The three-dimensional structure of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the deep Indian Ocean is investigated with an eddy-permitting ocean model. The amplitude of the modeled deep Indian Ocean MOC is 5.6 Sv (1 Sv 10 m s ), a broadly realistic but somewhat weak overturning. Although the model parameterization of diapycnal mixing is inaccurate, the model’s short spinup allows the effe...

[1] The anomalous, low-level anticyclone near the Philippines and suppressed convection over the western Pacific associated with the mature warm phase of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have been suggested as important elements in the interaction between ENSO and the East Asian monsoon. We examined the causes of these anomalies in the circulation and convection using a newly developed, line...

[1] This study uses nearly 25,000 carbon measurements from the WOCE/JGOFS global CO2 survey to examine the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the Indian Ocean. Shallow and intermediate distributions of inorganic carbon do not strictly follow temperature and salinity because of differing surface gradients and vertical biological processes that work to m...

Pygmy angelfishes (genus Centropyge) are widespread and species-rich in the Indo-Pacific, but only three species are recognized in the Atlantic: Centropyge resplendens on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Centropyge argi in the Caribbean, and Centropyge aurantonotus in Brazil and the southern Caribbean. Atlantic species are distinguished only by color patterns and are very similar to Centropyge acanthops...

Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the most destructive tsunami in recorded history, worldwide awareness of tsunami hazard has peaked and global expansion of tsunami forecasting tools has made dramatic progress in both instruments and technology. Two of the most seminal advances in tsunami forecast since the Indian Ocean tsunami are: 1) the deployment of an extensive network of sensors to acq...

Indian Ocean hydrothermal vents are believed to represent a novel biogeographic province, and are host to many novel genera and families of animals, potentially indigenous to Indian Ocean hydrothermal systems. In particular, since its discovery in 2001, much attention has been paid to a so-called 'scaly-foot' gastropod because of its unique iron-sulfide-coated dermal sclerites and the chemosynt...

Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial Indian Ocean have warmed by about 0.6–0.8 K since the 1950s, accompanied by very little warming or even a slight cooling trend over the northern Indian Ocean (NIO). It is reported that this differential trend has resulted in a substantial weakening of the meridional SST gradient from the equatorial region to the South Asian coast during summer, ...

Atmospheric circulation anomalies, related to snowfall events on the Tanzanian volcano Kilimanjaro, were analyzed based on hourly snowfall data from an automated weather station (AWS), global precipitation and reanalysis products. Analysis of 5 years of data (2000–2005) shows that snowfall on Kilimanjaro is linked to large-scale circulation anomalies, which can be identified in global reanalysi...

A conceptual model is constructed based upon the Bjerknes hypothesis of tropical atmosphere–ocean interaction. It is shown that strong feedbacks among the trade winds, equatorial zonal sea surface temperature contrast, and upper-ocean heat content occur in the tropical Pacific basin. Coupled atmosphere–ocean dynamics produce both the strong Pacific cold-tongue climate state and the El Niño–Sout...

Observations and simulations link anthropogenic greenhouse and aerosol emissions with rapidly increasing Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Over the past 60 years, the Indian Ocean warmed two to three times faster than the central tropical Pacific, extending the tropical warm pool to the west by *40 longitude ([4,000 km). This propensity toward rapid warming in the Indian Ocean has b...