Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current
From the Eocene (∼50 million years ago) to today, Southern Ocean circulation has evolved from the existence of two ocean gyres to the dominance of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). It has generally been thought that the opening of Southern Ocean gateways in the late Eocene, in addition to the...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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American Geophysical Union
2023
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202023%20-%20Xing%20-%20Deep%20Convection%20as%20the%20Key%20to%20the%20Transition%20From%20Eocene%20to%20Modern%20Antarctic.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL104847 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:536537 2024-01-21T10:01:49+01:00 Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Xing, Qianjiang Klocker, Andreas Munday, David Whittaker, Joanne 2023-12-28 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202023%20-%20Xing%20-%20Deep%20Convection%20as%20the%20Key%20to%20the%20Transition%20From%20Eocene%20to%20Modern%20Antarctic.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL104847 en eng American Geophysical Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202023%20-%20Xing%20-%20Deep%20Convection%20as%20the%20Key%20to%20the%20Transition%20From%20Eocene%20to%20Modern%20Antarctic.pdf Xing, Qianjiang; Klocker, Andreas; Munday, David orcid:0000-0003-1920-708X Whittaker, Joanne. 2023 Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Geophysical Research Letters, 50 (24), e2023GL104847. 11, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104847 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104847> cc_by_nc_nd_4 Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2023 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104847 2023-12-22T00:03:11Z From the Eocene (∼50 million years ago) to today, Southern Ocean circulation has evolved from the existence of two ocean gyres to the dominance of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). It has generally been thought that the opening of Southern Ocean gateways in the late Eocene, in addition to the alignment of westerly winds with these gateways or the presence of the Antarctic ice sheet, was a sufficient requirement for the transition to an ACC of similar strength to its modern equivalent. Nevertheless, models representing these changes produce a much weaker ACC. Here we show, using an eddying ocean model, that the missing ingredient in the transition to a modern ACC is deep convection around the Antarctic continent. This deep convection is caused by cold temperatures and high salinities due to sea-ice production around the Antarctic continent, leading to both the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water and a modern-strength ACC. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Sea ice Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Geophysical Research Letters 50 24 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
From the Eocene (∼50 million years ago) to today, Southern Ocean circulation has evolved from the existence of two ocean gyres to the dominance of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). It has generally been thought that the opening of Southern Ocean gateways in the late Eocene, in addition to the alignment of westerly winds with these gateways or the presence of the Antarctic ice sheet, was a sufficient requirement for the transition to an ACC of similar strength to its modern equivalent. Nevertheless, models representing these changes produce a much weaker ACC. Here we show, using an eddying ocean model, that the missing ingredient in the transition to a modern ACC is deep convection around the Antarctic continent. This deep convection is caused by cold temperatures and high salinities due to sea-ice production around the Antarctic continent, leading to both the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water and a modern-strength ACC. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xing, Qianjiang Klocker, Andreas Munday, David Whittaker, Joanne |
spellingShingle |
Xing, Qianjiang Klocker, Andreas Munday, David Whittaker, Joanne Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current |
author_facet |
Xing, Qianjiang Klocker, Andreas Munday, David Whittaker, Joanne |
author_sort |
Xing, Qianjiang |
title |
Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current |
title_short |
Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current |
title_full |
Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current |
title_fullStr |
Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current |
title_full_unstemmed |
Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current |
title_sort |
deep convection as the key to the transition from eocene to modern antarctic circumpolar current |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202023%20-%20Xing%20-%20Deep%20Convection%20as%20the%20Key%20to%20the%20Transition%20From%20Eocene%20to%20Modern%20Antarctic.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL104847 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536537/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202023%20-%20Xing%20-%20Deep%20Convection%20as%20the%20Key%20to%20the%20Transition%20From%20Eocene%20to%20Modern%20Antarctic.pdf Xing, Qianjiang; Klocker, Andreas; Munday, David orcid:0000-0003-1920-708X Whittaker, Joanne. 2023 Deep Convection as the Key to the Transition From Eocene to Modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Geophysical Research Letters, 50 (24), e2023GL104847. 11, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104847 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104847> |
op_rights |
cc_by_nc_nd_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104847 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
24 |
_version_ |
1788692014142849024 |