Evaluation of NSCAT scatterometer winds using equatorial Pacific buoy observations

As part of the calibration/validation effort for NASA's Scatterometer (NSCAT) we compare the satellite data to winds measured at the sea surface with an array of buoys moored in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The NSCAT data record runs from September, 1996 through the end of June, 1997. The raw NSCAT data, radar backscatter, is converted to wind vectors at 10 meters above the surface assuming a neutrally stratified atmosphere, using the NSCAT-1 and NSCAT-2 model functions. The surface winds were measured directly by the TAO (Tropical Atmosphere Ocean) buoy array which spans the width of the equatorial Pacific within about 8° of the equator. The buoy program and data archive are maintained by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in collaboration with institutions in Japan, France and Taiwan. We also use data from two buoys maintained by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution located along 125°W. Since the buoy winds are measured at various heights above the surface, they are adjusted for both height and atmospheric surface layer stratification before comparisons are made to the NSCAT data. Co-location requirements include measurements within 100 km and 60 minutes of each other. There was a total of 5580 comparisons for the NSCAT-1 model function and 6364 comparisons for the NSCAT-2 model function. The NSCAT wind speeds, using the NSCAT-1 model function, are lower than the buoy wind speeds by about 0.54 ms-1 and have a 9.8° directional bias. The NSCAT-2 winds speeds were lower than the TAO buoy winds by only 0.08 ms-1, but still have the same 9.8° directional bias. The wind retrieval algorithm selects the vector closest to the buoy approximately 88% of the time. However, in the relatively low wind speed regime of the TAO array, approximately 4% of the wind vectors are more than 120° from the buoy wind.Funding was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract No. 957652

Hydrographic observations from the US/PRC Cooperative Program in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean, cruises 5-8

In support of the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program, investigators from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) from both Qingdao (First Institute) and Guangzhou (South China Sea Branch) conducted hydrographic observations aboard the Chinese R/V Xiang Yang Hong 14 in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean. The objective of this component of the TOGA program was to document the water mass property distributions of the western equatorial Pacific and describe the oceanic velocity field. The four cruises summarized here were conducted during the period November 1988 to July 1990 and are the final half of an eight cruise repeated survey of the region begun in 1985. Conductivity-Temperature-Depth-Oxygen (CTD/O2) stations were collected to a minimum cast depth of 2500m or the bottom when shallower. The cruises reoccupied the same stations to provide temporal information. Summarized listings of CTD/02 data together with selected physical properties of sea water for these cruises are provided here, as well as a description of the hardware used and an explanation of the data reduction techniques employed.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA85AA-D-AC117

Hydrographic observations from the US/PRC Cooperative Program in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean, cruises 1-4

In support of the Tropical Oceans and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program, investigators from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), NOAA Pacific Marine Envionmental Laboratory and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) from both Qingdao (First Institute) and Guangzhou (South China Sea Branch) conducted hydrographic observations aboard the Chinese Research vessels Xiang Yang Hong 5 and Xiang Yang Hong 14 in the western equatorial Pacific. The objective of this component of the TOGA program was to document the water mass property distributions of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean and describe the oceanic velocity field. The four cruises summarized here were conducted during the period November 1985 to June 1988 and are the first half of an eight cruise repeated survey of the region scheduled to be completed in spring 1990. Conductivity-Temperatue-Depth-Oxygen (CTD/02) stations were collected to a minimum cast depth of 2,500 m or the bottom when shallower. The cruises reoccupied the same stations to provide temporal information. Summarized listings of CTD/O2 data together with selected physical properties of sea water for these cruises are provided here, as well as a description of the hardware used and an explanation of the data reduction tehniques employed.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead