Projected strengthening of the Southern Ocean winds: Some implications for the deep ocean circulation

2007 ◽  
pp. 365-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg A. Saenko
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Ocean Winds ◽  
Deep Ocean Circulation

Integrating model and data over the Southern Ocean at the Last Glacial Maximum to better understand the sea-ice cover

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Lhardy ◽  
Nathaëlle Bouttes ◽  
Didier Roche ◽  
Xavier Crosta
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Model Data ◽  
Regional Energy ◽  
Seasonal Model ◽  
Recent Compilation ◽  
Deep Ocean Circulation

<p><span> At the interface of the atmosphere and the oceans, sea ice is a thin and reactive layer which depends on the surface temperatures of the two and with significant impact on both. In this vein, sea ice affects the regional energy budget due to its high albedo, modulates the transfer of gas and energy at the ocean-atmosphere by its simple presence and modifies the water column vertical structure through brine rejection during freezing and freshwater input during melting. As the densification of surface waters can lead to deep water formation, sea ice has an impact on deep ocean circulation (Ferrari et al. [2014], Marzocchi et al. [2019]). </span></p><p><span> Around 21,000 years ago, the glacial period called the LGM was marked by extensive ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere, a consequent lower sea-level, and lower atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations than today’s. However, the processes driving these lower atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations are still not fully understood. Paleotracer data (Curry and Oppo [2005]) suggest that the Antarctic Bottom Water was a poorly ventilated and voluminous water mass, therefore efficiently trapping carbon. Proxies also allow for the reconstruction of LGM sea ice (de Vernal et al. [2013]), and their studies have indicated both an extended Southern Ocean sea ice and an enhanced seasonality (Gersonde et al. [2005], Allen et al. [2011], Benz et al. [2016]).</span></p><p><span> Models are very helpful to investigate the potentially complex response of the climate system to any perturbation. The Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (now in phase 4) has proposed standardized LGM boundary conditions which notably allows for an evaluation of the model performance under cold conditions. During past PMIP phases, the simulation of the LGM deep ocean circulation has proven to be challenging (Otto-Bliesner et al. [2007], Muglia and Schmittner [2015]), which could be linked – at least partially – to the limitations in modelling past sea-ice changes (Goosse et al. [2013], Roche et al. [2012]).</span></p><p><span> In this study, the iLOVECLIM model – of intermediate complexity – (Goosse et al. [2010]) is used under the PMIP4 experimental design with both the ICE-6G-C and GLAC-1D topographies. The simulated sea ice is compared with a recent compilation of proxy data (Crosta, pers. com.). We look for potential sources of the observed model-data discrepancies using different model configurations. We examine in particular the simulated SSTs compared to MARGO [2009] data and show a regional and seasonal model-data disagreement that is quite consistent with the sea-ice model-data comparison.</span></p>

scholarly journals Poleward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds synchronous with the deglacial rise in CO2

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Gray ◽  
Casimir de Lavergne ◽  
Robert Jnglin Wills ◽  
Laurie Menviel ◽  
Paul Spence ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
Westerly Winds ◽  
Poleward Shift ◽  
Deep Ocean Circulation ◽  
Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds

Abstract The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds strongly influence deep ocean circulation and carbon storage1. While the westerlies are hypothesised to play a key role in regulating atmospheric CO2 over glacial-interglacial cycles2–4, past changes in their position and strength remain poorly constrained5–7. Here, we use a compilation of planktic foraminiferal δ18O from across the Southern Ocean and constraints from an ensemble of climate models to reconstruct changes in the westerlies over the last deglaciation. We find a 4.7° (2.9-6.9°, 95% confidence interval) equatorward shift and about a 25% weakening of the westerlies during the Last Glacial Maximum (about 20,000 years ago) relative to the mid-Holocene (about 6,000 years ago). Our reconstruction shows that the poleward shift in the westerlies over deglaciation closely mirrors the rise in atmospheric CO2. Experiments with a 0.25° resolution ocean-sea-ice-carbon model demonstrate that shifting the westerlies equatorward substantially reduces the overturning rate of the abyssal ocean, leading to a suppression of CO2 outgassing from the Southern Ocean. Our results establish a central role for the westerly winds in driving the deglacial CO2 rise, and suggest natural CO2 outgassing from the Southern Ocean is likely to increase as the westerlies shift poleward due to anthropogenic warming8–10.

On the impact of sea ice in a global ocean circulation model

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achim Stössel
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Convective Activity ◽  
The Impact

This paper investigates the long-term impact of sea ice on global climate using a global sea-ice–ocean general circulation model (OGCM). The sea-ice component involves state-of-the-art dynamics; the ocean component consists of a 3.5° × 3.5° × 11 layer primitive-equation model. Depending on the physical description of sea ice, significant changes are detected in the convective activity, in the hydrographic properties and in the thermohaline circulation of the ocean model. Most of these changes originate in the Southern Ocean, emphasizing the crucial role of sea ice in this marginally stably stratified region of the world's oceans. Specifically, if the effect of brine release is neglected, the deep layers of the Southern Ocean warm up considerably; this is associated with a weakening of the Southern Hemisphere overturning cell. The removal of the commonly used “salinity enhancement” leads to a similar effect. The deep-ocean salinity is almost unaffected in both experiments. Introducing explicit new-ice thickness growth in partially ice-covered gridcells leads to a substantial increase in convective activity, especially in the Southern Ocean, with a concomitant significant cooling and salinification of the deep ocean. Possible mechanisms for the resulting interactions between sea-ice processes and deep-ocean characteristics are suggested.

Deep-sea panoramas: Progress and remaining challenges in late Miocene stratigraphy and climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Joy Drury ◽  
Thomas Westerhold ◽  
David A. Hodell ◽  
Mitchell Lyle ◽  
Cédric M. John ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
Climate Evolution ◽  
Deep Ocean Circulation ◽  
Geological Timescale

<p>During the late Miocene, meridional sea surface temperature gradients, deep ocean circulation patterns, and continental configurations evolved to a state similar to modern day. Deep-sea benthic foraminiferal stable oxygen (δ<sup>18</sup>O) and carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C) isotope stratigraphy remains a fundamental tool for providing accurate chronologies and global correlations, both of which can be used to assess late Miocene climate dynamics. Until recently, late Miocene benthic δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C stratigraphies remained poorly constrained, due to relatively poor global high-resolution data coverage.</p><p>Here, I present ongoing work that uses high-resolution deep-sea foraminiferal stable isotope records to improve late Miocene (chrono)stratigraphy. Although challenges remain, the coverage of late Miocene benthic δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C stratigraphies has drastically improved in recent years, with high-resolution records now available across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The recovery of these deep-sea records, including the first astronomically tuned, deep-sea integrated magneto-chemostratigraphy, has also helped to improve the late Miocene geological timescale. Finally, I will briefly touch upon how our understanding of late Miocene climate evolution has improved, based on the high-resolution deep-sea archives that are now available.</p>

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