Meridional heat transport variability induced by mesoscale processes in the subpolar North Atlantic

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Zhao, Jian, Bower, Amy, Yang, Jiayan, Lin, Xiaopei
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group UK 2018
• Subjects: Article; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5859275/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29555904; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03134-x

The ocean’s role in global climate change largely depends on its heat transport. Therefore, understanding the oceanic meridional heat transport (MHT) variability is a fundamental issue. Prevailing observational and modeling evidence suggests that MHT variability is primarily determined by the large-scale ocean circulation. Here, using new in situ observations in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic Ocean and an eddy-resolving numerical model, we show that energetic mesoscale eddies with horizontal scales of about 10–100 km profoundly modulate MHT variability on time scales from intra-seasonal to interannual. Our results reveal that the velocity changes due to mesoscale processes produce substantial variability for the MHT regionally (within sub-basins) and the subpolar North Atlantic as a whole. The findings have important implications for understanding the mechanisms for poleward heat transport variability in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean, a key region for heat and carbon sequestration, ice–ocean interaction, and biological productivity.