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Tropical Oceans (tropical + ocean)
Selected AbstractsMomentum transport processes in the stratiform regions of mesoscale convective systems over the western Pacific warm poolTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 616 2006David B. Mechem Abstract Momentum transport by the stratiform components of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) during the Tropical Ocean,Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean,Atmosphere Response Experiment in December 1992 is investigated using a cloud-resolving model. The mesoscale momentum transport by the stratiform regions of MCSs is examined in two distinct large-scale flow regimes associated with the intraseasonal oscillation over the western Pacific warm pool. Model simulations for 14 December 1992 characterize the ,westerly onset' period, which has relatively weak low-level westerlies with easterlies above. Simulations for 23,24 December represent the ,strong westerly' regime, when westerlies extend from the upper troposphere to the surface, with a jet 2,3 km above the surface. In the westerly onset simulation, the extensive stratiform region of a MCS contained a broad region of descent that transported easterly momentum associated with the mid-level easterly jet downward. Thus, the stratiform regions acted as a negative feedback to decrease the large-scale mean westerly momentum developing at low levels. In the strong westerly regime, the mesoscale downward air motion in the stratiform regions of large MCSs transported westerly momentum downward and thus acted as a positive feedback, strengthening the already strong westerly momentum at low levels. Momentum fluxes by the mesoscale stratiform region downdraughts are shown to have a systematic and measurable impact on the large-scale momentum budget. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Response of mid-latitude North Pacific surface temperatures to orbital forcing and linkage to the East Asian summer monsoon and tropical ocean,atmosphere interactions,JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 8 2009Masanobu Yamamoto Abstract We present a palaeoceanographic perspective of the North Pacific during the last two glacial cycles based on U -derived palaeotemperature records of IMAGES Core MD01-2421 off the coast of central Japan and cores from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 1014 and 1016 off the coast of California. The sea surface temperature (SST) differences between ODP Sites 1014 and 1016 (,SSTnortheastern Pacific (NEP),=,SSTODP1014 , SSTODP1016) indicate the intensity of the California Current. Comparison of ,SSTNEP and the SST from Core MD01-2421 revealed anti-phase variation; high ,SSTNEP (indicating weakening of the California Current) corresponded to low SST at the Japan margin (indicating the southward displacement of the north-western Pacific subarctic boundary and weakening of the Kuroshio Extension), and vice versa. This finding suggests that the intensity of the North Pacific subtropical gyre circulation has varied in response to precessional forcing and that this response has been linked with changes in tropical ocean,atmosphere interactions. In the precessional cycle, the SST variation derived from Core MD01-2421 lags ca. 2.5,4,ka behind the variations shown by Hulu and Sanbao stalagmite ,18O records and by the pollen temperature index from Core MD01-2421, suggesting out-of-phase variations of the North Pacific subtropical gyre circulation and the East Asian summer monsoon. These findings indicate that the behaviour of interactions between tropical ocean,atmosphere dynamics and the East Asian summer monsoon may have varied in response to the precessional cycle. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The response of the coupled tropical ocean,atmosphere to westerly wind burstsTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 579 2002Alexey V. Fedorov Abstract Two different perspectives on El Niño are dominant in the literature: it is viewed either as one phase of a continual southern oscillation (SO), or alternatively as the transient response to the sudden onset of westerly wind bursts (WWBs). Occasionally those bursts do indeed have a substantial effect on the SO,the unusual strength of El Niño of 1997/98 appears to be related to a sequence of bursts,but frequently the bursts have little or no impact. What processes cause some bursts to be important, while others remain insignificant? The question is addressed by using a simple coupled tropical ocean,atmosphere model that simulates a continual, possibly attenuating, oscillation to study the response to WWBs. The results show that the impact of WWBs depends crucially on two factors: (i) the background state of the system as described by the mean depth of the thermocline and intensity of the mean winds, and (ii) the timing of the bursts with respect to the phase of the SO. Changes in the background conditions alter the sensitivity of the system, so that the impact of the bursts on El Niño may be larger during some decades than others. Changes in the timing of WWBs affect the magnitude and other characteristics of the SO by modifying the energetics of the ocean,atmosphere interactions. A reasonable analogy is a swinging pendulum subject to modest blows at random times,those blows can either magnify or diminish the amplitude, depending on their timing. It is demonstrated that a WWB can increase the strength of El Niño significantly, if it occurs 6 to 10 months before the peak of warming, or can reduce the intensity of the subsequent El Niño, if it occurs during the cold phase of the continual SO. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Potential changes in skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) habitat from a global warming scenario: modelling approach and preliminary resultsFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4-5 2003Harilaos Loukos Abstract Recent studies suggest a reduction of primary production in the tropical oceans because of changes in oceanic circulation under global warming conditions caused by increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. This might affect the productivity of medium and higher trophic levels with potential consequences on marine resources such as tropical tuna. Here we combine the projections of up-to-date climate and ocean biogeochemical models with recent concepts of representation of fish habitat based on prey abundance and ambient temperature to gain some insight into the impact of climate change on skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), the species that dominates present-day tuna catch. For a world with doubled atmospheric CO2 concentration, our results suggest significant large-scale changes of skipjack habitat in the equatorial Pacific. East of the date line, conditions could be improved by an extension of the present favourable habitat zones of the western equatorial Pacific, a feature reminiscent of warming conditions associated with El Niño events. Despite its simplicity and the associated underlying hypothesis, this first simulation is used to stress future research directions and key issues for modelling developments associated to global change. [source] Comparison of different earth radiation budget experiment data sets over tropical oceansINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Chang-Hoi Ho Abstract We compare radiation budgets derived from different Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) archives over the tropical oceans (30S and 30N) from 1985 to 1989. Two ERBE data sets are used. One is taken from the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), and the other from the combined ERBS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 9, and NOAA 10 satellites. The domain-mean all-sky outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) derived from the combined data set shows a notable change in early 1987 when NOAA 10 replaced NOAA 9. This change is also found in longwave (LW) cloud radiative forcing (CRF), all-sky shortwave (SW) radiation, and SWCRF. The ERBS, however, does not show such changes. We also examine the sensitivity of cloud,radiation interaction to the sea surface temperature (SST) of the tropical oceans. In general, each component of radiative feedbacks derived from the two ERBE data have the same sign, although they show a certain degree of discrepancy in the magnitude. The discrepancy is more notable for averaged quantities over the entire tropical oceans, particularly over the subtropics where convective activities are relatively weak. The combined data show a larger sensitivity of LWCRF and SWCRF to SST than those of the ERBS, consistent with the above results. The response of clouds to an increase in SST has a net cooling effect when using the combined data but has a net heating effect when using the ERBS data (,0.80 W m,2 K,1 versus 0.48 W m,2 K,1). Most of the discrepancies of the net CRF between the two ERBE data sets can be accounted for by the difference in the sensitivity of all-sky OLR (4.52 W m,2 K,1 versus 1.73 W m,2 K,1). Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Climate of the seasonal cycle in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceansINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2001Igor M. Yashayaev Abstract Time series of monthly sea-surface temperature (SST), air temperature (AT) and sea level pressure (SLP) were constructed from merged releases of the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS). The time series were decomposed into seasonal and non-seasonal (short and long-term) components. The contribution of the seasonal cycle to the total variance of SST and AT exceeds 80% in the mid and in some high latitude locations and reaches its peak (>95%) in the centres of subtropical gyres. In most cases, a combination of annual and semiannual harmonics accounts for more than 95% of the seasonal variability. Amplitudes of SST and AT annual cycles are highest near the western boundaries of the oceans; annual phases of SST and AT increase toward the eastern tropical oceans, revealing a southeastern propagation of the annual cycle over the Northern Hemisphere oceans. The annual cycle of AT leads that of SST by 1,3 weeks. The largest phase differences are observed in the regions of western boundary currents in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans. This is consistent with spatial patterns of integral air,sea heat fluxes. Annual phases of SST increase along the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio Current. This points to the importance of signal transport by the major ocean currents. The lowest annual amplitudes of SLP are observed along the equator (0°,10°N) in both oceans. There are three distinct areas of high annual amplitudes of SLP in the North Pacific Ocean: Asian, Aleutian and Californian. Unlike the North Pacific, only one such area exists in the North Atlantic centred to the west of Iceland. A remarkable feature in the climate of the North Pacific is a maximum of semiannual SLP amplitudes, centred near 40°N and 170°W. It is also an absolute maximum in the entire Northern Hemisphere. Analysis of phases of harmonics of SLP seasonal cycle has revealed the trajectories of propagation of the annual and semiannual cycles. Analysis of semiannual to annual amplitudes ratio has revealed the regions of semiannual cycle dominance. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Phylogeography of colonially nesting seabirds, with special reference to global matrilineal patterns in the sooty tern (Sterna fuscata)MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 11 2000John C. Avise Abstract Sooty tern (Sterna fuscata) rookeries are scattered throughout the tropical oceans. When not nesting, individuals wander great distances across open seas, but, like many other seabirds, they tend to be site-faithful to nesting locales in successive years. Here we examine the matrilineal history of sooty terns on a global scale. Assayed colonies within an ocean are poorly differentiated in mitochondrial DNA sequence, a result indicating tight historical ties. However, a shallow genealogical partition distinguishes Atlantic from Indo-Pacific rookeries. Phylogeographic patterns in the sooty tern are compared to those in other colonially nesting seabirds, as well as in the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), an analogue of tropical seabirds in some salient aspects of natural history. Phylogeographic structure within an ocean is normally weak in seabirds, unlike the pronounced matrilineal structure in green turtles. However, the phylogeographic partition between Atlantic and Indo-Pacific rookeries in sooty terns mirrors, albeit in shallower evolutionary time, the major matrilineal subdivision in green turtles. Thus, global geology has apparently influenced historical gene movements in these two circumtropical species. [source] Testing a cumulus parametrization with a cumulus ensemble model in weak-temperature-gradient modeTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 626 2007D. J. Raymond Abstract This paper prototypes a method for calibrating a cumulus parametrization against a cumulus ensemble model. The key to this technique is to run the cumulus model and the parametrization in identical ,test cells' that provide forcing typical of that seen over tropical oceans. In particular, the mean temperature profile is relaxed to a reference profile that is assumed to be characteristic of the environment of the convection. This is done by calculating the mean vertical velocity needed to balance heating due to convection, latent-heat release, and radiation with adiabatic cooling. This ,weak-temperature-gradient' vertical-velocity profile is then used to advect moisture vertically and, via mass continuity, through the sides of the test cell, entraining reference-profile air as needed. As an example, a toy cumulus parametrization used previously is altered to reproduce the dependence of rainfall rate on surface wind speed shown by the cumulus ensemble model. This alteration greatly changes the behaviour of simulated large-scale disturbances in an aquaplanet equatorial beta-plane model. In particular, increasing the slope of the curve of rainfall rate against wind speed results in the development of much greater synoptic-scale variance. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Tropical Pacific Ocean model error covariances from Monte Carlo simulationsTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 613 2005O. Alves Abstract As a first step towards the development of an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) for ocean data assimilation in the tropical oceans, this article investigates a novel technique for explicitly perturbing the model error in Monte Carlo simulations. The perturbation technique involves perturbing the surface zonal stress. Estimates of the characteristics of the wind stress errors were obtained from the difference between zonal wind fields from the NCEP and ECMWF re-analyses. In order to create random zonal wind stress perturbations, an EOF analysis was performed on the intraseasonally time-filtered difference between the two re-analysis products. The first 50 EOFs were retained and random wind stress fields for each ensemble member were created by combining random amounts of each EOF. Ensemble runs were performed using a shallow-water model, with both short forecasts and long simulations. Results show covariance patterns characteristic of Kelvin wave and Rossby wave dynamics. There are interesting differences between covariances using short forecasts and those using long simulations. The use of the long simulations produced non-local covariances (e.g. negative covariances between east and west Pacific), whereas short forecasts produced covariances that were localized by the time it takes Kevin and Rossby waves to travel over the forecast period and the scales of spatial covariance in the wind stress errors. The ensembles of short forecasts produced covariances and cross-covariances that can be explained by the dynamics of equatorial Rossby and Kevin waves forced by wind stress errors. The results suggest that the ensemble generation technique to explicitly represent the model error term can be used in an EnKF. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society [source] The ERA-40 re-analysisTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 612 2005S. M. Uppala Abstract ERA-40 is a re-analysis of meteorological observations from September 1957 to August 2002 produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in collaboration with many institutions. The observing system changed considerably over this re-analysis period, with assimilable data provided by a succession of satellite-borne instruments from the 1970s onwards, supplemented by increasing numbers of observations from aircraft, ocean-buoys and other surface platforms, but with a declining number of radiosonde ascents since the late 1980s. The observations used in ERA-40 were accumulated from many sources. The first part of this paper describes the data acquisition and the principal changes in data type and coverage over the period. It also describes the data assimilation system used for ERA-40. This benefited from many of the changes introduced into operational forecasting since the mid-1990s, when the systems used for the 15-year ECMWF re-analysis (ERA-15) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) re-analysis were implemented. Several of the improvements are discussed. General aspects of the production of the analyses are also summarized. A number of results indicative of the overall performance of the data assimilation system, and implicitly of the observing system, are presented and discussed. The comparison of background (short-range) forecasts and analyses with observations, the consistency of the global mass budget, the magnitude of differences between analysis and background fields and the accuracy of medium-range forecasts run from the ERA-40 analyses are illustrated. Several results demonstrate the marked improvement that was made to the observing system for the southern hemisphere in the 1970s, particularly towards the end of the decade. In contrast, the synoptic quality of the analysis for the northern hemisphere is sufficient to provide forecasts that remain skilful well into the medium range for all years. Two particular problems are also examined: excessive precipitation over tropical oceans and a too strong Brewer-Dobson circulation, both of which are pronounced in later years. Several other aspects of the quality of the re-analyses revealed by monitoring and validation studies are summarized. Expectations that the ,second-generation' ERA-40 re-analysis would provide products that are better than those from the firstgeneration ERA-15 and NCEP/NCAR re-analyses are found to have been met in most cases. © Royal Meteorological Society, 2005. The contributions of N. A. Rayner and R. W. Saunders are Crown copyright. [source] Ocean-atmosphere-land feedbacks in an idealized monsoonTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 576 2001C. Chou Abstract An intermediate-complexity atmospheric model coupled with a simple land-surface model and a mixed-layer ocean model is used to investigate the processes involved in an idealized monsoon occurring on a single rectangular continent. Idealized divergences of ocean heat transports are specified as an annual average ,Q-flux'. In this simple coupled configuration, the mechanisms that affect land-ocean contrast and, in turn, the seasonal movement of the continental convergence zones are examined. These include soil-moisture feedbacks: cooling of tropical oceans by ocean transpoit; ventilation, defined as the import into continental regions of low moist static-energy air from ocean regions where heat storage opposes summer warming; and the ,interactive Rodwell-Hoskins mechanism', in which Rossby-wave-induced subsidence to the west of monsoon heating interacts with the convection zone. The fixed ocean transports have a substantial impact on the continental convection. If Q-flux is set to zero, subtropical subsidence and ventilation tend to substantially limit the poleward movement of summer monsoon rainfall. When land hydrology feedbacks are active, the drying of subtropical continents disfavours continental convection even in the tropics. When ocean transports are included, tropical oceans are slightly disfavoured as regions for producing convection which, by contrast, favours continental convection. The monsoon circulation then produces moisture transport from the ocean regions that allows substantial progression of convection into the subtropics over the eastern portion of the continent. The western portion of the continent tends to have a dry region of characteristic shape. This east-west asymmetry is partly due to the interactive Rodwell-Hoskins mechanism. The ventilation is of at least equal importance in producing east-west asymmetry and is the single most important process in limiting the poleward extent of the continental convection zone. [source] Heterotrophy in Tropical Scleractinian CoralsBIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2009Fanny Houlbrèque Abstract The dual character of corals, that they are both auto- and heterotrophs, was recognized early in the twentieth Century. It is generally accepted that the symbiotic association between corals and their endosymbiotic algae (called zooxanthellae) is fundamental to the development of coral reefs in oligotrophic tropical oceans because zooxanthellae transfer the major part of their photosynthates to the coral host (autotrophic nutrition). However, numerous studies have confirmed that many species of corals are also active heterotrophs, ingesting organisms ranging from bacteria to mesozooplankton. Heterotrophy accounts for between 0 and 66% of the fixed carbon incorporated into coral skeletons and can meet from 15 to 35% of daily metabolic requirements in healthy corals and up to 100% in bleached corals. Apart from this carbon input, feeding is likely to be important to most scleractinian corals, since nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients that cannot be supplied from photosynthesis by the coral's symbiotic algae must come from zooplankton capture, particulate matter or dissolved compounds. A recent study showed that during bleaching events some coral species, by increasing their feeding rates, are able to maintain and restore energy reserves. This review assesses the importance and effects of heterotrophy in tropical scleractinian corals. We first provide background information on the different food sources (from dissolved organic matter to meso- and macrozooplankton). We then consider the nutritional inputs of feeding. Finally, we review feeding effects on the different physiological parameters of corals (tissue composition, photosynthesis and skeletal growth). [source] | |||||||||||||