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  • Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 545 See the link below for public details on this project. From the abstract of the referenced paper: Blood was collected for haematological, red cell enzyme and red cell metabolic intermediate studies from 20 Southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina. Mean haematological values were: haemoglobin (Hb) 22.4 plus or minus 1.4 g/dl, packed cell volume (PCV) 54.2 plus or minus 3.8%, mean cell volume (MCV) 213 plus or minus 5 fl and red cell count (RCC) 2.5 x 10 to power 12 / l. Red cell morphology was unremarkable. Most of the red cell enzymes showed low activity in comparison with human red cells. Haemoglobin electrophoresis showed a typical pinniped pattern, ie two major components. Total leucocyte counts, platelet counts, and coagulation studies were within expected mammalian limits. Eosinophil counts varied from 0.5 x 10 to power 9 / l (5%-49%), and there was a very wide variation in erythrocyte sedimentation rates, from 3 to 60mm/h.

  • During the ADBEX III voyage, many samples were taken of the sea ice and snow. These samples were analysed to determine water density, with the results recorded in a physical note book that is archived at the Australian Antarctic Division. Logbook(s): - Glaciology ADBEX III Water Density Results - Glaciology ADBEX III Oxygen Isotope Sample Record

  • Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 1119 See the link below for public details on this project. A marked bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain supposedly resulted from a recent major reorganization of the plate-mantle system there 50 million years ago. Although alternative mantle-driven and plate-shifting hypotheses have been proposed, no contemporaneous circum-Pacific plate events have been identified. We report reconstructions for Australia and Antarctica that reveal a major plate reorganization between 50 and 53 million years ago. Revised Pacific Ocean sea-floor reconstructions suggest that subduction of the Pacific-Izanagi spreading ridge and subsequent Marianas/Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiation may have been the ultimate causes of these events. Thus, these plate reconstructions solve long-standing continental fit problems and improve constraints on the motion between East and West Antarctica and global plate circuit closure.

  • Locations of sampling sites for ASAC project 40 on voyage 7 of the Aurora Australis in the 2001/2002 season. The dataset also contains information on chlorophyll, carotenoids, coccolithophorids and species identification and counts. The voyage acronym was LOSS. There are 203 observations in the collection. These data are available via the biodiversity database. The taxa represented in this collection are (species names at time of data collection, 2001-2002): Acanthoica quattrospina Calcidiscus leptoporus Coronosphaera mediterranea Emiliania huxleyi Gephyrocapsa oceanica Pentalamina corona Syracosphaera pulchra Tetraparma pelagica Triparma columacea subsp. alata Triparma laevis subsp. ramispina Triparma strigata Umbellosphaera tenuis

  • The dataset contains boundaries of Cape petrel nesting areas at numerous breeding sites on islands off the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Boundaries of nesting sites were obtained from aligning ground observations and photographs from land or the sea-ice adjacent to the breeding sites onto maps of islands in the region. The observations were made and the photographs taken between 18 and 30 November 2017. Marcus Salton and Kim Kliska made the ground observations, took the photographs and delineated the GIS boundaries representing the nesting areas. The data is a polygon shapefile with each polygon designated Type A or Type B. Type A indicates nests present. Type B indicates this area was searched and no nests were present. Also included are three images showing the Type A polygons and the associated nest counts. Please refer to the Seabird Conservation Team Data Sharing Policy for use, acknowledgement and availability of data prior to downloading data.

  • This dataset contains bathymetry (water depth), ship's heading, ship's speed and position data collected during the Nella Dan Voyage 4 1987-88. This was the Nella Dan's final voyage. Some marine science was carried out en route to Macquarie Island from Hobart. Data are available online from the Australian Antarctic Division Data Centre web page (see Related URL below). For further information, see the Marine Science Support Voyage Report at the Related URL below.

  • Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2960 See the link below for public details on this project Public The ocean's thermohaline circulation (THC) plays a fundamental role in global climate, transporting heat poleward and regulating the uptake of anthropogenic CO2. Multiple steady-states in the THC have been identified in the North Atlantic, including an "off" state where no deep water is formed, yet little is known regarding the possibility for multiple equilibria of the Southern Ocean THC. This study aims to (1) examine hysteresis behaviour and possible multiple equilibria of the Southern Ocean THC, and (2) quantify the role of the Southern Ocean THC by examining the difference between "on" and "off" states in various water-masses. Project objectives: The overarching goal of the proposed study is to explore the possibility of multiple steady-states of the Southern Ocean (SO) thermohaline circulation (THC) and to explore their role in the global climate system. Multiple steady-states in the ocean's THC have been identified in the Northern Hemisphere [e.g., Marotzke, 2000; Rahmstorf, 2002]. While substantial climate variability and change can be inferred from palaeoclimate data for the Southern Hemisphere, our understanding of the underlying physics of SO THC variability and the associated climate dynamics remains limited. It is also unclear how the Southern Ocean THC will change in the future. This study aims to: 1. Examine the hysteresis behaviour of the Southern Ocean thermohaline circulation in relation to surface freshwater forcing, both for AABW and AAIW, 2. Explore the possibility for multiple steady-states in the Southern Ocean THC, 3. Estimate how the present-day Southern Ocean THC may be changing in relation to this hysteresis diagram, and how this relates to global climate, and 4. Quantify the role of the present-day Southern Ocean THC by examining the difference between "on" and "off" states. Taken from the 2008-2009 Progress Report: Progress against objectives: Progress on this Antarctic Sciences project during 2008/2009 can be summarised as below. Each of the four main aims have been touched upon during the past 12 months, although the most significant progress has been against items 1, 3, and 4 as listed in Section 1.1 above. The existence of teleconnections of Southern Ocean freshwater anomalies to the North Atlantic THC was investigated, primarily in the context of past climates (Trevena, Sijp and England, 2008a). We found that a Southern Ocean freshwater pulse of comparable magnitude to meltwater pulse 1A, shuts down, instead of strengthens, NADW in a glacial climate simulation. Unlike a modern-day simulation, the glacial experiment is associated with a more fragile North Atlantic thermohaline circulation, whereby freshwater anomalies that propagate into the North Atlantic are able to dominate the bipolar density see-saw. The possibility for large-scale collapse and/or multiple steady-states in the Southern Ocean THC was also investigated using a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity. Also investigated was the impact of a slowdown of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) on regional Southern Hemisphere climate. This involved the gradual addition of meltwater anomalies to strategic locations of the Southern Ocean, then removal of these anomalies to explore whether the regional thermohaline circulation (THC) exhibits saddle-node instabilities (bifurcation points) as have been commonly found for the North Atlantic. We found that no stable AABW "off" state could persist, regardless of the freshwater anomaly imposed. We did, however, identify a significant impact on regional climate during the transient slow down of AABW (Trevena, Sijp and England, 2008b). In particular, during peak FW forcing, Antarctic surface sea and air temperatures decrease by a maximum of 2.5 degs C and 2.2 degs-C respectively. This is of a similar magnitude to the corresponding response in the North Atlantic. Taken from the 2009-2010 Progress Report: Progress against objectives: Progress on this Antarctic Sciences project during 2009/2010 can be summarised as below. Each of the four main aims have been touched upon during the past 12 months, although the most significant progress has been against items 2 and 4 as listed in Section 1.1 above. A large set of experiments were configured and analysed to examine Southern Ocean THC states in the global climate system. Specifically we conducted experiments using the Canadian University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model (the 'UVic' model) wherein the model is perturbed in some way to explore the possibility for multiple steady-states in the Southern Ocean THC. Where multiple steady states were obtained, the difference between "on" and "off" states was examined to quantify the role of the Southern Ocean THC in global climate. Three papers were published in the 2009/2010 period that were produced using support from this Antarctic Research project:- Sijp, W. P., M. H. England, and J.R. Toggweiler, 2009: Effect of ocean gateway changes under greenhouse warmth, J. Climate, 22, 6639-6652. In this study Southern Ocean gateway changes and the THC were examined under a suite of atmospheric CO2 levels, spanning pre-industrial (280 ppm) up to values relevant to the Eocene (1500 ppm). A markedly stronger gateway response is found under elevated CO2 levels, suggesting past work has underestimated the effects of gateway changes at the Oligocene-Eocene boundary. Sen Gupta, A., A. Santoso, A.S. Taschetto, C.C. Ummenhofer, J. Trevena and M.H. England, 2009: Projected changes to the Southern Hemisphere ocean and sea-ice in the IPCC AR4 climate models, J. Climate, 22, 3047-3078. In this study simulations of the Southern Ocean THC, water-masses, and mixed layer depth were examined and compared across a series of IPCC-class global climate models, under both present-day and climate change scenarios. Sijp, W. P. and M. H. England, 2009: The control of polar haloclines by along-isopycnal diffusion in climate models, J. Climate, 22, 486-498. In this study the ocean THC was shown to be sensitive to along-isopycnal diffusion rates in global climate models. This potentially impacts on past studies wherein multiple equilibria were obtained at unrealistic values of this mixing parameter.

  • Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2315 See the link below for public details on this project. ---- Public Summary from Project ---- Project title: EFFECTS OF THE MODULATION OF THE SURFACE SHEAR STRESS BY THE WAVE FIELD IN A MODEL OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN This project will investigate the sensitivity of currents and tracer properties in a non-eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model to a formulation of the surface shear stress which takes account of surface air and water velocities induced by the ocean wave field. These velocities will be computed accurately from archived model wave fields and also parameterised from wind and current velocities. From the abstract of the reference paper: We present a basic analysis of the propagation of deep-water waves on curved trajectories. The key feature is that the amplitude of the wave varies transversely, and may in the generation of a short-crested of high amplitude. The properties of there waves are explored, and it is suggested that they are a model for extreme waves, which may violate the conditions under which the classical distribution of wave heights has been derived. In their full development, they are manifested a generic rouge waves. From the 2002/2003 season: The aim of this project was to investigate mode water formation south of Australia in an ocean general circulation model (OGCM). The grant monies were used to employ a numerical modeller (Dr Harun Rashid) who became familiar with the curvilinear grid version of the modular ocean model No. 1 (MOM1) model developed by Ross Murray, and then applied the model with high resolution (0.6 x 0.4 degree) in the region south-west of Tasmania, where recent observations obtained on Franklin cruise (Fr9801) to the west of the SR3 section, indicated that mode water was being formed. The model was found to be inadequate to the task of simulating the formation region, as also were the OCCAM simulations, which have been downloaded and compared with the MOM1 simulations. The reason for this negative conclusion was sought during the course of the project, and it was determined that in the OGCMs: (a) the westward advection south of Tasmania was too strong, and (b) the coefficients of lateral diffusion at deeper levels in the water column were too large. The cruise data, which were investigated by Paul Barker as part of his Ph.D. thesis, indicated that the region of water mass formation south-west of Tasmania, occurs over the depth range of the mode water and the intermediate water and through to the upper circumpolar deep water (300 - 1500 m). It was deduced that the formation mechanism involves the mixing of two source waters, one from the Tasman Sea, the other from the Southern Ocean, which combine to form Tasmanian Subantarctic Mode Water (TSAMW), Tasmanian Intermediate Water (TIW), and probably Tasmanian Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (TUCDW). The dynamical reason for the location of the water mass formation appears to be the existence of a saddlepoint in the streamflow (at which the mean horizontal velocity is zero) over the depth range (300 - 1500m), due to the gyral circulation of the South Australian Basin to the west and the retroflection of the Tasman Outflow to the east. In order to represent this physics, it is very important to simulate correctly the advection at each level in the water column This is not done by the OGCMs, but in the course of the project, the importance of advection on the position of the saddlepoint was demonstrated in a series of simulations using the transports obtained from a simple Sverdrup transport model. The modelled fields were then used to advect temperature and salinity at each level with lateral diffusion coefficients adjusted for the best match with the observed property fields. These 'best fit' lateral diffusion coefficients in the deeper levels were found to be much smaller than those used in the OGCMs. The mechanism outlined above is distinct from that in earlier work in which mode water formation was interpreted using Ekman rather then gyral dynamics, without attention being given to the deeper levels. A simple balance shows that the gyral current is of similar magnitude to the Ekman current in the surface layer, and below the surface layer the Ekman current is absent. Recently (December 2003) Ross Murray has indicated that the problem addressed in this 2002-2003 grant can be revisited, using a 20 year simulation he is obtaining with TPAC NCEP II forcing on a resolution of 1/8 degree. It is our intention to work with Ross in February 2004 to see if the problems detailed above can be overcome, so that the ocean physics in this important water mass formation region can be simulated.

  • This consolidated dataset consists of Australian Hydrographic Service (AHS) surveys HI621C, 5135 (Terrestrial), HI364, HI514, and HI607 converted to International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2000 (ITRF2000) horizontal datum with Z conversion values for multiple height datums. The data was provided to the AAD by Paul Digney of Jacobs consulting in February 2021. Included survey datasets: • HI621C_MAWSON_merged.shp • HI621C_MAWSON_merged.shp • Terrestrial_Data_5135 • HI364_HSDB_T0001_SD_100035029_op_soundings • QC_HI 514 HDCS_FDD_appraised (Mawson Approches) • HI607.Shp All data are in horizontal datum ITRF2000 and have been combined into a single ESRI geodatabase feature class titled AHS_Surveys_Mawson_ITRF2000. Attribute data shows quality information, conversion factors (shift in metres) for multiple datums and the MSL orthometric height: Column Name, Alias, Meaning Easting, Easting, Easting ITRF2000 Northing, Northing, Northing ITRF2000 CD_To_GRS8, CD_To_GRS80, LAT (Chart Datum) to the Ellipsoid LAT_to_GRS80, LAT_to_GRS80, LAT (Chart Datum) to GSR80 LAT_to_MSL_Mawson, LAT_to_MSL_Mawson, LAT to Mawson MSL Z_To_GRS80, Z_To_GRS80, Height to the Ellipsoid Z_To_MSL_Mawson, Z_To_MSL_Mawson, Local MSL orthometric height Vertical_U, Vertical_Uncertainty, How good is the Vertical Position Horizontal, Horizontal Uncertainty, How good is the Horizontal Position Uncertaint, Uncertainty Comments, Depth_Comm, Depth_Comments, Vertical uncertainty ranges from 0.05 to 0.64 m and horizontal uncertainty ranges from 0.05 to 1.0 m See the attached document ‘Metadata_Record_Mawson Final REV2.xlsx’ for further details.

  • Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2212 See the link below for public details on this project. From the abstracts of two of the references: ---------- Ocean Drilling Program hole 504B revealed an ocean crust hydrothermal sulphur anomaly on the dyke-lava transition, with implications for global sulphur sinks. Here we confirm the presence of the anomaly sporadically along 7.5km of dyke-basalt contact on the Macquarie Ridge at Macquarie Island, a 39-9.7 Ma slow-spreading setting. Background contact-zone pyrite S contents average 1845 ppm across ~50 m. However zones of small-scale brittle faulting that commonly occur on and above the dyke-basalt contact average between 5000 and 11000 ppm S (20-30 m widths). These consist of steep ridge-parallel faults and fault splays on the contact, overlain by up to 50m of linked pyritic fault trellis. The contact zone faults are haloed by disseminated pyrite-chlorite, cross-cut by quartz-chlorite-sphalerite and epidote-cemented breccias, containing evidence of turbulent flow. The structural control on sulphur deposition is attributed to the active extensional slow spreading setting. With increasing extension, diffuse mixing across the contact was replaced by channelised flow and dynamic mixing in fault arrays. The magnitude of the dyke-lava transition sulphur sink must be reassessed to take account of this heterogeneity. ---------- There are only a handful of known hydrothermal sulfate occurrences from the mid-ocean ridge crust sub-surface, despite predictions that they should be common because of the imbalance between sulfur concentrations in venting MOR hotsprings, and that of recharging seawater. This deficit indicates that sub-surface sulfate deposition could be a globally important sulfur cycle sink. Therefore any new occurrences add considerably to the information base on sulfate in this environment. An important hydrothermal sulfate occurrence is preserved in ~10 Ma MOR crust on the east coast of Macquarie Island, formed during very slow oblique spreading prior to transition to a magmatic strike-slip plate boundary. The sulfate occurs mainly as white gypsum veins and breccia cement associated with a major fault zone 400m south of Nuggets Point. The site is in the amphibolite facies sheeted dyke and gabbro screen hanging wall of a major northwest-trending graben, itself filled with sub-ziolite facies basaltic breccias and lava flows. The sulfate veins occur as several 2-5m wide vein complexes, with surrounding vein networks over several hundred metres. Veins are strongly associated with oblique-sinistral jogs on a N to NNE-trending fault zone, here termed the Nuggets fault. This fault is intruded by thin, weakly metamorphosed, vesicular sheeted dykes (forming a greater than 30m wide zone) interpreted to have developed contemporaneously with the nearby graben, Gypsum is mainly in the amphibolite facies rocks and the younger dykes, but also occurs as thin gape-fill in dykes of the younger volcanic graben. These field relations indicte that the sulfate veins were emplaced contemporaneously with graben formation and infill, approximately 200m below the sea floor. The host fault zone is contiguous with mapped graben offsets, and is interpreted as an oblique transfer fault. Secondary epidote and quartz-chalcopyrite veining, together with subsequent chlorite-pyrite alteration, predate sulfate, and suggest early hydrothermal upflow conditions. These are cut by vein complexes which display anhydrite relics within foliated gypsum plus or minus pyrite veins surrounded by marginal vein networks of zeolite-gypsum-calcite. These assemblages require central temperatures of greater than 150 degrees C, with a rapid gradation in outer veins to cooler conditions, perhaps less than 100 degrees C. These features imply general cooler recharge conditions; our previous work has shown that this involved a complex history of sub-surface microbial interaction. These field and mineralogical relations provide one predictive tectonic context for the deposition and style of hydrothermal sulfate in extending MOR crust. Sulfate fluid is strongly fault channeled, and rather than occurring in graben boundary faults, deposits precipitates preferentially in transfer faults under-going limited magmatic activity on the graben edge. A description of the fields in this dataset: m from start: metres measured over the ground between sample points. Easting mE, and Northing mE: estimated position relative to the AMG grid used in the 1;10000 mapping series, Mineral Resources Tasmania, using a horizontal datum of WGS 1984. Map date of production, August 1997.