Characteristics and variability of storm tracks in the north Pacific, Bering Sea, and Alaska

The North Pacific and Bering Sea regions represent loci of cyclogenesis and storm track activity. In this paper climatological properties of extratropical storms in the North Pacific/Bering Sea are presented based upon aggregate statistics of individual storm tracks calculated by means of a feature-tracking algorithm run using NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data from 1948/49 to 2008, provided by the NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Climate Diagnostics Center. Storm identification is based on the 850-hPa relative vorticity field (ζ) instead of the often-used mean sea level pressure; ζ is a prognostic field, a good indicator of synoptic-scale dynamics, and is directly related to the wind speed. Emphasis extends beyond winter to provide detailed consideration of all seasons. Results show that the interseasonal variability is not as large during the spring and autumn seasons. Most of the storm variables—genesis, intensity, track density—exhibited a maxima pattern that was oriented along a zonal axis. From season to season this axis underwent a north–south shift and, in some cases, a rotation to the northeast. This was determined to be a result of zonal heating variations and midtropospheric moisture patterns. Barotropic processes have an influence in shaping the downstream end of storm tracks and, together with the blocking influence of the coastal orography of northwest North America, result in high lysis concentrations, effectively making the Gulf of Alaska the “graveyard” of Pacific storms. Summer storms tended to be longest in duration. Temporal trends tended to be weak over the study area. SST did not emerge as a major cyclogenesis control in the Gulf of Alaska.

The coupled model predictability of the Western North Pacific summer monsoon with different leading times

Leading time length is an important issue for modeling seasonal forecasts. In this study, a comparison of the interannual predictability of the Western North Pacific (WNP) summer monsoon between different leading months was performed by using one-, four-, and seven-month lead retrospective forecasts (hindcasts) of four coupled models from Ensembles-Based Predictions of Climate Changes and Their Impacts (ENSEMBLES) for the period of 1960-2005. It is found that the WNP summer anomalies, including lower-tropospheric circulation and precipitation anomalies, can be well predicted for all these leading months. The accuracy of the four-month lead prediction is only slightly weaker than that of the one-month lead prediction, although the skill decreases with the increase of leading months.

A new genus and new species of fan worms (Polychaeta: Sabellidae) from Atlantic and Pacific Oceans-the formal treatment of taxon names as explanatory hypotheses

Members of Parasabella minuta Treadwell, 1941, subsequently moved to Perkinsiana, were collected during a survey of rocky intertidal polychaetes along the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Additional specimens, which are referred to two new species, were also found in similar habitats from the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Caribbean Panama, and Oahu Island, Hawaii. A phylogenetic analysis of Sabellinae, including members of P. minuta and the two new species, provided justification for establishing a new generic hypothesis, Sabellomma gen. nov., for these individuals. Formal definitions are also provided for Sabellomma minuta gen. nov., comb. nov., S. collinae gen. nov., spec. nov., and S. harrisae gen. nov., spec. nov., along with descriptions of individuals to which these hypotheses apply. The generic name Aracia nom. nov., is provided to replace Kirkia Nogueira, Lopez and Rossi, 2004, pre-occupied by a mollusk.

Orthogonality relations and supercharacter formulas of U(m vertical bar n) representations

In this paper we obtain the orthogonality relations for the supergroup U(m|n), which are remarkably different from the ones for the U(N) case. We extend our results for ordinary representations, obtained some time ago, to the case of complex conjugated and mixed representations. Our results are expressed in terms of the Young tableaux notation for irreducible representations. We use the supersymmetric Harish-Chandra-Itzykson-Zuber integral and the character expansion technique as mathematical tools for deriving these relations. As a byproduct we also obtain closed expressions for the supercharacters and dimensions of some particular irreducible U(m|n) representations. A new way of labeling the U(m|n) irreducible representations in terms of m + n numbers is proposed. Finally, as a corollary of our results, new identities among the dimensions of the irreducible representations of the unitary group U(N) are presented. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Atmospheric Soluble Dust Records from a Tibetan Ice Core: Possible Climate Proxies and Teleconnection With the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

In autumn 2005, a joint expedition between the University of Maine and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research recovered three ice cores from Guoqu Glacier (33 degrees 34'37.80 '' N, 91 degrees 10'35.3 '' E, 5720 m above sea level) on the northern side of Mt. Geladaindong, central Tibetan Plateau. Isotopes ( delta(18)O), major soluble ions (Na(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Cl(-), NO(3)(-), SO(4)(2-)), and radionuclide (beta-activity) measurements from one of the cores revealed a 70-year record (1935-2005). Statistical analysis of major ion time series suggests that atmospheric soluble dust species dominate the chemical signature and that background dust levels conceal marine ion species deposition. The soluble dust time series have interspecies relations and common structure (empirical orthogonal function (EOF) 1), suggesting a similar soluble dust source or transport route. Annual and seasonal correlations between the EOF 1 time series and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis climate variables (1948-2004) suggest that the Mt. Geladaindong ice core record provides a proxy for local and regional surface pressure. An approximately threefold decrease of soluble dust concentrations in the middle to late 1970s, accompanied by regional increases in pressure and temperature and decreases in wind velocity, coincides with the major 1976-1977 shift of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from a negative to a positive state. This is the first ice core evidence of a potential teleconnection between central Asian atmospheric soluble dust loading and the PDO. Analysis of temporally longer ice cores from Mt. Geladaindong may enhance understanding of the relationship between the PDO and central Asian atmospheric circulation and subsequent atmospheric soluble dust loading.

Geochemical composition of a representative collection of manganese nodules and slabs collected in the Western Pacific

Chemical analyses were performed on seveteen manganese nodules collected from the Pacific Ocean floor. The results were discussed compared with the previous data on the manganese nodules. Minerals were found to be todorokite, delta-MnO2 and other silicates, montmorillonite, illite, phillipsite and alpha-SiO2. Average composition shows that copper is concentrated on the deep sea nodules more than the shallow ones, and that the todorokite rich nodules contain more copper and nickel than the delta-MnO2 rich ones.

(Table 1) Contents of tungsten and other metals in Fe-Mn nodules from the Pacific Ocean

Tungsten contents in iron-manganese nodules and crusts from different parts of the World Ocean, as well as its relationships with a number of chemical elements are under consideration. A trend to correlation of tungsten with Fe, Ti, W, Pb, and Co is noticed. Comparison of tungsten contents in the nodules and host sediments indicates its low geochemical mobility.

Finely dispersed fraction of particulate organic matter and primary production in sea water of the Equatorial East Pacific

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the finely dispersed fraction of particulate organic matter in sea water is given. It is demonstrated that in the euphotic zone of high productivity waters this fraction constitutes 86%, in waters with low productivity 61%, and in deep waters (>200 m) 53% of the organic carbon in particulate matter. Formation of the finely dispersed fraction and its role in distribution of energy in the detrital food chain of the ecosystem are discussed.

Contents of rare earth and other chemical elements in Fe-Mn micronodules, nodules, and bottom sediments from the Clarion-Clipperton ore province in the Pacific Ocean

Processes governing the formation of rare earth element (REE) composition are under consideration for ferromanganese deposits (nodules, separate parts of nodules, and micronodules of different size fractions) within the Clarion-Clipperton ore province in the Pacific Ocean. It is shown that ferromanganese oxyhydroxide deposits with different chemical compositions can be produced in sediments under similar sedimentation conditions. In areas with high bioproductivity size of micronodules has positive correlation with Mn content and Mn/Fe and P/Fe ratios and negative correlation with Fe, P, REE, and Ce anomaly. Behavior of REE in micronodules from sediments within bioproductive zones is related to increase of influence of diagenetic processes in sediments as a response to the growth of size of micronodules. Distinctions in chemical composition of micronodules and nodules are related to their interaction with associated sediments. Micronodules grow in sediments using hydrogenous ferromanganese oxyhydroxides. As they grow, micronodules are enriched in labile fraction of sediments reworked during diagenesis. Sources of material of ferromanganese nodules are governed by their formation at the water bottom interface. Their upper part is formed by direct settling of iron oxyhydroxides from bottom water, whereas the lower part is accumulated due to diagenetic processes in sediments. Differences of REE compositions in ferromanganese deposits are caused by the reduction of manganese during diagenesis and its separation from iron. Iron oxyhydroxides form a sorption complex due to sorption of phosphate-ion from bottom and pore waters. Sorption of phosphate-ion results in additional sorption of REE.