The characterization of global marine microbial taxonomic and functional diversity is a primary goal of the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition. As part of this study, 19 water samples were collected aboard the Sorcerer II sailing vessel from the southern Indian Ocean in an effort to more thoroughly understand the lifestyle strategies of the microbial inhabitants of this ultra-oligotrophic region....

The hydroclimatic association between the monthly Indian summer monsoon rainfall and a proposed monthly composite index (MCI) of large-scale atmospheric circulations from the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean regions is established. The spatial variability of this association is also checked. The predictability of the monthly Indian summer monsoon rainfall using the MCI is also investigated and is...

Observational data from the Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Program were used to calculate the upper ocean heat content (OHC) anomaly. The thickness of the upper layer is taken as 300 m for the Pacific/Atlantic Ocean and 150 m for the Indian Ocean since the Indian Ocean has shallower thermoclines. First, the optimal spectral decomposition scheme was used to build up monthly synoptic tem...

Total dissolved Zn and Zn speciation were investigated by cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) in the northeastern Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea. Vertical distributions of total dissolved Zn concentration (CZn) in the northeastern Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea reflect that the deep water from the Andaman Sea was rapidly replaced by incoming waters from the northeastern Indian Ocean across...

We investigate the role of the ocean feedback on the climate in response to insolation forcing during the mid-Holocene (6,000 year BP) using results from seven coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation models. We examine how the dipole in late summer seasurface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Atlantic increases the length of the African monsoon, how this dipole structure is creat...

We present a set of Porites coral oxygen isotope records from the tropical and subtropical Western Indian Ocean covering the past 120-336 years. All records were thoroughly validated for proxy response to regional climate factors and their relation to large-scale climate modes. The records show markedly different imprints of regional climate factors. At the same time, all coral records show cle...

The response of the equatorial Indian Ocean climate to global warming is investigated using model outputs submitted to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. In all of the analyzed climate models, the SSTs in the western equatorial Indian Ocean warm more than the SSTs in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean under global warming; the mean SST gradient acros...

The impact of Indo-Pacific climate feedback on the dynamics of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is investigated using an ensemble set of Indian Ocean decoupling experiments (DCPL), utilizing a millennial integration of a coupled climatemodel. It is found that eliminating air–sea interactions over the IndianOcean results in various degrees of ENSO amplification across DCPL simulations, with a...

Results are first presented from an analysis of a global coupled climate model regarding changes in future mean and variability of south Asian monsoon precipitation due to increased atmospheric CO2 for doubled (2 · CO2) and quadrupled (4 · CO2) presentday amounts. Results from the coupled model show that, in agreement with previous studies, mean areaaveraged south Asian monsoon precipitation in...

We document the discovery of a unique flightless marine midge Pontomyia (Chironomidae) in the Indian Ocean, presenting descriptions and photographs of the insect and its environment at Christmas Island, Australia. The insect is identified as P. natans, with distinctive male genitalia and rudimentary claws on the hind legs. This species is widely distributed in the Pacific Ocean but the only pre...