Secular variability in the baroclinic structure of the interior North Pacific from 1950-1970

Recently White (1975) found significant year to year changes in the baroclinic transport of the Subtropical Gyre in the North Pacific. To determine the spatial variability in the general circulation associated with this change in bulk transport, the baroclinic potential energy (BPE) in the mid-latitude interior from 20-50N, 145E-130W is mapped (using the methods of optimum interpolation) onto a regular 5 degree latitude/ 10 degree longitude grid each year from 1950-1970...

Westward propagation of short-term climatic anomalies in the western North Pacific Ocean from 1964-1974

Short-term climatic anomalies in the surface dynamic height (O/400 db) structure of the western North Pacific from 1964-1974 are investigated on a seasonal basis for propagational character. From the equator to 32.5N, negative dynamic height anomalies occurred in 1965, 1969 and 1972, approximately every three years, associated with E1 Nino events in the eastern tropical Pacific (Wyrtki, 1977). The decorrelation time scale of these short-term climatic anomalies was independent of latitude (i.e., 6-9 months), but the decorrelation longitude scale decreased poleward; i.e., from 10° longitude at 7.5N to 5° longitude at 32.5N. Time/longitude correlation studies find these anomalies to have propagated westward at the speed of baroclinic long (Rossby) waves; i.e., 14 ± 4 cm/sec to the west at 7.5N and 1.5 ± .5 cm/sec to the west at 32.5N, with intermediate speeds in between

Secular variability in the large-scale baroclinic transport of the North Pacific from 1950–1970

A time sequence of meridional baroclinic transport (0/1000 db) across the Subtropical gyre of the North Pacific is constructed, based upon available hydrographic data collected from 1950-1970. This time sequence displays significant variability, with a maximum possible range ± 25 % about the long-term mean and a principal time scale of approximately six years. A comparison of this time sequence with that of the Kuroshio (Nitani, 1972) shows good correlation in both amplitude and phase...

Interannual variability in the baroclinic gyre structure of the western North Pacific from 1954-1974

In the western North Pacific from 0-35N 130-180E, the vertical and horizontal thermal structure of the baroclinic gyre systems in the region from 0-400 m depth has been mapped on a yearly basis from 1954-1974. From this measure of the baroclinic field of mass, the dynamic height (0/400 db) has been computed for each year, yielding geostrophic current indices of the major zonal currents...

Quasi-stationary banded structure in the mean zonal geostrophic current regimes of the western North Pacific

Two data sets are used to reveal the quasi-stationary nature of the banded current structure in the western North Pacific. The first consists of all hydrographic data taken in the region, archived at the Japanese Oceanographic Data Center (JODC)…

Low-frequency climate variability in the Atlantic basin during the 20th century

From joint sea surface temperature/sea level pressure (SST/SLP) EOF analyses, lowfrequency variability modes are compared. The multi-decadal oscillation (MDO) changed phases twice during the 20th century, with its north Atlantic SST patterns resembling the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation (AMO). The quasi-decadal oscillation (QDO) SST patterns displayed a double tripole configuration over the entire Atlantic basin, leading to tropical inter-hemispheric out-of-phase relationship. From the mid-1960s onward, while ST anomalies were negative to the north (negative phases of MDO/AMO), the Sahelian drought persisted with a weaker hurricane power dissipation index (PDI). During that period, the QDO modulated the intensity of the Sahelian drought

ENSO and Variability of the Antarctic Peninsula Pelagic Marine Ecosystem

The West Antarctic Peninsula region is an important source of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Southern Ocean. From 1980-2004 abundance and concentration of phytoplankton and zooplankton, krill reproductive and recruitment success and seasonal sea ice extent here were significantly correlated with the atmospheric Southern Oscillation Index and exhibited three- to five-year frequencies characteristic of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. This linkage was associated with movements of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front and Boundary, a changing influence of Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Weddell Sea waters, and eastward versus westward flow and mixing processes that are consistent with forcing by the Antarctic Dipole high-latitude climate mode. Identification of hydrographic processes underlying ecosystem variability presented here were derived primarily from multidisciplinary data collected during 1990-2004, a period with relatively stable year-to-year sea ice conditions. These results differ from the overwhelming importance of seasonal sea ice development previously established using 1980-1996 data, a period marked by a major decrease in sea ice from the Antarctic Peninsula region in the late 1980s. These newer results reveal the more subtle consequences of ENSO variability on biological responses. They highlight the necessity of internally consistent long-term multidisciplinary datasets for understanding ecosystem variability and ultimately for establishing well-founded ecosystem management. Furthermore, natural environmental variability associated with interannual- and decadal-scale changes in ENSO forcing must be considered when assessing impacts of climate warming in the Antarctic Peninsula-Weddell Sea region

The Current Status of Young Adults Identified as Learning Disabled During Their School Career

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.Research efforts in the field of learning disabilities (LD) have addressed primarily concerns within school settings; however, if learning disabilities are more than a school phenomenon, researchers and educators must begin to examine the effects of these disabilities on post-school adjustment. This study sought to examine among learning disabled and non-learning disabled (NLD) young adults a broad array of factors known to be indicative of personal, social, and vocational success . The results indicate that the LD young adults sampled appear to be adjusting as well as the NLD sample in a number of important areas (e.g., getting and maintaining employment, having friends, etc.) . However, LD young adults reported they were significantly less satisfied with their employment situation and their contacts with parents and relatives. They were much less involved in recreational and social activities and few had plans for further education and training. Implications of these trends on the life adjustment of, and research efforts related to, LD young adults are discussed