Deep ocean changes near the western boundary of the South Pacific Ocean

• Published in: Journal of Physical Oceanography
• Main Authors: Sloyan, BM, Wijffels, SE, Tilbrook, B, Katsumata, K, Murata, A, Macdonald, AM
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Meteorological Soc 2013
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Oceanography; Physical Oceanography; Antarctic; Pacific; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-12-0182.1; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118974

Repeated occupations of two hydrographic sections in the southwest Pacific basin from the 1990s to 2000s track property changes of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). The largest property changes-warming, freshening, increase in total carbon, and decrease in oxygen-are found near the basin's deep western boundary between 50 and 20S. The magnitude of the property changes decreases with increasing distance from the western boundary. At the deep western boundary, analysis of the relative importance of AABW (n >28.1 kgm -3 ) freshening, heating, or isopycnal heave suggests that the deep ocean stratification change is the result of both warming and freshening processes. The consistent deep ocean changes near the western boundary of the southwest Pacific basin dispel the notion that the deep oceans quiescent. High-latitude climate variability is being directly transmitted into the deep southwest Pacific basin and the global deep ocean through dynamic deep western boundary currents.