Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress.
The Southern Ocean features regionally‐varying ventilation pathways that transport heat and carbon from the surface ocean to the interior thermocline on timescales of decades to centuries, but the factors that control the distribution of heat along these pathways are not well understood. In this stu...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union
2019
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/1/Jones_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019JC015460 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:524274 2023-05-15T13:41:43+02:00 Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. Jones, Daniel C. Boland, Emma Meijers, Andrew J.S. Forget, Gael Josey, Simon A. Sallee, Jean-Baptiste Shuckburgh, Emily 2019-12 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/1/Jones_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019JC015460 en eng American Geophysical Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/1/Jones_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf Jones, Daniel C. orcid:0000-0002-8701-4506 Boland, Emma orcid:0000-0003-2430-7763 Meijers, Andrew J.S. orcid:0000-0003-3876-7736 Forget, Gael; Josey, Simon A. orcid:0000-0002-1683-8831 Sallee, Jean-Baptiste; Shuckburgh, Emily orcid:0000-0001-9206-3444 . 2019 Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124 (12). 8647-8666. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2019 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460 2023-02-04T19:48:46Z The Southern Ocean features regionally‐varying ventilation pathways that transport heat and carbon from the surface ocean to the interior thermocline on timescales of decades to centuries, but the factors that control the distribution of heat along these pathways are not well understood. In this study, we use a global ocean state estimate (ECCOv4) to (1) define the recently ventilated interior Pacific (RVP) using numerical passive tracer experiments over a 10‐year period and (2) use an adjoint approach to calculate the sensitivities of the RVP heat content (RVPh) to changes in net heat flux and wind stress. We find that RVPh is most sensitive to local heat flux and wind stress anomalies north of the sea surface height contours that delineate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, with especially high sensitivities over the South Pacific Gyre. Surprisingly, RVPh is not especially sensitive to changes at higher latitudes. We perform a set of step response experiments over the South Pacific Gyre, the subduction region, and the high‐latitude SO. In consistency with the adjoint sensitivity fields, RVPh is most sensitive to wind stress curl over the subtropical gyre, which alter isopycnal heave, and it is only weakly sensitive to changes at higher latitudes. Our results suggest that despite the localized nature of mode water subduction hotspots, changes in basin‐scale pressure gradients are an important controlling factor on RVPh. Because basin‐scale wind stress is expected to change in the coming decades to centuries, our results may have implications for climate, via the atmosphere/ocean partitioning of heat. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Pacific Curl ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 124 12 8647 8666 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
The Southern Ocean features regionally‐varying ventilation pathways that transport heat and carbon from the surface ocean to the interior thermocline on timescales of decades to centuries, but the factors that control the distribution of heat along these pathways are not well understood. In this study, we use a global ocean state estimate (ECCOv4) to (1) define the recently ventilated interior Pacific (RVP) using numerical passive tracer experiments over a 10‐year period and (2) use an adjoint approach to calculate the sensitivities of the RVP heat content (RVPh) to changes in net heat flux and wind stress. We find that RVPh is most sensitive to local heat flux and wind stress anomalies north of the sea surface height contours that delineate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, with especially high sensitivities over the South Pacific Gyre. Surprisingly, RVPh is not especially sensitive to changes at higher latitudes. We perform a set of step response experiments over the South Pacific Gyre, the subduction region, and the high‐latitude SO. In consistency with the adjoint sensitivity fields, RVPh is most sensitive to wind stress curl over the subtropical gyre, which alter isopycnal heave, and it is only weakly sensitive to changes at higher latitudes. Our results suggest that despite the localized nature of mode water subduction hotspots, changes in basin‐scale pressure gradients are an important controlling factor on RVPh. Because basin‐scale wind stress is expected to change in the coming decades to centuries, our results may have implications for climate, via the atmosphere/ocean partitioning of heat. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jones, Daniel C. Boland, Emma Meijers, Andrew J.S. Forget, Gael Josey, Simon A. Sallee, Jean-Baptiste Shuckburgh, Emily |
spellingShingle |
Jones, Daniel C. Boland, Emma Meijers, Andrew J.S. Forget, Gael Josey, Simon A. Sallee, Jean-Baptiste Shuckburgh, Emily Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
author_facet |
Jones, Daniel C. Boland, Emma Meijers, Andrew J.S. Forget, Gael Josey, Simon A. Sallee, Jean-Baptiste Shuckburgh, Emily |
author_sort |
Jones, Daniel C. |
title |
Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
title_short |
Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
title_full |
Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
title_fullStr |
Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
title_sort |
heat distribution in the southeast pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/1/Jones_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019JC015460 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Pacific Curl |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Pacific Curl |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524274/1/Jones_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Oceans.pdf Jones, Daniel C. orcid:0000-0002-8701-4506 Boland, Emma orcid:0000-0003-2430-7763 Meijers, Andrew J.S. orcid:0000-0003-3876-7736 Forget, Gael; Josey, Simon A. orcid:0000-0002-1683-8831 Sallee, Jean-Baptiste; Shuckburgh, Emily orcid:0000-0001-9206-3444 . 2019 Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124 (12). 8647-8666. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
124 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
8647 |
op_container_end_page |
8666 |
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1766155429706989568 |