Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport
Abstract Oceanic eddy-induced meridional heat transport (EHT) is an important process in the Southern Ocean heat budget, the variability of which significantly modulates global meridional overturning circulation (MOC) and Antarctic sea-ice extent. Although it is recognized that mesoscale eddies with...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8791007cb4bd4c748cddd1ccebe7b4b8 2024-01-28T10:01:33+01:00 Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport Zhiwei Zhang Yuelin Liu Bo Qiu Yiyong Luo Wenju Cai Qingguo Yuan Yinxing Liu Hong Zhang Hailong Liu Mingfang Miao Jinchao Zhang Wei Zhao Jiwei Tian 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 https://doaj.org/article/8791007cb4bd4c748cddd1ccebe7b4b8 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/8791007cb4bd4c748cddd1ccebe7b4b8 Nature Communications, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2023) Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 2023-12-31T01:48:52Z Abstract Oceanic eddy-induced meridional heat transport (EHT) is an important process in the Southern Ocean heat budget, the variability of which significantly modulates global meridional overturning circulation (MOC) and Antarctic sea-ice extent. Although it is recognized that mesoscale eddies with scales of ~40–300 km greatly contribute to the EHT, the role of submesoscale eddies with scales of ~1–40 km remains unclear. Here, using two state-of-the-art high-resolution simulations (resolutions of 1/48° and 1/24°), we find that submesoscale eddies significantly enhance the total poleward EHT in the Southern Ocean with an enhancement percentage reaching 19–48% in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current band. By comparing the eddy energy budgets between the two simulations, we detect that the primary role of submesoscale eddies is to strengthen mesoscale eddies (and thus their heat transport capability) through inverse energy cascade rather than directly through submesoscale heat fluxes. Due to the submesoscale-mediated enhancement of mesoscale eddies in the 1/48° simulation, the clockwise upper cell and anti-clockwise lower cell of the residual-mean MOC in the Southern Ocean are weakened and strengthened, respectively. This finding identifies a potential route to improve the mesoscale parameterization in climate models for more accurate simulations of the MOC and sea ice variability in the Southern Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Nature Communications 14 1 |
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Science Q Zhiwei Zhang Yuelin Liu Bo Qiu Yiyong Luo Wenju Cai Qingguo Yuan Yinxing Liu Hong Zhang Hailong Liu Mingfang Miao Jinchao Zhang Wei Zhao Jiwei Tian Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport |
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Science Q |
description |
Abstract Oceanic eddy-induced meridional heat transport (EHT) is an important process in the Southern Ocean heat budget, the variability of which significantly modulates global meridional overturning circulation (MOC) and Antarctic sea-ice extent. Although it is recognized that mesoscale eddies with scales of ~40–300 km greatly contribute to the EHT, the role of submesoscale eddies with scales of ~1–40 km remains unclear. Here, using two state-of-the-art high-resolution simulations (resolutions of 1/48° and 1/24°), we find that submesoscale eddies significantly enhance the total poleward EHT in the Southern Ocean with an enhancement percentage reaching 19–48% in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current band. By comparing the eddy energy budgets between the two simulations, we detect that the primary role of submesoscale eddies is to strengthen mesoscale eddies (and thus their heat transport capability) through inverse energy cascade rather than directly through submesoscale heat fluxes. Due to the submesoscale-mediated enhancement of mesoscale eddies in the 1/48° simulation, the clockwise upper cell and anti-clockwise lower cell of the residual-mean MOC in the Southern Ocean are weakened and strengthened, respectively. This finding identifies a potential route to improve the mesoscale parameterization in climate models for more accurate simulations of the MOC and sea ice variability in the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zhiwei Zhang Yuelin Liu Bo Qiu Yiyong Luo Wenju Cai Qingguo Yuan Yinxing Liu Hong Zhang Hailong Liu Mingfang Miao Jinchao Zhang Wei Zhao Jiwei Tian |
author_facet |
Zhiwei Zhang Yuelin Liu Bo Qiu Yiyong Luo Wenju Cai Qingguo Yuan Yinxing Liu Hong Zhang Hailong Liu Mingfang Miao Jinchao Zhang Wei Zhao Jiwei Tian |
author_sort |
Zhiwei Zhang |
title |
Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport |
title_short |
Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport |
title_full |
Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport |
title_fullStr |
Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport |
title_full_unstemmed |
Submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances Southern Ocean eddy heat transport |
title_sort |
submesoscale inverse energy cascade enhances southern ocean eddy heat transport |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 https://doaj.org/article/8791007cb4bd4c748cddd1ccebe7b4b8 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Nature Communications, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/8791007cb4bd4c748cddd1ccebe7b4b8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36991-2 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
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14 |
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1 |
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1789326627626287104 |