Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-609-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-609-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
North Atlantic deep water formation and AMOC in CMIP5 models
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 115, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
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A long-term mooring array in the Fram Strait allows for an evaluation of decadal trends in temperature in this major oceanic gateway into the Arctic. Since the 1980s, the deep waters of the Greenland Sea and the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic have warmed rapidly at a rate of 0.11°C and 0.05°C per decade, respectively, at a depth of 2500 m. We show that the temperatures of the two basins converged around 2017 and that the deep waters of the Greenland Sea are now a heat source for the Arctic Ocean.
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Most ocean models, including NEMO, have unrealistic Southern Ocean deep convection. That is, through extensive areas of the Southern Ocean, they exhibit convection from the surface of the ocean to the sea floor. We find this convection to be an issue as it impacts the whole ocean circulation, notably strengthening the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Using sensitivity experiments, we show that counter-intuitively the vertical mixing needs to be enhanced to reduce this spurious convection.
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Short summary
Gases dissolved in the ocean water not used by the ecosystem (or "passive tracers") are invaluable to track water over long distances and investigate the processes that modify its properties. Unfortunately, especially so in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean, such gas measurements are sparse. We here present a data set of several passive tracers (anthropogenic gases, noble gases and their isotopes) collected over the full ocean depth, weekly, during the 1-year drift in the Arctic during MOSAiC.
Martin Mohrmann, Céline Heuzé, and Sebastiaan Swart
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Short summary
Polynyas are large open-water areas within the sea ice. We developed a method to estimate their area, distribution and frequency for the Southern Ocean in climate models and observations. All models have polynyas along the coast but few do so in the open ocean, in contrast to observations. We examine potential atmospheric and oceanic drivers of open-water polynyas and discuss recently implemented schemes that may have improved some models' polynya representation.
Amy Solomon, Céline Heuzé, Benjamin Rabe, Sheldon Bacon, Laurent Bertino, Patrick Heimbach, Jun Inoue, Doroteaciro Iovino, Ruth Mottram, Xiangdong Zhang, Yevgeny Aksenov, Ronan McAdam, An Nguyen, Roshin P. Raj, and Han Tang
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Freshwater in the Arctic Ocean plays a critical role in the global climate system by impacting ocean circulations, stratification, mixing, and emergent regimes. In this review paper we assess how Arctic Ocean freshwater changed in the 2010s relative to the 2000s. Estimates from observations and reanalyses show a qualitative stabilization in the 2010s due to a compensation between a freshening of the Beaufort Gyre and a reduction in freshwater in the Amerasian and Eurasian basins.
Céline Heuzé, Lu Zhou, Martin Mohrmann, and Adriano Lemos
The Cryosphere, 15, 3401–3421, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3401-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3401-2021, 2021
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Short summary
For navigation or science planning, knowing when sea ice will open in advance is a prerequisite. Yet, to date, routine spaceborne microwave observations of sea ice are unable to do so. We present the first method based on spaceborne infrared that can forecast an opening several days ahead. We develop it specifically for the Weddell Polynya, a large hole in the Antarctic winter ice cover that unexpectedly re-opened for the first time in 40 years in 2016, and determine why the polynya opened.
Céline Heuzé
Ocean Sci., 17, 59–90, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-59-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-59-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Dense waters sinking by Antarctica and in the North Atlantic control global ocean currents and carbon storage. We need to know how these change with climate change, and thus we need accurate climate models. Here we show that dense water sinking in the latest models is better than in the previous ones, but there is still too much water sinking. This impacts how well models represent the deep ocean density and the deep currents globally. We also suggest ways to improve the models.
Lovisa Waldrop Bergman and Céline Heuzé
Ocean Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2018-122, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2018-122, 2018
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
How to force a model where no suitable observation exists? We here determine using MITgcm the relative influence of the choice of wind, initial hydrography, and sea ice cover on the resulting ocean circulation in Nares Strait, northwest Greenland. The input with the largest effect is the density gradient in the upper layer. We argue that it should be prioritised over high resolution wind for cost-effective simulations of the Arctic straits, crucial for modelling the Arctic freshwater export.
Mathew A. Stiller-Reeve, Céline Heuzé, William T. Ball, Rachel H. White, Gabriele Messori, Karin van der Wiel, Iselin Medhaug, Annemarie H. Eckes, Amee O'Callaghan, Mike J. Newland, Sian R. Williams, Matthew Kasoar, Hella Elisa Wittmeier, and Valerie Kumer
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 2965–2973, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2965-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2965-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Scientific writing must improve and the key to long-term improvement of scientific writing lies with the early-career scientist (ECS). We introduce the ClimateSnack project, which aims to motivate ECSs to start writing groups around the world to improve their skills together. Writing groups offer many benefits but can be a challenge to keep going. Several ClimateSnack writing groups formed, and this paper examines why some of the groups flourished and others dissolved.
C. Heuzé, J. K. Ridley, D. Calvert, D. P. Stevens, and K. J. Heywood
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 3119–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3119-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3119-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Most ocean models, including NEMO, have unrealistic Southern Ocean deep convection. That is, through extensive areas of the Southern Ocean, they exhibit convection from the surface of the ocean to the sea floor. We find this convection to be an issue as it impacts the whole ocean circulation, notably strengthening the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Using sensitivity experiments, we show that counter-intuitively the vertical mixing needs to be enhanced to reduce this spurious convection.
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Short summary
Climate models are the best tool available to estimate the ocean’s response to climate change, notably sea level rise. To trust the models, we need to compare them to the real ocean in key areas. Here we do so in the North Atlantic, where deep waters form, and show that inaccurate location, extent and frequency of the formation impact the representation of the global ocean circulation and how much heat enters the Arctic. We also study the causes of the errors in order to improve future models.
Climate models are the best tool available to estimate the ocean’s response to climate change,...