Large‐scale signals in the south Pacific wave fields related to ENSO

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Li ◽  
Kejian Wu ◽  
Jingkai Li ◽  
Shaila Akhter ◽  
Xianghui Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
The South ◽  
Wave Fields

Characterising essential breeding habitat for whales informs the development of large-scale Marine Protected Areas in the South Pacific

2016 ◽  
Vol 548 ◽  
pp. 263-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
RE Lindsay ◽  
R Constantine ◽  
J Robbins ◽  
DK Mattila ◽  
A Tagarino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
The South

scholarly journals Tropical Cyclone Climatology of the South Pacific Ocean and Its Relationship to El Niño–Southern Oscillation

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 6108-6122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Dowdy ◽  
Lixin Qi ◽  
David Jones ◽  
Hamish Ramsay ◽  
Robert Fawcett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Line ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
El Niño Southern Oscillation ◽  
El Nino Southern Oscillation ◽  
The South

Abstract Climatological features of tropical cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean have been analyzed based on a new archive for the Southern Hemisphere. A vortex tracking and statistics package is used to examine features such as climatological maps of system intensity and the change in intensity with time, average tropical cyclone system movement, and system density. An examination is presented of the spatial variability of these features, as well as changes in relation to phase changes of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon. A critical line is defined in this study based on maps of cyclone intensity to describe the statistical geographic boundary for cyclone intensification. During El Niño events, the critical line shifts equatorward, while during La Niña events the critical line is generally displaced poleward. Regional variability in tropical cyclone activity associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation phases is examined in relation to the variability of large-scale atmospheric or oceanic variables associated with tropical cyclone activity. Maps of the difference fields between different phases of El Niño–Southern Oscillation are examined for sea surface temperature, vertical wind shear, lower-tropospheric vorticity, and midtropospheric relative humidity. Results are also examined in relation to the South Pacific convergence zone. The common region where each of the large-scale variables showed favorable conditions for cyclogenesis coincided with the location of maximum observed cyclogenesis for El Niño events as well as for La Niña years.

scholarly journals Decadal Variability in the Large-Scale Sea Surface Height Field of the South Pacific Ocean: Observations and Causes

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 1751-1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Shuiming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Rossby Wave ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
South American ◽  
The South ◽  
South Pacific Ocean ◽  
Spatially Varying

Abstract Large-scale sea surface height (SSH) changes in the extraequatorial South Pacific Ocean are investigated using satellite altimetry data of the past 12 yr. The decadal SSH signals in the 1990s were dominated by an increasing trend in the 30°–50°S band and a decreasing trend in the central South Pacific Ocean poleward of 50°S. In recent years since 2002 there has been a reversal in both of these trends. Spatially varying low-frequency SSH signals are also found in the tropical region of 10°–25°S where the decadal SSH trend is negative in the eastern basin, but positive in the western basin. To clarify the causes for these observed spatially varying SSH signals, a 1½-layer reduced-gravity model that includes the wind-driven baroclinic Rossby wave dynamics and the responses forced by SSH changes along the South American coast was adopted. The model hindcasts the spatially varying decadal trends in the midlatitude and the eastern tropical regions well. Accumulation of the wind-forced SSH anomalies along Rossby wave characteristics is found to be important for both previously reported long-term trends and their reversals in recent years. The boundary forcing associated with the time-varying SSH signals along the South American coast is crucial for understanding the observed SSH signals of all time scales in the eastern tropical South Pacific basin, but it has little impact upon the midlatitude interior SSH signals.

scholarly journals Mesoscale Simulation of Tropical Cyclones in the South Pacific: Climatology and Interannual Variability

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas C. Jourdain ◽  
Patrick Marchesiello ◽  
Christophe E. Menkes ◽  
Jérome Lefèvre ◽  
Emmanuel M. Vincent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
South Pacific Convergence Zone ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
The South ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract The Weather Research and Forecast model at ⅓° resolution is used to simulate the statistics of tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the present climate of the South Pacific. In addition to the large-scale conditions, the model is shown to reproduce a wide range of mesoscale convective systems. Tropical cyclones grow from the most intense of these systems formed along the South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) and sometimes develop into hurricanes. The three-dimensional structure of simulated tropical cyclones is in excellent agreement with dropsondes and satellite observations. The mean seasonal and spatial distributions of TC genesis and occurrence are also in good agreement with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) data. It is noted, however, that the spatial pattern of TC activity is shifted to the northeast because of a similar bias in the environmental forcing. Over the whole genesis area, 8.2 ± 3.5 cyclones are produced seasonally in the model, compared with 6.6 ± 3.0 in the JTWC data. Part of the interannual variability is associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). ENSO-driven displacement of the SPCZ position produces a dipole pattern of correlation and results in a weaker correlation when the opposing correlations of the dipole are amalgamated over the entire South Pacific region. As a result, environmentally forced variability at the regional scale is relatively weak, that is, of comparable order to stochastic variability (±1.7 cyclones yr−1), which is estimated from a 10-yr climatological simulation. Stochastic variability appears essentially related to mesoscale interactions, which also affect TC tracks and the resulting occurrence.

scholarly journals Remote Sensing of <i>Trichodesmium</i> spp. mats in the Western Tropical South Pacific

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Rousset ◽  
Florian De Boissieu ◽  
Christophe E. Menkes ◽  
Jérôme Lefèvre ◽  
Robert Frouin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Correction ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
The South ◽  
False Positive Detection ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
In Situ Observations

Abstract. Trichodesmium is the main nitrogen-fixing species in the South Pacific region, a hotspot for diazotrophy. Due to the paucity of in situ observations, methods for detecting Trichodesmium presence on a large scale have been investigated to assess the regional-to-global impact of these species on primary production and carbon cycling. A number of satellite-derived algorithms have been developed to identify Trichodesmium surface blooms, but determining with confidence their accuracy has been difficult, chiefly because of the scarcity of sea-truth information at time of satellite overpass. Here, we use a series of new cruises as well as airborne observational surveys in the South Pacific to quantify statistically the ability of these algorithms to discern correctly Trichodesmium surface blooms in the satellite imagery. The evaluation, performed on MODIS data at 250 m and 1 km resolution acquired over the South West Pacific, shows limitations due to spatial resolution, clouds, and atmospheric correction. A new satellite-based algorithm is designed to alleviate some of these limitations, by exploiting optimally spectral features in the atmospherically corrected reflectance at 531, 645, 678, 748, and 869 nm. This algorithm outperforms former ones near clouds, limiting false positive detection, and allowing regional scale automation. Compared with observations, 80 % of the detected mats are within a 2 km range, demonstrating the good statistical skill of the new algorithm. Application to MODIS imagery acquired during the February–March 2015 OUTPACE campaign reveals the presence of surface blooms Northwest and East of New Caledonia and near 20° S–172° W in qualitative agreement with measured nitrogen fixation rates. The new algorithm, however, fails to detect sub-surface booms evidenced in trichome counts. Improving Trichodesmium detection requires measuring ocean color at higher spectral and spatial (

scholarly journals Role of Stochastic Atmospheric Forcing from the South and North Pacific in Tropical Pacific Decadal Variability

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (13) ◽  
pp. 4013-4038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyi Sun ◽  
Yuko M. Okumura
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
The South ◽  
Pacific Decadal Variability ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract Stochastic variability of internal atmospheric modes, known as teleconnection patterns, drives large-scale patterns of low-frequency SST variability in the extratropics. To investigate how the decadal component of this stochastically driven variability in the South and North Pacific affects the tropical Pacific and contributes to the observed basinwide pattern of decadal variability, a suite of climate model experiments was conducted. In these experiments, the models are forced with constant surface heat flux anomalies associated with the decadal component of the dominant atmospheric modes, particularly the Pacific–South American (PSA) and North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) patterns. Both the PSA and NPO modes induce basinwide SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific and beyond that resemble the observed interdecadal Pacific oscillation. The subtropical SST anomalies forced by the PSA and NPO modes propagate to the equatorial Pacific mainly through the wind–evaporation–SST feedback. This atmospheric bridge is stronger from the South Pacific than the North Pacific due to the northward displacement of the intertropical convergence zone and the associated northward advection of momentum anomalies. The equatorial ocean dynamics is also more strongly influenced by atmospheric circulation changes induced by the PSA mode than the NPO mode. In the PSA experiment, persistent and zonally coherent wind stress curl anomalies over the South Pacific affect the zonal mean depth of the equatorial thermocline and weaken the equatorial SST anomalies resulting from the atmospheric bridge. This oceanic adjustment serves as a delayed negative feedback and may be important for setting the time scales of tropical Pacific decadal variability.

scholarly journals An Exchange Window for the Injection of Antarctic Intermediate Water into the South Pacific

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Iudicone ◽  
Keith B. Rodgers ◽  
Richard Schopp ◽  
Gurvan Madec
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
The South ◽  
Antarctic Intermediate Water ◽  
South Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Circumpolar Current

Abstract Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) occupies the intermediate horizon of most of the world oceans. Formed in the Southern Ocean, it is characterized by a relative salinity minimum. With a new, denser in situ National Oceanographic Data Center dataset, the authors have reanalyzed the export characteristics of AAIW from the Southern Ocean into the South Pacific Ocean. These new data show that part of the AAIW is exported from the subpolar frontal region by the large-scale circulation through an exchange window of 10° width situated east of 90°W in the southeast corner of the Pacific basin. This suggests the origin of this water to be in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. A set of numerical modeling experiments has been used to reproduce these observed features and to demonstrate that the dynamics of the exchange window is controlled by the basin-scale meridional pressure gradient. The exchange of AAIW between the Southern and Pacific Oceans must therefore be understood in the context of the large basin-scale dynamical balance rather than simply local effects.

scholarly journals Perceptions of adaptation, resilience and climate knowledge in the Pacific

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory A. Walshe ◽  
Denis Chang Seng ◽  
Adam Bumpus ◽  
Joelle Auffray
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
The South ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Content Type

Purpose While the South Pacific is often cited as highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, there is comparatively little known about how different groups perceive climate change. Understanding the gaps and differences between risk and perceived risk is a prerequisite to designing effective and sustainable adaptation strategies. Design/methodology/approach This research examined three key groups in Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu: secondary school teachers, media personnel, and rural subsistence livelihood-based communities that live near or in conservation areas. This study deployed a dual methodology of participatory focus groups, paired with a national mobile phone based survey to gauge perceptions of climate change. This was the first time mobile technology had been used to gather perceptual data regarding the environment in the South Pacific. Findings The research findings highlighted a number of important differences and similarities in ways that these groups perceive climate change issues, solutions, personal vulnerability and comprehension of science among other factors. Practical implications These differences and similarities are neglected in large-scale top-down climate change adaptation strategies and have key implications for the design of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and therefore sustainable development in the region. Originality/value The research was innovative in terms of its methods, as well as its distillation of the perceptions of climate change from teachers, media and rural communities.

Culture and leadership: Project GLOBE in the South Pacific

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony R. Paquin ◽  
Reinout E. de Vries ◽  
Raghuvar D. Pathak ◽  
Rafia Naz
Keyword(s):  
South Pacific ◽  
The South
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