Articles | Volume 21, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2743-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2743-2025
Research article
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03 Nov 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 03 Nov 2025

Estimates of Atlantic meridional heat transport from spatiotemporal fusion of Argo, altimetry, and gravimetry data

Francisco M. Calafat, Parvathi Vallivattathillam, and Eleanor Frajka-Williams

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Estimates of Atlantic meridional heat transport Francisco M. Calafat, Parvathi Vallivattathillam, and Eleanor Frajka-Williams https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16640426

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The study introduces an innovative method for estimating meridional heat transport (MHT) across latitudes. By combining diverse oceanographic approaches, including remote sensing (gravimetry, altimetry), in-situ observations, and advanced statistical modeling, the study bridges several domains of ocean science. It opens the door for things such as an improved estimation of ocean heat content, surface fluxes, sea level variability, currents and enhanced error characterization in satellite observations. The new method could serve as the foundation for alternative estimates of both MHT and the Atlantic Meriodional Circulation (AMOC) that do not depend on costly, geographically limited in-situ observing arrays, which is especially beneficial if it allows the AMOC to be observed across a range of latitudes.
Short summary
Understanding how heat moves through the ocean is crucial to predicting future climate change confidently. This requires accurate records of heat transport throughout the ocean, but these are challenging to obtain by direct ocean observation. Here, we combine in situ and satellite-based observations to generate estimates of meridional heat transport for the period 2004–2020 at 3-month resolution across the Atlantic Ocean with improved accuracy compared to existing indirectly inferred estimates.
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