Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005
The extremely cold and dry winter of 2005 in southwestern Europe caused a profound transformation of the upper ocean hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay area, making it completely different from the previous decade. The strong local winter cooling resulted in the highest density flux estimat...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:65009 2023-07-30T04:05:29+02:00 Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 Somavilla, R. González-Pola, C. Rodriguez, C. Josey, S.A. Sánchez, R.F. Lavín, A. 2009-01-03 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/65009/ http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2008JC004974.shtml unknown Somavilla, R., González-Pola, C., Rodriguez, C., Josey, S.A., Sánchez, R.F. and Lavín, A. (2009) Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114 (C1), C01001. (doi:10.1029/2008JC004974 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008JC004974>). Article PeerReviewed 2009 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC004974 2023-07-09T21:04:26Z The extremely cold and dry winter of 2005 in southwestern Europe caused a profound transformation of the upper ocean hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay area, making it completely different from the previous decade. The strong local winter cooling resulted in the highest density flux estimated since the 1960s. The extreme buoyancy loss triggered the mixed layer to reach unprecedented depths affecting directly the level of local modal waters that are usually unconnected to air-sea interaction. The water column just below the climatological average mixed layer entered in a process of quick cooling that compensated in 2 years the 0.5°C gained in the period 1994–2004. Enhanced by a pronounced precipitation deficit the event caused concurrently a downward salt injection that made deeper levels of East North Atlantic Central Water begin a process of warming by isopycnal change, something never observed during the 1990s. As an overall result, the stratification of the upper permanent thermocline was dramatically reduced. The observed cold low stratification anomaly had a substantial spatial extent and remained for 2 years below the seasonal thermocline development, constituting a typical case of the reemergence mechanism, but was abruptly interrupted in the warmest winter on record of 2007. In addition to the hydrographic changes, the winter 2005 event had a notable effect on the marine ecosystem. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Journal of Geophysical Research 114 C1 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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ftsouthampton |
language |
unknown |
description |
The extremely cold and dry winter of 2005 in southwestern Europe caused a profound transformation of the upper ocean hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay area, making it completely different from the previous decade. The strong local winter cooling resulted in the highest density flux estimated since the 1960s. The extreme buoyancy loss triggered the mixed layer to reach unprecedented depths affecting directly the level of local modal waters that are usually unconnected to air-sea interaction. The water column just below the climatological average mixed layer entered in a process of quick cooling that compensated in 2 years the 0.5°C gained in the period 1994–2004. Enhanced by a pronounced precipitation deficit the event caused concurrently a downward salt injection that made deeper levels of East North Atlantic Central Water begin a process of warming by isopycnal change, something never observed during the 1990s. As an overall result, the stratification of the upper permanent thermocline was dramatically reduced. The observed cold low stratification anomaly had a substantial spatial extent and remained for 2 years below the seasonal thermocline development, constituting a typical case of the reemergence mechanism, but was abruptly interrupted in the warmest winter on record of 2007. In addition to the hydrographic changes, the winter 2005 event had a notable effect on the marine ecosystem. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Somavilla, R. González-Pola, C. Rodriguez, C. Josey, S.A. Sánchez, R.F. Lavín, A. |
spellingShingle |
Somavilla, R. González-Pola, C. Rodriguez, C. Josey, S.A. Sánchez, R.F. Lavín, A. Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
author_facet |
Somavilla, R. González-Pola, C. Rodriguez, C. Josey, S.A. Sánchez, R.F. Lavín, A. |
author_sort |
Somavilla, R. |
title |
Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
title_short |
Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
title_full |
Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
title_fullStr |
Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
title_sort |
large changes in the hydrographic structure of the bay of biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005 |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/65009/ http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2008JC004974.shtml |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
Somavilla, R., González-Pola, C., Rodriguez, C., Josey, S.A., Sánchez, R.F. and Lavín, A. (2009) Large changes in the hydrographic structure of the Bay of Biscay after the extreme mixing of winter 2005. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114 (C1), C01001. (doi:10.1029/2008JC004974 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008JC004974>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC004974 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
114 |
container_issue |
C1 |
_version_ |
1772817418357309440 |