Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) entails vigorous thermohaline transformations in the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA). There, warm and saline waters originating in the subtropics are converted into cooler and fresher waters by a combination of surface fluxes and sub-surface ther...
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2023
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ftarchimer:oai:archimer.ifremer.fr:97913 2024-01-14T10:08:54+01:00 Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic Castro, Bieito Fernández Roman, Daniel Fernandez Ferron, Bruno Fontela, Marcos Lherminier, Pascale Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Pérez, Fiz Pranas Spingys, Carl Polzin, Kurt Velo, Anton 2023-12-07 application/pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/107011.pdf https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170196957.75231388/v1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/ eng eng Authorea, Inc. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/101094690/EU//Euro GO-SHIP https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/107011.pdf doi:10.22541/essoar.170196957.75231388/v1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use ESS Open Archive (Authorea, Inc.) In Press text Article info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2023 ftarchimer https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170196957.75231388/v1 2023-12-19T23:51:09Z The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) entails vigorous thermohaline transformations in the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA). There, warm and saline waters originating in the subtropics are converted into cooler and fresher waters by a combination of surface fluxes and sub-surface thermohaline mixing. Using microstructure measurements and a small-scale variance conservation framework, we quantify the diapycnal and isopycnal contributions to thermohaline mixing within the eastern SPNA. Isopycnal stirring is found to account for 65% of thermal and 84% of haline variance dissipation in the upper 400 m of the eastern SPNA, suggesting an important role of isopycnal stirring in regional water-mass transformations. By applying the tracer variance method to two tracers, we underscore the special significance of isopycnal stirring for tracers weakly coupled to density, such as biologically-active tracers. Our findings thus highlight the central role of isopycnal stirring in both the AMOC and biogeochemical dynamics within the SPNA. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
op_collection_id |
ftarchimer |
language |
English |
description |
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) entails vigorous thermohaline transformations in the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA). There, warm and saline waters originating in the subtropics are converted into cooler and fresher waters by a combination of surface fluxes and sub-surface thermohaline mixing. Using microstructure measurements and a small-scale variance conservation framework, we quantify the diapycnal and isopycnal contributions to thermohaline mixing within the eastern SPNA. Isopycnal stirring is found to account for 65% of thermal and 84% of haline variance dissipation in the upper 400 m of the eastern SPNA, suggesting an important role of isopycnal stirring in regional water-mass transformations. By applying the tracer variance method to two tracers, we underscore the special significance of isopycnal stirring for tracers weakly coupled to density, such as biologically-active tracers. Our findings thus highlight the central role of isopycnal stirring in both the AMOC and biogeochemical dynamics within the SPNA. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Castro, Bieito Fernández Roman, Daniel Fernandez Ferron, Bruno Fontela, Marcos Lherminier, Pascale Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Pérez, Fiz Pranas Spingys, Carl Polzin, Kurt Velo, Anton |
spellingShingle |
Castro, Bieito Fernández Roman, Daniel Fernandez Ferron, Bruno Fontela, Marcos Lherminier, Pascale Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Pérez, Fiz Pranas Spingys, Carl Polzin, Kurt Velo, Anton Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic |
author_facet |
Castro, Bieito Fernández Roman, Daniel Fernandez Ferron, Bruno Fontela, Marcos Lherminier, Pascale Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. Pérez, Fiz Pranas Spingys, Carl Polzin, Kurt Velo, Anton |
author_sort |
Castro, Bieito Fernández |
title |
Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic |
title_short |
Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic |
title_full |
Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar North Atlantic |
title_sort |
isopycnal eddy stirring dominates thermohaline mixing in the upper subpolar north atlantic |
publisher |
Authorea, Inc. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/107011.pdf https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170196957.75231388/v1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/ |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
ESS Open Archive (Authorea, Inc.) In Press |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/101094690/EU//Euro GO-SHIP https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/107011.pdf doi:10.22541/essoar.170196957.75231388/v1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00867/97913/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170196957.75231388/v1 |
_version_ |
1788063320534679552 |