Recent Reoccurrence of Large Open‐Ocean Polynya on the Maud Rise Seamount

B. Jena; M. Ravichandran; J. Turner

doi:10.1029/2018gl081482

Characterization of Ocean Mixing and Dynamics during the 2017 Maud Rise Polynya Event

10.5194/os-2019-41 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jhon F. Mojica ◽

Daiane Faller ◽

Diana Francis ◽

Clare Eayrs ◽

David Holland

Keyword(s):

Water Column ◽

Reanalysis Data ◽

Ocean Model ◽

Open Ocean ◽

Thermal Barrier ◽

Mixing Processes ◽

Remarkable Feature ◽

Intermediate Layers ◽

Temporal And Spatial Variability ◽

Maud Rise

Abstract. During 2017 Austral winter, an open ocean polynya appeared in the Lazarev Sea, centered over Maud Rise. The vertical structure of the water column presented temporal and spatial variability with a weak stratification during the period of observations from January 2015 to January 2019. While over the Northern Maud Rise area, a highly stratified layer was identified between 80–180 m depth. This layer works as a thermal barrier where the energy from summer months is stored, preventing the warm sub-surface waters from mixing with the shallow waters. So far, a complete description of the polynya formation and maintenance processes is still lacking. To characterize the internal structure of the ocean during the 2017 Maud Rise polynya event we use in situ observations and ocean model reanalysis data. The obtained results revealed that the incidence of thermobaric convection, diapycnal and isopycnal mixing processes over the Maud Rise drives the exchange of energy in the water column. We highlight three relevant factors that contribute to the energy flux for the open-ocean polynya preconditioning: level of instability, pycnocline fluctuation, and bathymetric influence. Another remarkable feature is the warmer summer surface layer over the Maud Rise, which transfers heat to intermediate layers accumulating energy for almost four months. Energy storage at the thermal barrier is evaluated based on heat flux calculations to quantify the exchange of energy between the different water layers. These processes together operate as an ocean preconditioning to the formation and maintenance of an open-ocean polynya event.

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Manual dexterity task performance efficiency in the open ocean underwater environment

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e573962012-022 ◽

1982 ◽

Author(s):

P. A. Hancock ◽

E. K. Milner

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

Manual Dexterity ◽

Open Ocean ◽

Underwater Environment

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Drivers of diversity gradients of a highly mobile marine assemblage in a mesoscale seascape

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13264 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 638 ◽

pp. 149-164

Author(s):

GM Svendsen ◽

M Ocampo Reinaldo ◽

MA Romero ◽

G Williams ◽

A Magurran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Gradients ◽

Regression Tree ◽

Demersal Fish ◽

Open Ocean ◽

Shared Resources ◽

Thermal Front ◽

Boosted Regression Tree ◽

Diversity Gradients ◽

Α Diversity ◽

Bottom Depth

With the unprecedented rate of biodiversity change in the world today, understanding how diversity gradients are maintained at mesoscales is a key challenge. Drawing on information provided by 3 comprehensive fishery surveys (conducted in different years but in the same season and with the same sampling design), we used boosted regression tree (BRT) models in order to relate spatial patterns of α-diversity in a demersal fish assemblage to environmental variables in the San Matias Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina). We found that, over a 4 yr period, persistent diversity gradients of species richness and probability of an interspecific encounter (PIE) were shaped by 3 main environmental gradients: bottom depth, connectivity with the open ocean, and proximity to a thermal front. The 2 main patterns we observed were: a monotonic increase in PIE with proximity to fronts, which had a stronger effect at greater depths; and an increase in PIE when closer to the open ocean (a ‘bay effect’ pattern). The originality of this work resides on the identification of high-resolution gradients in local, demersal assemblages driven by static and dynamic environmental gradients in a mesoscale seascape. The maintenance of environmental gradients, specifically those associated with shared resources and connectivity with an open system, may be key to understanding community stability.

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