Ocean-atmosphere Exchange Research Articles

Productivity and sediment focusing in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific during the last 30,000 years

The Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) affects the ocean-atmosphere exchange of CO2 on seasonal and interannual time scales through a balance of upwelling of CO2-rich waters and the drawdown of CO2 by biological productivity in the surface waters. The EEP accounts for almost 3/4ths of the global oceanic outgassing of CO2 to the atmosphere, and it is known that the size of this EEP source of CO2 varies significantly during El Niño events (Feely et al., 1999). There has been much effort to determine the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) state of the Equatorial Pacific during the past, particularly at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) when the global atmospheric [CO2] was low, yet the glacial ENSO state remains a source of considerable controversy (Ford et al., 2015; Herguera, 2000; Koutavas et al., 2002; Loubere et al., 2004; Lyle, 1988; Paytan et al., 1996; Pedersen, 1983; Sarnthein et al., 1988). Reconstructing past changes in equatorial productivity could help establish the prevailing ENSO state of the Pacific during the LGM, as the El Niño-related deepening of the thermocline in the East Pacific reduces productivity in the EEP and increases it in the Western Equatorial Pacific. Here we investigate changes in productivity in four cores from the equatorial Pacific, in the heart of the modern equatorial cold tongue. We determine changes in productivity using measurements of 231Pa, 230Th, 232Th, and 238U along with sedimentary fluxes. We also compare our findings to other sediment cores in the Pacific. We find elevated (231Pa/230Th)xs values (higher than production values) in general across the cores, indicating a net sink for oceanic 231Pa in the EEP. We also find evidence for low levels of lateral sediment focusing, as well as lower productivity during the glacial in reduced 230Th-normalized opal fluxes and decreased (231Pa/230Th)xs at multiple sites. Examination of authigenic uranium at our sites in conjunction with previous work (Jacobel et al., 2017) shows that between 2 and 3.5 km depth in the Equatorial Pacific, there was a floating pool of respired carbon associated with the southward return flow of North Pacific Deep Water, sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere during the LGM. We also compile Pacific basin wide records of productivity and Pa/Th during the Holocene (0-11kya) and LGM (18-22kya) and find evidence consistent with a more frequent or persistent glacial El Niño state throughout much of the Pacific (North Pacific, Western Equatorial Pacific and EEP).

Mediterranean isolation preconditioning the Earth System for late Miocene climate cooling

A global Neogene cooling trend culminated ~7 million years ago with the onset of Greenland glaciation. Increased ocean-atmosphere interaction and low- to high-latitude circulation are thought to be key factors in reorganizing late Miocene global temperature and precipitation patterns, but the drivers of this reorganization have yet to be identified. Here, we present new information about the evolution of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gateway that generated Mediterranean overflow. We use sedimentary and palaeogeographic evidence to constrain the timing and dimensions of this gateway and document the initiation of a saline plume of water within the North Atlantic. Today, this saline jet entrains and transports Eastern North Atlantic water and its dissolved inorganic carbon into the interior of the ocean, contributing to the drawdown of CO2 and the sensitivity of the ocean to atmospheric changes. We show that during the Miocene this transport emerged simultaneously with gateway restriction and propose that the resulting interaction of ocean-surface and ocean-interior carbon inventories would have greatly enhanced ocean-atmosphere exchange, preconditioning the Earth System for late Miocene cooling.

Sea-Air CO2 Exchange in the SW Iberian Upwelling System during Two Contrasting Climate Cycles: 860–780 ka and 630–520 ka

Analysis of planktonic and benthic foraminifers’ accumulation rates from the Iberian margin reveal a substantial change in the biogenic ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT; ~800–650 ka from present). Such changes resulted from the major reorganisations in both surface and deep-water circulation that occurred in the North Atlantic at the time, and affected the behaviour of this upwelling region as a CO2 uptake/release area during climate cycles before and after the MPT. During Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 21-MIS 20 (860–780 ka), this margin acted mostly as an uptake area during interglacials and early glacials. During glacial maxima and terminations it would be neutral because, although surface production and export were very low, carbon storage occurred at the seafloor. During MIS 15-MIS 14 (630–520 ka), the pattern was the opposite, and the Iberian margin worked as a neutral, or as a source area during most interglacials, while during glacials it acted as an important uptake area. Present findings support the idea that glacial/interglacial atmospheric pCO2 oscillations are partly driven by alterations in the meridional overturning circulation that results in substantial variations of the biological pump, and carbon sequestration rate, in some high-productivity regions.

Simulation of the storm surge in the South China Sea based on the coupled sea-air model

Under global warming and climate change, coastal regions, including China, are increasingly vulnerable to typhoon damages. With typhoon gales, heavy rainfall, and storm surge, typhoons cause great economic losses and casualties to the coastal communities of China every year. Therefore, it is of great academic and social values to study the generation mechanism and movement mode of typhoons. However, accurately predicting the potential storm surge that a typhoon in growing can cause is a very challenging task. During the evolution of typhoons, the ocean-atmosphere (sea-air) interface has strong exchange of mass and energy. At the same time, various physical fields, such as wind, pressure, flow and wave fields interact strongly with each other. To accurately simulate the typhoons and the corresponding storm surge, the air-sea interaction is not to be neglected. Hence, it is very important to establish a reliable prediction model of sea-air coupling. In this paper, we established a fully two-way coupled sea-air model for South China Sea (SCS) by applying the mesoscale atmospheric model named WRF, the regional ocean model named ROMS, and the model coupling toolkit (MCT). In this complicated coupled sea-air model, WRF transfers the sea surface stress, net heat flux, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, shortwave radiation flux, and longwave radiation flux to ROMS through MCT coupler. In turn, ROMS transfers sea surface temperature (SST) to WRF. By applying the fully coupled WRF-ROMS model, the storm surge induced by Typhoon Kai-tak , 2012 in the SCS is simulated and analyzed in detail. The computational capability and reliability of the coupled WRF-ROMS model are well verified by comparing the simulated typhoon track, and corresponding intensity and strength with the observed values in the field. The verification data show that the two-way coupled model has better accuracy and advantage in simulating typhoon dynamics than the one-way coupled model. Subsequently, the validated two-way coupled model is used to systematically study the atmospheric dynamics and the storm surge induced by typhoons in SCS. By analyzing the numerical simulation results, the wind and pressure field, as well as the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of storm surge and wind-induced current, are obtained. We found that the spatial distribution of the wind, storm surge and flow fields caused by Typhoon Kai-tak is asymmetrical. The intensity of the typhoon on the right side of track is stronger than that on the left. Moreover, compared with the temporal evolution of typhoon, there is some delay in the evolution of the storm surge and the wind-induced current in the near shore.

La turbulencia asociada con velocidades orbitales de olas que aún no rompen

Ocean-atmosphere exchange processes are known to decisively determine the sea state, the weather and our planet´s climate. With the ultimate goal of a better understanding of the processes contributing with turbulent kinetic energy into both boundary layers above and below the sea surface, we approach the ocean surface wave phenomenon, and in particular we study the non-breaking waves potential effect. Therefore, measurement of particle velocities were made in a fluid under non-breaking waves, for the purpose of detecting turbulence and its association with the wave steepness. A total of 184 experiments were analyzed, each one with a duration of 3.5 minutes and the presence of approximately monochromatic waves with varying steepness (0.012-0.273). The measurements were carried out in a wave tank with dimensions of 12.26 m × 0.55 m x 0.32 m using an acoustic velocimeter (Vectrino Profiler, Nortek). The u, v and w components of velocity were measured on a 3.5 cm long fluid column in 35 cells of 1 mm in height. During the experiments, the voleocity profile between 1.5 cm and 8.6 cm depth was obtained, referred to the water level in the wave tank (h = 48.6 cm ± 0.5 cm). The waves propagated in deep waters (h/λ > 0.5), where λ is the wave length. Only u(t, z) and w(t, z) components were considered for the analysis since, waves are practical two-dimensional (v(t, z) = 0). Power spectra were calculated in as function of frequency corresponding to u'(t, z) and w'(t, z) turbulent fluctuations, an inertial subrange (isotropic turbulence) was detected in the most of the spectra, for certain depths regardless of the wave steepness. Results from turbulent fluctuations frequency spectra show that eddy size involved in transferring energy to smaller ones, increases with the wave slope.

Mid-twenty-first century global wave climate projections: Results from a dynamic CMIP5 based ensemble

Abstract Ocean surface gravity waves are part of the climate system, regulating the exchange of energy and momentum at the atmosphere-ocean interface. Besides that, waves have a direct impact on coastal erosion and sediment transport, in ship routing and offshore/ship infrastructure design, as well as in coastal management. Most future wave climate projections point out to statistically significant changes in wave height conditions in the global ocean towards the end of the 21st century. In the present study, the near future impact of a warmer climate on the global ocean wave climate towards the mid-21st century (2031–2060) is investigated through a 4-member “coherent” ensemble of wave climate projections: single-model (wave model WAM), single-forcing (EC-Earth) and single-scenario (RCP8.5). The wave model WAM was forced by wind speed and ice coverage from four Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) EC-Earth projections. The ensemble historic climate reference period has been evaluated by comparison against wave reanalysis/hindcast data, and wave in-situ observations. Statistically significant increases in the global mean wind speed, wave height, wave period and wave energy flux are to be expected towards the mid-twenty first century, in less than 50 years, these changes being more striking in the mid-to-high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Due to the propagation of swell to lower latitudes, statistically significant increases in wave heights, periods and energy fluxes are also projected to occur in equatorial areas, especially along the eastern side of the main ocean basins, during the Austral winter. Comparatively, the projected changes in wave heights and energy fluxes are expected to occur more intensely during the first half of the 21st century, in several areas of the global ocean.

Thermocline state change in the eastern equatorial Pacific during the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Abstract. The late Pliocene/early Pleistocene intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (iNHG) ∼2.5 million years ago (marine isotope stages, MIS, 100–96) stands out as an important tipping point in Earth's climate history, which strongly influenced oceanographic and climatic patterns including trade wind and upwelling strength in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP). The thermocline depth in the EEP, in turn, plays a pivotal role in the Earth's climate system: small changes in its depth associated with short-term climate phenomena such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation can affect surface-water properties and the ocean–atmosphere exchange. However, thermocline dynamics in the EEP during the iNHG still remain unclear. While numerous studies have suggested a link between a thermocline shoaling in the EEP and Northern Hemisphere ice growth, other studies have indicated a stable thermocline depth during the iNHG; consequently, a causal relationship between thermocline dynamics and ice-sheet growth has been excluded. In light of these contradictory views, we have generated geochemical (planktic foraminiferal δ18O, δ13C and Mg ∕ Ca), sedimentological (sand accumulation rates) and faunal (abundance data of thermocline-dwelling foraminifera) records for Ocean Drilling Program Site 849 located in the central region of the EEP. Our records span the interval from ∼2.75 to 2.4 Ma (MIS G7–95), which is critical for understanding thermocline dynamics during the final phase of the iNHG. Our new records document a thermocline shoaling from ∼2.64 to 2.55 Ma (MIS G2–101) and a relatively shallow thermocline from ∼2.55 Ma onwards (MIS 101–95). This indicates a state change in thermocline depth at Site 849 shortly before the final phase of the iNHG. Ultimately, our data support the hypothesis that (sub-)tropical thermocline shoaling may have contributed to the development of large Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.

Does Marine Surface Tension Have Global Biogeography? Addition for the OCEANFILMS Package

We apply principles of Gibbs phase plane chemistry across the entire ocean-atmosphere interface to investigate aerosol generation and geophysical transfer issues. Marine surface tension differences comprise a tangential pressure field controlling trace gas fluxes, primary organic inputs, and sea spray salt injections, in addition to heat and momentum fluxes. Mapping follows from the organic microlayer composition, now represented in ocean system models. Organic functional variations drive the microforcing, leading to (1) reduced turbulence and (by extension) laminar gas-energy diffusion; plus (2) altered bubble film mass emission into the boundary layer. Interfacial chemical behaviors are, therefore, closely reviewed as the background. We focus on phase transitions among two dimensional “solid, liquid, and gaseous” states serving as elasticity indicators. From the pool of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) only proteins and lipids appear to occupy significant atmospheric interfacial areas. The literature suggests albumin and stearic acid as the best proxies, and we distribute them through ecodynamic simulation. Consensus bulk distributions are obtained to control their adsorptive equilibria. We devise parameterizations for both the planar free energy and equation of state, relating excess coverage to the surface pressure and its modulus. Constant settings for the molecular surrogates are drawn from laboratory study and successfully reproduce surfactant solid-to-gas occurrence in compression experiments. Since DOC functionality measurements are rare, we group them into super-ecological province tables to verify aqueous concentration estimates. Outputs are then fed into a coverage, tension, elasticity code. The resulting two dimensional pressure contours cross a critical range for the regulation of precursor piston velocity, bubble breakage, and primary aerosol sources plus ripple damping. Concepts extend the water-air adsorption theory currently embodied in our OCEANFILMS aerosol emissions package, and the two approaches could be inserted into Earth System Models together. Uncertainties in the logic include kinetic and thermochemical factors operating at multiple scales.

The Anticipation of the ENSO: What Resonantly Forced Baroclinic Waves Can Teach Us (Part II)

The purpose of the paper is to take advantage of recent work on the study of resonantly forced baroclinic waves in the tropical Pacific to significantly reduce systematic and random forecasting errors resulting from the current statistical models intended to predict El Niño. Their major drawback is that sea surface temperature (SST), which is widely used, is very difficult to decipher because of the extreme complexity of exchanges at the ocean-atmosphere interface. In contrast, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) forecasting can be performed between 7 and 8 months in advance precisely and very simply from (1) the subsurface water temperature at particular locations and (2) the time lag of the events (their expected date of occurrence compared to a regular 4-year cycle). Discrimination of precursor signals from objective criteria prevents the anticipation of wrong events, as occurred in 2012 and 2014. The amplitude of the events, their date of appearance, as well as their potential impact on the involved regions are estimated. Three types of ENSO events characterize their climate impact according to whether they are (1) unlagged or weakly lagged, (2) strongly lagged, or (3) out of phase with the annual quasi-stationary wave (QSW) (Central Pacific El Niño events). This substantial progress is based on the analysis of baroclinic QSWs in the tropical basin and the resulting genesis of ENSO events. As for cold events, the amplification of La Niña can be seen a few months before the maturation phase of an El Niño event, as occurred in 1998 and 2016.

Characterizing ocean ambient noise using infrasound network

The ability of the International Monitoring System (IMS) global infrasound network to detect atmospheric explosions and events of interest strongly depends on station specific ambient noise signatures which include both incoherent wind noise and real coherent infrasonic waves. To characterize the coherent ambient noise, broadband array processing was performed on historical continuous IMS recordings. Ocean wave interactions contribute to the atmospheric coherent ambient noise field, and we apply wave action models to model these microbarom sources. We use two-dimensional energy spectrum ocean wave products to build a global reference database of oceanic noise sources. Then, we compare observed and modeled directional microbarom amplitudes at several stations. The expected benefits of such studies concern the use complementary data to finely characterize the coupling mechanisms at the ocean-atmosphere interface. In return, better knowledge of ambient ocean noise sources opens new perspectives not only by enhancing the characterization of explosive atmospheric events, but also by providing additional integrated constraints on middle atmosphere dynamics and disturbances where data coverage is otherwise sparse.

Harnessing remote sensing to address critical science questions on ocean-atmosphere interactions

Earth observing systems have proven to be a unique source of long-term synoptic information on numerous physical, chemical and biological parameters on a global scale. Merging this information for integrated studies that peruse key questions about the ocean-atmosphere interface is, however, very challenging. Such studies require interdisciplinary frameworks and novel insights into ways to address the problem. We present here a perspective review on how current and emerging remote sensing technologies could help address two scientific questions within the Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) science plan: (1) to what extent does upper-ocean biology affect the composition and radiative properties of the marine boundary layer; and (2) to what extent does upper-ocean turbulence drive fluxes of mass and energy at the air-sea interface. We provide a thorough review of how these questions have been addressed and discuss novel potential avenues using multiplatform space-borne missions, from visible to microwave, active and passive sensors.

Satellite bulk tropospheric temperatures as a metric for climate sensitivity

We identify and remove the main natural perturbations (e.g. volcanic activity, ENSOs) from the global mean lower tropospheric temperatures (T LT ) over January 1979 - June 2017 to estimate the underlying, potentially human-forced trend. The unaltered value is +0.155 K dec−1 while the adjusted trend is +0.096 K dec−1, related primarily to the removal of volcanic cooling in the early part of the record. This is essentially the same value we determined in 1994 (+0.09 K dec−1, Christy and McNider, 1994) using only 15 years of data. If the warming rate of +0.096 K dec−1 represents the net T LT response to increasing greenhouse radiative forcings, this implies that the T LT tropospheric transient climate response (ΔT LT at the time CO2 doubles) is +1.10 ± 0.26 K which is about half of the average of the IPCC AR5 climate models of 2.31 ± 0.20 K. Assuming that the net remaining unknown internal and external natural forcing over this period is near zero, the mismatch since 1979 between observations and CMIP-5 model values suggests that excessive sensitivity to enhanced radiative forcing in the models can be appreciable. The tropical region is mainly responsible for this discrepancy suggesting processes that are the likely sources of the extra sensitivity are (a) the parameterized hydrology of the deep atmosphere, (b) the parameterized heat-partitioning at the oceanatmosphere interface and/or (c) unknown natural variations.

Non-monotonous dependence of the ocean surface drag coefficient on the hurricane wind speed due to the fragmentation of the ocean-atmosphere interface

Influence of the spray generation due to the fragmentation of the “bag-breakup” type on momentum exchange in the atmospheric boundary layer above the sea surface at hurricane winds was investigated on the basis of the analysis of the results of laboratory experiments. It was shown that aerodynamic drag is determined by the contribution of three factors: first, the drag of the “bag-breakup” canopies as obstacles; second, acceleration of the spray formed during fragmentation by the air flow; and the third factor is related to the stratification of the near-water atmospheric layer due to the presence of levitated water droplets. Combination of all three factors leads to a non-monotonous dependence of the aerodynamic drag coefficient on wind speed, which confirms the results of the field and laboratory measurements.

The Ocean's Vital Skin: Toward an Integrated Understanding of the Sea Surface Microlayer

Despite the huge extent of the ocean's surface, until now relatively little attention has been paid to the sea surface microlayer (SML) as the ultimate interface where heat, momentum and mass exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere takes place. Via the SML, large-scale environmental changes in the ocean such as warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and eutrophication potentially influence cloud formation, precipitation, and the global radiation balance. Due to the deep connectivity between biological, chemical, and physical processes, studies of the SML may reveal multiple sensitivities to global and regional changes. Understanding the processes at the ocean's surface, in particular involving the SML as an important and determinant interface, could therefore provide an essential contribution to the reduction of uncertainties regarding ocean-climate feedbacks. This review identifies gaps in our current knowledge of the SML and highlights a need to develop a holistic and mechanistic understanding of the diverse biological, chemical, and physical processes occurring at the ocean-atmosphere interface. We advocate the development of strong interdisciplinary expertise and collaboration in order to bridge between ocean and atmospheric sciences. Although this will pose significant methodological challenges, such an initiative would represent a new role model for interdisciplinary research in Earth System sciences.

Object-Based Detection of Linear Kinematic Features in Sea Ice

Inhomogenities in the sea ice motion field cause deformation zones, such as leads, cracks and pressure ridges. Due to their long and often narrow shape, those structures are referred to as Linear Kinematic Features (LKFs). In this paper we specifically address the identification and characterization of variations and discontinuities in the spatial distribution of the total deformation, which appear as LKFs. The distribution of LKFs in the ice cover of the polar oceans is an important factor influencing the exchange of heat and matter at the ocean-atmosphere interface. Current analyses of the sea ice deformation field often ignore the spatial/geographical context of individual structures, e.g., their orientation relative to adjacent deformation zones. In this study, we adapt image processing techniques to develop a method for LKF detection which is able to resolve individual features. The data are vectorized to obtain results on an object-based level. We then apply a semantic postprocessing step to determine the angle of junctions and between crossing structures. The proposed object detection method is carefully validated. We found a localization uncertainty of 0.75 pixel and a length error of 12% in the identified LKFs. The detected features can be individually traced to their geographical position. Thus, a wide variety of new metrics for ice deformation can be easily derived, including spatial parameters as well as the temporal stability of individual features.

North-western Mediterranean sea-breeze circulation in a regional climate system model

In the Mediterranean basin, moisture transport can occur over large distance from remote regions by the synoptic circulation or more locally by sea breezes, driven by land-sea thermal contrast. Sea breezes play an important role in inland transport of moisture especially between late spring and early fall. In order to explicitly represent the two-way interactions at the atmosphere-ocean interface in the Mediterranean region and quantify the role of air-sea feedbacks on regional meteorology and climate, simulations at 20 km resolution performed with WRF regional climate model (RCM) and MORCE atmosphere-ocean regional climate model (AORCM) coupling WRF and NEMO-MED12 in the frame of HyMeX/MED-CORDEX are compared. One result of this study is that these simulations reproduce remarkably well the intensity, direction and inland penetration of the sea breeze and even the existence of the shallow sea breeze despite the overestimate of temperature over land in both simulations. The coupled simulation provides a more realistic representation of the evolution of the SST field at fine scale than the atmosphere-only one. Temperature and moisture anomalies are created in direct response to the SST anomaly and are advected by the sea breeze over land. However, the SST anomalies are not of sufficient magnitude to affect the large-scale sea-breeze circulation. The temperature anomalies are quickly damped by strong surface heating over land, whereas the water vapor mixing ratio anomalies are transported further inland. The inland limit of significance is imposed by the vertical dilution in a deeper continental boundary-layer.

The Abundance of Atmospheric CO2 in Ocean Exoplanets: a Novel CO2 Deposition Mechanism

Abstract We consider super-Earth sized planets which have a water mass fraction large enough to form an external mantle composed of high-pressure water-ice polymorphs and also lack a substantial H/He atmosphere. We consider such planets in their habitable zone, so that their outermost condensed mantle is a global, deep, liquid ocean. For these ocean planets, we investigate potential internal reservoirs of CO2, the amount of CO2 dissolved in the ocean for the various saturation conditions encountered, and the ocean-atmosphere exchange flux of CO2. We find that, in a steady state, the abundance of CO2 in the atmosphere has two possible states. When wind-driven circulation is the dominant CO2 exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of tens of bars of CO2 results, where the exact value depends on the subtropical ocean surface temperature and the deep ocean temperature. When sea-ice formation, acting on these planets as a CO2 deposition mechanism, is the dominant exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of a few bars of CO2 is established. The exact value depends on the subpolar surface temperature. Our results suggest the possibility of a negative feedback mechanism, unique to water planets, where a reduction in the subpolar temperature drives more CO2 into the atmosphere to increase the greenhouse effect.

Rapid deglacial injection of nutrients into the tropical Atlantic via Antarctic Intermediate Water

As part of the return flow of the Atlantic overturning circulation, Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) redistributes heat, salt, CO2 and nutrients from the Southern Ocean to the tropical Atlantic and thus plays a key role in ocean–atmosphere exchange. It feeds (sub)tropical upwelling linking high and low latitude ocean biogeochemistry but the dynamics of AAIW during the last deglaciation remain poorly constrained. We present new multi-decadal benthic foraminiferal Cd/Ca and stable carbon isotope (δ13C) records from tropical W-Atlantic sediment cores indicating abrupt deglacial nutrient enrichment of AAIW as a consequence of enhanced deglacial Southern Ocean upwelling intensity. This is the first clear evidence from the intermediate depth tropical W-Atlantic that the deglacial reconnection of shallow and deep Atlantic overturning cells effectively altered the AAIW nutrient budget and its geochemical signature. The rapid nutrient injection via AAIW likely fed temporary low latitude productivity, thereby dampening the deglacial rise of atmospheric CO2.

HF Radar Activity in European Coastal Seas: Next Steps toward a Pan-European HF Radar Network

High Frequency radar (HFR) is a land-based remote sensing instrument offering a unique insight to coastal ocean variability, by providing synoptic, high frequency and high resolution data at the ocean atmosphere interface. HFRs have become invaluable tools in the field of operational oceanography for measuring surface currents, waves and winds, with direct applications in different sectors and an unprecedented potential for the integrated management of the coastal zone. In Europe, the number of HFR networks has been showing a significant growth over the past ten years, with over 50 HFRs currently deployed and a number in the planning stage. There is also a growing literature concerning the use of this technology in research and operational oceanography. A big effort is made in Europe towards a coordinated development of coastal HFR technology and its products within the framework of different European and international initiatives. One recent initiative has been to make an up-to-date inventory of the existing HFR operational systems in Europe, describing the characteristics of the systems, their operational products and applications. This paper offers a comprehensive review on the present status of European HFR network, and discusses the next steps towards the integration of HFR platforms as operational components of the European Ocean Observing System, designed to align and integrate Europe’s ocean observing capacity for a truly integrated end-to-end observing system for the European coasts.

Investigating the effects of a summer storm on the North Sea stratification using a regional coupled ocean-atmosphere model

The influence of a summer storm event in 2007 on the North Sea and its effects on the ocean stratification are investigated using a regional coupled ocean (Regional Ocean Modeling System, ROMS)-atmosphere (Weather Research & Forecasting model, WRF) modeling system. An analysis of potential energy anomaly (PEA, Φ) and its temporal development reveals that the loss of stratification due to the storm event is dominated by vertical mixing in almost the entire North Sea. For specific regions, however, a considerable contribution of depth-mean straining is observed. Vertical mixing is highly correlated with wind induced surface stresses. However, peak mixing values are observed in combination with incoming flood currents. Depending on the phase between winds and tides, the loss of stratification differs strongly over the North Sea. To study the effects of interactive ocean-atmosphere exchange, a fully coupled simulation is compared with two uncoupled ones for the same vertical mixing parameters to identify the impact of spatial resolution as well as of SST feedback. While the resulting new mixed layer depth after the storm event in the uncoupled simulation with lower spatial and temporal resolution of the surface forcing data can still be located in the euphotic zone, the coupled simulation is capable to mix the entire water column and the vertical mixing in the uncoupled simulation with higher resolution of the surface forcing data is strongly amplified. These differences might have notable implications for ecosystem modeling since it could determine the development of new phytoplankton blooms after the storm and for sediment modeling in terms of sediment mobilization. An investigation of restratification after the extreme event illustrates the persistent effect of this summer storm.