Climatic controls on water vapor deuterium excess in the marine boundary layer of the North Atlantic based on 500 days of in situ, continuous measurements

Abstract. Continuous, in situ measurements of water vapor isotopic composition have been conducted in the North Atlantic, at the Bermuda Islands (32.26° N, 64.88° W), between November 2011 and June 2013, using a cavity ring-down spectrometer water vapor isotope analyzer and an autonomous self-designed calibration system. Meticulous calibration allows us to reach an accuracy and precision on 10 min average of δ18O, δ D, and d-excess of, 0.14, 0.85, and 1.1‰, verified using two parallel instruments with independent calibration. As a result of more than 500 days with 6-hourly data the relationships between deuterium excess, relative humidity (RH), sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed, and wind direction are assessed. From the whole data set, 84 % of d-excess variance is explained by a strong linear relationship with relative humidity. The slope of this relationship (−42.6 ± 0.4‰ % (RH)) is similar to the theoretical prediction of Merlivat and Jouzel (1979) for SST between 20 and 30 °C. However, in contrast with theory, no effect of wind speed could be detected on the relationship between d-excess and relative humidity. Separating the data set into winter, spring, summer, and autumn seasons reveals different linear relationships between d-excess and humidity. Changes in wind directions are observed to affect the relationships between d-excess and humidity. The observed seasonal variability in the relationship between d-excess and relative humidity underlines the importance of long-term monitoring to make accurate conclusions.

Download Full-text

Climatic controls on water vapor deuterium excess in the marine boundary layer of the North Atlantic based on 500 days of in situ, continuous measurements

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-14-2363-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 2363-2401 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

H. C. Steen-Larsen ◽

A. E. Sveinbjörnsdottir ◽

A. J. Peters ◽

V. Masson-Delmotte ◽

M. P. Guishard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Deuterium Excess ◽

The North ◽

Hourly Data ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The Relationship

Abstract. Continuous, in situ measurements of water vapor isotopic composition have been conducted in the North Atlantic, Bermuda Islands (32.26° N, 64.88° W) between November 2011 and June~2013, using a~cavity-ring-down-spectrometer water vapor isotope analyzer and an autonomous self-designed calibration system. Meticulous calibration allows us to reach an accuracy and precision on 10 min average of δ18O, δD, and d-excess of respectively 0.14 ‰, 0.85 ‰, and 1.1 ‰, verified using two parallel instruments with independent calibration. As a result of more than 500 days with 6 hourly data the relationships between deuterium excess, relative humidity (rh), sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed and direction are assessed. From the whole dataset, 84% of d-excess variance is explained by a strong linear relationship with relative humidity. The slope of this relationship (−42.6 ± 0.4 ‰ % (rh)) is similar to the theoretical prediction of Merlivat and Jouzel (1979) for SST between 20 °C and 30 °C. However, in contrast with theory, no effect of wind speed could be detected on the relationship between d-excess and relative humidity. Separating the dataset into winter, spring, summer, and autumn seasons reveals different linear relationships between d-excess and humidity. Changes in wind directions are observed to affect the relationships between d-excess and humidity. The observed seasonal variability in the relationship between d-excess and relative humidity underlines the importance of long-term monitoring to make accurate conclusions.

Download Full-text

IWV retrieval from ground GNSS receivers during NAWDEX

Advances in Geosciences ◽

10.5194/adgeo-55-13-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 55 ◽

pp. 13-22

Author(s):

Pierre Bosser ◽

Olivier Bock

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Satellite System ◽

Tropospheric Delay ◽

Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽

Data Set ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

Global Navigation Satellite

Abstract. A ground-based network of more than 1200 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) was analysed using GIPSY-OASIS II software package for the documentation of time and space variations of water vapor in atmosphere during the North Atlantic Waveguide and Downstream impact EXperiment (NAWDEX) during fall 2016. The network extends throughout the North Atlantic, from the Caribbeans to Morocco through Greenland. This paper presents the methodology used for GNSS data processing, screening, and conversion of Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) estimates to Integrated Water Vapor content (IWV) using surface parameters from reanalysis. The retrieved IWV are used to evaluate the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses ERAI and ERA5. ERA5 shows an overall improvement over ERAI in representing the spatial and temporal variability of IWV over the study area. The mean bias is decreased from 0.31±0.63 to 0.19±0.56 kg m−2 (mean ±1σ over all stations) and the standard deviation reduced from 2.17±0.67 to 1.64±0.53 kg m−2 combined with a slight improvement in correlation coefficient from 0.95 to 0.97. At regional scale, both reanalyses show a general wet bias at mid and northern latitudes but a dry bias in the Caribbeans. We hypothesize this results from the different nature of data being assimilated over the tropical oceans. This GNSS IWV data set is intended to be used for a better description of the high impact weather events that occurred during the NAWDEX experiment.

Download Full-text

Dissolution of calcium carbonate: observations and model results in the North Atlantic

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-3-1715-2006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

pp. 1715-1738 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K. Friis ◽

R. G. Najjar ◽

M. J. Follows ◽

S. Dutkiewicz ◽

A. Körtzinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Calcium Carbonate ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Global Scale ◽

Biogeochemical Model ◽

Mixing Processes ◽

Data Set ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

Model Support

Abstract. We investigate the significance of in situ dissolution of calcium carbonate above its saturation horizons. The study relies on observations from the open subpolar North Atlantic [sNA] and on a 3-D biogeochemical model. The sNA is particularly well suited for observation-based detections of in situ, i.e. shallow depth CaCO3 dissolution [SDCCD] as it is a region of high CaCO3 production, deep CaCO3 saturation horizons, and precisely-defined pre-formed alkalinity. Based on the analysis of a comprehensive alkalinity data set we find that SDCCD does not appear to be a significant process in the open sNA. The results from the model support the observational findings and do not indicate a significant need of SDCCD to explain observed patterns of alkalinity in the North Atlantic. Instead our investigation points to the importance of mixing processes for the redistribution of alkalinity from dissolution of CaCO3 from below its saturation horizons. However, mixing has recently been neglected for a number of studies that called for SDCCD in the sNA and on global scale.

Download Full-text

Tuning and assessment of the HYCOM-NORWECOM V2.1 biogeochemical modeling system for the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-8-2187-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 2187-2202 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. Samuelsen ◽

C. Hansen ◽

H. Wehde

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

North Atlantic ◽

The Arctic ◽

Data Set ◽

Atlantic Sector ◽

The North ◽

Resolution Model ◽

High Resolution Model ◽

The North Atlantic

Abstract. The HYCOM-NORWECOM (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model–NORWegian ECOlogical Model) modeling system is used both for basic research and as a part of the forecasting system for the Arctic Marine Forecasting Centre through the MyOcean project. Here we present a revised version of this model. The present model, as well as the sensitivity simulations leading up to this version, have been compared to a data set of in situ measurements of nutrient and chlorophyll from the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic sector of the Arctic Ocean. The model revisions having the most impact included adding diatoms to the diet of microzooplankton, increasing microzooplankton grazing rate and decreasing the silicate-to-nitrate ratio in diatoms. Model runs are performed both with a coarse- (~ 50 km) and higher-resolution (~ 15 km) model configuration, both covering the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. While the new model formulation improves the results in both the coarse- and high-resolution model, the nutrient bias is smaller in the high-resolution model, probably as a result of the better resolution of the main processes and improved circulation. The final revised version delivers satisfactory results for all three nutrients as well as improved results for chlorophyll in terms of the annual cycle amplitude. However, for chlorophyll the correlation with in situ data remains relatively low. Besides the large uncertainties associated with observational data this is possibly caused by the fact that constant C:N- and Chl:N ratios are implemented in the model.

Download Full-text

Estimation of the oceanic pCO<sub>2</sub> in the North Atlantic from VOS lines in-situ measurements: parameters needed to generate seasonally mean maps

Annales Geophysicae ◽

10.5194/angeo-25-2247-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 25 (11) ◽

pp. 2247-2257 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

C. Jamet ◽

C. Moulin ◽

N. Lefèvre

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

Mixed Layer Depth ◽

Chlorophyll Concentration ◽

In Situ Measurements ◽

High Pco2 ◽

Physical Parameters ◽

Data Set ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic

Abstract. Automated instruments on board Volunteer Observing Ships (VOS) have provided high-frequency pCO2 measurements over basin-wide regions for a decade or so. In order to estimate regional air-sea CO2 fluxes, it is necessary to interpolate between in-situ measurements to obtain maps of the marine pCO2. Such an interpolation remains, however, a difficult task because VOS lines are too distant from each other to capture the high pCO2 variability. Relevant physical parameters available at large scale are thus necessary to serve as a guide to estimate the pCO2 values between the VOS lines. Satellites do not measure pCO2 but they give access to parameters related to the processes that control its variability, such as sea surface temperature (SST). In this paper we developed a method to compute pCO2 maps using satellite data (SST and CHL, the chlorophyll concentration), combined with a climatology of the mixed-layer depth (MLD). Using 15 401 measurements of surface pCO2 acquired in the North Atlantic between UK and Jamaica, between June 1994 and August 1995, we show that the parameterization of pCO2 as a function of SST, CHL and MLD yields more realistic pCO2 values than parameterizations that have been widely used in the past, based on SST, latitude, longitude or SST only. This parameterization was then used to generate seasonal maps of pCO2 over the North Atlantic. Results show that our approach yields the best marine pCO2 estimates, both in terms of absolute accuracy, when compared with an independent data set, and of geographical patterns, when compared to the climatology of Takahashi et al. (2002). This suggests that monitoring the seasonal variability of pCO2 over basin-wide regions is possible, provided that sufficient VOS lines are available.

Download Full-text

North Atlantic warming over six decades drives decreases in krill abundance with no associated range shift

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-02159-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Martin Edwards ◽

Pierre Hélaouët ◽

Eric Goberville ◽

Alistair Lindley ◽

Geraint A. Tarling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

Range Shift ◽

The Core ◽

Krill Abundance ◽

The North ◽

Living Space ◽

Warming Climate ◽

Two Temperatures ◽

The North Atlantic

AbstractIn the North Atlantic, euphausiids (krill) form a major link between primary production and predators including commercially exploited fish. This basin is warming very rapidly, with species expected to shift northwards following their thermal tolerances. Here we show, however, that there has been a 50% decline in surface krill abundance over the last 60 years that occurred in situ, with no associated range shift. While we relate these changes to the warming climate, our study is the first to document an in situ squeeze on living space within this system. The warmer isotherms are shifting measurably northwards but cooler isotherms have remained relatively static, stalled by the subpolar fronts in the NW Atlantic. Consequently the two temperatures defining the core of krill distribution (7–13 °C) were 8° of latitude apart 60 years ago but are presently only 4° apart. Over the 60 year period the core latitudinal distribution of euphausiids has remained relatively stable so a ‘habitat squeeze’, with loss of 4° of latitude in living space, could explain the decline in krill. This highlights that, as the temperature warms, not all species can track isotherms and shift northward at the same rate with both losers and winners emerging under the ‘Atlantification’ of the sub-Arctic.

Download Full-text

Transport and storage of anthropogenic C in the North Atlantic Subpolar Ocean

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-15-4661-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (14) ◽

pp. 4661-4682 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Virginie Racapé ◽

Patricia Zunino ◽

Herlé Mercier ◽

Pascale Lherminier ◽

Laurent Bopp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Interannual Variability ◽

North Atlantic ◽

General Circulation ◽

Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽

Intermediate Water ◽

Data Set ◽

The North ◽

Storage Rate ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

And Storage

Abstract. The North Atlantic Ocean is a major sink region for atmospheric CO2 and contributes to the storage of anthropogenic carbon (Cant). While there is general agreement that the intensity of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) modulates uptake, transport and storage of Cant in the North Atlantic Subpolar Ocean, processes controlling their recent variability and evolution over the 21st century remain uncertain. This study investigates the relationship between transport, air–sea flux and storage rate of Cant in the North Atlantic Subpolar Ocean over the past 53 years. Its relies on the combined analysis of a multiannual in situ data set and outputs from a global biogeochemical ocean general circulation model (NEMO–PISCES) at 1∕2∘ spatial resolution forced by an atmospheric reanalysis. Despite an underestimation of Cant transport and an overestimation of anthropogenic air–sea CO2 flux in the model, the interannual variability of the regional Cant storage rate and its driving processes were well simulated by the model. Analysis of the multi-decadal simulation revealed that the MOC intensity variability was the major driver of the Cant transport variability at 25 and 36∘ N, but not at OVIDE. At the subpolar OVIDE section, the interannual variability of Cant transport was controlled by the accumulation of Cant in the MOC upper limb. At multi-decadal timescales, long-term changes in the North Atlantic storage rate of Cant were driven by the increase in air–sea fluxes of anthropogenic CO2. North Atlantic Central Water played a key role for storing Cant in the upper layer of the subtropical region and for supplying Cant to Intermediate Water and North Atlantic Deep Water. The transfer of Cant from surface to deep waters occurred mainly north of the OVIDE section. Most of the Cant transferred to the deep ocean was stored in the subpolar region, while the remainder was exported to the subtropical gyre within the lower MOC.

Download Full-text