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Ocean Science

Ocean Sci.

1812-0792

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/os-3-223-2007

Towards measuring the meridional overturning circulation from space

Cromwell

¹ Shaw

A. G. P.

¹ Challenor

¹ Houseago-Stokes

R. E.

¹ Tokmakian

Ocean Observations and Climate, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), UK

Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA

14 05 2007

3 2 223 228

2007

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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.

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