Deep Atlantic carbonate ion and CaCO3 compensation during the Ice Ages

Abstract Higher alkalinity is compensation for reduced CaCO3 burial in the deep ocean in response to increased carbon sequestration in the deep ocean. This process accounts for about half of the reduction in glacial atmospheric CO2. To date our understanding of this process comes from benthic carbon isotope and CaCO3 burial records. Here we present a 1.5 My orbitally resolved deep ocean calcite saturation record (∆CO32‐) derived from benthic foraminiferal B/Ca ratios in the North Atlantic. Glacial ∆CO32‐ declines across the mid‐Pleistocene transition (MPT) suggesting increased sequestration of carbon in the deep Atlantic. The magnitude, timing, and structure of deep Atlantic Ocean ∆CO32‐ parallels changes in ÊCO3 and contrasts the small amplitude, anti‐phased swings in IndoPacific ∆CO32‐ and ÊCO3 during the mid‐to‐late Pleistocene questioning the classic view of CaCO3 compensatory mechanism. We propose that the increasing corrosivity of the deep Atlantic causes the locus of CaCO3 burial to shift into the equatorial Pacific where the flux of CaCO3 to the seafloor was sufficiently high to overcome low saturation and establish a new burial “hot spot”. Based on this mechanism, we propose that the persistently low∆CO32‐ levels at Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 12, set the stage for the high pCO2 levels at MIS 11 and subsequent interglacials via large swings in ocean alkalinity caused by shifts in CaCO3 burial. Similarly, the development of classic (‘anti‐correlated’) CaCO3 patterns was driven by enhanced ocean stratification and an increase in deep ocean corrosivity in response to MPT cooling

Predicting the seasonal evolution of southern African summer precipitation in the DePreSys3 prediction system

We assess the ability of the DePreSys3 prediction system to predict austral summer precipitation (DJF) over southern Africa, defined as the African continent south of 15°S. DePresys3 is a high resolution prediction system (at a horizontal resolution of ~ 60 km in the atmosphere in mid-latitudes and of the quarter degree in the Ocean) and spans the long period 1959–2016. We find skill in predicting interannual precipitation variability, relative to a long-term trend; the anomaly correlation skill score over southern Africa is greater than 0.45 for the first summer (i.e. lead month 2–4), and 0.37 over Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia for the second summer (i.e. lead month 14–16). The skill is related to the successful prediction of the El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the successful simulation of ENSO teleconnections to southern Africa. However, overall skill is sensitive to the inclusion of strong La-Nina events and also appears to change with forecast epoch. For example, the skill in predicting precipitation over Mozambique is significantly larger for the first summer in the 1990–2016 period, compared to the 1959–1985 period. The difference in skill in predicting interannual precipitation variability over southern Africa in different epochs is consistent with a change in the strength of the observed teleconnections of ENSO. After 1990, and consistent with the increased skill, the observed impact of ENSO appears to strengthen over west Mozambique, in association with changes in ENSO related atmospheric convergence anomalies. However, these apparent changes in teleconnections are not captured by the ensemble-mean predictions using DePreSys3. The changes in the ENSO teleconnection are consistent with a warming over the Indian Ocean and modulation of ENSO properties between the different epochs, but may also be associated with unpredictable atmospheric variability

Challenges and opportunities for improved understanding of regional climate dynamics

Dynamical processes in the atmosphere and ocean are central to determining the large-scale drivers of regional climate change, yet their predictive understanding is poor. Here, we identify three frontline challenges in climate dynamics where significant progress can be made to inform adaptation: response of storms, blocks and jet streams to external forcing; basin-to-basin and tropical–extratropical teleconnections; and the development of non-linear predictive theory. We highlight opportunities and techniques for making immediate progress in these areas, which critically involve the development of high-resolution coupled model simulations, partial coupling or pacemaker experiments, as well as the development and use of dynamical metrics and exploitation of hierarchies of models

A role of the Atlantic Ocean in predicting summer surface air temperature over North East Asia?

We assess the ability of the DePreSys3 prediction system to predict the summer (JJAS) surface-air temperature over North East Asia. DePreSys3 is based on a high resolution ocean–atmosphere coupled climate prediction system (~ 60 km in the atmosphere and ~ 25 km in the ocean), which is full-field initialized from 1960 to 2014 (26 start-dates). We find skill in predicting surface-air temperature, relative to a long-term trend, for 1 and 2–5 year leadtimes over North East Asia, the North Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Europe. DePreSys3 also reproduces the interdecadal evolution of surface-air temperature over the North Atlantic subpolar gyre and North East Asia for both lead times, along with the strong warming that occurred in the mid-1990s over both areas. Composite analysis reveals that the skill at capturing interdecadal changes in North East Asia is associated with the propagation of an atmospheric Rossby wave, which follows the subtropical jet and modulates surface-air temperature from Europe to Eastern Asia. We hypothesise that this ‘circumglobal teleconnection’ pattern is excited over the Atlantic Ocean and is related to Atlantic multi-decadal variability and the associated changes in precipitation over the Sahel and the subtropical Atlantic Ocean. This mechanism is robust for the 2–5 year lead-time. For the 1 year lead-time the Pacific Ocean also plays an important role in leading to skill in predicting SAT over Northeast Asia. Increased temperatures and precipitation over the western Pacific Ocean was found to be associated with a Pacific-Japan like-pattern, which can affect East Asia’s climate

Recent progress in understanding and predicting Atlantic decadal climate variability

Recent Atlantic climate prediction studies are an exciting new contribution to an extensive body of research on Atlantic decadal variability and predictability that has long emphasized the unique role of the Atlantic Ocean in modulating the surface climate. We present a survey of the foundations and frontiers in our understanding of Atlantic variability mechanisms, the role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and our present capacity for putting that understanding into practice in actual climate prediction systems

Different experimental approaches in modelling cataractogenesis: An overview of selenite-induced nuclear cataract in rats

Cataract, the opacification of eye lens, is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. At present, the only remedy is surgical removal of the cataractous lens and substitution with a lens made of synthetic polymers. However, besides significant costs of operation and possible complications, an artificial lens just does not have the overall optical qualities of a normal one. Hence it remains a significant public health problem, and biochemical solutions or pharmacological interventions that will maintain the transparency of the lens are highly required. Naturally, there is a persistent demand for suitable biological models. The ocular lens would appear to be an ideal organ for maintaining culture conditions because of lacking blood vessels and nerves. The lens in vivo obtains its nutrients and eliminates waste products via diffusion with the surrounding fluids. Lens opacification observed in vivo can be mimicked in vitro by addition of the cataractogenic agent sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) to the culture medium. Moreover, since an overdose of sodium selenite induces also cataract in young rats, it became an extremely rapid and convenient model of nuclear cataract in vivo. The main focus of this review will be on selenium (Se) and its salt sodium selenite, their toxicological characteristics and safety data in relevance of modelling cataractogenesis, either under in vivo or in vitro conditions. The studies revealing the mechanisms of lens opacification induced by selenite are highlighted, the representatives from screening for potential anti-cataract agents are listed

Sea surface temperature changes in the Okhotsk Sea and adjacent North Pacific during the last glacial maximum and deglaciation

We estimated sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western Okhotsk Sea during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the last glacial termination from measurements of the alkenone unsaturation index (UK′37), the Tetra Ether indeX of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbon atoms (TEX86), and TEX86L in piston core sediments, which reveal the climate response of this region to different types of forcings. TEX86L is a modification of TEX86 proposed for high-latitude ocean regions. The TEX86L-derived temperatures were not different from the alkenone-derived temperatures from the same and nearby sediment samples. During the LGM, alkenone-derived temperatures in the Okhotsk Sea were relatively warm. These and similarly warm alkenone-derived temperatures found at many other sites in the western North Pacific may reflect a shift in the season of biomarker production from early summer and autumn to mid-summer during the LGM as a result of the expansion of the season of sea-ice cover. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of alkenone-derived temperatures at 14 sites from the North Pacific suggested substantial cooling between 20 and 14 cal kyr BP during the deglaciation at 11 of the sites (including 4 sites in the Okhotsk Sea). This dominant EOF mode suggests either an overall seasonal bias in alkenone-derived temperatures or potential shifts in the Haptophyseae production season. The second EOF mode of variability indicated a deglacial warming trend punctuated by millennial-scale cold events, associated with reorganizations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The SST pattern corresponding to this EOF mode is indicative of millennial-scale meridional shifts of the axis of the westerly jet, which may have affected heat transport across the Kuroshio. Reconstructed temperature changes, in particular in the Okhotsk Sea, provide insight into the conditions that modulated the ventilation history of intermediate waters in the North Pacific