scholarly journals A Climatological Interpretation of the Circulation in the Western South Pacific*

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 2492-2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tangdong Qu ◽  
Eric J. Lindstrom
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Guinea Coast ◽  
Boundary Currents ◽  
The North ◽  
Intermediate Layers ◽  
Water Property ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Equatorial Current

Abstract Time-averaged circulation is examined using historical hydrographic data near the Australia and Papua New Guinea coast in the Pacific. By averaging the data along isopycnal surfaces in a 0.5° × 0.5° grid, the authors are able to show many detailed phenomena associated with the narrow western boundary currents, including the vertical structure of the bifurcation latitude of the South Equatorial Current (SEC) and the connection between the Solomon and Coral Seas. The bifurcation latitude of the SEC is found to move southward from about 15°S near the surface to south of 22°S in the intermediate layers. The origin of the Great Barrier Reef Undercurrent (GBRUC) is identified to be at about 22°S. Farther to the north, the GBRUC intensifies underlying the surface East Australian Current, and merges with the North Queensland Current (NQC) at about 15°S. The NQC turns eastward to flow along the Papua New Guinea coast and feeds into the New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent (NGCUC) through the Louisiade Archipelago. Further analysis shows that there is a strong water property connection between the Coral and Solomon Seas, confirming the earlier speculation on the water mass origins of the NGCUC.

Spatial variability of phytoplankton in the Pacific western boundary currents during summer 2014

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 1887
Author(s):  
Yunyan Chen ◽  
Xiaoxia Sun ◽  
Mingliang Zhu ◽  
Shan Zheng ◽  
Yongquan Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Flow Cytometry Analysis ◽  
Concentration Data ◽  
Western Boundary Currents ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Boundary Currents ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific

The spatial distribution of phytoplankton was investigated during the summer of 2014 in two different regions of the Pacific western boundary current, namely the Warm Pool near the equator and the subtropical Kuroshio south area. Traditional approaches (size-fractionated chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and microscopic analyses) combined with single-cell analysis (using a flow cytometer) were used to analyse the whole range of phytoplankton. Flow cytometry analysis resolved five clusters, two belonging to the pico-size fraction and three belonging to the nano-size fraction. Microscopy analysis revealed that the genera Coscinodiscus, Rhizosolenia, Chaetoceros and Ceratium were numerically dominant in the region studied. The lowest values of Chl-a, phytoplankton abundance and carbon biomass were found in the Kuroshio south area. Both Chl-a concentration data and flow cytometry analysis revealed that picophytoplankton were the predominant contributors to phytoplankton in the Pacific western boundary currents. Along the three transects during the summer cruise, Synechococcus and nanocyanobacteria-like organisms numerically dominated in surface waters with higher temperature. In contrast, eukaryotes were primarily distributed in subsurface waters with higher nutrients, especially in the eddy upwelling region mainly associated with the North Equatorial Counter Current. The vertical distribution of phytoplankton over the epipelagic layer reinforces the important role of currents in the north-western Pacific during summer.

scholarly journals From the western boundary currents to the Pacific Equatorial Undercurrent: Modeled pathways and water mass evolutions

2011 ◽  
Vol 116 (C12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Grenier ◽  
Sophie Cravatte ◽  
Bruno Blanke ◽  
Christophe Menkes ◽  
Ariane Koch-Larrouy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Mass ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Western Boundary Currents ◽  
Equatorial Undercurrent ◽  
Boundary Currents ◽  
The Pacific

scholarly journals ‘Food is life’: Documenting the politics of food in Melanesia

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Ceridwen Spark
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Population Management ◽  
Creative Performance ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
West Papua ◽  
The Impact

In this article, I discuss two recent examples of women’s filmmaking in Melanesia. The documentaries are Tanah Mama (2014), focused on West Papua and Café Niugini (2015), set in Papua New Guinea. Both films explore and represent food in profoundly different ways. Here, I consider their respective depictions of food, demonstrating that Tanah Mama represents food as sustenance while Café Niugini renders food as ‘cuisine’ through the ‘creative performance’ of cookery. Nevertheless, and as I argue, both documentaries reflect the filmmakers’ interest in representing issues associated with food in the Pacific, including the importance of Indigenous access to land, population management, gender roles and the impact of changing cultural values on food consumption and health.

The World’s Oldest Tsunami Victim at the Gateway to the Pacific—and Beyond

Tsunami ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 37-48
Author(s):  
James Goff ◽  
Walter Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Mass Graves ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Settlement Abandonment

The 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami was a significant puzzle for scientists who finally cracked the cause, but it also marks the most recent event of many that can be dated back to at least 6,000 years ago where the skull of the oldest tsunami victim in the world was found. Papua New Guinea was also the starting point for the most remarkable navigational feat in the world, with Polynesians moving rapidly east into the Pacific Ocean, their settlement of the region being punctuated by hiatuses caused by catastrophic tsunamis approximately 3,000, 2,000, and 600 years ago. It was on isolated Pacific islands that humans first came into contact with the deadly Pacific Ring of Fire. Settlement abandonment, mass graves, and cultural collapse mark their progress.

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