The Global Conveyor Belt from a Southern Ocean Perspective
59
Citation
72
Reference
10
Related Paper
Citation Trend
Abstract:
Abstract Recent studies have proposed the Southern Ocean as the site of large water-mass transformations; other studies propose that this basin is among the main drivers for North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) circulation. A modeling contribution toward understanding the role of this basin in the global thermohaline circulation can thus be of interest. In particular, key pathways and transformations associated with the thermohaline circulation in the Southern Ocean of an ice–ocean coupled model have been identified here through the extensive use of quantitative Lagrangian diagnostics. The model Southern Ocean is characterized by a shallow overturning circulation transforming 20 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of thermocline waters into mode waters and a deep overturning related to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water. Mode and intermediate waters contribute to 80% of the upper branch of the overturning in the Atlantic Ocean north of 30°S. A net upwelling of 11.5 Sv of Circumpolar Deep Waters is simulated in the Southern Ocean. Antarctic Bottom Water upwells into deep layers in the Pacific basin, forming Circumpolar Deep Water and subsurface thermocline water. The Southern Ocean is a powerful consumer of NADW: about 40% of NADW net export was found to upwell in the Southern Ocean, and 40% is transformed into Antarctic Bottom Water. The upwelling occurs south of the Polar Front and mainly in the Indian and Pacific Ocean sectors. The transformation of NADW to lighter water occurs in two steps: vertical mixing at the base of the mixed layer first decreases the salinity of the deep water upwelling south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, followed by heat input by air–sea and diffusive fluxes to complete the transformation to mode and intermediate waters.Keywords:
Circumpolar deep water
Antarctic Bottom Water
Physical oceanography
Mode water
Deep ocean water
Boundary current
Antarctic Intermediate Water
A conductivity‐temperature‐depth and tracer chemistry section in the southeast South Atlantic in December 1989 and January 1990 presents strong evidence that there is a significant interocean exchange of thermocline and intermediate water between the South Atlantic and Indian oceans. Eastward flowing water at 10°W composed of South Atlantic Central (thermocline) Water is too enriched with chlorofluoromethanes 11 and 12 and oxygen to be the sole source of similar θ‐ S water within the northward flowing Benguela Current. About two thirds of the Benguela Current thermocline transport is drawn from the Indian Ocean; the rest is South Atlantic water that has folded into the Benguela Current in association with the Agulhas eddy‐shedding process. South Atlantic Central water passes in the Indian Ocean by a route to the south of the Agulhas Return Current. The South Atlantic water loops back to the Atlantic within the Indian Ocean, perhaps mostly within the Agulhas recirculation cell of the southwest Indian Ocean. Linkage of Atlantic and Indian Ocean water diminishes with increasing depth; it extends through the lower thermocline into the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) (about 50% is derived from the Indian Ocean) but not into the deep water. While much of the interocean exchange remains on an approximate horizontal “isopycnal” plane, as much as 10 × 10 6 m 3 s −1 of Indian Ocean water within the 25 × 10 6 m 3 s −1 Benguela Current, mostly derived from the lower thermocline and AAIW, may balance deeper Atlantic export of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The addition of salt water from the evaporative Indian Ocean into the South Atlantic Ocean thermocline and AAIW levels may precondition the Atlantic for NADW formation. While AAIW seems to be the chief feed for NADW, the bulk of it enters the subtropical South Atlantic, spiked with Indian Ocean salt, within the Benguela Current rather than along the western boundary of the South Atlantic.
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Gulf Stream
Isopycnal
Circumpolar deep water
Atlantic Equatorial mode
Antarctic Bottom Water
Mode water
Deep ocean water
Physical oceanography
Cite
Citations (378)
A water mass analysis is a tool for interpreting the effect of ocean mixing on the distributions of trace elements and isotopes (TEI's) along an oceanographic transect. The GEOTRACES GP15 transect along 152°W covers a wide range in latitude from Alaska to Tahiti. Our objective is to present the nutrients and hydrography of GP15 and quantify the distributions of water masses to support our understanding of TEI distributions along GP15. We used a modified Optimum Multiparameter (OMP) analysis to determine the distributions of water masses with high importance to nutrient and hydrographic features in the region. In the thermocline, our results indicated the dominance of Pacific Subarctic Upper Water (PSUW) in the subpolar gyre, Eastern North Pacific Central Water (ENPCW) in the northern subpolar gyre, and Equatorial Subsurface Water (ESSW) in the equatorial region. South Pacific Subtropical Water (SPSTW) dominated the top of the thermocline in the southern subtropical gyre, while South Pacific Central Water (SPCW) dominated the lower thermocline. Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), Equatorial Intermediate Water (EqIW), and North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) in the southern hemisphere, equatorial region, and northern hemisphere, respectively, occupied waters just below the thermocline. Dominant water masses in the deep waters of the southern hemisphere include Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) and Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) with minimal contributions from Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Pacific Deep Water (PDW) dominated the deep water in the northern hemisphere. Our results align well with literature descriptions of these water masses and related circulation patterns.
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Circumpolar deep water
Antarctic Bottom Water
Geotraces
Deep ocean water
Subarctic climate
Mode water
Cite
Citations (6)
The circulation of antarctic waters is responsible for massive interoceanic water exchange and for what may be thought of as the ‘airing out’ of abyssal waters by exposing large quantities of these waters to the antarctic atmosphere. Estimates of zonal and meridional volume transports have been made, in addition to further investigations of water mass distribution and alteration of the circumpolar deep water (CDW) to antarctic intermediate water (AAIW) and antarctic bottom water (AABW).
Antarctic Bottom Water
Circumpolar deep water
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Abyssal zone
Deep ocean water
Circumpolar star
Cite
Citations (4)
Abstract. The distribution of the main water masses in the Atlantic Ocean are investigated with the Optimal Multi-Parameter (OMP) method. The properties of the main water masses in the Atlantic Ocean are described in a companion article; here these definitions are used to map out the general distribution of those water masses. Six key properties, including conservative (potential temperature and salinity) and non-conservative (oxygen, silicate, phosphate and nitrate), are incorporated into the OMP analysis to determine the contribution of the water masses in the Atlantic Ocean based on the GLODAP v2 observational data. To facilitate the analysis the Atlantic Ocean is divided into four vertical layers based on potential density. Due to the high seasonal variability in the mixed layer, this layer is excluded from the analysis. Central waters are the main water masses in the upper/central layer, generally featuring high potential temperature and salinity and low nutrient concentrations and are easily distinguished from the intermediate water masses. In the intermediate layer, the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) from the south can be detected to ~30 °N, whereas the Subarctic Intermediate Water (SAIW), having similarly low salinity to the AAIW flows from the north. Mediterranean Overflow Water (MOW) flows from the Strait of Gibraltar as a high salinity water. NADW dominates the deep and overflow layer both in the North and South Atlantic. In the bottom layer, AABW is the only natural water mass with high silicate signature spreading from the Antarctic to the North Atlantic. Due to the change of water mass properties, in this work we renamed to North East Antarctic Bottom Water NEABW north of the equator. Similarly, the distributions of Labrador Sea Water (LSW), Iceland Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW), and Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) forms upper and lower portion of NADW, respectively roughly south of the Grand Banks between ~50 and 66 °N. In the far south the distributions of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) and Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW) are of significance to understand the formation of the AABW.
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Circumpolar deep water
Deep ocean water
Antarctic Bottom Water
Temperature salinity diagrams
Mixed layer
Cite
Citations (6)
Antarctic Bottom Water
Circumpolar deep water
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Deep ocean water
BENGAL
Cite
Citations (41)
Abstract The authors estimate water mass transformation rates resulting from surface buoyancy fluxes and interior diapycnal fluxes in the region south of 30°S in the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) model-based state estimation and three free-running coupled climate models. The meridional transport of deep and intermediate waters across 30°S agrees well between models and observationally based estimates in the Atlantic Ocean but not in the Indian and Pacific, where the model-based estimates are much smaller. Associated with this, in the models about half the southward-flowing deep water is converted into lighter waters and half is converted to denser bottom waters, whereas the observationally based estimates convert most of the inflowing deep water to bottom waters. In the models, both Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) are formed primarily via an interior diapycnal transformation rather than being transformed at the surface via heat or freshwater fluxes. Given the small vertical diffusivity specified in the models in this region, the authors conclude that other processes such as cabbeling and thermobaricity must be playing an important role in water mass transformation. Finally, in the models, the largest contribution of the surface buoyancy fluxes in the Southern Ocean is to convert Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) and AAIW into lighter Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW).
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Circumpolar deep water
Deep ocean water
Antarctic Bottom Water
Mode water
Abyssal zone
Cite
Citations (51)
<p>We examine the representation of Southern Ocean water mass properties, circulation and transformation in an ensemble of CMIP6 models, under historical climate forcing conditions and under a range of future climate scenarios. By using a dynamically defined water mass classification scheme based on physical characteristics (salinity minimum, potential vorticity minimum etc) rather than fixed water mass properties, we are able to compare water masses across a range of models, often with significant water mass property differences, as well as within single models where water mass properties change under climate forcing. We find that under strong climate forcing scenarios (ssp585) the heat content of SubAntarctic Mode Water (SAMW), Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) all increase consistently across models, while Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) does not change significantly. Importantly this change is strongly modulated by using dynamic definitions. Both SAMW and AAIW lighten significantly in density, and using time varying definitions their volumes remain relatively constant, whereas using a time invariant definition both experience extremely significant increases in volume and heat content. We show that dynamically it is the ocean interior, CDW and AAIW, that dominate heat uptake under strong forcing. Similarly, dissolved inorganic carbon uptake occurs predominantly in the CDW. In contrast AABW volumes decrease significantly.</p><p>There is a consistent &#8216;fingerprint&#8217; of temperature change in density space across all models under strong forcing scenarios, with CDW experiencing surface intensified warming as it shoals to the south, and SAMW/AAIW demonstrating cooling and freshening in their subducted layers and a uniform warming in the surface layers. We show that the upper cell of the residual overturning circulation (calculated with the new availability of eddy parametrisation terms in CMIP6) consistently increases across all models evaluated, by 10-50% (up to 10 Sv in some models), while the lower cell is dramatically decreased in strength, declining by up to 70% in some models. We provide evidence that surface warming may be modulated by increased eddy driven upwelling, as well as surface freshening driving the shutdown of AABW formation. Finally we compute a Walin water mass budget, balancing surface forcing, interior storage and meridional export and inferring interior mixing between water masses, and contrast all findings with similar analyses in CMIP5.</p><p>&#160;</p>
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Antarctic Bottom Water
Forcing (mathematics)
Circumpolar deep water
Deep ocean water
Mode water
Cite
Citations (0)
Antarctic Bottom Water
Circumpolar deep water
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Deep ocean water
Lead (geology)
Cite
Citations (87)
The North Sulawesi Seas is the entrance gate of Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) which will be directly affected by the phenomenon occurring in the Pacific Ocean especially a El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This study aims to determine the heat content of the water mass in the North Sulawesi Seas as part of ITF. Main data is a temperature data derived from the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) reanalysis model with a resolution of 1/12°. In the North Sulawesi Seas found five types of a water masses its North Pacific Subtropical Water (NPSW), North Pacific Equatorial Water (NPEW), North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). The water mass heat content is calculated with the two different temperature systems for depth. Magnitudes for each heat content of water types calculated in this study for NPSW, NPEW, NPIW, AAIW, and AABW are in the range of 5,67 × 1013 J/m2 - 1,04 × 1015 J/m2, 22,62 × 1015 J/m2 - 8,26 × 1015 J/m2, 1,08 × 1015 J/m2 - 9,38 × 1015 J/m2, 2,17 × 1016 J/m2 - 3,33 × 1016 J/m2, and 8,11 × 1015 J/m2 - 1,89 × 1016 J/m2, respectively. The water mass heat content in the mixed and deep layer will decrease (increase) when the La-Niña (El-Niño), while in the thermocline layer will decrease (increase) when the El-Niño (La-Niña) phenomenon.
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Throughflow
Antarctic Bottom Water
Circumpolar deep water
Mode water
Deep ocean water
Cite
Citations (0)
Abstract Cabbeling effect on the water mass transformation in the Southern Ocean is investigated with the use of an eddy-resolving Southern Ocean model. A significant amount of water is densified by cabbeling: water mass transformation rates are about 4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) for transformation from surface/thermocline water to Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), about 7 Sv for transformation from SAMW to Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), and about 5 Sv for transformation from AAIW to Upper Circumpolar Deep Water. These diapycnal volume transports occur around the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), where mesoscale eddies are active. The water mass transformation by cabbeling in this study is also characterized by a large amount of densification of Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) into Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) (about 9 Sv). Large diapycnal velocity is found not only along the ACC but also along the coast of Antarctica at the boundary between LCDW and AABW. It is found that about 3 Sv of LCDW is densified into AABW by cabbeling on the continental slopes of Antarctica in this study. This densification is not small compared with observational and numerical estimates on the AABW formation rate, which ranges from 10 to 20 Sv.
Circumpolar deep water
Antarctic Intermediate Water
Antarctic Bottom Water
Mode water
Deep ocean water
Eddy
Boundary current
Cite
Citations (29)