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The coastal ocean may experience periods of fluctuating along-shelf wind direction, causing shifts between upwelling and downwelling conditions with responses that are not symmetric. We seek to understand these asymmetries and their implications on the Eulerian and Lagrangian flows. We use a two-dimensional (variations across-shelf and with depth; uniformity along-shelf) primitive equation numerical model to study shelf flows in the presence of periodic, zero-mean wind stress forcing. The model bathymetry and initial stratification is typical of the broad, shallow shelf off Duck, NC during summer. After an initial transient adjustment, the response of the Eulerian fields is nearly periodic. Despite the symmetric wind stress forcing, there exist both mean Eulerian and Lagrangian flows. The mean Lagrangian displacement of parcels on the shelf depends both on their initial location and on the initial phase of the forcing. Eulerian mean velocities, in contrast, have almost no dependence on initial phase. In an experiment with sinusoidal wind stress forcing of maximum amplitude 0.1Nm and period of 6days, the mean Lagrangian across-shelf displacements are largest in the surface and bottom boundary layers. Parcels that originate near the coast in the top 15m experience complicated across-shelf and vertical motion that does not display a clear pattern. Offshore of this region in the top 10m a rotating cell feature exists with offshore displacement near the surface and onshore displacement below. A mapping technique is used to help identify the qualitative characteristics of the Lagrangian motion and to clarify the long time nature of the parcel displacements. The complexity of the Lagrangian motion in a region near the coast and the existence of a clear boundary separating this region from a more regular surface cell feature offshore are quantified by a calculation from the map of the largest Lyapunov exponent.

International audience; We trace pathways of Fe reactions in the Indian River Lagoon (Florida, USA) subterranean estuary using Fe isotopes to provide new constraints on Fe-isotopic fractionation in a sulfide-bearing subterranean estuary. Porewater δ 56Fe values increase from -1.16‰ at 115cm depth to +0.2‰ at 7cm depth due to isotope fractionation in three distinct lithostratigraphic zones. The deepest zone contains orange sands with elevated Fe-oxide contents (0.2wt.%) that dissolve through diagenetic Fe-oxide reduction and elevate Fe concentrations in porewaters (100 to 300μM/l). This reaction causes porewater δ 56Fe values to be ~1‰ lighter than the sediment δ 56Fe values. An intermediate zone contains white Fe-poor sands, with Fe-oxide contents

International audience; Most of the kinetic energy of ocean circulation is contained in ubiquitous mesoscale eddies. Their prominent signatures in sea surface height have rendered satellite altimetry highly effective in observing global ocean eddies. Our knowledge of ocean eddy dynamics has grown by leaps and bounds since the advent of satellite altimetry in the early 1980s. A satellite's fast sampling allows a broad view of the global distribution of eddy variability and its spatial structures. Since the early 1990s, the combination of data available from two simultaneous flying altimeters has resulted in a time-series record of global maps of ocean eddies. Despite the moderate resolution, these maps provide an opportunity to study the temporal and spatial variability of the surface signatures of eddies at a level of detail previously unavailable. A global census of eddies has been constructed to assess their population, polarity, intensity, and nonlinearity. The velocity and pattern of eddy propagation, as well as eddy transports of heat and salt, have been mapped globally. For the first time, the cascade of eddy energy through various scales has been computed from observations, providing evidence for the theory of ocean turbulence. Notwithstanding the tremendous progress made using existing observations, their limited resolution has prevented study of variability at wavelengths shorter than 100 km, where important eddy processes take place, ranging from energy dissipation to mixing and transport of water properties that are critical to understanding the ocean's roles in Earth's climate. The technology of radar interferometry promises to allow wide-swath measurement of sea surface height at a resolution that will resolve eddy structures down to 10 km. This approach holds the potential to meet the challenge of extending the observations to submesoscales and to set a standard for future altimetric measurement of the ocean.

Sediments collected during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 303 in the North Atlantic provide records of polarity transitions and geomagnetic excursions at a high resolution. Here we investigate polarity transitions at the upper and lower boundaries of the Jaramillo subchronozone at Sites U1305, U1304, and U1306. The sediments carry strong natural remanent magnetizations (NRM) with median destructive fields consistent with magnetite as the dominant magnetic carrier. Both polarity transitions are characterized by low values of relative paleointensity. The U1305 record of the lower Jaramillo reversal exhibits a marked cluster of virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) over southern South America, and a secondary accumulation in the region of NE Asia/North Pacific. The main South American VGP cluster is also visible at Site U1304, which documents a less complex pattern, possibly because of a higher degree of smoothing. Records of the upper Jaramillo polarity transition document a VGP loop over the Americas, followed by north to south motion including a secondary VGP accumulation near India. The similarity between several records of the upper Jaramillo transition obtained at various sites in the North Atlantic is a strong indication that geomagnetic field changes have been faithfully captured. Results suggest that a transverse, possibly dipolar, field component has fluctuated during these polarity reversals, and that these fluctuations combined with a reduced axial dipole component yielded the observed field at the Earth’s surface during the polarity transitions. The lower Jaramillo transition also exhibits VGP clusters in the vicinity of South America and eastern Asia but these clusters are shifted relative to the upper Jaramillo VGP clusters, implying a memory exerted by the upper mantle on polarity transition geometry.

By derivatizing with OsO 4 , we determined the double bond positions of all the diunsaturated alkenones present in different haptophytes and demonstrated that the positions in C 37 -C 40 homologs occur at a fixed carbon number from the carbonyl group, a finding contrary to earlier speculation. These data have allowed us to recognize three "families" of alkenones, for which we propose different biosynthetic pathways. The proposed biosynthesis of classical C 37 -C 40 alkenones starts with acetyl- or propionyl-SCoA and involves classical chain elongation steps with malonyl- and methylmalonyl-SCoA affording alkanoyl-ACP intermediates, which undergo subsequent Δ 14,21 -desaturation and decarboxylation reactions. Unusual diunsaturated shorter-chain (C 35 and C 36 ) ketones now being produced for yet unknown physiological reasons by our specimen of Emiliania huxleyi (Lohm). Hay et Mohler strain CCMP1742. These compounds exhibit ω15,22 and ω16,23 double bonds, which are at a shorter distance (two carbon atoms) from the carbonyl group than the higher homologs, implying that their biosynthesis must involve an additional chain-shortening step after Δ 14,21 -desaturation of alkanoyl-ACP. Alkenones exhibiting a very unusual double bond spacing (three methylene groups instead of five) were detected in Holocene Black Sea sediments, in particulate matter collected in the Ligurian Sea and in Gephyrocapsa oceanica strain JB-02. The formation of these compounds seems to be linked to the biosynthesis of monounsaturated alkenones previously detected in several haptophytes. Our work demonstrates the value of determining the double bond locations of alkenones whenever possible.

Planktic oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) and relative paleointensity (RPI) data are used in tandem to generate an age model for the last 1 Myr from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1306 drilled on the crest of the Eirik Drift (SW Greenland) in 2272 m water depth. For the 1–1.5 Ma interval, the age model is based on RPI alone due to insufficient foraminifera for isotope analyses. Utilizing RPI and δ 18 O in tandem allows recognition of low-δ 18 O “events” prior to glacial Terminations I, III, IV, V, VII, VIII, IX and X, that are independently supported by radiocarbon dates through the last deglaciation, and are attributed to local or regional surface-water effects. At Site U1306, Quaternary sedimentation rates (mean ∼15 cm/ka) are elevated during peak glacials and glacial onsets, and are reduced during interglacials, in contrast to the pattern at Site U1305 in 3460 m water depth at the distal toe of the drift, 191 km SW of Site U1306. The contrasting sedimentation-rate pattern appears to hold for the entire ∼1.5 Myr record. The slackening and/or shoaling (due to lowered salinity) of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) during glacial intervals coincided with greater sediment supply to Site U1306 whereas the deepening, and possibly increased vigor, of the DWBC during interglacial intervals boosted sediment supply to Site U1305.

The dynamics of the growth of linear disturbances to a chaotic basic state is analyzed in an asymptotic model of weakly nonlinear, baroclinic wave-mean interaction. In this model, an ordinary differential equation for the wave amplitude is coupled to a partial differential equation for the zonal flow correction. The leading Lyapunov vector is nearly parallel to the leading Floquet vector f1 of the lowest-order unstable periodic orbit over most of the attractor. Departures of the Lyapunov vector from this orientation are primarily rotations of the vector in an approximate tangent plane to the large-scale attractor structure. Exponential growth and decay rates of the Lyapunov vector during individual Poincaré section returns are an order of magnitude larger than the Lyapunov exponent l ≈ 0.016. Relatively large deviations of the Lyapunov vector from parallel to f1 are generally associated with relatively large transient decays. The transient growth and decay of the Lyapunov vector is well described by the transient growth and decay of the leading Floquet vectors of the set of unstable periodic orbits associated with the attractor. Each of these vectors is also nearly parallel to f1. The dynamical splitting of the complete sets of Floquet vectors for the higher-order cycles follows the previous results on the lowest-order cycle, with the vectors divided into wave-dynamical and decaying zonal flow modes. Singular vectors and singular values also generally follow this split. The primary difference between the leading Lyapunov and singular vectors is the contribution of decaying, inviscidly-damped wave-dynamical structures to the singular vectors.

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 303 to the North Atlantic in 2004 recovered rapidly deposited deep-sea sediments at IODP Site U1305 on Eirik Drift, located south of Greenland at 3460 m water depth, along the path of the Western Boundary Under Current (WBUC). About 200 m of sediment was sampled with u-channels from the composite section, providing a continuous record of paleomagnetic field directions and relative paleointensity (RPI) variations covering the past 1.2 Myr. The age model, based on an oxygen isotope record, is consistent with the fit of the RPI record to a calibrated template, and indicates higher sedimentation rates during interglacials relative to glacial epochs. Magnetite grain-size and concentration proxies indicate higher concentrations of magnetite with larger grain sizes during interglacials. Enhanced interglacial deposition can be attributed to a combination of elevated entrainment of terrigenous detritus into the WBUC due to glacial retreat on continents flanking the upstream path of the WBUC (east Greenland and Iceland), and of increased bottom current (WBUC) vigor leading to elevated transport and deposition at the site during interglacials. This pattern is opposite to observations of flow of the Antarctic circum polar current (ACC) in the south Indian Ocean, which suggests an inter-hemispheric antiphase in marine circulation at the Milankovitch scale, with strong circulation in the deep North Atlantic when the ACC is weak, and vice versa.

International audience; This paper examines the effect of "stencil width" on surface ocean geostrophic velocity and vorticity estimated from differentiating gridded satellite altimeter sea surface height products. In oceanographic applications, the value of the first derivative at a central grid point is generally obtained by differencing the sea surface heights at adjacent grid points. This is called a "three-point stencil centered difference". Here the stencil width is increased from three to five, seven, and nine points, using well-known formulae from the numerical analysis literature. The discrepancies between velocities computed with successive stencils decreases with increasing stencil width, suggesting that wide stencil results are more reliable. Significant speed-dependent biases (up to 10-20%) are found between results computed from three-point stencils versus those computed from wider stencils. The geostrophic velocity, and the variance of geostrophic velocity, are underestimated with thin stencils. Similar results are seen in geostrophic velocities computed from high-resolution model output. In contrast to the case when three-point stencils are used, wider stencils yield estimates of the anisotropy of velocity variance that are insensitive to the differences in grid spacing between two widely used altimeter products. Three-point stencils yield incorrect anisotropies on the 1/4° anisotropic AVISO grid; we recommend the use of 7-point stencils. Despite the demonstrated inadequacies of the three-point stencils, the conclusions of earlier studies based on them, that the zonally averaged midlatitude eddy kinetic energy field is nearly isotropic, are found to pertain also with wider stencils. Finally, the paper also examines the strengths and limitations of applying noise-suppressing differentiators, versus classic centered differences, to altimeter data.

The ExoMars Climate Sounder (EMCS) investigation is developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Principal Investigator J. T. Schofield) in collaboration with an international scientific team from France, the United Kingdom and the USA. EMCS plans to map daily, global, pole-to-pole profiles of temperature, dust, water and CO2 ices, and water vapor from the proposed 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (EMTGO). These profiles are to be assimilated into Mars General Circulation Models (MGCMs) to generate global, interpolated fields of measured and derived parameters such as wind. Sciences objectives of EMCS are to: Enhance understanding of Mars photochemistry by providing daily, global, high vertical resolution fields of atmospheric state, aerosol distribution, and water vapor concentration. EMCS atmospheric state measurements, combined with data assimilation, characterize the transport, sources and sinks of trace gases measured by the proposed EMTGO. The aerosol measurements reveal the heterogeneous photochemical pathways of trace gases. EMCS plans to map water vapor, the key source gas for odd hydrogen, known to be important in Martian photochemistry. Extend the MRO/MCS climatology of high vertical resolution measurements of the lower and middle atmosphere of Mars, with the improved coverage of local time provided by the proposed EMTGO. EMCS will determine the diurnal, seasonal & long-term variability of temperature and aerosol, and its impact on photochemistry. EMCS climatology, combined with earlier data, would relate EMTGO observations to earlier trace gas measurements. Support future Mars missions with measured climatology and near real-time density profile retrievals for landing and aerocapture, in the same way that MRO/MCS supported the Phoenix landing and is supporting the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) landing. EMCS could be the only instrument in orbit able to support Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) for the proposed ExoMars 2018 Rover Mission.

International audience; The ExoMars Climate Sounder (EMCS) investi- gation plans to map daily, global, pole-to-pole pro- files of temperature, dust, water and CO2 ices, and water vapor from the proposed 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (EMTGO). The measurements cover all local times, adding a new dimension to data pre- viously obtained from sun-synchronous spacecraft. These profiles are to be assimilated into Mars Gen- eral Circulation Models (MGCMs) to generate glob- al, interpolated fields of measured and derived pa- rameters such as wind.

International audience; Eddy detection and tracking algorithms are applied to both satellite altimetry and a high-resolution (dx = 5 km) climatological model solution of the U.S. West Coast to study the properties of surface and undercurrent eddies in the California Current System. Eddy properties show remarkable similarity in space and time, and even somewhat in polarity. Summer and fall are the most active seasons for undercurrent eddy generation, while there is less seasonal variation at surface. Most of the eddies have radii in the range of 25-100 km, sea level anomaly amplitudes of 1-4 cm, and vorticity normalized by f amplitudes of 0.025-0.2. Many of the eddies formed near the coast travel considerable distance westward with speeds about 2 km/day, consistent with the β effect. Anticyclones and cyclones show equatorward and poleward displacements, respectively. Long-lived surface eddies show a cyclonic dominance. The subsurface California Undercurrent generates more long-lived anticyclones than cyclones through instabilities and topographic/coastline effects. In contrast, surface eddies and subsurface cyclones have much more widely distributed birth sites. The majority of the identified eddies have lifetimes less than a season. Eddies extend to 800-1500 m depth and have distinctive vertical structures for cyclones and anticyclones. Eddies show high nonlinearity (rotation speed higher than propagation speed) and hence can be efficient in transporting materials offshore.

International audience

International audience; Aerosols and clouds have important effects on Earth's climate through their effects on the radiation budget and the cycling of water between the atmosphere and Earth's surface. Limitations in our understanding of the global distribution and properties of aerosols and clouds are partly responsible for the current uncertainties in modeling the global climate system and predicting climate change. The CALIPSO satellite was developed as a joint project between NASA and the French space agency CNES to provide needed capabilities to observe aerosols and clouds from space. CALIPSO carries CALIOP, a two-wavelength, polarization-sensitive lidar, along with two passive sensors operating in the visible and thermal infrared spectral regions. CALIOP is the first lidar to provide long-term atmospheric measurements from Earth's orbit. Its profiling and polarization capabilities offer unique measurement capabilities. Launched together with the CloudSat satellite in April 2006 and now flying in formation with the A-train satellite constellation, CALIPSO is now providing information on the distribution and properties of aerosols and clouds, which is fundamental to advancing our understanding and prediction of climate. This paper provides an overview of the CALIPSO mission and instruments, the data produced, and early results.

[1] During the 2003 summer monsoon, the Hi-CLIMB seismological stations deployed across the Himalayan Range detected bursts of high-frequency seismic noise that lasted several hours to days. On the basis of the cross correlation of seismic envelopes recorded at 11 stations, we show that the largest transient event on 15 August was located nearby a village partially destroyed on that day by a devastating debris flow. This consistency in both space and time suggests that high-frequency seismic noise analysis can be used to monitor debris flow generation as well as the evacuation of the sediment. A systematic study of one year of seismic noise, focusing on the detection of similar events, provides information on the spatial and temporal occurrence of mass movements at the front of the Himalayas. With a 50% probability of occurrence of a daily event, a total of 46 debris flows are seismically detected. Most of them were generated in regions of steep slopes, large gullies, and loose soils during the 2003 summer monsoon storms. These events are compared to local meteorological data to determine rainfall thresholds for slope failures, including the cumulative rainfall needed to bring the soil moisture content to failure capacity. The inferred thresholds are consistent with previous estimates deduced from soil studies as well as sediment supply investigations in the area. These results point out the potential of using seismic noise as a dedicated tool for monitoring the spatiotemporal occurrence of landslides and debris flows on a regional scale.

Recent works have investigated use of the hydrogen isotopic composition of C37 alkenones (δDK37s, lipid biomarkers of certain haptophyte microalgae, as an independent paleosalinity proxy. We discuss herein the factors impeding the success of such an application and identify the potential alternative use of δDK37s measurements as a proxy for non-thermal, physiological stress impacts on the U37K' paleotemperature index. Batch-culture experiments with the haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi (CCMP 1742) were conducted to determine the magnitude and variability of the isotopic contrasts between individual C37 alkenones. Further experiments were conducted with Emiliania huxleyi (CCMP 1742) andGephyrocapsa oceanica (PZ3-1) to determine whether, and to what extent, δDK37s varies between the physiological extremes of nutrient-replete exponential growth and nutrient-depleted senescence. Emiliania huxleyi was observed to exhibit an isotopic contrast between di- and tri-unsaturated C37 alkenones (αK37:3-K37:2≈0.97) that is nearly identical to that reported recently by others for environmental samples. Furthermore, this contrast appears to be constant with growth stage. The consistency of the offset across different growth stages suggests that a single, well-defined value for αK37:3-K37:2 may exist and that its use in an isotope mass-balance will allow accurate determination of δD values for individual alkenones without having to rely on time- and labor-intensive chemical separations. The isotopic fractionation between growth medium and C37 alkenones was observed to increase dramatically upon the onset of nutrient-depletion-induced senescence, suggesting that δDK37s may serve as an objective tool for recognizing and potentially correcting, at least semi-quantitatively, for the effects of nutrient stress on U37K' temperature records.

Chemical and biological sensor technologies have advanced rapidly in the past five years. Sensors that require low power and operate for multiple years are now available for oxygen, nitrate, and a variety of bio-optical properties that serve as proxies for important components of the carbon cycle (e.g., particulate organic carbon). These sensors have all been deployed successfully for long periods, in some cases more than three years, on platforms such as profiling floats or gliders. Technologies for pH, pCO(2), and particulate inorganic carbon are maturing rapidly as well. These sensors could serve as the enabling technology for a global biogeochemical observing system that might operate on a scale comparable to the current Argo array. Here, we review the scientific motivation and the prospects for a global observing system for ocean biogeochemistry.

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1308 (central North Atlantic) records paleomagnetic directional and relative paleointensity (RPI) variations for the last 1.5 Myr, in 110 m of the sediment sequence at a mean sedimentation rate of 7.3 cm/kyr. A detailed benthic oxygen isotope record was combined with RPI to produce an integrated, high-resolution magneto-isotopic stratigraphy for Site U1308. Apart from the well-known polarity reversals in this interval, the Punaruu excursion is recorded at 1092 ka and the Cobb Mountain Subchron in the 1182–1208 ka interval. The paleointensity proxies are determined as slopes of NRM versus ARM and NRM versus ARMAQ (ARM acquisition) with linear correlation coefficients to monitor the quality of the linear fit. The RPI record for Site U1308 is compared with the three other paleointensity records (one from the Western Equatorial Pacific and two from the North Atlantic) that cover the same time interval and have accompanying oxygen isotope records. The Match protocol of Lisiecki and Lisiecki (2002) is used to optimize the correlation of paleointensity records. Beginning with the original (published) age models for each record, the Match routine is used to optimize the RPI correlations to Site U1308, with checks to ensure compatibility with oxygen isotope records. Squared wavelet coherence (WTC) indicates significant improvement in RPI (and oxygen isotope) correlations after matching each RPI record to Site U1308, particularly for periods > 10 kyr. The level of coherence for the Atlantic RPI records and the lower resolution Pacific record implies synchronous global variability (at scales > 10 kyr) that can be attributed to the axial dipole geomagnetic field.

DOI = 10.3126/hjs.v5i7.1267 Himalayan Journal of Sciences Vol.5(7) (Special Issue) 2008 p.65-66

International audience; Analysis of continuous seismic data recorded by a dense passive seismological network (Hi-CLIMB) installed across the Himalayas reveals strong spatial and temporal variations in the ambient seismic energy produced at high frequencies (>1 Hz). From June to September 2003, the high-frequency seismic noise is observed to increase up to 20 dB (relative to (m/s)(2)/Hz) for all the stations located along a steep 30-km-long narrow and deeply incised channel of the Trisuli River, a major trans-Himalayan river. The early summer increase in high-frequency energy is modulated by a 24-h periodicity where the minimum of seismic noise level is reached around noon and the maximum is reached late in the evening. A detailed study of seismic noise amplitude reveals a clear correlation with both regional meteorological and hydrological data along the Trisuli River. Seasonal increase in ambient noise coincides with the strong monsoon rainfall and a period of rapid melting of snow and ice in the high elevations. The observed 24-h cyclicity is consistent with the daily fluctuation of the precipitation and river discharge in the region. River-induced seismic noise is partly generated by stream turbulence, but this mechanism fails to explain the observed clockwise hysteresis of seismic noise amplitude versus water level. This pattern is better explained if a significant part of the observed seismic noise is caused by ground vibrations generated by bed load transport. This points out the potential of using background seismic noise to quantify in continuous river bed load and monitor its spatial variations, which remain difficult with classical approaches.

Four bacterial communities were isolated from Emiliania huxleyi strain TWP1 cultures before and after the algal cells had been treated with different antibiotics. Incubation of E. huxleyi with these bacterial communities resulted in dramatically different extents of alkenone degradation, ranging from effectively none to extensive. Selective degradation of the more unsaturated alkenones was observed in experiments using the total bacterial community and one of the communities isolated from antibiotic-treated algal cells. The observed increases in U 37 K ′ are equivalent to a +2 °C and +3.3 °C change in the inferred temperature. Our results clearly show that intense aerobic microbial degradative processes have the potential to introduce a significant ‘warm’ bias in palaeotemperature reconstruction and could explain apparent anomalies in palaeotemperatures inferred from alkenone distributions in strongly oxidizing sedimentary environments. The results show that aerobic bacteria capable of selectively degrading alkenones are not limited to particular environments such as microbial mats and can be actually associated with living E. huxleyi cells. The detection of epoxyketones in some cultures indicates that metabolic pathways involving attack at the terminal groups of the molecule are essentially non-selective, while those acting on alkenone double bonds are selective. The epoxyketones resulting from bacterial epoxidation of alkenone double bonds could be useful indicators of aerobic bacterial alteration of the alkenone unsaturation ratio in situ. The production of alkenols during incubation with one of the bacterial communities demonstrated for the first time that bacterial reduction of alkenones can be a potential source of these compounds in the environment. The intriguing production of small amounts of monounsaturated alkenones by one of the bacterial communities also raises the possibility of a bacterial reduction of alkenone double bonds.

The POM model for comparing air and ground temperatures is based on the assumption that surface air temperature (SAT) records provide a good prediction of climate induced thermal transients in the shallow subsurface of the Earth. I explore the sensitivity of this model to surface forcings at time scales appropriate for climate reconstructions. I find that the misfit is sensitive to periods longer than about 20 years, is a maximum when the period and the length of the time series are equivalent and then decreases for longer periods. The pre-observation mean (POM) is relatively insensitive to periods equal to the length of the time series. Sensitivity increases for periods greater than the length of the forcing time series. The POM is significant as long as air and ground temperatures faithfully track each other, and these tests provide a method for assessing this assumption. The sensitivity of comparisons between the average Northern Hemisphere gridded SAT record and subsurface temperature depth-profile as a function of forcing period is assessed. This analysis indicates that the average SAT and reduced temperature-depth profile is in good agreement. Some improvement in misfit can be made by decreasing the amplitude of the forcing function at intermediate periods but this effect has negligible influence on the POM. Thus, the joint analysis of borehole temperatures and SAT records indicate warming of about 1.1°C over the last 500 years, consistent with previous studies.

The POM-SAT model for comparing air and ground temperatures is based on the supposition that surface air temperature (SAT) records provide a good prediction of thermal transients in the shallow subsurface of the Earth. This model consists of two components, the forcing function and an initial condition, termed the pre-observational mean (POM). I explore the sensitivity of this model as a function of forcing periods at time scales appropriate for climate reconstructions. Synthetic models are designed to replicate comparisons between borehole temperatures contained in the global database of temperature profiles for climate reconstructions and gridded SAT data. I find that the root mean square (RMS) misfit between forcing functions and transient temperature profiles in the subsurface are sensitive to periods longer than about 50 years, are a maximum when the period and the 150-year time series are equal and then decreases for longer periods. The magnitude of the POM is a robust parameter for periods equal to or shorter than the length of this time series. At longer periods there is a tradeoff between the amplitude of the forcing function and the POM. These tests provide guidelines for assessing comparisons between air and ground temperatures at periods appropriate for climate reconstructions. The sensitivity of comparisons between the average Northern Hemisphere gridded SAT record and subsurface temperature-depth profile as a function of forcing period is assessed. This analysis indicates that the Northern Hemisphere extratropical average SAT and reduced temperature-depth profile are in good agreement. By adding modest heat to the subsurface at intermediate periods some improvement in misfit can be made, but this extra heat has negligible influence on the POM. The joint analysis of borehole temperatures and SAT records indicate warming of about 1.1°C over the last 500 years, consistent with previous studies.

International audience; We previously reported the application of an upper-ocean biogeochemical model in which the elemental composition of the phytoplankton is flexible and responds to changes in light and nutrient availability [Mongin, M., Nelson, D., Pondaven, P., Brzezinski, M., Tréguer, P., 2003. Simulation of upper-ocean biogeochemistry with a flexible-composition phytoplankton model: C, N and Si cycling in the western Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Research I 50, 1445-1480]. That model, applied in the western Sargasso Sea, considered the cycles of C, N and Si in the upper 400 m and limitation of phytoplankton growth by N, Si and light. We now report a new version of this model that includes Fe cycling and Fe limitation and its application in the Southern Ocean. The model includes two phytoplankton groups, diatoms and non-siliceous forms. Uptake of NO3− by phytoplankton is light dependent, but NH4+, Si(OH)4 and Fe uptake are not and can therefore continue through the night. The model tracks the resulting C/N and Fe/C ratios of both groups and Si/N ratio of diatoms, and permits uptake of C, N, Fe and Si to proceed independently when those ratios are close to those of nutrient-replete phytoplankton. When they indicate a deficiency cellular C, N, Fe or Si, uptake of the non-limiting elements is controlled by the content of the limiting element in accordance with the cell-quota formulation of [Droop, M., 1974. The nutrient status of algal cell in continuous culture. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 54, 825-855]. The model thus identifies the growth-limiting element and quantifies the degree of limitation from the elemental composition of the phytoplankton. We applied this model at the French KERFIX site in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean, using meteorological forcing for that site from 1991 to 1995. As in the Sargasso Sea application, the flexible-composition structure provides simulations that are consistent with field data with only minimal tuning of model parameters. The model reproduces the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) conditions observed at the KERFIX using much lower and more realistic grazing loss terms than those used in KERFIX simulations that do not include Fe limitation. Cellular Fe/C ratios indicate that both diatoms and non-siliceous phytoplankton are strongly limited by interaction between Fe limitation and low irradiance throughout most of the year in these simulations, with grazing a significant secondary factor.

Unusual long-chain, diunsaturated alkenones and alkyl alkenoates exhibiting double bonds separated by three methylene units instead of the more usual five were characterized by electron ionization (EI) gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In a first step, the positions of the double bonds of these compounds (isolated from Holocene Black Sea sediments) were confirmed after OsO4 treatment and silylation. Mass spectra of the resulting tetratrimethylsilyloxy derivatives allowed unambiguous determination of the positions of unsaturations. The EI mass spectra of the non-derivatized compounds were then compared with those of the alkenones and alkyl alkenoates having double bonds separated by five methylene units. Specific fragment ions resulting from gamma-H rearrangements were found to be prominent in EI mass spectra of these unusual 'Black Sea' diunsaturated alkenones and alkyl alkenoates. These fragment ions can be used to characterize these compounds in natural samples without the need for laborious derivatization treatments.

International audience; no abstract

Our specimen of the cultured Emiliania huxleyi strain (CCMP1742, also known as NEPCC55a) that provides the benchmark for U 37 K ′ -based paleothermometry has started producing, for reasons yet unclear, major amounts of three new alkenones identified as ω15,22-C35 methyl ketone, ω15,22-C36 ethyl ketone and ω16,23-C36 methyl ketone. Comparison of these structures with those established now by the same OsO4 derivatization method applied to the di-unsaturated C37, C38 and C39 alkenones typically found in this organism provides insight into the possible pathway for their biosynthesis. Isothermal batch culture experiments also show the content and composition of these new compounds change systematically and quite significantly in cells when subjected to environmental conditions such as nutrient depletion, variation in light availability and prolonged darkness. Alkenones of similarly unusual short-chain length are evident in suspended particulate materials from present day surface waters in the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean) and in two different Holocene time horizons (Unit I and Unit II deposits) in Black Sea sediments. However, the positions of the double bonds are different from those that we now report in our culture, implying a different biosynthetic sequence. These alkenones are most likely derived from another, as yet unknown, haptophyte species. If this other organism accounts for all documented occurrences of these compounds in natural samples, then either it has a capacity for growth over a remarkably wide salinity range or surface water salinity in the early Holocene Black Sea may not have been as low as is currently believed.

A counterflow virtual impactor was used to collect residual particles larger than about 0.1 μm diameter from anvil cirrus clouds generated over Florida in the southern United States. A wide variety of particle types were found. About one-third of the nuclei were salts, with varying amounts of crustal material, industrial metals, carbonaceous particles, and sulfates. Ambient aerosol particles near the anvils were found to have similar compositions, indicating that anvils act to redistribute particles over large regions of the atmosphere. Sampling occurred at a range of altitudes spanning temperatures from −21 to −56°C. More insoluble (crustal and metallic) particles typical of heterogeneous ice nuclei were found in ice crystals at warmer temperatures, while more soluble salts and sulfates were present at cold temperatures. At temperatures below about −35 to −40°C, soluble nuclei outnumbered insoluble nuclei, evidently reflecting the transition from primarily heterogeneous to primarily homogeneous freezing as a source of anvil ice.

International audience; no abstract

International audience; no abstract