190 research outputs found

    Mesoscale eddies modulate mixed layer depth globally.

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 46(3), (2019):1505-1512, doi:10.1029/2018GL080006.Mesoscale eddies, energetic vortices covering nearly a third of the ocean surface at any one time, modulate the spatial and temporal evolution of the mixed layer. We present a global analysis of concurrent satellite observations of mesoscale eddies with hydrographic profiles by autonomous Argo floats, revealing rich geographic and seasonal variability in the influence of eddies on mixed layer depth. Anticyclones deepen the mixed layer depth, whereas cyclones thin it, with the magnitude of these eddy‐induced mixed layer depth anomalies being largest in winter. Eddy‐centric composite averages reveal that the largest anomalies occur at the eddy center and decrease with distance from the center. Furthermore, the extent to which eddies modulate mixed layer depth is linearly related to the sea surface height amplitude of the eddies. Finally, large eddy‐mediated mixed layer depth anomalies are more common in anticyclones when compared to cyclones. We present candidate mechanisms for this observed asymmetry.This project was supported by NASA grants NNX13AE47G and NNX16AH9G. This manuscript was improved as a result of helpful discussions with Jeffery Early, Johnathan Lilly, and Eric Kunze of Northwest Research Associates. D. J. M. also gratefully acknowledges support of the National Science Foundation. The eddy data set used here is distributed by AVISO at https://www.aviso.altimetry.fr/en/data/products/value-added-products/global-mesoscale-eddy-trajectoryproduct.html. The MLD data can be accessed at http://mixedlayer.ucsd.edu.2019-06-0

    Anomalous chlorofluorocarbon uptake by mesoscale eddies in the Drake Passage region

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 120 (2015): 1065–1078, doi:10.1002/2014JC010292.The role of mesoscale eddies in the uptake of anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11) gas is investigated with a 1/20° eddy-resolving numerical ocean model of a region of the Southern Ocean. With a relatively fast air-sea equilibrium time scale (about a month), the air-sea CFC-11 flux quickly responds to the changes in the mixed layer CFC-11 partial pressure (pCFC-11). At the mesoscale, significant correlations are observed between pCFC-11 anomaly, anomalies in sea surface temperature (SST), net heat flux, and mixed layer depth. An eddy-centric analysis of the simulated CFC-11 field suggests that anticyclonic warm-core eddies generate negative pCFC-11 anomalies and cyclonic cold-core eddies generate positive anomalies of pCFC-11. Surface pCFC-11 is modulated by mixed layer dynamics in addition to CFC-11 air-sea fluxes. A negative cross correlation between mixed layer depth and surface pCFC-11 anomalies is linked to higher CFC-11 uptake in anticyclones and lower CFC-11 uptake in cyclones, especially in winter. An almost exact asymmetry in the air-sea CFC-11 flux between cyclones and anticyclones is found.We gratefully acknowledge NSF support of the MOBY project (grant OCE-1048926 to MIT and OCE-1048897 to WHOI). In addition, P.G. and D.J.M. thank NASA for partial support of this work through grant NNX13AE47G.2015-08-2

    Advancing mental health care with AI-enabled precision psychiatry tools: A patent review

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    The review provides an overview of patents on AI-enabled precision psychiatry tools published between 2015 and mid-October 2022. Multiple analytic approaches, such as graphic network analysis and topic modeling, are used to analyze the scope, content, and trends of the retained patents. The included tools aim to provide accurate diagnoses according to established psychometric criteria, predict the response to specific treatment approaches, suggest optimal treatments, and make prognoses regarding disorder courses without intervention. About one-third of the tools recommend treatment options or include treatment administration related to digital therapeutics, pharmacotherapy, and electrotherapy. Data sources used to make predictions include behavioral data collected through mobile devices, neuroimaging, and electronic health records. The complexity of technology combinations used in the included devices has increased until 2021. The topics extracted from the patent data illuminate current trends and potential future developments in AI-enabled precision psychiatry. The most impactful patents and associated available products reveal relevant commercialization possibilities and likely future developments. Overall, the review highlights the potential of adopting AI-enabled precision psychiatry tools in practice

    Satellite observations of chlorophyll, phytoplankton biomass, and Ekman pumping in nonlinear mesoscale eddies

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 118 (2013): 6349–6370, doi:10.1002/2013JC009027.Nonlinear mesoscale eddies can influence biogeochemical cycles in the upper ocean through vertical and horizontal advection of nutrients and marine organisms. The relative importance of these two processes depends on the polarity of an eddy (cyclones versus anticyclones) and the initial biological conditions of the fluid trapped in the core of the eddy at the time of formation. Eddies originating in the eastern South Indian Ocean are unique in that anticyclones, typically associated with downwelling, contain elevated levels of chlorophyll-a, enhanced primary production and phytoplankton communities generally associated with nutrient-replete environments. From analysis of 9 years of concurrent satellite measurements of sea surface height, chlorophyll, phytoplankton carbon, and surface stress, we present observations that suggest eddy-induced Ekman upwelling as a mechanism that is at least partly responsible for sustaining positive phytoplankton anomalies in anticyclones of the South Indian Ocean. The biological response to this eddy-induced Ekman upwelling is evident only during the Austral winter. During the Austral summer, the biological response to eddy-induced Ekman pumping occurs deep in the euphotic zone, beyond the reach of satellite observations of ocean color.This work was funded by NASA grants NNX08AI80G, NNX08AR37G, NNX10AO98G, and NNX13AD78G.2014-06-0

    Regional variations in the influence of mesoscale eddies on near-surface chlorophyll

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 119 (2014): 8195–8220, doi:10.1002/2014JC010111.Eddies can influence biogeochemical cycles through a variety of mechanisms, including the excitation of vertical velocities and the horizontal advection of nutrients and ecosystems, both around the eddy periphery by rotational currents and by the trapping of fluid and subsequent transport by the eddy. In this study, we present an analysis of the influence of mesoscale ocean eddies on near-surface chlorophyll (CHL) estimated from satellite measurements of ocean color. The influences of horizontal advection, trapping, and upwelling/downwelling on CHL are analyzed in an eddy-centric frame of reference by collocating satellite observations to eddy interiors, as defined by their sea surface height signatures. The influence of mesoscale eddies on CHL varies regionally. In most boundary current regions, cyclonic eddies exhibit positive CHL anomalies and anticyclonic eddies contain negative CHL anomalies. In the interior of the South Indian Ocean, however, the opposite occurs. The various mechanisms by which eddies can influence phytoplankton communities are summarized and regions where the observed CHL response to eddies is consistent with one or more of the mechanisms are discussed. This study does not attempt to link the observed regional variability definitively to any particular mechanism but provides a global overview of how eddies influence CHL anomalies.This work was funded by NASA grants NNX08AI80G, NNX08AR37G, and NNX10AO98G. DJM gratefully acknowledges NASA grant NNX13AE47G and NSF grant OCE-1048897.2015-06-0

    Seasonal variation in the correlation between anomalies of sea level and chlorophyll in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

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    The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) has highly energetic mesoscale phenomena, but their impacts on phytoplankton biomass, productivity, and biogeochemical cycling are not understood well. We analyze satellite observations and an eddy‐rich ocean model to show that they drive chlorophyll anomalies of opposite sign in winter versus summer. In winter, deeper mixed layers in positive sea surface height (SSH) anomalies reduce light availability, leading to anomalously low chlorophyll concentrations. In summer with abundant light, however, positive SSH anomalies show elevated chlorophyll concentration due to higher iron level, and an iron budget analysis reveals that anomalously strong vertical mixing enhances iron supply to the mixed layer. Features with negative SSH anomalies exhibit the opposite tendencies: higher chlorophyll concentration in winter and lower in summer. Our results suggest that mesoscale modulation of iron supply, light availability and vertical mixing plays an important role in causing systematic variations in primary productivity over the seasonal cycle

    Mesoscale eddies influence the movements of mature female white sharks in the Gulf Stream and Sargasso Sea

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    © The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 8 (2018): 7363, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25565-8.Satellite-tracking of mature white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) has revealed open-ocean movements spanning months and covering tens of thousands of kilometers. But how are the energetic demands of these active apex predators met as they leave coastal areas with relatively high prey abundance to swim across the open ocean through waters often characterized as biological deserts? Here we investigate mesoscale oceanographic variability encountered by two white sharks as they moved through the Gulf Stream region and Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the vicinity of the Gulf Stream, the two mature female white sharks exhibited extensive use of the interiors of clockwise-rotating anticyclonic eddies, characterized by positive (warm) temperature anomalies. One tagged white shark was also equipped with an archival tag that indicated this individual made frequent dives to nearly 1,000 m in anticyclones, where it was presumably foraging on mesopelagic prey. We propose that warm temperature anomalies in anticyclones make prey more accessible and energetically profitable to adult white sharks in the Gulf Stream region by reducing the physiological costs of thermoregulation in cold water. The results presented here provide valuable new insight into open ocean habitat use by mature, female white sharks that may be applicable to other large pelagic predators.This work was supported by the WHOI Ocean Life Institute and awards from NASA and NSF
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