Articles | Volume 20, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-521-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-521-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Apr 2024
Research article |
| 11 Apr 2024
| 11 Apr 2024
Surface factors controlling the volume of accumulated Labrador Sea Water
Yavor Kostov
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
Marie-José Messias
Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Herlé Mercier
Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, University of Brest, CNRS, Brest, France
David P. Marshall
Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Helen L. Johnson
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Helene Asbjørnsen, Tor Eldevik, Johanne Skrefsrud, Helen L. Johnson, and Alejandra Sanchez-Franks
Ocean Sci., 20, 799–816, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-799-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-799-2024, 2024
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The Gulf Stream system is essential for northward ocean heat transport. Here, we use observations along the path of the extended Gulf Stream system and an observationally constrained ocean model to investigate variability in the Gulf Stream system since the 1990s. We find regional differences in the variability between the subtropical, subpolar, and Nordic Seas regions, which warrants caution in using observational records at a single latitude to infer large-scale circulation change.
Herlé Mercier, Damien Desbruyères, Pascale Lherminier, Antón Velo, Lidia Carracedo, Marcos Fontela, and Fiz F. Pérez
Ocean Sci., 20, 779–797, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-779-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-779-2024, 2024
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We study the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) measured between Greenland and Portugal between 1993–2021. We identify changes in AMOC limb volume and velocity as two major drivers of AMOC variability at subpolar latitudes. Volume variations dominate on the seasonal timescale, while velocity variations are more important on the decadal timescale. This decomposition proves useful for understanding the origin of the differences between AMOC time series from different analyses.
Oliver John Tooth, Helen Louise Johnson, Chris Wilson, and Dafydd Gwyn Evans
Ocean Sci., 19, 769–791, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-769-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-769-2023, 2023
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This study uses the trajectories of water parcels traced within an ocean model simulation to identify the pathways responsible for the seasonal cycle of dense water formation (overturning) in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic. We show that overturning seasonality is due to the fastest water parcels circulating within the eastern basins in less than 8.5 months. Slower pathways set the average strength of overturning in this region since water parcels cannot escape intense wintertime cooling.
Noam S. Vogt-Vincent, Satoshi Mitarai, and Helen L. Johnson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-778, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-778, 2023
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Coral larvae can drift through ocean currents between coral reefs, establishing connectivity, which plays an important role in coral reef resilience. However, larval transport is chaotic. We simulate coral spawning events across the tropical southwest Indian Ocean for almost three decades, and find that larval transport can vary massively from day-to-day. This variability is largely random, and this introduces a lot of uncertainty in connectivity predictions.
Noam S. Vogt-Vincent and Helen L. Johnson
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 1163–1178, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1163-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1163-2023, 2023
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Ocean currents transport things over large distances across the ocean surface. Predicting this transport is key for tackling many environmental problems, such as marine plastic pollution and coral reef resilience. However, doing this requires a good understanding ocean currents, which is currently lacking. Here, we present and validate state-of-the-art simulations for surface currents in the southwestern Indian Ocean, which will support future marine dispersal studies across this region.
Tillys Petit, Virginie Thierry, and Herlé Mercier
Ocean Sci., 18, 1055–1071, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1055-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1055-2022, 2022
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The Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water is a dense water carried within the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. From a combination of ship-based and Deep-Argo data gathered between 2015 and 2018, our study analyzes the pathways and evolution of its properties as it flows through a main fracture of the Reykjanes Ridge, the Bight Fracture Zone (BFZ). We show that 0.8 ± 0.2 Sv of ISOW flows through the BFZ and is mainly homogenized within the rift valley of the ridge.
Gilles Reverdin, Claire Waelbroeck, Catherine Pierre, Camille Akhoudas, Giovanni Aloisi, Marion Benetti, Bernard Bourlès, Magnus Danielsen, Jérôme Demange, Denis Diverrès, Jean-Claude Gascard, Marie-Noëlle Houssais, Hervé Le Goff, Pascale Lherminier, Claire Lo Monaco, Herlé Mercier, Nicolas Metzl, Simon Morisset, Aïcha Naamar, Thierry Reynaud, Jean-Baptiste Sallée, Virginie Thierry, Susan E. Hartman, Edward W. Mawji, Solveig Olafsdottir, Torsten Kanzow, Anton Velo, Antje Voelker, Igor Yashayaev, F. Alexander Haumann, Melanie J. Leng, Carol Arrowsmith, and Michael Meredith
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2721–2735, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2721-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2721-2022, 2022
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The CISE-LOCEAN seawater stable isotope dataset has close to 8000 data entries. The δ18O and δD isotopic data measured at LOCEAN have uncertainties of at most 0.05 ‰ and 0.25 ‰, respectively. Some data were adjusted to correct for evaporation. The internal consistency indicates that the data can be used to investigate time and space variability to within 0.03 ‰ and 0.15 ‰ in δ18O–δD17; comparisons with data analyzed in other institutions suggest larger differences with other datasets.
Jan D. Zika, Jean-Baptiste Sallée, Andrew J. S. Meijers, Alberto C. Naveira-Garabato, Andrew J. Watson, Marie-Jose Messias, and Brian A. King
Ocean Sci., 16, 323–336, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-323-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-323-2020, 2020
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The ocean can regulate climate by distributing heat and carbon dioxide into its interior. This work has resulted from a major experiment aimed at understanding how that distribution occurs. In the experiment an artificial tracer was released into the ocean. After release the tracer was tracked as it was distorted by ocean currents. Using novel methods we reveal how the tracer's distortions follow the movement of the underlying water masses in the ocean and we estimate the rate at which it mixes.
Patricia Zunino, Herlé Mercier, and Virginie Thierry
Ocean Sci., 16, 99–113, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-99-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-99-2020, 2020
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The region south of Cape Farewell (SCF) is recognized as a deep convection site. Convection deeper than 1300 m occurred SCF in 2015 and persisted during three additional winters. Extreme air–sea buoyancy fluxes caused the 2015 event. For the following winters, air–sea fluxes were close to the climatological average, but local cooling above 800 m and the advection below 1200 m of a fresh anomaly from the Labrador Sea decreased stratification and allowed for the persistence of deep convection.
Damien G. Desbruyères, Herlé Mercier, Guillaume Maze, and Nathalie Daniault
Ocean Sci., 15, 809–817, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-809-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-809-2019, 2019
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In the North Atlantic, ocean currents transport warm waters northward in the upper water column, and cold waters southwards at depth. This circulation is here reconstructed from surface data and thermodynamics theory. Its driving role in recent temperature changes (1993–2017) in the North Atlantic is evidenced, and predictions of near-future variability (5 years) are provided and discussed.
Géraldine Sarthou, Pascale Lherminier, Eric P. Achterberg, Fernando Alonso-Pérez, Eva Bucciarelli, Julia Boutorh, Vincent Bouvier, Edward A. Boyle, Pierre Branellec, Lidia I. Carracedo, Nuria Casacuberta, Maxi Castrillejo, Marie Cheize, Leonardo Contreira Pereira, Daniel Cossa, Nathalie Daniault, Emmanuel De Saint-Léger, Frank Dehairs, Feifei Deng, Floriane Desprez de Gésincourt, Jérémy Devesa, Lorna Foliot, Debany Fonseca-Batista, Morgane Gallinari, Maribel I. García-Ibáñez, Arthur Gourain, Emilie Grossteffan, Michel Hamon, Lars Eric Heimbürger, Gideon M. Henderson, Catherine Jeandel, Catherine Kermabon, François Lacan, Philippe Le Bot, Manon Le Goff, Emilie Le Roy, Alison Lefèbvre, Stéphane Leizour, Nolwenn Lemaitre, Pere Masqué, Olivier Ménage, Jan-Lukas Menzel Barraqueta, Herlé Mercier, Fabien Perault, Fiz F. Pérez, Hélène F. Planquette, Frédéric Planchon, Arnout Roukaerts, Virginie Sanial, Raphaëlle Sauzède, Catherine Schmechtig, Rachel U. Shelley, Gillian Stewart, Jill N. Sutton, Yi Tang, Nadine Tisnérat-Laborde, Manon Tonnard, Paul Tréguer, Pieter van Beek, Cheryl M. Zurbrick, and Patricia Zunino
Biogeosciences, 15, 7097–7109, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7097-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7097-2018, 2018
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The GEOVIDE cruise (GEOTRACES Section GA01) was conducted in the North Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea in May–June 2014. In this special issue, results from GEOVIDE, including physical oceanography and trace element and isotope cyclings, are presented among 17 articles. Here, the scientific context, project objectives, and scientific strategy of GEOVIDE are provided, along with an overview of the main results from the articles published in the special issue.
Virginie Racapé, Patricia Zunino, Herlé Mercier, Pascale Lherminier, Laurent Bopp, Fiz F. Pérèz, and Marion Gehlen
Biogeosciences, 15, 4661–4682, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4661-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4661-2018, 2018
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This study of a model–data comparison investigates the relationship between transport, air–sea flux and storage rate of Cant in the North Atlantic Subpolar Ocean over the past 53 years. It reveals the key role played by Central Water for storing Cant in the subtropical region and for supplying Cant into the deep ocean. The Cant transfer to the deep ocean occurred mainly north of the OVIDE section, and just a small fraction was exported to the subtropical gyre within the lower MOC.
Maribel I. García-Ibáñez, Fiz F. Pérez, Pascale Lherminier, Patricia Zunino, Herlé Mercier, and Paul Tréguer
Biogeosciences, 15, 2075–2090, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2075-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2075-2018, 2018
Patricia Zunino, Pascale Lherminier, Herlé Mercier, Nathalie Daniault, Maribel I. García-Ibáñez, and Fiz F. Pérez
Biogeosciences, 14, 5323–5342, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5323-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5323-2017, 2017
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The heat content in the subpolar North Atlantic is in a new phase of long-term decrease from the mid-2000s, which intensified in 2013–2014. We focus on the pronounced heat content drop. In summer 2014, the MOC intensity was higher than the mean (2002–2012) and the heat transport was also relatively high. We show that the air–sea heat flux is responsible for most of the intense cooling. Concurrently, we observed freshwater content increase mainly explained by the air–sea freshwater flux.
Maribel I. García-Ibáñez, Patricia Zunino, Friederike Fröb, Lidia I. Carracedo, Aida F. Ríos, Herlé Mercier, Are Olsen, and Fiz F. Pérez
Biogeosciences, 13, 3701–3715, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3701-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3701-2016, 2016
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We assessed the progressive acidification (pH decrease) of the North Atlantic waters from direct observations between 1991 and 2015. The greatest pH decreases were observed in surface and intermediate waters. We conclude that the observed pH decreases are a consequence of the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2. In addition we find that they have been partially offset by alkalinity increases.
P. Zunino, M. I. Garcia-Ibañez, P. Lherminier, H. Mercier, A. F. Rios, and F. F. Pérez
Biogeosciences, 11, 2375–2389, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2375-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2375-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Approach: Numerical Models | Properties and processes: Overturning circulation, gyres and water masses
Persistent climate model biases in the Atlantic Ocean's freshwater transport
Dependency of simulated tropical Atlantic current variability on the wind forcing
Altered Weddell Sea warm- and dense-water pathways in response to 21st-century climate change
Assessing the drift of fish aggregating devices in the tropical Pacific Ocean
Assessment of Indonesian Throughflow transports from ocean reanalyses with mooring-based observations
René M. van Westen and Henk A. Dijkstra
Ocean Sci., 20, 549–567, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-549-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-549-2024, 2024
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The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is an important component in the global climate system. Observations of the present-day AMOC indicate that it may weaken or collapse under global warming, with profound disruptive effects on future climate. However, AMOC weakening is not correctly represented because an important feedback is underestimated due to biases in the Atlantic's freshwater budget. Here we address these biases in several state-of-the-art climate model simulations.
Kristin Burmeister, Franziska U. Schwarzkopf, Willi Rath, Arne Biastoch, Peter Brandt, Joke F. Lübbecke, and Mark Inall
Ocean Sci., 20, 307–339, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-307-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-307-2024, 2024
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We apply two different forcing products to a high-resolution ocean model to investigate their impact on the simulated upper-current field in the tropical Atlantic. Where possible, we compare the simulated results to long-term observations. We find large discrepancies between the two simulations regarding the wind and current fields. We propose that long-term observations, once they have reached a critical length, need to be used to test the quality of wind-driven simulations.
Cara Nissen, Ralph Timmermann, Mathias van Caspel, and Claudia Wekerle
Ocean Sci., 20, 85–101, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-85-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-85-2024, 2024
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The southeastern Weddell Sea is important for global ocean circulation due to the cross-shelf-break exchange of Dense Shelf Water and Warm Deep Water, but their exact circulation pathways remain elusive. Using Lagrangian model experiments in an eddy-permitting ocean model, we show how present circulation pathways and transit times of these water masses on the continental shelf are altered by 21st-century climate change, which has implications for local ice-shelf basal melt rates and ecosystems.
Philippe F. V. W. Frankemölle, Peter D. Nooteboom, Joe Scutt Phillips, Lauriane Escalle, Simon Nicol, and Erik van Sebille
Ocean Sci., 20, 31–41, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-31-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-31-2024, 2024
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Tuna fisheries in the Pacific often use drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) to attract fish that are advected by subsurface flow through underwater appendages. Using a particle advection model, we find that virtual particles advected by surface flow are displaced farther than virtual dFADs. We find a relation between El Niño–Southern Oscillation and circular motion in some areas, influencing dFAD densities. This information helps us to understand processes that drive dFAD distribution.
Magdalena Fritz, Michael Mayer, Leopold Haimberger, and Susanna Winkelbauer
Ocean Sci., 19, 1203–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1203-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1203-2023, 2023
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The interaction between the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) and regional climate phenomena indicates the high relevance for monitoring the ITF. Observations remain temporally and spatially limited; hence near-real-time monitoring is only possible with reanalyses. We assess how well ocean reanalyses depict the intensity of the ITF via comparison to observations. The results show that reanalyses agree reasonably well with in situ observations; however, some aspects require higher-resolution products.
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Short summary
We examine factors affecting variability in the volume of Labrador Sea Water (LSW), a water mass that is important for the uptake and storage of heat and carbon in the Atlantic Ocean. We find that LSW accumulated in the Labrador Sea exhibits a lagged response to remote conditions: surface wind stress, heat flux, and freshwater flux anomalies, especially along the pathways of the North Atlantic Current branches. We use our results to reconstruct and attribute historical changes in LSW volume.
We examine factors affecting variability in the volume of Labrador Sea Water (LSW), a water mass...
