Oceanic fronts structure phytoplankton distributions in the central South Indian Ocean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingxian Guo ◽  
Peng Xiu ◽  
Xiaogang Xing
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Oceanic Fronts ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Central South

scholarly journals Variability in the Mozambique Channel Trough and Impacts on Southeast African Rainfall

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 749-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rondrotiana Barimalala ◽  
Ross C. Blamey ◽  
Fabien Desbiolles ◽  
Chris J. C. Reason
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Mozambique Channel ◽  
Mascarene High ◽  
South Indian

AbstractThe Mozambique Channel trough (MCT) is a cyclonic region prominent in austral summer in the central and southern Mozambique Channel. It first becomes evident in December with a peak in strength in February when the Mozambique Channel is warmest and the Mascarene high (MH) is located farthest southeast in the Indian Ocean basin. The strength and the timing of the mean MCT are linked to that of the cross-equatorial northeasterly monsoon in the tropical western Indian Ocean, which curves as northwesterlies toward northern Madagascar. The interannual variability in the MCT is associated with moist convection over the Mozambique Channel and is modulated by the location of the warm sea surface temperatures in the south Indian Ocean. Variability of the MCT shows a strong relationship with the equatorial westerlies north of Madagascar and the latitudinal extension of the MH. Summers with strong MCT activity are characterized by a prominent cyclonic circulation over the Mozambique Channel, extending to the midlatitudes. These are favorable for the development of tropical–extratropical cloud bands over the southwestern Indian Ocean and trigger an increase in rainfall over the ocean but a decrease over the southern African mainland. Most years with a weak MCT are associated with strong positive south Indian Ocean subtropical dipole events, during which the subcontinent tends to receive more rainfall whereas Madagascar and northern Mozambique are anomalously dry.

scholarly journals Structure and origin of the subtropical South Indian Ocean Countercurrent

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerold Siedler ◽  
Mathieu Rouault ◽  
Johann R. E. Lutjeharms
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian

Sea surface temperatures, salinity and pH reconstructions over the last 1,2 Ma in South Indian Ocean using the unique combination of Mg/Ca, d18O and ∆47 in planktonic foraminifera

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Peral ◽  
Thibaut Caley ◽  
Bruno Malaizé ◽  
Erin McClymont ◽  
Thomas Extier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Transfer Function ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
The Other ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Term Evolution ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Clumped Isotope

<p>The Mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT) took place between 1,200 Ma and 800 ka (still debated). During this transition, the Earth’s orbitally paced ice age cycles intensified, lengthened from ∼40 000 (∼40 ky) to ∼100 ky, and became distinctly asymmetrical while Earth’s orbital variations remained unchanged. Although orbital variations constitute the first order forcing on glacial-interglacial oscillations of the late Quaternary, they cannot explain alone the shifts in climatic periodicity and amplitude observed during the MPT. In order to explain the MPT, long-term evolution of internal mechanisms and feedbacks have been called upon, in relation with the global cooling trend initiated during the Cenozoic, the expansion of Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheet and/or the long-term decline in greenhouse gases (particularly CO2). A key point is therefore to accurately reconstruction of oceanic temperatures to decipher the processes driving climate variations.</p><p>In the present work, we studied the marine sediment core MD96-2048 taken from south Indian Ocean (26*10’482’’ S, 34*01’148’’ E) in the region of the Agulhas current. We compared 5 paleothermometers: alkenone, TEX86, foraminiferal- transfer function, Mg/Ca and clumped isotope. Among these approaches, carbonate clumped-isotope thermometry (∆<sub>47</sub>) only depends on crystallization temperature, and the ∆<sub>47</sub> relationship with planktonic foraminifer calcification temperature is well defined. Since Mg/Ca is not only controlled by temperature but is also affected by salinity and pH. The classical d<sup>18</sup>O in planktic is dependent on SST and d<sup>18</sup>Osw, which is regionally correlated with the salinity in the present-day ocean. Assuming that the present-day d<sup>18</sup>O<sub>sw</sub>-salinity relation was the same during the MPT, we are able to separate changes in d<sup>18</sup>O<sub>sw</sub> from temperature effects and reconstruct past salinity. Combining d<sup>18</sup>O, Mg/Ca and ∆<sub>47</sub> on planktonic foraminifera allow in theory to reconstruct SST, SSS and pH.</p><p>Here, we measured d<sup>18</sup>O, Mg/Ca and ∆<sub>47</sub> on the shallow-dwelling planktonic species Globigerinioides ruber ss. at the maximal of glacial and interglacial periods over the last 1.2 Ma. Our set of data makes it possible to estimate the long-term evolution of SST, salinity and pH (and thus have an insight into the atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration) across the MPT. Frist, strong differences are observed between the 5 derived-SST: the alkenone and TEX86 recorded the higher temperatures than the other SST proxies. Alkenone derived-SST do not show glacial-interglacial variations within the MPT. The Mg/Ca and transfer function derived-SST show a good agreement each other, while the clumped-isotope derived-SST are systematically colder than the other derived-SST. Then, our ∆<sub>47</sub>-SST, salinity and pH results clearly show that amplitude of glacial-interglacial variations was insignificant between 1.2 and 0.8 Ma (within the MPT) and increased after the MPT. Finally, we also discussed the potential to use this unique combination of proxies to reconstruct changes of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration.</p>

Impacts of ocean currents on the South Indian Ocean extratropical storm track through the relative wind effect

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-61
Author(s):  
Hyodae Seo ◽  
Hajoon Song ◽  
Larry W. O’Neill ◽  
Matthew R. Mazloff ◽  
Bruce D. Cornuelle
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Ocean Current ◽  
Wind Effect ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Relative Wind

AbstractThis study examines the role of the relative wind (RW) effect (wind relative to ocean current) in the regional ocean circulation and extratropical storm track in the South Indian Ocean. Comparison of two high-resolution regional coupled model simulations with/without the RW effect reveals that the most conspicuous ocean circulation response is the significant weakening of the overly energetic anticyclonic standing eddy off Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a biased feature ascribed to upstream retroflection of the Agulhas Current (AC). This opens a pathway through which the AC transports the warm and salty water mass from the subtropics, yielding marked increases in sea surface temperature (SST), upward turbulent heat flux (THF), and meridional SST gradient in the Agulhas retroflection region. These thermodynamic and dynamic changes are accompanied by the robust strengthening of the local low-tropospheric baroclinicity and the baroclinic wave activity in the atmosphere. Examination of the composite lifecycle of synoptic-scale storms subjected to the high THF events indicates a robust strengthening of the extratropical storms far downstream. Energetics calculations for the atmosphere suggest that the baroclinic energy conversion from the basic flow is the chief source of increased eddy available potential energy, which is subsequently converted to eddy kinetic energy, providing for the growth of transient baroclinic waves. Overall, the results suggest that the mechanical and thermal air-sea interactions are inherently and inextricably linked together to substantially influence the extratropical storm tracks in the South Indian Ocean.

South Indian Ocean Rossby Waves

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 322-331
Author(s):  
Mark R. Jury
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian

scholarly journals Spiciness Anomalies in the Upper South Indian Ocean

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 2081-2101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motoki Nagura ◽  
Shinya Kouketsu
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Sea Surface Salinity ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Generation Region ◽  
Upper South

AbstractThis study investigates an isopycnal temperature/salinity T/S, or spiciness, anomaly in the upper south Indian Ocean for the period from 2004 to 2015 using observations and reanalyses. Spiciness anomalies at about 15°S on 24–26σθ are focused on, whose standard deviation is about 0.1 psu in salinity and 0.25°C in temperature, and they have a contribution to isobaric temperature variability comparable to thermocline heave. A plausible generation region of these anomalies is the southeastern Indian Ocean, where the 25σθ surface outcrops in southern winter, and the anticyclonic subtropical gyre advects subducted water equatorward. Unlike the Pacific and Atlantic, spiciness anomalies in the upper south Indian Ocean are not T/S changes in mode water, and meridional variations in SST and sea surface salinity in their generation region are not density compensating. It is possible that this peculiarity is owing to freshwater originating from the Indonesian Seas. The production of spiciness anomalies is estimated from surface heat and freshwater fluxes and the surface T/S relationship in the outcrop region, based on several assumptions including the dominance of surface fluxes in the surface T/S budget and effective mixed layer depth proposed by Deser et al. The result agrees well with isopycnal salinity anomalies at the outcrop line, which indicates that spiciness anomalies are generated by local surface fluxes. It is suggested that the Ningaloo Niño and El Niño–Southern Oscillation lead to interannual variability in surface heat flux in the southeastern Indian Ocean and contribute to the generation of spiciness anomalies.

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