This Navy Grant supports research focused on sea surface flow regimes and their analyses. The objective is establishment of an ongoing archive that is gathered from remotely sensed imagery and drifter trajectories, and applied in studies of circulation on the Texas Louisiana Shelf (TLS). The geographic location has been chosen because of the wealth of archival, coincident in situ Eulerian current meter, Lagrangian drifter, and hydrographic observations, as well as visible, infrared, and microwave remote sensing data. All are relevant to the type of problems and investigations presently encountered by the Navy. As well, there are continuing TLS observations of similar diversity and coverage. There are wide ranges of atmospheric, riverine, estuarine and deep water dynamic forcing and associated responses present over a variety of bottom topography and shelf width environments with diverse shoreline configurations. These characteristics provide an abundant arena for research and development of systems pertinent to Navy coastal and nearshore requirements and operations.

This open access book discusses the impact of human-induced global climate change on the regional climate and monsoons of the Indian subcontinent, adjoining Indian Ocean and the Himalayas. It documents the regional climate change projections based on the climate models used in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and climate change modeling studies using the IITM Earth System Model (ESM) and CORDEX South Asia datasets. The IPCC assessment reports, published every 6–7 years, constitute important reference materials for major policy decisions on climate change, adaptation, and mitigation. While the IPCC assessment reports largely provide a global perspective on climate change, the focus on regional climate change aspects is considerably limited. The effects of climate change over the Indian subcontinent involve complex physical processes on different space and time scales, especially given that the mean climate of this region is generally shaped by the Indian monsoon and the unique high-elevation geographical features such as the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Tibetan Plateau and the adjoining Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal. This book also presents policy relevant information based on robust scientific analysis and assessments of the observed and projected future climate change over the Indian region.

The primary purpose of this research was to perform an analysis of the constancy of the sea-surface temperature in candidate locations for OTEC siting. Most in situ data available to determine the constancy of the sea surface temperature were obtained using point sensors that recorded surface temperature at specific points and at specific times or for some specific period. These data, while establishing certain gross or average patterns, are inadequate for describing short-term temperature variations for large areas and are insufficient for assessing the constancy of the temperature patterns relative to selecting potential sites for OTEC. The only data available for analysis of the synoptic ocean surface temperature pattern are those obtained in the last five years by infrared scanning radiometer systems on earth observational satellites. For this study, the satellite infrared (ir) data for the period 1973-1977 were used to identify and locate major thermal fronts at the sea surface. These data were then used to glean certain statistics on these fronts. In situ data were used, when available, to determine temperature difference across specified thermal fronts. This study was performed in three regional locations of interest to OTEC. The specific regions are: Region I, Eastern Gulf of Mexico (bounded by 22 N to 30 N and 91 W to the west coast of Florida including the Straits of Florida); Region II, the east coast of Florida (bounded by 23 N to 32 N and the east coast of Florida to 79 W); and Region III, Puerto Rico and vicinity, (bounded by 17 to 19 N, 64 to 68 W). Results are presented and discussed.

A technique is described for preparing detailed sea surface temperature analyses for large ocean areas. These analyses utilize injection tempera ture observations taken by commercial ships. The inadequacies of analyses based on averaged data and some difficulties inherent in contouring scalar fields are discussed. Sea surface temperatures are interpreted according to some concepts derived from cross-sectional profiles and surface current data. Isotach analyses of mean current drift are considered as flow pat terns to aid temperature analysis in areas where data are sparse. (Author).

In this book the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) patterns of decadal-to-multidecadal variability observed and simulated by 17 general circulation models (GCMs) are analyzed. Furthermore, their impact on precipitation in West Africa and South America and the atmospheric mechanisms involved are assessed. Through this analysis, the effect of external forcings on these impacts and the relative contribution of decadal-to-multidecadal variability patterns of SST to precipitation are presented in depth. Finally, a humid period in the West African region of the Sahel during the 19th century, previously little documented, is analyzed using an atmospheric GCM. The monsoons of West Africa and South America have shown changes in the timescales of a few decades. Previous work suggests a relationship with patterns of decadal-to-multidecadal variability of SST, such as global warming and the Atlantic and Pacific variability. However, the dynamics underlying this relationship and its simulation by current GCMs had not been addressed in a consistent manner. This is the main motivation of this book. The results of this book not only represent a great step forward in our understanding of the changes in the precipitation regimes of the studied regions, but they can also be of great help for the improvement of decadal prediction systems and the associated social consequences.