Sensible and latent heat fluxes in the atmospheric surface layer over the equatorial Atlantic (Appendix)

During a four weeks anchoring station of R.V. ,,Meteor" on the equator at 30° W longitude, vertical profiles of wind, temperature, and humidity were measured by means of a meteorological buoy carrying a mast of 10 m height. After eliminating periods of instrumental failure, 18 days are available for the investigation of the diurnal variations of the meteorological parameters and 9 days for the investigation of the vertical heat fluxes. The diurnal variations of the above mentioned quantities are caused essentially by two periodic processes: the 24-hourly changing solar energy supply and the 12-hourly oscillation of air pressure, which both originate in the daily rotation of the earth. While the temperature of the water and of the near water layers of the air show a 24 hours period in their diurnal course, the wind speed, as a consequence of the pressure wave, has a 12 hours period, which is also observable in evaporation and, consequently, in the water vapor content of the surface layer. Concerning the temperature, a weak dependence of the daily amplitude on height was determined. Further investigation of the profiles yields relations between the vertical gradients of wind, temperature, and water vapor and the wind speed, the difference between sea and air of temperature and water vapor, respectively, thus giving a contribution to the problem of parameterizing the vertical fluxes. Mean profile coefficients for the encountered stabilities, which were slightly unstable, are presented, and correction terms are given due to the fact that the conditions at the very surface are not sufficiently represented by measuring in a water depth of 20 cm and assuming water vapor saturation. This is especially true for the water vapor content, where the relation between the gradient and the air-sea difference suggests a reduction of relative humidity to appr. 96% at the very surface, if the gradients are high. This effect may result in an overestimation of the water vapor flux, if a ,,bulk"-formula is used. Finally sensible and latent heat fluxes are computed by means of a gradient-formula. The influence of stability on the transfer process is taken into account. As the air-sea temperature differences are small, sensible heat plays no important role in that region, but latent heat shows several interesting features. Within the measuring period of 18 days, a regular variation by a factor of ten is observed. Unperiodic short term variations are superposed by periodic diurnal variations. The mean diurnal course shows a 12-hours period caused by the vertical wind speed gradient superposed by a 24-hours period due to the changing stabilities. Mean values within the measuring period are 276 ly/day for latent heat and 9.41y/day for sensible heat.

Stable oxygen isotope record and lithogenic composition of ODP Hole 117-722B

The upper 38 m of Hole 722B sediments (Owen Ridge, northwest Arabian Sea) was sampled at 20 cm intervals and used to develop records of lithogenic percent, mass accumulation rate, and grain size spanning the past 1 m.y. Over this interval, the lithogenic component of Owen Ridge sediments can be used to infer variability in the strength of Arabian Sea summer monsoon winds (median grain size) and the aridity of surrounding dust source-areas (mass accumulation rate; MAR in g/cm**2/k.y). The lithogenic MAR has strong 100, 41, and 23 k.y. cyclicities and is forced primarily by changes in source-area aridity associated with glacial-interglacial cycles. The lithogenic grain size, on the other hand, exhibits higher frequency variability (23 k.y.) and is forced by the strength of summer monsoon winds which, in turn, are forced by the effective sensible heating of the Indian-Asian landmass and by the availability of latent heat from the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean. These forcing mechanisms combine to produce a wind-strength record which has no strong relationship to glacial-interglacial cycles. Discussion of the mechanisms responsible for production of primary Milankovitch cyclicities in lithogenic records from the Owen Ridge is presented elsewhere (Clemens and Prell, 1990, doi:10.1029/PA005i002p00109). Here we examine the 1 m.y. record from Hole 722B focusing on different aspects of the lithogenic components including an abrupt change in the monsoon wind-strength record at 500 k.y., core-to-core reproducibility, comparison with magnetic susceptibility, coherency with a wind-strength record from the Pacific Ocean, and combination frequencies in the wind-strength record. The Hole 722B lithogenic grain-size record shows an abrupt change at 500 k.y. possibly indicating decreased monsoon wind-strength over the interval from 500 k.y. to present. The grain-size decrease appears to be coincident with a loss of spectral power near the 41 k.y. periodicity. However, the grain-size decrease is not paralleled in the Globigerina bulloides upwelling record, an independent record of summer monsoon wind-strength (Prell, this volume). These observations leave us with competing hypotheses possibly involving: (1) a decrease in the sensitivity of monsoon windstrength to obliquity forcing, (2) decoupling of the grain size and G. bulloides records via a decoupling of the nutrient supply from wind-driven upwelling, and/or (3) a change in dust source-area or the patterns of dust transporting winds. Comparison of the lithogenic grain size and weight percent records from Hole 722B with those from a nearby core shows that the major and most minor events are well replicated. These close matches establish our confidence in the lithogenic extraction techniques and measurements. Further, reproducibility on a core-to-core scale indicates that the eolian depositional signal is regionally strong, coherent, and well preserved. The lithogenic weight percent and magnetic susceptibility are extremely well correlated in both the time and frequency domains. From this we infer that the magnetically susceptible component of Owen Ridge sediments is of terrestrial origin and transported to the Owen Ridge via summer monsoon winds. Because of the high correlation with the lithogenic percent record, the magnetic susceptibility record can be cast in terms of lithogenic MAR and used as a high resolution proxy for continental aridity. In addition to primary Milankovitch periodicities, the Hole 722B grain-size record exhibits periodicity at 52 k.y. and at 29 k.y. Both periodicities are also found in the grain-size record from piston core RC11-210 in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Comparison of the two grain-size records shows significant coherence and zero phase relationships over both the 52 and 29 k.y. periodicities suggesting that the strengths of the Indian Ocean monsoon and the Pacific southeasterly trade winds share common forcing mechanisms. Two possible origins for the 52 and 29 k.y. periodicities in the Hole 722B wind-strength record are (1) direct Milankovitch forcing (54 and 29 k.y. components of obliquity) and (2) combination periodicities resulting from nonlinear interactions within the climate system. We find that the 52 and 29 k.y. periodicities show stronger coherency with crossproducts of eccentricity and obliquity (29 k.y.) and precession and obliquity (52 k.y.) than with direct obliquity forcing. Our working hypothesis attributes these periodicities to nonlinear interaction between external insolation forcing and internal climatic feedback mechanisms involving an interdependence of continental snow/ice-mass (albedo) and the hydrological cycle (latent heat availability).

Water chemistry and heat budget of the Churchill River estuary region

A conceptual scheme for the transition from winter to spring is developed for a small Arctic estuary (Churchill River, Hudson Bay) using hydrological, meteorological and oceanographic data together with models of the landfast ice. Observations within the Churchill River estuary and away from the direct influence of the river plume (Button Bay), between March and May 2005, show that both sea ice (production and melt) and river water influence the region's freshwater budget. In Button Bay, ice production in the flaw lead or polynya of NW Hudson Bay result in salinization through winter until the end of March, followed by a gradual freshening of the water column through April-May. In the Churchill Estuary, conditions varied abruptly throughout winter-spring depending on the physical interaction among river discharge, the seasonal landfast ice, and the rubble zone along the seaward margin of the landfast ice. Until late May, the rubble zone partially impounded river discharge, influencing the surface salinity, stratification, flushing time, and distribution and abundance of nutrients in the estuary. The river discharge, in turn, advanced and enhanced sea ice ablation in the estuary by delivering sensible heat. Weak stratification, the supply of riverine nitrogen and silicate, and a relatively long flushing time (~6 days) in the period preceding melt may have briefly favoured phytoplankton production in the estuary when conditions were still poor in the surrounding coastal environment. However, in late May, the peak flow and breakdown of the ice-rubble zone around the estuary brought abrupt changes, including increased stratification and turbidity, reduced marine and freshwater nutrient supply, a shorter flushing time, and the release of the freshwater pool into the interior ocean. These conditions suppressed phytoplankton productivity while enhancing the inventory of particulate organic matter delivered by the river. The physical and biological changes observed in this study highlight the variability and instability of small frozen estuaries during winter-spring transition, which implies sensitivity to climate change.

Temperature time series and physical properties of snow samples of a high-arctic permafrost site on Svalbard, Norway

Independent measurements of radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes and the ground heat flux are used to describe the annual cycle of the surface energy budget at a high-arctic permafrost site on Svalbard. During summer, the net short-wave radiation is the dominant energy source, while well developed turbulent processes and the heat flux in the ground lead to a cooling of the surface. About 15% of the net radiation is consumed by the seasonal thawing of the active layer in July and August. The Bowen ratio is found to vary between 0.25 and 2, depending on water content of the uppermost soil layer. During the polar night in winter, the net long-wave radiation is the dominant energy loss channel for the surface, which is mainly compensated by the sensible heat flux and, to a lesser extent, by the ground heat flux, which originates from the refreezing of the active layer. The average annual sensible heat flux of -6.9 W/m**2 is composed of strong positive fluxes in July and August, while negative fluxes dominate during the rest of the year. With 6.8 W/m**2, the latent heat flux more or less compensates the sensible heat flux in the annual average. Strong evaporation occurs during the snow melt period and particularly during the snow-free period in summer and fall. When the ground is covered by snow, latent heat fluxes through sublimation of snow are recorded, but are insignificant for the average surface energy budget. The near-surface atmospheric stratification is found to be predominantly unstable to neutral, when the ground is snow-free, and stable to neutral for snow-covered ground. Due to long-lasting near-surface inversions in winter, an average temperature difference of approximately 3 K exists between the air temperature at 10 m height and the surface temperature of the snow.

Heat fluxes and surface radiation measurements from Samoylov Island, Lena Delta, Siberia, April to September 2007

In this article, we present a study on the surface energy balance of a polygonal tundra landscape in northeast Siberia. The study was performed during half-year periods from April to September in each of 2007 and 2008. The surface energy balance is obtained from independent measurements of the net radiation, the turbulent heat fluxes, and the ground heat flux at several sites. Short-wave radiation is the dominant factor controlling the magnitude of all the other components of the surface energy balance during the entire observation period. About 50% of the available net radiation is consumed by the latent heat flux, while the sensible and the ground heat flux are each around 20 to 30%. The ground heat flux is mainly consumed by active layer thawing. About 60% of the energy storage in the ground is attributed to the phase change of soil water. The remainder is used for soil warming down to a depth of 15 m. In particular, the controlling factors for the surface energy partitioning are snow cover, cloud cover, and the temperature gradient in the soil. The thin snow cover melts within a few days, during which the equivalent of about 20% of the snow-water evaporates or sublimates. Surface temperature differences of the heterogeneous landscape indicate spatial variabilities of sensible and latent heat fluxes, which are verified by measurements. However, spatial differences in the partitioning between sensible and latent heat flux are only measured during conditions of high radiative forcing, which only occur occasionally.

Mixed layer heat and salinity budgets during the onset of the 2011 Atlantic cold tongue

The mixed layer (ML) temperature and salinity changes in the central tropical Atlantic have been studied by a dedicated experiment (Cold Tongue Experiment (CTE)) carried out from May to July 2011. The CTE was based on two successive research cruises, a glider swarm, and moored observations. The acquired in situ data sets together with satellite, reanalysis, and assimilation model data were used to evaluate box-averaged ML heat and salinity budgets for two subregions: (1) the western equatorial Atlantic cold tongue (ACT) (23°-10°W) and (2) the region north of the ACT. The strong ML heat loss in the ACT region during the CTE was found to be the result of the balance of warming due to net surface heat flux and cooling due to zonal advection and diapycnal mixing. The northern region was characterized by weak cooling and the dominant balance of net surface heat flux and zonal advection. A strong salinity increase occurred at the equator, 10°W, just before the CTE. During the CTE, ML salinity in the ACT region slightly increased. Largest contributions to the ML salinity budget were zonal advection and the net surface freshwater flux. While essential for the ML heat budget in the ACT region, diapycnal mixing played only a minor role for the ML salinity budget. In the region north of the ACT, the ML freshened at the beginning of the CTE due to precipitation, followed by a weak salinity increase. Zonal advection changed sign contributing to ML freshening at the beginning of the CTE and salinity increase afterward.

Heat fluxes and surface radiation measurements from Samoylov Island, Lena Delta, Siberia, October 2007 to March 2008

In this study, we present the winter time surface energy balance at a polygonal tundra site in northern Siberia based on independent measurements of the net radiation, the sensible heat flux and the ground heat flux from two winter seasons. The latent heat flux is inferred from measurements of the atmospheric turbulence characteristics and a model approach. The long-wave radiation is found to be the dominant factor in the surface energy balance. The radiative losses are balanced to about 60 % by the ground heat flux and almost 40 % by the sensible heat fluxes, whereas the contribution of the latent heat flux is small. The main controlling factors of the surface energy budget are the snow cover, the cloudiness and the soil temperature gradient. Large spatial differences in the surface energy balance are observed between tundra soils and a small pond. The ground heat flux released at a freezing pond is by a factor of two higher compared to the freezing soil, whereas large differences in net radiation between the pond and soil are only observed at the end of the winter period. Differences in the surface energy balance between the two winter seasons are found to be related to differences in snow depth and cloud cover which strongly affect the temperature evolution and the freeze-up at the investigated pond.

Daily polynya area and ice production in the North Water polynya region

The North Water (NOW) Polynya is a regularly-forming area of open-water and thin-ice, located between northwestern Greenland and Ellesmere Island (Canada) at the northern tip of Baffin Bay. Due to its large spatial extent, it is of high importance for a variety of physical and biological processes, especially in wintertime. Here, we present a long-term remote sensing study for the winter seasons 1978/1979 to 2014/2015. Polynya characteristics are inferred from (1) sea ice concentrations and brightness temperatures from passive microwave satellite sensors (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E and AMSR2), Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSM/I-SSMIS)) and (2) thin-ice thickness distributions, which are calculated using MODIS ice-surface temperatures and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmospheric reanalysis data in a 1D thermodynamic energy-balance model. Daily ice production rates are retrieved for each winter season from 2002/2003 to 2014/2015, assuming that all heat loss at the ice surface is balanced by ice growth. Two different cloud-cover correction schemes are applied on daily polynya area and ice production values to account for cloud gaps in the MODIS composites. Our results indicate that the NOW polynya experienced significant seasonal changes over the last three decades considering the overall frequency of polynya occurrences, as well as their spatial extent. In the 1980s, there were prolonged periods of a more or less closed ice cover in northern Baffin Bay in winter. This changed towards an average opening on more than 85% of the days between November and March during the last decade. Noticeably, the sea ice cover in the NOW polynya region shows signs of a later-appearing fall freeze-up, starting in the late 1990s. Different methods to obtain daily polynya area using passive microwave AMSR-E/AMSR2 data and SSM/I-SSMIS data were applied. A comparison with MODIS data (thin-ice thickness < 20 cm) shows that the wintertime polynya area estimates derived by MODIS are about 30 to 40% higher than those derived using the polynya signature simulation method (PSSM) with AMSR-E data. In turn, the difference in polynya area between PSSM and a sea ice concentration (SIC) threshold of 70% is fairly low (approximately 10%) when applied to AMSR-E data. For the coarse-resolution SSM/I-SSMIS data, this difference is much larger, particularly in November and December. Instead of a sea ice concentration threshold, the PSSM method should be used for SSM/I-SSMIS data. Depending on the type of cloud-cover correction, the calculated ice production based on MODIS data reaches an average value of 264.4 ± 65.1 km**3 to 275.7 ± 67.4 km**3 (2002/2003 to 2014/2015) and shows a high interannual variability. Our achieved long-term results underline the major importance of the NOW polynya considering its influence on Arctic ice production and associated atmosphere/ocean processes.

Turbulent flux and meteorological measurements during ARCTEX-2006 campaign

This dataset present result from the DFG- funded Arctic-Turbulence-Experiment (ARCTEX-2006) performed by the University of Bayreuth on the island of Svalbard, Norway, during the winter/spring transition 2006. From May 5 to May 19, 2006 turbulent flux and meteorological measurements were performed on the monitoring field near Ny-Ålesund, at 78°55'24'' N, 11°55'15'' E Kongsfjord, Svalbard (Spitsbergen), Norway. The ARCTEX-2006 campaign site was located about 200 m southeast of the settlement on flat snow covered tundra, 11 m to 14 m above sea level. The permanent sites used for this study consisted of the 10 m meteorological tower of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI), the international standardized radiation measurement site of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), the radiosonde launch site and the AWI tethered balloon launch sites. The temporary sites - set up by the University of Bayreuth - were a 6 m meteorological gradient tower, an eddy-flux measurement complex (EF), and a laser-scintillometer section (SLS). A quality assessment and data correction was applied to detect and eliminate specific measurement errors common at a high arctic landscape. In addition, the quality checked sensible heat flux measurements are compared with bulk aerodynamic formulas that are widely used in atmosphere-ocean/land-ice models for polar regions as described in Ebert and Curry (1993, doi:10.1029/93JC00656) and Launiainen and Cheng (1995). These parameterization approaches easily allow estimation of the turbulent surface fluxes from routine meteorological measurements. The data show: - the role of the intermittency of the turbulent atmospheric fluctuation of momentum and scalars, - the existence of a disturbed vertical temperature profile (sharp inversion layer) close to the surface, - the relevance of possible free convection events for the snow or ice melt in the Arctic spring at Svalbard, and - the relevance of meso-scale atmospheric circulation pattern and air-mass advection for the near-surface turbulent heat exchange in the Arctic spring at Svalbard. Recommendations and improvements regarding the interpretation of eddy-flux and laser-scintillometer data as well as the arrangement of the instrumentation under polar distinct exchange conditions and (extreme) weather situations could be derived.

Strontium chemistry of anhydrite from DSDP/ODP Hole 504B

A unique record of the chemical evolution of seawater during hydrothermal recharge into oceanic crust is preserved by anhydrite from the volcanic sequences and sheeted dike complex in ODP Hole 504B. Chemical and isotopic analyses 87Sr/86Sr, delta18O, delta34S of anhydrite constrain the changing composition of fluids due to reaction with basalt. There is a general trend of decreasing 87Sr/86Sr of anhydrite, corresponding to the minor incorporation of basaltic strontium with depth in the volcanic rocks. 87Sr/86Sr ratios decrease rapidly with depth in the dikes to values identical to host basalt (0.7029). Sr/Ca ratios (<0.1 mmol/mol) suggest that recharge fluids have very low Sr concentrations and fluids evolve by first precipitating Sr-bearing phases before extensive exchange of Sr with the host basalt. There is a background trend of decreasing sulfate delta18O with depth from +12-13? in the lower volcanics to +7? in the lower sheeted dikes recording an increase in recharge fluid temperature from c. 150° to c. 250°C, and confirming the presence of sulfate in hydrothermal fluids at elevated temperatures. From the amount of anhydrite recovered from Hole 504B and the amount of seawater sulfur that has been reduced to sulfide, a minimum seawater recharge flux can be calculated. This value is 4-25 times lower than estimates of high-temperature fluid fluxes based on either thermal constraints or global chemical budgets and suggests that there is significant deficit of seawater-derived sulfur in the oceanic crust. Only a minor proportion of the seawater that percolates into the crust near the axis is heated to high temperatures and exits as black smoker-type fluids. A significant proportion of the axial heat loss must be advected at 200-250°C by sulfate-bearing hydrothermal solutions that egress diffusely from the crust. These fluids penetrate into the dikes and exchange both heat and chemical tracers without the extensive clogging of porosity by anhydrite precipitation, which would halt hydrothermal circulation for any reasonable fluid flux. The heating of the major proportion of hydrothermal fluids to only moderate temperatures (c. 250°C) reconciles estimates of hydrothermal fluxes derived from thermal models and global geochemical budgets. The flux of hydrothermal sulfate would be of a magnitude similar to the riverine input, and oxygen-isotopic exchange at 200-250°C between dissolved sulfate and recharge fluids during hydrothermal circulation provides a mechanism to continuously buffer seawater sulfate oxygen to the light isotopic composition observed.

Composition of sediment pore water and isotopes in carbonate and benthic foraminifera at DSDP Holes 68-501, 69-505 and Site 69-504

Two sites on the southern flank of the Costa Rica Rift were drilled on DSDP Legs 68 and 69, one on crust 3.9 m.y. old and the other on crust 5.9 m.y. old. The basement of the younger site is effectively cooled by the circulation of seawater. The basement of the older site has been sealed by sediment, and an interval in the uppermost 560 meters of basement recently reheated to temperatures of 60 to 120°C. Although the thickness of the sediments at the two sites is similar (150-240 m versus 270 m), the much rougher basement topography at the younger Site 505 produces occasional basement outcrops, through which 80 to 90% of the total heat loss apparently occurs by advection of warm seawater. This seawater has been heated only slightly, however; the temperature at the base of the sediments is only 9°C. Changes in its composition due to reaction with the basement basalts are negligible, as indicated by profiles of sediment pore water chemistry. Bacterial sulfate reduction in the sediments produces a decrease in SO4 (and Ca) and an increase in alkalinity (and Sr and NH3) as depth increases to an intermediate level, but at deeper levels these trends reverse, and all of these species plus Mg, K, Na, and chlorinity approach seawater values near basement. Si, however, is higher, and Li may be lower. At the older site, Site 501/504, where heat loss is entirely by conduction, the temperature at the sediment/basement contact is 59°C. Sediment pore water chemistry is heavily affected by reaction with the basaltic basement, as indicated by large decreases in d18O, Mg, alkalinity, Na, and K and an increase in Ca with increasing depth. The size of the changes in d18O, Mg, alkalinity, Ca, Sr, and SO4 varies laterally over 500 meters, indicating lateral gradients in pore water chemistry that are nearly as large as the vertical gradients. The lateral gradients are believed to result from similar lateral gradients in the composition of the basement formation water, which propagate upward through the sediments by diffusion. A model of the d18O profile suggests that the basement at Site 501/504 was sealed off from advection about 1 m.y. ago, so that reaction rates began to dominate the basement pore water chemistry. A limestone-chert diagenetic front began to move upward through the lower sediments less than 200,000 yr. ago.

Fluxes and meteorological observations on Spitsbergen

Arctic permafrost may be adversely affected by climate change in a number of ways, so that establishing a world-wide monitoring program seems imperative. This thesis evaluates possibilities for permafrost monitoring at the example of a permafrost site on Svalbard, Norway. An energy balance model for permafrost temperatures is developed that evaluates the different components of the surface energy budget in analogy to climate models. The surface energy budget, consisting of radiation components, sensible and latent heat fluxes as well as the ground heat flux, is measured over the course of one year, which has not been accomplished for arctic land areas so far. A considerable small-scale heterogeneity of the summer surface temperature is observed in long-term measurements with a thermal imaging system, which can be reproduced in the energy balance model. The model can also simulate the impact of different snow depths on the soil temperature, that has been documented in field measurements. Furthermore, time series of terrestrial surface temperature measurements are compared to satellite-borne measurements, for which a significant cold-bias is observed during winter. Finally, different possibilities for a world-wide monitoring scheme are assessed. Energy budget models can incorporate different satellite data sets as training data sets for parameter estimation, so that they may constitute an alternative to purely satellite-based schemes.

(Table 2) Oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotopic composition of carbonate-brucite material from the Lost City hydrothermal field

The isotopic (dD, d18O, d13C, and 87Sr/86Sr) and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal solutions from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the material of brucite-carbonate chimneys at the Lost City hydrothermal field at 30°N, MAR, were examined to assay the role of the major factors controlling the genesis of the fluid and hydrothermal chimneys of the Lost City field. The values of dD and d18O in fluid samples indicates that solutions at the Lost City field were produced during the serpentinization of basement ultramafic rocks at temperatures higher than 200°C and at relatively low fluid/rock ratios (<1). The active role of serpentinization processes in the genesis of the Lost City fluid also follows from the results of the electron-microscopic studying of the material of hydrothermal chimneys at this field. The isotopic (d18O, d13C, and 87Sr/86Sr) and geochemical (Sr/Ca and REE) signatures indicate that, before its submarine discharging at the Lost City field, the fluid filtered through already cold altered outer zones of the Atlantis Massif and cooled via conductive heat loss. During this stage, the fluid could partly dissolve previously deposited carbonates in veins cutting serpentinite at the upper levels of the Atlantis Massif and the carbonate cement of sedimentary breccias underlying the hydrothermal chimneys. Because of this, the age of modern hydrothermal activity at the Lost City field can be much younger than 25 ka.