Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008.
In the process of open-ocean convection in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean, surface water sinks to depth as a distinct water mass, the characteristics of which affect the meridional overturning circulation and oceanic heat flux. In addition, carbon is sequestered from the atmosphere in the process...
Published in: | Nature Geoscience |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2009
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691/document https://hal.science/hal-00406691/file/publication-6415.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo382 |
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Open Polar |
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Université de Paris: Portail HAL |
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ftunivparis |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
[SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Thierry, Virginie Reverdin, Gilles Lee, Craig M. Petrie, Brian Agnew, Tom A. Wong, Amy Ribergaard, Mads H. Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
topic_facet |
[SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography |
description |
In the process of open-ocean convection in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean, surface water sinks to depth as a distinct water mass, the characteristics of which affect the meridional overturning circulation and oceanic heat flux. In addition, carbon is sequestered from the atmosphere in the process. In recent years, this convection has been shallow or non-existent, which could be construed as a consequence of a warmer climate. Here we document the return of deep convection to the subpolar gyre in both the Labrador and Irminger seas in the winter of 2007–2008. We use profiling float data from the Argo programme to document deep mixing. Analysis of a variety of in situ, satellite and reanalysis data shows that contrary to expectations the transition to a convective state took place abruptly, without going through a phase of preconditioning. Changes in hemispheric air temperature, storm tracks, the flux of fresh water to the Labrador Sea and the distribution of pack ice all contributed to an enhanced flux of heat from the sea to the air, making the surface water sufficiently cold and dense to initiate deep convection. Given this complexity, we conclude that it will be difficult to predict when deep mixing may occur again. |
author2 |
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Laboratoire de physique des océans (LPO) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)) École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Applied Physics Laboratory Seattle (APL-UW) University of Washington Seattle Bedford Institute of Oceanography Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Thierry, Virginie Reverdin, Gilles Lee, Craig M. Petrie, Brian Agnew, Tom A. Wong, Amy Ribergaard, Mads H. |
author_facet |
Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Thierry, Virginie Reverdin, Gilles Lee, Craig M. Petrie, Brian Agnew, Tom A. Wong, Amy Ribergaard, Mads H. |
author_sort |
Våge, Kjetil |
title |
Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
title_short |
Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
title_full |
Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
title_fullStr |
Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
title_sort |
surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar north atlantic ocean in winter 2007–2008. |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691/document https://hal.science/hal-00406691/file/publication-6415.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo382 |
genre |
Labrador Sea North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Labrador Sea North Atlantic |
op_source |
ISSN: 1752-0894 Nature Geoscience https://hal.science/hal-00406691 Nature Geoscience, 2009, 2 (1), pp.67-72. ⟨10.1038/ngeo382⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/ngeo382 hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691/document https://hal.science/hal-00406691/file/publication-6415.pdf doi:10.1038/ngeo382 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo382 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
67 |
op_container_end_page |
72 |
_version_ |
1799483316734263296 |
spelling |
ftunivparis:oai:HAL:hal-00406691v1 2024-05-19T07:43:35+00:00 Surprising return of deep convection to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean in winter 2007–2008. Våge, Kjetil Pickart, Robert S. Thierry, Virginie Reverdin, Gilles Lee, Craig M. Petrie, Brian Agnew, Tom A. Wong, Amy Ribergaard, Mads H. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Laboratoire de physique des océans (LPO) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)) École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Applied Physics Laboratory Seattle (APL-UW) University of Washington Seattle Bedford Institute of Oceanography Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) 2009 https://hal.science/hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691/document https://hal.science/hal-00406691/file/publication-6415.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo382 en eng HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/ngeo382 hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691 https://hal.science/hal-00406691/document https://hal.science/hal-00406691/file/publication-6415.pdf doi:10.1038/ngeo382 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1752-0894 Nature Geoscience https://hal.science/hal-00406691 Nature Geoscience, 2009, 2 (1), pp.67-72. ⟨10.1038/ngeo382⟩ [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2009 ftunivparis https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo382 2024-04-23T03:33:42Z In the process of open-ocean convection in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean, surface water sinks to depth as a distinct water mass, the characteristics of which affect the meridional overturning circulation and oceanic heat flux. In addition, carbon is sequestered from the atmosphere in the process. In recent years, this convection has been shallow or non-existent, which could be construed as a consequence of a warmer climate. Here we document the return of deep convection to the subpolar gyre in both the Labrador and Irminger seas in the winter of 2007–2008. We use profiling float data from the Argo programme to document deep mixing. Analysis of a variety of in situ, satellite and reanalysis data shows that contrary to expectations the transition to a convective state took place abruptly, without going through a phase of preconditioning. Changes in hemispheric air temperature, storm tracks, the flux of fresh water to the Labrador Sea and the distribution of pack ice all contributed to an enhanced flux of heat from the sea to the air, making the surface water sufficiently cold and dense to initiate deep convection. Given this complexity, we conclude that it will be difficult to predict when deep mixing may occur again. Article in Journal/Newspaper Labrador Sea North Atlantic Université de Paris: Portail HAL Nature Geoscience 2 1 67 72 |