scholarly journals Monitoring Atlantic overturning circulation and transport variability with GRACE-type ocean bottom pressure observations – a sensitivity study

Ocean Science ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 953-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Bentel ◽  
F. W. Landerer ◽  
C. Boening
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure

Abstract. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key mechanism for large-scale northward heat transport and thus plays an important role for global climate. Relatively warm water is transported northward in the upper layers of the North Atlantic Ocean and, after cooling at subpolar latitudes, sinks down and is transported back south in the deeper limb of the AMOC. The utility of in situ ocean bottom pressure (OBP) observations to infer AMOC changes at single latitudes has been characterized in the recent literature using output from ocean models. We extend the analysis and examine the utility of space-based observations of time-variable gravity and the inversion for ocean bottom pressure to monitor AMOC changes and variability between 20 and 60° N. Consistent with previous results, we find a strong correlation between the AMOC signal and OBP variations, mainly along the western slope of the Atlantic Basin. We then use synthetic OBP data – smoothed and filtered to resemble the resolution of the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) gravity mission, but without errors – and reconstruct geostrophic AMOC transport. Due to the coarse resolution of GRACE-like OBP fields, we find that leakage of signal across the step slopes of the ocean basin is a significant challenge at certain latitudes. Transport signal rms is of a similar order of magnitude as error rms for the reconstructed time series. However, the interannual AMOC anomaly time series can be recovered from 20 years of monthly GRACE-like OBP fields with errors less than 1 sverdrup in many locations.

scholarly journals Monitoring Atlantic overturning circulation variability with GRACE-type ocean bottom pressure observations – a sensitivity study

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1765-1791 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Bentel ◽  
F. W. Landerer ◽  
C. Boening
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure

Abstract. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key mechanism for large-scale northward heat transport and thus plays an important role for global climate. Relatively warm water is transported northward in the upper layers of the North Atlantic Ocean, and after cooling at subpolar latitudes, sinks down and is transported back south in the deeper limb of the AMOC. The utility of in-situ ocean bottom pressure (OBP) observations to infer AMOC changes at single latitudes has been characterized in recent literature using output from ocean models. We extend the analysis and examine the utility of space-based observations of time-variable gravity and the inversion for ocean bottom pressure to monitor AMOC changes and variability between 20 and 60° N. Consistent with previous results, we find a strong correlation between the AMOC signal and OBP variations, mainly along the western slope of the Atlantic basin. We then use synthetic OBP data – smoothed and filtered to resemble the resolution of the GRACE gravity mission – and reconstruct geostrophic AMOC transport. Due to the coarse resolution of GRACE-like OBP fields, we find that leakage of signal across the step slopes of the ocean basin is a significant challenge at certain latitudes. However, overall, the inter-annual AMOC anomaly time series can be recovered from 20 years of monthly GRACE-like OBP fields with errors less than 1 Sverdrup.

scholarly journals The Observed North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Its Meridional Coherence and Ocean Bottom Pressure

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 517-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Elipot ◽  
Eleanor Frajka-Williams ◽  
Chris W. Hughes ◽  
Josh K. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract Analyses of meridional transport time series from the Rapid Climate Change–Meridional Overturning Circulation (RAPID MOC) array at 26°N and from Argo float and altimetry data at 41°N reveal that, at semiannual and longer time scales, the contribution from the western boundary dominates the variability of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), defined as the transport in the upper 1000 m of the ocean. Because the variability of the western boundary contribution is associated with a geostrophic overturning, it is reflected in independent estimates of transports from gradient of ocean bottom pressure (OBP) relative to and below 1000 m on the continental slope of the western boundary at three nominal latitudes (26°, 39°, and 42.5°N). Time series of western meridional transports relative to and below 1000 m derived from the OBP gradient, or equivalently derived from the transport shear profile, exhibit approximately the same phase relationship between 26° and 39°–42.5°N as the western contribution to the geostrophic MOC time series do: the western geostrophic MOC at 41°N precedes the MOC at 26°N by approximately a quarter of an annual cycle, resulting in a zero correlation at this time scale. This study therefore demonstrates how OBP gradients on basin boundaries can be used to monitor the MOC and its meridional coherence.

Monitoring the AMOC with GRACE/GRACE-FO - How far can we push the spatial resolution?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Kvas ◽  
Katrin Bentel ◽  
Saniya Behzadpour ◽  
Torsten Mayer-Gürr
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure ◽  
Satellite Gravimetry ◽  
Continental Hydrology ◽  
Geocenter Motion

<p>The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a key role in our global climate system and is the main mechanism of northward heat transport for a warm climate in Northern Europe. Despite its crucial role, the AMOC is only scarcely observed, as observations covering all of the Atlantic Ocean for extended time are difficult to obtain. Satellite gravimetry offers key advantages compared to existing in-situ data sources by providing ocean bottom pressure anomalies with global coverage, thus allowing the monitoring of the AMOC in the complete Atlantic Ocean basin. The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission and its successor GRACE Follow-On have provided a nearly continuous time series of monthly gravity field snapshots since 2002. In contrast to in-situ measurements of ocean bottom pressure, which suffer from inherent drift problems, the temporally stable satellite observations allow investigations of the long-term AMOC behavior.</p><p>Preliminary studies have shown that monitoring changes in the AMOC is possible with observations from GRACE and GRACE Follow-On, however, it is pushing the limits of the current data products in resolution and accuracy. To fully exploit the information content in the gravity observations, we implemented a processing chain tailored to the Atlantic Ocean basin. Compared to existing approaches, we perform signal separation, that is the reduction of continental hydrology and glacial isostatic adjustment, on the satellite sensor data level. This has the key advantage that all background models are treated the same, thus are spectrally coherent. Geocenter motion is estimated in combination with an ocean model, as is the state-of-the-art for GRACE/GRACE-FO processing. Ocean bottom pressure anomalies are then computed through least squares collocation, which allows for point distributions tailored to the bathymetry. This consistently processed data record is then used to gauge the performance of satellite gravimetry for monitoring the AMOC.</p>

scholarly journals Analysis of Ocean Bottom Pressure Anomalies and Seismic Activities in the MedRidge Zone

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1242
Author(s):  
Hakan S. Kutoglu ◽  
Kazimierz Becek
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Vertical Movements ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure ◽  
Continuous Mass ◽  
Mediterranean Ridge Accretionary Complex ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
Periodic Components

The Mediterranean Ridge accretionary complex (MAC) is a product of the convergence of Africa–Europe–Aegean plates. As a result, the region exhibits a continuous mass change (horizontal/vertical movements) that generates earthquakes. Over the last 50 years, approximately 430 earthquakes with M ≥ 5, including 36 M ≥ 6 earthquakes, have been recorded in the region. This study aims to link the ocean bottom deformations manifested through ocean bottom pressure variations with the earthquakes’ time series. To this end, we investigated the time series of the ocean bottom pressure (OBP) anomalies derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellite missions. The OBP time series comprises a decreasing trend in addition to 1.02, 1.52, 4.27, and 10.66-year periodic components, which can be explained by atmosphere, oceans, and hydrosphere (AOH) processes, the Earth’s pole movement, solar activity, and core–mantle coupling. It can be inferred from the results that the OBP anomalies time series/mass change is linked to a rising trend and periods in the earthquakes’ energy time series. Based on this preliminary work, ocean-bottom pressure variation appears to be a promising lead for further research.

scholarly journals Towards measuring the meridional overturning circulation from space

Ocean Science ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cromwell ◽  
A. G. P. Shaw ◽  
P. Challenor ◽  
R. E. Houseago-Stokes ◽  
R. Tokmakian
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
The North ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
Ocean Climate Model ◽  
Future Work

Abstract. We present a step towards measuring the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), i.e. the full-depth water mass transport, in the North Atlantic using satellite data. Using the Parallel Ocean Climate Model, we simulate satellite observations of ocean bottom pressure and sea surface height (SSH) over the 20-year period from 1979–1998, and use a linear model to estimate the MOC. As much as 93.5% of the variability in the smoothed transport is thereby explained. This increases to 98% when SSH and bottom pressure are first smoothed. We present initial studies of predicting the time evolution of the MOC, with promising results. It should be stressed that this is an initial step only, and that to produce an actual working system for measuring the MOC from space would require considerable future work.

scholarly journals Analysis of Ocean Bottom Pressure Anomalies and Seismic Activities in MedRidge Zone

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Senol Hakan Kutoglu ◽  
Kazimierz Becek
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Vertical Movements ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure ◽  
Continuous Mass ◽  
Mediterranean Ridge Accretionary Complex ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
Periodic Components

Mediterranean Ridge accretionary complex (MAC) is one of the most critical subduction zones in the world. It is known that the region exhibits a continuous mass change (horizontal/vertical movements). This process is associated with the devastating and tragic earthquakes shaking the MAC for centuries. Here, we investigate the ocean bottom pressure (OBP) anomalies in the MAC derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow On (GRACE-FO) satellite missions. The OBP time series for the MAC comprises a decreasing trend in addition to 1-, 1.53-, 2.36-, 3.67-, and 9.17-year periodic components partially explained by the atmosphere, oceans, and hydrosphere (AOH) processes, and Earth's pole movement. We noticed that the OBP anomalies appear to link to a rising trend and periods in earthquakes' power time series. This finding sheds new light on the mechanisms controlling the most destructive natural hazard.

scholarly journals Validation of the EGSIEM GRACE Gravity Fields Using GNSS Coordinate Timeseries and In-Situ Ocean Bottom Pressure Records

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Chen ◽  
Lea Poropat ◽  
Liangjing Zhang ◽  
Henryk Dobslaw ◽  
Matthias Weigelt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Bottom Pressure ◽  
Ocean Bottom Pressure ◽  
Global Gravity ◽  
Gravity Fields ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Over the 15 years of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, various data processing approaches were developed to derive time-series of global gravity fields based on sensor observations acquired from the two spacecrafts. In this paper, we compare GRACE-based mass anomalies provided by various processing groups against Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) station coordinate time-series and in-situ observations of ocean bottom pressure. In addition to the conventional GRACE-based global geopotential models from the main processing centers, we focus particularly on combined gravity field solutions generated within the Horizon2020 project European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management (EGSIEM). Although two validation techniques are fully independent from each other, it is demonstrated that they confirm each other to a large extent. Through the validation, we show that the EGSIEM combined long-term monthly solutions are comparable to CSR RL05 and ITSG2016, and better than the other three considered GRACE monthly solutions AIUB RL02, GFZ RL05a, and JPL RL05.1. Depending on the GNSS products, up to 25.6% mean Weighted Root-Mean-Square (WRMS) reduction is obtained when comparing GRACE to the ITRF2014 residuals over 236 GNSS stations. In addition, we also observe remarkable agreement at the annual period between GNSS and GRACE with up to 73% median WRMS reduction when comparing GRACE to the 312 EGSIEM-reprocessed GNSS time series. While the correspondence between GRACE and ocean bottom pressure data is overall much smaller due to lower signal to noise ratio over the oceans than over the continents, up to 50% agreement is found between them in some regions. The results fully confirm the conclusions found using GNSS.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document