Biological and chemical oceanographic profiles from the equatorial Atlantic

The volume presents planktological and chemical data collected during cruise No. 51 of RV "Meteor" to the equatorial Atlantic (FGGE '79) from February to June 1979. A standard section along the meridian 22° W across the equator was sampled ten times between 2° S and 3° N. Together with a temperature and salinity profile, concentrations of oxygen, nutrients and chlorophyll a were analyzed in water samples down to a depth of 250 m. Solar radiation and light depths were measured for determination of primary productivity of the euphotic zone according to the simulated in situ method. Zooplankton biomass was estimated in 5 depth intervals down to 300 m by means of a multiple opening and closing net equipped with a mesh size of 100 µm.

Co-accumulation of microbial residues and particulate organic matter in the surface layer of a no-till Oxisol under different crops

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mineral composition of 0.1-0.05 mm grain size fraction from the surface layer of bottom sediments in the West European province of the Atlantic Ocean

Rock material sampled from the Mir manned deep-sea submersibles and by dradges, grabs, and sediment cores over a vast area of the North Atlantic was analyzed to show that this material is of continental origin, unlike original rocks of the ocean floor. It is proved to be related to iceberg rafting during Quaternary glaciations. Independent data on distribution and composition of sandy and silty grains in sediment cores also support this relation to the recent glaciation. New criteria for identification of iceberg rock matter in pelagic sediments are presented on the base of analysis of all available data.

Surface pigments,algal biomass profiles,and potential production of the euphotic layer:Relationships reinvestigated in view of remote-sensing applications

Maps of surface chlorophyllous pigment (Chl a + Pheo a) are currently produced from ocean color sensors. Transforming such maps into maps of primary production can be reliably done only by using light-production models in conjuction with additional information about the column-integrated pigment content and its vertical distribution. As a preliminary effort in this direction. $\ticksim 4,000$ vertical profiles pigment (Chl a + Pheo a) determined only in oceanic Case 1 waters have been statistically analyzed. They were scaled according to dimensionless depths (actual depth divided by the depth of the euphotic layer, $Z_e$) and expressed as dimensionless concentrations (actual concentration divided by the mean concentration within the euphotic layer). The depth $Z_e$ generally unknown, was computed with a previously develop bio-optical model. Highly sifnificant relationships were found allowing $\langle C \rangle_tot$, the pigment content of the euphotic layer, to be inferred from the surface concentration, $\bar C_pd$, observed within the layer of one penetration depth. According to their $\bar C_pd$ values (ranging from $0.01 to > 10 mg m^-3$), we categorized the profiles into seven trophic situations and computed a mean vertical profile for each. Between a quasi-uniform profile in eutrophic waters and a profile with a strong deep maximum in oligotrophic waters, the shape evolves rather regularly. The wellmixed cold waters, essentially in the Antarctic zone, have been separately examined. On average, their profiles are featureless, without deep maxima, whatever their trophic state. Averaged values their profiles are featureless, without deep maxima, whatever their trophic state. Averaged values their profiles are featureless, without deep maxima, whatever their trophic state. Averaged values of $ρ$, the ratio of Chl a tp (Chl a + Pheo a), have also been obtained for each trophic category. The energy stored by photosynthesizing algae, once normalized with respect to the integrated chlorophyll biomass $\langle C \rangle _tot $ is proportional to the available photosythetic energy at the surface via a parameter $ψ∗$ which is the cross-section for photosynthesis per unit of areal chlorophyll. By tanking advantage of the relative stability of $ψ∗.$ we can compute primary production from ocean color data acquired from space. For such a computation, inputs are the irradiance field at the ocean surface, the "surface" pigment from which $\langle C \rangle _tot$ can be derived, the mean $ρ value pertinent to the trophic situation as depicted by the $\bar C_pd or $\langle C \rangle _tot$ values, and the cross-section $ψ∗$. Instead of a contant $ψ∗.$ value, the mean profiles can be used; they allow the climatological field of the $ψ∗.$ parameter to be adjusted through the parallel use of a spectral light-production model.

Characteristic Study of the Boundary Layer Parameters over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal Using the QuikSCAT Dataset

The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) plays a vital role in the transport of momentum and heat from the surface of the ocean into the atmosphere. A detailed study on the MABL characteristics was carried out using high-resolution surface-wind data as measured by the QuikSCAT (Quick scatterometer) satellite. Spatial variations in the surface wind, frictional velocity, roughness parameter and drag coe±cient for the di®erent seasons were studied. The surface wind was strong during the southwest monsoon season due to the modulation induced by the Low Level Jetstream. The drag coe±cient was larger during this season, due to the strong winds and was lower during the winter months. The spatial variations in the frictional velocity over the seas was small during the post-monsoon season (»0.2 m s¡1). The maximum spatial variation in the frictional velocity was found over the south Arabian Sea (0.3 to 0.5 m s¡1) during the southwest monsoon period, followed by the pre-monsoon over the Bay of Bengal (0.1 to 0.25 m s¡1). The mean wind-stress curl during the winter was positive over the equatorial region, with a maximum value of 1.5£10¡7 N m¡3, but on either side of the equatorial belt, a negative wind-stress curl dominated. The area average of the frictional velocity and drag coe±cient over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were also studied. The values of frictional velocity shows a variability that is similar to the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) and this was con¯rmed via wavelet analysis. In the case of the drag coe±cient, the prominent oscillations were ISO and quasi-biweekly mode (QBM). The interrelationship between the drag coe±cient and the frictional velocity with wind speed in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal was also studied.

Intercomparison and validation of the mixed layer depth fields of global ocean syntheses

Intercomparison and evaluation of the global ocean surface mixed layer depth (MLD) fields estimated from a suite of major ocean syntheses are conducted. Compared with the reference MLDs calculated from individual profiles, MLDs calculated from monthly mean and gridded profiles show negative biases of 10–20 m in early spring related to the re-stratification process of relatively deep mixed layers. Vertical resolution of profiles also influences the MLD estimation. MLDs are underestimated by approximately 5–7 (14–16) m with the vertical resolution of 25 (50) m when the criterion of potential density exceeding the 10-m value by 0.03 kg m−3 is used for the MLD estimation. Using the larger criterion (0.125 kg m−3) generally reduces the underestimations. In addition, positive biases greater than 100 m are found in wintertime subpolar regions when MLD criteria based on temperature are used. Biases of the reanalyses are due to both model errors and errors related to differences between the assimilation methods. The result shows that these errors are partially cancelled out through the ensemble averaging. Moreover, the bias in the ensemble mean field of the reanalyses is smaller than in the observation-only analyses. This is largely attributed to comparably higher resolutions of the reanalyses. The robust reproduction of both the seasonal cycle and interannual variability by the ensemble mean of the reanalyses indicates a great potential of the ensemble mean MLD field for investigating and monitoring upper ocean processes.