Search

Surface gravity waves play a major role in the exchange of momentum, heat, energy, and gases between the ocean and the atmosphere. The interaction between currents and waves can lead to variations in the wave direction, frequency, and amplitude. In the present work, we use an ensemble of synthetic currents to force the wave model WAVEWATCH III and assess the relative impact of current divergence and vorticity in modifying several properties of the waves, including direction, period, directional spreading, and significant wave height Hs. We find that the spatial variability of Hs is highly sensitive to the nature of the underlying current and that refraction is the main mechanism leading to gradients of Hs. The results obtained using synthetic currents were used to interpret the response of surface waves to realistic currents by running an additional set of simulations using the llc4320 MITgcm output in the California Current region. Our findings suggest that wave parameters could be used to detect and characterize strong gradients in the velocity field, which is particularly relevant for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite as well as several proposed satellite missions.

Airborne lidar altimetry can measure the sea surface height (SSH) over scales ranging from hundreds of kilometers to a few meters. Here, we analyze the spectrum of SSH observations collected during an airborne lidar campaign conducted off the California coast. We show that the variance in the surface wave band can be over 20 times larger than the variance at submesoscales and that the observed SSH variability is sensitive to the directionality of surface waves. Our results support the hypothesis that there is a spectral gap between meso-to-submesoscale motions and small-scale surface waves and also indicate that aliasing of surface waves into lower wavenumbers may complicate the interpretation of SSH spectra. These results highlight the importance of better understanding the contributions of different physics to the SSH variability and considering the SSH spectrum as a continuum in the context of future satellite altimetry missions.

Tides and Earth-Moon system evolution are coupled over geological time. Tidal energy dissipation on Earth slows Earth's rotation rate, increases obliquity, lunar orbit semi-major axis and eccentricity, and decreases lunar inclination. Tidal and core-mantle boundary dissipation within the Moon decrease inclination, eccentricity and semi-major axis. Here we integrate the Earth-Moon system backwards for 4.5Ga with orbital dynamics and explicit ocean tide models that are "high-level" (i.e., not idealized). To account for uncertain plate tectonic histories, we employ Monte Carlo simulations, with tidal energy dissipation rates (normalized relative to astronomical forcing parameters) randomly selected from ocean tide simulations with modern ocean basin geometry and with 55, 116, and 252Ma reconstructed basin paleogeometries. The normalized dissipation rates depend upon basin geometry and Earth's rotation rate. Faster Earth rotation generally yields lower normalized dissipation rates. The Monte Carlo results provide a spread of possible early values for the Earth-Moon system parameters. Of consequence for ocean circulation and climate, absolute (un-normalized) ocean tidal energy dissipation rates on the early Earth may have exceeded today's rate due to a closer Moon. Prior to ∼3Ga , evolution of inclination and eccentricity is dominated by tidal and core-mantle boundary dissipation within the Moon, which yield high lunar orbit inclinations in the early Earth-Moon system. A drawback for our results is that the semi-major axis does not collapse to near-zero values at 4.5Ga, as indicated by most lunar formation models. Additional processes, missing from our current efforts, are discussed as topics for future investigation.

Author(s): Hell, Momme C; Gille, Sarah T; Cornuelle, Bruce D; Miller, Arthur J; Bromirski, Peter D; Crawford, Alex D

Surface waves are crucial for the dynamics of the upper ocean not only because they mediate exchanges of momentum, heat, energy, and gases between the ocean and the atmosphere, but also because they determine the sea state. The surface wave field in a given region is set by the combination of local and remote forcing. The present work characterizes the seasonal variability of the deep water surface wave field in the California Current region, as retrieved from over two decades of satellite altimetry data combined with wave buoys and wave model hindcast (WaveWatch III). In particular, the extent to which the local wind modulates the variability of the significant wave height, peak period, and peak direction is assessed. During spring/summer, regional-scale wind events of up to 10 m/s are the dominant forcing for waves off the California coast, leading to relatively short-period waves (8–10 s) that come predominantly from the north-northwest. The wave climatology throughout the California Current region shows average significant wave heights exceeding 2 m during most of the year, which may have implications for the planning and retrieval methods of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission.

cited By 9; International audience; Ocean surface winds, currents, and waves play a crucial role in exchanges of momentum, energy, heat, freshwater, gases, and other tracers between the ocean, atmosphere, and ice. Despite surface waves being strongly coupled to the upper ocean circulation and the overlying atmosphere, efforts to improve ocean, atmospheric, and wave observations and models have evolved somewhat independently. From an observational point of view, community efforts to bridge this gap have led to proposals for satellite Doppler oceanography mission concepts, which could provide unprecedented measurements of absolute surface velocity and directional wave spectrum at global scales. This paper reviews the present state of observations of surface winds, currents, and waves, and it outlines observational gaps that limit our current understanding of coupled processes that happen at the air-sea-ice interface. A significant challenge for the coming decade of wind, current, and wave observations will come in combining and interpreting measurements from (a) wave-buoys and high-frequency radars in coastal regions, (b) surface drifters and wave-enabled drifters in the open-ocean, marginal ice zones, and wave-current interaction "hot-spots," and (c) simultaneous measurements of absolute surface currents, ocean surface wind vector, and directional wave spectrum from Doppler satellite sensors.

We investigate the sensitivity of numerical-model solutions to regional changes in vertical diffusion. Specifically, we vary the background diffusion coefficient, κb, within spatially distinct subregions of the tropical Pacific, assess the impacts of those changes, and diagnose the processes that account for them. Solutions respond to a diffusion anomaly, δκb, in three ways. Initially, there is a fast response (several months), due to the interaction of rapidly-propagating, barotropic and gravity waves with eddies and other mesoscale features. It is followed by a local response (roughly one year), the initial growth and spatial pattern of which can be explained by one-dimensional (vertical) diffusion. At this stage, temperature and salinity anomalies are generated that are either associated with a change in density (“dynamical” anomalies) or without one (“spiciness” anomalies). In a final adjustment stage, the dynamical and spiciness anomalies spread to remote regions by radiation of Rossby and Kelvin waves and by advection, respectively. In near-equilibrium solutions, dynamical anomalies are generally much larger in the latitude band of the forcing, but the impact of off-equatorial forcing by δκb on the equatorial temperature structure is still significant. Spiciness anomalies spread equatorward within the pycnocline, where they are carried to the equator as part of the subsurface branch of the Pacific Subtropical Cells, and spiciness also extends to the equator via western-boundary currents. Forcing near and at the equator generates strong dynamical anomalies, and sometimes additional spiciness anomalies, at pycnocline depths. The total response of the equatorial temperature structure to δκb in various regions depends on the strength and spatial pattern of the generation of each signal within the forcing region as well as on the processes of its spreading to the equator.

The short-term (less than 20 days) response of surface circulation to wind has been determined in waters of the southeastern Bay of Biscay, using wind impulse response (time domain) and transfer (frequency domain) functions relating high-frequency radar currents and reanalysis winds. The response of surface currents is amplified at the near-inertial frequency and the low-frequency and it varies spatially. The analysis indicates that the response of the ocean to the wind is slightly anisotropic, likely due to pressure gradients and friction induced by the bottom and coastline boundaries in this region. Thus, the transfer function at the near-inertial frequency decreases onshore due to the coastline inhibition of circularly polarized near-inertial motion. In contrast, the low-frequency transfer function is enhanced toward the coast as a result of the geostrophic balance between the cross-shore pressure gradient and the Coriolis forces. The transfer functions also vary with season. In summer, the current response to wind is expected to be stronger but shallower due to stratification; in winter, the larger mixed layer depth results in a weaker but deeper response. The results obtained are consistent with the theoretical description of wind-driven circulation and can be used to develop a statistical model with a broad range of applications including accurate oceanic forecasting and understanding of the coupled atmosphere-ocean influence on marine ecosystems.

[1] The network comprising 61 high-frequency radar systems along the U.S. West Coast (USWC) provides a unique, high resolution, and broad scale view of ocean surface circulation. Subinertial alongshore surface currents show poleward propagating signals with phase speeds of O(10) and O(100–300) km d −1 that are consistent with historical in situ observations off the USWC and that can be possibly interpreted as coastally trapped waves (CTWs). The propagating signals in the slow mode are partly observed in southern California, which may result from scattering and reflection of higher-mode CTWs due to curvature of shoreline and bathymetry near Point Conception, California. On the other hand, considering the order of the phase speed in the slow mode, the poleward propagating signals may be attributed to alongshore advection or pressure-driven flows. A statistical regression of coastal winds at National Data Buoy Center buoys on the observed surface currents partitions locally and remotely wind-forced components, isolates footprints of the equatorward propagating storm events in winter off the USWC, and shows the poleward propagating signals year round.

Measurements of acoustic ray travel-times in the ocean provide synoptic integrals of the ocean state between source and receiver. It is known that the ray travel-time is sensitive to variations in the ocean at the transmission time, but the sensitivity of the travel-time to spatial variations in the ocean prior to the acoustic transmission have not been quantified. This study examines the sensitivity of ray travel-time to the temporally and spatially evolving ocean state in the Philippine Sea using the adjoint of a numerical model. A one year series of five day backward integrations of the adjoint model quantify the sensitivity of travel-times to varying dynamics that can alter the travel-time of a 611 km ray by 200 ms. The early evolution of the sensitivities reveals high-mode internal waves that dissipate quickly, leaving the lowest three modes, providing a connection to variations in the internal tide generation prior to the sample time. They are also strongly sensitive to advective effects that alter density along the ray path. These sensitivities reveal how travel-time measurements are affected by both nearby and distant waters. Temporal nonlinearity of the sensitivities suggests that prior knowledge of the ocean state is necessary to exploit the travel-time observations.

[1] Steric variability in the ocean includes diabatic changes in the surface layer due to air-sea buoyancy fluxes and adiabatic changes due to advection, which are dominant in the subsurface ocean. Here the annual signal in subsurface steric height (η′below 200 db) is computed on a global scale using temperature and salinity profiles from Argo floats. The zonal average of Δη′ over a season (e.g., ηMarch′−ηDecember′) is compared to the wind-forced vertical advection contribution (Δηw′) both in the global ocean and in different basins. The results show agreement that extends beyond the tropics. The estimate of Δηw′ is based on the Ekman pumping and assumes that the seasonal vertical velocity is constant over the depth range of interest. This assumption is consistent with annual isopycnal displacements inferred from Argo profiles. The contribution of horizontal advection to Δη′is significant in some regions and consistent with differences between Δη′ and Δηw′.

[1] An ocean state estimate has been developed for the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) using the MIT general circulation model and its adjoint. The estimate has been tested by forecasting loop current (LC) evolution and eddy shedding in the GoM. The adjoint (or four-dimensional variational) method was used to match the model evolution to observations by adjusting model temperature and salinity initial conditions, open boundary conditions, and atmospheric forcing fields. The model was fit to satellite-derived along-track sea surface height, separated into temporal mean and anomalies, and gridded sea surface temperature for 2 month periods. The optimized state at the end of the assimilation period was used to initialize the forecast for 2 months. Forecasts explore practical LC predictability and provide a cross-validation test of the state estimate by comparing it to independent future observations. The model forecast was tested for several LC eddy separation events, including Eddy Franklin in May 2010 during the deepwater horizon oil spill disaster in the GoM. The forecast used monthly climatological open boundary conditions, atmospheric forcing, and run-off fluxes. The model performance was evaluated by computing model-observation root-mean-square difference (rmsd) during both the hindcast and forecast periods. The rmsd metrics for the forecast generally outperformed persistence (keeping the initial state fixed) and reference (forecast initialized using assimilated Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model 1/12° global analysis) model simulations during LC eddy separation events for a period of 12 months.

[1] Adjoint model sensitivity analyses were applied for the loop current (LC) and its eddy shedding in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) using the MIT general circulation model (MITgcm). The circulation in the GoM is mainly driven by the energetic LC and subsequent LC eddy separation. In order to understand which ocean regions and features control the evolution of the LC, including anticyclonic warm-core eddy shedding in the GoM, forward and adjoint sensitivities with respect to previous model state and atmospheric forcing were computed using the MITgcm and its adjoint. Since the validity of the adjoint model sensitivities depends on the capability of the forward model to simulate the real LC system and the eddy shedding processes, a 5 year (2004–2008) forward model simulation was performed for the GoM using realistic atmospheric forcing, initial, and boundary conditions. This forward model simulation was compared to satellite measurements of sea-surface height (SSH) and sea-surface temperature (SST), and observed transport variability. Despite realistic mean state, standard deviations, and LC eddy shedding period, the simulated LC extension shows less variability and more regularity than the observations. However, the model is suitable for studying the LC system and can be utilized for examining the ocean influences leading to a simple, and hopefully generic LC eddy separation in the GoM. The adjoint sensitivities of the LC show influences from the Yucatan Channel (YC) flow and Loop Current Frontal Eddy (LCFE) on both LC extension and eddy separation, as suggested by earlier work. Some of the processes that control LC extension after eddy separation differ from those controlling eddy shedding, but include YC through-flow. The sensitivity remains stable for more than 30 days and moves generally upstream, entering the Caribbean Sea. The sensitivities of the LC for SST generally remain closer to the surface and move at speeds consistent with advection by the high-speed core of the current, while sensitivities to SSH generally extend to deeper layers and propagate more slowly. The adjoint sensitivity to relative vorticity deduced from the sensitivities to velocity fields suggests that advection of cyclonic (positive) relative vorticity anomalies from the YC or the LCFEs accelerate the LC eddy separation. Forward model perturbation experiments were performed to complement and check the adjoint sensitivity analysis as well as sampling the predictability and nonlinearity of the LC evolution. The model and its adjoint can be used in four-dimensional variational assimilation (4D-VAR) to produce dynamically consistent ocean state estimates for analysis and forecasts of the circulation of the GoM.

The article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3666014 Environmental sensors moored on the New Jersey continental shelf tracked constant density surfaces (isopycnals) for 35 days in the summer of 2006. Sound-speed fluctuations from internal-wave vertical isopycnal displacements and from temperature/salinity variability along isopycnals (spiciness) are analyzed using frequency spectra and vertical covariance functions. Three varieties of internal waves are studied: Diffuse broadband internal waves (akin to waves fitting the deep water Garrett/Munk spectrum), internal tides, and, to a lesser extent, nonlinear internal waves. These internal-wave contributions are approximately distinct in the frequency domain. It is found that in the main thermocline spicy thermohaline structure dominates the root mean square sound-speed variability, with smaller contributions coming from (in order) nonlinear internal waves, diffuse internal waves, and internal tides. The frequency spectra of internal-wave displacements and of spiciness have similar form, likely due to the advection of variable-spiciness water masses by horizontal internal-wave currents, although there are technical limitations to the observations at high frequency. In the low-frequency, internal-wave band the internal-wave spectrum follows frequency to the −1.81 power, whereas the spice spectrum shows a −1.73 power. Mode spectra estimated via covariance methods show that the diffuse internal-wave spectrum has a smaller mode bandwidth than Garrett/Munk and that the internal tide has significant energy in modes one through three. This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research, and Professor Colosi gratefully acknowledges his additional support from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Undersea Warfare Chair that he holds.

The Inverse Ocean Modeling (IOM) System is a modular system for constructing and running weak-constraint four-dimensional variational data assimilation (W4DVAR) for any linear or nonlinear functionally smooth dynamical model and observing array. The IOM has been applied to four ocean models with widely varying characteristics. The Primitive Equations Z-coordinate-Harmonic Analysis of Tides (PEZ-HAT) and the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) are three-dimensional, primitive equations models while the Advanced Circulation model in 2D (ADCIRC-2D) and Spectral Element Ocean Model in 2D (SEOM-2D) are shallow-water models belonging to the general finite-element family. These models, in conjunction with the IOM, have been used to investigate a wide variety of scientific phenomena including tidal, mesoscale, and wind-driven circulation. In all cases, the assimilation of data using the IOM provides a better estimate of the ocean state than the model alone.

This work seeks to understand the effects of topography on the ocean general and regional circulation with a focus on the wide range of scales of interactions. The small-scale details of the topography and the waves, eddies, drag, and turbulence it generates (at spatial scales ranging from meters to mesoscale) interact in the boundary layers to influence the ambient larger-scale flow. We have studied these issues through ocean model simulations, adjoint sensitivity experiments, and state estimation using ocean observations in the region surrounding an island in the westward-flowing limb of the subtropical gyre.

Polar temperature is often inferred from water isotopes in ice cores. However, non-temperature effects on δ 18 O are important during the abrupt events of the last glacial period, such as changes in the seasonality of precipitation, the northward movement of the storm track, and the increase in accumulation. These effects complicate the interpretation of δ 18 O as a temperature proxy. Here, we present an independent surface temperature reconstruction, which allows us to test the relationship between δ 18 O ice and temperature, during Dansgaard–Oeschger event 8, 38.2 thousand yrs ago using new δ 15 N and δ 40 Ar data from the GISP2 ice core in Greenland. This temperature reconstruction relies on a new inversion of inert gas isotope data using generalized least-squares, and includes a robust uncertainty estimation. We find that both temperature and δ 18 O increased in two steps of 20 and 140 yrs, with an overall amplitude of 11.80 ± 1.8 °C between the stadial and interstadial centennial-mean temperature. The coefficient α = d δ O 18 / d T changes with each time-segment, which shows that non-temperature sources of fractionation have a significant contribution to the δ 18 O signal. When measured on century-averaged values, we find that α = d δ O 18 / d T = 0.32 ± 0.06 ‰ / ° C , which is similar to the glacial/Holocene value of 0.328‰/°C.

Ocean heat transport near the tropical/subtropical boundary of the North Pacific during 1993–1999 is described, including its mean and time variability. Twenty-eight trans-Pacific high-resolution expendable bathythermograph (XBT)/expendable conductivity-temperature-depth (XCTD) transects are used together with directly measured and operational wind estimates to calculate the geostrophic and Ekman transports. The mean heat transport across the XBT transect was 0.83±0.12 pW during the 7 year period. The large number of transects enables a stable estimate of the mean field to be made, with error bars based on the known variability. The North Pacific heat engine is a shallow meridional overturning circulation that includes warm Ekman and western boundary current components flowing northward, balanced by a southward flow of cool thermocline waters (including Subtropical Mode Waters). A near-balance of geostrophic and Ekman transports holds in an interannual sense as well as for the time mean. Interannual variability in geostrophic transport is strikingly similar to the pattern of central North Pacific sea level pressure variability (the North Pacific Index). The interannual range in heat transport was more than 0.4 pW during 1993–1999, with maximum northward values about 1 pW in early 1994 and early 1997. The ocean heat transport time series is similar to that of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts air-sea heat flux integrated over the Pacific north of the XBT line. The repeating nature of the XBT/XCTD transects, with direct wind measurements, allows a substantial improvement over previous heat transport estimates based on one-time transects. A global system is envisioned for observing the time-varying ocean heat transport and its role in the Earth's heat budget and climate system.

High-frequency underwater acoustic transmissions across the Strait of Gibraltar were used to examine acoustic scattering caused by the unique internal wave field in the Strait. Internal solitary waves of 100 m in amplitude propagate along the interface between an upper layer of Atlantic water and a lower layer of Mediterranean water. The interface is also strongly modulated by internal tides of comparable amplitude. As internal solitary waves cross the acoustic path, they cause sharp soundspeed gradients which intermittently refract acoustic rays away from normal sound channels. Internal tides vertically shift soundspeed profiles for additional travel time variability. Although the acoustic scattering is quite complicated, it is also surprisingly robust, making it a good candidate for modeling. Key features of the acoustic arrival pattern can be accounted for in some detail by a model description of the complex hydraulics in the Strait.

A deep, nonlinear warm eddy advecting water that was also anomalously saltier, lower in oxygen, and higher in nutrients relative to surrounding waters was observed in moored current and temperature measurements and in hydrographic data obtained at a site ∼400 km off the coast of northern California. The eddy was reproduced using a nonlinear quasi-geostrophic model, initialized by an iterative procedure using time series of 2-day averaged moored current measurements. The procedure demonstrates how a data assimilative technique synthesizes and enhances the resolution of a relatively sparse data set by incorporating time-dependence and model physics. The model forecast showed significant skill above persistence or climatology for 40 days. Our hypothesis, that the eddy was generated at the coast in winter and subsequently moved 400 km offshore by May, is consistent with the eddy movement diagnosed by the model and with the observations and coastal climatology. The model evolution significantly underpredicted the temperature anomaly in the eddy owing in part to unmodeled salinity compensation in trapped California Undercurrent water. Together, observations and model results show a stable nonlinear eddy in the California Current System that transported water and properties southwestward through the energetic eastern boundary region. Coherent features such as this one may be a mechanism for property transfer between the eddy-rich coastal zone and the eddy desert of the eastern North Pacific Ocean.

TOPEX/Poseidon altimetric height is compared with 20 transpacific eddy-resolving realizations of steric height. The latter are calculated from temperature (expendable bathythermograph (XBT)) and salinity (expendable conductivity and temperature profiler (XCTD)) profiles along a precisely repeating ship track over a period of 5 years. The overall difference between steric height and altimetric height is 5.2 cm RMS. On long wavelengths (λ 500 km), containing 17% of the steric height variance, the 3.0 cm RMS difference and lowered coherence are due to the sparse distribution of altimeter ground tracks along the XBT section. The 2.4 cm RMS difference in the basin-wide spatial mean appears to be due to fluctuations in bottom pressure. Differences between steric height and altimetric height increase near the western boundary, but data variance increases even more, and so the signal-to-noise ratio is highest in the western quarter of the transect. Basin-wide integrals of surface geostrophic transport from steric height and altimetric height are in reasonable agreement. The 1.9×104 m2 s−1 RMS difference is mainly because the interpolated altimetric height lacks spatial resolution across the narrow western boundary current. A linear regression is used to demonstrate the estimation of subsurface temperature from altimetric data. Errors diminish from 0.8°C at 200 m to 0.3°C at 400 m. Geostrophic volume transport, 0–800 m, shows agreement that is similar to surface transport, with 4.8 Sverdrup (Sv) (106 m3 s−1) RMS difference. The combination of altimetric height with subsurface temperature and salinity profiling is a powerful tool for observing variability in circulation and transport of the upper ocean. The continuing need for appropriate subsurface data for verification and for statistical estimation is emphasized. This includes salinity measurements, which significantly reduce errors in specific volume and steric height.

Tomographic data obtained during early 1989 in the Greenland Sea have been analyzed at 4–8 hour resolution to give the range-averaged vertical temperature evolution in the upper 500m for a 106km path. The tomographic inversions used both ray travel time data and normal mode group velocity data in order to maximize near-surface resolution. Two major events are apparent in the results. The first is the warming of a cold (−1.9°C) 100m thick surface layer, and the second, 10 days later, is the cooling of a relatively warm (−0.9°C) subsurface layer between 300m and 500m depth. This warm subsurface layer is a critical source of salinity and buoyancy for deep convection. The surface layer warming is consistent with a mixed layer deepening over a portion of the path, bringing up water from below. Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) ice data indicate that the local ice field disappears 3–4 days after the surface warming. The cooling of the warm 300m to 500m layer is also consistent with a vertical process. There is no ice cover at this time, and so surface heat fluxes are large. A northerly wind event occurs at the onset of the cooling of the 300–500 m layer, suggesting that wind-induced mixing may have played a role in initiating the process. There is evidence of southward flow advecting warm water into the area both before and after the two events studied in detail here.

Linearized inverse techniques commonly are used to solve for velocity models from traveltime data. The amount that a model may change without producing large, nonlinear changes in the predicted traveltime data is dependent on the surface topography and parameterization. Simple, one‐layer, laterally homogeneous, constant‐gradient models are used to study analytically and empirically the effect of topography and parameterization on the linearity of the model‐data relationship. If, in a weak‐velocity‐gradient model, rays turn beneath a valley with topography similar to the radius of curvature of the raypaths, then large nonlinearities will result from small model perturbations. Hills, conversely, create environments in which the data are more nearly linearly related to models with the same model perturbations.

Three-dimensional models of compressional velocity and azimuthal anisotropy from tomographic inversions using 23,564 ocean bottom seismometer P wave arrivals define systematic lateral variations in seismic structure of the CoAxial segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR). Over much of the segment the across-axis structure is roughly axisymmetric, characterized by a progressive increase in dike velocities moving away from the ridge axis. This trend is most apparent in the basal dikes, where on-axis velocities are about 800 m/s slower than those measured elsewhere within the rift valley. The on-axis sheeted dikes also exhibit ridge-oriented azimuthal anisotropy, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of about 600 m/s. Outboard of the rift valley, beneath ridge flanks with fault scarps, velocities in the upper 1500 m of crust are reduced. The maximum amplitude of this anomaly is about 700 m/s, located near the top of the sheeted dikes. Variations in the three-dimensional velocity model are believed to reflect changes in crustal porosity, from which we infer an axisymmetric porosity model for seismic layer 2 of the CoAxial segment. As the crust ages, the evolution of layer 2 porosity could occur in the following way: (1) the porosity of zero-age, on-axis dikes is set at formation by the contraction of molten material, (2) hydrothermal alteration fills pore spaces as the dikes move away from the center of the axial valley, and (3) normal faulting on the ridge flank scarps opens fractures and increases porosity of the upper dikes as they move off-axis. At the north end of the segment, dike velocities are several hundred meters per second slower, on average, and the across-axis structure is lost. The transition from a coherent, aligned seismic structure to a less distinct pattern with reduced velocities may represent a shift from magmatic to amagmatic extension moving away from the Cobb hotspot on the ridge axis. The porosity structure we have derived for the CoAxial segment suggests an alternative to the usual hydrothermal circulation model of cross-axis convection cells. A circulation model with along-axis convection cells located entirely within the axial valley appears to be more compatible with our data.

We present results from a seismic refraction experiment conducted across the Hess Deep rift valley in the equatorial east Pacific. P wave travel times between seafloor explosions and ocean bottom seismographs are analyzed using an iterative stochastic inverse method to produce a velocity model of the subsurface structure. The resulting velocity model differs from typical young, fast spreading, East Pacific Rise crust by approximately ±1 km/s with slow velocities beneath the valley of the deep and a fast region forming the intrarift ridge. We interpret these velocity contrasts as lithologies originating at different depths and/or alteration of the preexisting rock units. We use our seismic model, along with petrologic and bathymetric data from previous studies, to produce a structural model. The model supports low-angle detachment faulting with serpentinization of peridotite as the preferred mechanism for creating the distribution and exposure of lower crustal and upper mantle rocks within Hess Deep.

[1] The largest climate anomaly of the last 1000 years in the Northern Hemisphere was the Little Ice Age (LIA) from 1400–1850 C.E., but little is known about the signature of this event in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. We present temperature data from a 300 m borehole at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide. Results show that WAIS Divide was colder than the last 1000-year average from 1300 to 1800 C.E. The temperature in the time period 1400–1800 C.E. was on average 0.52 ± 0.28°C colder than the last 100-year average. This amplitude is about half of that seen at Greenland Summit (GRIP). This result is consistent with the idea that the LIA was a global event, probably caused by a change in solar and volcanic forcing, and was not simply a seesaw-type redistribution of heat between the hemispheres as would be predicted by some ocean-circulation hypotheses. The difference in the magnitude of the LIA between Greenland and West Antarctica suggests that the feedbacks amplifying the radiative forcing may not operate in the same way in both regions.

A seismic refraction experiment was conducted with air guns and ocean bottom seismometers on the Juan de Fuca Ridge at 45°N, at the northern Cleft segment and at the overlapping rift zone between the Cleft and Vance segments. These data determine the average velocity structure of the upper crust and map the thickness variability of the shallow low-velocity layer, which we interpret as the extrusive volcanic layer. The experiment is unique because a large number of travel times were measured along ray paths oriented at all azimuths within a small (20 km by 35 km) area. These travel times provide evidence for compressional velocity anisotropy in the upper several hundred meters of oceanic crust, presumed to be caused by ridge-parallel fracturing. Compressional velocities are 3.35 km/s in the ridge strike direction and 2.25 km/s across strike. Travel time residuals are simultaneously inverted for anisotropy as well as lateral thickness variations in the low-velocity layer. Extrusive layer thickness ranges from approximately 200 m to 550 m with an average of 350 m. The zone of the thinnest low-velocity layer is within the northern Cleft segment axial valley, in a region of significant hydrothermal activity. Layer thickness variability is greatest near the Cleft-Vance overlapping rift zone, where changes of 300 m occur over as little as several kilometers laterally. These low-velocity layer thickness changes may correspond to fault block rotations in an episodic spreading system, where the low side of each fault block accumulates more extrusive volcanics.

signals with phase speeds of O(10) and O(100 to 300) km day −1 and time scales of 2 to 3 weeks. The signals with slow phase speed are only observed in southern California. It is hypothesized that they are scattered and reflected by shoreline curvature and bathymetry change and do not penetrate north of Point Conception. The seasonal transition of alongshore surfacecirculationforcedbyupwelling‐favorablewindsandtheirrelaxationiscapturedinfine detail.Submesoscaleeddies,identifiedusingflowgeometry,haveRossbynumbersof0.1to3, diameters in the range of 10 to 60 km, and persistence for 2 to 12 days. The HFR surface currents resolve coastal surface ocean variability continuously across scales from

[1] Three years of continuous Spray glider observations in the southern California Current System (CCS) are combined with a numerical simulation to describe the mean and variability of poleward flows in the southern CCS. Gliders provide upper ocean observations with good across-shore and temporal resolution along two across-shore survey lines while the numerical simulation provides a dynamically consistent estimate of the ocean state. Persistent poleward flows are observed in three areas: within 100 km of the coast at Point Conception, within the Southern California Bight (SCB), and offshore of the SCB and the Santa Rosa Ridge (SRR). Poleward transport by the flows within the SCB and offshore of the SRR exceeds the poleward transport off Point Conception, suggesting that the poleward flows are not continuous over the 225 km between observation lines. The numerical simulation shows offshore transport between the survey lines that is consistent with some of the poleward flow turning offshore before reaching Point Conception. The poleward current offshore of the SRR is unique in that it is strongest at depths greater than 350 m and it is observed to migrate westward away from the coast. This westward propagation is tied to westward propagating density anomalies originating in the SCB during the spring-summer upwelling season when wind stress curl is most strongly positive. The across-shore wave number, frequency, and phase speed of the westward propagation and the lack of across-shore transport of salinity along isopycnals are consistent with first-mode baroclinic Rossby dynamics.

The Greenland Sea Ocean Acoustic Tomography Experiment was conducted during 1988–89, as one component of the international Greenland Sea Project, to study deep water formation and the response of the gyre to variations in wind stress and ice cover. Six acoustic transceivers moored in an array 200-km across transmitted to one another at four hour intervals. Near the end of February, 1989, a sub-surface temperature maximum at several hundred meters depth disappeared over a surprisingly large area of the central Greenland Sea. While the water column was modified to about 1000 m depth over much of the gyre, the surface remained colder than the deeper water, contrary to what might be expected from simple models of convective renewal.

[1] The wind impulse response function and transfer function for high-frequency radar-derived surface currents off southern San Diego are calculated using several local wind observations. The spatial map of the transfer function reflects the influence of the coast on wind-current dynamics. Near the coast (within 20 km from the shoreline), the amplitudes of the transfer function at inertial and diurnal frequencies are reduced due to effects of coastline and bottom bathymetry. Meanwhile, the amplitude of low-frequency currents increases near the coast, which is attributed to the local geostrophic balance between cross-shore pressure gradients against the coast and currents. Locally wind-driven surface currents are estimated from the data-derived response function, and their power spectrum shows a strong diurnal peak superposed on a red spectrum, similar to the spectra of observed winds. Current magnitudes and veering angles to a quasi-steady wind are typically 2–5% of the wind speed and vary 50°–90° to the right of the wind, respectively. A wind skill map is introduced to present the fractional variance of surface currents explained by local winds as a verification tool for wind data quality and relevance. Moreover, the transfer functions in summer and winter are presented to examine the seasonal variation in ocean surface current response to the wind associated with stratification change.

[1] Surface current observations from a high-frequency radar network deployed in southern San Diego are decomposed according to their driving forces: pure tides and their neighboring off-band energy, local winds, and low frequency. Several superposed ocean responses are present as a result of the complicated bottom topography and relatively weak winds off southern San Diego, as opposed to coastal regions where circulation can be explained by a dominant forcing mechanism. This necessitates an application of a statistical decomposition approach. Surface currents coherent with pure tides are calculated using harmonic analysis. Locally wind-driven surface currents are estimated by regression of observed winds on observed surface currents. The dewinded and detided surface currents are filtered by weighted least-squares fitting assuming white noise and three colored signal bands: low-frequency band (less than 0.4 cycles per day) and near-tidal peaks at the diurnal (K1) and semidiurnal (M2) frequencies. The spatial and temporal variability of each part of the decomposed surface currents is investigated in terms of ocean response to the driving forces. In addition, the spatial correlations of individual components exhibit Gaussian and exponential shapes with varying decorrelation length scales.

[1] An eddy-permitting adjoint-based assimilation system has been implemented to estimate the state of the tropical Pacific Ocean. The system uses the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's general circulation model and its adjoint. The adjoint method is used to adjust the model to observations by controlling the initial temperature and salinity; temperature, salinity, and horizontal velocities at the open boundaries; and surface fluxes of momentum, heat, and freshwater. The model is constrained with most of the available data sets in the tropical Pacific, including Tropical Atmosphere and Ocean, ARGO, expendable bathythermograph, and satellite SST and sea surface height data, and climatologies. Results of hindcast experiments in 2000 suggest that the iterated adjoint-based descent is able to significantly improve the model consistency with the multivariate data sets, providing a dynamically consistent realization of the tropical Pacific circulation that generally matches the observations to within specified errors. The estimated model state is evaluated both by comparisons with observations and by checking the controls, the momentum balances, and the representation of small-scale features that were not well sampled by the observations used in the assimilation. As part of these checks, the estimated controls are smoothed and applied in independent model runs to check that small changes in the controls do not greatly change the model hindcast. This is a simple ensemble-based uncertainty analysis. In addition, the original and smoothed controls are applied to a version of the model with doubled horizontal resolution resulting in a broadly similar “downscaled” hindcast, showing that the adjustments are not tuned to a single configuration (meaning resolution, topography, and parameter settings). The time-evolving model state and the adjusted controls should be useful for analysis or to supply the forcing, initial, and boundary conditions for runs of other models.

[1] Over the decade 1996–2006, acoustic sources located off central California (1996–1999) and north of Kauai (1997–1999, 2002–2006) transmitted to receivers distributed throughout the northeast and north central Pacific. The acoustic travel times are inherently spatially integrating, which suppresses mesoscale variability and provides a precise measure of ray-averaged temperature. Daily average travel times at 4-day intervals provide excellent temporal resolution of the large-scale thermal field. The interannual, seasonal, and shorter-period variability is large, with substantial changes sometimes occurring in only a few weeks. Linear trends estimated over the decade are small compared to the interannual variability and inconsistent from path to path, with some acoustic paths warming slightly and others cooling slightly. The measured travel times are compared with travel times derived from four independent estimates of the North Pacific: (1) climatology, as represented by the World Ocean Atlas 2005 (WOA05); (2) objective analysis of the upper-ocean temperature field derived from satellite altimetry and in situ profiles; (3) an analysis provided by the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean project, as implemented at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL-ECCO); and (4) simulation results from a high-resolution configuration of the Parallel Ocean Program (POP) model. The acoustic data show that WOA05 is a better estimate of the time mean hydrography than either the JPL-ECCO or the POP estimates, both of which proved incapable of reproducing the observed acoustic arrival patterns. The comparisons of time series provide a stringent test of the large-scale temperature variability in the models. The differences are sometimes substantial, indicating that acoustic thermometry data can provide significant additional constraints for numerical ocean models.

[1] A small-scale model of the Southern California–Northern Baja California coastline has been developed to explore dispersion over the continental shelf, with specific attention to physical parameters pertinent to simulations of larval dispersal and population connectivity. The ROMS simulation employs a nested grid system, with an inner domain resolution of 600 m and an outer domain resolution of 1.5 km. Realistic bathymetry and forcing were employed to investigate the effects of passive transport of tracers introduced at locations with known communities of mytilid mussels along the coastline. The effects of topographic resolution, boundary conditions, and choice of meteorological forcing products on dispersion rates, tracer trajectories, and the subsequent measures of population connectivity were examined. In particular, the choice of wind forcing product resulted in different circulation patterns and tracer trajectories and had especially important consequences on measures of larval connectivity such as self-seeding, potential for larval settlement (import), and contribution to the pool of available larvae (export). While some forcing products performed better when model data were compared to field measurements, no product was clearly superior. The uncertainty in results, which may appear minor in larger-scale temperature or surface velocity fields, is significant when examining a sensitive passive tracer. This modeling uncertainty needs to be addressed when interpreting connectivity results.

The techniques and instruments used in acoustic tomography of the oceans are surveyed, and results are summarized. Sections are devoted to theoretical studies and numerical simulations (mesoscale mapping, vertical-slice tomography, flow imaging, and nonlinear bias), series of tomographic experiments, analyses to identify global changes, and outstanding problems (the forward and inverse problems and ocean physics). Typical data are presented in tables and graphs, and a comprehensive bibliography is provided. 72 refs.

[1] An optimal interpolation (OI) method to compute surface vector current fields from radial velocity measurements derived from high-frequency (HF) radars is presented. The method assumes a smooth spatial covariance relationship between neighboring vector currents, in contrast to the more commonly used un-weighted least-squares fitting (UWLS) method, which assumes a constant vector velocity within a defined search radius. This OI method can directly compute any quantities linearly related to the radial velocities, such as vector currents and dynamic quantities (divergence and vorticity) as well as the uncertainties of those respective fields. The OI method is found to be more stable than the UWLS method and reduces spurious vector solutions near the baselines between HF radar installations. The OI method produces a covariance of the uncertainty of the estimated vector current fields. Three nondimensional uncertainty indices are introduced to characterize the uncertainty of the vector current at a point, representing an ellipse with directional characteristics. The vector current estimation using the OI method eliminates the need for multiple mapping steps and optimally fills intermittent coverage gaps. The effects of angular interpolation of radial velocities, a commonly used step in the preprocessing of radial velocity data prior to vector current computation in the UWLS method, are presented.

[1] The barotropic Rossby wave field in the North Atlantic Ocean is studied in an eddy-resolving ocean model simulation. The meandering model Gulf Stream radiates barotropic Rossby waves southward through preferred corridors defined by topographic features. The smoother region between the Bermuda Rise and the mid-Atlantic Ridge is a particularly striking corridor of barotropic wave radiation in the 20–50 day period band. Barotropic Rossby waves are also preferentially excited at higher frequencies over the Bermuda Rise, suggesting resonant excitation of topographic Rossby normal modes. The prevalence of these radiated waves suggests that they may be an important energy sink for the equilibrium state of the Gulf Stream.

[1] Surface currents measured by high-frequency radars are objectively mapped using covariance matrices computed from hourly surface current vectors spanning two years. Since retrievals of surface radial velocities are inherently gappy in space and time, the irregular density of surface current data leads to negative eigenvalues in the sample covariance matrix. The number and the magnitude of the negative eigenvalues depend on the degree of data continuity used in the matrix computation. In a region of 90% data coverage, the negative eigenvalues of the sample covariance matrix are small enough to be removed by adding a noise term to the diagonal of the matrix. The mapping is extended to regions of poorer data coverage by applying a smoothed covariance matrix obtained by spatially averaging the sample covariance matrix. This approach estimates a stable covariance matrix of surface currents for regions with the intermittent radar coverage. An additional benefit is the removal of baseline errors that often exist between two radar sites. The covariance matrices and the correlation functions of the surface currents are exponential in space rather than Gaussian, as is often assumed in the objective mapping of oceanographic data sets. Patterns in the decorrelation length scale provide the variabilities of surface currents and the insights on the influence of topographic features (bathymetry and headlands). The objective mapping approach presented herein lends itself to various applications, including the Lagrangian transport estimates, dynamic analysis through divergence and vorticity of current vectors, and statistical models of surface currents.

[1] Satellite altimetric height was combined with approximately 1,000,000 in situ temperature profiles to produce global estimates of upper ocean heat content, temperature, and thermosteric sea level variability on interannual timescales. Maps of these quantities from mid-1993 through mid-2003 were calculated using the technique developed by Willis et al. [2003]. The time series of globally averaged heat content contains a small amount of interannual variability and implies an oceanic warming rate of 0.86 ± 0.12 watts per square meter of ocean (0.29 ± 0.04 pW) from 1993 to 2003 for the upper 750 m of the water column. As a result of the warming, thermosteric sea level rose at a rate of 1.6 ± 0.3 mm/yr over the same time period. Maps of yearly heat content anomaly show patterns of warming commensurate with ENSO variability in the tropics, but also show that a large part of the trend in global, oceanic heat content is caused by regional warming at midlatitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition to quantifying interannual variability on a global scale, this work illustrates the importance of maintaining continuously updated monitoring systems that provide global coverage of the world's oceans. Ongoing projects, such as the Jason/TOPEX series of satellite altimeters and the Argo float program, provide a critical foundation for characterizing variability on regional, basin, and global scales and quantifying the oceans' role as part of the climate system.

[1] A new technique is demonstrated for combining altimetric height (AH) and sea-surface temperature (SST) with in situ data to produce improved estimates of 0/800 m steric height (SH), heat content, and temperature variability. The technique uses a linear regression onto AH to construct an initial guess for the subsurface quantity. This guess is then corrected toward the in situ data creating an estimate with substantially less error than could be achieved using either data set alone. Inclusion of the SST data further improves the estimates and illustrates how the procedure can be generalized to allow inclusion of additional data sets. The technique is demonstrated over a region in the southwestern Pacific enclosing the Tasman Sea. Nine-year time series of heat storage and temperature variability, averaged over 4° latitude and longitude and 1 year in time, are calculated. The estimates have RMS errors of approximately 4.6 W/m2 in heat storage, 0.10°C in subsurface temperature and 0.11°C in surface temperature, and fractional errors of 20, 28, and 18%, respectively, relative to the total variance overall spatial and temporal scales considered. These represent significant improvements over previous estimates of these quantities. All the time series show strong interannual variability including the El Nino event of 1997. Application of these techniques on a global scale could provide new insight into the variability of the general circulation and heat budget of the upper ocean.

Measurements of acoustic ray travel-times in the ocean provide synoptic integrals of the ocean state between source and receiver. It is known that the ray travel-time is sensitive to variations in the ocean at the transmission time, but the sensitivity of the travel-time to spatial variations in the ocean prior to the acoustic transmission have not been quantified. Using an advanced numerical model, we can identify both the ocean dynamics that control the ocean state along a ray path and quantify the informational content of the ray travel-time observation. This study examines the sensitivity of ray travel-time to the temporally and spatially evolving ocean state in the Philippine Sea over a one year experiment. The travel-times are found to be sensitive to the internal tide generation prior to the sample time and to advective effects that alter density along the ray path. Temporal nonlinearity of these sensitivities suggest that prior knowledge of the ocean state is necessary to exploit the travel-time observations. After assimilating the travel-time observations, the contribution of the travel-time information to our estimation of the ocean state is quantified and evaluated to further identify what the travel-time observation reveals about the ocean.