Effect of low-frequency Rossby wave on thermal structure of the upper southwestern tropical Indian Ocean

We investigate the influence of low-frequency Rossby waves on the thermal structure of the upper southwestern tropical Indian Ocean (SWTIO) using Argo profiles, satellite altimetric data, sea surface temperature, wind field data and the theory of linear vertical normal mode decomposition. Our results show that the SWTIO is generally dominated by the first baroclinic mode motion. As strong downwelling Rossby waves reach the SWTIO, the contribution of the second baroclinic mode motion in this region can be increased mainly because of the reduction in the vertical stratification of the upper layer above thermocline, and the enhancement in the vertical stratification of the lower layer under thermocline also contributes to it. The vertical displacement of each isothermal is enlarged and the thermal structure of the upper level is modulated, which is indicative of strong vertical mixing. However, the cold Rossby waves increase the vertical stratification of the upper level, restricting the variability related to the second baroclinic mode. On the other hand, during decaying phase of warm Rossby waves, Ekman upwelling and advection processes associated with the surface cyclonic wind circulation can restrain the downwelling processes, carrying the relatively colder water to the near-surface, which results in an out-of-phase phenomenon between sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) in the SWTIO.

Two modes of dipole events in tropical Indian Ocean

By analyzing the distributions of subsurface temperature and the surface wind stress anomalies in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans during the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events, two major modes of the IOD and their formation mechanisms are revealed. (1) The subsurface temperature anomaly (STA) in the tropical Indian Ocean during the IOD events can be described as a "<" -shaped and west-east-oriented dipole pattern; in the east side of the "<" pattern, a notable tongue-like STA extends westward along the equator in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean; while in the west side of the "<" pattern, the STA has opposite sign with two centers (the southern one is stronger than the northern one in intensity) being of rough symmetry about the equator in the tropical mid-western Indian Ocean. (2) The IOD events are composed of two modes, which have similar spatial pattern but different temporal variabilities due to the large scale air-sea interactions within two independent systems. The first mode of the IOD event originates from the air-sea interaction on a scale of the tropical Pacific-Indian Ocean and coexists with ENSO. The second mode originates from the air-sea interaction on a scale of the tropical Indian Ocean and is closely associated with changes in the position and intensity of the Mascarene high pressure. The strong IOD event occurs when the two modes are in phase, and the IOD event weakens or disappears when the two modes are out of phase. Besides, the IOD events are normally strong when either of the two modes is strong. (3) The IOD event is caused by the abnormal wind stress forcing over the tropical Indian Ocean, which results in vertical transports, leading to the upwelling and pileup of seawater. This is the main dynamic processes resulting in the STA. When the anomalous easterly exists over the equatorial Indian Ocean, the cold waters upwell in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean while the warm waters pileup in the tropical western Indian Ocean, hence the thermocline in the tropical Indian Ocean is shallowed in the east and deepened in the west. The off-equator component due to the Coriolis force in the equatorial area causes the upwelling of cold waters and the shallowing of the equatorial India Ocean thermocline. On the other hand, the anomalous anticyclonic circulations and their curl fields located on both sides of the equator, cause the pileup of warm waters in the central area of their curl fields and the deepening of the equatorial Indian Ocean thermocline off the equator. The above three factors lead to the occurrence of positive phase IOD events. When anomalous westerly dominates over the tropical Indian Ocean, the dynamic processes are reversed, and the negative-phase IOD event occurs.

Long-Wave Dynamics of Sea Level Variations during Indian Ocean Dipole Events

Long-wave dynamics of the interannual variations of the equatorial Indian Ocean circulation are studied using an ocean general circulation model forced by the assimilated surface winds and heat flux of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The simulation has reproduced the sea level anomalies of the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon altimeter observations well. The equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves decomposed from the model simulation show that western boundary reflections provide important negative feedbacks to the evolution of the upwelling currents off the Java coast during Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) events. Two downwelling Kelvin wave pulses are generated at the western boundary during IOD events: the first is reflected from the equatorial Rossby waves and the second from the off-equatorial Rossby waves in the southern Indian Ocean. The upwelling in the eastern basin during the 1997-98 IOD event is weakened by the first Kelvin wave pulse and terminated by the second. In comparison, the upwelling during the 1994 IOD event is terminated by the first Kelvin wave pulse because the southeasterly winds off the Java coast are weak at the end of 1994. The atmospheric intraseasonal forcing, which plays an important role in inducing Java upwelling during the early stage of an IOD event, is found to play a minor role in terminating the upwelling off the Java coast because the intraseasonal winds are either weak or absent during the IOD mature phase. The equatorial wave analyses suggest that the upwelling off the Java coast during IOD events is terminated primarily by western boundary reflections.

Variations in the eastern Indian Ocean warm pool and its relation to the dipole in the tropical Indian Ocean

Based on the monthly average SST and 850 hPa monthly average wind data, the seasonal, interannual and long-term variations in the eastern Indian Ocean warm pool (EIWP) and its relationship to the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and its response to the wind over the Indian Ocean are analyzed in this study. The results show that the distribution range, boundary and area of the EIWP exhibited obviously seasonal and interannual variations associated with the ENSO cycles. Further analysis suggests that the EIWP had obvious long-term trend in its bound edge and area, which indicated the EIWP migrated westwards by about 14 longitudes for its west edge, southwards by about 5 latitudes for its south edge and increased by 3.52x10(6) km(2) for its area, respectively, from 1950 to 2002. The correlation and composite analyses show that the anomalous westward and northward displacements of the EIWP caused by the easterly wind anomaly and the southerly wind anomaly over the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean played an important and direct role in the formation of the IOD.

Intraseasonal variability of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature during boreal winter: Madden-Julian Oscillation versus submonthly forcing and processes

[ 1] Intraseasonal variability of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) during boreal winter is investigated by analyzing available data and a suite of solutions to an ocean general circulation model for 1998 - 2004. This period covers the QuikSCAT and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observations. Impacts of the 30 - 90 day and 10 - 30 day atmospheric intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) are examined separately, with the former dominated by the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and the latter dominated by convectively coupled Rossby and Kelvin waves. The maximum variation of intraseasonal SST occurs at 10 degrees S - 2 degrees S in the wintertime Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), where the mixed layer is thin and intraseasonal wind speed reaches its maximum. The observed maximum warming ( cooling) averaged over ( 60 degrees E - 85 degrees E, 10 degrees S - 3 degrees S) is 1.13 degrees C ( - 0.97 degrees C) for the period of interest, with a standard deviation of 0.39 degrees C in winter. This SST change is forced predominantly by the MJO. While the MJO causes a basin-wide cooling ( warming) in the ITCZ region, submonthly ISOs cause a more complex SST structure that propagates southwestward in the western-central basin and southeastward in the eastern ocean. On both the MJO and submonthly timescales, winds are the deterministic factor for the SST variability. Short-wave radiation generally plays a secondary role, and effects of precipitation are negligible. The dominant role of winds results roughly equally from wind speed and stress forcing. Wind speed affects SST by altering turbulent heat fluxes and entrainment cooling. Wind stress affects SST via several local and remote oceanic processes.

IMPACTS OF THE TROPICAL PACIFIC COUPLED PROCESS ON THE INTERANNUAL VARIABILITY IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

The basic features of climatology and interannual variations of tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans were analyzed using a coupled general circulation model (CGCM), which was constituted with an intermediate 2.5-layer ocean model and atmosphere model ECHAM4. The CGCM well captures the spatial and temporal structure of the Pacific El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the variability features in the tropical Indian Ocean. The influence of Pacific air-sea coupled process on the Indian Ocean variability was investigated carefully by conducting numerical experiments. Results show that the occurrence frequency of positive/negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event will decrease/increase with the presence/absence of the coupled process in the Pacific Ocean. Further analysis demonstrated that the air-sea coupled process in the Pacific Ocean affects the IOD variability mainly by influencing the zonal gradient of thermocline via modulating the background sea surface wind.

Roles of equatorial waves and western boundary reflection in the seasonal circulation of the equatorial Indian Ocean

An ocean general circulation model (OGCM) is used to study the roles of equatorial waves and western boundary reflection in the seasonal circulation of the equatorial Indian Ocean. The western boundary reflection is defined as the total Kelvin waves leaving the western boundary, which include the reflection of the equatorial Rossby waves as well as the effects of alongshore winds, off-equatorial Rossby waves, and nonlinear processes near the western boundary. The evaluation of the reflection is based on a wave decomposition of the OGCM results and experiments with linear models. It is found that the alongshore winds along the east coast of Africa and the Rossby waves in the off-equatorial areas contribute significantly to the annual harmonics of the equatorial Kelvin waves at the western boundary. The semiannual harmonics of the Kelvin waves, on the other hand, originate primarily from a linear reflection of the equatorial Rossby waves. The dynamics of a dominant annual oscillation of sea level coexisting with the dominant semiannual oscillations of surface zonal currents in the central equatorial Indian Ocean are investigated. These sea level and zonal current patterns are found to be closely related to the linear reflections of the semiannual harmonics at the meridional boundaries. Because of the reflections, the second baroclinic mode resonates with the semiannual wind forcing; that is, the semiannual zonal currents carried by the reflected waves enhance the wind-forced currents at the central basin. Because of the different behavior of the zonal current and sea level during the reflections, the semiannual sea levels of the directly forced and reflected waves cancel each other significantly at the central basin. In the meantime, the annual harmonic of the sea level remains large, producing a dominant annual oscillation of sea level in the central equatorial Indian Ocean. The linear reflection causes the semiannual harmonics of the incoming and reflected sea levels to enhance each other at the meridional boundaries. In addition, the weak annual harmonics of sea level in the western basin, resulting from a combined effect of the western boundary reflection and the equatorial zonal wind forcing, facilitate the dominance by the semiannual harmonics near the western boundary despite the strong local wind forcing at the annual period. The Rossby waves are found to have a much larger contribution to the observed equatorial semiannual oscillations of surface zonal currents than the Kelvin waves. The westward progressive reversal of seasonal surface zonal currents along the equator in the observations is primarily due to the Rossby wave propagation.

Variation in joint mode of the tropical Indian-Pacific Ocean thermodynamic anomaly

Previous research has defined the index of the Indian-Pacific thermodynamic anomaly joint mode (IPTAJM) and suggested that the winter IPTAJM has an important impact on summer rainfall over China. However, the possible causes for the interannual and decadal variability of the IPTAJM are still unclear. Therefore, this work investigates zonal displacements of both the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP) and the eastern Indian Ocean warm pool (EIOWP). The relationships between the WPWP and the EIOWP and the IPTAJM are each examined, and then the impacts of the zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans on the IPTAJM are studied. The WPWP eastern edge anomaly displays significant interannual and decadal variability and experienced a regime shift in about 1976 and 1998, whereas the EIOWP western edge exhibits only distinct interannual variability. The decadal variability of the IPTAJM may be mainly caused by both the zonal migration of the WPWP and the 850 hPa zonal wind anomaly over the central equatorial Pacific. On the other hand, the zonal migrations of both the WPWP and the EIOWP and the zonal wind anomalies over the central equatorial Pacific and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean may be all responsible for the interannual variability of the IPTAJM.

AFLP-based genetic linkage maps of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas Thunberg

Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were used for genome mapping in the Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas Thunberg. Seventeen selected primer combinations produced 1106 peaks, of which 384 (34.7%) were polymorphic in a backcross family. Among the polymorphic markers, 349 were segregating through either the female or the male parent. Chi-square analysis indicated that 255 (73.1%) of the markers segregated in a Mendelian ratio, and 94 (26.9%) showed significant (P < 0.05) segregation distortion. Separate genetic linkage maps were constructed for the female and male parents. The female framework map consisted of 119 markers in 11 linkage groups, spanning 1030.7 cM, with an average interval of 9.5 cM per marker. The male map contained 96 markers in 10 linkage groups, covering 758.4 cM, with 8.8 cM per marker. The estimated genome length of the Pacific oyster was 1258 cM for the female and 933 cM for the male, and the observed coverage was 82.0% for the female map and 81.3% for the male map. Most distorted markers were deficient for homozygotes and closely linked to each other on the genetic map, suggesting the presence of major recessive deleterious genes in the Pacific oyster.

Phylogenetic relationships of five pika species (genus Ochotona) based on mitochondrial DNA restriction maps

Restriction site mapping of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with 16 restriction endonucleases was used to examine the phylogenetic relationships of Ochotona cansus, O. huangensis, O. thibetana, O. curzoniae and O. erythrotis. A 1-kb length variation between O. erythrotis of subgenus Pika and other four species of subgenus Ochotona was observed, which may be a useful genetic marker for identifying the two subgenera. The phylogenetic tree constructed using PAUP based on 61 phylogenetically informative sites suggests that O. erythrotis diverged first, followed by O. cansus, while O. curzoniae and O. huangensis are sister taxa related to O. thibetana, The results indicate that both O. cansus and O. huangensis should be treated as independent species. If the base substitution rate of pikas mtDNA was 2% per million years, then the divergence time of the two subgenera, Pika and Ochotana, is about 8.8 Ma ago of late Miocence, middle Bao-dian of Chinese mammalian age, and the divergence of the four species in subgenus Ochotona would have occurred about 2.5 - 4.2 Ma ago, Yushean of Chinese mammalian age. This calculation appears to be substantiated by the fossil record.

青藏高原及邻区面波频散反演--岩石圈-软流层体系结构研究

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau lies in the place of the continent-continent collision between Indian and Eurasian plates. Because of their interaction the shallow and deep structures are very complicated. The force system forming the tectonic patterns and driving tectonic movements is effected together by the deep part of the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. It is important to study the 3-D velocity structures, the spheres and layers structures, material properties and states of the lithosphere and the asthenosphere for getting knowledge of their formation and evolution, dynamic process, layers coupling and exchange of material and energy. Based on the Rayleigh wave dispersion theory, we study the 3-D velocity structures, the depths of interfaces and thicknesses of different layers, including the crust, the lithosphere and the asthenosphere, the lithosphere-asthenosphere system in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas. The following tasks include: (1)The digital seismic records of 221 seismic events have been collected, whose magnitudes are larger than 5.0 over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas. These records come from 31 digital seismic stations of GSN , CDSN、NCDSN and part of Indian stations. After making instrument response calibration and filtering, group velocities of fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves are measured using the frequency-time analysis (FTAN) to get the observed dispersions. Furthermore, we strike cluster average for those similar ray paths. Finally, 819 dispersion curves (8-150s) are ready for dispersion inversion. (2)From these dispersion curves, pure dispersion data in 2°×2° cells of the areas (18°N-42°N, 70°E-106°E) are calculated by using function expansion method, proposed by Yanovskaya. The average initial model has been constructed by taking account of global AK135 model along with geodetic, geological, geophysical, receiving function and wide-angle reflection data. Then, initial S-wave velocity structures of the crust and upper mantle in the research areas have been obtained by using linear inversion (SVD) method. (3)Taking the results of the linear inversion as the initial model, we simultaneously invert the S wave velocities and thicknesses by using non-linear inversion (improved Simulated Annealing algorithm). Moreover, during the temperature dropping the variable-scale models are used. Comparing with the linear results, the spheres and layers by the non-linear inversion can be recognized better from the velocity value and offset. (4)The Moho discontinuity and top interface of the asthenosphere are recognized from the velocity value and offset of the layers. The thicknesses of the crust, lithosphere and asthenosphere are gained. These thicknesses are helpful to studying the structural differentia between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas and among geologic units of the plateau. The results of the inversion will provide deep geophysical evidences for studying deep dynamical mechanism and exploring metal mineral resource and oil and gas resources. The following conclusions are reached by the distributions of the S wave velocities and thicknesses of the crust, lithosphere and asthenosphere, combining with previous researches. (1)The crust is very thick in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, varying from 60 km to 80 km. The lithospheric thickness in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is thinner (130-160 km) than its adjacent areas. Its asthenosphere is relatively thicker, varies from 150 km to 230 km, and the thickest area lies in the western Qiangtang. India located in south of Main Boundary thrust has a thinner crust (32-38 km), a thicker lithosphere of about 190 km and a rather thin asthenosphere of only 60 km. Sichuan and Tarim basins have the crust thickness less than 50km. Their lithospheres are thicker than the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and their asthenospheres are thinner. (2)The S-wave velocity variation pattern in the lithosphere-asthenosphere system has band-belted distribution along east-westward. These variations correlate with geology structures sketched by sutures and major faults. These sutures include Main Boundary thrust (MBT), Yarlung-Zangbo River suture (YZS), Bangong Lake-Nujiang suture (BNS), Jinshajiang suture (JSJS), Kunlun edge suture (KL). In the velocity maps of the upper and middle crust, these sutures can be sketched. In velocity maps of 250-300 km depth, MBT, BNS and JSJS can be sketched. In maps of the crustal thickness, the lithospheric thickness and the asthenospheric thickness, these sutures can be still sketched. In particular, MBT can be obviously resolved in these velocity maps and thickness maps. (3)Since the collision between India and Eurasian plate, the “loss” of surface material arising from crustal shortening is caused not only by crustal thickening but also by lateral extrusion material. The source of lateral extrusion lies in the Qiangtang block. These materials extrude along the JSJS and BNS with both rotation and dispersion in Daguaiwan. Finally, it extends toward southeast direction. (4)There is the crust-mantle transition zone of no distinct velocity jump in the lithosphere beneath the Qiangtang Terrane. It has thinner lithosphere and developed thicker asthenosphere. It implies that the crust-mantle transition zone of partial melting is connected with the developed asthenosphere. The underplating of asthenosphere may thin the lithosphere. This buoyancy might be the main mechanism and deep dynamics of the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet hinterland. At the same time, the transport of hot material with low velocity intrudes into the upper mantle and the lower crust along cracks and faults forming the crust-mantle transition zone.

Visual Navigation: Constructing and Utilizing Simple Maps of an Indoor Environment

The goal of this work is to navigate through an office environmentsusing only visual information gathered from four cameras placed onboard a mobile robot. The method is insensitive to physical changes within the room it is inspecting, such as moving objects. Forward and rotational motion vision are used to find doors and rooms, and these can be used to build topological maps. The map is built without the use of odometry or trajectory integration. The long term goal of the project described here is for the robot to build simple maps of its environment and to localize itself within this framework.