Showing papers in "Reviews of Geophysics in 2013"

A review of climatic controls on δ18O in precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau: Observations and simulations

Abstract: The stable oxygen isotope ratio (δ18O) in precipitation is an integrated tracer of atmospheric processes worldwide. Since the 1990s, an intensive effort has been dedicated to studying precipitation isotopic composition at more than 20 stations in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) located at the convergence of air masses between the westerlies and Indian monsoon. In this paper, we establish a database of precipitation δ18O and use different models to evaluate the climatic controls of precipitation δ18O over the TP. The spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation δ18O and their relationships with temperature and precipitation reveal three distinct domains, respectively associated with the influence of the westerlies (northern TP), Indian monsoon (southern TP), and transition in between. Precipitation δ18O in the monsoon domain experiences an abrupt decrease in May and most depletion in August, attributable to the shifting moisture origin between Bay of Bengal (BOB) and southern Indian Ocean. High-resolution atmospheric models capture the spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation δ18O and their relationships with moisture transport from the westerlies and Indian monsoon. Only in the westerlies domain are atmospheric models able to represent the relationships between climate and precipitation δ18O. More significant temperature effect exists when either the westerlies or Indian monsoon is the sole dominant atmospheric process. The observed and simulated altitude-δ18O relationships strongly depend on the season and the domain (Indian monsoon or westerlies). Our results have crucial implications for the interpretation of paleoclimate records and for the application of atmospheric simulations to quantifying paleoclimate and paleo-elevation changes.

Abiotic methane on earth

Abstract: [1] Over the last 30 years, geochemical research has demonstrated that abiotic methane (CH4), formed by chemical reactions which do not directly involve organic matter, occurs on Earth in several specific geologic environments. It can be produced by either high-temperature magmatic processes in volcanic and geothermal areas, or via low-temperature (<100°C) gas-water-rock reactions in continental settings, even at shallow depths. The isotopic composition of C and H is a first step in distinguishing abiotic from biotic (including either microbial or thermogenic) CH4. Herein we demonstrate that integrated geochemical diagnostic techniques, based on molecular composition of associated gases, noble gas isotopes, mixing models, and a detailed knowledge of the geologic and hydrogeologic context are necessary to confirm the occurrence of abiotic CH4 in natural gases, which are frequently mixtures of multiple sources. Although it has been traditionally assumed that abiotic CH4 is mainly related to mantle-derived or magmatic processes, a new generation of data is showing that low-temperature synthesis related to gas-water-rock reactions is more common than previously thought. This paper reviews the major sources of abiotic CH4 and the primary approaches for differentiating abiotic from biotic CH4, including novel potential tools such as clumped isotope geochemistry. A diagnostic approach for differentiation is proposed.

Global warming potentials and radiative efficiencies of halocarbons and related compounds: a comprehensive review

Abstract: [1] In the mid-1970s, it was recognized that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were strong greenhouse gases that could have substantial impacts on radiative forcing of climate change, as well as being substances that deplete stratospheric ozone. Around a decade later, this group of radiatively active compounds was expanded to include a large number of replacements for ozone-depleting substances such as chlorocarbons, hydrochlorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), bromofluorocarbons, and bromochlorofluorocarbons. This paper systematically reviews the published literature concerning the radiative efficiencies (REs) of CFCs, bromofluorocarbons and bromochlorofluorocarbons (halons), HCFCs, HFCs, PFCs, sulfur hexafluoride, nitrogen trifluoride, and related halogen containing compounds. In addition, we provide a comprehensive and self-consistent set of new calculations of REs and global warming potentials (GWPs) for these compounds, mostly employing atmospheric lifetimes taken from the available literature. We also present global temperature change potentials for selected gases. Infrared absorption spectra used in the RE calculations were taken from databases and individual studies and from experimental and ab initio computational studies. Evaluations of REs and GWPs are presented for more than 200 compounds. Our calculations yield REs significantly (> 5%) different from those in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) for 49 compounds. We present new RE values for more than 100 gases which were not included in AR4. A widely used simple method to calculate REs and GWPs from absorption spectra and atmospheric lifetimes is assessed and updated. This is the most comprehensive review of the radiative efficiencies and global warming potentials of halogenated compounds performed to date.

The role of the barents sea in the arctic climate system

Abstract: Present global warming is amplified in the Arctic and accompanied by unprecedented sea ice decline. Located along the main pathway of Atlantic Water entering the Arctic, the Barents Sea is the site of coupled feedback processes that are important for creating variability in the entire Arctic air-ice-ocean system. As warm Atlantic Water flows through the Barents Sea, it loses heat to the Arctic atmosphere. Warm periods, like today, are associated with high northward heat transport, reduced Arctic sea ice cover, and high surface air temperatures. The cooling of the Atlantic inflow creates dense water sinking to great depths in the Arctic Basins, and ~60% of the Arctic Ocean carbon uptake is removed from the carbon-saturated surface this way. Recently, anomalously large ocean heat transport has reduced sea ice formation in the Barents Sea during winter. The missing Barents Sea winter ice makes up a large part of observed winter Arctic sea ice loss, and in 2050, the Barents Sea is projected to be largely ice free throughout the year, with 4°C summer warming in the formerly ice-covered areas. The heating of the Barents atmosphere plays an important role both in “Arctic amplification” and the Arctic heat budget. The heating also perturbs the large-scale circulation through expansion of the Siberian High northward, with a possible link to recent continental wintertime cooling. Large air-ice-ocean variability is evident in proxy records of past climate conditions, suggesting that the Barents Sea has had an important role in Northern Hemisphere climate for, at least, the last 2500 years.

A review of global ocean temperature observations: Implications for ocean heat content estimates and climate change

Abstract: The evolution of ocean temperature measurement systems is presented with a focus on the development and accuracy of two critical devices in use today (expendable bathythermographs and conductivity-temperature-depth instruments used on Argo floats). A detailed discussion of the accuracy of these devices and a projection of the future of ocean temperature measurements are provided. The accuracy of ocean temperature measurements is discussed in detail in the context of ocean heat content, Earth's energy imbalance, and thermosteric sea level rise. Up-to-date estimates are provided for these three important quantities. The total energy imbalance at the top of atmosphere is best assessed by taking an inventory of changes in energy storage. The main storage is in the ocean, the latest values of which are presented. Furthermore, despite differences in measurement methods and analysis techniques, multiple studies show that there has been a multidecadal increase in the heat content of both the upper and deep ocean regions, which reflects the impact of anthropogenic warming. With respect to sea level rise, mutually reinforcing information from tide gauges and radar altimetry shows that presently, sea level is rising at approximately 3 mm yr-1 with contributions from both thermal expansion and mass accumulation from ice melt. The latest data for thermal expansion sea level rise are included here and analyzed. Key Points Oceanographic techniques and analysis have improved over many decadesThese improvements allow more accurate Earth-energy balance estimatesUnderstanding of ocean heat content and sea-level rise has also increased ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Enhanced chemical weathering as a geoengineering strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, supply nutrients, and mitigate ocean acidification

Abstract: Chemical weathering is an integral part of both the rock and carbon cycles and is being affected by changes in land use, particularly as a result of agricultural practices such as tilling, mineral fertilization, or liming to adjust soil pH. These human activities have already altered the terrestrial chemical cycles and land-ocean flux of major elements, although the extent remains difficult to quantify. When deployed on a grand scale, Enhanced Weathering (a form of mineral fertilization), the application of finely ground minerals over the land surface, could be used to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The release of cations during the dissolution of such silicate minerals would convert dissolved CO2 to bicarbonate, increasing the alkalinity and pH of natural waters. Some products of mineral dissolution would precipitate in soils or be taken up by ecosystems, but a significant portion would be transported to the coastal zone and the open ocean, where the increase in alkalinity would partially counteract "ocean acidification" associated with the current marked increase in atmospheric CO2. Other elements released during this mineral dissolution, like Si, P, or K, could stimulate biological productivity, further helping to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. On land, the terrestrial carbon pool would likely increase in response to Enhanced Weathering in areas where ecosystem growth rates are currently limited by one of the nutrients that would be released during mineral dissolution. In the ocean, the biological carbon pumps (which export organic matter and CaCO3 to the deep ocean)may be altered by the resulting influx of nutrients and alkalinity to the ocean. This review merges current interdisciplinary knowledge about Enhanced Weathering, the processes involved, and the applicability aswell as some of the consequences and risks of applying the method.

Effects of the electronic spin transitions of iron in lower mantle minerals: implications for deep mantle geophysics and geochemistry

Abstract: [1] We have critically reviewed and discussed currently available information regarding the spin and valence states of iron in lower mantle minerals and the associated effects of the spin transitions on physical, chemical, and transport properties of the deep Earth. A high-spin to low-spin crossover of Fe2+ in ferropericlase has been observed to occur at pressure-temperature conditions corresponding to the middle part of the lower mantle. In contrast, recent studies consistently show that Fe2+ predominantly exhibits extremely high quadrupole splitting values in the pseudo-dodecahedral site (A site) of perovskite and post-perovskite, indicative of a strong lattice distortion. Fe3+ in the A site of these structures likely remains in the high-spin state, while a high-spin to low-spin transition of Fe3+ in the octahedral site of perovskite occurs at pressures of 15–50 GPa. In post-perovskite, the octahedral-site Fe3+ remains in the low-spin state at the pressure conditions of the lowermost mantle. These changes in the spin and valence states of iron as a function of pressure and temperature have been reported to affect physical, chemical, rheological, and transport properties of the lower mantle minerals. The spin crossover of Fe2+ in ferropericlase has been documented to affect these properties and is discussed in depth here, whereas the effects of the spin transition of iron in perovskite and post-perovskite are much more complex and remain debated. The consequences of the transitions are evaluated in terms of their implications to deep Earth geophysics, geochemistry, and geodynamics including elasticity, element partitioning, fractionation and diffusion, and rheological and transport properties.

Modeling the interactions between river morphodynamics and riparian vegetation

Abstract: The study of river-riparian vegetation interactions is an important and intriguing research field in geophysics. Vegetation is an active element of the ecological dynamics of a floodplain which interacts with the fluvial processes and affects the flow field, sediment transport, and the morphology of the river. In turn, the river provides water, sediments, nutrients, and seeds to the nearby riparian vegetation, depending on the hydrological, hydraulic, and geomorphological characteristic of the stream. In the past, the study of this complex theme was approached in two different ways. On the one hand, the subject was faced from a mainly qualitative point of view by ecologists and biogeographers. Riparian vegetation dynamics and its spatial patterns have been described and demonstrated in detail, and the key role of several fluvial processes has been shown, but no mathematical models have been proposed. On the other hand, the quantitative approach to fluvial processes, which is typical of engineers, has led to the development of several morphodynamic models. However, the biological aspect has usually been neglected, and vegetation has only been considered as a static element. In recent years, different scientific communities (ranging from ecologists to biogeographers and from geomorphologists to hydrologists and fluvial engineers) have begun to collaborate and have proposed both semiquantitative and quantitative models of river-vegetation interconnections. These models demonstrate the importance of linking fluvial morphodynamics and riparian vegetation dynamics to understand the key processes that regulate a riparian environment in order to foresee the impact of anthropogenic actions and to carefully manage and rehabilitate riparian areas. In the first part of this work, we review the main interactions between rivers and riparian vegetation, and their possible modeling. In the second part, we discuss the semiquantitative and quantitative models which have been proposed to date, considering both multi- and single-thread rivers.

Constraints on subduction geodynamics from seismic anisotropy

Abstract: [1] Much progress has been made over the past several decades in delineating the structure of subducting slabs, but several key aspects of their dynamics remain poorly constrained. Major unsolved problems in subduction geodynamics include those related to mantle wedge viscosity and rheology, slab hydration and dehydration, mechanical coupling between slabs and the ambient mantle, the geometry of mantle flow above and beneath slabs, and the interactions between slabs and deep discontinuities such as the core-mantle boundary. Observations of seismic anisotropy can provide relatively direct constraints on mantle dynamics because of the link between deformation and the resulting anisotropy: when mantle rocks are deformed, a preferred orientation of individual mineral crystals or materials such as partial melt often develops, resulting in the directional dependence of seismic wave speeds. Measurements of seismic anisotropy thus represent a powerful tool for probing mantle dynamics in subduction systems. Here I review the observational constraints on seismic anisotropy in subduction zones and discuss how seismic data can place constraints on wedge, slab, and sub-slab anisotropy. I also discuss constraints from mineral physics investigations and geodynamical modeling studies and how they inform our interpretation of observations. I evaluate different models in light of constraints from seismology, geodynamics, and mineral physics. Finally, I discuss some of the major unsolved problems related to the dynamics of subduction systems and how ongoing and future work on the characterization and interpretation of seismic anisotropy can lead to progress, particularly in frontier areas such as understanding slab dynamics in the deep mantle.

Global atmospheric downward longwave radiation at the surface from ground-based observations, satellite retrievals, and reanalyses

Abstract: [1] Atmospheric downward longwave radiation at the surface (Ld) varies with increasing CO2 and other greenhouse gases. This study quantifies the uncertainties of current estimates of global Ld at monthly to decadal timescales and its global climatology and trends during the past decades by a synthesis of the existing observations, reanalyses, and satellite products. We find that current Ld observations have a standard deviation error of ~3.5 W m−2 on a monthly scale. Observations of Ld by different pyrgeometers may differ substantially for lack of a standard reference. The calibration of a pyrgeometer significantly affects its quantification of annual variability. Compared with observations collected at 169 global land sites from 1992 to 2010, the Ld derived from state-of-the-art satellite cloud observations and reanalysis temperature and humidity profiles at a grid scale of ~1° has a bias of ±9 W m−2 and a standard deviation of 7 W m−2, with a nearly zero overall bias. The standard deviations are reduced to 4 W m−2 over tropical oceans when compared to Ld observations collected by 24 buoy sites from 2002 to 2011. The −4 W m−2 bias of satellite Ld retrievals over tropical oceans is likely because of the overestimation of Ld observations resulting from solar heating of the pyrgeometer. Our best estimate of global means Ld from 2003 to 2010 are 342 ± 3 W m−2 (global), 307 ± 3 W m−2 (land), and 356 ± 3 W m−2 (ocean). Estimates of Ld trends are seriously compromised by the changes in satellite sensors giving changes of water vapor profiles.

Periodicities in Saturn's magnetosphere

Abstract: [1] Although the exact rotation period of Saturn is unknown, Saturn's magnetosphere displays an abundance of periodicities near ~10.7 h. Such modulations appear in charged particles, magnetic fields, energetic neutral atoms, radio emissions, motions of the plasma sheet and magnetopause, and even in Saturn's rings themselves. Known to an accuracy of four significant figures, these periodicities do not remain constant but vary by ~1% over time scales of a year or longer. Magnetospheric periodicities also display slightly different periods in the northern and southern hemispheres: ~10.6 h and ~10.8 h, respectively. The magnetic and spin axes of Saturn are aligned to within ~1°, so that Saturn's magnetospheric periodicities cannot be explained as “wobble” caused by a geometric tilt, unlike those of the Earth and Jupiter. Furthermore, the variations in periodicity argue against a cause related to changes interior to an object as large as Saturn. Several models have been proposed for the periodicities, including rotating planetary vortices, periodic plasma releases, and a flapping magnetodisk, but none can satisfactorily explain all of Saturn's periodicities. This review discusses the observations of these periodicities from their initial discovery during the Pioneer flyby to their long-term surveillance by Cassini and examines the various struggles to explain and model them. Understanding Saturn's periodicity may elucidate periodic phenomena in other magnetospheric environments.

Geophysical Characterization of the Chicxulub Impact Crater

Abstract: [1] Geophysical data indicate that the 65.5 million years ago Chicxulub impact structure is a multi-ring basin, with three sets of semicontinuous, arcuate ring faults and a topographic peak ring (PR). Slump blocks define a terrace zone, which steps down from the inner rim into the annular trough. Fault blocks underlie the PR, which exhibits variable relief, due to target asymmetries. The central structural uplift is >10 km, and the Moho is displaced by 1–2 km. The working hypothesis for the formation of Chicxulub is: a 50 km radius transient cavity, lined with melt and impact breccia, formed within 10 s of the impact, and within minutes, weakened rebounding crust rose kilometers above the surface, the transient crater rim underwent localized deformation and collapsed into large slump blocks, resulting in a inner rim at 70–85 km radius, and outer ring faults at 70–130 km radius. The overheightened structural uplift collapsed outward, buried the inner slump blocks, and formed the PR. Most of the impact melt was ultimately emplaced as a coherent <3 km thick melt sheet within the central basin that shallows within the inner regions of the PR. Smaller pockets of melt flowed into the annular trough. Subsequently, slope collapse, ejecta, ground surge, and tsunami waves infilled the annular trough and annular basin with sediments up to 3 km and 900 m thick, respectively. Testing this working hypothesis requires direct observation of the impactites, within and adjacent to the PR and central basin.

Semiempirical and process‐based global sea level projections

Abstract: We review the two main approaches to estimating sea level rise over the coming century: physically plausible models of reduced complexity that exploit statistical relationships between sea level and climate forcing, and more complex physics-based models of the separate elements of the sea level budget. Previously, estimates of future sea level rise from semiempirical models were considerably larger than those from process-based models. However, we show that the most recent estimates of sea level rise by 2100 using both methods have converged, but largely through increased contributions and uncertainties in process-based model estimates of ice sheets mass loss. Hence, we focus in this paper on ice sheet flow as this has the largest potential to contribute to sea level rise. Progress has been made in ice dynamics, ice stream flow, grounding line migration, and integration of ice sheet models with high-resolution climate models. Calving physics remains an important and difficult modeling issue. Mountain glaciers, numbering hundreds of thousands, must be modeled by extensive statistical extrapolation from a much smaller calibration data set. Rugged topography creates problems in process-based mass balance simulations forced by regional climate models with resolutions 10–100 times larger than the glaciers. Semiempirical models balance increasing numbers of parameters with the choice of noise model for the observations to avoid overfitting the highly autocorrelated sea level data. All models face difficulty in separating out non-climate-driven sea level rise (e.g., groundwater extraction) and long-term disequilibria in the present-day cryosphere-sea level system.

Dusty plasma effects in comets: expectations for rosetta

Abstract: [1] Despite their small masses, comets have played an extraordinary role in enhancing our understanding of cosmic physics. It was the calculation of comet Halley's orbit and the successful prediction of its return in 1758 that firmly established the correctness of Newton's law of universal gravitation. It was the morphology of the dusty tails of comets that provided the earliest information of the nature of the interaction of solar electromagnetic radiation with dust, and it was the orientation and structure of the plasma tails of comets that led to the discovery of the solar wind. More recently, the role of the changing dusty plasma environments of comets as natural space laboratories for the study of dust-plasma interactions, and their physical and dynamical consequences, has been recognized. The forthcoming Rosetta-Philae rendezvous and lander mission will provide a unique opportunity to revisit the entire range of earlier observations of dusty plasma phenomena in a single comet, as it moves around the Sun. In this topical review, motivated by the Rosetta mission, we discuss the varying modes of interaction of the comet as it approaches the Sun, and the different dusty plasma phenomena that are expected in each case, drawing on the earlier observations, including their interpretations and prevailing open questions.

A spectral assessment review of current satellite-only and combined Earth gravity models

Abstract: [1] The realization over the last decade of dedicated gravity field satellite missions enabled the production of a series of new satellite-only and combined models for the Earth's gravity field. Using different sensors, measurement techniques, and algorithmic procedures, the final product in each case is a set of spherical harmonic coefficients representing the series expansion of the gravitational potential up to a certain maximum degree, depending on the mission characteristics and the range of the available data. The present review performs a detailed quantified analysis of a representative selection of currently available CHAMP (Challenging Minisatellite Payload), GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), and combined Earth gravity models. In this comparative analysis, we also include the so-called topographic/isostatic gravity models that represent the contribution of global digital elevation maps for the topography and ocean bathymetry. Applying a range of available spatial and spectral accuracy and assessment measures, such as correlation per degree and order, smoothing per degree and order, signal-to-noise ratio, gain, degree variances, and error degree variances, one gains a quantified “peek” inside the quality of these models spanning over their whole spectrum. The applied error and assessment measures are defined both in an absolute and relative manner with respect to other similar models or some reference Earth gravity models. Furthermore, the nature of the performed analysis (degree-wise, order-wise, and cumulative) permits the identification of distinct spectral bandwidths in these models, enables the quantification of some standard features of the observed field, such as its “long wavelength”, “short wavelength”, or “very high frequency part”, and specifies the attenuation of the gravity signal with increasing altitude from the Earth's surface. An examination of the assessment quantities reveals certain bandwidths of these models with characteristic statistical features. A band-limited synthesis of these bandwidths in the space domain quantifies the corresponding contributions in terms of selected gravity field functionals, including second-order derivatives at GOCE altitude.

Correction to “Paleoceanography of the Atlantic‐Mediterranean Exchange: Overview and first quantitative assessment of climatic forcing”

Abstract: [1] The Mediterranean Sea provides a major route for heat and freshwater loss from the North Atlantic and thus is an important cause of the high density of Atlantic waters. In addition to the traditional view that loss of fresh water via the Mediterranean enhances the general salinity of the North Atlantic, and the interior of the eastern North Atlantic in particular, it should be noted that Mediterranean water outflowing at Gibraltar is in fact cooler than compensating inflowing water. The consequence is that the Mediterranean is also a region of heat loss from the Atlantic and contributes to its large-scale cooling. Uniquely, this system can be understood physically via the constraints placed on it by a single hydraulic structure: the Gibraltar exchange. Here we review the existing knowledge about the physical structure of the Gibraltar exchange today and the evidential basis for arguments that it has been different in the past. Using a series of quantitative experiments, we then test prevailing concepts regarding the potential causes of these past changes. We find that (1) changes in the vertical position of the plume of Mediterranean water in the Atlantic are controlled by the vertical density structure of the Atlantic; (2) a prominent Early Holocene “contourite gap” within the Gulf of Cadiz is a response to reduced buoyancy loss in the eastern Mediterranean during the time of “sapropel 1” deposition; (3) changes in buoyancy loss from the Mediterranean during MIS3 caused changes in the bottom velocity field in the Gulf of Cadiz, but we note that the likely cause is reduced freshwater loss and not enhanced heat loss; and (4) strong exchange at Gibraltar during Atlantic freshening phases implies that the Gibraltar exchange provides a strong negative feedback to reduced Atlantic meridional overturning. Given the very counterintuitive way in which the Strait of Gibraltar system behaves, we recommend that without quantitative supporting work, qualitative interpretations of how the system has responded to past external forcing are unlikely to be robust.