Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : Lagrangian analyses of a global ocean circulation model quantify the salinity changes experienced by the warm limb of the thermohaline circulation during the northward flow to the Atlantic deep convection regions. 6 Sv out of the estimated 10-Sv transfer from 45 degrees S to 47 degrees N flow through regions of prevailing surface evaporation: the southern and northern formation regions of Salinity Maximum Water and the Gulf of Cadiz/Mediterranean Sea domain. The remaining transport gains salinity through mixing with adjacent waters. As much as 6 Sv flow through the low-salinity surface mixed layer at the latitudes of the ITCZ whose effect annihilates that of the southern region of Salinity Maximum Water. Most of the salinity increase corresponds to the transformation of South to North Atlantic Central Water, with strong diapycnal transfers for the water that intersects the high and low salinity regions, and nearly isopycnal modifications for the water that avoids these regions.
Geophysical Research Letters ( GRL ) (0094-8276) (American Geophysical Union), 2006-03 , Vol. 33 , N. 6 , P. NIL_44-NIL_47

Droits : 2006 by the American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1213.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2005GL024938
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1213/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Storms and tsunamis, which may seriously endanger human society, are amongst the most devastating marine catastrophes that can occur in coastal areas. Many such events are known and have been reported for the Mediterranean, a region where high-frequency occurrences of these extreme events coincides with some of the most densely populated coastal areas in the world. In a sediment core from the Mar Menor (SE Spain), we discovered eight coarse-grained layers which document marine incursions during periods of intense storm activity or tsunami events. Based on radiocarbon dating, these extreme events occurred around 5250, 4000, 3600, 3010, 2300, 1350, 650, and 80 years cal BP. No comparable events have been observed during the 20th and 21st centuries. The results indicate little likelihood of a tsunami origin for these coarse-grained layers, although historical tsunami events are recorded in this region. These periods of surge events seem to coincide with the coldest periods in Europe during the late Holocene, suggesting a control by a climatic mechanism for periods of increased storm activity. Spectral analyses performed on the sand percentage revealed four major periodicities of 1228 ± 327, 732 ± 80, 562 ± 58, and 319 ± 16 years. Amongst the well-known proxies that have revealed a millennial-scale climate variability during the Holocene, the ice-rafted debris (IRD) indices in the North Atlantic developed by Bond et al. (1997, 2001) present a cyclicity of 1470 ± 500 years, which matches the 1228 ± 327-year periodicity evidenced in the Mar Menor, considering the respective uncertainties in the periodicities. Thus, an in-phase storm activity in the western Mediterranean is found with the coldest periods in Europe and with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. However, further investigations, such as additional coring and high-resolution coastal imagery, are needed to better constrain the main cause of these multiple events.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199/file/cp-12-1389-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-12-1389-2016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association for the Advancement of Science
Résumé : International audience
Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositional hiatuses indicate erosion by bottom currents related to higher volumes of MOW circulating into the North Atlantic, beginning in the late Pliocene. The hiatuses coincide with regional tectonic events and changes in global thermohaline circulation (THC). This suggests that MOW influenced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), THC, and climatic shifts by contributing a component of warm, saline water to northern latitudes while in turn being influenced by plate tectonics.
ISSN: 0036-8075

hal-01054316
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054316
DOI : 10.1126/science.1251306

Éditeur(s) : Université Paris 7 – Denis Diderot
Résumé : Sea surface salinity (SSS) influences numerous oceanic phenomena, for instance surface water ventilation, deep water formation and thermohaline circulation. SSS also controls some ocean-atmosphere coupled processes, such as the intensity of freshwater flux and the penetration of heat flux and turbulence. Salinity is more difficult to measure than temperature from in situ surveys, which results in 20 times less data being currently available. Moreover, sea surface temperature (SST) is routinely estimated from satellites, which is not possible yet for SSS. Two space missions will fill this gap soon: SMOS from the European Space Agency and Aquarius/SAC-D from NASA and CONAE. To contribute to the SMOS project, we propose a method for estimating SSS from current satellite observations and for studying the mechanisms governing its variability. We developed a simplified model of the ocean mixed layer, based on the "slab mixed layer" formulation (Frankignoul et Hasselmann, 1977). This 2D horizontal model is implemented over the global ocean, using a near 100 km resolution, and integrated during a climatological year. Air-sea fluxes are taken from the ECMWF meteorological model (ERA40 reanalysis) and the surface currents are provided by altimeter data (SSALTO-DUACS analysis). The mixed layer depth (MLD) is derived from SST observations, using an original inversion technique. The MLD fields obtained from this inversion are well correlated to in situ estimates. This effective depth represents the air-sea fluxes penetration and ensures consistency between fluxes, les currents and SST. We first validate the simulation through examination of the heat balance in north-eastern Atlantic, by comparing to measurements and models from the POMME experiment. Then we study the salinity balance in the global domain, in terms of its geographical distribution and seasonal evolution. Equilibrium between the various processes appears generally more complex than for temperature. Noteworthy, the role of atmospheric flux is less predominant (22%), while geostrophic advection (33%) and diapycnal mixing (22%) contribute more strongly. Our results indicate this model succeeds in reconstructing SSS variability over most of the oceans. Daily SSS variations are also simulated, whereas they are not represented in current observed data at a global scale. Owing to its simplicity and fast computation, the model will be useful to the SMOS mission. It can help for the measurement calibration/validation and provide a first guess estimate to the sophisticated algorithm required for SSS restitution.
La salinité de surface des océans (SSS) influence de nombreux phénomènes océaniques, parmi lesquels la ventilation des eaux de surface, la formation d'eaux profondes et la circulation thermohaline. Elle détermine aussi certains processus couplés océan-atmosphère, notamment l'intensité du flux d'eau douce, la pénétration du flux de chaleur et de la turbulence. La mesure in situ de salinité est plus compliquée que celle de température, si bien qu'on dispose actuellement de 20 fois moins de données pour cette propriété. De plus, la température de surface (SST) est couramment estimée par satellite, ce qui n'est pas encore le cas de la SSS. Deux missions spatiales vont prochainement combler cette lacune : le satellite SMOS de l'Agence Spatiale Européenne et le satellite Aquarius/SAC-D de la NASA et de la CONAE. En préparation du projet SMOS, nous proposons une méthode pour estimer la SSS à partir des observations satellitaires actuelles et étudier les mécanismes de sa variabilité. Nous avons développé un modèle simplifié de couche mélangée océanique, basé sur la formulation "slab mixed layer" (Frankignoul et Hasselmann, 1977). Ce modèle 2D horizontal est implémenté sur l'océan global, avec une résolution proche de 100 km, et intégré au cours d'une année climatologique. Les flux air-mer proviennent du modèle météorologique ECMWF (réanalyse ERA40) et les courants de surface sont issus de l'altimétrie (analyse SSALTO-DUACS). La profondeur de la couche mélangée (MLD) est dérivée des observations de SST, grâce à une technique d'inversion originale. La MLD obtenue par inversion est bien corrélée aux estimations basées sur des données in situ. Cette profondeur effective représente la pénétration des flux air-mer et assure la cohérence entre les flux, les courants et la SST. La simulation est d'abord validée en examinant le bilan de chaleur dans l'Atlantique Nord-Est, par comparaison aux mesures et aux modèles de l'expérience POMME. Puis le bilan de salinité est étudié dans le domaine global, en termes de distribution géographique et d'évolution saisonnière. L'équilibre entre les différents processus est généralement plus complexe que pour la température. Notamment, le rôle du flux atmosphérique est moins prépondérant (22%), tandis que l'advection géostrophique (33%) et le mélange diapycnal (22%) contribuent fortement. Nos résultats montrent que ce modèle parvient à restituer la variabilité de la SSS sur la majeure partie des océans. Le modèle simule aussi les variations journalières de SSS, qui ne sont pas représentées à l'échelle globale dans les observations actuelles. Grâce à sa simplicité et à sa rapidité, le modèle pourra être utile dans le cadre de SMOS. Il pourra aider à la calibration/validation de la mesure et fournir une estimation a priori pour l'algorithme complexe nécessaire à la restitution de la SSS.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/these-2302.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2302/