New insights into concurrent air-sea heat flux forcing of Subantarctic Mode Water formation from mooring observations in the Southeast Indian and Southeast Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Josey ◽  
Veronica Tamsitt ◽  
Ivana Cerovecki ◽  
Sarah Gille ◽  
Eric Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Indirect Pathway ◽  
The South ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water ◽  
Southeast Pacific ◽  
Indian Sector

<p>Wintertime surface ocean heat loss is the key driver of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) formation. However, until now there have been very few direct observations of fluxes, particularly during winter. Here, we present results from the first concurrent (2015-17 with gaps), air-sea flux mooring deployments in two key SAMW formation regions: the Southern Ocean Flux Site (SOFS) in the Southeast Indian sector and the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) mooring in the Southeast Pacific sector. Gridded Argo and ERA5 reanalysis provide temporal and spatial context for the mooring observations. Turbulent ocean heat loss is found to be on average 1.5 times larger at the Southeast Indian than Southeast Pacific sites with stronger extreme heat flux events in the Southeast Indian leading to larger cumulative winter heat loss. For the first time, we show that turbulent heat loss events in the Southeast Indian sector occur in two atmospheric regimes (a direct cold air pathway from the south and an indirect pathway circulating dry Antarctic air via the north). In contrast, heat loss events in the Southeast Pacific sector occur in a single atmospheric regime (cold air from the south). On interannual timescales, wintertime anomalies in net heat flux and mixed layer depth (MLD) are often correlated at the two sites, particularly when wintertime MLDs are anomalously deep. Using ERA5, we show that this is part of a larger zonal dipole in heat flux and MLD anomalies present in both the Indian and Pacific SAMW formation regions, associated with anomalous meridional atmospheric circulation. These recent results will be placed in the context of multidecadal variability in the SAMW formation region dominant heat flux patterns over the past 40 years over all 3 sectors of the Southern Ocean (Pacific, Indian and Atlantic).</p>

scholarly journals Mooring Observations of Air–Sea Heat Fluxes in Two Subantarctic Mode Water Formation Regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 2757-2777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Tamsitt ◽  
Ivana Cerovečki ◽  
Simon A. Josey ◽  
Sarah T. Gille ◽  
Eric Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
The South ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Southeast Pacific

AbstractWintertime surface ocean heat loss is the key process driving the formation of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), but there are few direct observations of heat fluxes, particularly during winter. The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Southern Ocean mooring in the southeast Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean Flux Station (SOFS) in the southeast Indian Ocean provide the first concurrent, multiyear time series of air–sea fluxes in the Southern Ocean from two key SAMW formation regions. In this work we compare drivers of wintertime heat loss and SAMW formation by comparing air–sea fluxes and mixed layers at these two mooring locations. A gridded Argo product and the ERA5 reanalysis product provide temporal and spatial context for the mooring observations. Turbulent ocean heat loss is on average 1.5 times larger in the southeast Indian (SOFS) than in the southeast Pacific (OOI), with stronger extreme heat flux events in the southeast Indian leading to larger cumulative winter ocean heat loss. Turbulent heat loss events in the southeast Indian (SOFS) occur in two atmospheric regimes (cold air from the south or dry air circulating via the north), while heat loss events in the southeast Pacific (OOI) occur in a single atmospheric regime (cold air from the south). On interannual time scales, wintertime anomalies in net heat flux and mixed layer depth (MLD) are often correlated at the two sites, particularly when wintertime MLDs are anomalously deep. This relationship is part of a larger basin-scale zonal dipole in heat flux and MLD anomalies present in both the Indian and Pacific basins, associated with anomalous meridional atmospheric circulation.

Subantarctic Mode Water and its long-term change in CMIP6 models

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Yu Hong ◽  
Yan Du ◽  
Xingyue Xia ◽  
Lixiao Xu ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Loss ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat ◽  
The South ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water ◽  
Winter Mixed Layer

AbstractThe Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) is a major water mass in the South Indian and Pacific oceans and plays an important role in the ocean uptake and anthropogenic heat and carbon. The characteristics, formation, and long-term evolution of the SAMW are investigated in the “historical” and “SSP245” scenario simulations of the sixth Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Defined by the low potential vorticity, the simulated SAMW is consistently thinner, shallower, lighter, and warmer than in observations, due to biases in the winter mixed layer properties and spatial distribution. The biases are especially large in the South Pacific Ocean. The winter mixed layer bias can be attributed to unrealistic heat loss and stratification in the models. Nevertheless, the SAMW is presented better in the CMIP6 than CMIP5, regarding its volume, location, and physical characteristics. In warmer climate, the simulated SAMW in the South Indian Ocean consistently becomes lighter in density, with a reduced volume and a southward shift in the subduction region. The reduced heat loss, instead of the increased Ekman pumping induced by the poleward intensified westerly wind, dominates in the SAMW change. The winter mixed layer shoals in the northern outcrop region and the SAMW subduction shifts southward where the mixed layer remains deep. The projected reduction of the SAMW volume is likely to impact the heat and freshwater redistribution in the Southern Ocean.

scholarly journals Subantarctic Mode Water Formation, Destruction, and Export in the Eddy-Permitting Southern Ocean State Estimate

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1485-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Cerovečki ◽  
Lynne D. Talley ◽  
Matthew R. Mazloff ◽  
Guillaume Maze
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Differential Heat ◽  
Diapycnal Mixing ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
State Estimate ◽  
Surface Formation ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) is examined using the data-assimilating, eddy-permitting Southern Ocean State Estimate, for 2005 and 2006. Surface formation due to air–sea buoyancy flux is estimated using Walin analysis, and diapycnal mixing is diagnosed as the difference between surface formation and transport across 30°S, accounting for volume change with time. Water in the density range 26.5 < σθ < 27.1 kg m−3 that includes SAMW is exported northward in all three ocean sectors, with a net transport of (18.2, 17.1) Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1; for years 2005, 2006); air–sea buoyancy fluxes form (13.2, 6.8) Sv, diapycnal mixing removes (−14.5, −12.6) Sv, and there is a volume loss of (−19.3, −22.9) Sv mostly occurring in the strongest SAMW formation locations. The most vigorous SAMW formation is in the Indian Ocean by air–sea buoyancy flux (9.4, 10.9) Sv, where it is partially destroyed by diapycnal mixing (−6.6, −3.1) Sv. There is strong export to the Pacific, where SAMW is destroyed both by air–sea buoyancy flux (−1.1, −4.6) Sv and diapycnal mixing (−5.6, −8.4) Sv. In the South Atlantic, SAMW is formed by air–sea buoyancy flux (5.0, 0.5) Sv and is destroyed by diapycnal mixing (−2.3, −1.1) Sv. Peaks in air–sea flux formation occur at the Southeast Indian and Southeast Pacific SAMWs (SEISAMWs, SEPSAMWs) densities. Formation over the broad SAMW circumpolar outcrop windows is largely from denser water, driven by differential freshwater gain, augmented or decreased by heating or cooling. In the SEISAMW and SEPSAMW source regions, however, formation is from lighter water, driven by differential heat loss.

Spiciness Anomalies of Subantarctic Mode Water in the South Indian Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 3927-3953
Author(s):  
Motoki Nagura
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water

AbstractThis study investigates spreading and generation of spiciness anomalies of the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) located on 26.6 to 26.8 σθ in the south Indian Ocean, using in situ hydrographic observations, satellite measurements, reanalysis datasets, and numerical model output. The amplitude of spiciness anomalies is about 0.03 psu or 0.13°C and tends to be large along the streamline of the subtropical gyre, whose upstream end is the outcrop region south of Australia. The speed of spreading is comparable to that of the mean current, and it takes about a decade for a spiciness anomaly in the outcrop region to spread into the interior up to Madagascar. In the outcrop region, interannual variability in mixed layer temperature and salinity tends to be density compensating, which indicates that Eulerian temperature or salinity changes account for the generation of isopycnal spiciness anomalies. It is known that wintertime temperature and salinity in the surface mixed layer determine the temperature and salinity relationship of a subducted water mass. Considering this, the mixed layer heat budget in the outcrop region is estimated based on the concept of effective mixed layer depth, the result of which shows the primary contribution from horizontal advection. The contributions from Ekman and geostrophic currents are comparable. Ekman flow advection is caused by zonal wind stress anomalies and the resulting meridional Ekman current anomalies, as is pointed out by a previous study. Geostrophic velocity is decomposed into large-scale and mesoscale variability, both of which significantly contribute to horizontal advection.

A Comparison of Southern Ocean Air–Sea Buoyancy Flux from an Ocean State Estimate with Five Other Products

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 6283-6306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Cerovečki ◽  
Lynne D. Talley ◽  
Matthew R. Mazloff
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Radiative Fluxes ◽  
State Estimate

Abstract The authors have intercompared the following six surface buoyancy flux estimates, averaged over the years 2005–07: two reanalyses [the recent ECMWF reanalysis (ERA-Interim; hereafter ERA), and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–NCAR reanalysis 1 (hereafter NCEP1)], two recent flux products developed as an improvement of NCEP1 [the flux product by Large and Yeager and the Southern Ocean State Estimate (SOSE)], and two ad hoc air–sea flux estimates that are obtained by combining the NCEP1 or ERA net radiative fluxes with turbulent flux estimates using the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) 3.0 bulk formulas with NCEP1 or ERA input variables. The accuracy of SOSE adjustments of NCEP1 atmospheric fields (which SOSE uses as an initial guess and a constraint) was assessed by verification that SOSE reduces the biases in the NCEP1 fluxes as diagnosed by the Working Group on Air–Sea Fluxes (Taylor), suggesting that oceanic observations may be a valuable constraint to improve atmospheric variables. Compared with NCEP1, both SOSE and Large and Yeager increase the net ocean heat loss in high latitudes, decrease ocean heat loss in the subtropical Indian Ocean, decrease net evaporation in the subtropics, and decrease net precipitation in polar latitudes. The large-scale pattern of SOSE and Large and Yeager turbulent heat flux adjustment is similar, but the magnitude of SOSE adjustments is significantly larger. Their radiative heat flux adjustments patterns differ. Turbulent heat fluxes determined by combining COARE bulk formulas with NCEP1 or ERA should not be combined with unmodified NCEP1 or ERA radiative fluxes as the net ocean heat gain poleward of 25°S becomes unrealistically large. The other surface flux products (i.e., NCEP1, ERA, Large and Yeager, and SOSE) balance more closely. Overall, the statistical estimates of the differences between the various air–sea heat flux products tend to be largest in regions with strong ocean mesoscale activity such as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the western boundary currents.

scholarly journals The Role of Southern Ocean Surface Forcings and Mixing in the Global Conveyor

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1377-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Iudicone ◽  
Gurvan Madec ◽  
Bruno Blanke ◽  
Sabrina Speich
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic Deep Water ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water

Abstract Despite the renewed interest in the Southern Ocean, there are yet many unknowns because of the scarcity of measurements and the complexity of the thermohaline circulation. Hence the authors present here the analysis of the thermohaline circulation of the Southern Ocean of a steady-state simulation of a coupled ice–ocean model. The study aims to clarify the roles of surface fluxes and internal mixing, with focus on the mechanisms of the upper branch of the overturning. A quantitative dynamical analysis of the water-mass transformation has been performed using a new method. Surface fluxes, including the effect of the penetrative solar radiation, produce almost 40 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of Subantarctic Mode Water while about 5 Sv of the densest water masses (γ > 28.2) are formed by brine rejection on the shelves of Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea. Mixing transforms one-half of the Subantarctic Mode Water into intermediate water and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water while bottom water is produced by Lower Circumpolar Deep Water and North Atlantic Deep Water mixing with shelf water. The upwelling of part of the North Atlantic Deep Water inflow is due to internal processes, mainly downward propagation of the surface freshwater excess via vertical mixing at the base of the mixed layer. A complementary Lagrangian analysis of the thermohaline circulation will be presented in a companion paper.

Antarctic Intermediate Water and Subantarctic Mode Water Formation in the Southeast Pacific: The Role of Turbulent Mixing

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1558-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette M. Sloyan ◽  
Lynne D. Talley ◽  
Teresa K. Chereskin ◽  
Rana Fine ◽  
James Holte
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
Austral Winter ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water ◽  
Southeast Pacific ◽  
Water Formation ◽  
Summer Survey

Abstract During the 2005 austral winter (late August–early October) and 2006 austral summer (February–mid-March) two intensive hydrographic surveys of the southeast Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean were completed. In this study the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate ε, diapycnal diffusivity κ, and buoyancy flux Jb are estimated from the CTD/O2 and XCTD profiles for each survey. Enhanced κ of O(10−3 to 10−4 m2 s−1) is found near the Subantarctic Front (SAF) during both surveys. During the winter survey, enhanced κ was also observed north of the “subduction front,” the northern boundary of the winter deep mixed layer north of the SAF. In contrast, the summer survey found enhanced κ across the entire region north of the SAF below the shallow seasonal mixed layer. The enhanced κ below the mixed layer decays rapidly with depth. A number of ocean processes are considered that may provide the energy flux necessary to support the observed diffusivity. The observed buoyancy flux (4.0 × 10−8 m2 s−3) surrounding the SAF during the summer survey is comparable to the mean buoyancy flux (0.57 × 10−8 m2 s−3) associated with the change in the interior stratification between austral summer and autumn, determined from Argo profiles. The authors suggest that reduced ocean stratification during austral summer and autumn, by interior mixing, preconditions the water column for the rapid development of deep mixed layers and efficient Antarctic Intermediate Water and Subantarctic Mode Water formation during austral winter and early spring.

How does heat flux affect potential vorticity in the Southern Ocean?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciara Pimm ◽  
Ric Williams ◽  
Dan Jones ◽  
Andrew Meijers
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Adjoint Sensitivity ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Physical Insight

<p>Surface heat loss leads to thick winter mixed layers over the Southern Ocean, which feeds the formation of subsurface mode water pools through subduction. One such water class is Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), which is characterised by its low absolute potential vorticity. SAMW occurs in several regions of the Southern Ocean on the northern side of the Antarctic circumpolar current and it extends into the subtropics below the surface on different density surfaces. Using the ECCOv4 global ocean circulation model, we conduct a series of adjoint sensitivity experiments and forward perturbation experiments at key Southern Ocean SAMW formation sites, focusing on how different surface forcing affects potential vorticity. This adjoint approach produces time-evolving sensitivity maps that identify where and when surface heat loss potentially impacts the formation of mode waters. Over the first year in lead time, we find that greater surface heat loss leads to stronger convection and lower SAMW potential vorticity. On lead times longer than one year, in some regions of high sensitivity, the sensitivity reverses its sign, such that more surface heat loss ultimately leads to higher values of potential vorticity in the subduction regions. This reversal of sign of the sensitivity can be attributed to a shift from local convective forcing to upstream advective forcing and the associated redistribution of potential temperature and salinity. Surface adjustment also plays a role in the upstream sensitivities due to the tendency for temperature anomalies to be weakened through compensating salinity before reaching the subduction zone. We use the adjoint sensitivity fields to design a set of forward, non-linear perturbation experiments to provide physical insight into how ventilation affects the uptake of heat and carbon. This physical insight is important for identifying which physical mechanisms affect the subducted properties in the Southern Ocean, especially as the ocean warms through climate change.</p>

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