Oxygen variance and meridional oxygen supply in the Tropical North East Atlantic oxygen minimum zone ...

• Published in: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
• Main Authors: Hahn, Johannes, Brandt, Peter, Greatbatch, Richard J, Krahmann, Gerd, Körtzinger, Arne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2015
• Subjects: Climate - Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean SFB754; Gerd; Osborn; Pacific; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.843317; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.843317

The distribution of the mean oceanic oxygen concentration results from a balance between ventilation and consumption. In the eastern tropical Pacific and Atlantic, this balance creates extended oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) at intermediate depth. Here, we analyze hydrographic and velocity data from shipboard and moored observations, which were taken along the 23°W meridian cutting through the Tropical North East Atlantic (TNEA) OMZ, to study the distribution and generation of oxygen variability. By applying the extended Osborn-Cox model, the respective role of mesoscale stirring and diapycnal mixing in producing enhanced oxygen variability, found at the southern and upper boundary of the OMZ, is quantified. From the well-ventilated equatorial region toward the OMZ core a northward eddy-driven oxygen flux is observed whose divergence corresponds to an oxygen supply of about 2.4 µmol kg-1 year-1 at the OMZ core depth. Above the OMZ core, mesoscale eddies act to redistribute low- and high-oxygen waters associated ... : Supplement to: Hahn, Johannes; Brandt, Peter; Greatbatch, Richard J; Krahmann, Gerd; Körtzinger, Arne (2014): Oxygen variance and meridional oxygen supply in the Tropical North East Atlantic oxygen minimum zone. Climate Dynamics, 43(11), 2999-3024 ...