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at the sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind–current interaction timescales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in waters of the continental shelf and slope of the south-eastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes.

Description: Chaotic variability of the meridional overturning circulation on subannual to interannual timescales Ocean Science, 9, 805-823, 2013 Author(s): J. J.-M. Hirschi, A. T. Blaker, B. Sinha, A. Coward, B. de Cuevas, S. Alderson, and G. Madec Observations and numerical simulations have shown that the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exhibits substantial variability on sub- to interannual timescales. This variability is not fully understood. In particular it is not known what fraction of the MOC variability is caused by processes such as mesoscale ocean eddies and waves which are ubiquitous in the ocean. Here we analyse twin experiments performed with a global ocean model at eddying (1/4°) and non-eddying (1°) resolutions. The twin experiments are forced with the same surface fluxes for the 1958 to 2001 period but start from different initial conditions. Our results show that on subannual to interannual timescales a large fraction of MOC variability directly reflects variability in the surface forcing. Nevertheless, in the eddy-permitting case there is an initial-condition-dependent MOC variability (hereinafter referred to as "chaotic" variability) of several Sv (1Sv = 10 6 m 3 s −1 ) in the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. In the Atlantic the chaotic MOC variability represents up to 30% of the total variability at the depths where the maximum MOC occurs. In comparison the chaotic MOC variability is only 5–10% in the non-eddying case. The surface forcing being almost identical in the twin experiments suggests that mesoscale ocean eddies are the most likely cause for the increased chaotic MOC variability in the eddying case. The exact formation time of eddies is determined by the initial conditions which are different in the two model passes, and as a consequence the mesoscale eddy field is decorrelated in the twin experiments. In regions where eddy activity is high in the eddy-permitting model, the correlation of sea surface height variability in the twin runs is close to zero. In the non-eddying case in contrast, we find high correlations (0.9 or higher) over most regions. Looking at the sub- and interannual MOC components separately reveals that most of the chaotic MOC variability is found on subannual timescales for the eddy-permitting model. On interannual timescales the amplitude of the chaotic MOC variability is much smaller and the amplitudes are comparable for both the eddy-permitting and non-eddy-permitting model resolutions. Whereas the chaotic MOC variability on interannual timescales only accounts for a small fraction of the total chaotic MOC variability in the eddy-permitting case, it is the main contributor to the chaotic variability in the non-eddying case away from the Equator.

Description: Transport of Antarctic bottom water through the Kane Gap, tropical NE Atlantic Ocean Ocean Science, 9, 825-835, 2013 Author(s): E. G. Morozov, R. Y. Tarakanov, and H. van Haren We study low-frequency properties of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) flow through the Kane Gap (9° N) in the Atlantic Ocean. The measurements in the Kane Gap include five visits with CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) sections in 2009–2012 and a year-long record of currents on a mooring using three AquaDopp current meters. We found an alternating regime of flow, which changes direction several times during a year. The seasonal signal seems to dominate. The maximum daily average values of southerly velocities reach 0.20 m s −1 , while the greatest north-northwesterly velocity is as high as 0.15 m s −1 . The velocity and transport at the bottom are aligned along the slope of a local hill near the southwestern side of the gap. The distribution of velocity directions at the upper boundary of AABW is wider. The transport of AABW (Θ 〈 1.9 °C) based on the mooring and LADCP (Lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) data varies approximately within ±0.35 Sv in the northern and southern directions. The annual mean AABW transport through the Kane Gap is almost zero.

Description: Assimilation of sea-ice concentration in a global climate model – physical and statistical aspects Ocean Science, 9, 19-36, 2013 Author(s): S. Tietsche, D. Notz, J. H. Jungclaus, and J. Marotzke We investigate the initialisation of Northern Hemisphere sea ice in the global climate model ECHAM5/MPI-OM by assimilating sea-ice concentration data. The analysis updates for concentration are given by Newtonian relaxation, and we discuss different ways of specifying the analysis updates for mean thickness. Because the conservation of mean ice thickness or actual ice thickness in the analysis updates leads to poor assimilation performance, we introduce a proportional dependence between concentration and mean thickness analysis updates. Assimilation with these proportional mean-thickness analysis updates leads to good assimilation performance for sea-ice concentration and thickness, both in identical-twin experiments and when assimilating sea-ice observations. The simulation of other Arctic surface fields in the coupled model is, however, not significantly improved by the assimilation. To understand the physical aspects of assimilation errors, we construct a simple prognostic model of the sea-ice thermodynamics, and analyse its response to the assimilation. We find that an adjustment of mean ice thickness in the analysis update is essential to arrive at plausible state estimates. To understand the statistical aspects of assimilation errors, we study the model background error covariance between ice concentration and ice thickness. We find that the spatial structure of covariances is best represented by the proportional mean-thickness analysis updates. Both physical and statistical evidence supports the experimental finding that assimilation with proportional mean-thickness updates outperforms the other two methods considered. The method described here is very simple to implement, and gives results that are sufficiently good to be used for initialising sea ice in a global climate model for seasonal to decadal predictions.

Description: Toward a multivariate reanalysis of the North Atlantic Ocean biogeochemistry during 1998–2006 based on the assimilation of SeaWiFS chlorophyll data Ocean Science, 9, 37-56, 2013 Author(s): C. Fontana, P. Brasseur, and J.-M. Brankart Today, the routine assimilation of satellite data into operational models of ocean circulation is mature enough to enable the production of global reanalyses describing the ocean circulation variability during the past decades. The expansion of the "reanalysis" concept from ocean physics to biogeochemistry is a timely challenge that motivates the present study. The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential benefits of assimilating satellite-estimated chlorophyll data into a basin-scale three-dimensional coupled physical–biogeochemical model of the North Atlantic. The aim is on the one hand to improve forecasts of ocean biogeochemical properties and on the other hand to define a methodology for producing data-driven climatologies based on coupled physical–biogeochemical modeling. A simplified variant of the Kalman filter is used to assimilate ocean color data during a 9-year period. In this frame, two experiments are carried out, with and without anamorphic transformations of the state vector variables. Data assimilation efficiency is assessed with respect to the assimilated data set, nitrate of the World Ocean Atlas database and a derived climatology. Along the simulation period, the non-linear assimilation scheme clearly improves the surface analysis and forecast chlorophyll concentrations, especially in the North Atlantic bloom region. Nitrate concentration forecasts are also improved thanks to the assimilation of ocean color data while this improvement is limited to the upper layer of the water column, in agreement with recent related literature. This feature is explained by the weak correlation taken into account by the assimilation between surface phytoplankton and nitrate concentrations deeper than 50 meters. The assessment of the non-linear assimilation experiments indicates that the proposed methodology provides the skeleton of an assimilative system suitable for reanalyzing the ocean biogeochemistry based on ocean color data.

Description: A clustering analysis of eddies' spatial distribution in the South China Sea Ocean Science, 9, 171-182, 2013 Author(s): J. Yi, Y. Du, X. Wang, Z. He, and C. Zhou Spatial variation is important for studying the mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea (SCS). To investigate such spatial variations, this study made a clustering analysis on eddies' distribution using the K-means approach. Results showed that clustering tendency of anticyclonic eddies (AEs) and cyclonic eddies (CEs) were weak but not random, and the number of clusters were proved greater than four. Finer clustering results showed 10 regions where AEs densely populated and 6 regions for CEs in the SCS. Previous studies confirmed these partitions and possible generation mechanisms were related. Comparisons between AEs and CEs revealed that patterns of AE are relatively more aggregated than those of CE, and specific distinctions were summarized: (1) to the southwest of Luzon Island, AEs and CEs are generated spatially apart; AEs are likely located north of 14° N and closer to shore, while CEs are to the south and further offshore. (2) The central SCS and Nansha Trough are mostly dominated by AEs. (3) Along 112° E, clusters of AEs and CEs are located sequentially apart, and the pairs off Vietnam represent the dipole structures. (4) To the southwest of the Dongsha Islands, AEs are concentrated to the east of CEs. Overlaps of AEs and CEs in the northeastern and southern SCS were further examined considering seasonal variations. The northeastern overlap represented near-concentric distributions while the southern one was a mixed effect of seasonal variations, complex circulations and topography influences.

Description: Sea surface freshening inferred from SMOS and ARGO salinity: impact of rain Ocean Science, 9, 183-192, 2013 Author(s): J. Boutin, N. Martin, G. Reverdin, X. Yin, and F. Gaillard The sea surface salinity (SSS) measured from space by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission has recently been revisited by the European Space Agency first campaign reprocessing. We show that, with respect to the previous version, biases close to land and ice greatly decrease. The accuracy of SMOS SSS averaged over 10 days, 100 × 100 km 2 in the open ocean and estimated by comparison to ARGO (Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography) SSS is on the order of 0.3–0.4 in tropical and subtropical regions and 0.5 in a cold region. The averaged negative SSS bias (−0.1) observed in the tropical Pacific Ocean between 5° N and 15° N, relatively to other regions, is suppressed when SMOS observations concomitant with rain events, as detected from SSM/Is (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) rain rates, are removed from the SMOS–ARGO comparisons. The SMOS freshening is linearly correlated to SSM/Is rain rate with a slope estimated to −0.14 mm −1 h, after correction for rain atmospheric contribution. This tendency is the signature of the temporal SSS variability between the time of SMOS and ARGO measurements linked to rain variability and of the vertical salinity stratification between the first centimeter of the sea surface layer sampled by SMOS and the 5 m depth sampled by ARGO. However, given that the whole set of collocations includes situations with ARGO measurements concomitant with rain events collocated with SMOS measurements under no rain, the mean −0.1 bias and the negative skewness of the statistical distribution of SMOS minus ARGO SSS difference are very likely the mean signature of the vertical salinity stratification. In the future, the analysis of ongoing in situ salinity measurements in the top 50 cm of the sea surface and of Aquarius satellite SSS are expected to provide complementary information about the sea surface salinity stratification.

Description: The coherence of small island sea level with the wider ocean: a model study Ocean Science, 9, 111-119, 2013 Author(s): Joanne Williams and Chris W. Hughes Studies comparing tide gauge measurements with sea level from nearby satellite altimetry have shown good agreement for some islands and poor agreement for others, though no explanation has been offered. Using the 1/12° OCCAM ocean model, we investigate the relationship between sea level at small, open-ocean islands and offshore sea level. For every such island or seamount in the model, we compare the shallow-water sea level with the steric and bottom pressure variability in a neighbouring ring of deep water. We find a latitude-dependent range of frequencies for which off-shore sea level is poorly correlated with island sea level. This poor coherence occurs in a spectral region for which steric signals dominate, but are unable to propagate as baroclinic Rossby waves. This mode of decoupling does not arise because of islands bathymetry, as the same decoupling is seen between deep ocean points and surrounding rings.

Description: X-band COSMO-SkyMed wind field retrieval, with application to coastal circulation modeling Ocean Science, 9, 121-132, 2013 Author(s): A. Montuori, P. de Ruggiero, M. Migliaccio, S. Pierini, and G. Spezie In this paper, X-band COSMO-SkyMed © synthetic aperture radar (SAR) wind field retrieval is investigated, and the obtained data are used to force a coastal ocean circulation model. The SAR data set consists of 60 X-band Level 1B Multi-Look Ground Detected ScanSAR Huge Region COSMO-SkyMed © SAR data, gathered in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea during the summer and winter seasons of 2010. The SAR-based wind vector field estimation is accomplished by resolving both the SAR-based wind speed and wind direction retrieval problems independently. The sea surface wind speed is retrieved by means of a SAR wind speed algorithm based on the azimuth cut-off procedure, while the sea surface wind direction is provided by means of a SAR wind direction algorithm based on the discrete wavelet transform multi-resolution analysis. The obtained wind fields are compared with ground truth data provided by both ASCAT scatterometer and ECMWF model wind fields. SAR-derived wind vector fields and ECMWF model wind data are used to construct a blended wind product regularly sampled in both space and time, which is then used to force a coastal circulation model of a southern Tyrrhenian coastal area to simulate wind-driven circulation processes. The modeling results show that X-band COSMO-SkyMed © SAR data can be valuable in providing effective wind fields for coastal circulation modeling.

Description: Time and space variability of freshwater content, heat content and seasonal ice melt in the Arctic Ocean from 1991 to 2011 Ocean Science, 9, 1015-1055, 2013 Author(s): M. Korhonen, B. Rudels, M. Marnela, A. Wisotzki, and J. Zhao Changes in the hydrography of the Arctic Ocean have recently been reported. The upper ocean has been freshening and pulses of warm Atlantic Water have been observed to spread into the Arctic Ocean. Although these changes have been intensively studied, salinity and temperature variations have less frequently been considered together. Here hydrographic observations, obtained by icebreaker expeditions conducted between 1991 and 2011, are analyzed and discussed. Five different water masses in the upper 1000 m of the water column are examined in five sub-basins of the Arctic Ocean. This allows for studying the variations of the distributions of the freshwater and heat contents in the Arctic Ocean not only in time but also laterally and vertically. In addition, the seasonal ice melt contribution is separated from the permanent, winter, freshwater content of the Polar Mixed Layer. Because the positions of the icebreaker stations vary between the years, the icebreaker observations are at each specific point in space and time compared with the Polar Science Center Hydrographic Climatology to separate the effects of space and time variability on the observations. The hydrographic melt water estimate is discussed and compared with the potential ice melt induced by atmospheric heat input estimated from the ERA–Interim and NCEP/NCAR reanalyses. After a period of increased salinity in the upper ocean during the 1990s, both the Polar Mixed Layer and the upper halocline have been freshening. The increase in freshwater content in the Polar Mixed Layer is primarily driven by a decrease in salinity, not by changes in Polar Mixed Layer depth, whereas the freshwater is accumulating in the upper halocline mainly through the increasing thickness of the halocline. This is especially evident in the Northern Canada Basin, where the most substantial freshening is observed. The warming, and to some extent also the increase in salinity, of the Atlantic Water during the early 1990s extended from the Nansen Basin into the Amundsen and Makarov basins, while the warm and saline inflows occurring during the 2000s appear to be confined to the Nansen Basin, suggesting that the warm and saline inflow through Fram Strait largely recirculates in the Nansen Basin.

Description: A new method for continuous measurements of oceanic and atmospheric N 2 O, CO and CO 2 : performance of off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) coupled to non-dispersive infrared detection (NDIR) Ocean Science, 9, 1071-1087, 2013 Author(s): D. L. Arévalo-Martínez, M. Beyer, M. Krumbholz, I. Piller, A. Kock, T. Steinhoff, A. Körtzinger, and H. W. Bange A new system for continuous, highly resolved oceanic and atmospheric measurements of N 2 O, CO and CO 2 is described. The system is based upon off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) and a non-dispersive infrared analyzer (NDIR), both coupled to a Weiss-type equilibrator. Performance of the combined setup was evaluated by testing its precision, accuracy, long-term stability, linearity and response time. Furthermore, the setup was tested during two oceanographic campaigns in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean in order to explore its potential for autonomous deployment onboard voluntary observing ships (VOS). Improved equilibrator response times for N 2 O (2.5 min) and CO (45 min) were achieved in comparison to response times from similar chamber designs used by previous studies. High stability of the OA-ICOS analyzer was demonstrated by low optimal integration times of 2 and 4 min for N 2 O and CO respectively, as well as detection limits of 〈 40 ppt and precision better than 0.3 ppb Hz –1/2 . Results from a direct comparison of the method presented here and well-established discrete methods for oceanic N 2 O and CO 2 measurements showed very good consistency. The favorable agreement between underway atmospheric N 2 O, CO and CO 2 measurements and monthly means at Ascension Island (7.96° S 14.4° W) further suggests a reliable operation of the underway setup in the field. The potential of the system as an improved platform for measurements of trace gases was explored by using continuous N 2 O and CO 2 data to characterize the development of the seasonal equatorial upwelling in the Atlantic Ocean during two R/V Maria S. Merian cruises. A similar record of high-resolution CO measurements was simultaneously obtained, offering, for the first time, the possibility of a comprehensive view of the distribution and emissions of these climate-relevant gases in the area studied. The relatively simple underway N 2 O/CO/CO 2 setup is suitable for long-term deployment onboard research and commercial vessels although potential sources of drift, such as cavity temperature, and further technical improvements towards automation, still need to be addressed.

Description: Atlantic meridional ocean heat transport at 26° N: impact on subtropical ocean heat content variability Ocean Science, 9, 1057-1069, 2013 Author(s): M. Sonnewald, J. J.-M. Hirschi, R. Marsh, E. L. McDonagh, and B. A. King Local climate is significantly affected by changes in the oceanic heat content on a range of timescales. This variability is driven by heat fluxes from both the atmosphere and the ocean. In the Atlantic the meridional overturning circulation is the main contributor to the oceanic meridional heat transport for latitudes south of about 50° N. The RAPID project has been successfully monitoring the Atlantic meridional overturning at 26° N since 2004. This study demonstrates how these data can be used to estimate the variability of the basin-wide ocean heat content in the upper 800 m between 26° and 36° N. Traditionally the atmosphere is seen to dominate the ocean heat content variability. However, previous studies have looked at smaller areas in the Gulf Stream region, finding that the ocean dominates deseasoned fluctuations of ocean heat content, while studies of the whole North Atlantic region suggest that the atmosphere may be dominant. In our study we use a box model to investigate fluctuations of the ocean heat content in the subtropical North Atlantic between 26° and 36° N. The box model approach is validated using 19 yr of high-resolution general circulation model (GCM) data. We find that in both the GCM- and RAPID-based data the ocean heat transport dominates the deseasoned heat content variability, while the atmosphere's impact on the ocean heat content evolution stabilizes after 6 months. We demonstrate that the utility of the RAPID data goes beyond monitoring the overturning circulation at 26° N, and that it can be used to better understand the causes of ocean heat content variability in the North Atlantic. We illustrate this for a recent decrease in ocean heat content which was observed in the North Atlantic in 2009 and 2010. Our results suggest that most of this ocean heat content reduction can be explained by a reduction of the meridional ocean heat transport during this period.

Description: The transient distributions of nuclear weapon-generated tritium and its decay product 3 He in the Mediterranean Sea, 1952–2011, and their oceanographic potential Ocean Science, 9, 837-854, 2013 Author(s): W. Roether, P. Jean-Baptiste, E. Fourré, and J. Sültenfuß We present a comprehensive account of tritium and 3 He in the Mediterranean Sea since the appearance of the tritium generated by the atmospheric nuclear-weapon testing in the 1950s and early 1960s, based on essentially all available observations. Tritium in surface waters rose to 20–30 TU in 1964 (TU = 10 18 × [ 3 H]/H]), a factor of about 100 above the natural level, and thereafter declined 30-fold up to 2011. The decline was largely due to radioactive tritium decay, which produced significant amounts of its stable daughter 3 He. We present the scheme by which we separate the tritiugenic part of 3 He and the part due to release from the sea floor (terrigenic part). We show that the tritiugenic component can be quantified throughout the Mediterranean waters, typically to a ± 0.15 TU equivalent, mostly because the terrigenic part is low in 3 He. This fact makes the Mediterranean unique in offering a potential for the use of tritiugenic 3 He as a tracer. The transient distributions of the two tracers are illustrated by a number of sections spanning the entire sea and relevant features of their distributions are noted. By 2011, the 3 He concentrations in the top few hundred metres had become low, in response to the decreasing tritium concentrations combined with a flushing out by the general westward drift of these waters. Tritium- 3 He ages in Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) were obtained repeated in time at different locations, defining transit times from the LIW source region east of Rhodes. The ages show an upward trend with the time elapsed since the surface-water tritium maximum, which arises because the repeated observations represent increasingly slower moving parts of the full transit time spectrum of LIW. The transit time dispersion revealed by this new application of tritium- 3 He dating is considerable. We find mean transit times of 12 ± 2 yr up to the Strait of Sicily, 18 ± 3 yr up to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and 22 ± 4 yr up into the Western Mediterranean. Furthermore, we present full Eastern Mediterranean sections of terrigenic 3 He and tritium- 3 He age in 1987, the latter one similarly showing an effect of the transit time dispersion. We conclude that the available tritium and 3 He data, particularly if combined with other tracer data, are useful for constraining the subsurface circulation and mixing of the Mediterranean Sea.

Description: Mapping flow distortion on oceanographic platforms using computational fluid dynamics Ocean Science, 9, 855-866, 2013 Author(s): N. O'Sullivan, S. Landwehr, and B. Ward Wind speed measurements over the ocean on ships or buoys are affected by flow distortion from the platform and by the anemometer itself. This can lead to errors in direct measurements and the derived parametrisations. Here we computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate the errors in wind speed measurements caused by flow distortion on the RV Celtic Explorer . Numerical measurements were obtained from the finite-volume CFD code OpenFOAM, which was used to simulate the velocity fields. This was done over a range of orientations in the test domain from −60 to +60° in increments of 10°. The simulation was also set up for a range of velocities, ranging from 5 to 25 m s −1 in increments of 0.5 m s −1 . The numerical analysis showed close agreement to experimental measurements.

Description: Optimal adjustment of the atmospheric forcing parameters of ocean models using sea surface temperature data assimilation Ocean Science, 9, 867-883, 2013 Author(s): M. Meinvielle, J.-M. Brankart, P. Brasseur, B. Barnier, R. Dussin, and J. Verron In ocean general circulation models, near-surface atmospheric variables used to specify the atmospheric boundary condition remain one of the main sources of error. The objective of this research is to constrain the surface forcing function of an ocean model by sea surface temperature (SST) data assimilation. For that purpose, a set of corrections for ERAinterim (hereafter ERAi) reanalysis data is estimated for the period of 1989–2007, using a sequential assimilation method, with ensemble experiments to evaluate the impact of uncertain atmospheric forcing on the ocean state. The control vector of the assimilation method is extended to atmospheric variables to obtain monthly mean parameter corrections by assimilating monthly SST and sea surface salinity (SSS) climatological data in a low resolution global configuration of the NEMO model. In this context, the careful determination of the prior probability distribution of the parameters is an important matter. This paper demonstrates the importance of isolating the impact of forcing errors in the model to perform relevant ensemble experiments. The results obtained for every month of the period between 1989 and 2007 show that the estimated parameters produce the same kind of impact on the SST as the analysis itself. The objective is then to evaluate the long-term time series of the forcing parameters focusing on trends and mean error corrections of air–sea fluxes. Our corrections tend to equilibrate the net heat-flux balance at the global scale (highly positive in ERAi database), and to remove the potentially unrealistic negative trend (leading to ocean cooling) in the ERAi net heat flux over the whole time period. More specifically in the intertropical band, we reduce the warm bias of ERAi data by mostly modifying the latent heat flux by wind speed intensification. Consistently, when used to force the model, the corrected parameters lead to a better agreement between the mean SST produced by the model and mean SST observations over the period of 1989–2007 in the intertropical band.

Description: Corrigendum to "Biogeography of planktonic bacterial communities across the whole Mediterranean Sea" published in Ocean Sci., 9, 585–595, 2013 Ocean Science, 9, 681-681, 2013 Author(s): F. Mapelli, M. M. Varela, M. Barbato, R. Alvariño, V. Hernando-Morales, M. Fusi, M. Álvarez, G. Merlino, D. Daffonchio, E. Teira, and S. Borin No abstract available.

Description: Comparing historical and modern methods of sea surface temperature measurement – Part 2: Field comparison in the central tropical Pacific Ocean Science, 9, 695-711, 2013 Author(s): J. B. R. Matthews and J. B. Matthews Discrepancies between historical sea surface temperature (SST) datasets have been partly ascribed to use of different adjustments to account for variable measurement methods. Until recently, adjustments had only been applied to bucket temperatures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the aim of correcting their supposed coolness relative to engine cooling water intake temperatures. In the UK Met Office Hadley Centre SST 3 dataset (HadSST3), adjustments have been applied over its full duration to observations from buckets, buoys and engine intakes. Here we investigate uncertainties in the accuracy of such adjustments by direct field comparison of historical and modern methods of shipboard SST measurement. We compare wood, canvas and rubber bucket temperatures to 3 m seawater intake temperature along a central tropical Pacific transect conducted in May and June 2008. We find no average difference between the temperatures obtained with the different bucket types in our short measurement period (∼1 min). Previous field, lab and model experiments have found sizeable temperature change of seawater samples in buckets of smaller volume under longer exposure times. We do, however, report the presence of strong near-surface temperature gradients day and night, indicating that intake and bucket measurements cannot be assumed equivalent in this region. We thus suggest bucket and buoy measurements be considered distinct from intake measurements due to differences in sampling depth. As such, we argue for exclusion of intake temperatures from historical SST datasets and suggest this would likely reduce the need for poorly field-tested bucket adjustments. We also call for improvement in the general quality of intake temperatures from Voluntary Observing Ships. Using a physical model we demonstrate that warming of intake seawater by hot engine room air is an unlikely cause of overly warm intake temperatures. We suggest that reliable correction for such warm errors is not possible since they are largely of unknown origin and can be offset by real near-surface temperature gradients.

Description: Comparing historical and modern methods of sea surface temperature measurement – Part 1: Review of methods, field comparisons and dataset adjustments Ocean Science, 9, 683-694, 2013 Author(s): J. B. R. Matthews Sea surface temperature (SST) has been obtained from a variety of different platforms, instruments and depths over the past 150 yr. Modern-day platforms include ships, moored and drifting buoys and satellites. Shipboard methods include temperature measurement of seawater sampled by bucket and flowing through engine cooling water intakes. Here I review SST measurement methods, studies analysing shipboard methods by field or lab experiment and adjustments applied to historical SST datasets to account for variable methods. In general, bucket temperatures have been found to average a few tenths of a °C cooler than simultaneous engine intake temperatures. Field and lab experiments demonstrate that cooling of bucket samples prior to measurement provides a plausible explanation for negative average bucket-intake differences. These can also be credibly attributed to systematic errors in intake temperatures, which have been found to average overly-warm by 〉0.5 °C on some vessels. However, the precise origin of non-zero average bucket-intake differences reported in field studies is often unclear, given that additional temperatures to those from the buckets and intakes have rarely been obtained. Supplementary accurate in situ temperatures are required to reveal individual errors in bucket and intake temperatures, and the role of near-surface temperature gradients. There is a need for further field experiments of the type reported in Part 2 to address this and other limitations of previous studies.

Description: Wave-turbulence scaling in the ocean mixed layer Ocean Science, 9, 597-608, 2013 Author(s): G. Sutherland, B. Ward, and K. H. Christensen Microstructure measurements were collected using an autonomous freely rising profiler under a variety of different atmospheric forcing and sea states in the open ocean. Here, profiles of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, ε, are compared with various proposed scalings. In the oceanic boundary layer, the depth dependence of ε was found to be largely consistent with that expected for a shear-driven wall layer. This is in contrast with many recent studies which suggest higher rates of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation in the near surface of the ocean. However, some dissipation profiles appeared to scale with the sum of the wind and swell generated Stokes shear with this scaling extending beyond the mixed layer depth. Integrating ε in the mixed layer yielded results that 1% of the wind power referenced to 10 m is being dissipated here.

Description: Biogeography of planktonic bacterial communities across the whole Mediterranean Sea Ocean Science, 9, 585-595, 2013 Author(s): F. Mapelli, M. M. Varela, M. Barbato, R. Alvariño, M. Fusi, M. Álvarez, G. Merlino, D. Daffonchio, and S. Borin Bacterial population distribution in the Mediterranean Sea has been mainly studied by considering small geographical areas or specific phylogenetic groups. The present study is a molecular microbiology investigation aimed to identify the environmental factors driving total bacterioplankton community composition of seawater samples collected along a transect covering the whole Mediterranean Sea. We performed automated ribosomal intergenic sequence analysis (ARISA) and microscope evaluation of prokaryotic abundance of seawater sampled across both vertical profiles and longitudinal transects in the whole basin. Prokaryotic abundance decreased with depth at all the stations and presented similar values in epi-, meso- and bathypelagic layers across the whole Mediterranean Sea. However, peculiar bacterial assemblages were selected along a longitudinal transect in the epipelagic layers of the eastern and western sub-basins. Vertical differences of the bacterial communities were observed only when considering the epi- and bathypelagic waters, while the study of the structure of bacterial communities at a finer scale across the water column displayed higher variability at the intermediate layers. Nonetheless, different physico-chemical factors were significantly related to the distribution of bacterial populations, both according to geographic position and down the water column in the whole Mediterranean Sea. These results demonstrated that bacterial assemblages are putatively correlated to different water masses of the complex hydrographical systems of the eastern and western Mediterranean sub-basins.

Description: A comparison between gradient descent and stochastic approaches for parameter optimization of a sea ice model Ocean Science, 9, 609-630, 2013 Author(s): H. Sumata, F. Kauker, R. Gerdes, C. Köberle, and M. Karcher Two types of optimization methods were applied to a parameter optimization problem in a coupled ocean–sea ice model of the Arctic, and applicability and efficiency of the respective methods were examined. One optimization utilizes a finite difference (FD) method based on a traditional gradient descent approach, while the other adopts a micro-genetic algorithm (μGA) as an example of a stochastic approach. The optimizations were performed by minimizing a cost function composed of model–data misfit of ice concentration, ice drift velocity and ice thickness. A series of optimizations were conducted that differ in the model formulation ("smoothed code" versus standard code) with respect to the FD method and in the population size and number of possibilities with respect to the μGA method. The FD method fails to estimate optimal parameters due to the ill-shaped nature of the cost function caused by the strong non-linearity of the system, whereas the genetic algorithms can effectively estimate near optimal parameters. The results of the study indicate that the sophisticated stochastic approach (μGA) is of practical use for parameter optimization of a coupled ocean–sea ice model with a medium-sized horizontal resolution of 50 km × 50 km as used in this study.

Description: Image of a subsurface current core in the southern South China Sea Ocean Science, 9, 631-638, 2013 Author(s): Q. S. Tang, D. X. Wang, J. B. Li, P. Yan, and J. Li A legacy seismic transect acquired on 30 and 31 May 2009 in the southern South China Sea (SCS) was reprocessed to reveal the thermohaline structure of the water column. In the study region, a mesoscale subsurface lens with extraordinary features was detected at 113.5° E, 11.5° N. It is centred at 450 m depth, occupies both the subsurface and intermediate water from 250 to 600 m, and has an intersection diameter of around 60 km. The simulated results from Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model reveal an eddy-induced subsurface current running southwestward along the deep basin edge and suggest that the imaged lens is a snapshot of the subsurface current core rather than a subsurface eddy.

Description: Combining in situ measurements and altimetry to estimate volume, heat and salt transport variability through the Faroe–Shetland Channel Ocean Science, 9, 639-654, 2013 Author(s): B. Berx, B. Hansen, S. Østerhus, K. M. Larsen, T. Sherwin, and K. Jochumsen From 1994 to 2011, instruments measuring ocean currents (Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers; ADCPs) have been moored on a section crossing the Faroe–Shetland Channel. Together with CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth) measurements from regular research vessel occupations, they describe the flow field and water mass structure in the channel. Here, we use these data to calculate the average volume transport and properties of the flow of warm water through the channel from the Atlantic towards the Arctic, termed the Atlantic inflow. We find the average volume transport of this flow to be 2.7 ± 0.5 Sv (1 Sv = 10 6 m 3 s –1 ) between the shelf edge on the Faroe side and the 150 m isobath on the Shetland side. The average heat transport (relative to 0 °C) was estimated to be 107 ± 21 TW (1 TW = 10 12 W) and the average salt import to be 98 ± 20 × 10 6 kg s −1 . Transport values for individual months, based on the ADCP data, include a large level of variability, but can be used to calibrate sea level height data from satellite altimetry. In this way, a time series of volume transport has been generated back to the beginning of satellite altimetry in December 1992. The Atlantic inflow has a seasonal variation in volume transport that peaks around the turn of the year and has an amplitude of 0.7 Sv. The Atlantic inflow has become warmer and more saline since 1994, but no equivalent trend in volume transport was observed.

Description: Daily scale wintertime sea surface temperature and IPC-Navidad variability in the southern Bay of Biscay from 1981 to 2010 Ocean Science, 9, 655-679, 2013 Author(s): G. Esnaola, J. Sáenz, E. Zorita, A. Fontán, V. Valencia, and P. Lazure The combination of remotely sensed gappy Sea surface temperature (SST) images with the missing data filling DINEOF (data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions) technique, followed by a principal component analysis of the reconstructed data, has been used to identify the time evolution and the daily scale variability of the wintertime surface signal of the Iberian Poleward Current (IPC), or Navidad, during the 1981–2010 period. An exhaustive comparison with the existing bibliography, and the vertical temperature and salinity profiles related to its extremes over the Bay of Biscay area, show that the obtained time series accurately reflect the IPC-Navidad variability. Once a time series for the evolution of the SST signal of the current over the last decades is well established, this time series is used to propose a physical mechanism in relation to the variability of the IPC-Navidad, involving both atmospheric and oceanic variables. According to the proposed mechanism, an atmospheric circulation anomaly observed in both the 500 hPa and the surface levels generates atmospheric surface level pressure, wind-stress and heat-flux anomalies. In turn, those surface level atmospheric anomalies induce mutually coherent SST and sea level anomalies over the North Atlantic area, and locally, in the Bay of Biscay area. These anomalies, both locally over the Bay of Biscay area and over the North Atlantic, are in agreement with several mechanisms that have separately been related to the variability of the IPC-Navidad, i.e. the south-westerly winds, the joint effect of baroclinicity and relief (JEBAR) effect, the topographic β effect and a weakened North Atlantic gyre.

Description: Co-existence of wind seas and swells along the west coast of India during non-monsoon season Ocean Science, 9, 281-292, 2013 Author(s): R. Rashmi, V. M. Aboobacker, P. Vethamony, and M. P. John An attempt has been made to understand the co-existence of wind seas and swells along the west coast of India during non-monsoon season. Wave data were collected in different years during non-monsoon season (off Goa during May 2005, off Ratnagiri during January–February 2008 and off Dwarka during December 2007–January 2008), which is fairly a calm weather season along these regions. Diurnal variation in wave parameters is noticeable along the central west coast of India (off Goa and Ratnagiri), which is due to the interaction of multidirectional waves (both wind seas and swells) of varying magnitudes and frequencies. Swells are predominantly mature (91%) and old (88%) during late pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. Sea Swell Energy Ratio quantifies wind sea, swell and mixed seas prevailing in these regions during non-monsoon season. Intermodal distance (ID) between the energy peaks is moderately separated during non-monsoon season, whereas, during the shamal events, energy peaks are very close to each other (ID ∼ 0). However, pure wind seas (ID ∼ 1) are weakly present and found to co-exist with the swells almost all the time during non-monsoon season. Wind sea growth has been found while the swell propagates opposite to the direction of the wind and wind sea. Wind seas have minimum angular spreads in multimodal state. Under low winds, the interaction between wind sea and swell dominates and thereby the multimodal state reduces to unimodal state. The fetch available for the evolution of the wind sea spectrum has been estimated, and it is found to be less than 150 km. For the fetch limited condition, a non-dimensional empirical relation has been derived relating the significant wind sea height in terms of wind speed and peak wind sea period, and this relation fits for the west coast of India.

Description: Long-term monitoring programme of the hydrological variability in the Mediterranean Sea: a first overview of the HYDROCHANGES network Ocean Science, 9, 301-324, 2013 Author(s): K. Schroeder, C. Millot, L. Bengara, S. Ben Ismail, M. Bensi, M. Borghini, G. Budillon, V. Cardin, L. Coppola, C. Curtil, A. Drago, B. El Moumni, J. Font, J. L. Fuda, J. García-Lafuente, G. P. Gasparini, H. Kontoyiannis, D. Lefevre, P. Puig, P. Raimbault, G. Rougier, J. Salat, C. Sammari, J. C. Sánchez Garrido, A. Sanchez-Roman, S. Sparnocchia, C. Tamburini, I. Taupier-Letage, A. Theocharis, M. Vargas-Yáñez, and A. Vetrano The long-term monitoring of basic hydrological parameters (temperature and salinity), collected as time series with adequate temporal resolution (i.e. with a sampling interval allowing the resolution of all important timescales) in key places of the Mediterranean Sea (straits and channels, zones of dense water formation, deep parts of the basins), constitute a priority in the context of global changes. This led CIESM (The Mediterranean Science Commission) to support, since 2002, the HYDROCHANGES programme ( http//www.ciesm.org/marine/programs/hydrochanges.htm ), a network of autonomous conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensors, deployed on mainly short and easily manageable subsurface moorings, within the core of a certain water mass. The HYDROCHANGES strategy is twofold and develops on different scales. To get information about long-term changes of hydrological characteristics, long time series are needed. But before these series are long enough they allow the detection of links between them at shorter timescales that may provide extremely valuable information about the functioning of the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this paper is to present the history of the programme and the current set-up of the network (monitored sites, involved groups) as well as to provide for the first time an overview of all the time series collected under the HYDROCHANGES umbrella, discussing the results obtained thanks to the programme.

Description: Influence of winds on temporally varying short and long period gravity waves in the near shore regions of the eastern Arabian Sea Ocean Science, 9, 343-353, 2013 Author(s): J. Glejin, V. Sanil Kumar, T. M. Balakrishnan Nair, and J. Singh Wave data collected off Ratnagiri, west coast of India, during 1 May 2010 to 30 April 2012 are used in this study. Seasonal and annual variations in wave data controlled by the local wind system such as sea breeze and land breeze, and remote wind generated long period waves are also studied. The role of sea breeze on the sea state during pre- and postmonsoon seasons is studied and it is found that the maximum wave height is observed at 15:00 UTC during the premonsoon season, with an estimated difference in time lag of 1–2 h in maximum wave height between premonsoon and postmonsoon seasons. Observed waves are classified in to (i) short waves ( T p 〈 8 s), (ii) intermediate waves (8 〈 T p 〈 13 s), and (iii) long waves ( T p 〉 13 s) based on peak period ( T p ) and the percentages of occurrence of each category are estimated. Long period waves are observed mainly during the pre- and the postmonsoon seasons. During the southwest monsoon period, the waves with period 〉 13 s are a minimum. An event during 2011 is identified as swells propagated from the Southern Ocean with an estimated travelling time of 5–6 days. The swells reaching the Arabian Sea from the south Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean, due to storms during the pre- and postmonsoon periods, modify the near surface winds due to higher phase wave celerity than the wind speed. Estimation of inverse wave age using large-scale winds such as NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) reflects the presence of cyclonic activity during pre- and postmonsoon seasons but not the effect of the local sea breeze/land breeze wind system.

Description: Sea wave modeling with X-band COSMO-SkyMed © SAR-derived wind field forcing and applications in coastal vulnerability assessment Ocean Science, 9, 325-341, 2013 Author(s): G. Benassai, A. Montuori, M. Migliaccio, and F. Nunziata In this paper, X-band COSMO-SkyMed © synthetic aperture radar (SAR) wind field data are first used to force coastal wind wave modeling for both sea wave numerical simulation and coastal vulnerability assessment purposes. The SAR-based wind field retrieval is accomplished by resolving the SAR-based wind speed and wind direction retrieval problems independently. The sea surface wind speed is retrieved through the azimuth cut-off procedure, and the sea surface wind direction is determined by the multi-resolution analysis of the discrete wavelet transform. The wind wave modeling is based on the third-generation Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model, which is used for sea wave state estimation in coastal and inland regions. The coastal vulnerability assessment is provided by means of a key parameter, known as impact index, which evaluates the coastal risk due to the inundation of the inshore land. Experiments consist of SWAN numerical simulations run with respect to some relevant wave storms recorded in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea on 2010, with applications in coastal vulnerability assessment along the Sele coastal plain. Experimental results show the benefits of blended wind field products, provided by European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast (ECMWF) model winds and SAR-based wind field estimations, for both wind wave modeling and coastal vulnerability assessment purposes.

Description: MERIS-based ocean colour classification with the discrete Forel–Ule scale Ocean Science, 9, 477-487, 2013 Author(s): M. R. Wernand, A. Hommersom, and H. J. van der Woerd Multispectral information from satellite borne ocean colour sensors is at present used to characterize natural waters via the retrieval of concentrations of the three dominant optical constituents; pigments of phytoplankton, non-algal particles and coloured dissolved organic matter. A limitation of this approach is that accurate retrieval of these constituents requires detailed local knowledge of the specific absorption and scattering properties. In addition, the retrieval algorithms generally use only a limited part of the collected spectral information. In this paper we present an additional new algorithm that has the merit of using the full spectral information in the visible domain to characterize natural waters in a simple and globally valid way. This Forel–Ule MERIS (FUME) algorithm converts the normalized multiband reflectance information into a discrete set of numbers using uniform colourimetric functions. The Forel–Ule ( FU ) scale is a sea colour comparator scale that has been developed to cover all possible natural sea colours, ranging from indigo blue (the open ocean) to brownish-green (coastal water) and even brown (humic-acid dominated) waters. Data using this scale have been collected since the late nineteenth century, and therefore, this algorithm creates the possibility to compare historic ocean colour data with present-day satellite ocean colour observations. The FUME algorithm was tested by transforming a number of MERIS satellite images into Forel–Ule colour index images and comparing in situ observed FU numbers with FU numbers modelled from in situ radiometer measurements. Similar patterns and FU numbers were observed when comparing MERIS ocean colour distribution maps with ground truth Forel–Ule observations. The FU numbers modelled from in situ radiometer measurements showed a good correlation with observed FU numbers ( R 2 = 0.81 when full spectra are used and R 2 = 0.71 when MERIS bands are used).

Description: On the use of the Stokes number to explain frictional tidal dynamics and water column structure in shelf seas Ocean Science, 9, 391-398, 2013 Author(s): A. J. Souza In recent years coastal oceanographers have suggested using the "Strouhal" number or its inverse, the "Stokes" number, to describe the effect of bottom boundary layer turbulence on the vertical structure of both density and currents. These are defined as the ratios of the frictional depth (δ) to the water column depth ( h ) or vice versa. Although many researchers have mentioned that the effects of the earth's rotation should be important, they have tended to omit it. Rotation may have an important influence on tidal currents, as the frictional depth from a fully cyclonic to a fully anticyclonic tidal ellipse can vary by up to an order of magnitude at mid latitudes. The Stokes number might appear smaller for cyclonic current ellipses (larger for anticyclonic) than it is without rotation, resulting in frictional effects being underestimated (overestimated). Here, a way to calculate a Stokes number is proposed, in which the effect of the earth's rotation is taken into account. The standard Stokes and the rotational Stokes numbers are used as predictors for the position of the tidal mixing fronts in the Irish Sea. Results show that use of the rotational number improves the predictions of fronts in shallow cyclonic areas of the eastern Irish Sea. This suggests that the effect of rotation on the water column structure will be more important in shallow shelf seas and estuaries with strong rotational currents.

Description: Assessment of MERIS ocean color data products for European seas Ocean Science, 9, 521-533, 2013 Author(s): G. Zibordi, F. Mélin, J.-F. Berthon, and E. Canuti The accuracy of marine data products from the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) operated on board the Envisat platform is investigated with the aid of in situ geographically distributed measurements from different European seas. The assessment focuses on standard products from the 2012 data update commonly identified as 3rd Reprocessing. Results indicate atmospherically corrected data affected by a negative bias of several tens percent at the 413 nm center wavelength, significantly decreasing to a few percent at 560 nm and increasing again at 665 nm. Such an underestimate at the blue center wavelengths leads to an average overestimate of the algal-1 MERIS pigment index largely exceeding 100% for the considered European seas. A comparable overestimate is also observed for the algal-2 pigment index independently determined from top-of-atmosphere radiance through the application of neural networks.

Description: Exceptional dense water formation on the Adriatic shelf in the winter of 2012 Ocean Science, 9, 561-572, 2013 Author(s): H. Mihanović, I. Vilibić, S. Carniel, M. Tudor, A. Russo, A. Bergamasco, N. Bubić, Z. Ljubešić, D. Viličić, A. Boldrin, V. Malačič, M. Celio, C. Comici, and F. Raicich In this paper we document dense water formation throughout the Adriatic shelf and coastal area in January/February 2012, resulting in record-breaking densities observed during and after the event. The unprecedented dense water generation was preconditioned by a dry and warm year which resulted in a significant reduction of coastal freshwaters, superimposed on a long-term basin-wide salinity increase. The final event that triggered the dense water formation was an extended period of cold weather with strong and severe winds. Record-breaking potential density anomalies (above 30 kg m −3 ) were measured at several formation sites. Accumulated surface net heat and water losses in some coastal regions exceeded 1.5 GJ m −2 and 250 kg m −2 over 21 days, respectively. Excessiveness, importance of shelf-type dense water formation and effects on the thermohaline circulation and deep aquatic systems are discussed.

Description: Near-surface diurnal warming simulations: validation with high resolution profile measurements Ocean Science, 9, 977-986, 2013 Author(s): B. Scanlon, G. A. Wick, and B. Ward Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important property for governing the exchange of energy between the ocean and the atmosphere. Common in situ methods of measuring SST often require a cool-skin and warm-layer adjustment in the presence of diurnal warming effects. A critical requirement for an ocean submodel is that it can simulate the change in SST over diurnal, seasonal and annual cycles. In this paper we use high-resolution near-surface profiles of SST to validate simulated near-surface temperature profiles from a modified version of the Kantha and Clayson 1-D mixed-layer model. Additional model enhancements such as the incorporation of a more recent parameterization of turbulence generated by wave breaking and a recent solar absorption model are also validated. The model simulations show a strong variability in highly stratified conditions, with different models providing the best results depending on the specific criteria and conditions. In general, the models with enhanced wave breaking effects provided underestimated temperature profiles while the more coarse baseline and blended approaches produced the most accurate SST estimates.

Description: Microstructure measurements and estimates of entrainment in the Denmark Strait overflow plume Ocean Science, 9, 1003-1014, 2013 Author(s): V. Paka, V. Zhurbas, B. Rudels, D. Quadfasel, A. Korzh, and D. Delisi To examine processes controlling the entrainment of ambient water into the Denmark Strait overflow (DSO) plume/gravity current, measurements of turbulent dissipation rate were carried out by a quasi-free-falling (tethered) microstructure profiler (MSP). The MSP was specifically designed to collect data on dissipation-scale turbulence and fine thermohaline stratification in an ocean layer located as deep as 3500 m. The task was to perform microstructure measurements in the DSO plume in the lower 300 m depth interval including the bottom mixed layer and the interfacial layer below the non-turbulent ambient water. The MSP was attached to a Rosette water sampler rack equipped with a SeaBird CTDO and an RD Instruments lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP). At a chosen depth, the MSP was remotely released from the rack to perform measurements in a quasi-free-falling mode. Using the measured vertical profiles of dissipation, the entrainment rate as well as the bottom and interfacial stresses in the DSO plume were estimated at a location 200 km downstream of the sill at depths up to 1771 m. Dissipation-derived estimates of entrainment were found to be much smaller than bulk estimates of entrainment calculated from the downstream change of the mean properties in the plume, suggesting the lateral stirring due to mesoscale eddies rather than diapycnal mixing as the main contributor to entrainment. Dissipation-derived bottom stress estimates are argued to be roughly one third the magnitude of those derived from log velocity profiles. In the interfacial layer, the Ozmidov scale calculated from turbulence dissipation rate and buoyancy frequency was found to be linearly proportional to the overturning scale extracted from conventional CTD data (the Thorpe scale), with a proportionality constant of 0.76, and a correlation coefficient of 0.77.

Description: An optical model for deriving the spectral particulate backscattering coefficients in oceanic waters Ocean Science, 9, 987-1001, 2013 Author(s): S. P. Tiwari and P. Shanmugam An optical model is developed based on the diffuse attenuation coefficient ( K d ) to estimate particulate backscattering coefficients b bp (λ) in oceanic waters. A large in situ data set is used to establish robust relationships between b bp (530) and b bp (555) and K d (490) using an efficient nonlinear least-square method which uses the trust region algorithm with Bisquare weights scheme to adjust the coefficients. These relationships are obtained with good correlation coefficients ( R 2 = 0.786 and 0.790), low root mean square error (RMSE = 0.00076 and 0.00072) and 95% confidence bounds. The new model is tested with three independent data sets: the NOMAD SeaWiFS Match ups, OOXIX IOP algorithm workshop evaluation data set (Version 2.0w APLHA), and IOCCG simulated data set. Results show that the new model makes good retrievals of b bp at all key wavelengths (from 412–683 nm), with statistically significant improvements over other inversion models. Thus, the new model has the potential to improve our present knowledge of particulate matter and their optical variability in oceanic waters.

Description: Salinity in the Sicily Channel corroborates the role of the Adriatic–Ionian Bimodal Oscillating System (BiOS) in shaping the decadal variability of the Mediterranean overturning circulation Ocean Science, 9, 83-90, 2013 Author(s): M. Gačić, K. Schroeder, G. Civitarese, S. Cosoli, A. Vetrano, and G. L. Eusebi Borzelli Previous studies have demonstrated that the salinity in the Levantine basin depends on the intensity of the Atlantic water (AW) inflow. Moreover, its spreading eastward (to the Levantine basin) or northward (to the Ionian Sea) is determined by the Ionian circulation pattern, i.e. by the Adriatic–Ionian Bimodal Oscillating System (BiOS) mechanism. The aim of this paper is to relate salinity variations in the Levantine basin to the salt content variability in the core of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) passing through the Sicily Channel (SC) and its possible impact on the Western Mediterranean Transition – WMT (i.e. the sudden salinity and temperature increase in the deep layer of the Algero-Provençal subbasin occurring since 2004). From the historical data set MEDAR/MEDATLAS in the Levantine and northern Ionian, we present evidence of decadal occurrences of extreme salinities associated with the varying influx of AW over the last 60 yr. Furthermore, we show that the salinity variations in the two subbasins are out of phase. High-salinity episodes in the Levantine are a pre-conditioning for the potential occurrence of the events like the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT). Cross-correlation between the salinity time series in the Levantine basin and in the SC suggests that the travel time of the LIW is between 10 and 13 yr. Comparing the timing of the salinity increase associated with the WMT and the salinity in the LIW core in the SC, we estimate that the total time interval needed for the signal propagating from the Levantine to reach the deep mixed layers of the Algero-Provençal subbasin is about 25 yr. We also showed that the extra salt input from the eastern Mediterranean contribute up to about 60% to the salt content increase in the bottom layer of the western Mediterranean.

Description: Liquid export of Arctic freshwater components through the Fram Strait 1998–2011 Ocean Science, 9, 91-109, 2013 Author(s): B. Rabe, P. A. Dodd, E. Hansen, E. Falck, U. Schauer, A. Mackensen, A. Beszczynska-Möller, G. Kattner, E. J. Rohling, and K. Cox We estimated the magnitude and composition of southward liquid freshwater transports in the East Greenland Current near 79° N in the Western Fram Strait between 1998 and 2011. Previous studies have found this region to be an important pathway for liquid freshwater export from the Arctic Ocean to the Nordic Seas and the North Atlantic subpolar gyre. Our transport estimates are based on six hydrographic surveys between June and September and concurrent data from moored current meters. We combined concentrations of liquid freshwater, meteoric water (river water and precipitation), sea ice melt and brine from sea ice formation, and Pacific Water, presented in Dodd et al. (2012), with volume transport estimates from an inverse model. The average of the monthly snapshots of southward liquid freshwater transports between 10.6° W and 4° E is 100 ± 23 mSv (3160 ± 730 km 3 yr −1 ), relative to a salinity of 34.9. This liquid freshwater transport consists of about 130% water from rivers and precipitation (meteoric water), 30% freshwater from the Pacific, and −60% (freshwater deficit) due to a mixture of sea ice melt and brine from sea ice formation. Pacific Water transports showed the highest variation in time, effectively vanishing in some of the surveys. Comparison of our results to the literature indicates that this was due to atmospherically driven variability in the advection of Pacific Water along different pathways through the Arctic Ocean. Variations in most liquid freshwater component transports appear to have been most strongly influenced by changes in the advection of these water masses to the Fram Strait. However, the local dynamics represented by the volume transports influenced the liquid freshwater component transports in individual years, in particular those of sea ice melt and brine from sea ice formation. Our results show a similar ratio of the transports of meteoric water and net sea ice melt as previous studies. However, we observed a significant increase in this ratio between the surveys in 1998 and in 2009. This can be attributed to higher concentrations of sea ice melt in 2009 that may have been due to enhanced advection of freshwater from the Beaufort Gyre to the Fram Strait. Known trends and variability in the Arctic liquid freshwater inflow from rivers are not likely to have had a significant influence on the variation of liquid freshwater component transports between our surveys. On the other hand, known freshwater inflow variability from the Pacific could have caused some of the variation we observed in the Fram Strait. The apparent absence of a trend in southward liquid freshwater transports through the Fram Strait and recent evidence of an increase in liquid freshwater storage in the Arctic Ocean raise the question: how fast will the accumulated liquid freshwater be exported from the Arctic Ocean to the deep water formation regions in the North Atlantic and will an increased export occur through the Fram Strait.

Description: Evaluation of global monitoring and forecasting systems at Mercator Océan Ocean Science, 9, 57-81, 2013 Author(s): J.-M. Lellouche, O. Le Galloudec, M. Drévillon, C. Régnier, E. Greiner, G. Garric, N. Ferry, C. Desportes, C.-E. Testut, C. Bricaud, R. Bourdallé-Badie, B. Tranchant, M. Benkiran, Y. Drillet, A. Daudin, and C. De Nicola Since December 2010, the MyOcean global analysis and forecasting system has consisted of the Mercator Océan NEMO global 1/4° configuration with a 1/12° nested model over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The open boundary data for the nested configuration come from the global 1/4° configuration at 20° S and 80° N. The data are assimilated by means of a reduced-order Kalman filter with a 3-D multivariate modal decomposition of the forecast error. It includes an adaptive-error estimate and a localization algorithm. A 3-D-Var scheme provides a correction for the slowly evolving large-scale biases in temperature and salinity. Altimeter data, satellite sea surface temperature and in situ temperature and salinity vertical profiles are jointly assimilated to estimate the initial conditions for numerical ocean forecasting. In addition to the quality control performed by data producers, the system carries out a proper quality control on temperature and salinity vertical profiles in order to minimise the risk of erroneous observed profiles being assimilated in the model. This paper describes the recent systems used by Mercator Océan and the validation procedure applied to current MyOcean systems as well as systems under development. The paper shows how refinements or adjustments to the system during the validation procedure affect its quality. Additionally, we show that quality checks (in situ, drifters) and data sources (satellite sea surface temperature) have as great an impact as the system design (model physics and assimilation parameters). The results of the scientific assessment are illustrated with diagnostics over the year 2010 mainly, assorted with time series over the 2007–2011 period. The validation procedure demonstrates the accuracy of MyOcean global products, whose quality is stable over time. All monitoring systems are close to altimetric observations with a forecast RMS difference of 7 cm. The update of the mean dynamic topography corrects local biases in the Indonesian Throughflow and in the western tropical Pacific. This improves also the subsurface currents at the Equator. The global systems give an accurate description of water masses almost everywhere. Between 0 and 500 m, departures from in situ observations rarely exceed 1 °C and 0.2 psu. The assimilation of an improved sea surface temperature product aims to better represent the sea ice concentration and the sea ice edge. The systems under development are still suffering from a drift which can only be detected by means of a 5-yr hindcast, preventing us from upgrading them in real time. This emphasizes the need to pursue research while building future systems for MyOcean2 forecasting.

Description: A global algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity Ocean Science, 8, 1123-1134, 2012 Author(s): T. J. McDougall, D. R. Jackett, F. J. Millero, R. Pawlowicz, and P. M. Barker The International Thermodynamic Equation of Seawater – 2010 has defined the thermodynamic properties of seawater in terms of a new salinity variable, Absolute Salinity, which takes into account the spatial variation of the composition of seawater. Absolute Salinity more accurately reflects the effects of the dissolved material in seawater on the thermodynamic properties (particularly density) than does Practical Salinity. When a seawater sample has standard composition (i.e. the ratios of the constituents of sea salt are the same as those of surface water of the North Atlantic), Practical Salinity can be used to accurately evaluate the thermodynamic properties of seawater. When seawater is not of standard composition, Practical Salinity alone is not sufficient and the Absolute Salinity Anomaly needs to be estimated; this anomaly is as large as 0.025 g kg −1 in the northernmost North Pacific. Here we provide an algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity Anomaly for any location ( x, y, p ) in the world ocean. To develop this algorithm, we used the Absolute Salinity Anomaly that is found by comparing the density calculated from Practical Salinity to the density measured in the laboratory. These estimates of Absolute Salinity Anomaly however are limited to the number of available observations (namely 811). In order to provide a practical method that can be used at any location in the world ocean, we take advantage of approximate relationships between Absolute Salinity Anomaly and silicate concentrations (which are available globally).

Description: The CORA dataset: validation and diagnostics of in-situ ocean temperature and salinity measurements Ocean Science, 9, 1-18, 2013 Author(s): C. Cabanes, A. Grouazel, K. von Schuckmann, M. Hamon, V. Turpin, C. Coatanoan, F. Paris, S. Guinehut, C. Boone, N. Ferry, C. de Boyer Montégut, T. Carval, G. Reverdin, S. Pouliquen, and P.-Y. Le Traon The French program Coriolis, as part of the French operational oceanographic system, produces the COriolis dataset for Re-Analysis (CORA) on a yearly basis. This dataset contains in-situ temperature and salinity profiles from different data types. The latest release CORA3 covers the period 1990 to 2010. Several tests have been developed to ensure a homogeneous quality control of the dataset and to meet the requirements of the physical ocean reanalysis activities (assimilation and validation). Improved tests include some simple tests based on comparison with climatology and a model background check based on a global ocean reanalysis. Visual quality control is performed on all suspicious temperature and salinity profiles identified by the tests, and quality flags are modified in the dataset if necessary. In addition, improved diagnostic tools have been developed – including global ocean indicators – which give information on the quality of the CORA3 dataset and its potential applications. CORA3 is available on request through the MyOcean Service Desk ( http://www.myocean.eu/ ).

Description: Impact of the Indonesian Throughflow on Agulhas leakage Ocean Science, 9, 773-785, 2013 Author(s): D. Le Bars, H. A. Dijkstra, and W. P. M. De Ruijter Using ocean models of different complexity we show that opening the Indonesian Passage between the Pacific and the Indian oceans increases the input of Indian Ocean water into the South Atlantic via the Agulhas leakage. In a strongly eddying global ocean model this response results from an increased Agulhas Current transport and a constant proportion of Agulhas retroflection south of Africa. The leakage increases through an increased frequency of ring shedding events. In an idealized two-layer and flat-bottom eddy resolving model, the proportion of the Agulhas Current transport that retroflects is (for a wide range of wind stress forcing) not affected by an opening of the Indonesian Passage. Using a comparison with a linear model and previous work on the retroflection problem, the result is explained as a balance between two mechanisms: decrease retroflection due to large-scale momentum balance and increase due to local barotropic/baroclinic instabilities.

Description: On the shelf resonances of the English Channel and Irish Sea Ocean Science, 9, 731-744, 2013 Author(s): D. J. Webb The resonances of the English Channel and Irish Sea are investigated using the methods of Webb (2012a) together with an Arakawa C-grid model of the region under study. In the semi-diurnal tidal band, the high tides of the Bristol Channel and Gulf of St. Malo are shown to be due to two shelf resonances which strongly couple the two regions. In the diurnal band, the response is complicated by the presence of continental shelf waves.

Description: NEMO on the shelf: assessment of the Iberia–Biscay–Ireland configuration Ocean Science, 9, 745-771, 2013 Author(s): C. Maraldi, J. Chanut, B. Levier, N. Ayoub, P. De Mey, G. Reffray, F. Lyard, S. Cailleau, M. Drévillon, E. A. Fanjul, M. G. Sotillo, P. Marsaleix, and the Mercator Research and Development Team This work describes the design and validation of a high-resolution (1/36°) ocean forecasting model over the "Iberian–Biscay–Irish" (IBI) area. The system has been set-up using the NEMO model (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean). New developments have been incorporated in NEMO to make it suitable to open- as well as coastal-ocean modelling. In this paper, we pursue three main objectives: (1) to give an overview of the model configuration used for the simulations; (2) to give a broad-brush account of one particular aspect of this work, namely consistency verification; this type of validation is conducted upstream of the implementation of the system before it is used for production and routinely validated; it is meant to guide model development in identifying gross deficiencies in the modelling of several key physical processes; and (3) to show that such a regional modelling system has potential as a complement to patchy observations (an integrated approach) to give information on non-observed physical quantities and to provide links between observations by identifying broader-scale patterns and processes. We concentrate on the year 2008. We first provide domain-wide consistency verification results in terms of barotropic tides, transports, sea surface temperature and stratification. We then focus on two dynamical subregions: the Celtic shelves and the Bay of Biscay slope and deep regions. The model–data consistency is checked for variables and processes such as tidal currents, tidal fronts, internal tides and residual elevation. We also examine the representation in the model of a seasonal pattern of the Bay of Biscay circulation: the warm extension of the Iberian Poleward Current along the northern Spanish coast (Navidad event) in the winter of 2007–2008.

Description: A new 3-D modelling method to extract subtransect dimensions from underwater videos Ocean Science, 9, 461-476, 2013 Author(s): L. Fillinger and T. Funke Underwater video transects have become a common tool for quantitative analysis of the seafloor. However a major difficulty remains in the accurate determination of the area surveyed as underwater navigation can be unreliable and image scaling does not always compensate for distortions due to perspective and topography. Depending on the camera set-up and available instruments, different methods of surface measurement are applied, which make it difficult to compare data obtained by different vehicles. 3-D modelling of the seafloor based on 2-D video data and a reference scale can be used to compute subtransect dimensions. Focussing on the length of the subtransect, the data obtained from 3-D models created with the software PhotoModeler Scanner are compared with those determined from underwater acoustic positioning (ultra short baseline, USBL) and bottom tracking (Doppler velocity log, DVL). 3-D model building and scaling was successfully conducted on all three tested set-ups and the distortion of the reference scales due to substrate roughness was identified as the main source of imprecision. Acoustic positioning was generally inaccurate and bottom tracking unreliable on rough terrain. Subtransect lengths assessed with PhotoModeler were on average 20% longer than those derived from acoustic positioning due to the higher spatial resolution and the inclusion of slope. On a high relief wall bottom tracking and 3-D modelling yielded similar results. At present, 3-D modelling is the most powerful, albeit the most time-consuming, method for accurate determination of video subtransect dimensions.

Description: Near-surface measurements of sea spray aerosol production over whitecaps in the open ocean Ocean Science, 9, 133-145, 2013 Author(s): S. J. Norris, I. M. Brooks, B. I. Moat, M. J. Yelland, G. de Leeuw, R. W. Pascal, and B. Brooks Simultaneous measurements of near-surface aerosol (0.12 〈 R 〈 9.25 μm) and bubble spectra (13 〈 R 〈 620 μm) were made during five buoy deployments in the open ocean of the North Atlantic and used to estimate aerosol fluxes per unit area of whitecap. The measurements were made during two cruises as part of the Sea Spray, Gas Flux, and Whitecaps (SEASAW) project, a UK contribution to the international Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) program. The mean bubble number concentrations for each deployment are in broad agreement with other open ocean spectra and are consistently one to two orders of magnitude lower than surf zone studies. Production fluxes per unit area of whitecap are estimated from the mean aerosol concentration for each buoy deployment. They are found to increase with wind speed, and span the range of values found by previous laboratory and surf-zone studies for particles with radius at 80% relative humidity, R 80 〈 1 μm, but to drop off more rapidly with increasing particle size for larger particles. Estimates of the mean sea spray flux were made by scaling the whitecap production fluxes with in situ estimates of whitecap fraction. The sea spray fluxes are also compared with simultaneous individual eddy covariance flux estimates, and with a sea spray source function derived from them.

Description: Observations of water masses and circulation with focus on the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean from the 1990s to the late 2000s Ocean Science, 9, 147-169, 2013 Author(s): B. Rudels, U. Schauer, G. Björk, M. Korhonen, S. Pisarev, B. Rabe, and A. Wisotzki The circulation and water mass properties in the Eurasian Basin are discussed based on a review of previous research and an examination of observations made in recent years within, or parallel to, DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). The discussion is strongly biased towards observations made from icebreakers and particularly from the cruise with R/V Polarstern 2007 during the International Polar Year (IPY). Focus is on the Barents Sea inflow branch and its mixing with the Fram Strait inflow branch. It is proposed that the Barents Sea branch contributes not just intermediate water but also most of the water to the Atlantic layer in the Amundsen Basin and also in the Makarov and Canada basins. Only occasionally would high temperature pulses originating from the Fram Strait branch penetrate along the Laptev Sea slope across the Gakkel Ridge into the Amundsen Basin. Interactions between the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait branches lead to formation of intrusive layers, in the Atlantic layer and in the intermediate waters. The intrusion characteristics found downstream, north of the Laptev Sea are similar to those observed in the northern Nansen Basin and over the Gakkel Ridge, suggesting a flow from the Laptev Sea towards Fram Strait. The formation mechanisms for the intrusions at the continental slope, or in the interior of the basins if they are reformed there, have not been identified. The temperature of the deep water of the Eurasian Basin has increased in the last 10 yr rather more than expected from geothermal heating. That geothermal heating does influence the deep water column was obvious from 2007 Polarstern observations made close to a hydrothermal vent in the Gakkel Ridge, where the temperature minimum usually found above the 600–800 m thick homogenous bottom layer was absent. However, heat entrained from the Atlantic water into descending, saline boundary plumes may also contribute to the warming of the deeper layers.

Description: Towards an integrated forecasting system for fisheries on habitat-bound stocks Ocean Science, 9, 261-279, 2013 Author(s): A. Christensen, M. Butenschön, Z. Gürkan, and I. J. Allen First results of a coupled modelling and forecasting system for fisheries on habitat-bound stocks are being presented. The system consists currently of three mathematically, fundamentally different model subsystems coupled offline: POLCOMS providing the physical environment implemented in the domain of the north-west European shelf, the SPAM model which describes sandeel stocks in the North Sea, and the third component, the SLAM model, which connects POLCOMS and SPAM by computing the physical–biological interaction. Our major experience by the coupling model subsystems is that well-defined and generic model interfaces are very important for a successful and extendable coupled model framework. The integrated approach, simulating ecosystem dynamics from physics to fish, allows for analysis of the pathways in the ecosystem to investigate the propagation of changes in the ocean climate and to quantify the impacts on the higher trophic level, in this case the sandeel population, demonstrated here on the basis of hindcast data. The coupled forecasting system is tested for some typical scientific questions appearing in spatial fish stock management and marine spatial planning, including determination of local and basin-scale maximum sustainable yield, stock connectivity and source/sink structure. Our presented simulations indicate that sandeel stocks are currently exploited close to the maximum sustainable yield, even though periodic overfishing seems to have occurred, but large uncertainty is associated with determining stock maximum sustainable yield due to stock inherent dynamics and climatic variability. Our statistical ensemble simulations indicates that the predictive horizon set by climate interannual variability is 2–6 yr, after which only an asymptotic probability distribution of stock properties, like biomass, are predictable.

Description: Ocean state indicators from MyOcean altimeter products Ocean Science, 9, 545-560, 2013 Author(s): L. Bessières, M. H. Rio, C. Dufau, C. Boone, and M. I. Pujol The European MyOcean project ( http://www.myocean.eu.org ) provides observations of the ocean dynamic topography from altimeter measurements. Three specific indicators have been developed, based on altimeter data only, in order to monitor the ocean state. The first ocean indicator observes the positive and negative phases of the ENSO events in the tropical Pacific, the El Niño/La Niña events, since 1992. The second ocean indicator tracks the contracted or extended state of the Kuroshio Extension. The last ocean indicator is dedicated to the Ionian Basin in the Mediterranean Sea and permits separation of "zonal-cyclonic" state (1998–2005 and since 2011 up to now) from the "anticyclonic" state (1993–1996) usually discussed in the literature. In addition, it allows identifying a third state in which both the anticyclonic circulation around the northern part of the basin and the strong zonal Mid-Ionian Jet co-exist (2008–2010).

Description: Investigation of saline water intrusions into the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuania) and two-layer flow in the Klaipėda Strait using finite element hydrodynamic model Ocean Science, 9, 573-584, 2013 Author(s): P. Zemlys, C. Ferrarin, G. Umgiesser, S. Gulbinskas, and D. Bellafiore This work is focused on the application of a modelling system to simulate 3-D interaction between the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea coastal waters and to reflect spatiotemporal dynamics of marine waters in the Curonian Lagoon. The model system is based on the finite element programme package SHYFEM which can be used to resolve the hydrodynamic equations in lagoons, coastal seas, estuaries and lakes. The results of a one year (2009) 3-D model simulation with real weather and hydrological forcing show that the saline water intrusions from the sea through Klaipėda Strait are gradually decreasing with distance from the sea and become negligible (average annual salinity about 0.57‰) at a distance of about 20 km to the south of Kiaulės Nugara island. Analyses of the simulation results also show this area to be highly heterogeneous according to the vertical salinity distribution. While in the deeper Klaipėda Strait (harbour waterway) differences in average salinity between near bottom and surface layers varies in the range 2–2.5‰, in the rest of the Curonian Lagoon it is less than 0.5‰. The exchange flow showed vertical structure, but was horizontally uniform with the presence of a two-directional flow that from time to time changes to either saline water one-directional flow to the Curonian Lagoon or fresh water one-directional flow to the sea. Two-directional flow duration decreases with a distance from sea entrance in Klaipėda Strait from around 180 days yr −1 close to the sea entrance to 50 days yr −1 just behind Kiaulės Nugara island. One-directional outflow duration is increasing with a distance from the sea entrance from 100 to 225 days yr −1 . One-directional inflow duration occurs in the range of 70–100 days yr −1 . The analysis of the ratio of buoyancy layer thickness to water depth ( h b / H ) and the Wedderburn number identified the main importance of wind action on the flow structure. Strong winds from the North and NW determine a barotropic inflow which is mostly responsible for the salt water intrusion into the Curonian Lagoon. Absence of wind or cross-strait wind regimes allows the maintenance of a two-layer flow typical of estuarine dynamics.

Description: Tidally induced lateral dispersion of the Storfjorden overflow plume Ocean Science, 9, 885-899, 2013 Author(s): F. Wobus, G. I. Shapiro, J. M. Huthnance, M. A. M. Maqueda, and Y. Aksenov We investigate the flow of brine-enriched shelf water from Storfjorden (Svalbard) into Fram Strait and onto the western Svalbard Shelf using a regional set-up of NEMO-SHELF, a 3-D numerical ocean circulation model. The model is set up with realistic bathymetry, atmospheric forcing, open boundary conditions and tides. The model has 3 km horizontal resolution and 50 vertical levels in the s h -coordinate system which is specially designed to resolve bottom boundary layer processes. In a series of modelling experiments we focus on the influence of tides on the propagation of the dense water plume by comparing results from tidal and non-tidal model runs. Comparisons of non-tidal to tidal simulations reveal a hotspot of tidally induced horizontal diffusion leading to the lateral dispersion of the plume at the southernmost headland of Spitsbergen which is in close proximity to the plume path. As a result the lighter fractions in the diluted upper layer of the plume are drawn into the shallow coastal current that carries Storfjorden water onto the western Svalbard Shelf, while the dense bottom layer continues to sink down the slope. This bifurcation of the plume into a diluted shelf branch and a dense downslope branch is enhanced by tidally induced shear dispersion at the headland. Tidal effects at the headland are shown to cause a net reduction in the downslope flux of Storfjorden water into the deep Fram Strait. This finding contrasts previous results from observations of a dense plume on a different shelf without abrupt topography.

Description: From satellite altimetry to Argo and operational oceanography: three revolutions in oceanography Ocean Science, 9, 901-915, 2013 Author(s): P. Y. Le Traon The launch of the French/US mission Topex/Poseidon (T/P) (CNES/NASA) in August 1992 was the start of a revolution in oceanography. For the first time, a very precise altimeter system optimized for large-scale sea level and ocean circulation observations was flying. T/P alone could not observe the mesoscale circulation. In the 1990s, the ESA satellites ERS-1/2 were flying simultaneously with T/P. Together with my CLS colleagues, we demonstrated that we could use T/P as a reference mission for ERS-1/2 and bring the ERS-1/2 data to an accuracy level comparable to T/P. Near-real-time high-resolution global sea level anomaly maps were then derived. These maps have been operationally produced as part of the SSALTO/DUACS system for the last 15 yr. They are now widely used by the oceanographic community and have contributed to a much better understanding and recognition of the role and importance of mesoscale dynamics. Altimetry needs to be complemented with global in situ observations. At the end of the 90s, a major international initiative was launched to develop Argo, the global array of profiling floats. This has been an outstanding success. Argo floats now provide the most important in situ observations to monitor and understand the role of the ocean on the earth climate and for operational oceanography. This is a second revolution in oceanography. The unique capability of satellite altimetry to observe the global ocean in near-real-time at high resolution and the development of Argo were essential for the development of global operational oceanography, the third revolution in oceanography. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) was instrumental in the development of the required capabilities. This paper provides an historical perspective on the development of these three revolutions in oceanography which are very much interlinked. This is not an exhaustive review and I will mainly focus on the contributions we made together with many colleagues and friends.

Description: Frontal structures in the West Spitsbergen Current margins Ocean Science, 9, 957-975, 2013 Author(s): W. Walczowski The structures of the hydrographic fronts separating the Atlantic-origin waters from ambient waters in the northern Nordic Seas are discussed. Flows of the western and eastern branches of the West Spitsbergen Current create the Atlantic domain borders and maintain these fronts. This work is based on previous research and on investigations carried out in the project DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). Most of the observational data were collected during the R/V Oceania cruises. The main focus of the paper is the western border of the Atlantic domain – the Arctic Front, alongfrontal and transfrontal transports, and the front instability and variability. The alongfrontal baroclinic jet streams were described as a significant source of the Atlantic Water and heat in the Nordic Seas. The baroclinic instability and advection of baroclinic eddies which occurs due to this instability were found to be the main transfrontal transport processes. Most of the Atlantic Water transported by the western branch recirculates west and southward. The eastern branch of the West Spitsbergen Current provides most of the Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean. Both processes are very important for the Arctic and global thermohaline circulation.

Description: The circulation of Icelandic waters – a modelling study Ocean Science, 9, 931-955, 2013 Author(s): K. Logemann, J. Ólafsson, Á. Snorrason, H. Valdimarsson, and G. Marteinsdóttir The three-dimensional flow, temperature and salinity fields of the North Atlantic, including the Arctic Ocean, covering the time period 1992 to 2006 are simulated with the numerical ocean model CODE. The simulation reveals several new insights and previously unknown structures which help us to clarify open questions on the regional oceanography of Icelandic waters. These relate to the structure and geographical distribution of the coastal current, the primary forcing of the North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC) and the path of the Atlantic Water south-east of Iceland. The model's adaptively refined computational mesh has a maximum resolution of 1 km horizontal and 2.5 m vertical in Icelandic waters. CTD profiles from this region and the river discharge of 46 Icelandic watersheds, computed by the hydrological model WaSiM, are assimilated into the simulation. The model realistically reproduces the established elements of the circulation around Iceland. However, analysis of the simulated mean flow field also provides further insights. It suggests a distinct freshwater-induced coastal current that only exists along the south-west and west coasts, which is accompanied by a counter-directed undercurrent. The simulated transport of Atlantic Water over the Icelandic shelf takes place in a symmetrical system of two currents, with the established NIIC over the north-western and northern shelf, and a hitherto unnamed current over the southern and south-eastern shelf, which is simulated to be an upstream precursor of the Faroe Current (FC). Both currents are driven by barotropic pressure gradients induced by a sea level slope across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge. The recently discovered North Icelandic Jet (NIJ) also features in the model predictions and is found to be forced by the baroclinic pressure field of the Arctic Front, to originate east of the Kolbeinsey Ridge and to have a volume transport of around 1.5 Sv within northern Denmark Strait. The simulated multi-annual mean Atlantic Water transport of the NIIC increased by 85% during 1992 to 2006, whereas the corresponding NIJ transport decreased by 27%. Based on our model results we propose a new and further differentiated circulation scheme of Icelandic waters whose details may inspire future observational oceanography studies.

Description: Estuarine circulation reversals and related rapid changes in winter near-bottom oxygen conditions in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea Ocean Science, 9, 917-930, 2013 Author(s): T. Liblik, J. Laanemets, U. Raudsepp, J. Elken, and I. Suhhova The reversal of estuarine circulation caused by southwesterly wind forcing may lead to vanishing of stratification and subsequently to oxygenation of deep layers during the winter in the Gulf of Finland. Six conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD)+oxygen transects (130 km long, 10 stations) were conducted along the thalweg from the western boundary to the central gulf (21 December 2011–8 May 2012). Two bottom-mounted ADCP were installed, one near the western border and the second in the central gulf. A CTD with a dissolved oxygen sensor was deployed close to the western ADCP. Periods of typical estuarine circulation were characterized by strong stratification, high salinity, hypoxic conditions and inflow to the gulf in the near-bottom layer. Two circulation reversals were observed: one in December–January and one in February. The first reversal event was well developed; it caused the disappearance of the stratification and an increase in the oxygen concentration from hypoxic values to 270 μmol L −1 (to 6 mL L −1 ) throughout the water column along the thalweg and lasted approximately 1.5 months. Shifts from estuarine circulation to reversed circulation and vice versa were both associated with strong longitudinal (east–west) gulf currents (up to 40 cm s −1 ) in the deep layer. The change from oxygenated to hypoxic conditions in the western near-entrance area of the gulf occurred very rapidly, within less than a day, due to the intrusion of the hypoxic salt wedge from the NE Baltic Proper. In the eastern part of the gulf, good oxygen conditions caused by reversals remained for a few months.

Description: The effect of various vertical discretization schemes and horizontal diffusion parameterization on the performance of a 3-D ocean model: the Black Sea case study Ocean Science, 9, 377-390, 2013 Author(s): G. Shapiro, M. Luneva, J. Pickering, and D. Storkey Results of a sensitivity study are presented from various configurations of the NEMO ocean model in the Black Sea. The standard choices of vertical discretization, viz. z levels, s coordinates and enveloped s coordinates, all show their limitations in the areas of complex topography. Two new hybrid vertical coordinate schemes are presented: the "s-on-top-of-z" and its enveloped version. The hybrid grids use s coordinates or enveloped s coordinates in the upper layer, from the sea surface to the depth of the shelf break, and z-coordinates are set below this level. The study is carried out for a number of idealised and real world settings. The hybrid schemes help reduce errors generated by the standard schemes in the areas of steep topography. Results of sensitivity tests with various horizontal diffusion formulations are used to identify the optimum value of Smagorinsky diffusivity coefficient to best represent the mesoscale activity.

Description: Intercomparison of the Charnock and COARE bulk wind stress formulations for coastal ocean modelling Ocean Science, 9, 721-729, 2013 Author(s): J. M. Brown, L. O. Amoudry, F. M. Mercier, and A. J. Souza The accurate parameterisation of momentum and heat transfer across the air–sea interface is vital for realistic simulation of the atmosphere–ocean system. In most modelling applications accurate representation of the wind stress is required to numerically reproduce surge, coastal ocean circulation, surface waves, turbulence and mixing. Different formulations can be implemented and impact the accuracy of the instantaneous and long-term residual circulation, the surface mixed layer, and the generation of wave-surge conditions. This, in turn, affects predictions of storm impact, sediment pathways, and coastal resilience to climate change. The specific numerical formulation needs careful selection to ensure the accuracy of the simulation. Two wind stress parameterisations widely used in the ocean circulation and the storm surge communities respectively are studied with focus on an application to the NW region of the UK. Model–observation validation is performed at two nearshore and one estuarine ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profiler) stations in Liverpool Bay, a hypertidal region of freshwater influence (ROFI) with vast intertidal areas. The period of study covers both calm and extreme conditions to test the robustness of the 10 m wind stress component of the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) bulk formulae and the standard Charnock relation. In this coastal application a realistic barotropic–baroclinic simulation of the circulation and surge elevation is set-up, demonstrating greater accuracy occurs when using the Charnock relation, with a constant Charnock coefficient of 0.0185, for surface wind stress during this one month period.

Description: Springtime contribution of dinitrogen fixation to primary production across the Mediterranean Sea Ocean Science, 9, 489-498, 2013 Author(s): E. Rahav, B. Herut, A. Levi, M. R. Mulholland, and I. Berman-Frank Dinitrogen (N 2 ) fixation rates were measured during early spring across the different provinces of Mediterranean Sea surface waters. N 2 fixation rates, measured using 15 N 2 enriched seawater, were lowest in the eastern basin and increased westward with a maximum at the Strait of Gibraltar (0.10 to 2.35 nmol N L −1 d −1 , respectively). These rates were 3–7 fold higher than N 2 fixation rates measured previously in the Mediterranean Sea during summertime and we estimated that methodological differences alone did not account for the seasonal changes we observed. Higher contribution of N 2 fixation to primary production (4–8%) was measured in the western basin compared to the eastern basin (∼2%). Our data indicates that these differences between basins may be attributed to changes in N 2 -fixing planktonic communities and that heterotrophic diazotrophy may play a significant role in the eastern Mediterranean while autotrophic diazotrophy has a more dominant role in the western basin.

Description: Recirculation in the Fram Strait and transports of water in and north of the Fram Strait derived from CTD data Ocean Science, 9, 499-519, 2013 Author(s): M. Marnela, B. Rudels, M.-N. Houssais, A. Beszczynska-Möller, and P. B. Eriksson The volume, heat and freshwater transports in the Fram Strait are estimated from geostrophic computations based on summer hydrographic data from 1984, 1997, 2002 and 2004. In these years, in addition to the usually sampled section along 79° N, a section between Greenland and Svalbard was sampled further north. Quasi-closed boxes bounded by the two sections and Greenland and Svalbard can then be formed. Applying conservation constraints on these boxes provides barotropic reference velocities. The net volume flux is southward and varies between 2 and 4 Sv. The recirculation of Atlantic water is about 2 Sv. Heat is lost to the atmosphere and the heat loss from the area between the sections averaged over the four years is about 10 TW. The net heat (temperature) transport is 20 TW northward into the Arctic Ocean, with large interannual differences. The mean net freshwater added between the sections is 40 mSv and the mean freshwater transport southward across 79° N is less than 60 mSv, indicating that most of the liquid freshwater leaving the Arctic Ocean through Fram Strait in summer is derived from sea ice melt in the northern vicinity of the strait. In 1997, 2001 and 2003 meridional sections along 0° longitude were sampled and in 2003 two smaller boxes can be formed, and the recirculation of Atlantic water in the strait is estimated by geostrophic computations and continuity constraints. The recirculation is weaker close to 80° N than close to 78° N, indicating that the recirculation is mainly confined to the south of 80° N. This is supported by the observations in 1997 and 2001, when only the northern part of the meridional section, from 79° N to 80° N, can be computed with the constraints applied. The recirculation is found strongest close to 79° N.

Description: Transit and residence times in the Adriatic Sea surface as derived from drifter data and Lagrangian numerical simulations Ocean Science, 9, 713-720, 2013 Author(s): P.-M. Poulain and S. Hariri Statistics of transit and residence times in the Adriatic Sea surface, a semi-enclosed basin of the Mediterranean, are estimated from drifter data and Lagrangian numerical simulations. The results obtained from the drifters are generally underestimated given their short operating lifetimes (half life of ∼40 days) compared to the transit and residence times. This bias can be removed by considering a large amount of numerical particles whose trajectories are integrated over a long time (750 days) with a statistical advection–dispersion model of the Adriatic surface circulation. Numerical particles indicate that the maximum transit time to exit the basin is about 216–260 days for particles released near the northern tip of the Adriatic, and that a particle entering on the eastern Otranto Channel will typically exit on the other side of the channel after 170–185 days. A duration of 150–168 days is estimated as the residence time in the Adriatic Basin.

Description: Global surface-ocean p CO 2 and sea–air CO 2 flux variability from an observation-driven ocean mixed-layer scheme Ocean Science, 9, 193-216, 2013 Author(s): C. Rödenbeck, R. F. Keeling, D. C. E. Bakker, N. Metzl, A. Olsen, C. Sabine, and M. Heimann A temporally and spatially resolved estimate of the global surface-ocean CO 2 partial pressure field and the sea–air CO 2 flux is presented, obtained by fitting a simple data-driven diagnostic model of ocean mixed-layer biogeochemistry to surface-ocean CO 2 partial pressure data from the SOCAT v1.5 database. Results include seasonal, interannual, and short-term (daily) variations. In most regions, estimated seasonality is well constrained from the data, and compares well to the widely used monthly climatology by Takahashi et al. (2009). Comparison to independent data tentatively supports the slightly higher seasonal variations in our estimates in some areas. We also fitted the diagnostic model to atmospheric CO 2 data. The results of this are less robust, but in those areas where atmospheric signals are not strongly influenced by land flux variability, their seasonality is nevertheless consistent with the results based on surface-ocean data. From a comparison with an independent seasonal climatology of surface-ocean nutrient concentration, the diagnostic model is shown to capture relevant surface-ocean biogeochemical processes reasonably well. Estimated interannual variations will be presented and discussed in a companion paper.

Description: Arctic rapid sea ice loss events in regional coupled climate scenario experiments Ocean Science, 9, 217-248, 2013 Author(s): R. Döscher and T. Koenigk Rapid sea ice loss events (RILEs) in a mini-ensemble of regional Arctic coupled climate model scenario experiments are analyzed. Mechanisms of sudden ice loss are strongly related to atmospheric circulation conditions and preconditioning by sea ice thinning during the seasons and years before the event. Clustering of events in time suggests a strong control by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Anomalous atmospheric circulation is providing warm air anomalies of up to 5 K and is forcing ice flow, affecting winter ice growth. Even without a seasonal preconditioning during winter, ice drop events can be initiated by anomalous inflow of warm air during summer. It is shown that RILEs can be generated based on atmospheric circulation changes as a major driving force without major competing mechanisms, other than occasional longwave effects during spring and summer. Other anomalous seasonal radiative forcing or short-lived forcers (e.g., soot) play minor roles or no role at all in our model. RILEs initiated by ocean forcing do not occur in the model, although cannot be ruled out due to model limitations. Mechanisms found are qualitatively in line with observations of the 2007 RILE.

Description: Manifestation of two meddies in altimetry and sea-surface temperature Ocean Science, 9, 249-259, 2013 Author(s): I. Bashmachnikov, D. Boutov, and J. Dias Two meddies were identified in the Iberian Basin using shipboard ADCP (Meddy 1) and Argo float (Meddy 2) in contrasting background conditions. Meddy 1 was observed while interacting with the Azores Current (AzC), while Meddy 2 was observed in a much calmer dynamical background, north from the AzC jet. In both cases the meddies formed a clear anticyclonic surface signal, detectable in altimetry as well as in sea-surface temperature (SST). Analysis of the in situ observations of the dynamic signal over Meddy 1 showed that the signal, generated by the moving meddy, dominated the AzC dynamics at least up to the base of the seasonal thermocline even at the late stages of its interaction with the jet. The centre of rotation of the surface signal was shifted south-westward from the axis of the meddy by about 18 km, and its dynamic radius was 2 times bigger than that of the meddy. In the centre of the anticyclonic surface signals of both meddies, SST was colder than that of the surrounding water, in contrast to warm SST anomalies in the cores of surface anticyclones generated by meandering surface currents. The latter difference gives ground for identification of meddies (as well as other sub-surface anticyclones) in comparatively dynamically calm regions using coupled altimetry–SST remote sensing data. An identification of Meddy 1 prior to the shipboard ADCP measurements was the first successful experience. At the same time, SST anomalies over the meddies were rather weak, often unstable and statistically significant only over periods of months.

Description: Numerical tools to estimate the flux of a gas across the air–water interface and assess the heterogeneity of its forcing functions Ocean Science, 9, 355-375, 2013 Author(s): V. M. N. C. S. Vieira, F. Martins, J. Silva, and R. Santos A numerical tool was developed for the estimation of gas fluxes across the air–water interface. The primary objective is to use it to estimate CO 2 fluxes. Nevertheless application to other gases is easily accomplished by changing the values of the parameters related to the physical properties of the gases. A user-friendly software was developed allowing to build upon a standard kernel a custom-made gas flux model with the preferred parameterizations. These include single or double layer models; several numerical schemes for the effects of wind in the air-side and water-side transfer velocities; the effects of atmospheric stability, surface roughness and turbulence from current drag with the bottom; and the effects on solubility of water temperature, salinity, air temperature and pressure. An analysis was also developed which decomposes the difference between the fluxes in a reference situation and in alternative situations into its several forcing functions. This analysis relies on the Taylor expansion of the gas flux model, requiring the numerical estimation of partial derivatives by a multivariate version of the collocation polynomial. Both the flux model and the difference decomposition analysis were tested with data taken from surveys done in the lagoon system of Ria Formosa, south Portugal, in which the CO 2 fluxes were estimated using the infrared gas analyzer (IRGA) and floating chamber method, whereas the CO 2 concentrations were estimated using the IRGA and degasification chamber. Observations and estimations show a remarkable fit.

Description: Sea level trend and variability in the Singapore Strait Ocean Science, 9, 293-300, 2013 Author(s): P. Tkalich, P. Vethamony, Q.-H. Luu, and M. T. Babu Sea level in the Singapore Strait (SS) exhibits response to various scale phenomena, from local to global. Longest tide gauge records in SS are analysed to derive local sea level trend and annual, inter-annual and multi-decadal sea level variability, which then are attributed to regional and global phenomena. Annual data gaps are reconstructed using functions correlating sea level variability with ENSO. At annual scale, sea level anomalies in SS are (quasi-periodic) monsoon-driven, of the order of ±20 cm, the highest during northeast monsoon and the lowest during southwest monsoon. Interannual regional sea level drops are associated with El Niño events, while the rises are correlated with La Niña episodes; both variations are in the range of ±5 cm. At multi-decadal scale, annual measured sea levels in SS are varying with global mean sea level, rising at the rate 1.2–1.7 mm yr −1 for 1975–2009, 1.8–2.3 mm yr −1 for 1984–2009 and 1.9–4.6 mm yr −1 for 1993–2009. When SS rates are compared with the global trends (2.0, 2.4 and 2.8 mm yr −1 , respectively) derived from tide gauge measurements for the same periods, they are smaller in the earlier era and considerably larger in the recent one. Taking into account the first estimate of land subsidence rate, 1–1.5 mm yr −1 in Singapore, the recent trend of absolute sea level rise in SS follows regional tendency.

Description: A practical scheme to introduce explicit tidal forcing into an OGCM Ocean Science, 9, 1089-1108, 2013 Author(s): K. Sakamoto, H. Tsujino, H. Nakano, M. Hirabara, and G. Yamanaka A practical scheme is proposed to explicitly introduce tides into ocean general circulation models (OGCM). In this scheme, barotropic linear response to the tidal forcing is calculated by the time differential equations modified for ocean tides, instead of the original barotropic equations of an OGCM. This allows for the usage of various parameterizations specified for tides, such as the self-attraction/loading (SAL) effect and energy dissipation due to internal tides, without unintentional violation of the original dynamical balances in an OGCM. Meanwhile, secondary nonlinear effects of tides, e.g., excitation of internal tides and advection by tidal currents, are fully represented within the framework of the original OGCM equations. That is, this scheme drives the OGCM by the barotropic linear tidal currents which are predicted progressively by a tuned tide model, instead of the equilibrium tide potential, without large additional numerical costs. We incorporated this scheme into Meteorological Research Institute Community Ocean Model and executed test experiments with a low-resolution global model. The results showed that the model can simulate both the non-tidal circulations and the tidal motion simultaneously. Owing to the usage of tidal parameterizations such as a SAL term, a root-mean-squared error in the tidal heights is found to be as small as 10.0 cm, which is comparable to that of elaborately tuned tide models. In addition, analysis of the speed and energy of the barotropic tidal currents is found to be consistent with that of past tide studies. The model also showed active excitement of internal tides and tidal mixing. In the future, the impacts of internal tides and tidal mixing should be examined using a model with a finer resolution, since explicit and precise introduction of tides into an OGCM is a significant step toward the improvement of ocean models.

Description: Wave data collected off Ratnagiri, west coast of India, during 1 May 2010 to 30 April 2012 are used in this study. Seasonal and annual variations in wave data controlled by the local wind system such as sea breeze and land breeze, and remote wind generated long period waves are also studied. The role of sea breeze on the sea state during pre- and postmonsoon seasons is studied and it is found that the maximum wave height is observed at 15:00 UTC during the premonsoon season, with an estimated difference in time lag of 1–2 h in maximum wave height between premonsoon and postmonsoon seasons. Observed waves are classified in to (i) short waves (Tp 〈 8 s), (ii) intermediate waves (8 〈 Tp 〈 13 s), and (iii) long waves (Tp〉 13 s) based on peak period (Tp) and the percentages of occurrence of each category are estimated. Long period waves are observed mainly during the pre- and the postmonsoon seasons. During the southwest monsoon period, the waves with period 〉 13 s are a minimum. An event during 2011 is identified as swells propagated from the Southern Ocean with an estimated travelling time of 5–6 days. The swells reaching the Arabian Sea from the south Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean, due to storms during the pre- and postmonsoon periods, modify the near surface winds due to higher phase wave celerity than the wind speed. Estimation of inverse wave age using large-scale winds such as NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) reflects the presence of cyclonic activity during pre- and postmonsoon seasons but not the effect of the local sea breeze/land breeze wind system.

Description: The long-term monitoring of basic hydrological parameters (temperature and salinity), collected as time series with adequate temporal resolution (i.e. with a sampling interval allowing the resolution of all important timescales) in key places of the Mediterranean Sea (straits and channels, zones of dense water formation, deep parts of the basins), constitute a priority in the context of global changes. This led CIESM (The Mediterranean Science Commission) to support, since 2002, the HYDROCHANGES programme (http//www.ciesm.org/marine/programs/hydrochanges.htm), a network of autonomous conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensors, deployed on mainly short and easily manageable subsurface moorings, within the core of a certain water mass. The HYDROCHANGES strategy is twofold and develops on different scales. To get information about long-term changes of hydrological characteristics, long time series are needed. But before these series are long enough they allow the detection of links between them at shorter timescales that may provide extremely valuable information about the functioning of the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this paper is to present the history of the programme and the current set-up of the network (monitored sites, involved groups) as well as to provide for the first time an overview of all the time series collected under the HYDROCHANGES umbrella, discussing the results obtained thanks to the programme.

Description: In ocean general circulation models, near-surface atmospheric variables used to specify the atmospheric boundary condition remain one of the main sources of error. The objective of this research is to constrain the surface forcing function of an ocean model by sea surface temperature (SST) data assimilation. For that purpose, a set of corrections for ERAinterim (hereafter ERAi) reanalysis data is estimated for the period of 1989–2007, using a sequential assimilation method, with ensemble experiments to evaluate the impact of uncertain atmospheric forcing on the ocean state. The control vector of the assimilation method is extended to atmospheric variables to obtain monthly mean parameter corrections by assimilating monthly SST and sea surface salinity (SSS) climatological data in a low resolution global configuration of the NEMO model. In this context, the careful determination of the prior probability distribution of the parameters is an important matter. This paper demonstrates the importance of isolating the impact of forcing errors in the model to perform relevant ensemble experiments. The results obtained for every month of the period between 1989 and 2007 show that the estimated parameters produce the same kind of impact on the SST as the analysis itself. The objective is then to evaluate the long-term time series of the forcing parameters focusing on trends and mean error corrections of air–sea fluxes. Our corrections tend to equilibrate the net heat-flux balance at the global scale (highly positive in ERAi database), and to remove the potentially unrealistic negative trend (leading to ocean cooling) in the ERAi net heat flux over the whole time period. More specifically in the intertropical band, we reduce the warm bias of ERAi data by mostly modifying the latent heat flux by wind speed intensification. Consistently, when used to force the model, the corrected parameters lead to a better agreement between the mean SST produced by the model and mean SST observations over the period of 1989–2007 in the intertropical band.

Description: Statistics of transit and residence times in the Adriatic Sea surface, a semi-enclosed basin of the Mediterranean, are estimated from drifter data and Lagrangian numerical simulations. The results obtained from the drifters are generally underestimated given their short operating lifetimes (half life of ∼40 days) compared to the transit and residence times. This bias can be removed by considering a large amount of numerical particles whose trajectories are integrated over a long time (750 days) with a statistical advection–dispersion model of the Adriatic surface circulation. Numerical particles indicate that the maximum transit time to exit the basin is about 216–260 days for particles released near the northern tip of the Adriatic, and that a particle entering on the eastern Otranto Channel will typically exit on the other side of the channel after 170–185 days. A duration of 150–168 days is estimated as the residence time in the Adriatic Basin.

Description: The accurate parameterisation of momentum and heat transfer across the air–sea interface is vital for realistic simulation of the atmosphere–ocean system. In most modelling applications accurate representation of the wind stress is required to numerically reproduce surge, coastal ocean circulation, surface waves, turbulence and mixing. Different formulations can be implemented and impact the accuracy of the instantaneous and long-term residual circulation, the surface mixed layer, and the generation of wave-surge conditions. This, in turn, affects predictions of storm impact, sediment pathways, and coastal resilience to climate change. The specific numerical formulation needs careful selection to ensure the accuracy of the simulation. Two wind stress parameterisations widely used in the ocean circulation and the storm surge communities respectively are studied with focus on an application to the NW region of the UK. Model–observation validation is performed at two nearshore and one estuarine ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profiler) stations in Liverpool Bay, a hypertidal region of freshwater influence (ROFI) with vast intertidal areas. The period of study covers both calm and extreme conditions to test the robustness of the 10 m wind stress component of the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) bulk formulae and the standard Charnock relation. In this coastal application a realistic barotropic–baroclinic simulation of the circulation and surge elevation is set-up, demonstrating greater accuracy occurs when using the Charnock relation, with a constant Charnock coefficient of 0.0185, for surface wind stress during this one month period.

Description: Observations and numerical simulations have shown that the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exhibits substantial variability on sub- to interannual timescales. This variability is not fully understood. In particular it is not known what fraction of the MOC variability is caused by processes such as mesoscale ocean eddies and waves which are ubiquitous in the ocean. Here we analyse twin experiments performed with a global ocean model at eddying (1/4°) and non-eddying (1°) resolutions. The twin experiments are forced with the same surface fluxes for the 1958 to 2001 period but start from different initial conditions. Our results show that on subannual to interannual timescales a large fraction of MOC variability directly reflects variability in the surface forcing. Nevertheless, in the eddy-permitting case there is an initial-condition-dependent MOC variability (hereinafter referred to as "chaotic" variability) of several Sv (1Sv = 106 m3 s−1) in the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. In the Atlantic the chaotic MOC variability represents up to 30% of the total variability at the depths where the maximum MOC occurs. In comparison the chaotic MOC variability is only 5–10% in the non-eddying case. The surface forcing being almost identical in the twin experiments suggests that mesoscale ocean eddies are the most likely cause for the increased chaotic MOC variability in the eddying case. The exact formation time of eddies is determined by the initial conditions which are different in the two model passes, and as a consequence the mesoscale eddy field is decorrelated in the twin experiments. In regions where eddy activity is high in the eddy-permitting model, the correlation of sea surface height variability in the twin runs is close to zero. In the non-eddying case in contrast, we find high correlations (0.9 or higher) over most regions. Looking at the sub- and interannual MOC components separately reveals that most of the chaotic MOC variability is found on subannual timescales for the eddy-permitting model. On interannual timescales the amplitude of the chaotic MOC variability is much smaller and the amplitudes are comparable for both the eddy-permitting and non-eddy-permitting model resolutions. Whereas the chaotic MOC variability on interannual timescales only accounts for a small fraction of the total chaotic MOC variability in the eddy-permitting case, it is the main contributor to the chaotic variability in the non-eddying case away from the Equator.

Description: From 1994 to 2011, instruments measuring ocean currents (Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers; ADCPs) have been moored on a section crossing the Faroe–Shetland Channel. Together with CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth) measurements from regular research vessel occupations, they describe the flow field and water mass structure in the channel. Here, we use these data to calculate the average volume transport and properties of the flow of warm water through the channel from the Atlantic towards the Arctic, termed the Atlantic inflow. We find the average volume transport of this flow to be 2.7 ± 0.5 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s–1) between the shelf edge on the Faroe side and the 150 m isobath on the Shetland side. The average heat transport (relative to 0 °C) was estimated to be 107 ± 21 TW (1 TW = 1012 W) and the average salt import to be 98 ± 20 × 106 kg s−1. Transport values for individual months, based on the ADCP data, include a large level of variability, but can be used to calibrate sea level height data from satellite altimetry. In this way, a time series of volume transport has been generated back to the beginning of satellite altimetry in December 1992. The Atlantic inflow has a seasonal variation in volume transport that peaks around the turn of the year and has an amplitude of 0.7 Sv. The Atlantic inflow has become warmer and more saline since 1994, but no equivalent trend in volume transport was observed.

Description: A legacy seismic transect acquired on 30 and 31 May 2009 in the southern South China Sea (SCS) was reprocessed to reveal the thermohaline structure of the water column. In the study region, a mesoscale subsurface lens with extraordinary features was detected at 113.5° E, 11.5° N. It is centred at 450 m depth, occupies both the subsurface and intermediate water from 250 to 600 m, and has an intersection diameter of around 60 km. The simulated results from Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model reveal an eddy-induced subsurface current running southwestward along the deep basin edge and suggest that the imaged lens is a snapshot of the subsurface current core rather than a subsurface eddy.

Description: Two types of optimization methods were applied to a parameter optimization problem in a coupled ocean–sea ice model of the Arctic, and applicability and efficiency of the respective methods were examined. One optimization utilizes a finite difference (FD) method based on a traditional gradient descent approach, while the other adopts a micro-genetic algorithm (μGA) as an example of a stochastic approach. The optimizations were performed by minimizing a cost function composed of model–data misfit of ice concentration, ice drift velocity and ice thickness. A series of optimizations were conducted that differ in the model formulation ("smoothed code" versus standard code) with respect to the FD method and in the population size and number of possibilities with respect to the μGA method. The FD method fails to estimate optimal parameters due to the ill-shaped nature of the cost function caused by the strong non-linearity of the system, whereas the genetic algorithms can effectively estimate near optimal parameters. The results of the study indicate that the sophisticated stochastic approach (μGA) is of practical use for parameter optimization of a coupled ocean–sea ice model with a medium-sized horizontal resolution of 50 km × 50 km as used in this study.

Description: The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea characterized by high salinities, temperatures and densities. The net evaporation exceeds the precipitation, driving an anti-estuarine circulation through the Strait of Gibraltar, contributing to very low nutrient concentrations. The Mediterranean Sea has an active overturning circulation, one shallow cell that communicates directly with the Atlantic Ocean, and two deep overturning cells, one in each of the two main basins. It is surrounded by populated areas and is thus sensitive to anthropogenic forcing. Several dramatic changes in the oceanographic and biogeochemical conditions have been observed during the past several decades, emphasizing the need to better monitor and understand the changing conditions and their drivers. During 2011 three oceanographic cruises were conducted in a coordinated fashion in order to produce baseline data of important physical and biogeochemical parameters that can be compared to historic data and be used as reference for future observational campaigns. In this article we provide information on the Mediterranean Sea oceanographic situation, and present a short review that will serve as background information for the special issue in Ocean Science on "Physical, chemical and biological oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea". An important contribution of this article is the set of figures showing the large-scale distributions of physical and chemical properties along the full length of the Mediterranean Sea.

Description: A numerical tool was developed for the estimation of gas fluxes across the air–water interface. The primary objective is to use it to estimate CO2 fluxes. Nevertheless application to other gases is easily accomplished by changing the values of the parameters related to the physical properties of the gases. A user-friendly software was developed allowing to build upon a standard kernel a custom-made gas flux model with the preferred parameterizations. These include single or double layer models; several numerical schemes for the effects of wind in the air-side and water-side transfer velocities; the effects of atmospheric stability, surface roughness and turbulence from current drag with the bottom; and the effects on solubility of water temperature, salinity, air temperature and pressure. An analysis was also developed which decomposes the difference between the fluxes in a reference situation and in alternative situations into its several forcing functions. This analysis relies on the Taylor expansion of the gas flux model, requiring the numerical estimation of partial derivatives by a multivariate version of the collocation polynomial. Both the flux model and the difference decomposition analysis were tested with data taken from surveys done in the lagoon system of Ria Formosa, south Portugal, in which the CO2 fluxes were estimated using the infrared gas analyzer (IRGA) and floating chamber method, whereas the CO2 concentrations were estimated using the IRGA and degasification chamber. Observations and estimations show a remarkable fit.

Description: In this paper, X-band COSMO-SkyMed© synthetic aperture radar (SAR) wind field data are first used to force coastal wind wave modeling for both sea wave numerical simulation and coastal vulnerability assessment purposes. The SAR-based wind field retrieval is accomplished by resolving the SAR-based wind speed and wind direction retrieval problems independently. The sea surface wind speed is retrieved through the azimuth cut-off procedure, and the sea surface wind direction is determined by the multi-resolution analysis of the discrete wavelet transform. The wind wave modeling is based on the third-generation Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model, which is used for sea wave state estimation in coastal and inland regions. The coastal vulnerability assessment is provided by means of a key parameter, known as impact index, which evaluates the coastal risk due to the inundation of the inshore land. Experiments consist of SWAN numerical simulations run with respect to some relevant wave storms recorded in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea on 2010, with applications in coastal vulnerability assessment along the Sele coastal plain. Experimental results show the benefits of blended wind field products, provided by European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast (ECMWF) model winds and SAR-based wind field estimations, for both wind wave modeling and coastal vulnerability assessment purposes.

Description: Rapid sea ice loss events (RILEs) in a mini-ensemble of regional Arctic coupled climate model scenario experiments are analyzed. Mechanisms of sudden ice loss are strongly related to atmospheric circulation conditions and preconditioning by sea ice thinning during the seasons and years before the event. Clustering of events in time suggests a strong control by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Anomalous atmospheric circulation is providing warm air anomalies of up to 5 K and is forcing ice flow, affecting winter ice growth. Even without a seasonal preconditioning during winter, ice drop events can be initiated by anomalous inflow of warm air during summer. It is shown that RILEs can be generated based on atmospheric circulation changes as a major driving force without major competing mechanisms, other than occasional longwave effects during spring and summer. Other anomalous seasonal radiative forcing or short-lived forcers (e.g., soot) play minor roles or no role at all in our model. RILEs initiated by ocean forcing do not occur in the model, although cannot be ruled out due to model limitations. Mechanisms found are qualitatively in line with observations of the 2007 RILE.

Description: The sea surface salinity (SSS) measured from space by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission has recently been revisited by the European Space Agency first campaign reprocessing. We show that, with respect to the previous version, biases close to land and ice greatly decrease. The accuracy of SMOS SSS averaged over 10 days, 100 × 100 km2 in the open ocean and estimated by comparison to ARGO (Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography) SSS is on the order of 0.3–0.4 in tropical and subtropical regions and 0.5 in a cold region. The averaged negative SSS bias (−0.1) observed in the tropical Pacific Ocean between 5° N and 15° N, relatively to other regions, is suppressed when SMOS observations concomitant with rain events, as detected from SSM/Is (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) rain rates, are removed from the SMOS–ARGO comparisons. The SMOS freshening is linearly correlated to SSM/Is rain rate with a slope estimated to −0.14 mm−1 h, after correction for rain atmospheric contribution. This tendency is the signature of the temporal SSS variability between the time of SMOS and ARGO measurements linked to rain variability and of the vertical salinity stratification between the first centimeter of the sea surface layer sampled by SMOS and the 5 m depth sampled by ARGO. However, given that the whole set of collocations includes situations with ARGO measurements concomitant with rain events collocated with SMOS measurements under no rain, the mean −0.1 bias and the negative skewness of the statistical distribution of SMOS minus ARGO SSS difference are very likely the mean signature of the vertical salinity stratification. In the future, the analysis of ongoing in situ salinity measurements in the top 50 cm of the sea surface and of Aquarius satellite SSS are expected to provide complementary information about the sea surface salinity stratification.

Description: The circulation and water mass properties in the Eurasian Basin are discussed based on a review of previous research and an examination of observations made in recent years within, or parallel to, DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). The discussion is strongly biased towards observations made from icebreakers and particularly from the cruise with R/V Polarstern 2007 during the International Polar Year (IPY). Focus is on the Barents Sea inflow branch and its mixing with the Fram Strait inflow branch. It is proposed that the Barents Sea branch contributes not just intermediate water but also most of the water to the Atlantic layer in the Amundsen Basin and also in the Makarov and Canada basins. Only occasionally would high temperature pulses originating from the Fram Strait branch penetrate along the Laptev Sea slope across the Gakkel Ridge into the Amundsen Basin. Interactions between the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait branches lead to formation of intrusive layers, in the Atlantic layer and in the intermediate waters. The intrusion characteristics found downstream, north of the Laptev Sea are similar to those observed in the northern Nansen Basin and over the Gakkel Ridge, suggesting a flow from the Laptev Sea towards Fram Strait. The formation mechanisms for the intrusions at the continental slope, or in the interior of the basins if they are reformed there, have not been identified. The temperature of the deep water of the Eurasian Basin has increased in the last 10 yr rather more than expected from geothermal heating. That geothermal heating does influence the deep water column was obvious from 2007 Polarstern observations made close to a hydrothermal vent in the Gakkel Ridge, where the temperature minimum usually found above the 600–800 m thick homogenous bottom layer was absent. However, heat entrained from the Atlantic water into descending, saline boundary plumes may also contribute to the warming of the deeper layers.

Description: We investigate the initialisation of Northern Hemisphere sea ice in the global climate model ECHAM5/MPI-OM by assimilating sea-ice concentration data. The analysis updates for concentration are given by Newtonian relaxation, and we discuss different ways of specifying the analysis updates for mean thickness. Because the conservation of mean ice thickness or actual ice thickness in the analysis updates leads to poor assimilation performance, we introduce a proportional dependence between concentration and mean thickness analysis updates. Assimilation with these proportional mean-thickness analysis updates leads to good assimilation performance for sea-ice concentration and thickness, both in identical-twin experiments and when assimilating sea-ice observations. The simulation of other Arctic surface fields in the coupled model is, however, not significantly improved by the assimilation. To understand the physical aspects of assimilation errors, we construct a simple prognostic model of the sea-ice thermodynamics, and analyse its response to the assimilation. We find that an adjustment of mean ice thickness in the analysis update is essential to arrive at plausible state estimates. To understand the statistical aspects of assimilation errors, we study the model background error covariance between ice concentration and ice thickness. We find that the spatial structure of covariances is best represented by the proportional mean-thickness analysis updates. Both physical and statistical evidence supports the experimental finding that assimilation with proportional mean-thickness updates outperforms the other two methods considered. The method described here is very simple to implement, and gives results that are sufficiently good to be used for initialising sea ice in a global climate model for seasonal to decadal predictions.

Description: Since December 2010, the MyOcean global analysis and forecasting system has consisted of the Mercator Océan NEMO global 1/4° configuration with a 1/12° nested model over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The open boundary data for the nested configuration come from the global 1/4° configuration at 20° S and 80° N. The data are assimilated by means of a reduced-order Kalman filter with a 3-D multivariate modal decomposition of the forecast error. It includes an adaptive-error estimate and a localization algorithm. A 3-D-Var scheme provides a correction for the slowly evolving large-scale biases in temperature and salinity. Altimeter data, satellite sea surface temperature and in situ temperature and salinity vertical profiles are jointly assimilated to estimate the initial conditions for numerical ocean forecasting. In addition to the quality control performed by data producers, the system carries out a proper quality control on temperature and salinity vertical profiles in order to minimise the risk of erroneous observed profiles being assimilated in the model. This paper describes the recent systems used by Mercator Océan and the validation procedure applied to current MyOcean systems as well as systems under development. The paper shows how refinements or adjustments to the system during the validation procedure affect its quality. Additionally, we show that quality checks (in situ, drifters) and data sources (satellite sea surface temperature) have as great an impact as the system design (model physics and assimilation parameters). The results of the scientific assessment are illustrated with diagnostics over the year 2010 mainly, assorted with time series over the 2007–2011 period. The validation procedure demonstrates the accuracy of MyOcean global products, whose quality is stable over time. All monitoring systems are close to altimetric observations with a forecast RMS difference of 7 cm. The update of the mean dynamic topography corrects local biases in the Indonesian Throughflow and in the western tropical Pacific. This improves also the subsurface currents at the Equator. The global systems give an accurate description of water masses almost everywhere. Between 0 and 500 m, departures from in situ observations rarely exceed 1 °C and 0.2 psu. The assimilation of an improved sea surface temperature product aims to better represent the sea ice concentration and the sea ice edge. The systems under development are still suffering from a drift which can only be detected by means of a 5-yr hindcast, preventing us from upgrading them in real time. This emphasizes the need to pursue research while building future systems for MyOcean2 forecasting.

Description: Local climate is significantly affected by changes in the oceanic heat content on a range of timescales. This variability is driven by heat fluxes from both the atmosphere and the ocean. In the Atlantic the meridional overturning circulation is the main contributor to the oceanic meridional heat transport for latitudes south of about 50° N. The RAPID project has been successfully monitoring the Atlantic meridional overturning at 26° N since 2004. This study demonstrates how these data can be used to estimate the variability of the basin-wide ocean heat content in the upper 800 m between 26° and 36° N. Traditionally the atmosphere is seen to dominate the ocean heat content variability. However, previous studies have looked at smaller areas in the Gulf Stream region, finding that the ocean dominates deseasoned fluctuations of ocean heat content, while studies of the whole North Atlantic region suggest that the atmosphere may be dominant. In our study we use a box model to investigate fluctuations of the ocean heat content in the subtropical North Atlantic between 26° and 36° N. The box model approach is validated using 19 yr of high-resolution general circulation model (GCM) data. We find that in both the GCM- and RAPID-based data the ocean heat transport dominates the deseasoned heat content variability, while the atmosphere's impact on the ocean heat content evolution stabilizes after 6 months. We demonstrate that the utility of the RAPID data goes beyond monitoring the overturning circulation at 26° N, and that it can be used to better understand the causes of ocean heat content variability in the North Atlantic. We illustrate this for a recent decrease in ocean heat content which was observed in the North Atlantic in 2009 and 2010. Our results suggest that most of this ocean heat content reduction can be explained by a reduction of the meridional ocean heat transport during this period.

Description: We estimated the magnitude and composition of southward liquid freshwater transports in the East Greenland Current near 79° N in the Western Fram Strait between 1998 and 2011. Previous studies have found this region to be an important pathway for liquid freshwater export from the Arctic Ocean to the Nordic Seas and the North Atlantic subpolar gyre. Our transport estimates are based on six hydrographic surveys between June and September and concurrent data from moored current meters. We combined concentrations of liquid freshwater, meteoric water (river water and precipitation), sea ice melt and brine from sea ice formation, and Pacific Water, presented in Dodd et al. (2012), with volume transport estimates from an inverse model. The average of the monthly snapshots of southward liquid freshwater transports between 10.6° W and 4° E is 100 ± 23 mSv (3160 ± 730 km3 yr−1), relative to a salinity of 34.9. This liquid freshwater transport consists of about 130% water from rivers and precipitation (meteoric water), 30% freshwater from the Pacific, and −60% (freshwater deficit) due to a mixture of sea ice melt and brine from sea ice formation. Pacific Water transports showed the highest variation in time, effectively vanishing in some of the surveys. Comparison of our results to the literature indicates that this was due to atmospherically driven variability in the advection of Pacific Water along different pathways through the Arctic Ocean. Variations in most liquid freshwater component transports appear to have been most strongly influenced by changes in the advection of these water masses to the Fram Strait. However, the local dynamics represented by the volume transports influenced the liquid freshwater component transports in individual years, in particular those of sea ice melt and brine from sea ice formation. Our results show a similar ratio of the transports of meteoric water and net sea ice melt as previous studies. However, we observed a significant increase in this ratio between the surveys in 1998 and in 2009. This can be attributed to higher concentrations of sea ice melt in 2009 that may have been due to enhanced advection of freshwater from the Beaufort Gyre to the Fram Strait. Known trends and variability in the Arctic liquid freshwater inflow from rivers are not likely to have had a significant influence on the variation of liquid freshwater component transports between our surveys. On the other hand, known freshwater inflow variability from the Pacific could have caused some of the variation we observed in the Fram Strait. The apparent absence of a trend in southward liquid freshwater transports through the Fram Strait and recent evidence of an increase in liquid freshwater storage in the Arctic Ocean raise the question: how fast will the accumulated liquid freshwater be exported from the Arctic Ocean to the deep water formation regions in the North Atlantic and will an increased export occur through the Fram Strait.

Description: The French program Coriolis, as part of the French operational oceanographic system, produces the COriolis dataset for Re-Analysis (CORA) on a yearly basis. This dataset contains in-situ temperature and salinity profiles from different data types. The latest release CORA3 covers the period 1990 to 2010. Several tests have been developed to ensure a homogeneous quality control of the dataset and to meet the requirements of the physical ocean reanalysis activities (assimilation and validation). Improved tests include some simple tests based on comparison with climatology and a model background check based on a global ocean reanalysis. Visual quality control is performed on all suspicious temperature and salinity profiles identified by the tests, and quality flags are modified in the dataset if necessary. In addition, improved diagnostic tools have been developed – including global ocean indicators – which give information on the quality of the CORA3 dataset and its potential applications. CORA3 is available on request through the MyOcean Service Desk (http://www.myocean.eu/).

Description: The volume, heat and freshwater transports in the Fram Strait are estimated from geostrophic computations based on summer hydrographic data from 1984, 1997, 2002 and 2004. In these years, in addition to the usually sampled section along 79° N, a section between Greenland and Svalbard was sampled further north. Quasi-closed boxes bounded by the two sections and Greenland and Svalbard can then be formed. Applying conservation constraints on these boxes provides barotropic reference velocities. The net volume flux is southward and varies between 2 and 4 Sv. The recirculation of Atlantic water is about 2 Sv. Heat is lost to the atmosphere and the heat loss from the area between the sections averaged over the four years is about 10 TW. The net heat (temperature) transport is 20 TW northward into the Arctic Ocean, with large interannual differences. The mean net freshwater added between the sections is 40 mSv and the mean freshwater transport southward across 79° N is less than 60 mSv, indicating that most of the liquid freshwater leaving the Arctic Ocean through Fram Strait in summer is derived from sea ice melt in the northern vicinity of the strait. In 1997, 2001 and 2003 meridional sections along 0° longitude were sampled and in 2003 two smaller boxes can be formed, and the recirculation of Atlantic water in the strait is estimated by geostrophic computations and continuity constraints. The recirculation is weaker close to 80° N than close to 78° N, indicating that the recirculation is mainly confined to the south of 80° N. This is supported by the observations in 1997 and 2001, when only the northern part of the meridional section, from 79° N to 80° N, can be computed with the constraints applied. The recirculation is found strongest close to 79° N.

Description: The combination of remotely sensed gappy Sea surface temperature (SST) images with the missing data filling DINEOF (data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions) technique, followed by a principal component analysis of the reconstructed data, has been used to identify the time evolution and the daily scale variability of the wintertime surface signal of the Iberian Poleward Current (IPC), or Navidad, during the 1981–2010 period. An exhaustive comparison with the existing bibliography, and the vertical temperature and salinity profiles related to its extremes over the Bay of Biscay area, show that the obtained time series accurately reflect the IPC-Navidad variability. Once a time series for the evolution of the SST signal of the current over the last decades is well established, this time series is used to propose a physical mechanism in relation to the variability of the IPC-Navidad, involving both atmospheric and oceanic variables. According to the proposed mechanism, an atmospheric circulation anomaly observed in both the 500 hPa and the surface levels generates atmospheric surface level pressure, wind-stress and heat-flux anomalies. In turn, those surface level atmospheric anomalies induce mutually coherent SST and sea level anomalies over the North Atlantic area, and locally, in the Bay of Biscay area. These anomalies, both locally over the Bay of Biscay area and over the North Atlantic, are in agreement with several mechanisms that have separately been related to the variability of the IPC-Navidad, i.e. the south-westerly winds, the joint effect of baroclinicity and relief (JEBAR) effect, the topographic β effect and a weakened North Atlantic gyre.

Description: Sea surface temperature (SST) has been obtained from a variety of different platforms, instruments and depths over the past 150 yr. Modern-day platforms include ships, moored and drifting buoys and satellites. Shipboard methods include temperature measurement of seawater sampled by bucket and flowing through engine cooling water intakes. Here I review SST measurement methods, studies analysing shipboard methods by field or lab experiment and adjustments applied to historical SST datasets to account for variable methods. In general, bucket temperatures have been found to average a few tenths of a °C cooler than simultaneous engine intake temperatures. Field and lab experiments demonstrate that cooling of bucket samples prior to measurement provides a plausible explanation for negative average bucket-intake differences. These can also be credibly attributed to systematic errors in intake temperatures, which have been found to average overly-warm by 〉0.5 °C on some vessels. However, the precise origin of non-zero average bucket-intake differences reported in field studies is often unclear, given that additional temperatures to those from the buckets and intakes have rarely been obtained. Supplementary accurate in situ temperatures are required to reveal individual errors in bucket and intake temperatures, and the role of near-surface temperature gradients. There is a need for further field experiments of the type reported in Part 2 to address this and other limitations of previous studies.

Description: Two high-frequency (HF) radar stations were installed on the coast of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage of currents in the area for the first time. This has made it possible to quantitatively assess the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales for the period 2009–2010. The analysis was conducted using the Barnett–Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived surface currents. The CCA yields two canonical patterns: the first wind–current interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at the sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind–current interaction timescales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in waters of the continental shelf and slope of the south-eastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes.

Description: Underwater video transects have become a common tool for quantitative analysis of the seafloor. However a major difficulty remains in the accurate determination of the area surveyed as underwater navigation can be unreliable and image scaling does not always compensate for distortions due to perspective and topography. Depending on the camera set-up and available instruments, different methods of surface measurement are applied, which make it difficult to compare data obtained by different vehicles. 3-D modelling of the seafloor based on 2-D video data and a reference scale can be used to compute subtransect dimensions. Focussing on the length of the subtransect, the data obtained from 3-D models created with the software PhotoModeler Scanner are compared with those determined from underwater acoustic positioning (ultra short baseline, USBL) and bottom tracking (Doppler velocity log, DVL). 3-D model building and scaling was successfully conducted on all three tested set-ups and the distortion of the reference scales due to substrate roughness was identified as the main source of imprecision. Acoustic positioning was generally inaccurate and bottom tracking unreliable on rough terrain. Subtransect lengths assessed with PhotoModeler were on average 20% longer than those derived from acoustic positioning due to the higher spatial resolution and the inclusion of slope. On a high relief wall bottom tracking and 3-D modelling yielded similar results. At present, 3-D modelling is the most powerful, albeit the most time-consuming, method for accurate determination of video subtransect dimensions.

Description: Changes in the hydrography of the Arctic Ocean have recently been reported. The upper ocean has been freshening and pulses of warm Atlantic Water have been observed to spread into the Arctic Ocean. Although these changes have been intensively studied, salinity and temperature variations have less frequently been considered together. Here hydrographic observations, obtained by icebreaker expeditions conducted between 1991 and 2011, are analyzed and discussed. Five different water masses in the upper 1000 m of the water column are examined in five sub-basins of the Arctic Ocean. This allows for studying the variations of the distributions of the freshwater and heat contents in the Arctic Ocean not only in time but also laterally and vertically. In addition, the seasonal ice melt contribution is separated from the permanent, winter, freshwater content of the Polar Mixed Layer. Because the positions of the icebreaker stations vary between the years, the icebreaker observations are at each specific point in space and time compared with the Polar Science Center Hydrographic Climatology to separate the effects of space and time variability on the observations. The hydrographic melt water estimate is discussed and compared with the potential ice melt induced by atmospheric heat input estimated from the ERA–Interim and NCEP/NCAR reanalyses. After a period of increased salinity in the upper ocean during the 1990s, both the Polar Mixed Layer and the upper halocline have been freshening. The increase in freshwater content in the Polar Mixed Layer is primarily driven by a decrease in salinity, not by changes in Polar Mixed Layer depth, whereas the freshwater is accumulating in the upper halocline mainly through the increasing thickness of the halocline. This is especially evident in the Northern Canada Basin, where the most substantial freshening is observed. The warming, and to some extent also the increase in salinity, of the Atlantic Water during the early 1990s extended from the Nansen Basin into the Amundsen and Makarov basins, while the warm and saline inflows occurring during the 2000s appear to be confined to the Nansen Basin, suggesting that the warm and saline inflow through Fram Strait largely recirculates in the Nansen Basin.

Description: The reversal of estuarine circulation caused by southwesterly wind forcing may lead to vanishing of stratification and subsequently to oxygenation of deep layers during the winter in the Gulf of Finland. Six conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD)+oxygen transects (130 km long, 10 stations) were conducted along the thalweg from the western boundary to the central gulf (21 December 2011–8 May 2012). Two bottom-mounted ADCP were installed, one near the western border and the second in the central gulf. A CTD with a dissolved oxygen sensor was deployed close to the western ADCP. Periods of typical estuarine circulation were characterized by strong stratification, high salinity, hypoxic conditions and inflow to the gulf in the near-bottom layer. Two circulation reversals were observed: one in December–January and one in February. The first reversal event was well developed; it caused the disappearance of the stratification and an increase in the oxygen concentration from hypoxic values to 270 μmol L−1 (to 6 mL L−1) throughout the water column along the thalweg and lasted approximately 1.5 months. Shifts from estuarine circulation to reversed circulation and vice versa were both associated with strong longitudinal (east–west) gulf currents (up to 40 cm s−1) in the deep layer. The change from oxygenated to hypoxic conditions in the western near-entrance area of the gulf occurred very rapidly, within less than a day, due to the intrusion of the hypoxic salt wedge from the NE Baltic Proper. In the eastern part of the gulf, good oxygen conditions caused by reversals remained for a few months.

Description: The launch of the French/US mission Topex/Poseidon (T/P) (CNES/NASA) in August 1992 was the start of a revolution in oceanography. For the first time, a very precise altimeter system optimized for large-scale sea level and ocean circulation observations was flying. T/P alone could not observe the mesoscale circulation. In the 1990s, the ESA satellites ERS-1/2 were flying simultaneously with T/P. Together with my CLS colleagues, we demonstrated that we could use T/P as a reference mission for ERS-1/2 and bring the ERS-1/2 data to an accuracy level comparable to T/P. Near-real-time high-resolution global sea level anomaly maps were then derived. These maps have been operationally produced as part of the SSALTO/DUACS system for the last 15 yr. They are now widely used by the oceanographic community and have contributed to a much better understanding and recognition of the role and importance of mesoscale dynamics. Altimetry needs to be complemented with global in situ observations. At the end of the 90s, a major international initiative was launched to develop Argo, the global array of profiling floats. This has been an outstanding success. Argo floats now provide the most important in situ observations to monitor and understand the role of the ocean on the earth climate and for operational oceanography. This is a second revolution in oceanography. The unique capability of satellite altimetry to observe the global ocean in near-real-time at high resolution and the development of Argo were essential for the development of global operational oceanography, the third revolution in oceanography. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) was instrumental in the development of the required capabilities. This paper provides an historical perspective on the development of these three revolutions in oceanography which are very much interlinked. This is not an exhaustive review and I will mainly focus on the contributions we made together with many colleagues and friends.