Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean (SO) transports heat towards Antarctica and plays an important role in determining the heat budget of the Antarctic climate system. A global ocean data synthesis product at eddy-permitting resolution from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2) pr...
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ftcdlib:qt7kz573t2 2023-05-15T13:52:22+02:00 Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean Volkov, Denis L. Fu, Lee-Lueng Lee, Tong pp 791-801 2010-08-01 application/pdf http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7kz573t2 english eng eScholarship, University of California http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7kz573t2 qt7kz573t2 public Volkov, Denis L.; Fu, Lee-Lueng; & Lee, Tong. (2010). Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean. Ocean Dynamics: Theoretical, Computational and Observational Oceanography, 60(4), pp 791-801. doi:10.1007/s10236-010-0288-0. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7kz573t2 Earth Sciences Environmental Monitoring/Analysis Fluid- and Aerodynamics Geophysics/Geodesy Meteorology/Climatology Oceanography Southern Ocean Meridional heat transport Antarctic circumpolar current Eddy-induced heat transport Meridional overturning circulation Horizontal gyre transport article 2010 ftcdlib https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-010-0288-0 2016-04-02T18:50:42Z The Southern Ocean (SO) transports heat towards Antarctica and plays an important role in determining the heat budget of the Antarctic climate system. A global ocean data synthesis product at eddy-permitting resolution from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2) project is used to estimate the meridional heat transport (MHT) in the SO and to analyze its mechanisms. Despite the intense eddy activity, we demonstrate that most of the poleward MHT in the SO is due to the time-mean fields of the meridional velocity, V, and potential temperature, θ. This is because the mean circulation in the SO is not strictly zonal. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current carries warm waters from the region south of the Agulhas Retroflection to the lower latitudes of the Drake Passage and the Malvinas Current carries cold waters northward along the Argentinian shelf. Correlations between the time-varying fields of V and θ (defined as transient processes) significantly contribute to the horizontal-gyre heat transport, but not the overturning heat transport. In the highly energetic regions of the Agulhas Retroflection and the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence the contribution of the horizontal transient processes to the total MHT exceeds the contribution of the mean horizontal flow. We show that the southward total MHT is mainly maintained by the meridional excursion of the mean geostrophic horizontal shear flow (i.e., deviation from the zonal average) associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that balances the equatorward MHT due to the Ekman transport and provides a net poleward MHT in the SO. The Indian sector of the SO serves as the main pathway for the poleward MHT. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Drake Passage Southern Ocean University of California: eScholarship Antarctic Drake Passage Indian Southern Ocean The Antarctic Ocean Dynamics 60 4 791 801 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Environmental Monitoring/Analysis Fluid- and Aerodynamics Geophysics/Geodesy Meteorology/Climatology Oceanography Southern Ocean Meridional heat transport Antarctic circumpolar current Eddy-induced heat transport Meridional overturning circulation Horizontal gyre transport |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Environmental Monitoring/Analysis Fluid- and Aerodynamics Geophysics/Geodesy Meteorology/Climatology Oceanography Southern Ocean Meridional heat transport Antarctic circumpolar current Eddy-induced heat transport Meridional overturning circulation Horizontal gyre transport Volkov, Denis L. Fu, Lee-Lueng Lee, Tong Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Environmental Monitoring/Analysis Fluid- and Aerodynamics Geophysics/Geodesy Meteorology/Climatology Oceanography Southern Ocean Meridional heat transport Antarctic circumpolar current Eddy-induced heat transport Meridional overturning circulation Horizontal gyre transport |
description |
The Southern Ocean (SO) transports heat towards Antarctica and plays an important role in determining the heat budget of the Antarctic climate system. A global ocean data synthesis product at eddy-permitting resolution from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2) project is used to estimate the meridional heat transport (MHT) in the SO and to analyze its mechanisms. Despite the intense eddy activity, we demonstrate that most of the poleward MHT in the SO is due to the time-mean fields of the meridional velocity, V, and potential temperature, θ. This is because the mean circulation in the SO is not strictly zonal. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current carries warm waters from the region south of the Agulhas Retroflection to the lower latitudes of the Drake Passage and the Malvinas Current carries cold waters northward along the Argentinian shelf. Correlations between the time-varying fields of V and θ (defined as transient processes) significantly contribute to the horizontal-gyre heat transport, but not the overturning heat transport. In the highly energetic regions of the Agulhas Retroflection and the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence the contribution of the horizontal transient processes to the total MHT exceeds the contribution of the mean horizontal flow. We show that the southward total MHT is mainly maintained by the meridional excursion of the mean geostrophic horizontal shear flow (i.e., deviation from the zonal average) associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that balances the equatorward MHT due to the Ekman transport and provides a net poleward MHT in the SO. The Indian sector of the SO serves as the main pathway for the poleward MHT. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Volkov, Denis L. Fu, Lee-Lueng Lee, Tong |
author_facet |
Volkov, Denis L. Fu, Lee-Lueng Lee, Tong |
author_sort |
Volkov, Denis L. |
title |
Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the southern ocean |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7kz573t2 |
op_coverage |
pp 791-801 |
geographic |
Antarctic Drake Passage Indian Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Drake Passage Indian Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Drake Passage Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Drake Passage Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Volkov, Denis L.; Fu, Lee-Lueng; & Lee, Tong. (2010). Mechanisms of the meridional heat transport in the Southern Ocean. Ocean Dynamics: Theoretical, Computational and Observational Oceanography, 60(4), pp 791-801. doi:10.1007/s10236-010-0288-0. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7kz573t2 |
op_relation |
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7kz573t2 qt7kz573t2 |
op_rights |
public |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-010-0288-0 |
container_title |
Ocean Dynamics |
container_volume |
60 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
791 |
op_container_end_page |
801 |
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1766256648702132224 |