摘要:

Studies of the many active and inactive hydrothermal vents found during the past 15 years have radically altered views of biological and geological processes in the deep sea. The biological communities occupying the vast and relatively stable soft bottom habitats of the deep sea are characterized by low population densities, high species diversity, and low biomass. In contrast, those inhabiting the generally unstable conditions of hydrothermal vent environments exhibit high densities and biomass, low species diversity, rapid growth rates, and high metabolic rates. Biological processes, such as rates of metabolism and growth, in vent organisms are comparable to those observed in organisms from shallow‐water ecosystems. An abundant energy source is provided by chemosynthetic bacteria that constitute the primary producers sustaining the lush communities at the hydrothermal sites. Fluxes in vent flow and fluid chemistry cause changes in growth rates, reproduction, mortality, and/or colonization of vent fauna, leading to temporal and spatial variation of the vent communities. Vent populations that cannot adapt to modified flow rates are adversely affected, as is evidenced by high mortality or lower rates of colonization, growth, or reproduction. Substantial changes in biota have been witnessed at several vents, and successional cycles have been proposed for the Galapagos vent fields. Dramatic temporal and spatial variations in vent community structure may also relate to variations in larval dispersal and chance recruitment, as well as biotic interaction

ISSN:8755-1209    

DOI:10.1029/93RG01280

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The remarkably strong radar echoes from the summer polar mesosphere have been an enigma to atmospheric and radar scientists since their discovery more than a decade ago. Since then, more sophisticated radar experiments and in situ rocket measurements have shed some light on the underlying physics and chemistry, and theories have been formulated to explain the generation of the intense radar backscatter and the remarkable physical conditions associated with it. First, we review the key observations and examine the proposed theories. We then evaluate the progress that has been made in understanding this phenomenon and explore its connection to global change, to the newly recognized material referred to as a dusty plasma, and to the highest clouds in the Earth's atmosphere. Finally, we end with suggestions for future research.

ISSN:8755-1209    

DOI:10.1029/93RG01535

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

We present a new estimate of the Earth's heat loss based on a new global compilation of heat flow measurements comprising 24,774 observations at 20,201 sites. On a 5° × 5° grid, the observations cover 62% of the Earth's surface. Empirical estimators, referenced to geological map units and derived from the observations, enable heat flow to be estimated in areas without measurements. Corrections for the effects of hydrothermal circulation in the oceanic crust compensate for the advected heat undetected in measurements of the conductive heat flux. The mean heat flows of continents and oceans are 65 and 101 mW m−2, respectively, which when areally weighted yield a global mean of 87 mW m−2and a global heat loss of 44.2 × 1012W, an increase of some 4–8% over earlier estimates. More than half of the Earth's heat loss comes from Cenozoic oceanic lithosphere. A spherical harmonic analysis of the global heat flow field reveals strong sectoral components and lesser zonal strength. The spectrum principally reflects the geographic distribution of the ocean ridge system. The rate at which the heat flow spectrum loses strength with increasing harmonic degree is similar to the decline in spectral strength exhibited by the Earth's topography. The spectra of the gravitational and magnetic fields fall off much more steeply, consistent with field sources in the lower mantle and core, respectively. Families of continental and oceanic conductive geotherms indicate the range of temperatures existing in the lithosphere under various surface heat flow conditions. The heat flow field is very well correlated with the seismic shear wave velocity distribution near the top of the upp

ISSN:8755-1209    

DOI:10.1029/93RG01249

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The oceanographic community is currently contemplating the design of a global ocean climate observing system to help monitor, describe, and understand the seasonal to decadal climate changes of the ocean and to provide the observations needed for climate prediction. This review attempts to define a role for modeling within that system, the central theme being that the observational and modeling elements must be developed in concert, with the presence of one enhancing the value of the other. Three distinct categories of model‐to‐data interface are identified. In the first class, models and data collection develop separately, being joined only by intermittent validation steps. In the second, and by far most important, class the model and data collection evolve together, either in a time‐space data assimilation and prediction system, or through the application of inverse methods. In the final category, model information feeds back to the observing system design, and vice versa, and the model assimilation system provides quality control on the data. The key role of (atmospheric) models in the determination of surface fluxes to drive ocean models is discussed. A nontrivial role is proposed for ocean models whereby they provide additional, and largely independent, constraints on atmospheric forecast system estimates. The role of ocean models in the analysis of surface and upper ocean fields needs to be developed, particularly with respect to salinity and nonphysical fields. The use of models in rationalizing the choice of observation platforms is discussed, together with some of the difficulties in interpreting such studies. The state of tropical ocean prediction is reviewed with particular emphasis on systems that assimilate subsurface temperature data. A range of thermocline models are also reviewed with the emphasis on subduction and the problem of initializing and constraining models that resolve mesoscale eddies. Some of the issues involved in matching the models to particular observational methods, and vice versa, are discussed with respect to tropical ocean and thermocline modeling. The current state of global ocean and coupled climate general circulation models and models for studying tracer circulation and coupled physical‐biological systems is evaluated. This prognostic path and the products and knowledge derived from integrations are contrasted with the inverse modeling approach which attempts to infer ocean circulation through a combination of observational and modeling constraints. Again we speculate on the model‐data interface and on the different measurement strategies and data requirements. The concept of community modeling and the need for substantial resources and international organization are discussed. A case for global ocean observing system centers with colocated modeling and data collection is made, but with model diversity and individuality e

ISSN:8755-1209    

DOI:10.1029/93RG00134

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Sediments have proved irresistible targets for attempts at determining the relative variations in the Earth's magnetic field because of the possibility of long and continuous sequences that are well dated and have a reasonable global distribution. The assumption underlying paleointensity studies using sedimentary sequences is that sediments retain a record reflecting the strength of the magnetic field when they were deposited. Early theoretical work suggested that because the time required for an assemblage of magnetic particles in water to come into equilibrium with the ambient magnetic field was quite short, no dependence on magnetic field was expected. Nonetheless, a number of experiments showed that sedimentary magnetizations varied in accordance with the field, albeit not always in a simple, linear fashion. Experiments in which the sediments were stirred in the presence of a field (to simulate bioturbation) showed a reasonably linear relationship with the applied field, and these results spurred the hope that variations in the Earth's magnetic field might indeed be recoverable from appropriate sedimentary sequences. Examination of existing paleointensity data sets allows a few general conclusions to be drawn. It appears that sedimentary sequences can and do provide a great deal of information about the variations in relative paleointensity of the Earth's magnetic field. The dynamic range of sedimentary data sets is comparable to those acquired from thermal remanences. Moreover, when compared directly with such independent measures of magnetic field variations as beryllium isotopic ratios and thermally blocked remanences, there is considerable agreement among the various records. When viewed over timescales of hundreds to thousands of years, relative paleointensity data sets from more than a few thousand kilometers apart bear little resemblance to one another, suggesting that they are dominated by nondipole field behavior. When viewed over timescales of a few tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, however, the records show coherence over large distances (at least thousands of kilometers) and may reflect changes in the dipole field. On the basis of a sequence spanning the Brunhes and Matuyama chrons, the magnetic field has oscillated with a period of about 40 ka for the last few hundred thousand years, but these oscillations are not clear in the record prior to about 300 ka; thus they are probably not an inherent feature in the geomagnetic field, and the correspondence of the period of oscillation to that of obliquity is probably coincidence.

ISSN:8755-1209    

DOI:10.1029/93RG01771

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:8755-1209    

DOI:10.1029/93RG02309

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY