scholarly journals Checklist of the salps (Tunicata, Thaliacea) from the Western Caribbean Sea with a key for their identification and comments on other North Atlantic salps

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3210 (1) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLARA MARÍA HEREU ◽  
EDUARDO SUÁREZ-MORALES

In waters of the Northwestern Atlantic pelagic tunicates may contribute significantly to the plankton biomass; however, theregional information on the salp fauna is scarce and limited to restricted sectors. In the Caribbean Sea (CS) and the Gulf ofMexico (GOM) the composition of the salpid fauna is still poorly known and this group remains among the less studiedzooplankton taxa in the Northwestern Tropical Atlantic. A revised checklist of the salp species recorded in the North At-lantic (NA, 0–40° N) is provided herein, including new information from the Western Caribbean. Zooplankton sampleswere collected during two cruises (March 2006, January 2007) within a depth range of 0–941 m. A total of 14 species wererecorded in our samples, including new records for the CS and GOM area (Cyclosalpa bakeri Ritter 1905), for the CS (Cy-closalpa affinis (Chamisso, 1819)), and for the Western Caribbean (Salpa maxima Forskål, 1774). The number of speciesof salps known from the CS and GOM rose to 18. A key for the identification of the species recorded in the region is provided. Studies on the ecological role of salps in several sectors of the NA are scarce and deserve further attention.

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2095 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECA GASCA

Siphonophores are one of the least known gelatinous zooplankters in the tropical waters of the Northwestern Atlantic. Most of the regional knowledge about their diversity and distribution is based on surface samples (0–200 m). Siphonophores were collected from oceanic waters off the Mexican Caribbean across an expanded sampling range (0–940 m) during two cruises and were taxonomically examined. A total of 47 siphonophore species were recorded, of these, 14 had not been found in this sector of the Caribbean Sea and 10 represent new records for the Caribbean Basin. The number of species currently known from the western Caribbean is increased from 42 to 56. Some of these species also represent new records for the Northwestern Tropical Atlantic region. The greatest relative increase was observed among species of Lensia, five of which are exclusively deep-living forms dwelling below 300 m. A revised, expanded checklist of the siphonophores of the Western Caribbean is also provided. These results confirm the need of further deep sampling to increase our understanding of Caribbean siphonophore diversity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. 296-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Casanova-Masjoan ◽  
T.M. Joyce ◽  
M.D. Pérez-Hernández ◽  
P. Vélez-Belchí ◽  
A. Hernández-Guerra

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Muñoz ◽  
Chunzai Wang ◽  
David Enfield

Abstract The influence of teleconnections on the Intra-Americas Sea (IAS; Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea) has been mostly analyzed from the perspective of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the Caribbean Sea (the latter being an extension of the tropical North Atlantic). This emphasis has overlooked both 1) the influence of other teleconnections on the IAS and 2) which teleconnections affect the Gulf of Mexico climate variability. In this study the different fingerprints that major teleconnection patterns have on the IAS during boreal spring are analyzed. Indices of teleconnection patterns are regressed and correlated to observations of oceanic temperature and atmospheric data from reanalyses and observational datasets. It is found that the Pacific teleconnection patterns that influence the IAS SSTs do so by affecting the Gulf of Mexico in an opposite manner to the Caribbean Sea. These analyzed Pacific climate patterns are the Pacific–North American (PNA) teleconnection, the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), and ENSO. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is related to a lesser degree with the north–south SST anomaly dipole than are Pacific teleconnection patterns. It is also found that the IAS influence from the midlatitude Pacific mostly affects the Gulf of Mexico, whereas the influence from the tropical Pacific mostly affects the Caribbean Sea. Therefore, the combination of a warm ENSO event and a positive PNA event induces a strong IAS SST anomaly dipole between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea during spring. By calculating an index that represents the IAS SST anomaly dipole, it is found that the dipole forms mostly in response to changes in the air–sea heat fluxes. In the Gulf of Mexico the dominant mechanisms are the air–sea differences in humidity and temperature. The changes in shortwave radiation also contribute to the dipole of net air–sea heat flux. The changes in shortwave radiation arise, in part, by the cloudiness triggered by the air–sea differences in humidity, and also by the changes in the convection cell that connects the Amazon basin to the IAS. Weaker Amazon convection (e.g., in the event of a warm ENSO event) reduces the subsidence over the IAS, and henceforth the IAS cloudiness increases (and the shortwave radiation decreases). This study contributes to a greater understanding of how the IAS is influenced by different Pacific and Atlantic teleconnections.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 5021-5040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunzai Wang ◽  
Sang-ki Lee ◽  
David B. Enfield

Abstract The Atlantic warm pool (AWP) is a large body of warm water that comprises the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the western tropical North Atlantic. Located to its northeastern side is the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH), which produces the tropical easterly trade winds. The easterly trade winds carry moisture from the tropical North Atlantic into the Caribbean Sea, where the flow intensifies, forming the Caribbean low-level jet (CLLJ). The CLLJ then splits into two branches: one turning northward and connecting with the Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ), and the other continuing westward across Central America into the eastern North Pacific. The easterly CLLJ and its westward moisture transport are maximized in the summer and winter, whereas they are minimized in the fall and spring. This semiannual feature results from the semiannual variation of sea level pressure in the Caribbean region owing to the westward extension and eastward retreat of the NASH. The NCAR Community Atmospheric Model and observational data are used to investigate the impact of the climatological annual mean AWP on the summer climate of the Western Hemisphere. Two groups of the model ensemble runs with and without the AWP are performed and compared. The model results show that the effect of the AWP is to weaken the summertime NASH, especially at its southwestern edge. The AWP also strengthens the summertime continental low over the North American monsoon region. In response to these pressure changes, the CLLJ and its moisture transport are weakened, but its semiannual feature does not disappear. The weakening of the easterly CLLJ increases (decreases) moisture convergence to its upstream (downstream) and thus enhances (suppresses) rainfall in the Caribbean Sea (in the far eastern Pacific west of Central America). Model runs show that the AWP’s effect is to always weaken the southerly GPLLJ. However, the AWP strengthens the GPLLJ’s northward moisture transport in the summer because the AWP-induced increase of specific humidity overcomes the weakening of southerly wind, and vice versa in the fall. Finally, the AWP reduces the tropospheric vertical wind shear in the main development region that favors hurricane formation and development during August–October.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (22) ◽  
pp. 8995-9005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruifang Wang ◽  
Liguang Wu

Abstract Whereas some studies linked the enhanced tropical cyclone (TC) formation in the North Atlantic basin to the ongoing global warming, other studies attributed it to the warm phase of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). Using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) dataset, the present study reveals the distinctive spatial patterns associated with the influences of the AMO and global warming on TC formation in the North Atlantic basin. Two leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF) patterns are identified in the climate change of TC formation on time scales longer than interannual. The first pattern is associated with the AMO and its spatial pattern shows the basin-scale enhancement of TC formation during the AMO positive phase. The second pattern is associated with global warming, showing enhanced TC formation in the east tropical Atlantic (5°–20°N, 15°–40°W) and reduced TC formation from the southeast coast of the United States extending southward to the Caribbean Sea. In the warm AMO phase, the basinwide decrease in vertical wind shear and increases in midlevel relative humidity and maximum potential intensity (MPI) favor the basinwide enhancement of TC formation. Global warming suppresses TC formation from the southeast coast of the United States extending southward to the Caribbean Sea through enhancing vertical wind shear and reducing midlevel relative humidity and MPI. The enhanced TC formation in the east tropical Atlantic is due mainly to a local increase in MPI or sea surface temperature (SST), leading to a close relationship between the Atlantic SST and TC activity over the past decades.


Author(s):  
William Gomez Pretel ◽  
Moon-Soo Jeong

AbstractPrevious studies suggest that tropical storms and hurricanes are among the leading causes of shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea since 1492. This paper will explore the relationship between shipwrecks and hurricanes in the Western Caribbean, particularly Roncador Cay, a place with complex environmental conditions that have made this area a trap for ships, but has up until now, been without rigorous shipwreck analysis. This study covers the period 1492 to 1920 with search results of 23 shipwrecks and 37 tropical cyclones compiled in databases, reviewing seven wrecks already documented and revealing new information on 16, previously not recorded. The sources provide detailed shipwrecks, demonstrating that most accidents occurred by unspecific causes and no direct relationship with hurricanes but were influenced by environmental conditions, such as geomorphology, cold fronts, or currents. There is also a reflection on the sociocultural changes and the influence of power in the region. The study includes a suggested tool for future research, protecting the wreck site and emphasizing the importance of the underwater cultural heritage as an indicator of the active maritime past.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berenice Rojo-Garibaldi ◽  
David Alberto Salas-de-León ◽  
María Adela Monreal-Gómez ◽  
Norma Leticia Sánchez-Santillán ◽  
David Salas-Monreal

Abstract. Hurricanes are complex systems that carry large amounts of energy. Their impact produces, the majority of the time, natural disasters involving the loss of human lives and of materials and infrastructure in billions of US dollars. However, not everything is negative, as hurricanes are the main source of rainwater for the regions where they develop. In this study, we perform a nonlinear analysis of the time series obtained from 1749 to 2012 of the occurrence of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The construction of the hurricane time series was carried out based on the hurricane database of The North Atlantic-basin Hurricane Database (HURDAT), and the published historical information. The Lyapunov exponent indicated that the system presented chaotic dynamics, and the time-series’ spectral analysis along with the nonlinear analysis of the hurricanes time series showed chaotic edge behavior. One possible explanation for this edge is the individual chaotic behavior of hurricanes, either by category or individually, regardless of their category, and their behavior on a regular basis.


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