24.5 Essay Visbeck GM New.Indd

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

24.5 Essay Visbeck GM New.Indd NATURE|Vol 447|24 May 2007 ESSAY OCEANOGRAPHY Power of pull As the complex interplay of forces in the ocean responds to climate change, the dynamics of global ocean circulation are shifting. Martin Visbeck hours, along with the first high-resolu- in basements so that the hot, less dense tion computer models (basically upside- water flows upwards into a house’s radia- Global climate change is edging the down cloud convection models) that could tors.) To keep a density-driven ocean cir- oceans towards a daunting future of sea- simulate this process in vivid detail. We culation going, you need vertical mixing level rise, an increase in dissolved carbon learned that this deep convective mixing of warmer waters into the ocean depths, dioxide and in acidity, reduced subsurface occurs sporadically, when high surface which makes deeper water less dense, oxygen, and the possible loss of marine salinities come together with enough cold prompting upwelling — that is, pull. biodiversity and ecosystem functions. In and windy winter days to make the surface Much remains to be discovered about all of this, large-scale ocean circulation water dense enough to let it plunge to the ocean mixing. We do know it is largely plays a central role. Aside from affect- driven by the wind and tide. 200 ing and to some extent being affected by Wind, for instance, creates sur- 100 these changes, the oceans are pivotal in face waves that stir the upper 90 global climate regulation. Any big shifts layers of the ocean directly, and 80 per second Centimetres in this complex system present a consid- 70 also induces surface friction erable challenge to science and society. 60 that generates large-scale, deep- In large-scale ocean circulation, often 50 reaching currents. In their turn, compared to a global conveyor belt, 40 these currents can create turbu- warm surface waters flow northwards 30 lent mesoscale eddies — ring- from the equatorial Atlantic, giving up 20 like flows with a radius of 10 to C. BÖNING & A. BIASTOCH (IFM-GEOMAR) C. BÖNING & A. BIASTOCH heat to the atmosphere. The cold, dense 15 100 kilometres. When wind- or water sinks in the Greenland and Lab- 10 tide-driven currents interact rador Seas and returns to the South- 5 with undersea topography, steep ern, Indian and Pacific Oceans as deep 0 subsurface internal waves are currents. This global overturning circu- Simulation of near-surface ocean current speeds. generated, some of which break lation is key to climatic stability because just like waves on a beach to help it contributes to more than half of the glo- depths of the ocean. And it turned out that mix density layers at depth. Tropical hur- bal ocean heat transport and allows many convection is also confined to a few key ricanes and nekton — the huge schools of gigatonnes of CO2 to be stored in vast regions in the centre of the Greenland and krill and small fish that create ‘biological amounts of deep ocean water, out of con- Labrador Seas in late winter. stirring’ as they swim — are other possible tact with the atmosphere. Global-scale dif- Push is also a key player in carbon sources of ocean mixing. ferences in water density — built at the sea sequestration. When surface and subsur- What does the future hold? By century’s surface through solar heating, clouds and face layers in those seas become cold and end, warming will cause more rainfall in rain, and eroded by internal mixing caused dense enough to cause intense vertical polar regions, diluting the oceans along by winds and tides — drive the movement mixing, this water, replenished from the with meltwater from glaciers and the of water. But what determines the vigour atmosphere with high levels of oxygen, Greenland ice sheet. All this will lower of global circulation: the ‘push’ of dense CO2 and other substances, is transferred ocean salinities and, together with warmer waters to depth in the polar regions, or to the depths. From there, a complex set of winter temperatures, reduce deep convec- the ‘pull’ of mixing those waters upwards deep currents, most of which hug the west- tion: the push will weaken. Current climate throughout the ocean basins? ern sides of the ocean basins, spreads the models predict that the Atlantic overturn- At Kiel University, Germany, in the late newly ‘ventilated’ water around the world. ing will slow by 30%. 1980s, we were focused on push — the Where does that leave pull? It took until But over the longer term, shifts in pull sinking of cold, salty, dense surface waters 1994 for me to see its true importance. will matter. Those same models suggest in the North Atlantic, known as deep-water Confronted with simulations of one of increased winds over the Southern Ocean formation. We felt we were making exciting the first global ocean circulation mod- and the possibility of stronger hurricanes. progress in understanding what drives the els, devised by Robbie Toggweiler at the Both would boost ocean mixing and could, ocean conveyer belt. What we didn’t real- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory crucially, offset the trend towards slower ize then was that pull — the slow upwelling in Princeton, New Jersey, I was shocked. circulation. More speculative is the role of that arises from ocean mixing — was a cru- The model showed that artificially increas- any change in nutrient availability, which cial piece of this giant marine puzzle. ing wind speeds over the Southern Ocean would affect the abundance of nekton Push plays an obvious part in deep enhanced deep upwelling, and the North and thus biological stirring. Global ocean ocean circulation: if a deep, dense water Atlantic responded with an increase in observations, improved ocean models, reservoir grows in volume, its spread into overturning circulation. smart brains and a multidisciplinary all deep ocean basins will accelerate. But Then I remembered Johan Sandström. approach will all be needed to advance this how does the water get from the surface In 1908, the Swedish oceanographer frontier of science. ■ to the depths? We began to see intriguing elegantly demonstrated how heating at Martin Visbeck is at the Leibniz Institute new direct measurements of vertical flows, depth is vital for maintaining a global- of Marine Sciences at the University of capable of mixing fluid ‘parcels’ down to scale circulation in tank experiments. Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, depths of 1 to 2 kilometres within a few (After all, boilers are generally installed Germany. CONCEPTS 383.
Recommended publications
  • The Exchange of Water Between Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska Recommended
    The exchange of water between Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska Item Type Thesis Authors Schmidt, George Michael Download date 27/09/2021 18:58:15 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5284 THE EXCHANGE OF WATER BETWEEN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND AND THE GULF OF ALASKA RECOMMENDED: THE EXCHANGE OF WATER BETWEEN PRIMCE WILLIAM SOUND AND THE GULF OF ALASKA A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE by George Michael Schmidt III, B.E.S. Fairbanks, Alaska May 197 7 ABSTRACT Prince William Sound is a complex fjord-type estuarine system bordering the northern Gulf of Alaska. This study is an analysis of exchange between Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. Warm, high salinity deep water appears outside the Sound during summer and early autumn. Exchange between this ocean water and fjord water is a combination of deep and intermediate advective intrusions plus deep diffusive mixing. Intermediate exchange appears to be an annual phen­ omenon occurring throughout the summer. During this season, medium scale parcels of ocean water centered on temperature and NO maxima appear in the intermediate depth fjord water. Deep advective exchange also occurs as a regular annual event through the late summer and early autumn. Deep diffusive exchange probably occurs throughout the year, being more evident during the winter in the absence of advective intrusions. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Appreciation is extended to Dr. T. C. Royer, Dr. J. M. Colonell, Dr. R. T. Cooney, Dr. R.
    [Show full text]
  • The Global Marine Phosphorus Cycle: Sensitivity to Oceanic Circulation
    Biogeosciences, 4, 155–171, 2007 www.biogeosciences.net/4/155/2007/ Biogeosciences © Author(s) 2007. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The global marine phosphorus cycle: sensitivity to oceanic circulation C. P. Slomp and P. Van Cappellen Department of Earth Sciences – Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80021, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands Received: 4 September 2006 – Published in Biogeosciences Discuss.: 5 October 2006 Revised: 8 January 2007 – Accepted: 20 February 2007 – Published: 22 February 2007 Abstract. A new mass balance model for the coupled ma- stand long-term variations in marine biological activity, at- rine cycles of phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) is used to ex- mospheric composition and climate (Holland, 1984; Van amine the relationships between oceanic circulation, primary Cappellen and Ingall, 1996; Petsch and Berner, 1998; Bjer- productivity, and sedimentary burial of reactive P and partic- rum and Canfield, 2002). Important forcings include the sup- ulate organic C (POC), on geological time scales. The model ply of reactive P from the continents, oceanic circulation and explicitly represents the exchanges of water and particulate sea level fluctuations (Follmi,¨ 1996; Compton et al., 2000; matter between the continental shelves and the open ocean, Handoh and Lenton, 2003; Wallmann, 2003; Bjerrum et al., and it accounts for the redox-dependent burial of POC and 2006). the various forms of reactive P (iron(III)-bound P, particu- Upward transport of nutrient-rich water sustains biologi- late organic P (POP), authigenic calcium phosphate, and fish cal activity in marine surface waters. Vertical mixing, how- debris). Steady state and transient simulations indicate that ever, also controls the ventilation of the deeper ocean waters, a slowing down of global ocean circulation decreases pri- which in turn has a major effect on the sedimentary burial mary production in the open ocean, but increases that in the of phosphorus.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocean Storage
    277 6 Ocean storage Coordinating Lead Authors Ken Caldeira (United States), Makoto Akai (Japan) Lead Authors Peter Brewer (United States), Baixin Chen (China), Peter Haugan (Norway), Toru Iwama (Japan), Paul Johnston (United Kingdom), Haroon Kheshgi (United States), Qingquan Li (China), Takashi Ohsumi (Japan), Hans Pörtner (Germany), Chris Sabine (United States), Yoshihisa Shirayama (Japan), Jolyon Thomson (United Kingdom) Contributing Authors Jim Barry (United States), Lara Hansen (United States) Review Editors Brad De Young (Canada), Fortunat Joos (Switzerland) 278 IPCC Special Report on Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 279 6.7 Environmental impacts, risks, and risk management 298 6.1 Introduction and background 279 6.7.1 Introduction to biological impacts and risk 298 6.1.1 Intentional storage of CO2 in the ocean 279 6.7.2 Physiological effects of CO2 301 6.1.2 Relevant background in physical and chemical 6.7.3 From physiological mechanisms to ecosystems 305 oceanography 281 6.7.4 Biological consequences for water column release scenarios 306 6.2 Approaches to release CO2 into the ocean 282 6.7.5 Biological consequences associated with CO2 6.2.1 Approaches to releasing CO2 that has been captured, lakes 307 compressed, and transported into the ocean 282 6.7.6 Contaminants in CO2 streams 307 6.2.2 CO2 storage by dissolution of carbonate minerals 290 6.7.7 Risk management 307 6.2.3 Other ocean storage approaches 291 6.7.8 Social aspects; public and stakeholder perception 307 6.3 Capacity and fractions retained
    [Show full text]
  • Antarctic Sea Ice Control on Ocean Circulation in Present and Glacial Climates
    Antarctic sea ice control on ocean circulation in present and glacial climates Raffaele Ferraria,1, Malte F. Jansenb, Jess F. Adkinsc, Andrea Burkec, Andrew L. Stewartc, and Andrew F. Thompsonc aDepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; bAtmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08544; and cDivision of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 Edited* by Edward A. Boyle, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and approved April 16, 2014 (received for review December 31, 2013) In the modern climate, the ocean below 2 km is mainly filled by waters possibly associated with an equatorward shift of the Southern sinking into the abyss around Antarctica and in the North Atlantic. Hemisphere westerlies (11–13), (ii) an increase in abyssal stratifi- Paleoproxies indicate that waters of North Atlantic origin were instead cation acting as a lid to deep carbon (14), (iii)anexpansionofseaice absent below 2 km at the Last Glacial Maximum, resulting in an that reduced the CO2 outgassing over the Southern Ocean (15), and expansion of the volume occupied by Antarctic origin waters. In this (iv) a reduction in the mixing between waters of Antarctic and Arctic study we show that this rearrangement of deep water masses is origin, which is a major leak of abyssal carbon in the modern climate dynamically linked to the expansion of summer sea ice around (16). Current understanding is that some combination of all of these Antarctica. A simple theory further suggests that these deep waters feedbacks, together with a reorganization of the biological and only came to the surface under sea ice, which insulated them from carbonate pumps, is required to explain the observed glacial drop in atmospheric forcing, and were weakly mixed with overlying waters, atmospheric CO2 (17).
    [Show full text]
  • Deep Ocean Water Concentrate Changes Physicochemical Characteristics, the Profile of Volatile Components and Consumer Acceptance for Taiwanese Rice Shochu
    foods Article Deep Ocean Water Concentrate Changes Physicochemical Characteristics, the Profile of Volatile Components and Consumer Acceptance for Taiwanese Rice Shochu 1, 2, 3,4 1, , Ming-Kuei Shih y , Qiao-Yu Hsu y , Bo-Kang Liou , Yu-Han Peng * z and 2, , Chih-Yao Hou * z 1 Graduate Institute of Food Culture and Innovation, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Kaohsiung 812, Taiwan; [email protected] 2 Department of Seafood Science, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan; [email protected] 3 Department of Food Science and Technology, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung 406, Taiwan; [email protected] 4 Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 406, Taiwan * Correspondence: [email protected] (Y.-H.P.); [email protected] (C.-Y.H.); Tel.: +886-917545098 (Y.-H.P.); +886-985300345 (C.-Y.H.); Fax: +886-7-3640364 (Y.-H.P. & C.-Y.H.) These authors contributed equally to this study and share the co-first authorship. y These authors contributed equally to this study and share the co-corresponding authorship. z Received: 2 November 2020; Accepted: 1 December 2020; Published: 4 December 2020 Abstract: To study the effects of deep-ocean water concentrate (DOWC) on sake quality, Taichung No. 10 indica rice (Oryza sativa subsp. indica) and Tainan No. 11 japonica rice (O. sativa subsp. japonica) were used as raw materials, and basic physicochemical property parameters in shochu were analyzed differentially. Sake fermentation mash analysis results revealed that DOWC addition did not significantly affect the basic physicochemical properties during sake brewing, but it significantly reduced citric acid and malic acid contents in Taichung No.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Utilization of Deep Ocean Water – Michel A
    THEORY AND PRACTICES FOR ENERGY EDUCATION, TRAINING, REGULATION AND STANDARDS – Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Utilization of Deep Ocean Water – Michel A. P. Gauthier OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION AND THE UTILIZATION OF DEEP OCEAN WATER Michel A. P. Gauthier Acting Chairman of the International Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and Deep Ocean Water Association (DOWA), Taiwan Keywords : Ocean, Thermal energy, deep ocean, DOWA Contents 1 Introduction 2 Deep Ocean Water (DOW) 3 Deep Ocean Water Application (DOWA) 3.1 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) 3.2 Energy Saving and Air-conditioning 3.3 Aquaculture 3.4 Freshwater and Agriculture Production 4 DOW Resource and OTEC/DOWA Environmental Issues 5 DOWA Economic and Political Issues Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is the process in which the solar thermal energy accumulated in the water of the surface layer of the tropical ocean is used to produce useful energy. Warm surface water and cold water pumped from the ocean depth are, respectively, the hot and cold sources of this thermodynamic process. The OTEC principle was described more than a century ago, and several experiments have since demonstrated its feasibility. OTEC is a recruit to the panel of clean and renewable energy resources that are needed to supply the future world demand in primary energy. Results of research on OTEC have revealed that the characteristics of deep ocean water make it an interesting resource not only for energy production but also for producing freshwater, seafood, and other valuable products. This opens new opportunities for OTEC commercialUNESCO developments and other– deepEOLSS ocean water applications, but implies careful assessment of their environmental issues.
    [Show full text]
  • Energy from the Ocean and Scope of Its Utilization in India
    International Journal of Environmental Engineering and Management ISSN 2231-1319, Volume 4, Number 4 (2013), pp. 397-404 © Research India Publications http://www.ripublication.com/ ijeem.htm Energy from the Ocean and Scope of its Utilization in India R.C. Sharma1 and Niharika Sharma2 1Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities, Dronacharya College of Engineering, Khentawas, Gurgaon – 123506, Haryana, India. 2PGT, Meenakshi World School Gurgaon – 122001, Haryana, India. Abstract Energy is a basic input to the national economy, both agricultural and industrial, apart from being an instrument for improving the quality of life. Provision of adequate quantities and kind of energy is and will continue to be a challenge to the Governments and the Institutions in the country engaged in various specific tasks relating to energy supply and transport. The primary commercial energy inputs to the Indian economy are from coal, oils, and hydroelectricity and to a limited extent nuclear energy. Concerns about carbon dioxide and global warming and the security and long term availability of fossil fuel supplies has led to greatly renewed interest in all forms of renewable energy and so the time may have come for ocean renewable energy as well. All ocean energy technologies, except tidal barrages, are conceptual, undergoing R&D, or are in the pre-commercial prototype and demonstration stage. The globally distributed resources and relatively high energy density associated with most ocean energy sources provide ocean energy with the potential to make an important contribution to energy supply in the coming decades, if technical challenges can be overcome and costs thereby reduced. Accordingly, a range of initiatives are being employed to promote and accelerate the development and deployment of ocean energy technologies.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and Other Uses of Deep Sea Water: a Review
    Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Review Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and Other Uses of Deep Sea Water: A Review Jorge Herrera 1,* , Santiago Sierra 2 and Asier Ibeas 3 1 Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogotá 110311, Colombia 2 Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá 111311, Colombia; [email protected] 3 Department of Telecommunications and Systems Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +57-1-242-7030 Abstract: Research into renewable energy is an active field of research, with photovoltaic and wind being the most representative technologies. A promising renewable energy source is Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), based on the temperature gradient of seawater. This technology has two contradictory features, as its efficiency is relatively low while, on the other hand, its energy source is almost unlimited. OTEC research has focused on optimizing energy extraction, with different techniques having been used for this purpose. This article presents a review of the advances and applications of OTEC technology around the world. Throughout the document, the different uses of deep seawater are analyzed; further, the current systems which generate energy through the marine temperature gradient are reviewed, and the main advantages and disadvantages of each method are highlighted. The technical operations, construction variations, and the projects that have been developed around the world and those which are in the planning phase are also detailed. The Citation: Herrera, J.; Sierra, S.; Ibeas, two main conclusions are that this technology is still under development, but it is quite promising, A.
    [Show full text]
  • Reference List Pages on Which References Are Cited Appear in Angle Brackets
    Reference List Pages on which references are cited appear in angle brackets. Every reference to original material not in English for which the editors knew of an English trans- lation is followed by a reference to the English trans- lation; references to untranslated Russian material in- clude translations of the Russian titles immediately following the Russian titles. Aanderaa, I. R., 1964. A recording and telemetering instru- ment. Fixed Buoy Project, NATO Subcommittee on Ocean- ographic Research Technical Report No. 16, Bergen, 46 pp., 20 figures. (405) Accad, Y., and C. L. Pekeris, 1978. Solution of the tidal equa- tions for the M2 and S2 tides in the world oceans from a knowledge of the tidal potential alone. Philosophical Trans- actions of the Royal Society of London A 290:235-266. (297, 322, 323, 329, 330) Adamec, D., and J. J. O'Brien, 1978. The seasonal upwelling in the Gulf of Guinea due to remote forcing. Journal of Phys- ical Oceanography 8:1050-1060. (193) Adams, J. K., and V. T. Buchwald, 1969. The generation of continental shelf waves. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 35: 815-816. (358) African Pilot, 1967. Hydrographer of the Navy, London, 12th ed., 3, 529 pp. (185) Agee, E. M., and K. E. Dowell, 1974. Observational studies of mesoscale cellular convection. Journal of Applied Meteorol- ogy 13:46-53. (500) Agnew D., and W. Farrell, 1978. Self-consistent equilibrium ocean tides. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 55:171-181. (339) Agnew, R., 1961. Estuarine currents and tidal streams. In Proceedings of the Seventh Conference on Coastal Engineer- ing, The Hague, 1960, 2, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • ICHE 2014 | Book of Abstracts | Keynotes
    11th International Conference on Hydroscience & Engineering (ICHE2014) Book of Abstracts Hamburg, Germany, 28 September to 2 October 2014 Table of Contents Keynotes ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Oral Presentations ................................................................................................................... 15 Water Resources Planning and Management ...................................................................... 15 Experimental and Computational Hydraulics ...................................................................... 34 Groundwater Hydrology, Irrigation ..................................................................................... 77 Urban Water Management ................................................................................................... 90 River, Estuarine and Coastal Dynamics ............................................................................... 96 Sediment Transport and Morphodynamics......................................................................... 128 Interaction between Offshore Utilisation and the Environment ......................................... 174 Climate Change, Adaptation and Long-Term Predictions ................................................. 183 Eco-Hydraulics and Eco-Hydrology .................................................................................. 211 Integrated Modeling of Hydro-Systems .............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem Research Synthesis of European Research on the Effects of Climate Change on Marine Environments September 2011
    CLAMER / Marine Board Special Report - Synthesis of European Research on the Effects of Climate Change on Marine Environments CLAMER PROJECT PARTNERS Marine Board Special Report Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem Research Synthesis of European Research on the Effects of Climate Change on Marine Environments September 2011 Wandelaarkaai 7 I 8400 Ostend I Belgium 500Print – September run: 1 2011 Tel: +32.59.34.01.63 I Fax: +32.59.34.01.65 Email: [email protected] www.esf.org/marineboard www.clamer.eu Clamer_Kaft_ClimateChange.indd 1-3 5/09/11 11:55 The development of this CLAMER & Marine Board Special Report was coordinated by the Marine Board-ESF for the CLAMER Project (www.clamer.eu) and funded by the European Union Framework Programme 7. CLAMER DELIVERABLE NUMBER: 1.2 DELIVERABLE NAME: Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem Research - Synthesis of European Research on the Effects of Climate Change on Marine Environments DELIVERABLE LEADER: Marine Board-ESF CONTRIBUTING BENEFICIARIES: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ); University of Brest (UBO-IUEM); Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI); Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML); Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM); Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR); National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG); Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (NIOO-KNAW); Natural Environment Research Council (NOCS-NERC); University of East Anglia (UEA); University of Tromsø (UoT) DATE: September 2011 DISSEMINATION LEVEL: Public SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME ENV.2009.1.1.6.3 FP7-2009-1-244132
    [Show full text]
  • Estimating Net Air-Sea Fluxes from Ocean Bulk Data: Methodology and Application to the Heat Cycle Manuel Gloor,1 Nicolas Gruber,2 Tertia M
    GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES, VOL. 15, NO. 4, PAGES 767–782, DECEMBER 2001 Estimating net air-sea fluxes from ocean bulk data: Methodology and application to the heat cycle Manuel Gloor,1 Nicolas Gruber,2 Tertia M. C. Hughes,3 and Jorge L. Sarmiento Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA Abstract. A novel method to estimate annual mean heat, water, and gas exchange fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere is proposed that is complementary to the traditional approach based on air-sea gradients and bulk exchange parameterization. The new approach exploits the information on surface exchange fluxes contained in the distribution of temperature, salinity, and dissolved gases in the ocean interior. We use an Ocean General Circulation Model to determine how the distribution in the ocean interior is linked to surface fluxes. We then determine with least squares the surface fluxes that are most compatible with the observations. To establish and test the method, we apply it to ocean temperature data to estimate heat fluxes across the air-sea interface for which a number of climatological estimates exists. We also test the sensitivity of the inversion results to data coverage, differences in ocean transport, variations in the surface flux pattern and a range of spatial resolutions. We find, on the basis of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) data network augmented with selected high-quality pre-WOCE data, that we are able to constrain heat exchange fluxes for 10–15 regions of the ocean, whereby these fluxes nearly balance globally without enforcing a conservation constraint.
    [Show full text]