ALBERT

Description: The eastern Mediterranean transient (EMT) was caused by a combination of high‐salinity waters intruding into the Aegean Sea and the two particularly strong winters of 1991–1992 and 1992–1993. The approach in this chapter is to search for specific signatures in the historic hydrographic observations, which date back to 1910. To deal with the problem that up into the 1950s the data not only are of limited precision but also have gaps of about 20 years, it is advantageous to consider the fact that the evolution of the actual EMT is rather well documented over a similar time span. The chapter begins by outlining the characteristics of the current EMT. Thereafter, a selection of suitable hydrographic observations among the available historic data is provided to compare these with signatures expected from the evolution of the actual EMT.

Description: This study presents a new estimate of the oceanic anthropogenic CO2(Cant) sink over the industrial era (1780 to present), from assimilation of potential temperature, salinity, radiocarbon, and CFC-11 observations in a global steady state ocean circulation inverse model (OCIM). This study differs from previous data-based estimates of the oceanic Cant sink in that dynamical constraints on ocean circulation are accounted for, and the ocean circulation is explicitly modeled, allowing the calculation of oceanic Cant storage, air-sea fluxes, and transports in a consistent manner. The resulting uncertainty of the OCIM-estimated Cant uptake, transport, and storage is significantly smaller than the comparable uncertainty from purely data-based or model-based estimates. The OCIM-estimated oceanic Cant storage is 160–166 PgC in 2012, and the oceanic Cant uptake rate averaged over the period 2000–2010 is 2.6 PgC yr−1 or about 30% of current anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This result implies a residual (primarily terrestrial) Cant sink of about 1.6 PgC yr−1 for the same period. The Southern Ocean is the primary conduit for Cant entering the ocean, taking up about 1.1 PgC yr−1 in 2012, which represents about 40% of the contemporary oceanic Cant uptake. It is suggested that the most significant source of remaining uncertainty in the oceanic Cant sink is due to potential variability in the ocean circulation over the industrial era.

Description: Correlations between particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral fluxes in the deep ocean have inspired the inclusion of “ballast effect” parameterizations in carbon cycle models. A recent study demonstrated regional variability in the effect of ballast minerals on the flux of POC in the deep ocean. We have undertaken a similar analysis of shallow export data from the Arctic, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. Mineral ballasting is of greatest importance in the high-latitude North Atlantic, where 60% of the POC flux is associated with ballast minerals. This fraction drops to around 40% in the Southern Ocean. The remainder of the export flux is not associated with minerals, and this unballasted fraction thus often dominates the export flux. The proportion of mineral-associated POC flux often scales with regional variation in export efficiency (the proportion of primary production that is exported). However, local discrepancies suggest that regional differences in ecology also impact the magnitude of surface export. We propose that POC export will not respond equally across all high-latitude regions to possible future changes in ballast availability.

Description: In the vast Low Nutrient Low-Chlorophyll (LNLC) Ocean, the vertical nutrient supply from the subsurface to the sunlit surface waters is low, and atmospheric contribution of nutrients may be one order of magnitude greater over short timescales. The short turnover time of atmospheric Fe and N supply (〈1 month for nitrate) further supports deposition being an important source of nutrients in LNLC regions. Yet, the extent to which atmospheric inputs are impacting biological activity and modifying the carbon balance in oligotrophic environments has not been constrained. Here, we quantify and compare the biogeochemical impacts of atmospheric deposition in LNLC regions using both a compilation of experimental data and model outputs. A metadata-analysis of recently conducted field and laboratory bioassay experiments reveals complex responses, and the overall impact is not a simple “fertilization effect of increasing phytoplankton biomass” as observed in HNLC regions. Although phytoplankton growth may be enhanced, increases in bacterial activity and respiration result in weakening of biological carbon sequestration. The application of models using climatological or time-averaged non-synoptic deposition rates produced responses that were generally much lower than observed in the bioassay experiments. We demonstrate that experimental data and model outputs show better agreement on short timescale (days to weeks) when strong synoptic pulse of aerosols deposition, similar in magnitude to those observed in the field and introduced in bioassay experiments, is superimposed over the mean atmospheric deposition fields. These results suggest that atmospheric impacts in LNLC regions have been underestimated by models, at least at daily to weekly timescales, as they typically overlook large synoptic variations in atmospheric deposition and associated nutrient and particle inputs. Inclusion of the large synoptic variability of atmospheric input, and improved representation and parameterization of key processes that respond to atmospheric deposition, is required to better constrain impacts in ocean biogeochemical models. This is critical for understanding and prediction of current and future functioning of LNLC regions and their contribution to the global carbon cycle.

Description: In this study, the authors discuss two different parameterizations for the effect of mixed layer eddies, one based on ageostrophic linear stability analysis (ALS) and the other one based on a scaling of the potential energy release by eddies (PER). Both parameterizations contradict each other in two aspects. First, they predict different functional relationships between the magnitude of the eddy fluxes and the Richardson number (Ri) related to the background state. Second, they also predict different vertical structure functions for the horizontal eddy fluxes. Numerical simulations for two different configurations and for a large range of different background conditions are used to evaluate the parameterizations. It turns out that PER is better suited to capture the Ri dependency of the magnitude of the eddy fluxes. On the other hand, the vertical structure of the meridional eddy fluxes predicted by ALS is more accurate than that of PER, while the vertical structure of the vertical eddy fluxes is well predicted by both parameterizations. Therefore, this study suggests the use of the magnitude of PER and the vertical structure functions of ALS for an improved parameterization of mixed layer eddy fluxes.

Description: Northern Hemisphere stratospheric variability is investigated with respect to chaotic behavior using time series from three different variables extracted from four different reanalysis products and two numerical model runs with different forcing. The time series show red spectra at all frequencies and the probability distribution functions show persistent deviations from a Gaussian distribution. An exception is given by the numerical model forced with perpetual winter conditions—a case that shows more variability and follows a Gaussian distribution, suggesting that the deviation from Gaussianity found in the observations is due to the transition between summer and winter variability. To search for the presence of a chaotic attractor the correlation dimension and entropy, the Lyapunov spectrum, and the associated Kaplan–Yorke dimension are estimated. A finite value of the dimensions can be computed for each variable and data product, with the correlation dimension ranging between 3.0 and 4.0 and the Kaplan–Yorke dimension between 3.3 and 5.5. The correlation entropy varies between 0.6 and 1.1. The model runs show similar values for the correlation and Lyapunov dimensions for both the seasonally forced run and the perpetual-winter run, suggesting that the structure of a possible chaotic attractor is not determined by the seasonality in the forcing, but must be given by other mechanisms.

Description: Southern Hemisphere (SH) stratospheric variability is investigated with respect to chaotic behavior using time series from three different variables extracted from four different reanalysis products. The results are compared with the same analysis applied to the Northern Hemisphere (NH). The probability density functions (PDFs) for the SH show persistent deviations from a Gaussian distribution. The variability is given by white spectra for low frequencies, a slope of −1 for intermediate frequencies, and −3 slopes for high frequencies. Considering the time series for winter and summer separately, PDFs show a Gaussian distribution and the variability spectra change their slopes, indicating the role of the transition between winter and summer variability in shaping the time series. The correlation (D2) and the Kaplan–Yorke (DKY) dimensions are estimated. A finite value of the dimensions can be computed for each variable and data product, except for the NCEP zonal-mean zonal wind and temperature data, which violate the requirement D2 ≤ DKY, possibly owing to the presence of spurious trends and inconsistencies in the data. The value of D2 ranges between 2.6 and 3.9, while DKY ranges between 3.0 and 4.5. The results show that both D2 and DKY display large variability in their values both for different datasets and for different variables within the same dataset. The variability of the values of D2 and DKY thus leaves open the question about the existence of a low-dimensional attractor or if the finite dimensions of the system are the result of the projection of a larger attractor in a low-dimensional embedding space.

Description: The sensitivities of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) to different distributions of tropical SST heating are investigated in an idealized aquaplanet model. It is found that an increase in tropical SSTs generally leads to an acceleration of tropical upwelling and an associated reduction in the age of air (AOA) in the polar stratosphere and that the AOA near the subtropical tropopause is correlated with local isentropic mixing of tropospheric air with stratospheric air. The zonal distribution of SST perturbations has a major impact on the vertical and meridional structure of the BDC as compared with other SST characteristics. Zonally localized SST heatings tend to generate a shallow acceleration of the stratospheric residual circulation, enhanced isentropic mixing associated with a weakened stratospheric jet, and a reduction in AOA mostly within the polar vortex. In contrast, SST heatings with a zonally symmetric structure tend to produce a deep strengthening of the stratospheric residual circulation, suppressed isentropic mixing associated with a stronger stratospheric jet, and a decrease of AOA in the entire stratosphere. The shallow versus deep strengthening of the stratospheric residual circulation change has been linked to wave propagation and dissipation in the subtropical lower stratosphere rather than wave generation in the troposphere, and the former can be strongly affected by the vertical position of the subtropical jet. These results suggest that, while the longitudinally localized SST trends under climate change may contribute to the change in the shallow branch of the BDC, the upward shift of the subtropical jet associated with the zonal SST heating can impact the deep branch of the BDC.

Description: The authors test the hypothesis that recent observed trends in surface westerlies in the Southern Hemisphere are directly consequent on observed trends in the timing of stratospheric final warming events. The analysis begins by verifying that final warming events have an impact on tropospheric circulation in a simplified GCM driven by specified equilibrium temperature distributions. Seasonal variations are imposed in the stratosphere only. The model produces qualitatively realistic final warming events whose influence extends down to the surface, much like what has been reported in observational analyses. The authors then go on to study observed trends in surface westerlies composited with respect to the date of final warming events. If the considered hypothesis were correct, these trends would appear to be much weaker when composited with respect to the date of the final warming events. The authors find that this is not the case, and accordingly they conclude that the observed surface changes cannot be attributed simply to this shift toward later final warming events.

Description: Increasingly large climate model simulations are enhancing our understanding of the processes and causes of anthropogenic climate change, thanks to very large public investments in high-performance computing at national and international institutions. Various climate models implement mathematical approximations of nature in different ways, which are often based on differing computational grids. These complex, parallelized coupled system codes combine numerous complex submodels (ocean, atmosphere, land, biosphere, sea ice, land ice, etc.) that represent components of the larger complex climate system.

Description: The potential for a dynamical impact of Saharan mineral dust on the North Atlantic Ocean large-scale circulation is investigated. To this end, an ocean general circulation model forced by atmospheric fluxes is perturbed by an idealized, seasonally varying, net shortwave flux anomaly, as it results from remote sensing observations of aerosol optical thickness representing Saharan dust load in the atmosphere. The dust dynamical impact on the circulation is assessed through a comparison between perturbed and an unperturbed run. Results suggest that, following the dust-induced shortwave irradiance anomaly, a buoyancy anomaly is created in the Atlantic offshore the African coast, which over the course of the time propagates westward into the interior Atlantic while progressively subducting. Changes in the large-scale barotropic and overturning circulations are significant after 3 years, which coincides with the elapsed time required by the bulk of the buoyancy perturbation to reach the western boundary of the North Atlantic. Although small in amplitude, the changes in the meridional overturning are of the same order as interannual-to-decadal variability. Variations in the amplitude of the forcing lead to changes in the amplitude of the response, which is almost linear during the first 3 years. In addition, a fast, but dynamically insignificant, response can be observed to propagate poleward along the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic, which contributes to a nonlinear response in the subpolar region north of 40°N.

Description: Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) is known to impact climate globally, and knowledge about the persistence of AMV is important for understanding past and future climate variability, as well as modeling and assessing climate impacts. The short observational data do not significantly resolve multidecadal variability, but recent paleoproxy reconstructions show multidecadal variability in North Atlantic temperature prior to the instrumental record. However, most of these reconstructions are land-based, not necessarily representing sea surface temperature. Proxy records are also subject to dating errors and microenvironmental effects. We extend the record of AMV 90 years past the instrumental record using principle component analysis of five marine-based proxy records to identify the leading mode of variability. The first principal component is consistent with the observed AMV, and multidecadal variability seems to persist prior to the instrumental record. Thus, we demonstrate that reconstructions of past Atlantic low-frequency variability can be improved by combining marine-based proxies.

Description: A link between atmospheric variability in the Tropics independent of ENSO and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is found based on seasonal mean data for austral summer. Variations associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are removed usinga linear method and a Tropics Index (TI) is defined as the zonal average of the ENSO-removed 500 hPa geopotential height between 10°S and 10°N. Since the detrended TI shows no link to SST variability in the Tropics, it appears to be related to internal atmospheric variability. We find that the TI can explain about 40% variance of the SAM interannual variability and about 75% of the SAM long term trend between 1957/58 and 2001/02, where here the SAM includes the ENSO signal. Positive/negative values of the TI are associated with the positive/negative SAM. A possible link between the TI and global warming is noted.

Description: The upper ocean circulation of the Pacific and Indian Oceans is connected through both the Indonesian Throughflow north of Australia and the Tasman leakage around its south. The relative importance of these two pathways is examined using virtual Lagrangian particles in a high-resolution nested ocean model. The unprecedented combination of a long integration time within an eddy-permitting ocean model simulation allows the first assessment of the interannual variability of these pathways in a realistic setting. The mean Indonesian Throughflow, as diagnosed by the particles, is 14.3 Sv, considerably higher than the diagnosed average Tasman leakage of 4.2 Sv. The time series of Indonesian Throughflow agrees well with the Eulerian transport through the major Indonesian Passages, validating the Lagrangian approach using transport-tagged particles. While the Indonesian Throughflow is mainly associated with upper ocean pathways, the Tasman leakage is concentrated in the 400–900 m depth range at subtropical latitudes. Over the effective period considered (1968–1994), no apparent relationship is found between the Tasman leakage and Indonesian Throughflow. However, the Indonesian Throughflow transport correlates with ENSO. During strong La Niñas, more water of Southern Hemisphere origin flows through Makassar, Moluccas, Ombai, and Timor Straits, but less through Moluccas Strait. In general, each strait responds differently to ENSO, highlighting the complex nature of the ENSO-ITF interaction.

Description: Oceanic uptake and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are strongly driven by the marine “biological pump,” i.e., sinking of biotically fixed inorganic carbon and nutrients from the surface into the deep ocean (Sarmiento and Bender, 1994; Volk and Hoffert, 1985). Sinking velocity of marine particles depends on seawater viscosity, which is strongly controlled by temperature (Sharqawy et al., 2010). Consequently, marine particle flux is accelerated as ocean temperatures increase under global warming (Bach et al., 2012). Here we show that this previously overlooked “viscosity effect” could have profound impacts on marine biogeochemical cycling and carbon uptake over the next centuries to millennia. In our global warming simulation, the viscosity effect accelerates particle sinking by up to 25%, thereby effectively reducing the portion of organic matter that is respired in the surface ocean. Accordingly, the biological carbon pump's efficiency increases, enhancing the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 into the ocean. This effect becomes particularly important on longer time scales when warming reaches the ocean interior. At the end of our simulation (4000 A.D.), oceanic carbon uptake is 17% higher, atmospheric CO2 concentration is 180 ppm lower, and the increase in global average surface temperature is 8% weaker when considering the viscosity effect. Consequently, the viscosity effect could act as a long-term negative feedback mechanism in the global climate system.

Description: The abyssal warming around Antarctica is one of the most prominent multidecadal signals of change in the global ocean. Here we investigate its dynamical impacts on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) by performing a set of experiments with the ocean-sea ice model NEMO-LIM2 at 1/2 degrees horizontal resolution. The simulations suggest that the ongoing warming of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), already affecting much of the Southern Hemisphere with a rate of up to 0.05 degrees C decade(-1), has important implications for the large-scale meridional overturning circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. While the abyssal northward flow of AABW is weakening, we find the upper AMOC cell to progressively strengthen by 5-10% in response to deep density changes in the South Atlantic. The simulations suggest that the AABW-induced strengthening of the AMOC is already extending into the subtropical North Atlantic, implying that the process may counteract the projected decrease of the AMOC in the next decades.

Description: The nitrogen cycle is fundamental to Earth's biogeochemistry. Yet major uncertainties of quantification remain, particularly regarding the global oceanic nitrogen fixation rate. Hydrogen is produced during nitrogen fixation and will become supersaturated in surface waters if there is net release from diazotrophs. Ocean surveys of hydrogen supersaturation thus have the potential to illustrate the spatial and temporal distribution of nitrogen fixation, and to guide the far more onerous but quantitative methods for measuring it. Here we present the first transect of high resolution measurements of hydrogen supersaturations in surface waters along a meridional 10,000 km cruise track through the Atlantic. We compare measured saturations with published measurements of nitrogen fixation rates and also with model-derived values. If the primary source of excess hydrogen is nitrogen fixation and has a hydrogen release ratio similar to Trichodesmium, our hydrogen measurements would point to similar rates of fixation in the North and South Atlantic, roughly consistent with modelled fixation rates but not with measured rates, which are lower in the south. Possible explanations would include any substantial nitrogen fixation by newly discovered diazotrophs, particularly any having a hydrogen release ratio similar to or exceeding that of Trichodesmium; under-sampling of nitrogen fixation south of the equator related to excessive focus on Trichodesmium; and methodological shortcomings of nitrogen fixation techniques that cause a bias towards colonial diazotrophs relative to unicellular forms. Alternatively our data are affected by an unknown hydrogen source that is greater in the southern half of the cruise track than the northern.

Description: Continuous high-resolution underway measurements of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and isoprene in the ocean surface were conducted from Germany to South Africa in November 2008. DMS, total dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPt), isoprene and 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (19'-hex) correlated in nitrogen-depleted regions when they were clustered by nitrogen to phosphorous ratio (N:P). The 19'-hex-containing algae groups might be a common source of DMS, DMSPt, and isoprene in the low N: P regions. Additionally, DMS and isoprene correlated in nitrate-depleted regions when they were clustered against nitrate concentrations. Correlations between DMS and isoprene were also found within nitrate-depleted eddies encountered along the cruise track. Eddies with N: P of similar to 2.8 showed the highest positive correlations between DMS and isoprene. We conclude that the DMS/isoprene relationships in the eastern Atlantic Ocean were influenced by nutrient availability, with implications for using nutrients to predict the DMS and isoprene concentrations over a range of oceanographic areas depleted in nitrogen

Description: The relationship between soil moisture (SM) and evaporative fraction (EF) is an important component of land-atmosphere interactions. Frequently, land-atmosphere studies are based on land-surface models and not on observations. This study examines SM-EF interactions over the United States Southern Great Plains using both in situ observations and simulations from the Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrologic model. Specifically, we evaluate how the relationship between SM and EF varies by season, we determine why these variations occur, and we compare model-derived and observed SM-energy flux relationships. Data from four sites (2004-2008) that are part of the United States Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation MeasurementSouthern Great Plains network are used in this study. Results show that SM-EF interactions in both the model and observations are in general agreement with the evaporative regime theory described in past studies. That is, EF is a linear function of SM when SM is between the wilting point and the critical value, and when SM is above the critical value, EF is not dependent on SM. However, SM-EF relationships vary substantially from year to year. EF is a linear function of SM only when daily net radiation is above normal. Our results suggest that the strength of SM-EF interactions is not solely controlled by soil wetness but is also strongly influenced by daily net radiation and meteorological conditions.

Description: Precisely quantifying the current climate-related sea level change requires accurate knowledge of long-term geological processes known as Glacial Isostatic Adjustments (GIA). Although the major postglacial melting phase is likely to have ended ∼6–4 ka BP (before present), GIA is still significantly affecting the present-day vertical position of the mean sea surface and the sea bottom. Here we present empirical rsl (relative sea level) data based on U/Th dated fossil corals from reef platforms of the Society Islands, French Polynesia, together with the corresponding GIA-modeling. Fossil coral data constrain the timing and amplitude of rsl variations after the Holocene sea level maximum (HSLM). Upon correction for isostatic island subsidence, we find that local rsl was at least ∼1.5 ± 0.4 m higher than present at ∼5.4 ka. Later, minor amplitude variations occurred until ∼2 ka, when the rsl started dropping to its present position with a rate of ∼0.4 mm/yr. The data match with predicted rsl curves based on global ice-sheet chronologies confirming the role of GIA-induced ocean siphoning effect throughout the mid to late Holocene. A long lasting Late Holocene highstand superimposed with second-order amplitudinal fluctuations as seen from our data suggest that the theoretical predicted timing of rsl change can still be refined pending future calibration.

Description: Our understanding of the processes driving the patterns of dissolved iron (DFe) in the ocean interior, either in observations or models, is complicated by the combined influences of subduction from the surface mixed layer, notable subsurface sources, regeneration, and scavenging loss. We describe a ventilation-based framework to quantify these processes in a global ocean biogeochemical model including diagnostics along potential density surfaces. There is a prevailing control of subsurface DFe by the subduction of surface DFe as preformed DFe augmented by benthic sources of DFe from hydrothermal activity and sediments. Unlike phosphate, there is often a first-order balance with a near cancelation between regeneration and scavenging with the remaining “net regeneration” controlled by the ventilation of surface excesses in Fe-binding ligands. This DFe framework provides a more stringent test of how the total DFe distribution is mechanistically controlled within a model and may be subsequently used to interpret observed DFe distributions.

Description: Precipitation is highly variable in space and time; hence, rain gauge time series generally exhibit additional random small-scale variability compared to area averages. Therefore, differences between daily precipitation statistics simulated by climate models and gauge observations are generally not only caused by model biases, but also by the corresponding scale gap. Classical bias correction methods, in general, cannot bridge this gap; they do not account for small-scale random variability and may produce artifacts. Here, stochastic model output statistics is proposed as a bias correction framework to explicitly account for random small-scale variability. Daily precipitation simulated by a regional climate model (RCM) is employed to predict the probability distribution of local precipitation. The pairwise correspondence between predictor and predictand required for calibration is ensured by driving the RCM with perfect boundary conditions. Wet day probabilities are described by a logistic regression, and precipitation intensities are described by a mixture model consisting of a gamma distribution for moderate precipitation and a generalized Pareto distribution for extremes. The dependence of the model parameters on simulated precipitation is modeled by a vector generalized linear model. The proposed model effectively corrects systematic biases and correctly represents local-scale random variability for most gauges. Additionally, a simplified model is considered that disregards the separate tail model. This computationally efficient model proves to be a feasible alternative for precipitation up to moderately extreme intensities. The approach sets a new framework for bias correction that combines the advantages of weather generators and RCMs.

Description: One decade of time-variable gravity field observations from the GRACE satellite mission reveals low-frequency ocean bottom pressure (OBP) variability of up to 2.5 hPa centered at the northern flank of the subtropical gyre in the North Pacific. From a 145 year-long simulation with a coupled chemistry climate model, OBP variability is found to be related to the prevailing atmospheric sea-level pressure and surface wind conditions in the larger North Pacific area. The dominating atmospheric pressure patterns obtained from the climate model run allow in combination with ERA-Interim sea-level pressure and surface winds a reconstruction of the OBP variability in the North Pacific from atmospheric model data only, which correlates favorably (r=0.7) with GRACE ocean bottom pressure observations. The regression results indicate that GRACE-based OBP observations are indeed sensitive to changes in the prevailing sea-level pressure and thus surface wind conditions in the North Pacific, thereby opening opportunities to constrain atmospheric models from satellite gravity observations over the oceans.

Description: Previous studies have shown that ENSO's anomalous equatorial winds, including the observed southward shift of zonal winds that occurs around the event peak, can be reconstructed with the first two Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs) of equatorial region wind stresses. Using a high-resolution ocean general circulation model, we investigate the effect of these two EOFs on changes in warm water volume (WWV), interhemispheric mass transports, and Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). Wind stress anomalies associated with the first EOF produce changes in WWV that are dynamically consistent with the conceptual recharge oscillator paradigm. The ITF is found to heavily damp these WWV changes, reducing their variance by half. Wind stress anomalies associated with the second EOF, which depicts the southward wind shift, are responsible for WWV changes that are of comparable magnitude to those driven by the first mode. The southward wind shift is also responsible for the majority of the observed interhemispheric upper ocean mass exchanges. These winds transfer mass between the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere during El Niño events. Whilst water is transferred in the opposite direction during La Niña events, the magnitude of this exchange is roughly half of that seen during El Niño events. Thus, the discharging of WWV during El Niño events is meridionally asymmetric, while the WWV recharging during a La Niña event is largely symmetric. The inclusion of the southward wind shift is also shown to allow ENSO to exchange mass with much higher latitudes than that allowed by the first EOF alone.

Description: There is an ongoing discussion in the community concerning the wave-averaged momentum equations in the hybrid vertically Lagrangian and horizontally Eulerian (VL) framework and, in particular, the form stress term (representing the residual effect of pressure perturbations) which is thought to restrict the handling of higher order waves in terms of a perturbation expansion. The present study shows that the traditional pressure-based form stress term can be transformed into a set of terms that do not contain any pressure quantities but do contain the time derivative of a wave-induced velocity. This wave-induced velocity is referred to as the pseudomomentum in the VL framework, as it is analogous to the generalized pseudomomentum in Andrews and McIntyre. This enables the second expression for the wave-averaged momentum equations in the VL framework (this time for the development of the total transport velocity minus the VL pseudomomentum) to be derived together with the vortex force. The velocity-based expression of the form stress term also contains the residual effect of the turbulent viscosity, which is useful for understanding the dissipation of wave energy leading to transfer of momentum from waves to circulation. It is found that the concept of the virtual wave stress of Longuet-Higgins is applicable to quite general situations: it does not matter whether there is wind forcing or not, the waves can have slow variations, and the viscosity coefficient can vary in the vertical. These results provide a basis for revisiting the surface boundary condition used in numerical circulation models.

Description: Mooring observations and model simulations point to an instability of the Labrador Current (LC) during winter, with enhanced eddy kinetic energy (EKE) at periods between 2 to 5 days, and much less EKE during other seasons. Linear stability analysis using vertical shear and stratification from the model reveals three dominant modes of instability in the LC: - a balanced interior mode with along-flow wavelengths of about 30–45 km, phase velocities of 0.3 m/s, maximal growth rates of 1 d−1 and surface intensified, but deep reaching amplitudes, - a balanced shallow mode with along-flow wavelengths of about 0.3–1.5 km, about three times larger phase speeds and growth rates, but amplitudes confined to the mixed layer (ML), - and an unbalanced symmetric mode with largest growth rates, vanishing phase speeds and along-flow structure, and very small cross-flow wavelengths, also confined to the ML. Both balanced modes are akin to baroclinic instability, but operate at moderate to small Richardson numbers Ri with much larger growth rates as for the quasi-geostrophic limit of Ri ≫ 1. The interior mode is found to be responsible for the instability of the LC during winter. Weak stratification and enhanced vertical shear due to local buoyancy loss and the advection of convective water masses from the interior result in small Ri within the LC, and to three times larger growth rates of the interior mode in March compared to summer and fall conditions. Both the shallow and the symmetric mode are not resolved by the model, but it is suggested that they might also play an important role for the instability in the LC and for lateral mixing.

Description: Gas seepage from marine sediments has implications for understanding feedbacks between the global carbon reservoir, seabed ecology and climate change. Although the relationship between hydrates, gas chimneys and seafloor seepage is well established, the nature of fluid sources and plumbing mechanisms controlling fluid escape into the hydrate zone and up to the seafloor remain one of the least understood components of fluid migration systems. In this study we present the analysis of new three-dimensional high-resolution seismic data acquired to investigate fluid migration systems sustaining active seafloor seepage at Omakere Ridge, on the Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand. The analysis reveals at high resolution, complex overprinting fault structures (i.e. protothrusts, normal faults from flexural extension, and shallow (〈1 km) arrays of oblique shear structures) implicated in fluid migration within the gas hydrate stability zone in an area of 2x7 km. In addition to fluid migration systems sustaining seafloor seepage on both sides of a central thrust fault, the data show seismic evidence for sub-seafloor gas-rich fluid accumulation associated with proto-thrusts and extensional faults. In these latter systems fluid pressure dissipation through time has been favored, hindering the development of gas chimneys. We discuss the elements of the distinct fluid migration systems and the influence that a complex partitioning of stress may have on the evolution of fluid flow systems in active subduction margins.

Description: Sensible and latent heat fluxes were estimated from turbulence measurements gathered during several Atlantic transects of the R/V Polarstern. The inertial dissipation method was used to analyze the data. Resulting bulk transfer coefficients were then applied to the data from the ship’s meteorological system to get continuous time series of the heat fluxes. Combined to the measured downward solar and longwave radiation fluxes allows for an estimate of the total energy budget at the air-sea interface. Comparing these parameterized energy fluxes to ones based on the COARE 3.0 bulk flux algorithm show very strong agreement.

Description: In the tropical eastern South Pacific the Stratus Ocean Reference Station (ORS) (∼20°S, 85.5°W) is located in the transition zone between the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) and the well-oxygenated subtropical gyre. In February/March 2012, extremely anomalous water mass properties were observed in the thermocline at the Stratus ORS. The available eddy oxygen anomaly was −10.5 × 1016 µmol. This anomalous water was contained in an anticyclonic mode-water eddy crossing the mooring site. This eddy was absorbed at that time by an anticyclonic feature located south of the Stratus mooring. This was the largest water property anomaly observed at the mooring during the 13.5 month deployment period. The sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) of the strong mode-water eddy in February/March 2012 was weak, and while the lowest and highest SSHA were related to weak eddies, SSHA is found not to be sufficient to specify the eddy strength for subsurface-intensified eddies. Still, the anticyclonic eddy, and its related water mass characteristics, could be tracked backward in time in SSHA satellite data to a formation region in April 2011 off the Chilean coast. The resulting mean westward propagation velocity was 5.5 cm s−1. This extremely long-lived eddy carried the water characteristics from the near-coastal Chilean water to the open ocean. The water mass stayed isolated during the 11 month travel time due to high rotational speed of about 20 cm s−1 leading to almost zero oxygen in the subsurface layer of the anticyclonic mode-water eddy with indications of high primary production just below the mixed layer.

Description: The Indian-Atlantic water exchange south of Africa (Agulhas leakage) is a key component of the global ocean circulation. No quantitative estimation of the paleo-Agulhas leakage exists. We quantify the variability in interocean exchange over the past 640,000 years, using planktic foraminiferal assemblage data from two marine sediment records to define an Agulhas leakage efficiency index. We confirm the validity of our new approach with a numerical ocean model that realistically simulates the modern Agulhas leakage changes. Our results suggest that, during the past several glacial-interglacial cycles, the Agulhas leakage varied by ~10 sverdrup and more during major climatic transitions. This lends strong credence to the hypothesis that modifications in the leakage played a key role in changing the overturning circulation to full strength mode. Our results are instrumental for validating and quantifying the contribution of the Indian-Atlantic water leakage to the global climate changes.

Description: Glyoxal is an important intermediate species formed by the oxidation of common biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds such as isoprene, toluene and acetylene. Although glyoxal has been shown to play an important role in urban and forested environments, its role in the open ocean environment is still not well understood, with only a few observations showing evidence for its presence in the open ocean marine boundary layer (MBL). In this study, we report observations of glyoxal from ten field campaigns in different parts of the world's oceans. These observations together represent the largest database of glyoxal in the MBL. The measurements are made with similar instruments that have been used in the past, although the open ocean values reported here, average of about 25 pptv with an upper limit of 40 pptv, are much lower than previously reported observations that were consistently higher than 40 pptv and had an upper limit of 140 pptv, highlighting the uncertainties in the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) method for the retrieval of glyoxal. Despite retrieval uncertainties, the results reported in this work support previous suggestions that the currently known sources of glyoxal are insufficient to explain the average MBL concentrations. This suggests that there is an additional missing source, more than a magnitude larger than currently known sources, which is necessary to account for the observed atmospheric levels of glyoxal. Therefore it could play a more important role in the MBL than previously considered.

Description: We present a new classification of geological domains at the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary off SW Iberia, together with a regional geodynamic reconstruction spanning from the Mesozoic extension to the Neogene-to-present-day convergence. It is based on seismic velocity and density models along a new transect running from the Horseshoe to the Seine abyssal plains, which is combined with previously available geophysical models from the region. The basement velocity structure at the Seine Abyssal Plain indicates the presence of a highly heterogeneous, thin oceanic crust with local high-velocity anomalies possibly representing zones related to the presence of ultramafic rocks. The integration of this model with previous ones reveals the presence of three oceanic domains offshore SW Iberia: (1) the Seine Abyssal Plain domain, generated during the first stages of slow seafloor spreading in the NE Central Atlantic (Early Jurassic); (2) the Gulf of Cadiz domain, made of oceanic crust generated in the Alpine-Tethys spreading system between Iberia and Africa, which was coeval with the formation of the Seine Abyssal Plain domain and lasted up to the North Atlantic continental breakup (Late Jurassic); and (3) the Gorringe Bank domain, made of exhumed mantle rocks, which formed during the first stages of North Atlantic opening. Our models suggest that the Seine Abyssal Plain and Gulf of Cadiz domains are separated by the Lineament South strike-slip fault, whereas the Gulf of Cadiz and Gorringe Bank domains appear to be limited by a deep thrust fault located at the center of the Horseshoe Abyssal Plain.

Description: The dynamical origin of the spectral and autocorrelation structure of annular variability in the troposphere is investigated by a deductive approach. Specifically, the structure of the power spectrum and autocorrelation function of the zonal-mean geopotential is analyzed for the case of a quasigeostrophic spherical atmosphere subject to a white noise mechanical forcing applied in a single Hough mode and concentrated at a particular level in the vertical, with vertically uniform Newtonian cooling and Rayleigh drag concentrated at a rigid lower boundary. Analytic expressions for the power spectrum are presented together with expressions for an approximate red noise (i.e., a Lorentzian-shaped) power spectrum. It is found that for an infinitely deep atmosphere the power spectrum can be well approximated by a red noise process for the first few Hough modes (associated with large Rossby heights), provided the distance from the forcing is not larger than about one Rossby height. When a frictional rigid lower boundary is included, however, the approximation is generally bad. The high-frequency part of the power spectrum exhibits near-exponential behavior and the autocorrelation function shows a transition from a rapid decay at short lags to a much slower decay at longer lags, if the thermal and mechanical damping time scales are sufficiently well separated. Since observed annular variability exhibits the same characteristics, the above results lead to the hypothesis that these characteristics may, to some extent, be intrinsic to the linear zonal-mean response problem—although the need for an additional contribution from eddy feedbacks is also implied by the results.

Description: Volcanic eruptions have been hypothesized as an iron supply mechanism for phytoplankton blooms; however, little direct evidence of stimulatory responses has been obtained in the field. Here we present the results of twenty-one 1-2day bottle enrichment experiments from cruises in the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean which conclusively demonstrated a photophysiological and biomass stimulation of phytoplankton communities following supply of basaltic or rhyolitic volcanic ash. Furthermore, experiments in the Southern Ocean demonstrated significant phytoplankton community responses to volcanic ash supply in the absence of responses to addition of dissolved iron alone. At these sites, dissolved manganese concentrations were among the lowest ever measured in seawater, and we therefore suggest that the enhanced response to ash may have been a result of the relief of manganese (co)limitation. Our results imply that volcanic ash deposition events could trigger extensive phytoplankton blooms, potentially capable of significant impacts on regional carbon cycling.

Description: The ocean is responsible for up to a third of total global nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, but uncertainties in emission rates of this potent greenhouse gas are high (〉100%). Here we use a marine biogeochemical model to assess six major uncertainties in estimates of N2O production, thereby providing guidance in how future studies may most effectively reduce uncertainties in current and future marine N2O emissions. Potential surface N2O production from nitrification causes the largest uncertainty in N2O emissions (estimated up to ~1.6 Tg N yr-1, or 48% of modeled values), followed by the unknown oxygen concentration at which N2O production switches to N2O consumption (0.8 Tg N yr-1, or 24% of modeled values). Other uncertainties are minor, cumulatively changing regional emissions by 〈15%. If production of N2O by surface nitrification could be ruled out in future studies, uncertainties in marine N2O emissions would be halved.

Description: A critical question regarding the organic carbon cycle in the Arctic Ocean is whether the decline in ice extent and thickness and the associated increase in solar irradiance in the upper ocean will result in increased primary production and particulate organic carbon (POC) export. To assess spatial and temporal variability in POC export, under-ice export fluxes were measured with short-term sediment traps in the northern Laptev Sea in July-August-September 1995, north of the Fram Strait in July 1997, and in the Central Arctic in August–September 2012. Sediment traps were deployed at 2–5 m and 20–25 m under ice for periods ranging from 8.5 to 71 h. In addition to POC fluxes, total particulate matter, chlorophyll a, biogenic particulate silica, phytoplankton, and zooplankton fecal pellet fluxes were measured to evaluate the amount and composition of the material exported in the upper Arctic Ocean. Whereas elevated export fluxes observed on and near the Laptev Sea shelf were likely the combined result of high primary production, resuspension, and release of particulate matter from melting ice, low export fluxes above the central basins despite increased light availability during the record minimum ice extent of 2012 suggest that POC export was limited by nutrient supply during summer. These results suggest that the ongoing decline in ice cover affects export fluxes differently on Arctic shelves and over the deep Arctic Ocean and that POC export is likely to remain low above the central basins unless additional nutrients are supplied to surface waters.

Description: A large-scale multidisciplinary mesocosm experiment in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard; 78°56.2′N) was used to study Arctic marine food webs and biogeochemical elements cycling at natural and elevated future carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. At the start of the experiment, marine-derived chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) dominated the CDOM pool. Thus, this experiment constituted a convenient case to study production of autochthonous CDOM, which is typically masked by high levels of CDOM of terrestrial origin in the Arctic Ocean proper. CDOM accumulated during the experiment in line with an increase in bacterial abundance; however, no response was observed to increased pCO2 levels. Changes in CDOM absorption spectral slopes indicate that bacteria were most likely responsible for the observed CDOM dynamics. Distinct absorption peaks (at ~ 330 and ~ 360 nm) were likely associated with mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). Due to the experimental setup, MAAs were produced in absence of ultraviolet exposure providing evidence for MAAs to be considered as multipurpose metabolites rather than simple photoprotective compounds. We showed that a small increase in CDOM during the experiment made it a major contributor to total absorption in a range of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) and, therefore, is important for spectral light availability and may be important for photosynthesis and phytoplankton groups composition in a rapidly changing Arctic marine ecosystem.

Description: We use new gas-hydrate geochemistry analyses, echosounder data, and three-dimensional P-Cable seismic data to study a gas-hydrate and free-gas system in 1200 m water depth at the Vestnesa Ridge offshore NW Svalbard. Geochemical measurements of gas from hydrates collected at the ridge revealed a thermogenic source. The presence of thermogenic gas and temperatures of similar to 3.3 degrees C result in a shallow top of the hydrate stability zone (THSZ) at similar to 340 m below sea level (mbsl). Therefore, hydrate-skinned gas bubbles, which inhibit gas-dissolution processes, are thermodynamically stable to this shallow water depth. This was confirmed by hydroacoustic observations of flares in 2010 and 2012 reaching water depths between 210 and 480 mbsl. At the seafloor, bubbles are released from acoustically transparent zones in the seismic data, which we interpret as regions where free gas is migrating through the hydrate stability zone (HSZ). These intrusions result in vertical variations in the base of the HSZ (BHSZ) of up to similar to 150 m, possibly making the shallow hydrate reservoir more susceptible to warming. Such Arctic gas-hydrate and free-gas systems are important because of their potential role in climate change and in fueling marine life, but remain largely understudied due to limited data coverage in seasonally ice-covered Arctic environments.

Description: Factors controlling the origin of silicic magmas on Iceland are poorly constrained. Here we present new data on H2O content, pressure, temperature, oxygen fugacity, and oxygen isotope composition of rhyolites from Askja, Öræfajökull, and Hekla volcanoes. All these parameters correlate with tectonic (rift and off-rift) setting of the volcanoes. Askja rift rhyolites originate through extensive assimilation of high-temperature hydrothermally altered crust (δ18O 〈 2‰) at shallow depths (≥1.8 km). These rhyolites are hot (935–1008°C), relatively dry (H2O 〈 2.7 wt%), and oxidized (QFM = +1.4). Cooler (874–902°C), wet (H2O = 4-6.3 wt%), and non-oxidized (~QFM to QFM-1) off-rift rhyolites (Öræfajökull, Hekla) originate through differentiation deeper in the crust (≥4 km) with almost no or little assimilation of high-T, altered crust, as reflected by slightly lower to normal δ18O values (5.2–6‰). Although off-rift rhyolites predominate during the Holocene, older silicic rocks on Iceland primarily formed in a rift setting possibly analogous to the oldest continental crust on Earth.

Description: A representation of an equatorial basin mode excited in a shallow water model for a single high order baroclinic vertical normal mode is used as a simple model for the equatorial deep jets. The model is linearized about both a state of rest and a barotropic mean flow corresponding to the observed Atlantic Equatorial Intermediate Current System. We found that the eastward mean flow associated with the North and South Intermediate Counter Currents (NICC and SICC, respectively) effectively shields the Equator from off-equatorial Rossby waves. The westward propagation of these waves is blocked and focusing on the Equator due to beta dispersion is prevented. This leads to less energetic jets along the Equator. On the other hand, the westward barotropic mean flow along the Equator reduces the gradient of absolute vorticity and hence widens the cross-equatorial structure of the basin mode. Increasing lateral viscosity predominantly affects the width of the basin modes’ Kelvin wave component in the presence of the mean flow while the Rossby wave is confined by the flanking NICC and SICC. Independent of the presence of the mean flow, the application of sufficient lateral mixing also hinders the focusing of off-equatorial Rossby waves, which is hence an unlikely feature of a low-frequency basin mode in the real ocean.

Description: Large explosive volcanic eruptions can inject massive amounts of sulfuric gases into the Earth's atmosphere and, in so doing, affect global climate. The January 1835 eruption of Cosigüina volcano, Nicaragua, ranks among the Americas’ largest and most explosive historical eruptions, but whether it had effects on global climate remains ambiguous. New petrologic analyses of the Cosigüina deposits reveal that the eruption released enough sulfur to explain a prominent ca. AD 1835 sulfate anomaly in ice cores from both the Arctic and Antarctic. A compilation of temperature-sensitive tree-ring chronologies indicates appreciable cooling of the Earth's surface in response to the eruption, consistent with instrumental temperature records. We conclude that this eruption represents one of the most important sulfur-producing events of the last few centuries and had a sizable climate impact rivaling that of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

Description: During the CINDY–DYNAMO field campaign of September 2011–January 2012, a Seaglider was deployed at 80°E and completed 10 north-south sections between 3 and 4°S, measuring temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen concentration, and chlorophyll fluorescence. These high-resolution subsurface observations provide insight into equatorial ocean Rossby wave activity forced by three Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) events during this time period. These Rossby waves generate variability in temperature O(1°C), salinity O(0.2 g kg−1), density O(0.2 kg m−3), and oxygen concentration O(10 μmol kg−1), associated with 10 m vertical displacements of the thermocline. The variability extends down to 1000 m, the greatest depth of the Seaglider observations, highlighting the importance of surface forcing for the deep equatorial ocean. The temperature variability observed by the Seaglider is greater than that simulated in the ECCO-JPL reanalysis, especially at depth. There is also marked variability in chlorophyll fluorescence at the surface and at the depth of the chlorophyll maximum. Upwelling from Rossby waves and local wind stress curl leads to an enhanced shoaling of the chlorophyll maximum by 10–25 m in response to the increased availability of nutrients and light. This influence of the MJO on primary production via equatorial ocean Rossby waves has not previously been recognized.

Description: The atmospheric deposition of both macronutrients and micronutrients plays an important role in driving primary productivity, particularly in the low-latitude ocean. We report aerosol major ion measurements for five ship-based sampling campaigns in the western Pacific from similar to 25 degrees N to 20 degrees S and compare the results with those from Atlantic meridional transects (similar to 50 degrees N to 50 degrees S) with aerosols collected and analyzed in the same laboratory, allowing full incomparability. We discuss sources of the main nutrient species (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and iron (Fe)) in the aerosols and their stoichiometry. Striking north-south gradients are evident over both basins with the Northern Hemisphere more impacted by terrestrial dust sources and anthropogenic emissions and the North Atlantic apparently more impacted than the North Pacific. We estimate the atmospheric supply rates of these nutrients and the potential impact of the atmospheric deposition on the tropical western Pacific. Our results suggest that the atmospheric deposition is P deficient relative to the needs of the resident phytoplankton. These findings suggest that atmospheric supply of N, Fe, and P increases primary productivity utilizing some of the residual excess phosphorus (P*) in the surface waters to compensate for aerosol P deficiency. Regional primary productivity is further enhanced via the stimulation of nitrogen fixation fuelled by the residual atmospheric iron and P*. Our stoichiometric calculations reveal that a P* of 0.1 mu mol L-1 can offset the P deficiency in atmospheric supply for many months. This study suggests that atmospheric deposition may sustain similar to 10% of primary production in both the western tropical Pacific.

Description: A decadal change in the character of ENSO was observed around year 2000 toward weaker-amplitude, higher-frequency events with an increased occurrence of central Pacific El Niños. Here these changes are assessed in terms of the Bjerknes stability index (BJ index), which is a measure of the growth rate of ENSO-related SST anomalies. The individual terms of the index are calculated from ocean reanalysis products separately for the time periods 1980–99 and 2000–10. The spread between the products is large, but they show a robust weakening of the thermocline feedback due to a reduced thermocline slope response to anomalous zonal wind stress as well as a weakened wind stress response to eastern equatorial Pacific SST anomalies. These changes are consistent with changes in the background state of the tropical Pacific: cooler mean SST in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific results in reduced convection there together with a westward shift in the ascending branch of the Walker circulation. This shift leads to a weakening in the relationship between eastern Pacific SST and longitudinally averaged equatorial zonal wind stress. Also, despite a steeper mean thermocline slope in the more recent period, the thermocline slope response to wind stress anomalies weakened due to a smaller zonal wind fetch that results from ENSO-related wind anomalies being more confined to the western basin. As a result, the total BJ index is more negative, corresponding to a more strongly damped system in the past decade compared to the 1980s and 1990s.

Description: The sea-surface microlayer (SML) is the ocean's uppermost boundary to the atmosphere and in control of climate relevant processes like gas exchange and emission of marine primary organic aerosols (POA). The SML represents a complex surface film including organic components like polysaccharides, proteins, and marine gel particles, and harbors diverse microbial communities. Despite the potential relevance of the SML in ocean-atmosphere interactions, still little is known about its structural characteristics and sensitivity to a changing environment such as increased oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2. Here we report results of a large-scale mesocosm study, indicating that ocean acidification can affect the abundance and activity of microorganisms during phytoplankton blooms, resulting in changes in composition and dynamics of organic matter in the SML. Our results reveal a potential coupling between anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the biogenic properties of the SML, pointing to a hitherto disregarded feedback process between ocean and atmosphere under climate change.

Description: We use an eddying realistic primitive equation model of the Southern Ocean to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of near-inertial wind-power input (WPI) and near-inertial energy (NIE) in the Southern Ocean. We find that the modelled near-inertial WPI is almost proportional to inertial wind-stress variance (IWSV), while the modelled NIE is modulated by the inverse of the mixed-layer depth. We go on to assess recent decadal trends of near-inertial WPI from trends of IWSV based on reanalysis wind-stress. Averaged over the Southern Ocean, annual-mean IWSV is found to have increased by 16 percent over the years 1979 through 2011. Part of the increase of IWSV is found to be related to the positive trend of the Southern Annular Mode over the same period. Finally, we show that there are horizontal local maxima of NIE at depth that are almost exclusively associated with anticyclonic eddies.

Description: Extension of the continental lithosphere leads to the formation of rift basins or rifted continental margins if breakup occurs. Seismic investigations have repeatedly shown that conjugate margins have asymmetric tectonic structures and different amount of extension and crustal thinning. Here we compare two coincident wide-angle and multichannel seismic profiles across the northern Tyrrhenian rift system sampling crust that underwent different stages of extension from north to south and from the flanks to the basin center. Tomographic inversion reveals that the crust has thinned homogeneously from ~24 km to ~17 km between the Corsica Margin and the Latium Margin implying a β factor of ~1.3–1.5. On the transect 80 km to the south, the crust thinned from ~24 km beneath Sardinia to a maximum of ~11 km in the eastern region near the Campania Margin (β factor of ~2.2). The increased crustal thinning is accompanied by a zone of reduced velocities in the upper crust that expands progressively toward the southeast. We interpret that the velocity reduction is related to rock fracturing caused by a higher degree of brittle faulting, as observed on multichannel seismic images. Locally, basalt flows are imaged intruding sediment in this zone, and heat flow values locally exceed 100 mW/m2. Velocities within the entire crust range 4.0–6.7 km/s, which are typical for continental rocks and indicate that significant rift-related magmatic underplating may not be present. The characteristics of the pre-tectonic, syn-tectonic and post-tectonic sedimentary units allow us to infer the spatial and temporal evolution of active rifting. In the western part of the southern transect, thick postrift sediments were deposited in half grabens that are bounded by large fault blocks. Fault spacing and block size diminish to the east as crustal thinning increases. Recent tectonic activity is expressed by faults cutting the seafloor in the east, near the mainland of Italy. The two transects show the evolution from the less extended rift in the north with a fairly symmetric conjugate structure to the asymmetric margins farther south. This structural evolution is consistent with W-E rift propagation and southward increasing extension rates.

Description: In his comment, G. Bürger criticizes the conclusion that inflation of trends by quantile mapping is an adverse effect.He assumes that the argument would be ‘‘based on the belief that long-term trends and along with them future climate signals are to be large scale.’’ His line of argument reverts to the so-called inflated regression. Here it is shown, by referring to previous critiques of inflation and standard literature in statistical modeling as well as weather forecasting, that inflation is built upon a wrong understanding of explained versus unexplained variability and prediction versus simulation. It is argued that a sound regressionbased downscaling can in principle introduce systematic local variability in long-term trends, but inflation systematically deteriorates the representation of trends. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that inflation by construction deteriorates weather forecasts and is not able to correctly simulate small-scale spatiotemporal structure.

Description: From October 2008 to November 2010, CH3I concentrations were measured in the Kiel Fjord together with potentially related biogeochemical and physical parameters. A repeating seasonal cycle of CH3I was observed with highest concentrations in summer (ca. 8.3 pmol L−1; June and July) and lowest concentrations in winter (ca. 1.5 pmol L−1; December to February). A strong positive correlation at zero lag between [CH3I] and solar radiation (R2 = 0.93) was observed, whereas correlations with other variables (SST, Chlorophyll a) were weaker, and they lagged CH3I by ca. 1 month. These results appear consistent with the hypothesis that SSR is the primary forcing of CH3I production in surface seawater, possibly through a photochemical pathway. A mass balance of the monthly averaged data was used to infer mean rates of daily net production (Pnet) and losses for CH3I over the year. The sea-to-air flux of CH3I in the Kiel Fjord averaged 3.1 nmol m−2 d−1, the mean chemical loss rate was 0.047 pmol L−1 d−1, and Pnet varied systematically from winter to summer (from 0 to 0.6 pmol L−1 d−1). Pnet was correlated at zero lag with SST, SSR, and Chla (R2 = 0.55, 0.67, and 0.73, respectively, p 〈〈 0.01). The lagged cross-correlation analysis indicated that SSR led Pnet by 1 month, whereas the strongest cross correlations with Chla were at lags of 0 to +1 month, and SST lagged Pnet by 1 month. The broad seasonal peak of Pnet makes it difficult to determine the key factor controlling CH3I net production using in situ concentration data alone.

Description: We investigate potential relations between variations in seafloor relief and age of the incoming plate and interplate seismicity. Westward from Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, a major change in the character of the incoming Cocos Plate is displayed by abrupt lateral variations in seafloor depth and thermal structure. Here a Mw 6.4 thrust earthquake was followed by three aftershock clusters in June 2002. Initial relocations indicate that the main shock occurred fairly trenchward of most large earthquakes along the Middle America Trench off central Costa Rica. The earthquake sequence occurred while a temporary network of OBH and land stations ∼80 km to the northwest were deployed. By adding readings from permanent local stations, we obtain uncommon P wave coverage of a large subduction zone earthquake. We relocate this catalog using a nonlinear probabilistic approach within both, a 1-D and a 3-D P wave velocity models. The main shock occurred ∼25 km from the trench and probably along the plate interface at 5–10 km depth. We analyze teleseismic data to further constrain the rupture process of the main shock. The best depth estimates indicate that most of the seismic energy was radiated at shallow depth below the continental slope, supporting the nucleation of the Osa earthquake at ∼6 km depth. The location and depth coincide with the plate boundary imaged in prestack depth-migrated reflection lines shot near the nucleation area. Aftershocks propagated downdip to the area of a 1999 Mw 6.9 sequence and partially overlapped it. The results indicate that underthrusting of the young and buoyant Cocos Ridge has created conditions for interplate seismogenesis shallower and closer to the trench axis than elsewhere along the central Costa Rica margin.

Description: The relationship between the Agulhas Current and the Agulhas leakage is not well understood. Here, this is investigated using two basin-scale and two global ocean models, of incrementally increasing resolution. The response of the Agulhas Current is evaluated under a series of sensitivity experiments, in which idealised anomalies, designed to geometrically modulate zonal trade wind stress, are applied across the Indian Ocean basin. The imposed wind stress changes exceed ±2 standard deviations from the annual mean trade winds and, in the case of intensification, are partially representative of recently observed trends. The Agulhas leakage is quantified using complimentary techniques based on Lagrangian virtual floats and Eulerian passive tracer flux. As resolution increases, model behavior converges and the sensitivity of the leakage to Agulhas Current transport anomalies is reduced. In the two eddy-resolving configurations tested, the leakage is insensitive to changes in Agulhas Current transport at 32°S, though substantial eddy kinetic energy anomalies are evident. Consistent with observations, the position of the retroflection remains stable. The decoupling of Agulhas Current variability from the Agulhas leakage suggests that, while correlations between the two may exist, they may not have a clear dynamical basis. It is suggested that present and future Agulhas leakage proxies be considered in the context of potentially transient forcing regimes.

Description: We study the erosive convergent margin of north-central Chile (at similar to 31 degrees S) by using high-resolution bathymetric, wide-angle refraction, and multichannel seismic reflection data to derive a detailed tomographic 2-D velocity-depth model. In the overriding plate, our velocity model shows that the lowermost crustal velocities beneath the upper continental slope are 6.0-6.5km/s, which are interpreted as the continental basement composed by characteristic metamorphic and igneous rocks of the Coastal Cordillera. Beneath the lower and middle continental slope, however, the presence of a zone of reduced velocities (3.5-5.0km/s) is interpreted as the outermost fore arc composed of volcanic rocks hydrofractured as a result of frontal and basal erosion. At the landward edge of the outermost fore arc, the bathymetric and seismic data provide evidence for the presence of a prominent trenchward dipping normal scarp (similar to 1km offset), which overlies a strong lateral velocity contrast from similar to 5.0 to similar to 6.0km/s. This pronounced velocity contrast propagates deep into the continental crust, and it resembles a major normal listric fault. We interpret this seismic discontinuity as the volcanic-continental basement contact of the submerged Coastal Cordillera characterized by a gravitational collapse of the outermost fore arc. Subduction erosion has, most likely, caused large-scale crustal thinning and long-term subsidence of the outermost fore arc.

Description: Major stratospheric sudden warmings are prominent disturbances of the Northern Hemisphere polar winter stratosphere. Understanding the factors controlling major warmings is required, since the associated circulation changes can propagate down into the troposphere and affect the surface climate, suggesting enhanced prediction skill when these processes are accurately represented in models. In this study we investigate how different natural and anthropogenic factors, namely, the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), sea surface temperatures (SSTs), anthropogenic greenhouse gases, and ozone-depleting substances, influence the frequency, variability, and life cycle of major warmings. This is done using sensitivity experiments performed with the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Community Earth System Model (CESM). CESM is able to simulate the life cycle of major warmings realistically. The QBO strengthens the climatological stratospheric polar night jet (PNJ) and significantly reduces the frequency of major warmings through reduction of planetary wave propagation into the PNJ region. Variability in SSTs weakens the PNJ and significantly increases the major warming frequency due to enhanced wave forcing. Even extreme climate change conditions (RCP8.5 scenario) do not influence the total frequency but determine the prewarming phase of major warmings. The amplitude and duration of major warmings seem to be mainly determined by internal stratospheric variability. We also suggest that SST variability, two-way ocean/atmosphere coupling, and hence the memory of the ocean are needed to reproduce the observed tropospheric negative Northern Annular Mode pattern after major warmings.

Description: The widely used concept of constant ”Redfield” phytoplankton stoichiometry is often applied for estimating which nutrient limits phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Culture experiments, in contrast, show strong relations between growth conditions and cellular stoichiometry with often substantial deviations from Redfield stoichiometry. Here we investigate to what extent both views agree by analyzing remote sensing and in situ data with an optimality-based model of nondiazotrophic phytoplankton growth in order to infer seasonally varying patterns of colimitation by light, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in the global ocean. Our combined model-data analysis suggests strong N and N-P colimitation in the tropical ocean, seasonal light, and N-P colimitation in the Northern Hemisphere, and strong light limitation only during winter in the Southern Ocean. The eastern equatorial Pacific appears as the only ocean area that is essentially not limited by N, P, or light. Even though our optimality-based approach specifically accounts for flexible stoichiometry, inferred patterns of N and P limitation are to some extent consistent with those obtained from an analysis of surface inorganic nutrients with respect to the Redfield N:P ratio. Iron is not part of our analysis, implying that we cannot accurately predict N cell quotas in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions. Elsewhere, we do not expect a major effect of iron on the relative distribution of N, P, and light colimitation areas. The relative importance of N, P, and light in limiting phytoplankton growth diagnosed here by combining observations and an optimal growth model provides a useful constraint for models used to predict future marine biological production under changing environmental conditions.

Description: Continental shelves are predominately (~70%) covered with permeable, sandy sediments. While identified as critical sites for intense oxygen, carbon, and nutrient turnover, constituent exchange across permeable sediments remains poorly quantified. The central North Sea largely consists of permeable sediments and has been identified as increasingly at risk for developing hypoxia. Therefore, we investigate the benthic O2 exchange across the permeable North Sea sediments using a combination of in situ microprofiles, a benthic chamber, and aquatic eddy correlation. Tidal bottom currents drive the variable sediment O2 penetration depth (from ~3 to 8 mm) and the concurrent turbulence-driven 25-fold variation in the benthic sediment O2 uptake. The O2 flux and variability were reproduced using a simple 1-D model linking the benthic turbulence to the sediment pore water exchange. The high O2 flux variability results from deeper sediment O2 penetration depths and increased O2 storage during high velocities, which is then utilized during low-flow periods. The study reveals that the benthic hydrodynamics, sediment permeability, and pore water redox oscillations are all intimately linked and crucial parameters determining the oxygen availability. These parameters must all be considered when evaluating mineralization pathways of organic matter and nutrients in permeable sediments.

Description: A surface diurnal warm layer is diagnosed from Seaglider observations, and develops on half the days in the CINDY/DYNAMO Indian Ocean experiment. The diurnal warm layer occurs on days of high solar radiation flux (〉 80 W m−2) and low wind speed (〈 6 m s−1), and preferentially in the inactive stage of the Madden–Julian Oscillation. Its diurnal harmonic has an exponential vertical structure with a depth scale of 4–5 m (dependent on chlorophyll concentration), consistent with forcing by absorption of solar radiation. The effective sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly due to the diurnal warm layer often reaches 0.8°C in the afternoon, with a daily mean of 0.2°C, rectifying the diurnal cycle onto longer time scales. This SST anomaly drives an anomalous flux of 4 W m−2 that cools the ocean. Alternatively, in a climate model where this process is unresolved, this represents an erroneous flux that warms the ocean. A simple model predicts a diurnal warm layer to occur on 30–50% of days across the tropical warm pool. On the remaining days, with low solar radiation and high wind speeds, a residual diurnal cycle is observed by the Seaglider, with a diurnal harmonic of temperature that decreases linearly with depth. As wind speed increases, this already weak temperature gradient decreases further, tending towards isothermal conditions.

Description: Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the eastern equatorial Atlantic are connected to modulations in the strength of the South Atlantic subtropical high-pressure system, referred to as the South Atlantic Anticyclone (SAA). Using ocean and atmosphere reanalysis products we show here that the strength of the SAA from February to May impacts the timing of the cold tongue onset and the intensity of its development in the eastern equatorial Atlantic (EEA) via anomalous tropical wind power. This modulation of the timing and amplitude of the seasonal cold tongue development manifests as anomalous SST events peaking between June and August. The timing and impact of this connection is not completely symmetric for warm and cold events. For cold events, an anomalously strong SAA in February and March leads to positive wind power anomalies from February to June resulting in an early cold tongue onset and subsequent cold SST anomalies in June and July. For warm events the anomalously weak SAA persists until May, generating negative wind power anomalies that lead to a late cold tongue onset as well as a suppression of the cold tongue development and associated warm SST anomalies. Mechanisms by which SAA induced wind power variations south of the equator influence EEA SST are discussed, including ocean adjustment via Rossby and Kelvin wave propagation, meridional advection, and local intraseasonal wind variations

Description: We present a detailed quality assessment of a novel underwater sensor for the measurement of CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) based on surface water field deployments carried out between 2008 and 2011. The commercially available sensor, which is based on membrane equilibration and NDIR spectrometry is small and can be integrated into mobile platforms. It is calibrated in water against a proven flow-through pCO2 instrument within a custom-built calibration setup. The aspect of highest concern with respect to achievable data quality of the sensor is the compensation for signal drift inevitably connected to absorption measurements. We use three means to correct for drift effects: (i) a filter correlation or dual-beam setup, (ii) regular zero gas measurements realized automatically within the sensor and (iii) a zero-based transformation of two sensor calibrations flanking the time of sensor deployment. Three sensors were tested against an underway pCO2 system during two major research cruises providing an in situ temperature range from 7.4 to 30.1°C and pCO2 values between 289 and 445 μatm. The average difference between sensor and reference pCO2 was found to be -0.6 ± 3 μatm with a RMSE of 3.7 μatm.

Description: Understanding the causes of the observed expansion of tropical ocean's oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) is hampered by large biases in the representation of oxygen distribution in climate models, pointing to incorrectly represented mechanisms. Here we assess the oxygen budget in a global biogeochemical circulation model, focusing on the Atlantic Ocean. While a coarse (0.5°) configuration displays the common bias of too large and too intense OMZs, the oxygen concentration in an eddying (0.1°) configuration is higher and closer to observations. This improvement is traced to a stronger oxygen supply by a more realistic representation of the equatorial and off-equatorial undercurrents, outweighing the concurrent increase in oxygen consumption associated with the stronger nutrient supply. The sensitivity of the eastern tropical Atlantic oxygen budget to the equatorial current intensity suggests that temporal changes in the eastward oxygen transport from the well-oxygenated western boundary region might partly explain variations in the OMZs.

Description: In this work we investigate the crustal and tectonic structures of the Central Tyrrhenian back-arc basin combining refraction and wide-angle reflection seismic (WAS), gravity, and multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection data, acquired during the MEDOC (MEDiterráneo OCcidental)-2010 survey along a transect crossing the entire basin from Sardinia to Campania at 40°N. The results presented include a ~450 km long 2-D P wave velocity model, obtained by the traveltime inversion of the WAS data, a coincident density model, and a MCS poststack time-migrated profile. We interpret three basement domains with different petrological affinity along the transect based on the comparison of velocity and velocity-derived density models with existing compilations for continental crust, oceanic crust, and exhumed mantle. The first domain includes the continental crust of Sardinia and the conjugate Campania margin. In the Sardinia margin, extension has thinned the crust from ~20 km under the coastline to ~13 km ~60 km seaward. Similarly, the Campania margin is also affected by strong extensional deformation. The second domain, under the Cornaglia Terrace and its conjugate Campania Terrace, appears to be oceanic in nature. However, it shows differences with respect to the reference Atlantic oceanic crust and agrees with that generated in back-arc oceanic settings. The velocities-depth relationships and lack of Moho reflections in seismic records of the third domain (i.e., the Magnaghi and Vavilov basins) support a basement fundamentally made of mantle rocks. The large seamounts of the third domain (e.g., Vavilov) are underlain by 10–20 km wide, relatively low-velocity anomalies interpreted as magmatic bodies locally intruding the mantle.

Description: Acoustic velocities were measured during triaxial deformation tests of silty clay and clayey silt core samples from the Nankai subduction zone (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expeditions 315, 316, and 333). We provide a new data set, continuously measured during pressure increase and subsequent axial deformation. A new data processing method was developed using seismic time series analysis. Compressional wave velocities (V-p) range between about 1450 and 2200 m/s, and shear wave velocities (V-s) range between about 150 and 800 m/s. V-p slightly increases with rising effective confining pressure and effective axial stress. Samples from the accretionary prism toe show the highest Vp, while fore-arc slope sediments show lower Vp. Samples from the incoming plate, slightly richer in clay minerals, have the lowest values for V-p. V-s increases with higher effective confining pressures and effective axial stress, irrespective of composition and tectonic setting. Shear and bulk moduli are between 0.2 and 1.3 GPa, and 3.85 and 8.41 GPa, respectively. Elastic moduli of samples from the accretionary prism toe and the footwall of the megasplay fault (1.50 and 3.98 GPa) are higher than those from the hanging wall and incoming plate (0.59 and 0.88 GPa). This allows differentiation between normal and overconsolidated sediments. The data show that in a tectonosedimentary environment of only subtle compositional differences, acoustic properties can be used to differentiate between stronger (accretionary prism toe) and weaker (fore-arc slope, incoming plate) sediments. Especially V-p/V-s ratios may be instrumental in detecting zones of low effective stress and thus high pore fluid pressure

Description: Key Points: Seawater Nd and Pb isotope records for the Pliocene Caribbean and EEP Caribbean Nd isotope composition became more UNADW-like during the Pliocene Short term changes support link between CAS closure and strength of AMOC The shoaling and final closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS) resulted in a major change of the global ocean circulation and has been suggested as an essential driver for strengthening of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The exact timing of CAS closure is key to interpreting its importance. Here we present a reconstruction of deep and intermediate water Nd and Pb isotope compositions obtained from fossil fish teeth and the authigenic coatings of planktonic foraminifera in the eastern equatorial Pacific (ODP Site 1241) and the Caribbean (ODP Sites 998, 999 and 1000) covering the final stages of CAS closure between 5.6 and 2.2 Ma. The data for the Pacific site indicate no significant Atlantic/Caribbean influence over this entire period. The Caribbean sites show a continuous trend to less radiogenic Nd isotope compositions during the Pliocene, consistent with an enhancement of Upper North Atlantic Deep Water (UNADW) inflow and a strengthening of the AMOC. Superimposed onto this long-term trend, shorter-term changes of intermediate Caribbean Nd isotope signatures approached more UNADW-like values during intervals when published reconstructions of seawater salinity suggested complete closure of the CAS. The data imply that significant deep water exchange with the Pacific essentially stopped by 7 Ma and that shallow exchange, which still occurred at least periodically until approximately 2.5 Ma, may have been linked to the strength of the AMOC but did not have any direct effect on the intermediate and deep Caribbean Nd isotope signatures through mixing with Pacific waters.

Description: Stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) are extreme events in the polar stratosphere that are both caused by and have effects on the tropospheric flow. This means that SSWs are associated with changes in the angular momentum of the atmosphere, both before and after their onset. Because these angular momentum changes are transferred to the solid Earth, they can be observed in the rate of the Earth's rotation and the wobble of its rotational pole. By comparing observed Earth rotation variations to reanalysis data, we find that an anomaly in the orientation of the Earth's rotational pole, up to 4 times as large as the annual polar wobble, typically precedes SSWs by 20-40 days. The polar motion signal is due to pressure anomalies that are typically seen before SSW events and represents a new type of observable that may aid in the prediction of SSWs. A decline in the length of day is also seen, on average, near the time of the SSW wind reversal and is found to be due to anomalous easterly winds generated in the tropical troposphere around this time, though the structure and timing of this signal seems to vary widely from event to event.

Description: We present the first comprehensive intercomparison of currently available satellite ozone climatologies in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) (300-70hPa) as part of the Stratosphere-troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) Data Initiative. The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument is the only nadir-viewing instrument in this initiative, as well as the only instrument with a focus on tropospheric composition. We apply the TES observational operator to ozone climatologies from the more highly vertically resolved limb-viewing instruments. This minimizes the impact of differences in vertical resolution among the instruments and allows identification of systematic differences in the large-scale structure and variability of UTLS ozone. We find that the climatologies from most of the limb-viewing instruments show positive differences (ranging from 5 to 75%) with respect to TES in the tropical UTLS, and comparison to a zonal mean ozonesonde climatology indicates that these differences likely represent a positive bias for p100hPa. In the extratropics, there is good agreement among the climatologies regarding the timing and magnitude of the ozone seasonal cycle (differences in the peak-to-peak amplitude of 〈15%) when the TES observational operator is applied, as well as very consistent midlatitude interannual variability. The discrepancies in ozone temporal variability are larger in the tropics, with differences between the data sets of up to 55% in the seasonal cycle amplitude. However, the differences among the climatologies are everywhere much smaller than the range produced by current chemistry-climate models, indicating that the multiple-instrument ensemble is useful for quantitatively evaluating these models.

Description: The connection between the equatorial mean circulation and the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific is investigated through sensitivity experiments with a high-resolution coupled physical-biogeochemical model. A validation against in situ observations indicates a realistic simulation of the vertical and horizontal oxygen distribution by the model. Two sets of climatological open-boundary conditions for the physical variables, which differ slightly with respect to the intensity and vertical structure of the Equatorial Current System, are shown to lead to contrasting characteristics of the simulated OMZ dynamics. From a Lagrangian perspective, the mean differences near the coast originate to a large extent from the different transport of deoxygenated waters by the secondary Tsuchiya Jet (secondary Southern Subsurface Countercurrent, sSSCC). The O2 budget further indicates a large difference in the balance between tendency terms, with advection exhibiting the largest difference between both simulations, which is shown to result from both linear and nonlinear advection. At regional scale, we also find that the variability of the physical contribution to the rate of O2 change is one order of magnitude larger than the variability associated with the biogeochemical contribution, which originates from internal high-frequency variability. Overall our study illustrates the large sensitivity of the OMZ dynamics to the equatorial circulation.

Description: This study performed the first assessment of the volcanic gas output from the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of northern Chile. We present the fluxes and compositions of volcanic gases (H2O, CO2, H2, HCl, HF, and HBr) from five of the most actively degassing volcanoes in this region—Láscar, Lastarria, Putana, Ollagüe, and San Pedro—obtained during field campaigns in 2012 and 2013. The inferred gas plume compositions for Láscar and Lastarria (CO2/Stot = 0.9–2.2; Stot/HCl = 1.4–3.4) are similar to those obtained in the Southern Volcanic Zone of Chile, suggesting uniform magmatic gas fingerprint throughout the Chilean arc. Combining these compositions with our own UV spectroscopy measurements of the SO2 output (summing to ~1800 t d−1 for the CVZ), we calculate a cumulative CO2 output of 1743–1988 t d−1 and a total volatiles output of 〉20,200 t d−1.

Description: Hydrothermal venting often occurs at submarine volcanic calderas on island arc chains, typically at shallower depths than mid–ocean ridges. The effect of these systems on ocean biogeochemistry has been under-investigated to date. Here we show that hydrothermal effluent from an island arc caldera was rich in Fe(III) colloids (0.02–0.2 µm; 46% of total Fe), contributing to a fraction of hydrothermal Fe that was stable in ocean water. Iron(III) colloids from island arc calderas may be transferred into surrounding waters (generally 0–1500 m depth) by ocean currents, thereby potentially stimulating surface ocean primary productivity. Hydrothermal Fe oxyhydroxide particles (〉0.2 µm) were also pervasive in the studied caldera and contained high concentrations of oxyanions of phosphorus (P), vanadium (V), arsenic (As), and manganese (Mn). Hydrothermal island arcs may be responsible for 〉 50% of global hydrothermal P scavenging and 〉 40% V scavenging, despite representing 〈10% of global hydrothermal fluid flow.

Description: Estimates of the amount of carbon sequestered in the ocean interior per unit iron (Fe) supplied, as quantified by the sequestration efficiency (Ceffx), vary widely. Such variability in Ceffx has frequently been attributed to estimate uncertainty rather than intrinsic variability. Here we derive new estimates of Ceffx for the subpolar North Atlantic, where Fe stressed conditions have recently been demonstrated. Derived values of Ceffx from across the region, including areas subject to atypical external Fe fertilization events during the year of sample collection (2010), ranged from 17 to 19 kmol C (mol Fe−1). Comparing these estimates with values from other systems, considered in the context of variable bloom durations in the different oceanographic settings, we suggest that apparent variability in Ceffx may be related to the mode of Fe delivery.

Description: The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF), which represents the global ocean circulation connecting the Pacific Warm Pool to the Indian Ocean, strongly influences the Indo-Pacific climate. ITF monitoring since the late 1990s using mooring buoys have provided insights on seasonal and interannual time scales. However, the absence of longer records limits our perspective on its evolution over the past century. Here, we present sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS) proxy records from Timor Island located at the ITF exit passage via paired coral δ18O and Sr/Ca measurements spanning the period 1914–2004. These high-resolution proxy based climate data of the last century highlights improvements and cautions when interpreting paleoclimate records of the Indonesian region. If the seasonality of SST and SSS is not perfectly in phase, the application of coral Sr/Ca thermometry improves SST reconstructions compared to estimates based on coral δ18O only. Our records also underline the importance of ocean advection besides rainfall on local SSS in the region. Although the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) causes larger anomalies relative to the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Timor coral-based SST and SSS records robustly correlate with IOD on interannual time scales, whereas ENSO only modifies Timor SST. Similarly, Timor SST and SSS are strongly linked to Indian Ocean decadal-scale variations that appear to lead Timor oceanographic conditions by about 1.6–2 years. Our study sheds new light on the complex signatures of Indo-Pacific climate modes on SST and SSS dynamics of the ITF.

Description: The Vøring Plateau off mid-Norway is a volcanic passive margin, located north of the East Jan Mayen Fracture Zone (EJMFZ). Large volumes of magmatic rocks were emplaced during Early Eocene margin formation. In 2003, an ocean bottom seismometer survey was acquired over the margin. One profile crosses from the Vøring Plateau to the Vøring Spur, a bathymetric high north of the EJMFZ. The P wave data were ray traced into a 2-D crustal velocity model. The velocity structure of the Vøring Spur indicates up to 15 km igneous crustal thickness. Magmatic processes can be estimated by comparing seismic velocity (VP) with igneous thickness (H). This and two other profiles show a positive H-VP correlation at the Vøring Plateau, consistent with elevated mantle temperature at breakup. However, during the first 2 Ma magma production was augmented by a secondary process, possibly small-scale convection. From ∼51.5 Ma excess melting may be caused by elevated mantle temperature alone. Seismic stratigraphy around the Vøring Spur shows that it was created by at least two uplift events, with the main episode close to the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. Low H-VP correlation of the spur is consistent with renewed igneous growth by constant, moderate-degree mantle melting, not related to the breakup magmatism. The admittance function between bathymetry and free-air gravity shows that the high is near local isostatic equilibrium, precluding that compressional flexure at the EJMFZ uplifted the high. We find a proposed Eocene triple junction model for the margin to be inconsistent with observations.

Description: Ammassalik in southeast Greenland is known for strong wind events that can reach hurricane intensity and cause severe destruction in the local town. Yet, these winds and their impact on the nearby fjord and shelf region have not been studied in detail. Here, data from two meteorological stations and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) are used to identify and characterize these strong downslope wind events, which are especially pronounced at a major east Greenland fjord, Sermilik Fjord, within Ammassalik. Their local and regional characteristics, their dynamics and their impacts on the regional sea ice cover, and air–sea fluxes are described. Based on a composite of the events it is concluded that wind events last for approximately a day, and seven to eight events occur each winter. Downslope wind events are associated with a deep synoptic-scale cyclone between Iceland and Greenland. During the events, cold dry air is advected down the ice sheet. The downslope flow is accelerated by gravitational acceleration, flow convergence inside the Ammassalik valley, and near the coast by an additional thermal and synoptic-scale pressure gradient acceleration. Wind events are associated with a large buoyancy loss over the Irminger Sea, and it is estimated that they drive one-fifth of the net wintertime loss. Also, the extreme winds drive sea ice out of the fjord and away from the shelf.

Description: In 2013, the vast majority of the monitored climate variables reported here maintained trends established in recent decades. ENSO was in a neutral state during the entire year, remaining mostly on the cool side of neutral with modest impacts on regional weather patterns' around the world. This follows several years dominated by the effects of either La Nina. or El Nino events. According to several independent analyses, 2013 was again among the 10 warmest years on record at the global scale, both at the Earth's surface and through the troposphere. Some regions in the Southern Hemispherehad record or near-record high temperatures for the year. Australia observed its hottest year on record, while Argentina and New Zealand reported their second and third hottest years, respectively. In Antarctica, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station reported its highest annual temperature since records began in 1957 At the opposite pole, the Arctic observed its seventh warmest year since record's began in the early 20th century. At 20-m depth, record high temperatures were measured at some permafrost stations on the North Slope Of Alaska and in the Brooks Range. In the Northern Hemisphere extratropics, anomalous meridional atmospheric circulation occurred throughout much of the year leading to marked regional extremes of both temperature and precipitation. Cold temperature anomalies during Winter across Eurasia were followed by warm Spring temperature anomalies, which, were linked to a new record Eurasian snow cover extent in the May. Minimum sea ice extent in the :Arctic was the sixth lowest since satellite Observations began in 1979. Including 2013, all seven lowest extents on record have occurred in the past seven years Antarctica, on the other hand, had above average sea ice extent throughout 2013, with 116 days Of new daily high extent records, inclding a new daily maximum sea ice area of 19.57 million km(2) reached on 1 October. ENSO-neutral conditions in the eastern central Pacific Ocean and a negative Pacific decadal oscillation pattern in the North Pacific had the largest impacts on the global sea surface temperature in 2013: The North Pacific reached a historic high temperature in 2013 and on balance the globally-averaged sea surface temperature was among the 10 highest on record. Overall, the salt Content in near-surface ocean waters increased while in intermediate waters it decreased. Global mean sea level continued to rise during 2013, on pace with a trend of 3,2 mm yr(-1) over the past two decades. A portion of this trend (0.5 mm yr(-1)) has been attributed to natural variability associated with the Pacific decadal oscillation as Well as to ongoing contribution from the melting of glaciers and ice sheets and ocean warming. Global tropical cyclone frequency during 2013 was slightly above average with a total of 94 storms, although the North Atlantic Basin had its quietest hurricane season since 1994. In the Western North Pacific Basin, Super Typhoon Haiyan, the deadliest tropical Cyclone of 2013, had 1-minute sustained winds estimated to be 170 kt (OS m s(-1)) on 7 November, the highest Wind speed ever assigned to a tropical cyclone. High storm surge was also associated with Haiyan at it Made landfall over the central Philippines, an area where sea level is currently at historic highs increasing by 200 mm since 1970. In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide all Continued to increase in 2013. As in previous our years, each of these Major greenhouse gases once again reached historic high Concentrations. In the Arctic carbon dioxide and methane:, Increased at the same rate as:the global increase. These increases are likely due to export from lower latitudes rather than a consequence Of increases in Arctic sources such as thawing permafrost., At Mauna Loa, Hawaii, for the first time since measurement began in 1958, the daily average Mixing ratio Of carbon dioxide exceeded 400 ppm on 9 May. The state of these variables, along with dozens of others, and the 2013 climate conditions of regions around the world are discussed in further detail in this 24th, edition of the State of the Climate series

Description: We describe the recent occurrence of a region of diminished sea ice cover or “notch” offshore of the Kangerdlugssuaq Fiord, the site of the largest tidewater glacier along Greenland's southeast coast. The notch's location is consistent with a topographically forced flux of warm water toward the fiord, and the decrease of the sea ice cover is shown to be associated with a regional warming of the upper ocean that began in the mid‐1990s. Sea ice in the vicinity of the notch also exhibits interannual variability that is shown to be associated with a seesaw in surface temperature and sea ice between southeast and northeast Greenland that is not describable solely in terms of the North Atlantic Oscillation. We therefore argue that other modes of atmospheric variability, including the Lofoten Low, are required to fully document the changes to the climate that are occurring along Greenland's east coast.

Description: The biological carbon pump (BCP) transfers carbon from the surface ocean into the oceans' interior, mainly in the form of sinking particles with an organic component, and thereby keeps atmospheric CO2 at significantly lower levels than if the oceans were abiotic. The depth at which these sinking particles are remineralized is a key control over atmospheric CO2. Particle sinking speed is likely to be a critical parameter over remineralization depth. Carbon export is usually controlled by large, rapidly sinking particles (〉150 m·d−1); however, under some circumstances sinking velocity distributions are strongly bimodal with a significant fraction of total flux being carried by slowly (〈10 m·d−1) sinking particles. Therefore, there is an interest in determining sinking particle velocities and their variations with depth, as well as in understanding the interplay between sinking velocity distributions and carbon export. Here, we use profiles of total and particulate concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclide pair 210Po-210Pb from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) site (48°N, 16.5°W) to estimate depth variation in particle sinking speed using a one-box model and inverse techniques. Average sinking speeds increase from 60 ± 30 m·d−1 at 50 m, to 75 ± 25 m·d−1 and 90 ± 20 m·d−1 at 150 and 500 m. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis suggests that at the PAP site the measured 210Po profiles are inconsistent with the usually assumed sinking velocities of 200 m·d−1. We hypothesize that a trend of increasing velocity with depth might be caused by a gradual loss of slow-sinking material with depth, a factor with significant implications for regional carbon budgets.

Description: Previous studies found a negative trend in oxygen concentrations in tropical regions during the last decades. Employing a biogeochemical circulation model, we highlight the importance of wind driven ocean transport associated with the Subtropical-Tropical Cells (STCs) in setting the oxygen levels in the tropical ocean. The observed and simulated slowdown of the STCs by 30 percent from the 1960s to the 1990s caused a decrease in oxygen transport to the tropics. Transport of phosphate was similarly reduced, decreasing export production and respiration. The effects of physical transport and biological consumption partly compensate, damping oxygen interannual and decadal variability. Our results suggest that the observed residual oxygen trend in the tropical Pacific is mainly driven by changes in oxygen transport. Accordingly, the observed recent strengthening of the STCs leads us to expect a pause in the oxygen decrease or even an increase of tropical Pacific oxygen values in the near future.

Description: In order to assess to what extent regional climate models (RCMs) yield better representations of climatic states than general circulation models (GCMs), the output of each is usually directly compared with observations. RCM output is often bias corrected, and in some cases correction methods can also be applied to GCMs. This leads to the question of whether bias-corrected RCMs perform better than bias-corrected GCMs. Here the first results from such a comparison are presented, followed by discussion of the value added by RCMs in this setup. Stochastic postprocessing, based on Model Output Statistics (MOS), is used to estimate daily precipitation at 465 stations across the United Kingdom between 1961 and 2000 using simulated precipitation from two RCMs (RACMO2 and CCLM) and, for the first time, a GCM (ECHAM5) as predictors. The large-scale weather states in each simulation are forced toward observations. The MOS method uses logistic regression to model precipitation occurrence and a Gamma distribution for the wet day distribution, and is cross validated based on Brier and quantile skill scores. A major outcome of the study is that the corrected GCM-simulated precipitation yields consistently higher validation scores than the corrected RCM-simulated precipitation. This seems to suggest that, in a setup with postprocessing, there is no clear added value by RCMs with respect to downscaling individual weather states. However, due to the different ways of controlling the atmospheric circulation in the RCM and the GCM simulations, such a strong conclusion cannot be drawn. Yet the study demonstrates how challenging it is to demonstrate the value added by RCMs in this setup.

Description: The southwestern part of the subpolar North Atlantic east of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Flemish Cap is a crucial area for the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Here the exchange between subpolar and subtropical gyre takes place, southward flowing cold and fresh water is replaced by northward flowing warm and salty water within the North Atlantic Current (NAC). As part of a long-term experiment, the circulation east of Flemish Cap has been studied by seven repeat hydrographic sections along 47 degrees N (2003-2011), a 2 year time series of current velocities at the continental slope (2009-2011), 19 years of sea surface height, and 47 years of output from an eddy resolving ocean circulation model. The structure of the flow field in the measurements and the model shows a deep reaching NAC with adjacent recirculation and two distinct cores of southward flow in the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC): one core above the continental slope with maximum velocities at mid-depth and the second farther east with bottom-intensified velocities. The western core of the DWBC is rather stable, while the offshore core shows high temporal variability that in the model is correlated with the NAC strength. About 30 Sv of deep water flow southward below a density of sigma=27.68 kg m(-3) in the DWBC. The NAC transports about 110 Sv northward, approximately 15 Sv originating from the DWBC, and 75 Sv recirculating locally east of the NAC, leaving 20 Sv to be supplied by the NAC from the south.

Description: In order to investigate production pathways of methyl iodide and controls on emissions from the surface ocean, a set of repeated in vitro incubation experiments were performed over an annual cycle in the context of a time series of in situ measurements in Kiel Fjord (54.3°N, 10.1°E). The incubation experiments revealed a diurnal variation of methyl iodide in samples exposed to natural light, with maxima during day time and losses during night hours. The amplitude of the daily accumulation varied seasonally and was not affected by filtration (0.2 µm), consistent with a photochemical pathway for CH3I production. The methyl iodide loss rate at nighttime correlates with the concentration accumulated during daytime suggesting a first-order loss mechanism (R2 = 0.29, p 〈〈 0.01). Daily (24 h) net production (Pnet) was similar in magnitude between in vitro and in situ mass balances. However, the estimated gross production (Pgross) of methyl iodide ranged from −0.07 to 2.24 pmol L−1 d−1 and was up to 5 times higher in summer than Pnet calculated from the in situ study. The large excess of Pgross over Pnet in summer revealed by the incubation experiments is a consequence of large losses of CH3I by as-yet uncharacterized processes (e.g., biological degradation or chemical pathways other than Cl− substitution).

Description: The mixed layer (ML) temperature and salinity changes in the central tropical Atlantic have been studied by a dedicated experiment (Cold Tongue Experiment (CTE)) carried out from May to July 2011. The CTE was based on two successive research cruises, a glider swarm, and moored observations. The acquired in situ data sets together with satellite, reanalysis, and assimilation model data were used to evaluate box-averaged ML heat and salinity budgets for two subregions: (1) the western equatorial Atlantic cold tongue (ACT) (23°–10°W) and (2) the region north of the ACT. The strong ML heat loss in the ACT region during the CTE was found to be the result of the balance of warming due to net surface heat flux and cooling due to zonal advection and diapycnal mixing. The northern region was characterized by weak cooling and the dominant balance of net surface heat flux and zonal advection. A strong salinity increase occurred at the equator, 10°W, just before the CTE. During the CTE, ML salinity in the ACT region slightly increased. Largest contributions to the ML salinity budget were zonal advection and the net surface freshwater flux. While essential for the ML heat budget in the ACT region, diapycnal mixing played only a minor role for the ML salinity budget. In the region north of the ACT, the ML freshened at the beginning of the CTE due to precipitation, followed by a weak salinity increase. Zonal advection changed sign contributing to ML freshening at the beginning of the CTE and salinity increase afterward.

Description: Five years of oxygen isotope and hydrological surveys reveal interannual variations in the inventory and distribution of river water over the Laptev Sea. In 2007, 2009, and 2010 relatively low amounts of river water (≤1500 km3) were found and were mostly located in the southeastern Laptev Sea. In 2008 and 2011, high amounts of river water (~1600 km3 and ~2000 km3) were found, especially in the central and northern part of the shelf, suggesting a northward export of this water. This temporal pattern is coherent with the summer Arctic Dipole index that was higher in 2008 and 2011. Our results suggest that the Arctic Dipole might influence the export of river water from the Laptev Sea. Moreover, the river water inventory in the Laptev Sea seems related to the freshwater content of the Arctic Ocean with a 2 years lag.

Description: Aeolian dust is a key aspect of the climate system. Dust can modify the Earth's energy budget, provide long-range transport of nutrients, and influence land surface processes via erosion. Consequently, effective modeling of the climate system, particularly at regional scales, requires a reasonably accurate representation of dust emission, transport, and deposition. Here we evaluate African dust in 23 state-of-the-art global climate models used in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We find that all models fail to reproduce basic aspects of dust emission and transport over the second half of the twentieth century. The models systematically underestimate dust emission, transport, and optical depth, and year-to-year changes in these properties bear little resemblance to observations. These findings cast doubt on the ability of these models to simulate the regional climate and the response of African dust to future climate change. Key Points: - CMIP5 models underestimate African dust emission and transport - The dust size distribution is biased toward small particles in CMIP5 models - CMIP5 models do not represent coupled processes that involve African dust

Description: The radiogenic isotope composition of neodymium (Nd) and strontium (Sr) are useful tools to investigate present and past oceanic circulation or input of terrigenous material. We present Nd and Sr isotope compositions extracted from different sedimentary phases, including early diagenetic Fe-Mn coatings, ‘‘unclean’’ foraminiferal shells, fossil fish teeth, and detritus of marine surface sediments (core-tops) covering the entire midlatitude South Pacific. Comparison of detrital Nd isotope compositions to deep water values from the same locations suggests that "boundary exchange" has little influence on the Nd isotope composition of western South Pacific seawater. Concentrations of Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Al/Ca ratios of "unclean" planktonic foraminifera suggest that this phase is a reliable recorder of seawater Nd isotope composition. The signatures obtained from fish teeth and "nondecarbonated" leachates of bulk sediment Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide coatings also agree with "unclean" foraminifera. Direct comparison of Nd isotope compositions extracted using these methods with seawater Nd isotope compositions is complicated by the low accumulation rates yielding radiocarbon ages of up to 24 kyr, thus mixing the signal of different ocean circulation modes. This suggests that different past seawater Nd isotope compositions have been integrated in authigenic sediments from regions with low sedimentation rates. Combined detrital Nd and Sr isotope signatures indicate a dominant role of the Westerly winds transporting lithogenic material from South New Zealand and Southeastern Australia to the open South Pacific. The proportion of this material decreases toward the east, where supply from the Andes increases and contributions from Antarctica cannot be ruled out.

Description: A numerical ocean sea-ice model is used to demonstrate that Arctic sea ice retreat affects momentum transfer into the ocean. A thinner and thus weaker ice cover is more easily forced by the wind, which increases the momentum flux. In contrast, increasing open water reduces momentum transfer because the ice surface provides greater drag than the open water surface. We introduce the concept of optimal ice concentration: momentum transfer increases with increasing ice concentration up to a point, beyond which frictional losses by floe interaction damp the transfer. For a common ice internal stress formulation, a concentration of 80–90% yields optimal amplification of momentum flux into the ocean. We study the seasonality and long-term evolution of Arctic Ocean surface stress over the years 1979–2012. Spring and fall feature optimal ice conditions for momentum transfer, but only in fall is the wind forcing at its maximum, yielding a peak basin-mean ocean surface stress of ∼0.08 N/m2. Since 1979, the basin-wide annual mean ocean surface stress has been increasing by 0.004 N/m2/decade, and since 2000 by 0.006 N/m2/decade. In contrast, summertime ocean surface stress has been decreasing at −0.002 N/m2/decade. These trends are linked to the weakening of the ice cover in fall, winter and spring, and to an increase in open water fraction in summer, i.e., changes in momentum transfer rather than changes in wind forcing. In most areas, the number of days per year with optimal ice concentration is decreasing. Key Points Weaker Arctic sea ice causes increased annual mean ocean surface stress (+20%) Increasing open water area in summer yields momentum flux reduction (−7%) An optimal ice concentration of 80–90% amplifies momentum transfer threefold

Description: Axial volcanic ridges (AVRs) are found on most slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges and are thought to be the main locus of volcanism there. In this study we present high-resolution mapping of a typical, well-defined AVR on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45°N. The AVR is characterized by “hummocky terrain,” composed typically of hummocks with pillowed or elongate pillowed flanks with pillowed or lobate lava flow summits, often with small haystacks sitting on their highest points. The AVR is surrounded by several areas of “flat seafloor,” composed of lobate and sheet lava flows. The spatial and morphological differences between these areas indicate different eruption processes operating on and off the AVR. Volcanic fissures are found all around and on the AVR, although those with the greatest horizontal displacement are found on the ridge crest and flat seafloor. Clusters of fissures may represent volcanic vents. Extremely detailed comparisons of sediment coverage and examination of contact relations around the AVR suggest that many of the areas of flat seafloor are of a similar age or younger than the hummocky terrain of the AVR. Additionally, all the lavas surveyed have similar degrees of sediment cover, suggesting that the AVR was either built or resurfaced in the same 50 ka time frame as the flat seafloor.

Description: Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and large-scale rapid release of methane from hydrate may have contributed to past abrupt climate change inferred from the geological record. The discovery in 2008 of over 250 plumes of methane gas escaping from the seabed of the West Svalbard continental margin at ~400 m water depth (mwd) suggests that hydrate is dissociating in the present-day Arctic. Here we model the dynamic response of hydrate-bearing sediments over a period of 2300 years and investigate ocean warming as a possible cause for present-day and likely future dissociation of hydrate, within 350–800 mwd, west of Svalbard. Future temperatures are given by two climate models, HadGEM2 and CCSM4, and scenarios, Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 8.5 and 2.6. Our results suggest that over the next three centuries 5.3–29 Gg yr−1 of methane may be released to the Arctic Ocean on the West Svalbard margin.

Description: Understanding the pre-anthropogenic Pb cycle of central North Pacific deep water has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, partly because of its unique geographical location in that it is a remote gyre system characterized by high dust fluxes and sluggish overturning circulation. However, the factors controlling Pb isotope evolution in this area over the Cenozoic are still controversial and various mechanisms have been proposed in previous studies. Here we report new Pb and Nd isotope time series of four ferromanganese crusts (two from the western Pacific near the Mariana arc and the other two from the central Pacific). Together with previously published records, we discuss for the first time the significance of a persistent and systematic Pb isotopic provinciality recorded by central North Pacific crusts over the Cenozoic. We propose that globally well mixed stratosphere volcanic aerosols could contribute Pb but have not been the major factors controlling the Pb isotope distribution in the central North Pacific over time. Island arc input (and probably enhanced hydrothermal input between about 45 and 20 Ma) likely controlled the Pb isotope provinciality and evolution prior to ~20 Ma, when coeval Pb isotope records in different crusts showed large differences and atmospheric silicate dust flux was extremely low. After the Eocene, in particular after 20 Ma, Asian dust input has become an isotopically resolvable source, while island arc-derived Pb has remained important to balance the dust input and to produce the observed Pb isotope distribution in the central North Pacific during this period.

Description: A realistic primitive-equation model of the Southern Ocean at eddying spatial resolution is used to examine the effect of ocean-surface-velocity dependence of the wind stress on the strength of near-inertial oscillations. Accounting for the ocean-surface-velocity dependence of the wind stress leads to a large reduction of wind-induced near-inertial energy of approximately 40 percent and of wind power input into the near-inertial frequency band of approximately 20 percent. A large part of this reduction can be explained by the leading-order modification to the wind stress if the ocean-surface velocity is included. The strength of the reduction is shown to be modulated by the inverse of the ocean-surface-mixed-layer depth. We conclude that the effect of surface-velocity dependence of the wind stress should be taken into account when estimating the wind-power input into the near-inertial frequency band and when estimating near-inertial energy levels in the ocean due to wind forcing.

Description: Stratospheric ozone depletion and emission of greenhouse gases lead to a trend of the southern annular mode (SAM) toward its high-index polarity. The positive phase of the SAM is characterized by stronger than usual westerly winds that induce changes in the physical carbon transport. Changes in the natural carbon budget of the upper 100 m of the Southern Ocean in response to a positive SAM phase are explored with a coupled ecosystem-general circulation model and regression analysis. Previously overlooked processes that are important for the upper ocean carbon budget during a positive SAM period are identified, namely, export production and downward transport of carbon north of the polar front (PF) as large as the upwelling in the south. The limiting micronutrient iron is brought into the surface layer by upwelling and stimulates phytoplankton growth and export production but only in summer. This leads to a drawdown of carbon and less summertime outgassing (or more uptake) of natural CO2. In winter, biological mechanisms are inactive, and the surface ocean equilibrates with the atmosphere by releasing CO2. In the annual mean, the upper ocean region south of the PF loses more carbon by additional export production than by the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, highlighting the role of the biological carbon pump in response to a positive SAM event.

Description: We combined data sets of measured sedimentary calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and satellite-derived pelagic primary production to parameterize the relation between CaCO3 content on the Antarctic shelves and primary production in the overlying water column. CaCO3 content predicted in this way was in good agreement with the measured data. The parameterization was then used to chart CaCO3 content on the Antarctic shelves all around the Antarctic, using the satellite-derived primary production. The total inventory of CaCO3 in the bioturbated layer of Antarctic shelf sediments was estimated to be 0.5 Pg C. This quantity is comparable to the total CO2 uptake by the Southern Ocean in only one to a few years (dependent on the uptake estimate and area considered), indicating that the dissolution of these carbonates will neither delay ocean acidification in this area nor augment the Southern Ocean CO2 uptake capacity.

Description: The tropospheric response to sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) is analyzed in an idealized model setup regarding the respective roles of planetary-scale and synoptic-scale waves. The control model run includes a full interactive wave spectrum, while a second run includes interactive planetary-scale waves but only the time-mean synoptic-scale wave forcing from the control run. In both runs, the tropospheric response is characterized by the negative phase of the respective tropospheric annular mode. But given their different latitudinal structure, the control run shows the expected response, i.e., an equatorward shift of the tropospheric jet, whereas the response in the absence of interactive synoptic eddies is characterized by a poleward jet shift. This opposite jet shift is associated with a different planetary wave variability that couples with the zonal flow between the stratosphere and the surface. These results indicate that the synoptic eddy feedback is necessary for the observed tropospheric response to SSWs.

Description: At 8:04 P.M. Pacific daylight time (PDT) on 27 October 2012 (03:04 universal time (UT), 28 October), Canada's second largest instrumentally recorded earthquake rocked Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) and the mainland coast of British Columbia. The M 7.7 event off the west coast of Moresby Island caused a tsunami with local runup of more than 7 meters and amplitudes up to 0.8 meter on tide gauges 4000 kilometers away in Hawaii. Shaking was felt as far away as the Yukon, Alberta, Washington, and Montana, up to 1500 kilometers away. Little damage was caused, as the immediate region is an uninhabited National Park Reserve. The closest point of the rupture zone, as defined by aftershocks (Figures 1a and 1c), was 50 kilometers from the nearest community, Queen Charlotte, where damage was confined to a few chimneys and slumped roads.

Description: [1] To assess the temporal variability in the methane fluxes from marine sediments that overly gas hydrate bearing sediments and the factors that might control its rate, in situ methane concentrations were measured near Bullseye Vent on the Northern Cascadia continental margin. A long-term sampling device collected overlying water and pore-fluid samples from 25 cm above seafloor, at the sediment-water interface (SWI), and 7 cmbsf (centimeters below seafloor) over a 9 month period (August 2009–May 2010). These samples provide a record at ∼4 day resolution of in situ methane, ethane, propane, sulfate, and chloride concentrations, as well as stable carbon isotope ratios of methane (δ13C-CH4) and dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13C-DIC). We show that pore fluids near the SWI are saturated or supersaturated with respect to methane (∼80 mM) and the methane flux from the seabed is variable over time. We hypothesized that regional seismic activity controlled this variable CH4 flux in the Northern Cascadia continental margin setting. However, we found no direct correlation between earthquakes and CH4 flux. We also posited alternative controls on CH4 flux variability, such as storms, regional oceanography and microbial activity. Again, no direct correlation was seen. This study takes first steps toward exploring which physical factors play a role in methane flux from hydrate-bearing sediments.

Description: The Denmark Strait Overflow (DSO) supplies about one-third of the North Atlantic Deep Water and is critical to global thermohaline circulation. Knowledge of the pathways of DSO through the Irminger Basin and its transformation there is still incomplete, however. The authors deploy over 10 000 Lagrangian particles at the Denmark Strait in a high-resolution ocean model to study these issues. First, the particle trajectories show that the mean position and potential density of dense waters cascading over the Denmark Strait sill evolve consistently with hydrographic observations. These sill particles transit the Irminger Basin to the Spill Jet section (65.25°N) in 5–7 days and to the Angmagssalik section (63.5°N) in 2–3 weeks. Second, the dense water pathways on the continental shelf are consistent with observations and particles released on the shelf in the strait constitute a significant fraction of the dense water particles recorded at the Angmagssalik section within 60 days (~25%). Some particles circulate on the shelf for several weeks before they spill off the shelf break and join the overflow from the sill. Third, there are two places where the water density following particle trajectories decreases rapidly due to intense mixing: to the southwest of the sill and southwest of the Kangerdlugssuaq Trough on the continental slope. After transformation in these places, the overflow particles exhibit a wide range of densities.

Description: Quantile mapping is routinely applied to correct biases of regional climate model simulations compared to observational data. If the observations are of similar resolution as the regional climate model, quantile mapping is a feasible approach. However, if the observations are of much higher resolution, quantile mapping also attempts to bridge this scale mismatch. Here, it is shown for daily precipitation that such quantile mapping-based downscaling is not feasible but introduces similar problems as inflation of perfect prognosis ("prog") downscaling: the spatial and temporal structure of the corrected time series is misrepresented, the drizzle effect for area means is overcorrected, area-mean extremes are overestimated, and trends are affected. To overcome these problems, stochastic bias correction is required.

Description: Transient tracer measurements can constrain the rates and pathways of ocean ventilation and act as proxies for biogeochemically relevant gases such as CO2 and oxygen. Various techniques have deduced changes in ocean ventilation over decadal timescales using transient tracer measurements made on repeat sections, but these require a priori assumptions about mixing in the ocean interior. Here, we introduce a simple, direct observational method that takes advantage of the similar atmospheric increase rates of chlorofluorocarbon-12 and sulfur hexafluoride, but with a time lag (offset) of 1415 years. Such repeat measurements can be directly compared without prior assumptions about mixing. A difference larger than similar to 2 years between modern sulfur hexafluoride and historical chlorofluorocarbon-12 tracer ages implies a change in ventilation, although lack of difference does not necessarily imply no change. Several tracer data sets are presented, which suggest changes in ventilation in the South Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.