Understanding Oceanography: Insights Into Future Climate and Economic Relevance

1. EAS 4300: Introduction to Oceanography, FALL 2009

2. Questions for you Why do we care about Oceanography? How is oceanography important in understanding future climate? What aspects of ocean sciences are relevant to the economy? How can humans impact the ocean and climate?

3. Oceanography and Climate How is oceanography important in understanding future climate? Climate changes occur on different space and time scales. SPACE Regional  Basin Wide  Global Seasonal  Interannual  Decadal  Millennial TIME

4. Oceanography and Climate - seasonal timescales Thermoregulating effects (e.g. moist air of the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Extensions)

5. Oceanography and Climate - seasonal timescales Sea surface temperature in the tropical oceans fuel hurricanes Hurricanes becoming more intense as ocean warms?

6. Oceanography and Climate - interannual timescales El Niño is the strongest signal of climate variability on interannual timescales. It is a coupled mechanism between the tropical ocean and atmosphere.

7. Thomson, R. E., and J. F. R. Gower, 1998: A basin-scale oceanic instability event in the Gulf of Alaska. J Geophys Res-Oceans, 103, 3033-3040. Oceanography and Climate - interannual timescales Ocean Vortices are one of the strongest mixing agent in the ocean, they are important for ocean circulation and biology. Their role in climate is still unknown! NORTH AMERICA Gulf of Alaska

8. synchronized alternations between sardines/anchovies over the entire Pacific Ocean? Oceanography and Climate - decadal timescales Changes of ocean circulation affects fish distributions and abundance. Sardines/Anchovies

9. Oceanography and Climate - longer timescales Changes in the ocean/atmosphere affect the ice caps, and therefore Sea Level. Sea level will rise 7 to 22” in the next century, if melting does not accelerate --IPCC AR4, 2007

10. Oceanography and Climate - longer timescales Marine Ecosystem regulate the cycling of chemical species relevant to climate (e.g. Carbon, DMS) Chlorophyll Spring 2005 (MODIS Satellite)

11. Oceanography and Climate - millenial timescales Vertical circulation of the ocean MOVIE: The Day After Tomorrow

12. Oceanography and Climate Climate changes occur on different space and time scales. What makes it interesting is that processes happening on different temporal and spatial scales are not separable and interact with each other  A NONLINEAR SYSTEM  COMPLEXITY WHY? e.g. The ocean has a very long memory. We will learn about this, and about the mechanisms of interaction between ocean-atmosphere-land-ecosystems.

13. Resources in the Ocean and Economy What aspects of ocean sciences are relevant to the economy? Geological Resources extraction of petroleum, gas, metals, carbon sequestration?, etc. Ecological Resources mainly food from fisheries and maricultures Energy Resources extraction of power from waves, tides, currents and heat content Chemical Resources e.g. development of new drugs, salts, etc. Recreational Resources of coastal areas, e.g. beaches and more Oceanographic studies helped discover these resources and help to manage them (e.g. coastal processes and beaches, and many more…)

14. Ocean Resources, Economy and Oceanography An example: The City of Venice, ITALY 1. Dump: rain and tides distribute it in the lagoon) 2. Factory: factories drained their liquid waste partly into the lagoon and partly into dumps. Currents and erosion continue to disperse pollutants. 3. Sea: Meteorological conditions can accentuate high tides. Bora, a cold northerly in the Adriatic Sea, and Sirocco, a hot, dust-laden wind from the Libyan desert, can trigger dangerously high tides. 4. River: the Republic of Venice diverted four rivers that originally flowed into the lagoon. The loss of the silt and sediment is transforming the delta environment into a marine one. 5. Farm: 53 percent of the phosphates and other pollutants that enter the lagoon come from these sources. 6. Town: About 1,400,000 people live in the basin, but when one considers the quantity of nutrients and organic matter generated, environmentalists say, it is as if 4,000,000 people lived there. Offshore GAS extraction platforms opening to sea Adriatic Sea

15. Ocean Resources, Economy and Oceanography An example: The City of Venice, ITALY using oceanography and ocean engeneering Install Gates to control the tide opening to sea Adriatic Sea More at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venice/

16. Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate How can humans impact the ocean and climate? Alterations: chemical (e.g. mercury, aerosols, green house gases, oil) biological (e.g. introducing new faunas, phosphate from changes in land use, overfishing …) physical/geological (e.g. shoreline interventions …) dying corals, poison fish, global warming cholera in India, changes in Mediterranean species city of venice was an example

17. Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate CNN: Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat August 12, 2002 Posted: 10:43 PM EDT (0243 GMT) Satellite view Aerosols change: radiation budget clouds concentration amount of rain in clouds

18. Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate CNN: Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat August 12, 2002 Posted: 10:43 PM EDT (0243 GMT) Where does it come from? The sources are changing fast

19. Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate Oceanography in the Indian Ocean plays a crucial role in isolating and understanding the impacts of Asian aerosols.

20. … aerosol pollution is only one piece of a more complex puzzle The Global Warming Issue from thermometers from paleo records What will happen in the (near) future? An important question discussed by scientists (IPCC) 0.8 C

21. How do we define the science of Oceanography? My personal interest

22. We studied oceanography in San Diego at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Manu Ocean and climate dynamics Physical-biological interactions in the ocean Ocean Forecasting

23. The Scientific Method