Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations
The South Atlantic Ocean plays an important role in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), connecting it to the Indian and Pacific Oceans as part of the global overturning circulation system. Yet, there are still open questions regarding the relative importance of the warm water ver...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:862326532f074201b37cc3fd554d35d1 2023-05-15T14:03:17+02:00 Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations Xiaobiao Xu Eric P. Chassignet Shenfu Dong Molly O. Baringer 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.811398 https://doaj.org/article/862326532f074201b37cc3fd554d35d1 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.811398/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.811398 https://doaj.org/article/862326532f074201b37cc3fd554d35d1 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 9 (2022) South Atlantic Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) transport structure global ocean circulation model eddy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.811398 2022-12-31T11:28:49Z The South Atlantic Ocean plays an important role in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), connecting it to the Indian and Pacific Oceans as part of the global overturning circulation system. Yet, there are still open questions regarding the relative importance of the warm water versus cold water sources in the upper limb of the AMOC and on the detailed circulation pathways of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the lower limb. These questions are addressed using model outputs from a 60-year, eddying global ocean-sea ice simulation that are validated against observations. We find that the Pacific Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) plays a role in setting the temperature and salinity properties of the water in the subtropical South Atlantic, but that the upper limb of the AMOC originates primarily from the warm Indian water through the Agulhas leakage (9.8 Sv of surface water + 3.5 of AAIW) and that only a relatively small contribution of 1.5 Sv colder, fresher AAIW originates from the Pacific Ocean. In the lower limb, the NADW flows southward as a deep western boundary current all the way to 45°S and then turns eastward to flow across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 42°S before leaving the Atlantic Ocean, although there is clockwise recirculation in the Brazil, Angola, and Cape Basins. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Sea ice South Atlantic Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Pacific Indian Mid-Atlantic Ridge Frontiers in Marine Science 9 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
South Atlantic Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) transport structure global ocean circulation model eddy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
South Atlantic Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) transport structure global ocean circulation model eddy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Xiaobiao Xu Eric P. Chassignet Shenfu Dong Molly O. Baringer Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations |
topic_facet |
South Atlantic Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) transport structure global ocean circulation model eddy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The South Atlantic Ocean plays an important role in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), connecting it to the Indian and Pacific Oceans as part of the global overturning circulation system. Yet, there are still open questions regarding the relative importance of the warm water versus cold water sources in the upper limb of the AMOC and on the detailed circulation pathways of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the lower limb. These questions are addressed using model outputs from a 60-year, eddying global ocean-sea ice simulation that are validated against observations. We find that the Pacific Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) plays a role in setting the temperature and salinity properties of the water in the subtropical South Atlantic, but that the upper limb of the AMOC originates primarily from the warm Indian water through the Agulhas leakage (9.8 Sv of surface water + 3.5 of AAIW) and that only a relatively small contribution of 1.5 Sv colder, fresher AAIW originates from the Pacific Ocean. In the lower limb, the NADW flows southward as a deep western boundary current all the way to 45°S and then turns eastward to flow across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 42°S before leaving the Atlantic Ocean, although there is clockwise recirculation in the Brazil, Angola, and Cape Basins. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xiaobiao Xu Eric P. Chassignet Shenfu Dong Molly O. Baringer |
author_facet |
Xiaobiao Xu Eric P. Chassignet Shenfu Dong Molly O. Baringer |
author_sort |
Xiaobiao Xu |
title |
Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations |
title_short |
Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations |
title_full |
Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations |
title_fullStr |
Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Transport Structure of the South Atlantic Ocean Derived From a High-Resolution Numerical Model and Observations |
title_sort |
transport structure of the south atlantic ocean derived from a high-resolution numerical model and observations |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.811398 https://doaj.org/article/862326532f074201b37cc3fd554d35d1 |
geographic |
Antarctic Pacific Indian Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Pacific Indian Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Sea ice South Atlantic Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Sea ice South Atlantic Ocean |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 9 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.811398/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.811398 https://doaj.org/article/862326532f074201b37cc3fd554d35d1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.811398 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
9 |
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1766273912180572160 |