Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean
Abstract The Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean is the world’s main production site of Antarctic Bottom Water, a water-mass that is ventilated at the ocean surface before sinking and entraining older water-masses—ultimately replenishing the abyssal global ocean. In recent decades, numerous attemp...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:115b07ed5dc64b3aba0b2dbf111a2abf 2023-05-15T13:54:39+02:00 Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean Camille Hayatte Akhoudas Jean-Baptiste Sallée F. Alexander Haumann Michael P. Meredith Alberto Naveira Garabato Gilles Reverdin Loïc Jullion Giovanni Aloisi Marion Benetti Melanie J. Leng Carol Arrowsmith 2021-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 https://doaj.org/article/115b07ed5dc64b3aba0b2dbf111a2abf EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/115b07ed5dc64b3aba0b2dbf111a2abf Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021) Medicine R Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 2022-12-31T07:22:42Z Abstract The Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean is the world’s main production site of Antarctic Bottom Water, a water-mass that is ventilated at the ocean surface before sinking and entraining older water-masses—ultimately replenishing the abyssal global ocean. In recent decades, numerous attempts at estimating the rates of ventilation and overturning of Antarctic Bottom Water in this region have led to a strikingly broad range of results, with water transport-based calculations (8.4–9.7 Sv) yielding larger rates than tracer-based estimates (3.7–4.9 Sv). Here, we reconcile these conflicting views by integrating transport- and tracer-based estimates within a common analytical framework, in which bottom water formation processes are explicitly quantified. We show that the layer of Antarctic Bottom Water denser than 28.36 kg m $$^{-3}$$ - 3 $$\gamma _{n}$$ γ n is exported northward at a rate of 8.4 ± 0.7 Sv, composed of 4.5 ± 0.3 Sv of well-ventilated Dense Shelf Water, and 3.9 ± 0.5 Sv of old Circumpolar Deep Water entrained into cascading plumes. The majority, but not all, of the Dense Shelf Water (3.4 ± 0.6 Sv) is generated on the continental shelves of the Weddell Sea. Only 55% of AABW exported from the region is well ventilated and thus draws down heat and carbon into the deep ocean. Our findings unify traditionally contrasting views of Antarctic Bottom Water production in the Atlantic sector, and define a baseline, process-discerning target for its realistic representation in climate models. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Weddell Scientific Reports 11 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Camille Hayatte Akhoudas Jean-Baptiste Sallée F. Alexander Haumann Michael P. Meredith Alberto Naveira Garabato Gilles Reverdin Loïc Jullion Giovanni Aloisi Marion Benetti Melanie J. Leng Carol Arrowsmith Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract The Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean is the world’s main production site of Antarctic Bottom Water, a water-mass that is ventilated at the ocean surface before sinking and entraining older water-masses—ultimately replenishing the abyssal global ocean. In recent decades, numerous attempts at estimating the rates of ventilation and overturning of Antarctic Bottom Water in this region have led to a strikingly broad range of results, with water transport-based calculations (8.4–9.7 Sv) yielding larger rates than tracer-based estimates (3.7–4.9 Sv). Here, we reconcile these conflicting views by integrating transport- and tracer-based estimates within a common analytical framework, in which bottom water formation processes are explicitly quantified. We show that the layer of Antarctic Bottom Water denser than 28.36 kg m $$^{-3}$$ - 3 $$\gamma _{n}$$ γ n is exported northward at a rate of 8.4 ± 0.7 Sv, composed of 4.5 ± 0.3 Sv of well-ventilated Dense Shelf Water, and 3.9 ± 0.5 Sv of old Circumpolar Deep Water entrained into cascading plumes. The majority, but not all, of the Dense Shelf Water (3.4 ± 0.6 Sv) is generated on the continental shelves of the Weddell Sea. Only 55% of AABW exported from the region is well ventilated and thus draws down heat and carbon into the deep ocean. Our findings unify traditionally contrasting views of Antarctic Bottom Water production in the Atlantic sector, and define a baseline, process-discerning target for its realistic representation in climate models. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Camille Hayatte Akhoudas Jean-Baptiste Sallée F. Alexander Haumann Michael P. Meredith Alberto Naveira Garabato Gilles Reverdin Loïc Jullion Giovanni Aloisi Marion Benetti Melanie J. Leng Carol Arrowsmith |
author_facet |
Camille Hayatte Akhoudas Jean-Baptiste Sallée F. Alexander Haumann Michael P. Meredith Alberto Naveira Garabato Gilles Reverdin Loïc Jullion Giovanni Aloisi Marion Benetti Melanie J. Leng Carol Arrowsmith |
author_sort |
Camille Hayatte Akhoudas |
title |
Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ventilation of the abyss in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
ventilation of the abyss in the atlantic sector of the southern ocean |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 https://doaj.org/article/115b07ed5dc64b3aba0b2dbf111a2abf |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/115b07ed5dc64b3aba0b2dbf111a2abf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86043-2 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766260705251557376 |