Opposite polarities of ENSO drive distinct patterns of coral bleaching potentials in the southeast Indian Ocean.

Episodic anomalously warm sea surface temperature (SST) extremes, or marine heatwaves (MHWs), amplify ocean warming effects and may lead to severe impacts on marine ecosystems. MHW-induced coral bleaching events have been observed frequently in recent decades in the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO), a region traditionally regarded to have resilience to global warming. In this study, we assess the contribution of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to MHWs across the mostly understudied reefs in the SEIO. We find that in extended summer months, the MHWs at tropical and subtropical reefs (divided at ~20°S) are driven by opposite ENSO polarities: MHWs are more likely to occur at the tropical reefs during eastern Pacific El Niño, driven by enhanced solar radiation and weaker Australian Monsoon, some likely alleviated by positive Indian Ocean Dipole events, and at the subtropical reefs during central Pacific La Niña, mainly caused by increased horizontal heat transport, and in some cases reinforced by local air-sea interactions. Madden-Julian Oscillations (MJO) also modulate the MHW occurrences. Projected future increases in ENSO and MJO intensity with greenhouse warming will enhance thermal stress across the SEIO. Implementing forecasting systems of MHWs can be used to anticipate future coral bleaching patterns and prepare management responses

Reference isotherms for water vapor sorption on nanoporous carbon: results of an interlaboratory study

This paper reports the results of an international interlaboratory study sponsored by the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) and led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the measurement of water vapor sorption isotherms at 25 °C on a pelletized nanoporous carbon (BAM-P109, a certified reference material). Thirteen laboratories participated in the study and contributed nine pure water vapor isotherms and four relative humidity isotherms, using nitrogen as the carrier gas. From these data, reference isotherms, along with the 95% uncertainty interval (Uk=2), were determined and are reported in a tabular format

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Southern hemisphere climate: The modern record

This study presents observed trends and variability in the modern climate record for the Southern Hemisphere. High-resolution records of past climate from dendroclimatic studies, which are limited to a few areas, are also presented for the last few centuries. Sufficient land and marine surface temperature observations exist to enable reconstruction of surface temperature trends since 1860. These results are derived from high-quality, long-term climate datasets. These data show that annual surface air temperatures have warmed by O.6°C over the period 1860 to 1994. Trends are similar for all four seasons. The pattern of annual land-only surface temperature trends reflects these broad trends, but is somewhat different. Over the entire period the warming amounts to 0.4°e. Australian and Southern African trends more closely resemble the hemispheric; South American trends differ. In Antarctica, the record commenced only in 1957 and shows slight warming. The Southern Oscillation is an important driver of interannual variability in temperature and precipitation throughout Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific) and southern Africa. Finally, there is a very limited number of potential terrestrial highresolution proxy records to extend the climate record prior to the mid 19th century for the Southern Hemisphere. These show no consistent trend

Extratropical circulation indices in the Southern Hemisphere based on station data

Zonal and meridional pressure gradient indices of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) circulation are analysed in the mid-to-high (35-65°S) latitude zone. The dearth of land regions, and hence long pressure records, means that these are restricted to the southern South American and New Zealand sectors. The Trans Polar Index (TPI) is the only large-scale station pressure based extratropical SH index that has been proposed, and is based on the normalised pressure difference between Hobart, Tasmania and Stanley, Falklands. This index is compared with variants which involve stations in the vicinity of New Zealand and southern South America. The index shows considerable year-to-year and some decadal-scale variability and is a measure of wavenumber 1 of the SH pressure field. Significant correlations (r ~ -0.3 to -0.5) occur between the TPI and southern South American temperatures in the austral summer and autumn seasons. Similar size correlations of the opposite sign occur in New Zealand but only in the austral summer season. In New Zealand and southern South America, temperature series are strongly affected by the strength of the local meridional circulation (r values ~ -0.4 to -0.7 over New Zealand depending on season and period and values of ~ -0.2 to -0.4 for southern South America). In both regions there is no concomitant increase in northerly flow or decrease in southerly flow to explain the long-term increase in temperatures. The relationships are mostly at the interannual rather than the decadal and longer timescales. The decadal temperature rise, therefore, reflects a general warming of the Southern Ocean, rather than decadal-scale variations in the circulation

Variations in surface air temperatures. Part 3: The Antarctic, 1957–82

Antarctic temperature variations for 1957°82 have been objectively analyzed by gridding monthly data, from 16 stations, onto a 5° latitude by 10° longitude grid, from 65 to 90°S. These gridded data were used to calculate monthly values of the spatial mean temperature south of 65°S. The uncertainty in the area average is estimated to be 0.22°C for the annual values prior to 1970. After 1970 there is an additional uncertainty of about 0.10-0.16°C due to the cessation of Byrd station. The annual mean and summer areas averages show significant linear warming trends amounting to 0.74 and 0.77°C respectively. Spatial characteristics of the annual and seasonal temperature variations are described using principal components analysis of the station anomaly data. The first two principal components of the annual and winter data are similar PC1-winter is also similar to the winter pattern for linen trend found by van Loon and Williams for 1956–73. The warming trend associated with this pattern ceased in the mid-1970s. Relationships between Antarctic temperatures and various parameters are investigated using linear trend and correlation analyses. Antarctic temperatures cannot be inferred from the long Orcadas record and the relationships between Antarctic temperatures and sea ice extent are complex. The most significant correlations between mean Antarctic temperature and sea ice extent averaged around Antarctica am found in spring; warm springs tend to be associated with anomalously large maximum sea ice extent. Lower Antarctic temperatures occur during summers and winters with strong westerlies (significant at the 0.1% level in summer and at the 0.1% level in winter)

Sea-level pressure variability around Antarctica since A.D. 1750 inferred from subantarctic tree-ring records

A tree-ring chronology network recently developed from the subantarctic forests provides an opportunity to study long-term climatic variability at higher latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. Fifty long (1911–1985), homogeneous records of monthly mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) from the southern latitudes (15–65?°S) were intercorrelated on a seasonal basis to establish the most consistent, long-term Trans-Polar teleconnections during this century. Variations in summer MSLP between the South America-Antarctic Peninsula and the New Zealand sectors of the Southern Ocean are significantly correlated in a negative sense (r=-0.53,