Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Oceanography
Unsupervised clustering identifies thermohaline staircases in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean
Published: 2023-07-28
Subjects: Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Thermohaline staircases are a widespread stratification feature that impact the vertical transport of heat and nutrients and are consistently observed throughout the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean. Observations of staircases from the same time period and geographic region form clusters in temperature-salinity ($T$--$S$) space. Here, for the first time, we use an automated clustering algorithm [...]
Evaluating Climate Signals on Global Coastal Shoreline Positions A commentary on “Influence of El Niño on the variability of global shoreline position” by Almar and colleagues.
Published: 2023-07-26
Subjects: Climate, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences
Almar and colleagues (2023) are correct in stating that, “understanding and predicting shoreline evolution is of great importance for coastal management.” Amongst the different timescales of shoreline change, the interannual and decadal timescales are of particular interest to coastal scientists as they reflect the integrated system response to the Earth’s climate and its natural modes of [...]
Last Glacial Maximum pattern effects reduce climate sensitivity estimates
Published: 2023-07-14
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
Here, we show that the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) provides a stronger constraint on equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS), the global warming from increasing greenhouse gases, after accounting for temperature patterns. Feedbacks governing ECS depend on spatial patterns of surface temperature (“pattern effects”); hence, using the LGM to constrain future warming requires quantifying how [...]
Satellite-derived shorelines for monitoring of sandy beaches: a benchmark study
Published: 2023-07-10
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Satellite remote sensing is becoming a widely used monitoring technique in coastal sciences. Yet, no benchmarking studies exist that compare the performance of popular satellite-derived shoreline (SDS) mapping algorithms against standardized sets of inputs and validation data. Here we present a new benchmarking framework to evaluate the accuracy of shoreline change observations extracted from [...]
Seismic Stratigraphy of Contourite Drift Deposits Associated with the Loop Current on the Eastern Campeche Bank, Gulf of Mexico
Published: 2023-06-08
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Oceanography, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
The Loop Current is a key component of global circulation via the northward transport of warm, salty water and an important influence on Gulf of Mexico hydrography. Understanding how the Loop Current will respond to ongoing anthropogenic warming is critically important, but the history of the Loop Current is poorly known. Here, we present the results of a high resolution (3-8 m) multichannel [...]
In-ice measurements of full spectral angular radiance distribution using a 360-degree camera
Published: 2023-05-18
Subjects: Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Optics, Physics
A better understanding of the radiative transfer of solar visible light within sea ice is crucial to study the Arctic energy balance and marine ecosystems. In this work, we showcase the utilization of a compact, consumer-grade 360-degree camera for measuring the in-ice spectral angular radiance distribution. This novel technique allows for the instantaneous acquisition of all radiometric [...]
Different mechanisms of Arctic first-year sea-ice ridge consolidation observed during the MOSAiC expedition
Published: 2023-05-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Glaciology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sea-ice ridges constitute a large fraction of the ice volume in the Arctic Ocean, yet we know little about the evolution of these ice masses. Here we examine the thermal and morphological evolution of an Arctic first-year sea-ice ridge, from its formation to advanced melt. Initially the mean keel depth was 5.6 m and mean sail height was 0.7 m. The initial rubble macroporosity (fraction of [...]
A cost model for ocean iron fertilization as a means of carbon dioxide removal that compares ship- and aerial-based delivery, and estimates verification costs.
Published: 2023-04-14
Subjects: Oceanography
This paper presents a cost model for implementing a deployment scale effort for conducting ocean iron fertilization (OIF) for marine-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The model incorporates basic oceanographic parameters critical for estimating the effective export of newly fixed CO2 into biomass that is stimulated by Fe addition to an Fe-limited region of the Southern Ocean. Estimated costs [...]
Efficient modeling of wave generation and propagation in a semi-enclosed estuary
Published: 2023-03-14
Subjects: Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Accurate, and high-resolution wave statistics are critical for regional hazard mapping and planning. However, long-term simulations at high spatial resolution are often computationally prohibitive. Here, multiple rapid frameworks including fetch-limited, look-up-table (LUT), and linear propagation are combined and tested in a large estuary exposed to both remotely (swell) and locally generated [...]
Relative contributions of water level components to extreme water levels along the United States Southeast Atlantic Coast from a regional-scale water level hindcast
Published: 2023-03-13
Subjects: Oceanography
A 38-year hindcast water level product is developed for the United States Southeast Atlantic coastline from the entrance of Chesapeake Bay to the southeast tip of Florida. The water level modelling framework utilized in this study combines a global-scale hydrodynamic model (Global Tide and Surge Model, GTSM-ERA5), a novel ensemble-based tide model, a parameterized wave setup model, and [...]
A new, global optical sediment trap calibration
Published: 2023-02-25
Subjects: Oceanography
Autonomous sensors for gravitational carbon flux in the ocean are critically needed, because of uncertainties in the projected response of the biological carbon pump (BCP) to climate change, and the proposed, engineered acceleration of the BCP to sequester carbon dioxide in the ocean. Optical sediment trap (OST) sensors directly sense fluxes of sinking particles in a manner that is independent [...]
An Updated Parametrization of Algorithms to Retrieve the Diffuse Attenuation of Light in the Ocean from Remote Sensing and its Impact on Estimates of Net Primary Productivity
Published: 2023-02-10
Subjects: Climate, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Environmental Sciences
We recently found a significant bias while validating frequently used ocean color algorithms retrieving the spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd(λ))(Begouen and Boss, 2022). Here we modify existing algorithms for Kd(λ) to remove the observed bias at Kd(490), and evaluate the impact on global and regional estimates of net primary production (NPP) using two different primary production [...]
Sand Shoal Dynamics of a Tide-Dominated Estuarine Embayment: Comparison of a Numerical Sediment Transport Model against Field Observations
Published: 2023-02-07
Subjects: Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Oceanography
This paper presents an innovative and detailed dataset of currents and sediment transport observations over a sand shoal system responsible for focusing wave energy on eroding coastline. The data are used to measure the performance of a detailed numerical sediment transport model of the sand shoal system. The predictive skill of the model is 0.96 for tidal elevations within Port Phillip Bay, 0.75 [...]
Internal gravity waves generated by subglacial discharge: implications for tidewater glacier melt
Published: 2023-02-03
Subjects: Climate, Oceanography
Submarine melting has been implicated in the accelerated retreat of marine-terminating glaciers globally. Energetic ocean flows, such as subglacial discharge plumes, are known to enhance submarine melting in their immediate vicinity. Using observations and a large eddy simulation, we demonstrate that discharge plumes emit high-frequency internal gravity waves that propagate along glacier termini [...]
How fine is fine enough? Effect of mesh resolution on hydrodynamic simulations in coral reef environments
Published: 2023-01-14
Subjects: Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Coral reef environments are biodiversity hotspots that provide many services to coastal communities. They are currently facing an increasing anthropogenic pressure that jeopardises their survival. Numerical ocean models are an important tool to understand the functioning of coral ecosystems and the mechanisms ensuring their resilience. However, simulating the water circulation through reef [...]