COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION IN THE U.S.: THE ARBITRABILITY OF DISPUTES ARISING FROM STATUTE-BASED CLAIMS

A leading contemporary expert in arbitration has explained: The concept of arbitrability determines the point at which the experience of contractual freedom ends and the public mission of adjudication begins. In effect, it establishes a dividing line between the transactional pursuit of private rights and courts\u27 role as custodians and interpreters of the public interest. 1 A major part of the arbitrability doctrine deals with the kind of claims that can fall within the scope of agreements for private dispute resolution. Arbitration clauses are an integral part of the parties\u27 transactions. Nevertheless, the American judiciary historically has refused to enforce arbitration agreements, following the English precedent. English courts, jealously guarding their dispute resolution monopoly, traditionally refused to enforce agreements to arbitrate on the ground that such agreements ousted the courts from their jurisdiction. Despite this explicit federal statutory requirement, many authorities have continued to accord arbitration clauses a lesser status than other contract terms and have failed to provide coherent and fair enforcement of arbitration agreements. These courts have posited that the judiciary may, in its discretion, refuse to enforce arbitration clauses in order to preserve exclusive federal jurisdiction over certain claims or to better implement the policies of other federal statutes. The analysis in this thesis will demonstrate the trend of the U.S. courts towards widening the scope of the arbitrability of disputes arising from claims based on public policy-oriented statutes. Particular emphasis will be given to federal antitrust, securities regulation, and bankruptcy law

Mechanisms of interannual ocean-atmosphere interactions

Results of an investigation to study the interaction between ocean and atmosphere on the annual to decadal time scale are reported. Separate studies of the ocean response to atmospheric forcing, and of atmospheric response to ocean forcing were also conducted. The main findings are the dynamics of sea surface temperature anomalies, the role of short time scale weather fluctuations in the seasonal cycle of the upper ocean variability, and the planetary wave response to sea surface temperature anomalies. A numerical model of the ocean atmosphere continent system and a two layer quasi-geostropic ocean model is discussed

The transient atmospheric response to midlatitude SST anomalies

To study the transient atmospheric response to midlatitude SST anomalies, a three-layer quasigeostrophic (QG) model coupled to a slab oceanic mixed layer in the North Atlantic is used. As diagnosed from a coupled run in perpetual winter conditions, the first two modes of SST variability are linked to the model North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and eastern Atlantic pattern (EAP), respectively, the dominant atmospheric modes in the Atlantic sector. The two SST anomaly patterns are then prescribed as fixed anomalous boundary conditions for the model atmosphere, and its transient responses are established from a large ensemble of simulations. In both cases, the tendency of the air–sea heat fluxes to damp the SST anomalies results in an anomalous diabatic heating of the atmosphere that, in turn, forces a baroclinic response, as predicted by linear theory. This initial response rapidly modifies the transient eddy activity and thus the convergence of eddy momentum and heat fluxes. The latter transforms the baroclinic response into a growing barotropic one that resembles the atmospheric mode that had created the SST anomaly in the coupled run and is thus associated with a positive feedback. The total adjustment time is as long as 3–4 months for the NAO-like response and 1–2 months for the EAP-like one. The positive feedback, in both cases, is dependent on the polarity of the SST anomaly, but is stronger in the NAO case, thereby contributing to its predominance at low frequency in the coupled system. However, the feedback is too weak to lead to an instability of the atmospheric modes and primarily results in an increase of their amplitude and persistence and a weakening of the heat flux damping of the SST anomaly

Stochastic climate models - 2. Application to sea-surface temperature anomalies and thermocline variability

The concept of stochastic climate models developed in Part I of this series (Hasselmann, 1976) is applied to the investigation of the low frequency variability of the upper ocean. It is shown that large-scale, long-time sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies may be explained naturally as the response of the oceanic surface layers to short-time-scale atmospheric forcing. The white-noise spectrum of the atmospheric input produces a red response spectrum, with most of the variance concentrated in very long periods. Without stabilizing negative feedback, the oceanic response would be nonstationary, the total SST variance growing indefinitely with time. With negative feedback, the response is asymptotically stationary. These effects are illustrated through numerical experiments with a very simple ocean-atmosphere model. The model reproduces the principal features and orders of magnitude of the observed SST anomalies in mid-latitudes. Independent support of the stochastic forcing model is provided by direct comparisons of observed sensible and latent heat flux spectra with SST anomaly spectra, and also by the structure of the cross correlation functions of atmospheric surface pressure and SST anomaly patterns. The numerical model is further used to simulate anomalies in the near-surface thermocline through Ekman pumping driven by the curl of the wind stress. The results suggest that short-time-scale atmospheric forcing should be regarded as a possible candidate for the origin of large-scale, low-period variability in the seasonal thermoclin

Seasonal variations of surface dynamic topography in the tropical Atlantic: Observational uncertainties and model testing

A new analysis of the historical temperature and salinity profiles in the tropical Atlantic is done in order to estimate quantitatively the uncertainties in the climatological seasonal variations of 0/400 db dynamic topography. The uncertainties are described by an error covariance matrix which takes into account aliasing and measurement errors, the effect of data gaps and interpolation, as well as the uncertainty of the T-S method that was used to calculate the dynamic height. The standard deviation of the monthly means is found to range between 2 and 10 dyn cm, depending on the data density and the level of eddy activity; substantial error covariances are also introduced by data interpolation. The new data set is used to test objectively the ability of the linear multimode model of Cane (1984), forced by a 20 year wind stress data set, to reproduce the seasonal variations of the dynamic topography. Model-reality intercomparison is done using a multivariate statistical procedure which also takes into account the interannual variability of the forcing, as well as its uncertainties due to random wind stress errors and drag coefficient indeterminacy. The model-reality discrepancies are shown to be too large to be explained by the oceanic and atmospheric uncertainties, and they should be primarily attributed to model shortcomings. Nonetheless, comparison with previous results suggests that the linear model simulates the dynamic topography better than the surface currents; it also reproduces the seasonal variability better than the annual mean. The multimode model works best with the first three vertical modes, although the differences in model performance with two or more vertical modes are not statistically significant

Links between the Southern Annular Mode and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in a Climate Model

International audienceThe links between the atmospheric southern annular mode (SAM), the Southern Ocean, and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) at interannual to multidecadal time scales are investigated in a 500-yr control integration of the L'Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace Coupled Model, version 4 (IPSL CM4) climate model. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, as described by its transport through the Drake Passage, is well correlated with the SAM at the yearly time scale, reflecting that an intensification of the westerlies south of 45°S leads to its acceleration. Also in phase with a positive SAM, the global meridional overturning circulation is modified in the Southern Hemisphere, primarily reflecting a forced barotropic response. In the model, the AMOC and the SAM are linked at several time scales. An intensification of the AMOC lags a positive SAM by about 8 yr. This is due to a correlation between the SAM and the atmospheric circulation in the northern North Atlantic that reflects a symmetric ENSO influence on the two hemispheres, as well as an independent, delayed interhemispheric link driven by the SAM. Both effects lead to an intensification of the subpolar gyre and, by salinity advection, increased deep convection and a stronger AMOC. A slower oceanic link between the SAM and the AMOC is found at a multidecadal time scale. Salinity anomalies generated by the SAM enter the South Atlantic from the Drake Passage and, more importantly, the Indian Ocean; they propagate northward, eventually reaching the northern North Atlantic where, for a positive SAM, they decrease the vertical stratification and thus increase the AMOC

Influence of Atlantic SST anomalies on the atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic-European sector

Recent studies of observational data suggest that Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean have a significant influence on the atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic-European sector in early winter and in spring. After reviewing this work and showing that the spring signal is part of a global air-sea interaction, we analyze for comparison an ensemble of simulations with the ECHAM4 atmospheric general circulation model in T42 resolution forced by the observed distribution of SST and sea ice, and a simulation with the ECHAM4/OPA8 coupled model in T30 resolution. In the two cases, a significant influence of the Atlantic on the atmosphere is detected in the Atlantic-European sector. In the forced mode, ECHAM4 responds to SST anomalies from early spring to late summer, and also in early winter. The forcing involves SST anomalies not only in the tropical Atlantic, but also in the whole tropical band, suggesting a strong ENSO influence. The modeled signal resembles that seen in the observations in spring, but not in early winter. In the coupled mode, the Atlantic SST only has a significant influence on the atmosphere in summer. Although the SST anomaly is confined to the Atlantic, the summer signal shows some similarity with that seen in the forced simulations. However, there is no counterpart in the observations

An observational estimate of the direct response of the cold-season atmospheric circulation to the Arctic Sea ice loss

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Climate 33(9), (2020): 3863-3882, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0687.1.The direct response of the cold-season atmospheric circulation to the Arctic sea ice loss is estimated from observed sea ice concentration (SIC) and an atmospheric reanalysis, assuming that the atmospheric response to the long-term sea ice loss is the same as that to interannual pan-Arctic SIC fluctuations with identical spatial patterns. No large-scale relationship with previous interannual SIC fluctuations is found in October and November, but a negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)/Arctic Oscillation follows the pan-Arctic SIC fluctuations from December to March. The signal is field significant in the stratosphere in December, and in the troposphere and tropopause thereafter. However, multiple regressions indicate that the stratospheric December signal is largely due to concomitant Siberian snow-cover anomalies. On the other hand, the tropospheric January–March NAO signals can be unambiguously attributed to SIC variability, with an Iceland high approaching 45 m at 500 hPa, a 2°C surface air warming in northeastern Canada, and a modulation of blocking activity in the North Atlantic sector. In March, a 1°C northern Europe cooling is also attributed to SIC. An SIC impact on the warm Arctic–cold Eurasia pattern is only found in February in relation to January SIC. Extrapolating the most robust results suggests that, in the absence of other forcings, the SIC loss between 1979 and 2016 would have induced a 2°–3°C decade−1 winter warming in northeastern North America and a 40–60 m decade−1 increase in the height of the Iceland high, if linearity and perpetual winter conditions could be assumed.This research was supported by the Blue-Action project (European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, Grant 727852) and by the National Science Foundation (OPP 1736738).2020-10-0