Late quaternary time series of Arabian Sea productivity: Global and regional signals

Modern annual floral and faunal production in the northwest Arabian Sea derives primarily from upwelling induced by strong southwest winds during June, July, and August. Indian Ocean summer monsoon winds are, in turn, driven by differential heating between the Asian continent and the Indian ocean to the south. This differential heating produces a strong pressure gradient resulting in southwest monsoon winds and both coastal and divergent upwelling off the Arabian Peninsula. Over geologic time scales (10(exp 4) to 10(exp 6) years), monsoon wind strength is sensitive to changes in boundary conditions which influence this pressure gradient. Important boundary conditions include the seasonal distribution of solar radiation, global ice volume, Indian Ocean sea surface temperature, and the elevation and albedo of the Asian continent. To the extent that these factors influence monsoon wind strength, they also influence upwelling and productivity. In addition, however, productivity associated with upwelling can be decoupled from the strength of the summer monsoon winds via ocean mechanisms which serve to inhibit or enhance the nutrient supply in the intermediate waters of the Indian Ocean, the source for upwelled waters in the Arabian Sea. To differentiate productivity associated with wind-induced upwelling from that associated with other components of the system such as nutrient sequestering in glacial-age deep waters, we employ a strategy which monitors independent components of the oceanic and atmospheric subsystems. Using sediment records from the Owen Ridge, northwest Arabian Sea, we monitor the strength of upwelling and productivity using two independent indicators, percent G. bulloides and opal accumulation. We monitor the strength of southwest monsoon winds by measuring the grain-size of lithogenic dust particles blown into the Arabian Sea from the surrounding deserts of the Somali and Arabian Peninsulas. Our current hypothesis is that the variability associated with the 41 kyr power in the G. bulloides and opal accumulation records derive from nutrient availability in the intermediate waters which are upwelled via monsoon winds. This hypothesis is testable by comparison with Cd records of intermediate and deep waters of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean

Temporal and spatial patterns of monsoonal upwelling along Arabia: A modem analogue for the interpretation of Quaternary SST anomalies

Several lines of evidence suggest that monsoonal circulation and its associated upwelling in the Arabian Sea have experienced significant fluctuations during the past 105 years. To construct an analogue model to interpret such changes, we have used the monthly average sea-surface temperature (SST) data from Hastenrath and Lamb (1979) to define the temporal and spatial pattern of upwelling along Arabia...

Leg 68: Introduction, Explanatory Notes, and Conventions

The sixty-eighth cruise of Glomar Challenger was devoted to using the newly developed Hydraulic Piston Corer (HPC) to recover undisturbed, continuous sequences of unlithified sediment. We returned to the vicinities of two rotary-drilled sites (83 and 154). The stratigraphy of these sites indicated that uninterrupted sections of late Neogene and Quaternary sediment should exist at these locations. The ship left Curacao, Dutch Antilles, on 13 August 1979, cored for 11 days at Site 502, and transited from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal. Site 503, in the eastern equatorial Pacific, was cored for seven days, and we then finally transited to Salinas, Ecuador. The results of this cruise (reported in this volume) include preliminary descriptions, based primarily on shipboard observations and analyses, of the material recovered (site chapters) and additional studies performed ashore after the cruise, either by scientists who participated in the cruise or by other invited investigators. The main purpose of this volume is to present not an exhaustive study of the sediment recovered but rather a description, as detailed as possible, of the material recovered on Leg 68 accompanied by interpretations and conclusions that remain preliminary

Physical Property and Chemical Characteristics of Surface Sediment Grab Samples from Narragansett Bay and the Providence and Seekonk Rivers

This document contains data tables, maps, plots, and documentation on Brown University’s Narragansett Bay Sediment Project compiled by David W. Murray, Brown University, for the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The data were compiled and analyzed as part of a New England pilot project exploring the development of a biological condition gradient applicable to estuarine systems

Sensitivity of Climate Models: Comparison of Simulated and Observed Patterns for Past Climates

Predicting the potential climatic effects of increased concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide requires the continuing development of climate models. As one index of the magnitude of past climates change, the global mean temperature increase during the past 18,000 years is similar to that predicted for carbon dioxide doubling. Simulating the climate changes of the past 18,000 years, as well as the warmer-than-present climate of 6000 years ago and the climate of the last interglacial, around 126,000 years ago, provides an excellent opportunity to test the models that are being used in global climate change research. During the past several years, we have used paleoclimatic data to test the accuracy of the NCAR CCMO (National Center for Atmospheric Research, Community Climate Model, Version 0), after changing its boundary conditions to those appropriate for past climates. We have assembled near-global paleoclimatic data sets of pollen, lake level, and marine plankton data and calibrated many of the data in terms of climatic variables. We have also developed methods that permit direct quantitative comparisons between the data and model results. Our comparisons have shown both some of the strengths and weaknesses of the model. The research so far has shown the feasibility of our methods for comparing paleoclimatic data and model results. Our research has also shown that comparing the model results with the data is an evolutionary process, because the models, the data, and the methods for comparison are continually being improved. During 1991, we have continued our studies and this Progress Report documents the results to date. During this year, we have completed new modeling experiments, compiled new data sets, made new comparisons between data and model results, and participated in workshops on paleoclimatic modeling. 37 refs

Site 502: Colombia Basin, Western Caribbean

Our specific objective at Site 502 was to recover an undisturbed, complete section that could be used as a Neogene and Quaternary reference section. A complete record such as this would allow intercorrelations between (1) paleomagnetic stratigraphy, (2) calcareous biostratigraphy, (3) cyclic accumulation of sediment, (4) paleoceanographic changes, (5) oxygen and carbon isotope stratigraphies, (6) the chronology of Central American volcanism, (7) the timing and effects of the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama, and (8) the timing and effects of the initiation of Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Site 503: Eastern Equatorial Pacific

Our primary objective at Site 503 (Fig. 1) was to re- cover a complete, undisturbed Neogene and Quaternary section in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Site 503 is located near Site 83 in an area that contains an almost continuous pelagic record of the past 10 m.y. (Hays et al., 1972). Unfortunately, Site 83 was only spot-cored, and the recovered sediment is so badly disturbed by rotary drilling that most of the detailed record is lost. The section has an average sedimentation rate of 2.0 to 2.5 cm/k.y. with good-to-moderate preservation of all the major microfossil groups. We returned to Site 83 to core the same section, using the Hydraulic Piston Corer (HPC) to obtain an undisturbed, continuous section for high-resolution stratigraphic studies

Tools and methods in participatory modeling: Selecting the right tool for the job

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Various tools and methods are used in participatory modelling, at different stages of the process and for different purposes. The diversity of tools and methods can create challenges for stakeholders and modelers when selecting the ones most appropriate for their projects. We offer a systematic overview, assessment, and categorization of methods to assist modelers and stakeholders with their choices and decisions. Most available literature provides little justification or information on the reasons for the use of particular methods or tools in a given study. In most of the cases, it seems that the prior experience and skills of the modelers had a dominant effect on the selection of the methods used. While we have not found any real evidence of this approach being wrong, we do think that putting more thought into the method selection process and choosing the most appropriate method for the project can produce better results. Based on expert opinion and a survey of modelers engaged in participatory processes, we offer practical guidelines to improve decisions about method selection at different stages of the participatory modeling process

Hydrographic changes in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Quaternary Science Reviews 29 (2010): 3336-3345, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.08.013.Millennial-scale climate fluctuations of the last deglaciation have been tied to abrupt changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). A key to understanding mechanisms of MOC collapse and recovery is the documentation of upper ocean hydrographic changes in the vicinity of North Atlantic deep convection sites. Here we present new high-resolution ocean temperature and δ18Osw records spanning the last deglaciation from an eastern subpolar North Atlantic site that lies along the flow path of the North Atlantic Current, approaching deep convection sites in the Labrador and Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN) Seas. High-resolution temperature and δ18Osw records from subpolar Site 980 help track the movement of the subpolar/subtropical front associated with temperature and Atlantic MOC changes throughout the last deglaciation. Distinct δ18Osw minima during Heinrich-1 (H1) and the Younger Dryas (YD) correspond with peaks in ice-rafted debris and periods of reduced Atlantic MOC, indicating the presence of melt water in this region that could have contributed to MOC reductions during these intervals. Increased tropical and subtropical δ18Osw during these periods of apparent freshening in the subpolar North Atlantic suggest a buildup of salt at low latitudes that served as a negative feedback on reduced Atlantic MOC.Support for this research was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (JFM and DWO) and a postdoctoral scholarship funded in part by the Gary Comer Science and Education Foundation (HB)