scholarly journals Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics on insular beaches in the Western Tropical Atlantic Ocean

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Assunção Ivar do Sul ◽  
Monica Costa ◽  
Gilberto Fillmann
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Beach Sediments ◽  
Fernando De Noronha ◽  
Oceanographic Variables ◽  
Over Time

Microplastics are widespread throughout oceans and seas and beaches are no exceptions. On beach sediments, microplastics (<5mm) are commonly prevalent over macroplastics (>5mm), where fragments of larger items are sampled in greater amounts. The occurrence and characteristics of microplastics were investigated on beaches of Fernando de Noronha, Abrolhos and Trindade islands located in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean. Despite no microplastic was identified in Abrolhos at this time, small spatial variations were detected in Fernando de Noronha and Trindade islands, highlighting the importance of oceanographic variables on plastics distribution and accumulation over time.

scholarly journals Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics on insular beaches in the Western Tropical Atlantic Ocean

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Assunção Ivar do Sul ◽  
Monica Costa ◽  
Gilberto Fillmann
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Beach Sediments ◽  
Fernando De Noronha ◽  
Oceanographic Variables ◽  
Over Time

Microplastics are widespread throughout oceans and seas and beaches are no exceptions. On beach sediments, microplastics (<5mm) are commonly prevalent over macroplastics (>5mm), where fragments of larger items are sampled in greater amounts. The occurrence and characteristics of microplastics were investigated on beaches of Fernando de Noronha, Abrolhos and Trindade islands located in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean. Despite no microplastic was identified in Abrolhos at this time, small spatial variations were detected in Fernando de Noronha and Trindade islands, highlighting the importance of oceanographic variables on plastics distribution and accumulation over time.

scholarly journals Monthly solar radiation in the tropical Atlantic Ocean: Can its spatial variations be captured by the current configuration of the PIRATA moorings?

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 127-136
Author(s):  
Mélodie Trolliet ◽  
Lucien Wald
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Southern Basin ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Current Configuration ◽  
Geographically Distributed ◽  
Proper Design ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. The present work aims at contributing to the proper design of networks of measuring moorings with regard to the downwelling solar irradiance at surface (DSIS). Considering the yearly profiles of the monthly DSIS, this article studies whether the 17 moorings within the existing PIRATA network are well geographically distributed so that they capture the spatial variations of the yearly profiles in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. A clustering technique is performed onto the HelioClim-3v5 satellite-derived gridded dataset of DSIS spanning 12 years, thus yielding 17 zones of similar yearly profiles. It was found that the mean yearly profiles of several zones are similar to the measured ones at the three moorings having enough measurements to perform the comparison. Zones have clear connections with the climatology of the region and circulation regimes. The geographical distribution of the moorings has been analysed with regard to the zoning. In the northern region of the tropical basin, each zone contains at least one PIRATA mooring. Hence, the configuration of the PIRATA network is appropriate to reflect the spatial variations of the yearly profiles in this northern part. In the southern basin, the coverage is less complete; several zones do not contain any PIRATA mooring. Thus, the network does not capture the spatial variations of the yearly profiles and this may induce misinterpretation of the PIRATA measurements at synoptic scales. It was also found that the computation of latitudinal or longitudinal averages of irradiance may be wrong if based solely on measurements from moorings without taking into account the spatial representativeness of a mooring.

scholarly journals Small microplastics on beaches of Fernando de Noronha Island, Tropical Atlantic Ocean

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raqueline Cristina Pereira Monteiro ◽  
Juliana Assunção Ivar do Sul ◽  
Monica Ferreira Costa
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Fernando De Noronha

scholarly journals Bycatch species composition over time by tuna purse-seine fishery in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1157-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Torres-Irineo ◽  
Monin Justin Amandè ◽  
Daniel Gaertner ◽  
Alicia Delgado de Molina ◽  
Hilario Murua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Purse Seine ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Purse Seine Fishery

scholarly journals Correction to: Weakened SST variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean since 2000

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Prigent ◽  
Joke F. Lübbecke ◽  
Tobias Bayr ◽  
Mojib Latif ◽  
Christian Wengel
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Sst Variability

scholarly journals Simulated Dust Aerosol Impacts on Western Sahelian Rainfall: Importance of Ocean Coupling

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (22) ◽  
pp. 9107-9124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha K. Jordan ◽  
Anand Gnanadesikan ◽  
Benjamin Zaitchik
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
Sahel Region ◽  
Dust Precipitation

North Africa is the world’s largest source of mineral dust, and this dust has potentially significant impacts on precipitation. Yet there is no consensus in published studies regarding the sign or magnitude of dust impacts on rainfall in either the highly climate-sensitive Sahel region of North Africa or the neighboring tropical Atlantic Ocean. Here the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Climate Model 2 (GFDL CM2.0) with Modular Ocean Model, version 4.1 (MOM4.1), run at coarse resolution (CM2Mc) is applied to investigate one poorly characterized aspect of dust–precipitation dynamics: the importance of sea surface temperature (SST) changes in mediating the atmospheric response to dust. Two model experiments were performed: one comparing Dust-On to Dust-Off simulations in the absence of ocean–atmosphere coupling, and the second comparing Dust-On to Dust-Off with the ocean fully coupled. Results indicate that SST changes in the coupled experiment reduce the magnitude of dust impacts on Sahel rainfall and flip the sign of the precipitation response over the nearby ocean. Over the Sahel, CM2Mc simulates a net positive impact of dust on monsoon season rainfall, but ocean–atmosphere coupling in the presence of dust decreases the inflow of water vapor, reducing the amount by which dust enhances rainfall. Over the tropical Atlantic Ocean, dust leads to SST cooling in the coupled experiment, resulting in increased static stability that overrides the warming-induced increase in convection observed in the uncoupled experiment and yields a net negative impact of dust on precipitation. These model results highlight the potential importance of SST changes in dust–precipitation dynamics in North Africa and neighboring regions.

scholarly journals Impact of intraseasonal wind bursts on sea surface temperature variability in the far eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean during boreal spring 2005 and 2006: focus on the mid-May 2005 event

Ocean Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëlle Herbert ◽  
Bernard Bourlès
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Gulf Of Guinea ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Boreal Spring ◽  
Wind Bursts

Abstract. The impact of boreal spring intraseasonal wind bursts on sea surface temperature variability in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean in 2005 and 2006 is investigated using numerical simulation and observations. We especially focus on the coastal region east of 5° E and between the Equator and 7° S that has not been studied in detail so far. For both years, the southerly wind anomalies induced cooling episodes through (i) upwelling processes, (ii) vertical mixing due to the vertical shear of the current, and for some particular events (iii) a decrease in incoming surface shortwave radiation. The strength of the cooling episodes was modulated by subsurface conditions affected by the arrival of Kelvin waves from the west influencing the depth of the thermocline. Once impinging the eastern boundary, the Kelvin waves excited westward-propagating Rossby waves, which combined with the effect of enhanced westward surface currents contributed to the westward extension of the cold water. A particularly strong wind event occurred in mid-May 2005 and caused an anomalous strong cooling off Cape Lopez and in the whole eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean. From the analysis of oceanic and atmospheric conditions during this particular event, it appears that anomalously strong boreal spring wind strengthening associated with anomalously strong Hadley cell activity prematurely triggered the onset of coastal rainfall in the northern Gulf of Guinea, making it the earliest over the 1998–2008 period. No similar atmospheric conditions were observed in May over the 1998–2008 period. It is also found that the anomalous oceanic and atmospheric conditions associated with the event exerted a strong influence on rainfall off northeast Brazil. This study highlights the different processes through which the wind power from the South Atlantic is brought to the ocean in the Gulf of Guinea and emphasizes the need to further document and monitor the South Atlantic region.

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