Monitoring the integrated deep meridional flow in the tropical North Atlantic

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is thought to have strong impact on climate.Here results from a pilot project to monitor fluctuations of the MOC in the tropical North Atlantic are presented. The backbone of the experiment design is an end point measurement method. One main aspe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kanzow, Torsten
Other Authors: Send, Uwe, Visbeck, Martin
Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2004
Subjects:
thesis
ddc:550
Atlantischer Ozean <Nord>
Meeresströmung
Meridionalzirkulation
Variabilität
Meridional Overturing Circulation
deep ocean
density
ocean currents
bottom pressure
end point measurement technique
monitoring
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:8-diss-12282
https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/diss_mods_00001228
https://macau.uni-kiel.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dissertation_derivate_00001228/d1228.pdf
Description
Summary:The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is thought to have strong impact on climate.Here results from a pilot project to monitor fluctuations of the MOC in the tropical North Atlantic are presented. The backbone of the experiment design is an end point measurement method. One main aspect of this study comprises a technical performance assessment of the different measurement components (density,bottom pressure,current velocities) of the moored array. For the interpretation of the observed mean and time variable volume transports, comparisons to independent observational data and numerical model output have been carried out and spectral analysis as well as basic theoretical aspects of fluid dynamics have been applied. Rossby waves represent a major source of noise, which may mask the MOC signal. A verification of the experiment design using model simulations attest the transport signal observed to be moderately representative for MOC and meridional heat transport fluctuations. An eastward extension of the array into the eastern trough might lead to a drastic increase in the signal-to-noise ratio.

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