Lateral Advection Research Articles

Late Glacial to Recent distribution pattern of deep-water Uvigerina species in the north-eastern Atlantic

Phases with massive abundances of Uvigerina species recorded in North Atlantic deep-sea cores were previously attributed to water mass properties or to extended high productivity during the last Glacial. We investigated the Uvigerina distribution in 53 sediment cores and 555 surface samples from the north-eastern Atlantic ranging from 30° to 70°N and 1 to 4410 m water depth. Our results showed that Uvigerina pigmea dominated in late Pleistocene assemblages whereas Uvigerina peregrina and Uvigerina peregrina parva were common during the Holocene. Uvigerina pigmea lives today in the Gulf of Guinea and South Atlantic only (9°N to 17°S), but was present up to 54°N during the Last Glacial Maximum. The species retreated north- and southwards during Termination I and disappeared in the north-eastern Atlantic off northern Portugal 6100 years ago. Uvigerina peregrina and U. peregrina parva spread out from isolated occurrences along the continental slope off western Iberia at the onset of Termination I. Uvigerina peregrina exhibited Recent abundance maxima at Goban Spur, Plateau des Landes, and the Iberian Margin. These areas are subjected to strong lateral advection by downslope transport and sediment focusing. The actual flux rate of particulate organic matter is locally raised by a factor of 4 to 5. Comparable flux rates were otherwise recorded at U. peregrina maxima under the NW-African coastal upwelling regime. The Recent distribution of U. pigmea and evidence from sediment cores show an organic carbon flux of 3.5 g C m − 2 yr − 1 as minimum for a sustainable population of this species. Alkenone, pigment and planktonic foraminiferal records from cores MD952039 and MD952040 revealed that a spring bloom dominated productivity dynamics and a balanced food particle composition of haptophyteae algae and diatoms were limiting environmental factors for U. pigmea during the Pleistocene. A widespread change from glacial to modern productivity characteristics during the last Deglaciation may have triggered the early Holocene disappearance of U. pigmea from the north-eastern Atlantic.

Buoyancy-forced circulations in shallow marginal seas

The properties of water mass transformation and the thermohaline circulation in shallow marginal seas with topography and subject to surface cooling are discussed in the context of an eddy-resolving primitive equation model and an analytic planetary geostrophic model. A unique and important aspect of the model configuration is that the geostrophic contours, or characteristics of the system, extend from a region where temperature is restored toward a uniform value, providing a source of heat, through the cooling region. This removes a degree of symmetry that has often been imposed in previous studies of deep convection. The heat loss within the marginal sea is balanced by lateral advection from the restoring region. The planetary geostrophic model shows that the basic temperature distribution can be well predicted by integrating along geostrophic contours from their entry into the marginal sea to their exit. Scaling estimates for the exchange rate and density of the waters formed within the marginal sea are derived and compare well with a series of numerical model calculations. In contrast to many previous buoyancy-forced deep convection problems, basin-scale cooling is balanced mainly by the mean flow, with mesoscale eddies serving primarily to restratify locally but not to provide a net heat flux to balance cooling. However, eddy fluxes and the mean flow are locally of comparable importance for cases with a localized patch of surface cooling.

An evaluation of 14C age relationships between co‐occurring foraminifera, alkenones, and total organic carbon in continental margin sediments

Radiocarbon age relationships between co‐occurring planktic foraminifera, alkenones, and total organic carbon in sediments from the continental margins of southern Chile, northwest Africa, and the South China Sea were compared with published results from the Namibian margin. Age relationships between the sediment components are site‐specific and relatively constant over time. Similar to the Namibian slope, where alkenones have been reported to be 1000–4500 years older than co‐occurring foraminifera, alkenones were significantly (∼1000 years) older than co‐occurring foraminifera in the Chilean margin sediments. In contrast, alkenones and foraminifera were of similar age (within 2σ error or better) in the NW African and South China Sea sediments. Total organic matter and alkenone ages were similar off Namibia (age difference TOC alkenones: 200–700 years), Chile (100–450 years), and NW Africa (360–770 years), suggesting minor contributions of preaged terrigenous material. In the South China Sea, total organic carbon is significantly (2000–3000 years) older owing to greater inputs of preaged terrigenous material. Age offsets between alkenones and planktic foraminifera are attributed to lateral advection of organic matter. Physical characteristics of the depositional setting, such as seafloor morphology, shelf width, and sediment composition, may control the age of co‐occurring sediment components. In particular, offsets between alkenones and foraminifera appear to be greatest in deposition centers in morphologic depressions. Aging of organic matter is promoted by transport. Age offsets are correlated with organic richness, suggesting that formation of organic aggregates is a key process.

Alkenone temperature records and biomarker flux at the subtropical front on the chatham rise, SW Pacific Ocean

Alkenones and a suite of sterol biomarkers were examined in two sediment trap arrays deployed at 300 m depth in subtropical and subantarctic waters to the east of New Zealand from late winter to autumn in 1996–1997. The two traps were located within 200 km of one another and the main difference between the two sites are the differential physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the different water masses in which they were situated. The alkenone-based reconstructions of water temperatures ( U 37 K ' ) were compared to the COADS monthly averaged satellite and real-time weekly temperatures for the deployment period. The records correlate well with seasonal sea surface temperatures (SST) for the 9 months of the deployment, with temperature reconstructions within 2 °C of regional monthly averages for most of the year. There are a few short periods of poorer agreement where alkenone-based reconstructions deviate by up to 4 °C in both traps. Weekly averages of satellite SST obtained during the time of the deployment indicate that these deviations were not associated with short-term changes in surface temperatures overlying the traps. These instances of poor correlation are not due to lateral advection of particles, but rather seem to reflect differences in environmental controls on alkenone-derived SSTs in the two water masses. Subantarctic traps showed deviations only to warmer than average temperatures. These occurred in early winter and late summer, during times of low lipid fluxes, suggesting that slow growth associated with light limitation may have affected unsaturation levels in the alkenones. The subtropical traps showed deviations only to cooler temperatures, which occurred in the late summer to early autumn. These biases occurred during times of highest lipid fluxes and lowest nutrients in the surface mixed-layer. Alkenone temperatures during maximum flux periods were too cool to be caused by subsurface production alone, suggesting that nutrient limitation effects may have significantly depressed alkenone unsaturation levels. Sterol biomarker associations indicate very different timing and trophic interactions between phytoplankton in the respective water masses. In subtropical waters, fluxes of dinosterol (a biomarker for dinoflagellates) peak first in the spring bloom while alkenones and diatom marker sterols respond synchronously during the main bloom event. In subantarctic waters sterol fluxes indicate a succession of phytoplankton export production in the spring bloom, whereas lipid fluxes normalized to organic flux indicate that alkenone producers were a relatively small proportion of the main spring bloom and proportionally more important when organic fluxes were lower in summer. We infer that the difference in nutrient concentrations between the water masses may drive these trophic differences and the inverse relationship between flux and the temperature response of U 37 K ' between the two sites.

Particle fluxes and organic carbon balance across the Eastern Alboran Sea (SW Mediterranean Sea)

As part of the “Mediterranean Targeted Project II—MAss Transfer and Ecosystem Response” (MTPII-MATER) EU-funded research project, particle flux data was obtained from three instrumented arrays moored along the 1°30′ W meridian in the Eastern Alboran Sea. The mooring lines were deployed over 11 months, from July 1997 to May 1998, and were equipped with sediment trap-current metre pairs at 500–700, 1000–1200 and 2000–2200 m of water depth. The settling material was analysed to obtain total mass, lithogenic, calcium carbonate, organic carbon and opal fluxes. Integrated analysis of sediment trap and current meter data with sea-surface satellite images reveals that particle flux distribution is a function of primary production, mid-water lateral advection and near bottom nepheloid input. The spreading to the east and to the south of phytoplankton-rich water from the upwelling off the Spanish coast is controlled by the position and size of the Western and Eastern Alboran gyres, and drives the seasonal arrival of biogenic material down to the sea floor. Discrete lateral advection events unrelated to vertical entries of material can also supply particulate matter at 1000–1200 and 2000–2200 m of water depth as noted at the northern and southern stations. To achieve a better understanding of the carbon cycle in the area we have attempted to constrain the production, transfer and burial of particulate organic carbon, providing the first estimates of particulate organic carbon export in the Alboran Sea. Results suggest that sea surface circulation and associated productivity signal control the efficiency of the biological pump in the area. The export production in the Eastern Alboran Sea is higher than in other Mediterranean sites, with 0.5–0.9% of the carbon fixed during photosynthesis transferred down the water column and buried in the deep sediments. In addition, a large portion is supplied by lateral advection and through a benthic nepheloid layer, which represent a significant source of organic carbon to the deep Eastern Alboran Sea.

Patchy deposits of Cenozoic pelagic sediments in the central Pacific

Export of pelagic carbonate tests from surface waters and their deposition at the seafloor plays a significant role in the CO 2 cycle and ability of the oceans to absorb atmospheric CO 2 . Sediment 2 3 0 Th and 3 He measurements have been interpreted as evidence that significant lateral advection of pelagic material occurs in the water column, leading to marked spatial variations in deposition rates and, in particular, to significant focusing of deposits on the Pacific equator. We report spatially continuous stratigraphy from two 1000 km seismic lines that show evidence of depositional anomalies near the equator. Accumulation rates were apparently enhanced locally by a factor of two, similar to the proposed modern sediment-focusing factors, but the anomalies are surprisingly patchy over the 20 m.y. period analyzed-they are not confined to an equatorial region, and they are not necessarily found on adjacent seismic profiles. These intermediate-scale anomalies are >∼100 km across and represent areas of seafloor that received more deposits for one period, less in following periods, and vice versa. Variogram analysis was used to determine how the spatial scales of deposition changed over the Neogene. The period when the spatial scale of depositional variability was largest correlates with hiatuses in drill cores, a correlation that we interpret as caused by enhanced and spatially heterogeneous carbonate dissolution at that time. The study suggests that seismic stratigraphy has the potential to reveal spatial patterns related to unsteady bottom-water flow and chemistry.

Climate Variability over the Tropical Indian Ocean Sector in the NSIPP Seasonal Forecast System

Abstract Prospects for forecasting Indian dipole mode (IDM) events with lead times of a season or more are examined using the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) coupled-model forecast system. The mean climatology of the system over the sector is reasonable, as determined from an almost-century-long run without data assimilation. However, the system presents biases, for example, too cool sea surface temperatures (SSTs), too shallow thermocline, and too strong southeasterlies along the Sumatra–Java coast in the east, and too warm SSTs, too deep thermocline, and too weak extension of the southeast trades into the Findlater jet in the west. These suggest coupling between the ocean and atmosphere is stronger, and the SST–clouds–shortwave radiation negative feedback less effective, than observed in the east with the opposite holding true in the west. Also, the negative zonal gradient in SST in the eastern equatorial basin, in contrast with the positive observed, suggests that equatorial Kelvin and Rossby coupled modes may have a different character from observed. Biases identified in the seasonal cycle, which may affect the strength and timing of IDM events, include a delayed onset of the boreal summer monsoon in the west, and a prolonged boreal summer monsoon in the east. Eight major positive IDM events occur during the almost-century-long run over a range of El Niño–Southern Oscillation phases with a tendency to occur post–El Niño/pre–La Niña. Consistent with the identified air–sea interaction biases, the cold (warm) anomaly at the east (west) pole tends to be stronger (weaker) than observed. Also, the cold anomaly extends much farther westward and is more equatorially trapped than observed; its slow westward propagation and the structure of the associated fields is reminiscent of an unstable, coupled Rossby mode with SST governed by lateral advection due to the westward displacement of the convective anomaly from the heat source. Otherwise, the life cycle of the eight-event composite is similar in seasonal phase locking and mechanisms of evolution and decay to the canonical event. For the decade from 1993 to the present, there were major positive IDM events in 1994 and 1997/98. Monthly mean SST anomalies over the western pole are well hindcast by the ocean component of the NSIPP system forced by observed surface fluxes with SST damped to observed values, and in which subsurface temperature data available in real time are assimilated; these data are very sparse over the Indian Ocean. Over the eastern pole, the SST anomalies are well hindcast except for the 1997/98 event, when it is too cool. The ensemble mean hindcast of the zonal surface wind anomaly of the central basin by the atmosphere component of the NSIPP system forced by observed SST is too weak during both events. These hindcasts provide initial conditions for the coupled system forecasts. Forecast ensembles for the decade 1993 onward, generated by the coupled system, give monthly mean SST anomalies averaged over the east and west poles of the IDM in agreement with observations at lead times of three months. The cool anomaly at the eastern pole is slightly too large in 1997/98, and the onset of the warm anomaly in 1997 is delayed by a month or so; its peak and decay are correctly timed. At lead times of six months, there is a significant deterioration in the forecast at the eastern pole with either false positive or negative alarms generated annually in boreal fall; that at the western pole remains good. These results are very encouraging and suggest that major IDM events have the potential to be forecast a season or more in advance.

Convectively Driven Mixing in the Bottom Boundary Layer

Closely spaced vertical profiles through the bottom boundary layer over a sloping continental shelf during relaxation from coastal upwelling reveal structure that is consistent with convectively driven mixing. Parcels of fluid were observed adjacent to the bottom that were warm (by several millikelvin) relative to fluid immediately above. On average, the vertical gradient of potential temperature in the superadiabatic (statically unstable) bottom layer was found to be 21.7 3 1024 Km 21, or 6.0 3 1025 kg m24 in potential density. Turbulent dissipation rates («) increased toward the bottom but were relatively constant over the dimensionless depth range 0.4‐1.0z/D (where D is the mixed layer height). The Rayleigh number Ra associated with buoyancy anomalies in the bottom mixed layer is estimated to be approximately 1011, much larger than the value of approximately 10 3 required to initiate convection in simple laboratory or numerical experiments. An evaluation of the data in which the bottom boundary layer was unstably stratified indicates that the greater the buoyancy anomaly is, the greater the turbulent dissipation rate in the neutral layer away from the bottom will be. The vertical structures of averaged profiles of potential density, potential temperature, and turbulent dissipation rate versus nondimensional depth are similar to their distinctive structure in the upper ocean during convection. Nearby moored observations indicate that periods of static instability near the bottom follow events of northward flow and local fluid warming by lateral advection. The rate of local fluid warming is consistent with several estimates of offshore buoyancy transport near the bottom. It is suggested that the concentration of offshore Ekman transport near the bottom of the Ekman layer when the flow atop the layer is northward can provide the differential transport of buoyant bottom fluid when the density in the bottom boundary layer decreases up the slope.

Using JGOFS<I> in situ</I> and ocean color data to compare biogeochemical models and estimate their parameters in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

How well do biogeochemical data sets serve to decide among models and model parameter values? Data at 21N, 31W from the French JGOFS EUMELI cruises and the SeaWiFS ocean color sensor were used to estimate parameters for three very different models of biological nitrogen flux in a water column. The three models are (1) an NPZD (Nutrients, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Detritus) model (Oschlies et al., 2000), (2) a seven-component model with two pools of dissolved organic matter and detritus with different remineralization and sinking rates (Dadou et al., 2001) and (3) a model of nutrients and phytoplankton including aggregates (Kriest and Evans, 1999). Parameters of the three models are estimated using the same sets of data within the same one-dimensional physical framework. A combination of local and nonlocal optimization methods is used. It is not easy to decide among candidate models based on their fit to the data. Parameters that mean the same thing in the three models, like the half-saturation concentration for nitrate uptake, were estimated at not very different values in different models. The model with dissolved organic matter, based on its primary production and sediment flux data time evolutions, seems to exhibit the more reasonable annual behavior. Large seasonal changes in deep nitrate data suggest an unexpected role of lateral advection and may vitiate the 1-D approach even at the EUMELI oligotrophic site. The small number of sediment trap measurements are very powerful for constraining the biological nitrogen. Ocean color data did not add extra constraining power.

Modeling the Lateral Circulation in Straight, Stratified Estuaries*

The dynamics of lateral circulation in an idealized, straight estuary under varying stratification conditions is investigated using a three-dimensional, hydrostatic, primitive equation model in order to determine the importance of lateral circulation to the momentum budget within the estuary. For all model runs, lateral circulation is about 4 times as strong during flood tides as during ebbs. This flood–ebb asymmetry is due to a feedback between the lateral circulation and the along-channel tidal currents, as well as to time-varying stratification over a tidal cycle. As the stratification is increased, the lateral circulation is significantly reduced because of the adverse pressure gradient set up by isopycnals being tilted by the lateral flow itself. When rotation is included, a time-dependent, cross-channel Ekman circulation is driven, and the tidally averaged, bottom lateral circulation is enhanced toward the right bank (when looking toward the ocean in the Northern Hemisphere). This asymmetry in the tidally averaged bottom lateral circulation may lead to asymmetric sediment transport, leading to asymmetric channel profiles in straight estuaries. For the weakly stratified model run, advection due to lateral currents is a dominant term in both the along-channel and cross-channel momentum equations over a tidal cycle and for the tidally averaged momentum equations. In the tidally averaged, along-channel momentum equation, lateral advection acts as a driving term for the estuarine exchange flow and can be larger than the along-channel pressure gradient. Therefore, it should not be ignored when estimating momentum budgets in estuaries.

Boundary Currents and Watermass Transformation in Marginal Seas*

The properties of watermass transformation and the thermohaline circulation in marginal seas with topography and subject to a spatially uniform net surface cooling are discussed. The net heat loss within the marginal sea is ultimately balanced by lateral advection from the open ocean in a narrow boundary current that flows cyclonically around the basin. Heat loss in the interior is offset by lateral eddy fluxes originating in the boundary current. The objectives of this study are to understand better what controls the density of waters formed within the marginal sea, the temperature of the outflowing waters, the amount of downwelling, and the mechanisms of heat transport within the marginal sea. The approach combines heat budgets with linear stability theory for a baroclinic flow over a sloping bottom to provide simple theoretical estimates of each of these quantities in terms of the basic parameters of the system. The theory compares well to a series of eddy-resolving primitive equation model calculations. The downwelling is concentrated within the boundary current in both a diffusive boundary layer near topography and an eddy-driven region on the offshore edge of the boundary current. For most high-latitude regions, the horizontal gyre is expected to transport more heat than does the overturning gyre.

4-D evolution of SE Asia’s mantle from geological reconstructions and seismic tomography

How the collision between India and Asia is related to processes deeper in the mantle is unclear. Here we compare geological reconstructions of block motions within Asia since ≈50 Ma with the tomographically imaged three-dimensional (3-D) morphology of subducted lithosphere to obtain insight into the spatiotemporal evolution of mantle structure. Past positions of the convergent margin show remarkable similarities with slab geometry at specific depths. The striking change in slab geometry from a linear structure beneath 1100 km to an increasingly distorted shape at depths of less than 700 km results from collision. The slab contours match the progressive deformation of Asia’s margin, including India’s indentation and Sundaland’s extrusion. Ever since the onset of collision, the Indian plate appears to have overridden its own sinking mantle and it does not seem, at present, to underthrust Tibet significantly north of the Zangbo suture. If correct, this observation would provide further evidence against models of plateau build-up involving Indian lithosphere. The tomographic images beneath India confirm that Asian deformation has absorbed at least ≈1500 km of convergence since collision began. From the match between the southeastward motion of Sundaland between 40 and 20 Ma and the principal change in slab structure between 700 and 1100 km depths, we infer that lateral advection in the mantle is small and that the sinking rate beneath Sunda was ∼2 cm/yr in the lower mantle and ∼5 cm/yr above the transition zone.

Nonlinear double-diffusive intrusions at the equator

Previous, linear analysis has suggested that observations of interleaving, quasi-horizontal layers in the equatorial oceans may be explained by double-diffusive or inertial instability. Here we describe an idealized, two-dimensional, numerical investigation of the nonlinear development of these instabilities, focusing almost exclusively on the double-diffusive case. We consider the mechanisms for equilibration and maintenance of the interleaving intrusions and perform a thorough sensitivity analysis. Nonlinearity arising from changes in diffusive regime is found to be more important than advective nonlinearity in promoting global equilibration. When variations in effective flux ratio are weak, local constraints prevent equilibration until large amplitudes are reached. When variations in flux ratio with density ratio are allowed, small-scale staircase and mesoscale intrusive instabilities coexist, leading to staircase-like intrusions with sharp, steppy interfaces. Solutions are found to equilibrate at between 3 and 13 times the amplitude where mean salinity gradients overturn. Cross-equatorial diffusivities between 20 and 400 m 2 s -1 are found in realistic cases with intrusion lengths of up to 40 km. A modified estimate of the effective cross-equatorial diffusivity based on a balance of lateral advection and vertical diffusion tends to overestimate the sensitivity to the mean horizontal and vertical gradients of salinity and underestimates the sensitivity to the vertical diffusivity but does give values within an order of magnitude of those derived from numerical experiments. For comparison, we give a single example of inertially driven interleaving layers which reach 190 km in length giving cross-equatorial heat fluxes four times larger than realistic doublediffusively driven cases. Although the inertial case is not considered in detail, we speculate that observed interleaving is more likely to be created by inertial than double-diffusive instability.

Episodic enhancement of phytoplankton stocks in New Zealand subantarctic waters: Contribution of atmospheric and oceanic iron supply

Around 30% of oceanic waters are high nitrate low chlorophyll (HNLC) where low iron levels limit algal growth. HNLC waters have mainly been studied using shipboard and lab experiments. Since 1997, remote‐sensing of phytoplankton via SeaWiFS Ocean Color has permitted monitoring of the constancy of this “HNLC condition,” i.e., spatial homogeneity and low temporal variability of chlorophyll over annual cycles. These trends can be exploited, as episodic iron inputs should be conspicuous by subsequent expression as iron‐elevated algal stocks. Subantarctic (SA) waters near New Zealand are HNLC, and the proximity of the arid Australian landmass, and the iron‐rich Subtropical Front, provide natural laboratories to detect episodic atmospheric and oceanic iron supply, respectively. Two approaches were used: Oceanic supply was inferred from episodic increases in chlorophyll concentrations in SA waters, detected using Ocean Color archives. Additional archives were used to confirm the oceanic provenance of iron supply, and identify supply mechanism(s). Atmospheric supply was assessed using data on source areas and loads for dust storms monitored in central Australia. Dust transport and its fate was assessed using air mass forward trajectories and SeaWiFS Ocean Color and Aerosol Optical Depth maps. During 1997–2001, episodic elevated chlorophyll events occurred in SA waters southeast of New Zealand. There was no evidence of these events being mediated by atmospheric iron supply; however, neither wind‐driven lateral advection or vertical mixing alone could account for these episodes. Dust storms, over this period sent plumes either into high iron SubTropical (ST) waters or into SA waters in early spring, when cells are probably light‐ rather than iron‐limited.

Reconstructing export production at the NE Atlantic margin: potential and limits of the Ba proxy

Barium (Ba), aluminium (Al), and zirconium (Zr) were measured in sediment trap material deployed at two margin settings of the NE Atlantic: the Bay of Biscaye at Goban Spur and the NW Iberian Margin. The Particulate Organic Carbon (POC)/Ba ratios of the trapped material in both margin environments are clearly higher compared to the open ocean. Although lateral advection of POC may partly explain these higher POC/Ba ratios for margin systems, it is clear that the yield of authigenic particulate Ba during organic matter degradation in the water column is lower in margin environments. In order to assess export production in margin settings we optimised transfer functions based on trapped Ba fluxes that were originally elaborated for open ocean settings. Calculations of export production based on trapped Ba flux and POC/Ba ratio were compared with calculations based on trapped POC flux only. Export production based on Ba flux show greater internal consistency amongst traps along the same mooring, suggesting that this approach has advantages over the one based on POC flux only. Estimated export productions are of the same order of magnitude as estimates of new production, but systematically fall short of the latter. This systematic discrepancy needs further investigation.

Fossil whale preservation implies high diatom accumulation rate in the Miocene–Pliocene Pisco Formation of Peru

Research Article| February 01, 2004 Fossil whale preservation implies high diatom accumulation rate in the Miocene–Pliocene Pisco Formation of Peru Leonard R. Brand; Leonard R. Brand 1Department of Natural Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Raúl Esperante; Raúl Esperante 2Geoscience Research Institute, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Arthur V. Chadwick; Arthur V. Chadwick 3Biology Department, Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, Texas 76059, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Orlando Poma Porras; Orlando Poma Porras 4 Universidad Peruana Unión, Carretera Central, km. 19, Ñaña, Lima, Peru Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Merling Alomía Merling Alomía 4 Universidad Peruana Unión, Carretera Central, km. 19, Ñaña, Lima, Peru Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2004) 32 (2): 165–168. https://doi.org/10.1130/G20079.1 Article history received: 01 Aug 2003 rev-recd: 29 Oct 2003 accepted: 10 Nov 2003 first online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Leonard R. Brand, Raúl Esperante, Arthur V. Chadwick, Orlando Poma Porras, Merling Alomía; Fossil whale preservation implies high diatom accumulation rate in the Miocene–Pliocene Pisco Formation of Peru. Geology 2004;; 32 (2): 165–168. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G20079.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Diatomaceous deposits in the Miocene–Pliocene Pisco Formation contain abundant whales preserved in pristine condition (bones articulated or at least closely associated), in some cases including preserved baleen. The well-preserved whales indicate rapid burial. The 346 whales within ∼1.5 km2 of surveyed surface were not buried as an event, but were distributed uninterrupted through an 80-m-thick sedimentary section. The diatomaceous sediment lacks repeating primary laminations, but instead is mostly massive, with irregular laminations and speckles. There is no evidence for bioturbation by invertebrates in the whale-bearing sediment. Current depositional models do not account for the volume of diatomaceous sediments or the taphonomic features of the whales. These taphonomic and sedimentary features suggest that rapid burial due to high diatom accumulation, in part by lateral advection into protected, shallow embayments, is responsible for the superb preservation of these whales, leading to a higher upper limit on phytoplankton accumulation rates than previously documented. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Modeling ocean deep convection

The goal of this study is to assess models for Deep Convection with special emphasis on their use in coarse resolution ocean general circulation models. A model for deep convection must contain both vertical transport and lateral advection by mesoscale eddies generated by baroclinic instabilities. The first process operates mostly in the initial phases while the second dominates the final stages. Here, the emphasis is on models for vertical mixing. When mesoscales are not resolved, they are treated with the Gent and McWilliams parameterization. The model results are tested against the measurements of Lavender, Davis and Owens, 2002 (LDO) in the Labrador Sea. Specifically, we shall inquire whether the models are able to reproduce the region of “ deepest convection,” which we shall refer to as DC (mixed layer depths 800–1300 m). The region where it was measured by Lavender et al. (2002) will be referred to as the LDO region. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. (1) 3° × 3° resolution. A GFDL-type OGCM with the GISS vertical mixing model predicts DC in the LDO region where the vertical heat diffusivity is found to be 10 m 2 s −1, a value that is quite close to the one suggested by heuristic studies. No parameter was changed from the original GISS model. However, the GISS model also predicts some DC in a region to the east of the LDO region. (2) 3° × 3° resolution. A GFDL-type OGCM with the KPP model (everything else being the same) does not predict DC in the LDO region where the vertical heat diffusivity is found to be 0.5 × 10 −4 m 2 s −1 which is the background value. The KPP model yields DC only to the east of the LDO region. (3) 1° × 1° resolution. In this case, a MY2.5 mixing scheme predicts DC in the LDO region. However, it also predicts DC to the west, north and south of it, where it is not observed. The behavior of the KPP and MY models are somewhat anti-symmetric. The MY models yield too low a mixing in stably stratified flows since they predict a critical Richardson number Ri(cr)=0.19 which is five times smaller than the value Ri(cr)=O(1) needed to obtain realistic ML depths. However, as discussed above, in unstable stratifications the MY models yield better results. On the other hand, the KPP model, which was motivated primarily by the need to overcome the MY “too low mixing” in stable stratification, yields at coarse resolution, no DC in the LDO region. In this respect, the GISS model, yields both a correct Ri(cr)=O(1) in stable stratification and correct results in the unstable configuration in the LDO region. (4) 1/3° × 1/3° resolution. In this case, KPP predicts mixed layer depths up to 1.7 km inside the LDO region where at coarse resolution none existed. However, the model still produces DC at locations outside the LDO region where it is not observed. However, since these regions are intermingled with very shallow mixed layer depths, the resulting mean mixed layer depths turn out to be less than 800 m almost everywhere outside the LDO region. (5) 1/12° × 1/12° resolution. In this case, KPP predicts mixed layer depths up to 3 km both inside and outside the LDO region. These regions are, here too, intermingled with very shallow mixed layer depths with resulting mean mixed depths greater than 800 m both inside and outside the LDO region. In conclusion, as for a model for deep convection to be used in coarse resolution, these results indicate that the GISS mixing model fares well with observations in both stable and unstable stratifications but overestimates its geographical extent. This leads to the problem of future improvements of the model. It must be generalized to include the following physically important features: (a) rotation that becomes important in the later phases of deep convection when it acts to slow down the rate of mixed layer deepening, (b) non-locality, in particular skewness which is large (negative) in the initial phases of deep convection and becomes small in the final stages, and finally, (c) a new model to treat lateral advection by baroclinic eddies that in the final stages of deep convection dominates over vertical transport.

Seawater intrusion through the oceanic crust and carbonate sediment in the Equatorial Pacific: Lithium abundance and isotopic evidence

Large‐scale lateral advection of seawater within the oceanic crust is thought to be the cause of low heat flow in the Equatorial Pacific. Until now supportive evidence is limited to reversals of B and δ11B, Ca, Mg, SO4−2, Sr and 87Sr/86Sr in sediment pore waters. Here we report new evidence from a detailed study of Li and its isotopes in sediment cores from ODP Sites 844 and 851. Carbonates at these sites were significantly recrystallized leading to large variations in Li and δ7Li in the sediments and associated pore waters. In addition to diagenetic effects, distinct reversals in lithium concentration and isotopic ratio toward modern seawater composition are observed in waters near the basaltic basement, lending further support to the seawater intrusion hypothesis. Three endmembers are identified in the pore waters: seawater, a diagenetically altered component, and evolved crustal fluid. The new lithium isotopic results underscore the importance of diagenetic artifacts in carbonate sediments.

Asynchronous alkenone and foraminifera records from the Benguela Upwelling System

Radiocarbon stratigraphy is an essential tool for high resolution paleoceanographic studies. Age models based on radiocarbon ages of foraminifera are commonly applied to a wide range of geochemical studies, including the investigation of temporal leads and lags. The critical assumption is that temporal coupling between foraminifera and other sediment constituents, including specific molecular organic compounds (biomarkers) of marine phytoplankton, e.g. alkenones, is maintained in the sediments. To test this critical assumption in the Benguela upwelling area, we have determined radiocarbon ages of total C 37-C 39 alkenones in 20 samples from two gravity cores and three multicorer cores. The cores were retrieved from the continental shelf and slope off Namibia, and samples were taken from Holocene, deglacial and Last Glacial Maximum core sections. The alkenone radiocarbon ages were compared to those of planktic foraminifera, total organic carbon, fatty acids and fine grained carbonates from the same samples. Interestingly, the ages of alkenones were 1000 to 4500 yr older than those of foraminifera in all samples. Such age differences may be the result of different processes: Bioturbation associated with grain size effects, lateral advection of (recycled) material and redeposition of sediment on upper continental slopes due to currents or tidal movement are examples for such processes. Based on the results of this study, the age offsets between foraminifera and alkenones in sediments from the upper continental slope off Namibia most probably do not result from particle-selective bioturbation processes. Resuspension of organic particles in response to tidal movement of bottom waters with velocities up to 25 cm/s recorded near the core sites is the more likely explanation. Our results imply that age control established using radiocarbon measurements of foraminifera may be inadequate for the interpretation of alkenone-based proxy data. Observed temporal leads and lags between foraminifera based data and data derived from alkenone measurements may therefore be secondary signals, i.e. the result of processes associated with particle settling and biological activity.

Distribution of sterol and fatty alcohol biomarkers in particulate matter from the frontal structure of the Alboran Sea (S.W. Mediterranean Sea)

Sterol and fatty alcohol biomarkers were analyzed in suspended and sinking particles from the water column (20–300 m) of the Almeria–Oran frontal zone to characterize the biogenic sources and biogeochemical processes. Diatom- and haptophyte-related sterols were predominant at all sites and vertical distributions of sterol, and fatty alcohol biomarkers in sinking particles were markedly different from suspended particles. In contrast to the relatively fresh sinking particles with elevated concentrations of phyto- and zooplanktonic sterols, suspended particles were extensively degraded with increasing depth and exhibited a more terrestrial and zooplanktonic signature with depth. Sterol and alcohol biomarkers distributions and δ 13C values from the jet core and the associated gyre of Atlantic waters showed a decoupling between the sinking particles of 100- and 300-m depth, demonstrating the influence of lateral advection in the frontal zone. In contrast, vertical transport of the particulate organic matter in Mediterranean waters was interpreted from the similar isotopic and molecular composition at both depths. The high abundance of phytosterols and phytol below the euphotic zone at 100 m signified that downwelling of biomass occurred on the downstream side of the gyre. The high concentrations of phytosterols and POC, in combination with the high phytosterols/phytol ratio, indicated the accumulation of detrital plant material in the oligotrophic Mediterranean waters near the frontal zone. A higher contribution of phytol in the sinking particles collected during the night at the surface of the jet and at the upstream side of the gyre provided evidence of diel vertical zooplankton migration and important grazing by herbivorous zooplankton. Carbon isotope ratios of sterols confirmed that the 24-ethylcholest-5-en-3β-ol, commonly associated with terrestrial sources, was a substantial constituent of the phytoplankton in this area. However, the more δ 13C depleted values obtained for this compound in suspended particles suggested that there was some terrestrial contribution that only becomes evident after degradation of the more labile marine organic matter.