Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean.

Climate variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is determined by large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions, which particularly affect deep atmospheric convection over the ocean and surrounding continents. Apart from influences from the Pacific El Niño/Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation, the tropical Atlantic variability is thought to be dominated by two distinct ocean-atmosphere coupled modes of variability that are characterized by meridional and zonal sea-surface-temperature gradients and are mainly active on decadal and interannual timescales, respectively. Here we report evidence that the intrinsic ocean dynamics of the deep equatorial Atlantic can also affect sea surface temperature, wind and rainfall in the tropical Atlantic region and constitutes a 4.5-yr climate cycle. Specifically, vertically alternating deep zonal jets of short vertical wavelength with a period of about 4.5 yr and amplitudes of more than 10 cm s(-1) are observed, in the deep Atlantic, to propagate their energy upwards, towards the surface. They are linked, at the sea surface, to equatorial zonal current anomalies and eastern Atlantic temperature anomalies that have amplitudes of about 6 cm s(-1) and 0.4 °C, respectively, and are associated with distinct wind and rainfall patterns. Although deep jets are also observed in the Pacific and Indian oceans, only the Atlantic deep jets seem to oscillate on interannual timescales. Our knowledge of the persistence and regularity of these jets is limited by the availability of high-quality data. Despite this caveat, the oscillatory behaviour can still be used to improve predictions of sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic. Deep-jet generation and upward energy transmission through the Equatorial Undercurrent warrant further theoretical study.

ATOMIX benchmark datasets for dissipation rate measurements using shear probes.

Turbulent mixing in the ocean, lakes and reservoirs facilitates the transport of momentum, heat, nutrients, and other passive tracers. Turbulent fluxes are proportional to the rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation per unit mass, ε. A common method for ε measurements is using microstructure profilers with shear probes. Such measurements are now widespread, and a non-expert practitioner will benefit from best practice guidelines and benchmark datasets. As a part of the Scientific Committee on Oceanographic Research (SCOR) working group on "Analysing ocean turbulence observations to quantify mixing" (ATOMIX), we compiled a collection of five benchmark data of ε from measurements of turbulence shear using shear probes. The datasets are processed using the ATOMIX recommendations for best practices documented separately. Here, we describe and validate the datasets. The benchmark collection is from different types of instruments and covers a wide range of environmental conditions. These datasets serve to guide the users to test their ε estimation methods and quality-assurance metrics, and to standardize their data for archiving.

Coastal trapped waves and tidal mixing control primary production in the tropical Angolan upwelling system.

Eastern boundary upwelling systems are hotspots of marine life and primary production. The strength and seasonality of upwelling in these systems are usually related to local wind forcing. However, in some tropical upwelling systems, seasonal maxima of productivity occur when upwelling favorable winds are weak. Here, we show that in the tropical Angolan upwelling system (tAUS), the seasonal productivity maximum is due to the combined effect of coastal trapped waves (CTWs) and elevated tidal mixing on the shelf. During austral winter, the passage of an upwelling CTW displaces the nitracline upward by more than 50 m. Thereby, nitrate-rich waters spread onto the shelf, where elevated vertical mixing causes a nitrate flux into the surface mixed layer. Interannual variability of the productivity maximum is strongly correlated to the amplitude of the upwelling CTW as seen in sea level data. Given that CTWs are connected to equatorial forcing, a predictability of the strength of the productivity maximum is suggested.

Drivers and impact of the 2021 extreme warm event in the tropical Angolan upwelling system.

Benguela Niños are extreme warm events that typically occur during the main downwelling season (austral fall) in the tropical Angolan upwelling system when the biological productivity is low. However, the extreme warm event that occurred between April and August 2021 stands out due to its late timing. It occurred and peaked during the main upwelling season in austral winter with sea surface temperature anomalies exceeding 2 °C in the Angola-Benguela area in June 2021. This led to an unprecedented reduction of the net primary production off southern Angola. Both local atmospheric processes and remote influences (via downwelling coastal trapped wave propagations) have contributed to the onset of the extreme warm event in April and its intensification towards the peak phase in June. Moreover, the poleward advection of warm equatorial waters toward the Angola-Benguela area in May 2021 might have contributed to the warming, since the transport of the Angola Current, as estimated from observations, was notably elevated, amounting to 2.1 Sv.

Organic Matter Supply and Utilization in Oxygen Minimum Zones.

Organic matter (OM) plays a significant role in the formation of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) and associated biogeochemical cycling. OM supply processes to the OMZ include physical transport, particle formation, and sinking as well as active transport by migrating zooplankton and nekton. In addition to the availability of oxygen and other electron acceptors, the remineralization rate of OM is controlled by its biochemical quality. Enhanced microbial respiration of OM can induce anoxic microzones in an otherwise oxygenated water column. Reduced OM degradation under low-oxygen conditions, on the other hand, may increase the CO2 storage time in the ocean. Understanding the interdependencies between OM and oxygen cycling is of high relevance for an ocean facing deoxygenation as a consequence of global warming. In this review, we describe OM fluxes into and cycling within two large OMZs associated with eastern boundary upwelling systems that differ greatly in the extent of oxygen loss: the highly oxygen-depleted OMZ in the tropical South Pacific and the moderately hypoxic OMZ in the tropical North Atlantic. We summarize new findings from a large German collaborative research project, Collaborative Research Center 754 (SFB 754), and identify knowledge gaps and future research priorities.

Surface cooling caused by rare but intense near-inertial wave induced mixing in the tropical Atlantic.

The direct response of the tropical mixed layer to near-inertial waves (NIWs) has only rarely been observed. Here, we present upper-ocean turbulence data that provide evidence for a strongly elevated vertical diffusive heat flux across the base of the mixed layer in the presence of a NIW, thereby cooling the mixed layer at a rate of 244 W m-2 over the 20 h of continuous measurements. We investigate the seasonal cycle of strong NIW events and find that despite their local intermittent nature, they occur preferentially during boreal summer, presumably associated with the passage of atmospheric African Easterly Waves. We illustrate the impact of these rare but intense NIW induced mixing events on the mixed layer heat balance, highlight their contribution to the seasonal evolution of sea surface temperature, and discuss their potential impact on biological productivity in the tropical North Atlantic.

H2S events in the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone facilitate enhanced dissolved Fe concentrations.

Dissolved iron (DFe) concentrations in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems are enhanced as a result of high supply rates from anoxic sediments. However, pronounced variations in DFe concentrations in anoxic coastal waters of the Peruvian OMZ indicate that there are factors in addition to dissolved oxygen concentrations (O2) that control Fe cycling. Our study demonstrates that sediment-derived reduced Fe (Fe(II)) forms the main DFe fraction in the anoxic/euxinic water column off Peru, which is responsible for DFe accumulations of up to 200 nmol L-1. Lowest DFe values were observed in anoxic shelf waters in the presence of nitrate and nitrite. This reflects oxidation of sediment-sourced Fe(II) associated with nitrate/nitrite reduction and subsequent removal as particulate Fe(III) oxyhydroxides. Unexpectedly, the highest DFe levels were observed in waters with elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (up to 4 µmol L-1) and correspondingly depleted nitrate/nitrite concentrations (<0.18 µmol L-1). Under these conditions, Fe removal was reduced through stabilization of Fe(II) as aqueous iron sulfide (FeSaqu) which comprises complexes (e.g., FeSH+) and clusters (e.g., Fe2S2|4H2O). Sulfidic events on the Peruvian shelf consequently enhance Fe availability, and may increase in frequency in future due to projected expansion and intensification of OMZs.

Nitrogen Fuelling of the Pelagic Food Web of the Tropical Atlantic.

We estimated the relative contribution of atmosphere (ic Nitrogen (N) input (wet and dry deposition and N fixation) to the epipelagic food web by measuring N isotopes of different functional groups of epipelagic zooplankton along 23°W (17°N-4°S) and 18°N (20-24°W) in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic. Results were related to water column observations of nutrient distribution and vertical diffusive flux as well as colony abundance of Trichodesmium obtained with an Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP5). The thickness and depth of the nitracline and phosphocline proved to be significant predictors of zooplankton stable N isotope values. Atmospheric N input was highest (61% of total N) in the strongly stratified and oligotrophic region between 3 and 7°N, which featured very high depth-integrated Trichodesmium abundance (up to 9.4×10(4) colonies m(-2)), strong thermohaline stratification and low zooplankton δ15N (~2‰). Relative atmospheric N input was lowest south of the equatorial upwelling between 3 and 5°S (27%). Values in the Guinea Dome region and north of Cape Verde ranged between 45 and 50%, respectively. The microstructure-derived estimate of the vertical diffusive N flux in the equatorial region was about one order of magnitude higher than in any other area (approximately 8 mmol m(-2) d(1)). At the same time, this region received considerable atmospheric N input (35% of total). In general, zooplankton δ15N and Trichodesmium abundance were closely correlated, indicating that N fixation is the major source of atmospheric N input. Although Trichodesmium is not the only N fixing organism, its abundance can be used with high confidence to estimate the relative atmospheric N input in the tropical Atlantic (r2 = 0.95). Estimates of absolute N fixation rates are two- to tenfold higher than incubation-derived rates reported for the same regions. Our approach integrates over large spatial and temporal scales and also quantifies fixed N released as dissolved inorganic and organic N. In a global analysis, it may thus help to close the gap in oceanic N budgets.

Nitrate and Nitrite Variability at the Seafloor of an Oxygen Minimum Zone Revealed by a Novel Microfluidic In-Situ Chemical Sensor.

Microfluidics, or lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a promising technology that allows the development of miniaturized chemical sensors. In contrast to the surging interest in biomedical sciences, the utilization of LOC sensors in aquatic sciences is still in infancy but a wider use of such sensors could mitigate the undersampling problem of ocean biogeochemical processes. Here we describe the first underwater test of a novel LOC sensor to obtain in situ calibrated time-series (up to 40 h) of nitrate+nitrite (ΣNOx) and nitrite on the seafloor of the Mauritanian oxygen minimum zone, offshore Western Africa. Initial tests showed that the sensor successfully reproduced water column (160 m) nutrient profiles. Lander deployments at 50, 100 and 170 m depth indicated that the biogeochemical variability was high over the Mauritanian shelf: The 50 m site had the lowest ΣNOx concentration, with 15.2 to 23.4 µM (median=18.3 µM); while at the 100 site ΣNOx varied between 21.0 and 30.1 µM over 40 hours (median = 25.1 µM). The 170 m site had the highest median ΣNOx level (25.8 µM) with less variability (22.8 to 27.7 µM). At the 50 m site, nitrite concentration decreased fivefold from 1 to 0.2 µM in just 30 hours accompanied by decreasing oxygen and increasing nitrate concentrations. Taken together with the time series of oxygen, temperature, pressure and current velocities, we propose that the episodic intrusion of deeper waters via cross-shelf transport leads to intrusion of nitrate-rich, but oxygen-poor waters to shallower locations, with consequences for benthic nitrogen cycling. This first validation of an LOC sensor at elevated water depths revealed that when deployed for longer periods and as a part of a sensor network, LOC technology has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the benthic biogeochemical dynamics.