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SST
Kinds of SST Terms modified by SST Selected AbstractsOrexins (hypocretins) actions on the GHRH/somatostatin-GH axisACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 3 2010M. López Abstract The secretion of growth hormone (GH) is regulated through a complex neuroendocrine control system that includes two major hypothalamic regulators, namely GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin (SST) that stimulate and inhibit, respectively, GH release. Classical experiments involving damage and electrical stimulation suggested that the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) modulated the somatotropic axis, but the responsible molecular mechanisms were unclear. Evidence obtained during the last decade has demonstrated that orexins/hypocretins, a family of peptides expressed in the LHA controlling feeding and sleep, play an important regulatory role on GH, by inhibiting its secretion modulating GHRH and SST neurones. Considering that GH release is closely linked to the sleep,wake cycle and feeding state, understanding orexin/hypocretin physiology could open new therapeutic possibilities in the treatment of sleep, energy homeostasis and GH-related pathologies, such as GH deficiency. [source] Histological and Clinical Findings in Different Surgical Strategies for Focal Axillary HyperhidrosisDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 8 2008FALK G. BECHARA MD INTRODUCTION Although a variety of different surgical strategies for focal axillary hyperhidrosis (FAH) have proven effective, little is known of intraoperative and postoperative histologies of different surgical methods. OBJECTIVE The objective was to use pre-, intra-, and postoperative histologic findings to evaluate different surgical procedures for FAH in establishing a possible correlation between the interventions and clinical outcome. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 40 patients underwent surgery with 15 undergoing liposuction-curettage (LC), 14 radical skin excision (RSE) with Y-plasty closure, and 11 a skin-sparing technique (SST). Before surgery, density and ratio of eccrine and apocrine sweat glands were evaluated with routine histology. Further biopsies were taken directly after surgery in the RSE and SST groups and 1 year postoperatively in all patients. Additionally, gravimetry was performed, side effects were documented, and patients were asked to evaluate the aesthetic outcome of the surgical method by using an analogue scale. RESULTS Preoperatively, the mean density of eccrine glands was 11.1/cm2 compared to 16.9/cm2 apocrine glands (apocrine/eccrine ratio, 1.6). Biopsy specimen directly after surgery showed remaining sweat glands in 7/15 (46.7%) LC patients and in 4/11 (36.4%) of the SST patients. One year after surgery, sweat gland density was significantly reduced in the LC (79.1%) and the SST (74.9%) groups. In the RSE group, only scar formation was present. Gravimetry showed significantly reduced sweat rates 12 months after surgery in all groups (LC, 66.4%; SST, 62.9%; RSE, 65.3% [p<.05]). Most frequent side effects were hematoma (LC, n=3; SST, n=2; RSE, n=3), subcutaneous fibrotic bridles (LC, n=8; SST, n=3; RSE, n=0), skin erosion (LC, n=3; SST, n=4; RSE, n=0), focal hair loss (LC, n=9; SST, n=11; RSE, n=14), and paresthesia (LC, n=4; SST, n=3; RSE, n=5). CONCLUSION Histologic distribution and density of sweat glands were comparable to previous studies. All three surgical procedures evaluated are effective in the treatment of FAH. RSE and SST techniques are associated with a higher risk of side effects and cause more extensive scarring. However, one LC patient (n=1; 6.7%) did not respond to treatment. [source] Somatostatin receptors and autoimmune-mediated diabetesDIABETES/METABOLISM: RESEARCH AND REVIEWS, Issue 1 2005Xaio-Ping Wang Abstract Somatostatin (SST) peptide is produced by various SST-secreting cells throughout the body and acts as a neurotransmitter or paracrine/autocrine regulator in response to ions, nutrients, peptides hormones and neurotransmitters. SST is also widely distributed in the periphery to regulate the inflammatory and immune cells in response to hormones, growth factors, cytokines and other secretive molecules. SST peptides are considered the most important physiologic regulator of the islet cell, gastrointestinal cell and immune cell functions, and the importance of SST production levels has been implicated in several diseases including diabetes. The expression of SST receptors has also been found in T lymphocytes and primary immunologic organs. Interaction of SST and its receptors is also involved in T-cell proliferation and thymocyte selection. SSTR gene-ablated mice developed diabetes with morphologic, physiologic and immunologic alterations in the endocrine pancreas. Increased levels of mononuclear cell infiltration of the islets are associated with the increased levels of antigen-presenting cells located in the islets and peripancreatic lymph nodes. Increased levels of SST were also found in antigen-presenting cells and are associated with a significant increase of CD8 expression levels on CD4+/CD8+ immature thymocytes. These findings highlight the crucial role of this neuroendocrine peptide and its receptors in regulating autoimmune functions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Prediction of sea surface temperature from the global historical climatology network dataENVIRONMETRICS, Issue 3 2004Samuel S. P. Shen Abstract This article describes a spatial prediction method that predicts the monthly sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly field from the land only data. The land data are from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN). The prediction period is 1880,1999 and the prediction ocean domain extends from 60°S to 60°N with a spatial resolution 5°×5°. The prediction method is a regression over the basis of empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs). The EOFs are computed from the following data sets: (a) the Climate Prediction Center's optimally interpolated sea surface temperature (OI/SST) data (1982,1999); (b) the National Climatic Data Center's blended product of land-surface air temperature (1992,1999) produced from combining the Special Satellite Microwave Imager and GHCN; and (c) the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis data (1982,1999). The optimal prediction method minimizes the first- M -mode mean square error between the true and predicted anomalies over both land and ocean. In the optimization process, the data errors of the GHCN boxes are used, and their contribution to the prediction error is taken into account. The area-averaged root mean square error of prediction is calculated. Numerical experiments demonstrate that this EOF prediction method can accurately recover the global SST anomalies during some circulation patterns and add value to the SST bias correction in the early history of SST observations and the validation of general circulation models. Our results show that (i) the land only data can accurately predict the SST anomaly in the El Nino months when the temperature anomaly structure has very large correlation scales, and (ii) the predictions for La Nina, neutral, or transient months require more EOF modes because of the presence of the small scale structures in the anomaly field. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Spatio-temporal distribution of albacore (Thunnus alalunga) catches in the northeastern Atlantic: relationship with the thermal environmentFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2010Y. SAGARMINAGA Abstract When the spring seasonal warming starts, North Atlantic albacore (Thunnus alalunga) juveniles and pre-adults perform a trophic migration to the northeastern Atlantic, to the Bay of Biscay and to the southeast of Ireland. During this migration, they are exploited by Spanish trolling and baitboat fleets. The present study analyzes the relationship between the albacore spatio-temporal distribution and the thermal environment. For this approach, several analyses have been performed on a database including fishing logbooks and sea surface temperature (SST) images, covering the period between 1987 and 2003. SST values and the SST gradients at the catch locations have been statistically compared to broader surrounding areas to test whether the thermal environment determines the spatial distribution of albacore. General additive models (GAM) have been used also to evaluate the relative importance of environmental variables and fleet behaviour. The results obtained show that, although juvenile albacore catch locations are affected by fleet dynamics, there is a close spatial and temporal relationship with the seasonal evolution of a statistically significant preferential SST window (16,18°C). However, differences have been identified between the relationship of albacore with SST within the Bay of Biscay in July and August (higher temperature). Such differences are found also in the spatial distribution of the catch locations; these reflect clearly the presence of two groups, differentiated after the third week of the fishing campaign at the end of June. The analysis undertaken relating the distribution of North Atlantic albacore juveniles with thermal gradients did not provide any evidence of a relationship between these catch locations and the nearby occurrence of thermal gradients. [source] Time series analyses reveal transient relationships between abundance of larval anchovy and environmental variables in the coastal waters southwest of TaiwanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2009CHIH-HAO HSIEH Abstract We investigated environmental effects on larval anchovy fluctuations (based on CPUE from 1980 to 2000) in the waters off southwestern Taiwan using advanced time series analyses, including the state-space approach to remove seasonality, wavelet analysis to investigate transient relationships, and stationary bootstrap to test correlation between time series. For large-scale environmental effects, we used the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) to represent the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO); for local hydrographic conditions, we used sea surface temperature (SST), river runoff, and mixing conditions. Whereas the anchovy catch consisted of a northern species (Engraulis japonicus) and two southern species (Encrasicholina heteroloba and Encrasicholina punctifer), the magnitude of the anchovy catch appeared to be mainly determined by the strength of Eng. japonicus (Japanese anchovy). The main factor that caused the interannual variation of anchovy CPUE might change through time. The CPUE showed a negative correlation with combination of water temperature and river runoff before 1987 and a positive correlation with river runoff after 1988. Whereas a significant negative correlation between CPUE and ENSOs existed, this correlation was driven completely by the low-frequency ENSO events and explained only 10% of the variance. Several previous studies on this population emphasized that the fluctuations of larval anchovy abundance were determined by local SST. Our analyses indicated that such a correlation was transient and simply reflected ENSO signals. Recent advances in physical oceanography around Taiwan showed that the ENSOs reduced the strength of the Asian monsoon and thus weakened the China Coastal Current toward Taiwan. The decline of larval anchovy during ENSO may be due to reduced China Coastal Current, which is important in facilitating the spawning migration of the Japanese anchovy. [source] Environmental and spatial effects on the distribution of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) as inferred from data for longline fisheries in the Pacific OceanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2008NAN-JAY SU Abstract Blue marlin is distributed throughout tropical and temperate waters in the Pacific Ocean. However, the preference of this species for particular habitats may impact its vulnerability to being caught. The relationship between spatio-temporal patterns of blue marlin abundance and environmental factors is examined using generalized additive models fitted to catch and effort data from longline fisheries. The presence of blue marlin, and the catch rate given presence, are modeled separately. Latitude, longitude, and sea-surface temperature explain the greatest proportion of the deviance. Spatial distributions of relative density of blue marlin, based on combining the probability of presence and relative density given presence, indicate that there is seasonal variation in the distribution of blue marlin, and that the highest densities occur in the tropics. Seasonal patterns in the relative density of blue marlin appear to be related to shifts in SST. The distribution and relative abundance of blue marlin are sufficiently heterogeneous in space and time that the results of analyses of catch and effort data to identify ,hotspots' could be used as the basis for time-area management to reduce the amount of blue marlin bycaught in longline fisheries. [source] Temperature-dependent stock-recruitment model for walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) around northern JapanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2007TETSUICHIRO FUNAMOTO Abstract Changes in fish year-class strength have been attributed to year-to-year variability in environmental conditions and spawning stock biomass (SSB). In particular, sea temperature has been shown to be linked to fish recruitment. In the present study, I examined the relationship between sea surface temperature (SST), SSB and recruitment for two stocks of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) around northern Japan [Japanese Pacific stock (JPS) and northern Japan Sea stock (JSS)] using a temperature-dependent stock-recruitment model (TDSRM). The recruitment fluctuation of JPS was successfully reproduced by the TDSRM with February and April SSTs, and February SST was a better environmental predictor than April SST. In addition, the JPS recruitment was positively related to February SST and negatively to April SST. The JSS recruitment modeled by the TDSRM incorporating February SST was also consistent with the observation, whereas the relationship between recruitment and February SST was negative, that is the opposite trend to JPS. These findings suggest that SST in February is important as a predictor of recruitment for both stocks, and that higher and lower SSTs in February act favorably on the recruitment of JPS and JSS respectively. Furthermore, Ricker-type TDSRM was not selected for either of the stocks, suggesting that the strong density-dependent effect as in the Ricker model does not exist for JPS and JSS. I formulate hypotheses to explain the links between SST and recruitment, and note that these relationships should be considered in any future attempts to understand the recruitment dynamics of JPS and JSS. [source] Spatial distribution of the Japanese common squid, Todarodes pacificus, during its northward migration in the western North Pacific OceanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2006ATSUSHI KAWABATA Abstract The spatial distribution of Todarodes pacificus in and near the Kuroshio/Oyashio Transition Zone during its northward migration was examined by comparative surveys using two types of mid-water trawl net and supplementary squid jigging from June to July 2000. The vertical and horizontal distribution patterns varied for different body sizes in relation to the oceanographic structure. Todarodes pacificus of 1,20 cm dorsal mantle length (ML) were widely distributed from the coastal waters of Japan to near 162°E longitude, probably due to transport by the Kuroshio Extension (KE). Todarodes pacificus smaller than 10 cm ML were mainly distributed in temperate surface layers at sea surface temperatures (SSTs) >15°C near the KE meander probably because of their poor tolerance to lower temperatures and limited swimming ability. Squid of 10,15 cm ML were distributed in the offshore waters of 10,15°C SST and in the coastal waters of northern Honshu, and underwent diel vertical migrations between the sea surface at night and deeper layers during the daytime. Squid larger than 15 cm ML were distributed in the coastal feeding grounds of northern Honshu and Hokkaido until they began their southward spawning migration. They also underwent diel vertical migrations, but remained deeper at night than the squid of 10,15 cm ML; this migration pattern closely matched that of their main prey such as euphausiids. We concluded that as T. pacificus grow, they shift their distribution range from the temperate surface layer around the KE toward the colder deeper layers, above 5°C, in the Oyashio and coastal areas. [source] Environmental effects on recruitment and productivity of Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus and chub mackerel Scomber japonicus with recommendations for managementFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2005AKIHIKO YATSU Abstract We compared a wide range of environmental data with measures of recruitment and stock production for Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus and chub mackerel Scomber japonicus to examine factors potentially responsible for fishery regimes (periods of high or low recruitment and productivity). Environmental factors fall into two groups based on principal component analyses. The first principal component group was determined by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation Index and was dominated by variables associated with the Southern Oscillation Index and Kuroshio Sverdrup transport. The second was led by the Arctic Oscillation and dominated by variables associated with Kuroshio geostrophic transport. Instantaneous surplus production rates (ISPR) and log recruitment residuals (LNRR) changed within several years of environmental regime shifts and then stabilized due, we hypothesize, to rapid changes in carrying capacity and relaxation of density dependent effects. Like ISPR, LNRR appears more useful than fluctuation in commercial catch data for identifying the onset of fishery regime shifts. The extended Ricker models indicate spawning stock biomass and sea surface temperatures (SST) affect recruitment of sardine while spawning stock biomass, SST and sardine biomass affect recruitment of chub mackerel. Environmental conditions were favorable for sardine during 1969,87 and unfavorable during 1951,67 and after 1988. There were apparent shifts from favorable to unfavorable conditions for chub mackerel during 1976,77 and 1985,88, and from unfavorable to favorable during 1969,70 and 1988,92. Environmental effects on recruitment and surplus production are important but fishing effects are also influential. For example, chub mackerel may have shifted into a new favorable fishery regime in 1992 if fishing mortality had been lower. We suggest that managers consider to shift fishing effort in response to the changing stock productivity, and protect strong year classes by which we may detect new favorable regimes. [source] Modeling the influence of oceanic-climatic changes on the dynamics of Pacific saury in the northwestern Pacific using a life cycle modelFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 2004YONGJUN TIAN Abstract A life cycle model for Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) was developed to clarify the possible causes of interannual and decadal variability in its abundance. In the model, the population of saury is composed of two spawning cohorts: one spawned in the Kuroshio region during autumn,winter and the other spawned in the Kuroshio-Oyashio Transition Zone during winter,spring. The life cycle of saury was divided into six stages: namely egg, larval, juvenile, young, immature and adult stages. The life cycle model combines growth, survival, fishing and reproductive processes, in which the effects of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Kuroshio region and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on the winter-spawning cohorts, the effects of SST in the Oyashio region on the spring-spawning cohorts, and the effects of fishing on the two spawning cohorts are taken into account. Results of basic modeling, in which environments are assumed stable and the stock is affected by fishing only, shows that the interannual fluctuations in the abundance are small and could hardly explain the observed large annual changes in abundance. On the contrary, results of modeling incorporating the effects of oceanic-climatic changes corresponded well with actual interannual-decadal variations in abundance. These results suggest the following environmental effects: (1) SST in the Kuroshio region affects decadal changes in abundance; (2) ENSO events influence the survival of the winter spawning cohort and result in large interannual variations in the abundance. It is concluded that large-scale climatic and oceanic changes strongly affect the abundance of saury. [source] Differing body size between the autumn and the winter,spring cohorts of neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) related to the oceanographic regime in the North Pacific: a hypothesisFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2004Taro Ichii Abstract The neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii), which is the target of an important North Pacific fishery, is comprised of an autumn and winter,spring cohort. During summer, there is a clear separation of mantle length (ML) between the autumn (ML range: 38,46 cm) and the winter,spring cohorts (ML range: 16,28 cm) despite their apparently contiguous hatching periods. We examined oceanic conditions associated with spawning/nursery and northward migration habitats of the two different-sized cohorts. The seasonal meridional movement of the sea surface temperature (SST) range at which spawning is thought to occur (21,25°C) indicates that the spawning ground occurs farther north during autumn (28,34°N) than winter,spring (20,28°N). The autumn spawning ground coincides with the Subtropical Frontal Zone (STFZ), characterized by enhanced productivity in winter because of its close proximity to the Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front (TZCF), which move south to the STFZ from the Subarctic Boundary. Hence this area is thought to become a food-rich nursery ground in winter. The winter,spring spawning ground, on the other hand, coincides with the Subtropical Domain, which is less productive throughout the year. Furthermore, as the TZCF and SST front migrate northward in spring and summer, the autumn cohort has the advantage of being in the SST front and productive area north of the chlorophyll front, whereas the winter,spring cohort remains to the south in a less productive area. Thus, the autumn cohort can utilize a food-rich habitat from winter through summer, which, we hypothesize, causes its members to grow larger than those in the winter,spring cohort in summer. [source] Relative importance of gulf and shelf waters for spawning and recruitment of Australian anchovy, Engraulis australis, in South AustraliaFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2004W. F. Dimmlich Abstract Gonosomatic indices and egg and larval densities observed from 1986 to 2001 suggest that the peak spawning season of the Australian anchovy (Engraulis australis) in South Australia occurs during January to March (summer and autumn). This coincides with the spawning season of sardine (Sardinops sagax) and the period when productivity in shelf waters is enhanced by upwelling. Anchovy eggs were abundant throughout gulf and shelf waters, but the highest densities occurred in the northern parts of Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent where sea surface temperatures (SST) were 24,26°C. In contrast, larvae >10 mm total length (TL) were found mainly in shelf waters near upwelling zones where SSTs were relatively low (<20°C) and levels of chlorophyll a (chl a) relatively high. Larvae >15 mm TL were collected only from shelf waters near upwelling zones. The high levels of larval abundance in the upwelling zones may reflect higher levels of recruitment to later stages in these areas compared with the gulfs. The sardine spawns mainly in shelf waters; few eggs and no larvae were collected from the northern gulfs. The abundance of anchovy eggs and larvae in shelf waters increased when sardine abundance was reduced by large-scale mortality events, and decreased as the sardine numbers subsequently recovered. We hypothesize that the upwelling zones provide optimal conditions for the survival of larval anchovy in South Australia, but that anchovy can only utilize these zones effectively when the sardine population is low. At other times, northern gulf waters of South Australia may provide a refuge for the anchovy that the sardine cannot utilize. [source] An evaluation of the potential influence of SST and currents on the oceanic migration of juvenile and immature chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) by a simulation modelFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2004Tomonori Azumaya Abstract Using a salmon migration model based on the assumption that swimming orientation is temperature dependent, we investigated the determining factors of the migration of juvenile and immature chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in the North Pacific. We compared the predictions of the model with catch data of immature and juvenile chum salmon collected by Japanese research vessels from 1972 to 1999. The salmon migration model reproduced the observed distributions of immature chum salmon and indicates that passive transport by wind-driven and geostrophic currents plays an important role in the eastward migration of Asian salmon. These factors result in a non-symmetric distribution of Asian and North American chum salmon in the open ocean. The directional swimming component contributes to the northward migration in summer. The model results indicate that during the first winter Asian chum salmon swim northward against the southward wind-driven currents to stay in the western North Pacific. This suggests that Asian chum salmon require more energy to migrate than other stocks during the first winter of their ocean life. [source] Variability in the spawning habitat of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) off southern and central CaliforniaFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2003Ronald J. Lynn Abstract The spatial pattern of sardine spawning as revealed by the presence of sardine eggs is examined in relation to sea surface temperature (SST) and mean volume backscatter strength (MVBS) measured by a 150 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) during four spring surveys off central and southern California in 1996,99. Studies in other regions have shown that MVBS provides an excellent measure of zooplankton distribution and density. Zooplankton biomass as measured by survey net tows correlates well with concurrently measured MVBS. The high along-track resolution of egg counts provided by the Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler (CUFES) is a good match to the ADCP-based data. Large interannual differences in the pattern and density of sardine eggs are clearly related to the concurrently observed patterns of surface temperature and MVBS. The strong spatial relationship between sardine eggs and MVBS is particularly evident because of the large contrast in zooplankton biomass between the 1998 El Niño and 1999 La Niña. The inshore distribution of sardine spawning appears to be limited by the low temperatures of freshly upwelled waters, although the value of the limiting temperature varies between years. Often there is an abrupt offshore decrease in MVBS that is coincident with the offshore boundary of sardine eggs. Possible reasons for this association of sardine eggs and high zooplankton biomass include an evolved strategy that promotes improved opportunity of an adequate food supply for subsequent larval development, and/or adult nutrient requirements for serial spawning. Hence, the distribution of these parameters can be used as an aid for delineating the boundaries of sardine spawning habitat. [source] Tracking environmental processes in the coastal zone for understanding and predicting Oregon coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) marine survivalFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2003E.A. Logerwell Abstract To better understand and predict Oregon coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) marine survival, we developed a conceptual model of processes occurring during four sequential periods: (1) winter climate prior to smolt migration from freshwater to ocean, (2) spring transition from winter downwelling to spring/summer upwelling, (3) the spring upwelling season and (4) winter ocean conditions near the end of the maturing coho's first year at sea. We then parameterized a General Additive Model (GAM) with Oregon Production Index (OPI) coho smolt-to-adult survival estimates from 1970 to 2001 and environmental data representing processes occurring during each period (presmolt winter SST, spring transition date, spring sea level, and post-smolt winter SST). The model explained a high and significant proportion of the variation in coho survival (R2 = 0.75). The model forecast of 2002 adult survival rate ranged from 4 to 8%. Our forecast was higher than predictions based on the return of precocious males (,jacks'), and it won't be known until fall 2002 which forecast is most accurate. An advantage to our environmentally based predictive model is the potential for linkages with predictive climate models, which might allow for forecasts more than 1 year in advance. Relationships between the environmental variables in the GAM and others (such as the North Pacific Index and water column stratification) provided insight into the processes driving production in the Pacific Northwest coastal ocean. Thus, coho may be a bellwether for the coastal environment and models such as ours may apply to populations of other species in this habitat. [source] Decadal-scale variability in the Kuroshio marine ecosystem in winterFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4-5 2003Kaoru Nakata Abstract Interannual variation of winter copepod biomass during the last three decades of the twentieth century was examined in the Kuroshio, off central Japan in relation to climate regime shifts. The biomass levels of large copepods in the period before 1977 and in 1999 and 2000 were higher than those in the period between 1977 and 1998. The biomass of large copepods was positively related with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), in winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which also showed steplike shifts in 1976/77 and 1998/99. The biomass of large copepods was largely influenced by abundance of Calanus sinicus that has high rates of production compared with small copepods under food satiated conditions. Accordingly, the climatic regime shift accompanied by the climatic change in the tropical region seems to regulate interannual variation of winter biomass of large copepods in the Kuroshio through effects on food supply. There is less decadal variablity in the small copepod (SC) biomass than large copepod (LC) biomass, but more variablity in SC than in LC at periods 2,4 years. In contrast to the large copepods, the biomass of small copepods was not related to global climate indices but with the local climate factors such as SST in the Kuroshio and variability in the Kuroshio flow path. Causes for the differences in the biomass trends between large and small copepods are discussed. [source] Spatial correlation patterns in coastal environmental variables and survival rates of salmon in the north-east Pacific OceanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2002Franz J. Mueter We examined spatial correlations for three coastal variables [upwelling index, sea surface temperature (SST), and sea surface salinity (SSS)] that might affect juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) during their early marine life. Observed correlation patterns in environmental variables were compared with those in survival rates of pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), and sockeye (O. nerka) salmon stocks to help identify appropriate variables to include in models of salmon productivity. Both the upwelling index and coastal SST were characterized by strong positive correlations at short distances, which declined slowly with distance in the winter months, but much more rapidly in the summer. The SSS had much weaker and more variable correlations at all distances throughout the year. The distance at which stations were no longer correlated (spatial decorrelation scale) was largest for the upwelling index (> 1000 km), intermediate for SST (400,800 km in summer), and shortest for SSS (< 400 km). Survival rate indices of salmon showed moderate positive correlations among adjacent stocks that decreased to zero at larger distances. Spatial decorrelation scales ranged from approximately 500 km for sockeye salmon to approximately 1000 km for chum salmon. We conclude that variability in the coastal marine environment during summer, as well as variability in salmon survival rates, are dominated by regional scale variability of several hundred to 1000 km. The correlation scale for SST in the summer most closely matched the observed correlation scales for survival rates of salmon, suggesting that regional-scale variations in coastal SST can help explain the observed regional-scale covariation in survival rates among salmon stocks. [source] Mid-latitude wind stress: the energy source for climatic shifts in the North Pacific OceanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2000Parrish Analyses of atmospheric observations in the North Pacific demonstrate extensive decadal-scale variations in the mid-latitude winter surface wind stress. In the decade after 1976 winter, eastward wind stress doubled over a broad area in the central North Pacific and the winter zero wind stress curl line was displaced about 6° southward. This resulted in increased southward Ekman transport, increased oceanic upwelling, and increased turbulent mixing as well as a southward expansion of the area of surface divergence. All these factors contributed to a decadal winter cold anomaly along the subtropical side of the North Pacific Current. In summer the cold anomaly extended eastward, almost reaching the coast of Oregon. The increased gradient in wind stress curl and southward displacement of the zero curl line also resulted in an increase in total North Pacific Current transport, primarily on the Equator side of this Current. Thus, surface water entering the California Current was of more subtropical origin in the post-1976 decade. Southward (upwelling favourable) wind stress and sea surface temperature (SST) in the area off San Francisco exhibit at least three different types of decadal departures from mean conditions. In association with the 1976 climatic shift, marine fishery production in the Oyashio, California and Alaska Currents altered dramatically, suggesting that these natural environmental variations significantly alter the long-term yields of major North Pacific fisheries. [source] Correlation between sea surface topography and bathymetry in shallow shelf waters in the Western MediterraneanGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2002G. Rodríguez Velasco Summary In this paper, gravimetric and altimetric data are used to assess an estimation of the sea surface topography in the Western Mediterranean Sea. This is a complex area from different points of view, due to the presence of several islands, coastal lines, shallow waters and a peculiar hydrologic equilibrium due to its proximity to the Atlantic water exchange area. First, a gravimetric geoid was computed using the least-squares collocation (LSC) procedure with the classical remove-restore technique. We also present a local mean sea surface generated from repeat ERS-1 altimeter data fitted to TOPEX. We chose this satellite because it offers a better spatial resolution than the TOPEX data. The time span used in the computations is one year. This is a useful interval for averaging out the regular seasonal variations, which are very large in this area. We present the comparisons between the gravimetric geoidal heights and the adjusted sea surface. This is a way to obtain a rough estimation of the sea surface topography (SST) since we also include the errors in the two surfaces and other oceanic signals. The differences obtained are physically reasonable with a mean of 17 cm and standard deviation (s.d.) of 39 cm. A significant similarity is observed between the features reproduced by these differences and the bathymetry in the area, suggesting some sort of correlation between both magnitudes for the studied region. If we accept such correlation, the SST may be described as a function of depth. This procedure lets us filter out the short wavelength part of the geoid from the first SST estimation. [source] Detrimental effects of recent ocean surface warming on growth condition of Atlantic salmonGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008CHRISTOPHER D. TODD Abstract Ocean climate impacts on survivorship and growth of Atlantic salmon are complex, but still poorly understood. Stock abundances have declined over the past three decades and 1992,2006 has seen widespread sea surface temperature (SST) warming of the NE Atlantic, including the foraging areas exploited by salmon of southern European origin. Salmon cease feeding on return migration, and here we express the final growth condition of year-classes of one-sea winter adults at, or just before, freshwater re-entry as the predicted weight at standard length. Two independent 14-year time series for a single river stock and for mixed, multiple stocks revealed almost identical temporal patterns in growth condition variation, and an overall trend decrease of 11,14% over the past decade. Growth condition has fallen as SST anomaly has risen, and for each year-class the midwinter (January) SST anomalies they experienced at sea correlated negatively with their final condition on migratory return during the subsequent summer months. Stored lipids are crucial for survival and for the prespawning provisioning of eggs in freshwater, and we show that under-weight individuals have disproportionately low reserves. The poorest condition fish (,30% under-weight) returned with lipid stores reduced by ,80%. This study concurs with previous analyses of other North Atlantic top consumers (e.g. somatic condition of tuna, reproductive failure of seabirds) showing evidence of major, recent climate-driven changes in the eastern North Atlantic pelagic ecosystem, and the likely importance of bottom-up control processes. Because salmon abundances presently remain at historical lows, fecundity of recent year-classes will have been increasingly compromised. Measures of year-class growth condition should therefore be incorporated in the analysis and setting of numerical spawning escapements for threatened stocks, and conservation limits should be revised upwards conservatively during periods of excessive ocean climate warming. [source] Climate,growth relationships of tropical tree species in West Africa and their potential for climate reconstructionGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2006JOCHEN SCHÖNGART Abstract Most tropical regions are facing historical difficulties of generating biologically reconstructed long-term climate records. Dendrochronology (tree-ring studies) is a powerful tool to develop high-resolution and exactly dated proxies for climate reconstruction. Owing to the seasonal variation in rainfall we expected the formation of annual tree rings in the wood of tropical West African tree species. In the central-western part of Benin (upper Ouémé catchment, UOC) and in northeastern Ivory Coast (Comoé National Park, CNP) we investigated the relationship between climate (precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST)) and tree rings and show their potential for climate reconstruction. Wood samples of almost 200 trees belonging to six species in the UOC and CNP served to develop climate-sensitive ring-width chronologies using standard dendrochronological techniques. The relationship between local precipitation, monthly SST anomalies in the Gulf of Guinea, El Niño- Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and ring-width indices was performed by simple regression analyses, two sample tests and cross-spectral analysis. A low-pass filter was used to highlight the decadal variability in rainfall of the UOC site. All tree species showed significant relationships with annual precipitation proving the existence of annual tree rings. ENSO signals could not be detected in the ring-width patterns. For legume tree species at the UOC site significant relationships could be found between SST anomalies in the Gulf of Guinea indicating correlations at periods of 5.1,4.1 and 2.3 years. Our findings accurately show the relationship between tree growth, local precipitation and SST anomalies in the Gulf of Guinea possibly associated with worldwide SST patterns. A master chronology enabled the reconstruction of the annual precipitation in the UOC to the year 1840. Time series analysis suggest increasing arid conditions during the last 160 years which may have large impacts on the hydrological cycles and consequently on the ecosystem dynamics and the development of socio-economic cultures and sectors in the Guinea-Congolian/Sudanian region. [source] Impact of CO2 concentration changes on the biosphere-atmosphere system of West AfricaGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2002GUILING WANG Abstract Vegetation dynamics plays a critical role in causing the decadal variability of precipitation over the Sahel region of West Africa. However, the potential impact of changes in CO2 concentration on vegetation dynamics and precipitation variability of this region has not been addressed by previous studies. In this paper, we explore the role of CO2 concentration in the regional climate system of West Africa using a zonally symmetric, synchronously coupled biosphere-atmosphere model. We first document the response of precipitation and vegetation to incremental changes of CO2 concentration; the impact of CO2 concentration on the variability of the regional biosphere-atmosphere system is then addressed using the second half of the twentieth century as an example. An increase of CO2 concentration causes the regional biosphere-atmosphere system to become wetter and greener, with the radiative effect of CO2 and improved plant-water relation dominant in the Sahelian grassland region and the direct enhancement of leaf carbon assimilation dominant in the tree-covered region to the south. Driven by the observed sea surface temperature (SST) of the tropical Atlantic Ocean during the period 1950,97 and with CO2 concentration prescribed at a pre-industrial level 300ppmv, the model simulates a persistent Sahel drought during the period of 1960s,1990s. The simulated drought takes place in the form of a transition of the coupled biosphere-atmosphere system from a wet/green regime in the 1950s to a dry/barren regime after the 1960s. This climate transition is triggered by SST forcing and materialized through vegetation-climate interactions. The same SST forcing does not produce such a persistent drought when a constant modern CO2 concentration of 350ppmv is specified, indicating that the biosphere-atmosphere system at higher CO2 level is more resilient to drought-inducing external forcings. This finding suggests that the regional climate in Sahel, which tends to alternate between dry and wet spells, may experience longer (or more frequent) wet episodes and shorter (or less frequent) dry episodes in the future than in the past. Our study has significant implications regarding the impact of climate change on regional socio-economic development. [source] Effect of porto-systemic shunting on NOS expression after extended hepatectomy in ratsHEPATOLOGY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Hironori Hayashi Aim:, Several surgical procedures have been developed for reducing portal vein pressure to prevent postoperative liver injury. Nitric oxide synthase expression (NOS) induced by elevation of portal vein pressure is thought to play an important role in liver regeneration, but the details are not well understood. Methods:, Rats in the control group and in the subcutaneous splenic transposition (SST) group underwent 90% partial hepatectomy. Survival and portal vein pressure were analyzed. The serum IL-6 and TNF-, levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hepatocyte proliferation and apoptosis 12 hours after hepatectomy were analyzed immunohistochemically. The protein and messenger RNA expression of inducible and endothelial NOS were analyzed using Western blotting and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Results:, The survival rate of the SST group was significantly higher. Portal vein pressure, TNF-, level and the apoptotic index were significantly lower in the SST group. Twelve hours after surgery, liver inducible NOS (iNOS) protein expression was significantly lower in the SST group. However, protein expression of endothelial NOS was not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion:, Inducible NOS expression after extended hepatectomy is related to the effects of porto-systemic shunting on the splanchnic circulation. Also, iNOS induction and concomitant nitric oxide generation appear to participate in the cytotoxicity of excessive portal pressure after extended hepatectomy. [source] El Niño Southern Oscillation link to the Blue Nile River Basin hydrologyHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 26 2009Wossenu Abtew Abstract The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationships of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices and the Blue Nile River Basin hydrology using a new approach that tracks cumulative ENSO indices. The results of this study can be applied for water resources management decision making to mitigate drought or flood impacts with a lead time of at least few months. ENSO tracking and forecasting is relatively easier than predicting hydrology. ENSO teleconnections to the Blue Nile River Basin hydrology were evaluated using spatial average basin rainfall and Blue Nile flows at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The ENSO indices were sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in region Niño 3·4 and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The analysis indicates that the Upper Blue Nile Basin rainfall and flows are teleconnected to the ENSO indices. Based on event correspondence and correlation analysis, high rainfall and high flows are likely to occur during La Niña years and dry years are likely to occur during El Niño years at a confidence level of 90%. Extreme dry and wet years are very likely to correspond with ENSO events as given above. The great Ethiopian famine of 1888,1892 corresponds to one of the strongest El Niño years, 1888. The recent drought years in Ethiopia correspond to strong El Niño years and wet years correspond to La Niña years. In this paper, a new approach is proposed on how to classify the strength of ENSO events by tracking consecutive monthly events through a year. A cumulative SST index value of ,5 and cumulative SOI value of , ,7 indicate strong El Niño. A cumulative SST index value of ,,5 and cumulative SOI index of ,7 indicate strong La Niña. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Long-term trends and cycles in the hydrometeorology of the Amazon basin since the late 1920sHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 22 2009José A. Marengo Abstract Rainfall and river indices for both the northern and southern Amazon were used to identify and explore long-term climate variability on the region. From a statistical analysis of the hydrometeorological series, it is concluded that no systematic unidirectional long-term trends towards drier or wetter conditions have been identified since the 1920s. The rainfall and river series showing variability at inter-annual scales linked to El Niño Southern Oscillation was detected in rainfall in the northern Amazon. It has a low-frequency variability with a peak at , 30 years identified in both rainfall and river series in the Amazon. The presence of cycles rather than a trend is characteristic of rainfall in the Amazon. These cycles are real indicators of decadal and multi-decadal variations in hydrology for both sides of the basin. Sea-level pressure (SLP) gradients between tropics and sub topics were explored in order to explain variability in the hydrometeorology of the basin. Sea surface temperature (SST) gradients inside the tropical Atlantic and between the tropical Atlantic and the sub-tropical Atlantic have been assessed in the context of changes in rainfall in the Amazon, as compared to northern Argentina. Trends in SSTs in the subtropical Atlantic are linked to changes in rainfall and circulation in northern Argentina, and they seem to be related to multi-decadal variations of rainfall in the Amazon. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hydrologic response of the Greenland ice sheet: the role of oceanographic warmingHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 1 2009E. Hanna Abstract The response of the Greenland ice sheet to ongoing climate change remains an area of great uncertainty, with most previous studies having concentrated on the contribution of the atmosphere to the ice mass-balance signature. Here we systematically assess for the first time the influence of oceanographic changes on the ice sheet. The first part of this assessment involves a statistical analysis and interpretation of the relative changes and variations in sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) and air temperatures around Greenland for the period 1870,2007. This analysis is based on HadISST1 and Reynolds OI.v2 SST analyses, in situ SST and deeper ocean temperature series, surface-air-temperature records for key points located around the Greenland coast, and examination of atmospheric pressure and geopotential height from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. Second, we carried out a novel sensitivity experiment in which SSTs were perturbed as input to a regional climate model, and document the resulting effects on simulated Greenland climate and surface mass balance. We conclude that sea-surface/ocean temperature forcing is not sufficient to strongly influence precipitation/snow accumulation and melt/runoff of the ice sheet. Additional evidence from meteorological reanalysis suggests that high Greenland melt anomalies of summer 2007 are likely to have been primarily forced by anomalous advection of warm air masses over the ice sheet and to have therefore had a more remote atmospheric origin. However, there is a striking correspondence between ocean warming and dramatic accelerations and retreats of key Greenland outlet glaciers in both southeast and southwest Greenland during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hydroclimatic teleconnection between global sea surface temperature and rainfall over India at subdivisional monthly scaleHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 14 2007Rajib Maity Abstract It is well established that sea surface temperature (SST) plays a significant role in the hydrologic cycle in which precipitation is the most important part. In this study, the influence of SST on Indian subdivisional monthly rainfall is investigated. Both spatial and temporal influences are investigated. The most influencing regions of sea surface are identified for different subdivisions and for different overlapping seasons in the year. The relative importance of SST, land surface temperature (LST) and ocean,land temperature contrast (OLTC) and their variation from subdivision to subdivision and from season to season are also studied. It is observed that LST does not show much similarity with rainfall series, but, in general, OLTC shows relatively higher influence in the pre-monsoon and early monsoon periods, whereas SST plays a more important role in late- and post-monsoon periods. The influence of OLTC is seen to be mostly confined to the Indian Ocean region, whereas the effect of SST indicates the climatic teleconnection between Indian regional rainfall and climate indices in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Turbulence modelling of problem aerospace flowsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 3 2006Paul G. Tucker Abstract Unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier,Stokes (URANS) and detached eddy simulation (DES) related approaches are considered for high angle of attack NACA0012 airfoil, wing,flap, generic tilt-rotor airfoil and double-delta geometry flows. These are all found to be problem flows for URANS models. For DES fifth-order upwinding is found too dissipative and the use of, for high speed flows, instability prone centred differencing essential. An existing hybrid ILES,RANS modelling approach, intended for flexible geometry, relatively high numerical dissipation codes is tested along with differential wall distance algorithms. The former gives promising results. The standard turbulence modelling approaches are found to give perhaps a surprising results variation. Results suggest that for the problem flows, the explicit algebraic stress and Menter shear stress transport (SST) URANS models are more accurate than the economical Spalart,Allmaras (SA). However, the explicit algebraic stress model (EASM) in its k,, form is impractically expensive to converge. Here, SA predictions lack a rotation correction term and this is likely to improve these results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Assessment of two-equation turbulence modelling for high Reynolds number hydrofoil flowsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 3 2004N. Mulvany Abstract This paper presents an evaluation of the capability of turbulence models available in the commercial CFD code FLUENT 6.0 for their application to hydrofoil turbulent boundary layer separation flow at high Reynolds numbers. Four widely applied two-equation RANS turbulence models were assessed through comparison with experimental data at Reynolds numbers of 8.284×106 and 1.657×107. They were the standard k,,model, the realizable k,,model, the standard k,,model and the shear-stress-transport (SST) k,,model. It has found that the realizable k,,turbulence model used with enhanced wall functions and near-wall modelling techniques, consistently provides superior performance in predicting the flow characteristics around the hydrofoil. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 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