Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-12 This dissertation explores the fundamental relationship between the spatial distribution of air-sea flux and the structure of the ocean's Global Overturning Circulation (GOC). The GOC describes the circulation of ocean waters from the surface oc...
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ftunivwashington:oai:digital.lib.washington.edu:1773/38022 2023-05-15T18:25:16+02:00 Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation Newsom, Emily Rose Bitz, Cecilia M. Waddington, Edwin D. 2016-12 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1773/38022 en_US eng Newsom_washington_0250E_16633.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1773/38022 CC BY-ND Air-sea flux Climate Dynamics Global Ocean Overturning Circulation Water Mass Transformation Physical oceanography earth and space sciences Thesis 2016 ftunivwashington 2023-03-12T18:56:47Z Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-12 This dissertation explores the fundamental relationship between the spatial distribution of air-sea flux and the structure of the ocean's Global Overturning Circulation (GOC). The GOC describes the circulation of ocean waters from the surface ocean at high latitudes to the deep and abyssal ocean, through the interior ocean, and ultimately back to ocean surface. In steady-state, this GOC persists even while the ocean density structure, which differs greatly with location, remains steady in time. To sustain the density structure, flow through the ocean must encounter sources and sinks of density at the ocean surface. The input of heat and freshwater fluxes at the surface supply the surface sources and sinks of density. Here, this thermodynamic requirement to maintain a steady state is exploited using an established framework - the Water Mass Transformation Framework - in a novel application: to arrive at a quantitative exploration of the relationship between the three-dimensional GOC and the distribution of surface heat and freshwater fluxes on global scale. This global analysis is approached in several steps. First, the downwelling branch of the GOC is explored. Specifically, the WMT framework is applied to examine how the dense water formation in the Southern Ocean relates to regional surface fluxes in a fully-coupled climate model. This study demonstrates that the surface processes mediating heat loss from the ocean have a fundamental influence on how dense water is circulated through the Southern Ocean. In the following study, the upwelling branch of the GOC (required to compensate for the formation of dense waters at polar surfaces) is considered. Specifically, to complete an overturning circulation, dense waters must form at the surface, circulate downward, and then return to the surface in a manner that maintains a steady global density structure. This study explores, from a theoretical perspective, how water can circulate between regions of the ocean ... Thesis Southern Ocean University of Washington, Seattle: ResearchWorks Southern Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Washington, Seattle: ResearchWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwashington |
language |
English |
topic |
Air-sea flux Climate Dynamics Global Ocean Overturning Circulation Water Mass Transformation Physical oceanography earth and space sciences |
spellingShingle |
Air-sea flux Climate Dynamics Global Ocean Overturning Circulation Water Mass Transformation Physical oceanography earth and space sciences Newsom, Emily Rose Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation |
topic_facet |
Air-sea flux Climate Dynamics Global Ocean Overturning Circulation Water Mass Transformation Physical oceanography earth and space sciences |
description |
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-12 This dissertation explores the fundamental relationship between the spatial distribution of air-sea flux and the structure of the ocean's Global Overturning Circulation (GOC). The GOC describes the circulation of ocean waters from the surface ocean at high latitudes to the deep and abyssal ocean, through the interior ocean, and ultimately back to ocean surface. In steady-state, this GOC persists even while the ocean density structure, which differs greatly with location, remains steady in time. To sustain the density structure, flow through the ocean must encounter sources and sinks of density at the ocean surface. The input of heat and freshwater fluxes at the surface supply the surface sources and sinks of density. Here, this thermodynamic requirement to maintain a steady state is exploited using an established framework - the Water Mass Transformation Framework - in a novel application: to arrive at a quantitative exploration of the relationship between the three-dimensional GOC and the distribution of surface heat and freshwater fluxes on global scale. This global analysis is approached in several steps. First, the downwelling branch of the GOC is explored. Specifically, the WMT framework is applied to examine how the dense water formation in the Southern Ocean relates to regional surface fluxes in a fully-coupled climate model. This study demonstrates that the surface processes mediating heat loss from the ocean have a fundamental influence on how dense water is circulated through the Southern Ocean. In the following study, the upwelling branch of the GOC (required to compensate for the formation of dense waters at polar surfaces) is considered. Specifically, to complete an overturning circulation, dense waters must form at the surface, circulate downward, and then return to the surface in a manner that maintains a steady global density structure. This study explores, from a theoretical perspective, how water can circulate between regions of the ocean ... |
author2 |
Bitz, Cecilia M. Waddington, Edwin D. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Newsom, Emily Rose |
author_facet |
Newsom, Emily Rose |
author_sort |
Newsom, Emily Rose |
title |
Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation |
title_short |
Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation |
title_full |
Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation |
title_fullStr |
Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thermodynamic Controls on the Global Ocean Overturning Circulation |
title_sort |
thermodynamic controls on the global ocean overturning circulation |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1773/38022 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Newsom_washington_0250E_16633.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1773/38022 |
op_rights |
CC BY-ND |
_version_ |
1766206577096785920 |