Shropshire, T., Morey, S. L., Chassignet, E. P., Bozec, A., Coles, V. J., Landry, M. R., et al. (2019). Quantifying spatiotemporal variability in zooplankton dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico with a physical-biogeochemical model.
Abstract: Zooplankton play an important role in global biogeochemistry and their secondary production supports valuable fisheries of the world's oceans. Currently, zooplankton abundances cannot be estimated using remote sensing techniques. Hence, coupled physical-biogeochemical models (PBMs) provide an important tool for studying zooplankton on regional and global scales. However, evaluating the accuracy of zooplankton abundance estimates from PBMs has been a major challenge as a result of sparse observations. In this study, we configure a PBM for the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) from 1993�2012 and validate the model against an extensive combination of in situ biomass and rate measurements including total mesozooplankton biomass, size-fractionated mesozooplankton biomass and grazing rates, microzooplankton specific grazing rates, surface chlorophyll, deep chlorophyll maximum depth, phytoplankton specific growth rates, and net primary production. Spatial variability in mesozooplankton biomass climatology observed in a multi-decadal database for the northern GoM is well resolved by the model with a statistically significant (p < 0.01) correlation of 0.90. Mesozooplankton secondary production for the region averaged 66 + 8 mt C yr−1 equivalent to approximately 10 % of NPP and ranged from 51 to 82 mt C yr−1. In terms of diet, model results from the shelf regions suggest that herbivory is the dominant feeding mode for small mesozooplankton (< 1-mm) whereas larger mesozooplankton are primarily carnivorous. However, in open-ocean, oligotrophic regions, both groups of mesozooplankton have proportionally greater reliance on heterotrophic protists as a food source. This highlights the important role of microbial and protistan food webs in sustaining mesozooplankton biomass in the GoM which serves as the primary food source for early life stages of many commercially-important fish species, including tuna.
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Xu, X., Chassignet, E. P., Firing, Y. L., & Donohue, K. (2020). Antarctic Circumpolar Current transport through Drake Passage: What can we learn from comparing high-resolution model results to observations? J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 125(7).
Abstract: Uncertainty exists in the time‐mean total transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), the world�s strongest ocean current. The two most recent observational programs in Drake Passage, DRAKE and cDrake, yielded transports of 141 and 173.3 Sv, respectively. In this paper, we use a realistic 1/12° global ocean simulation to interpret these observational estimates and reconcile their differences. We first show that the modeled ACC transport in the upper 1000 m is in excellent agreement with repeat shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (SADCP) transects and that the exponentially decaying transport profile in the model is consistent with the profile derived from repeat hydrographic data. By further comparing the model results to the cDrake and DRAKE observations, we argue that the modeled 157.3 Sv transport, i.e. approximately the average of the cDrake and DRAKE estimates, is actually representative of the time‐mean ACC transport through the Drake Passage. The cDrake experiment overestimated the barotropic contribution in part because the array undersampled the deep recirculation southwest of the Shackleton Fracture Zone, whereas the surface geostrophic currents used in the DRAKE estimate yielded a weaker near‐surface transport than implied by the SADCP data. We also find that the modeled baroclinic and barotropic transports are not correlated, thus monitoring either baroclinic or barotropic transport alone may be insufficient to assess the temporal variability of the total ACC transport.
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Magar, V., Godínez, V. M., Gross, M. S., López-Mariscal, M., Bermúdez-Romero, A., Candela, J., et al. (2020). In-stream Energy by Tidal and Wind-driven Currents: An Analysis for the Gulf of California.
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Bashmachnikov, I. L., Fedorov, A. M., Vesman, A. V., Belonenko, T. V., & Dukhovskoy, D. S. (2019). Thermohaline convection in the subpolar seas of the North Atlantic from satellite and in situ observations. Part 2: indices of intensity of deep convection.16(1), 191–201.
Abstract: Variation in locations of the maximum development of deep convection in the subpolar seas, taking into account their small dimensions, represent difficulty in identifying its interannual variability from usually sparse in situ data. In this work, the interannual variability of the maximum convection depth, is obtained using one of the most complete datasets ARMOR, which combines in situ and satellite data. The convection depths, derived from ARMOR, are used for testing the efficiency of two indices of convection intensity: (1) sea-level anomalies from satellite altimetry and (2) the integral water density in the areas of the most frequent development of deep convection. The first index, capturing some details, shows low correlations with the interannual variability of the deep convection intensity. The second index shows high correlation with the deep convection intensity in the Greenland, Irminger and Labrador seas. Asynchronous variations in the deep convection intensity in the Labrador-Irminger seas and in the Greenland Sea are obtained. In the Labrador and in the Irminger seas, the quasi-seven-year variations in the convection intensity are identified.
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Gentemann, C. L., Clayson, C. A., Brown, S., Lee, T., Parfitt, R., Farrar, J. T., et al. (2020). FluxSat: Measuring the Ocean-Atmosphere Turbulent Exchange of Heat and Moisture from Space. Remote Sensing, 12(11), 1796.
Abstract: Recent results using wind and sea surface temperature data from satellites and high-resolution coupled models suggest that mesoscale ocean-atmosphere interactions affect the locations and evolution of storms and seasonal precipitation over continental regions such as the western US and Europe. The processes responsible for this coupling are difficult to verify due to the paucity of accurate air-sea turbulent heat and moisture flux data. These fluxes are currently derived by combining satellite measurements that are not coincident and have differing and relatively low spatial resolutions, introducing sampling errors that are largest in regions with high spatial and temporal variability. Observational errors related to sensor design also contribute to increased uncertainty. Leveraging recent advances in sensor technology, we here describe a satellite mission concept, FluxSat, that aims to simultaneously measure all variables necessary for accurate estimation of ocean-atmosphere turbulent heat and moisture fluxes and capture the effect of oceanic mesoscale forcing. Sensor design is expected to reduce observational errors of the latent and sensible heat fluxes by almost 50%. FluxSat will improve the accuracy of the fluxes at spatial scales critical to understanding the coupled ocean-atmosphere boundary layer system, providing measurements needed to improve weather forecasts and climate model simulations.
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Zou, M., Xiong, X., Wu, Z., Li, S., Zhang, Y., & Chen, L. (2019). Increase of Atmospheric Methane Observed from Space-Borne and Ground-Based Measurements. Remote Sensing, 11(8).
Abstract: It has been found that the concentration of atmospheric methane (CH4) has rapidly increased since 2007 after a decade of nearly constant concentration in the atmosphere. As an important greenhouse gas, such an increase could enhance the threat of global warming. To better quantify this increasing trend, a novel statistic method, i.e. the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) method, was used to analyze the CH4 trends from three different measurements: the mid-upper tropospheric CH4 (MUT) from the space-borne measurements by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), the CH4 in the marine boundary layer (MBL) from NOAA ground-based in-situ measurements, and the column-averaged CH4 in the atmosphere (X-CH4) from the ground-based up-looking Fourier Transform Spectrometers at Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) and the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). Comparison of the CH4 trends in the mid-upper troposphere, lower troposphere, and the column average from these three data sets shows that, overall, these trends agree well in capturing the abrupt CH4 increase in 2007 (the first peak) and an even faster increase after 2013 (the second peak) over the globe. The increased rates of CH4 in the MUT, as observed by AIRS, are overall smaller than CH4 in MBL and the column-average CH4. During 2009-2011, there was a dip in the increase rate for CH4 in MBL, and the MUT-CH4 increase rate was almost negligible in the mid-high latitude regions. The increase of the column-average CH4 also reached the minimum during 2009-2011 accordingly, suggesting that the trends of CH4 are not only impacted by the surface emission, however that they also may be impacted by other processes like transport and chemical reaction loss associated with [OH]. One advantage of the EEMD analysis is to derive the monthly rate and the results show that the frequency of the variability of CH4 increase rates in the mid-high northern latitude regions is larger than those in the tropics and southern hemisphere.
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Fender, C. K., Kelly, T. B., Guidi, L., Ohman, M. D., Smith, M. C., & Stukel, M. R. (2019). Investigating Particle Size-Flux Relationships and the Biological Pump Across a Range of Plankton Ecosystem States From Coastal to Oligotrophic. Front. Mar. Sci., 6.
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Lee, C. M., Starkweather, S., Eicken, H., Timmermans, M. - L., Wilkinson, J., Sandven, S., et al. (2019). A Framework for the Development, Design and Implementation of a Sustained Arctic Ocean Observing System. Front. Mar. Sci., 6.
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Davidson, F., Alvera-Azcárate, A., Barth, A., Brassington, G. B., Chassignet, E. P., Clementi, E., et al. (2019). Synergies in Operational Oceanography: The Intrinsic Need for Sustained Ocean Observations. Front. Mar. Sci., 6.
Abstract: Operational oceanography can be described as the provision of routine oceanographic information needed for decision-making purposes. It is dependent upon sustained research and development through the end-to-end framework of an operational service, from observation collection to delivery mechanisms. The core components of operational oceanographic systems are a multi-platform observation network, a data management system, a data assimilative prediction system, and a dissemination/accessibility system. These are interdependent, necessitating communication and exchange between them, and together provide the mechanism through which a clear picture of ocean conditions, in the past, present, and future, can be seen. Ocean observations play a critical role in all aspects of operational oceanography, not only for assimilation but as part of the research cycle, and for verification and validation of products. Data assimilative prediction systems are advancing at a fast pace, in tandem with improved science and the growth in computing power. To make best use of the system capability these advances would be matched by equivalent advances in operational observation coverage. This synergy between the prediction and observation systems underpins the quality of products available to stakeholders, and justifies the need for sustained ocean observations. In this white paper, the components of an operational oceanographic system are described, highlighting the critical role of ocean observations, and how the operational systems will evolve over the next decade to improve the characterization of ocean conditions, including at finer spatial and temporal scales.
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Domingues, R., Kuwano-Yoshida, A., Chardon-Maldonado, P., Todd, R. E., Halliwell, G., Kim, H. - S., et al. (2019). Ocean Observations in Support of Studies and Forecasts of Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones. Front. Mar. Sci., 6, 446.
Abstract: Over the past decade, measurements from the climate-oriented ocean observing system have been key to advancing the understanding of extreme weather events that originate and intensify over the ocean, such as tropical cyclones (TCs) and extratropical bomb cyclones (ECs). In order to foster further advancements to predict and better understand these extreme weather events, a need for a dedicated observing system component specifically to support studies and forecasts of TCs and ECs has been identified, but such a system has not yet been implemented. New technologies, pilot networks, targeted deployments of instruments, and state-of-the art coupled numerical models have enabled advances in research and forecast capabilities and illustrate a potential framework for future development. Here, applications and key results made possible by the different ocean observing efforts in support of studies and forecasts of TCs and ECs, as well as recent advances in observing technologies and strategies are reviewed. Then a vision and specific recommendations for the next decade are discussed.
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