The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view
Abstract Pronounced global cooling around the Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) was a pivotal event in Earth’s climate history, controversially associated with the opening of the Drake Passage. Using a physical laboratory model we revisit the fluid dynamics of this marked reorganization of ocean cir...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d9dac58e531c45aa98610cc6c8b262e4 2023-05-15T13:48:38+02:00 The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view Miklós Vincze Tamás Bozóki Mátyás Herein Ion Dan Borcia Uwe Harlander Attila Horicsányi Anita Nyerges Costanza Rodda András Pál József Pálfy 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 https://doaj.org/article/d9dac58e531c45aa98610cc6c8b262e4 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/d9dac58e531c45aa98610cc6c8b262e4 Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021) Medicine R Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 2022-12-31T05:02:21Z Abstract Pronounced global cooling around the Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) was a pivotal event in Earth’s climate history, controversially associated with the opening of the Drake Passage. Using a physical laboratory model we revisit the fluid dynamics of this marked reorganization of ocean circulation. Here we show, seemingly contradicting paleoclimate records, that in our experiments opening the pathway yields higher values of mean water surface temperature than the “closed” configuration. This mismatch points to the importance of the role ice albedo feedback plays in the investigated EOT-like transition, a component that is not captured in the laboratory model. Our conclusion is supported by numerical simulations performed in a global climate model (GCM) of intermediate complexity, where both “closed” and “open” configurations were explored, with and without active sea ice dynamics. The GCM results indicate that sea surface temperatures would change in the opposite direction following an opening event in the two sea ice dynamics settings, and the results are therefore consistent both with the laboratory experiment (slight warming after opening) and the paleoclimatic data (pronounced cooling after opening). It follows that in the hypothetical case of an initially ice-free Antarctica the continent could have become even warmer after the opening, a scenario not indicated by paleotemperature reconstructions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Drake Passage Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Drake Passage Scientific Reports 11 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Miklós Vincze Tamás Bozóki Mátyás Herein Ion Dan Borcia Uwe Harlander Attila Horicsányi Anita Nyerges Costanza Rodda András Pál József Pálfy The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
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Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract Pronounced global cooling around the Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) was a pivotal event in Earth’s climate history, controversially associated with the opening of the Drake Passage. Using a physical laboratory model we revisit the fluid dynamics of this marked reorganization of ocean circulation. Here we show, seemingly contradicting paleoclimate records, that in our experiments opening the pathway yields higher values of mean water surface temperature than the “closed” configuration. This mismatch points to the importance of the role ice albedo feedback plays in the investigated EOT-like transition, a component that is not captured in the laboratory model. Our conclusion is supported by numerical simulations performed in a global climate model (GCM) of intermediate complexity, where both “closed” and “open” configurations were explored, with and without active sea ice dynamics. The GCM results indicate that sea surface temperatures would change in the opposite direction following an opening event in the two sea ice dynamics settings, and the results are therefore consistent both with the laboratory experiment (slight warming after opening) and the paleoclimatic data (pronounced cooling after opening). It follows that in the hypothetical case of an initially ice-free Antarctica the continent could have become even warmer after the opening, a scenario not indicated by paleotemperature reconstructions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miklós Vincze Tamás Bozóki Mátyás Herein Ion Dan Borcia Uwe Harlander Attila Horicsányi Anita Nyerges Costanza Rodda András Pál József Pálfy |
author_facet |
Miklós Vincze Tamás Bozóki Mátyás Herein Ion Dan Borcia Uwe Harlander Attila Horicsányi Anita Nyerges Costanza Rodda András Pál József Pálfy |
author_sort |
Miklós Vincze |
title |
The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
title_short |
The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
title_full |
The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
title_fullStr |
The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Drake Passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
title_sort |
drake passage opening from an experimental fluid dynamics point of view |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 https://doaj.org/article/d9dac58e531c45aa98610cc6c8b262e4 |
geographic |
Drake Passage |
geographic_facet |
Drake Passage |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Drake Passage Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Drake Passage Sea ice |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/d9dac58e531c45aa98610cc6c8b262e4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99123-0 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766249529260113920 |