Can we map the interannual variability of the whole upper Southern Ocean with the current database of hydrographic observations?

International audienceWith the advent of Argo floats, it now seems feasible to study the interannual variations of upper ocean hydrographic properties of the historically undersampled Southern Ocean. To do so, scattered hydrographic profiles often first need to be mapped. To investigate biases and errors associated both with the limited space-time distribution of the profiles and with the mapping methods, we colocate the mixed-layer depth (MLD) output from a state-of-the-art 1/12° DRAKKAR simulation onto the latitude, longitude, and date of actual in situ profiles from 2005 to 2014. We compare the results obtained after remapping using a nearest neighbor (NN) interpolation and an objective analysis (OA) with different spatiotemporal grid resolutions and decorrelation scales. NN is improved with a coarser resolution. OA performs best with low decorrelation scales, avoiding too strong a smoothing, but returns values over larger areas with large decorrelation scales and low temporal resolution, as more points are available. For all resolutions OA represents better the annual extreme values than NN. Both methods underestimate the seasonal cycle in MLD. MLD biases are lower than 10 m on average but can exceed 250 m locally in winter. We argue that current Argo data should not be mapped to infer decadal trends in MLD, as all methods are unable to reproduce existing trends without creating unrealistic extra ones. We also show that regions of the subtropical Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and the whole ice-covered Southern Ocean, still cannot be mapped even by the best method because of the lack of observational data

Selective predisposition to bacterial infections in IRAK-4–deficient children: IRAK-4–dependent TLRs are otherwise redundant in protective immunity

Human interleukin (IL) 1 receptor–associated kinase 4 (IRAK-4) deficiency is a recently discovered primary immunodeficiency that impairs Toll/IL-1R immunity, except for the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3– and TLR4–interferon (IFN)-a/b pathways. The clinical and immunological phenotype remains largely unknown. We diagnosed up to 28 patients with IRAK-4 deficiency, tested blood TLR responses for individual leukocyte subsets, and TLR responses for multiple cytokines. The patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) did not induce the 11 non-IFN cytokines tested upon activation with TLR agonists other than the nonspecific TLR3 agonist poly(I:C). The patients' individual cell subsets from both myeloid (granulocytes, monocytes, monocyte-derived dendritic cells [MDDCs], myeloid DCs [MDCs], and plasmacytoid DCs) and lymphoid (B, T, and NK cells) lineages did not respond to the TLR agonists that stimulated control cells, with the exception of residual responses to poly(I:C) and lipopolysaccharide in MDCs and MDDCs. Most patients (22 out of 28; 79%) suffered from invasive pneumococcal disease, which was often recurrent (13 out of 22; 59%). Other infections were rare, with the exception of severe staphylococcal disease (9 out of 28; 32%). Almost half of the patients died (12 out of 28; 43%). No death and no invasive infection occurred in patients older than 8 and 14 yr, respectively. The IRAK-4–dependent TLRs and IL-1Rs are therefore vital for childhood immunity to pyogenic bacteria, particularly Streptococcus pneumoniae. Conversely, IRAK-4–dependent human TLRs appear to play a redundant role in protective immunity to most infections, at most limited to childhood immunity to some pyogenic bacteria

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Altimetry for the future: building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the “Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Poleward heat flux across the southern flank of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (a case study in the Fawn Trough Kerguelen Plateau)

Les principaux mécanismes transportant la chaleur vers le pôle dans l'Océan Austral (OA) font encore l objet d un débat. L idée admise stipule que le flux de chaleur vers le pôle à travers le Courant Circumpolaire Antarctique (CCA) est principalement dû aux tourbillons à méso-échelle, et que le flux de chaleur par le courant moyen est négligeable. Le flux de chaleur vers le pôle par ces deux méthodes a été estimé au niveau du passage Fawn Trough (FT), Plateau de Kerguelen. Il a été montré que le flux de chaleur tourbillonnaire dans la partie sud de l OA est négligeable, tandis que celui par courant moyen le dépasse par deux ordres de grandeur. Les résultats suggèrent un nouveau mécanisme de transfert de chaleur par le courant moyen à travers le front sud du CCA. Ceci est dû à la rotation inhabituelle des courants, dans le sens inverse des aiguilles d une montre, avec la profondeur décroissante. Cette rotation est associée à une remontée importante des eaux, engendrée par des forts courants de fond qui s'écoulent à travers la topographie en pente du passage du FT. Les implications circumpolaires de ces observations locales sont discutées en termes de bilan de vorticité intégré sur la verticale, qui suggère que les six accidents topographiques le long du flanc sud du CCA transporteraient suffisamment de chaleur vers le pôle, afin d'équilibrer la perte océanique de chaleur dans la région subpolaire. Comme l'activité tourbillonnaire sur le flanc sud du CCA est trop faible pour transporter suffisamment de chaleur vers le pôle, la structure non-équivalente barotrope de l'écoulement moyen dans les passages topographiquement resserrés devrait suffire à accomplir la tâche requise.The major mechanisms of the poleward oceanic heat flux in the Southern Ocean (SO) are still in debate. The long standing belief stipulates that the poleward heat flux across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is mainly due to mesoscale transient eddies, and the cross-stream heat flux by time-mean flow is insignificant. The poleward heat flux due to the time-mean flow and to transient eddies is estimated across the the Southern ACC Front (SACCF) at the Fawn Trough (FT) Passage, Kerguelen Plateau, and the impact of each mechanism on the global heat balance in the SO is analysed. It is shown that the eddy heat flux in this southern part of the ACC is negligible, while that due to the mean flow is overwhelming by two orders of magnitude. Results suggest then a new mechanism of the cross-stream poleward heat flux by time-mean flow across the southern ACC front. This is due to the unusual anticlockwise turning of currents with decreasing depth, which is associated with significant bottom upwelling engendered by strong bottom currents flowing over the sloping topography of the trough. The circumpolar implications of these local observations are discussed in terms of the depth-integrated linear vorticity budget, which suggests that the six topographic features along the southern flank of the ACC equivalent to the Fawn Trough case would yield sufficient poleward heat flux to balance the oceanic heat loss in the subpolar region. As eddy activity on the southern flank of the ACC is too weak to transport sufficient heat poleward, the non-equivalent barotropic structure of the mean flow in several topographically constricted passages should accomplish the required task.PARIS-BIUSJ-Sci.Terre recherche (751052114) / SudocSudocFranceF

Time-Mean Flow as the Prevailing Contribution to the Poleward Heat Flux across the Southern Flank of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current: A Case Study in the Fawn Trough, Kerguelen Plateau

International audienceThe major mechanisms of the oceanic poleward heat flux in the Southern Ocean are still in debate. The long-standing belief stipulates that the poleward heat flux across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is mainly due to mesoscale transient eddies and the cross-stream heat flux by time-mean flow is insignificant. This belief has recently been challenged by several numerical modeling studies, which stress the importance of mean flow for the meridional heat flux in the Southern Ocean. Here, this study analyzes moored current meter data obtained recently in the Fawn Trough, Kerguelen Plateau, to estimate the cross-stream heat flux caused by the time-mean flow and transient eddies. It is shown that the poleward eddy heat flux in this southern part of the ACC is negligible, while that from the mean flow is overwhelming by two orders of magnitude. This is due to the unusual anticlockwise turning of currents with decreasing depth, which is associated with significant bottom upwelling engendered by strong bottom currents flowing over the sloping topography of the trough. The circumpolar implications of these local observations are discussed in terms of the depth-integrated linear vorticity budget, which suggests that the six topographic features along the southern flank of the ACC equivalent to the Fawn Trough case would yield sufficient poleward heat flux to balance the oceanic heat loss in the subpolar region. As eddy activity on the southern flank of the ACC is too weak to transport sufficient heat poleward, the nonequivalent barotropic structure of the mean flow in several topographically constricted passages should accomplish the required task

Modal Decay in the Australia-Antarctic Basin

International audienceThe barotropic intraseasonal variability in the Australia–Antarctic Basin (AAB) is studied in terms of the excitation and decay of topographically trapped barotropic modes. The main objective is to reconcile two widely differing estimates of the decay rate of sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the AAB that are assumed to be related to barotropic modes. First, an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis is applied to almost 15 years of altimeter data. The analysis suggests that several modes are involved in the variability of the AAB, each related to distinct areas with (almost) closed contours of potential vorticity. Second, the dominant normal modes of the AAB are determined in a barotropic shallow-water (SW) model. These stationary modes are confined by the closed contours of potential vorticity that surround the eastern AAB, and the crest of the Southeast Indian Ridge. For reasonable values of horizontal eddy viscosity and bottom friction, their decay time scale is on the order of several weeks. Third, the SW model is forced with realistic winds and integrated for several years. Projection of the modal velocity patterns onto the output fields shows that the barotropic modes are indeed excited in the model, and that they decay slowly on the frictional O(3 weeks) time scale. However, the SSH anomalies in the modal areas display rapid O(4 days) decay. Additional analysis shows that this rapid decay reflects the adjustment of unbalanced flow components through the emission of Rossby waves. Resonant excitation of the dominant free modes accounts for about 20% of the SSH variability in the forced-model run. Other mechanisms are suggested to explain the region of high SSH variability in the AAB

Coordination of activating and inhibitory signals in natural killer cells.

NK cells are equipped with multiple activating and inhibitory cell surface receptors whose engagement regulate NK cell effector function (i.e. cytotoxicity as well as chemokine and cytokine production). Several components (adaptors, effector molecules) that participate to NK cell signalling pathways have been described. Yet, the spatio-temporal organisation of these pathways is still poorly understood. In addition, the mechanisms that integrate several simultaneous input signals in NK cells remain to be elucidated