Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : Benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca has been shown to have great potential as a proxy for reconstructing deep water temperatures. However, the exact relationship between Mg uptake in benthic foraminifera and temperature is still ambiguous, and further exploration and refinement is much needed to reduce uncertainties associated with the method. Here, we present new core-top Mg/Ca data from benthic foraminiferal species from the lower part of the thermocline in the western tropical Atlantic (northern Brazilian margin). This area is unusual in that the changes in carbonate chemistry along the transect are very small, making it an ideal region for isolating and studying the role of temperature in the incorporation of Mg into the benthic shells. Our results show that benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca largely reflects temperature in this area. Our data are combined with previously published data to produce new and improved Mg/Ca calibration equations for a number of benthic foraminiferal species within the Atlantic Ocean. Our study provides the first C. wuellerstorfi Mg/Ca data for the 46 degrees C temperature range and indicates that C. wuellerstorfi Mg/Ca is strongly controlled by temperature. As a result, the newly established C. wuellerstorfi calibration over the entire 06 degrees C temperature range is significantly improved with respect to previously published C. wuellerstorfi calibrations limited to the coldest part between 0 and 4 degrees C. Other benthic species (Cibicidoides kullenbergi, Globocassidulina subglobosa, Uvigerina peregrina, and Oridorsalis umbonatus) have also been studied, although these results are less conclusive.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (1525-2027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2013-04 , Vol. 14 , N. 4 , P. 929-946

Droits : 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29191/27596.pdf
DOI:10.1002/ggge.20043
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29191/

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : Long tropical instability waves are described at around 3-4 degrees N based on results of a simulation performed with a general circulation model for the Atlantic Ocean. This description is in agreement with earlier observations of organized undulations of the summer thermal front associated with anti-cyclonic eddies propagating westward at 30-40 km/day along 3-4 degrees N from 10 to 40 degrees W through the Atlantic basin. However, the simulation indicated the presence of long waves in early boreal winter. In this respect, satellite observations during short cold events in winter show thermal front undulations similar to those associated with long wave propagations. The simulation clearly demonstrated large vertical movements between the surface and a depth of 70 m, associated with anti-cyclonic eddies at around 3 degrees N. These vertical movements could commonly reach the thermocline in the central part of the Atlantic basin (10-20 degrees W). In this region, long instability waves could subsequently affect biological production by ''eddy pumping''. During the PIRAL cruise at 4 degrees N-20 degrees W in June 1986, remarkably high chlorophyll concentrations (the highest values in our data bank for the equatorial Atlantic and typical of a very productive zone) were associated with currents similar to those of an anticyclonic eddy and characterized by a surface temperature distribution typical of the long instability wave pattern. These high chlorophyll concentrations may have resulted from ''eddy pumping'' and/or strong meridian advection since each of these mechanisms is associated with long instability waves.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1994 , Vol. 17 , N. 6 , P. 585-596

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00099/21034/18660.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00099/21034/

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : The wind, temperature and current data collected during the joined French-USA FOCAL/SEQUAL programme carried in the equatorial Atlantic band in 1983 and 1984, allowed for the first time a simultaneous study of both the equatorial and coastal (5-degrees-N) upwellings along 4-degrees-W. At the equator, the decreases of both the surface temperature and the depth of the thermocline in boreal summer are correlated with the zonal component of the local windstress in the period band 1-2 months. This corresponds to the time required by the thermocline to lift up at 0-4-degrees-W in the presence of an easterly wind. The local wind cannot however explain the entire vertical variability of the thermal structure at 0-4-degrees-W. The correlation function shows in addition that the temperature there is highly correlated to the wind recorded at St Peter and St Paul Rocks (SPP) in the period band 0-2 months. This time scale is the one required by the Kelvin and Rossby waves to propagate along the equator through equatorial wave guide dynamics. The influence of these waves seems particularly important when considering the upward displacements of the thermocline both in February-March when the winds abruptly relax and in November-December when the wind at 0-4-degrees-W is southwesterly with no secondary negative maximum in the wind record at 1-degrees-N-29-degrees-W (SPP), contrary to the climatological wind field. The computation of the different terms of the heat equation applied to an homogeneous surface layer shows that the cooling is entirely due to vertical advection and eddy diffusion. The cooling would be more effective without the atmospheric heat flux and the horizontal advection of heat transported both by the South Equatorial Current at the surface and the southward current at the bottom of the mixed layer. At the coast, the amplitude and duration of the upwellings are not constant all along the coast: in boreal summer, they are maximum east of the two capes (Palmas and Three Pointes) while in winter the strength of the cooling is maximum in the east of Cape Palmas and then decreases eastward. The meridional slope of the thermocline off the coast concerns a distance which is much larger than the internal Rossby radius of deformation and is coherent with the latitudinal extension and intensity of the Guinea current both in summer and winter. In addition to this geostrophic adjustment, the upward tilt of the thermocline in summer is enhanced by the intensification of the component of the wind parallel to the coast. The application of a simple linear model forced with an eastward wind at that time explains the surface maximum cooling at the coast and the current distribution in both vertical and meridional directions. The two maxima of the zonal component of the Guinea current, in summer (main one) and in winter are in phase with the intensity of the vertical component of the windcurl. The application of the Sverdrup equations shows that the current speeds computed, for both seasons, are of the same order of magnitude as the speeds observed.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1991 , Vol. 14 , N. 3 , P. 223-240

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00101/21252/18865.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00101/21252/

Éditeur(s) : European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : Barrier layers are defined as the layer between the pycnocline and the thermocline when the latter are different as a result of salinity stratification. We present a revisited 2-degree resolution global climatology of monthly mean oceanic Barrier Layer (BL) thickness first proposed by de Boyer Montegut et al. (2007). In addition to using an extended data set, we present a modified computation method that addresses the observed porosity of BLs. We name porosity the fact that barrier layers distribution can, in some areas, be very uneven regarding the space and time scales that are considered. This implies an intermittent alteration of air-sea exchanges by the BL. Therefore, it may have important consequences for the climatic impact of BLs. Differences between the two computation methods are small for robust BLs that are formed by large-scale processes. However, the former approach can significantly underestimate the thickness of short and/or localized barrier layers. This is especially the case for barrier layers formed by mesoscale mechanisms (under the intertropical convergence zone for example and along western boundary currents) and equatorward of the sea surface salinity subtropical maxima. Complete characterisation of regional BL dynamics therefore requires a description of the robustness of BL distribution to assess the overall impact of BLs on the process of heat exchange between the ocean interior and the atmosphere.
Ocean Science (1812-0784) (European Geosciences Union (EGU)), 2009-09 , Vol. 5 , N. 3 , P. 379-387

Droits : European Geosciences Union (EGU)
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6915.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/sup-6915.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6915/