What Caused the Large‐Scale Heat Deficit in the Subtropical South Atlantic Ocean During 2009–2012?

Dong, Shenfu; Lopez, Hosmay; Lee, Sang Ki; Meinen, Christopher S.; Goñi, Gustavo; Baringer, Molly O.

doi:10.1029/2020gl088206

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The correlations at other three latitudes are quite low (Figure 13). This southward decrease in correlation is probably due in part to the accumulation of errors in the energy budget as it moves farther away from the North Pole, since the MHT at each latitude was estimated by integrating the net surface heat flux and changes in ocean heat content from that latitude to the North Pole, particularly considering the large uncertainties in the ocean heat content changes in the South Atlantic Ocean (Dong et al, 2020). Interestingly, the heat transport convergence (MHT 34.5S -MHT 20S ) from the two estimates agree well with correlation r = 0.71 (Figure 14), suggesting that our estimates capture the changes in heat content and air-sea heat fluxes in this region.…”

Section: 1029/2020jc017073mentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergy of In Situ and Satellite Ocean Observations in Determining Meridional Heat Transport in the Atlantic Ocean

et al. 2021

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The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) plays a fundamental role in modulating the global and regional climate and weather on time scales from seasonal to multi-decadal through global redistribution of heat, salt, and carbon (e.g., Buckley & Marshall, 2016;Lozier 2012;Rahmstorf et al., 2015). Recent studies have shown that variations in the Atlantic MOC (AMOC) may serve as an important driver of changes in the Atlantic sea surface temperature (

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Section: 1029/2020jc017073mentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergy of In Situ and Satellite Ocean Observations in Determining Meridional Heat Transport in the Atlantic Ocean

et al. 2021

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“…The global mean sea surface temperature (SST) has increased by approximately 0.6 C from 1980 to 2020 and by 0.88 C from 2011 to 2020, related to 1850-1900 pre-industrial times (Fox-Kemper et al, 2021). Over the past 50 years, the ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the additional heat gained by the Earth's system (Dong et al, 2020). The areas where SST has changed most rapidly during these years, with a tendency to persist in the coming years, are called "hotspots" and are considered prime locations for assessing climate change impacts (Diffenbaugh et al, 2008;Frusher et al, 2013;Giorgi, 2006;Hobday & Pecl, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air–sea heat fluxes variations in the Southern Atlantic Ocean: Present‐day and future climate scenarios

Moura,

de Souza,

Casagrande

et al. 2024

Intl Journal of Climatology

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This study investigates the variations in air–sea heat fluxes and temperatures in two ocean front regions, the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWA) and the Drake Passage, widely recognized as hotspot areas with significant influences on South America weather and climate. We analyse means and trends of latent and sensible heat fluxes (LHF and SHF) and their associated air–sea temperatures (SAT and SST), based on monthly ERA5 (1985–2014) and eight CMIP6 models, for historical and long‐term simulations (2015–2099). The ERA5 trend for all parameters was positive over SWA, contrasting with the negative values observed in the Drake Passage, indicating surface warming and cooling, respectively. In the SWA, the ERA5 and CMIP6 multi‐model ensemble (MME) align in SST and SAT values, with a historical trend of 0.1°C·decade−1 and a significantly increasing trend in warming estimated by 0.4°C·decade−1 up to 2099. The ERA5 LHF and SHF trends were 4 and 0.6 W·m−2·decade−1, respectively. The MME shows historical (SSP5‐8.5) trends of 0.2 (1.3) W·m−2·decade−1 for LHF and −0.2 (−0.1) W·m−2·decade−1 for SHF. In the Drake Passage, the models accurately reproduced the air–sea mean temperatures; however, they failed to simulate negative trends observed in SAT and SST. Under the high emissions scenario, all CMIP6 models predict an increasing warming trends of 0.1–0.4°C·decade−1 and ocean heat gain of −0.2 to −1.2 (−1 to −2) W·m−2·decade−1 for LHF (SHF). For both regions, spatial analyses of SST and SAT highlight the coupling between the ocean and the atmosphere, alongside changes in air–sea heat fluxes. Our findings reveal inhomogeneous patterns of SST warming trends by the end of the 21st century, which are approximately 2–4 times greater than historical trends. The results suggest the persistence and enhancement of these regions as hotspots with significant potential to influence oceanic and atmospheric dynamics.

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“…Previous studies on those key regions are based on coarse resolution climate models (e.g., Haarsma et al, 2005; Wainer & Venegas, 2002), which do not explicitly represent mesoscale eddies in the ocean, or based on ocean‐only models (e.g., Durgadoo et al, 2013; Schwarzkopf et al, 2019). Recent studies suggested that SST variability in the South Atlantic can also be remotely forced by changes in the tropical Pacific related to ENSO processes (e.g., Dong et al, 2020; Putrasahan et al, 2016) and Pacific multidecadal variability (Lopez, Dong, Lee, & Campos, 2016), which are due to natural interaction between the atmosphere and ocean. Therefore, high‐resolution coupled models may provide more insightful understanding of the mechanisms for changes in the South Atlantic Ocean.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interannual Variability of the South Atlantic Ocean Heat Content in a High‐Resolution Versus a Low‐Resolution General Circulation Model

Gronholz

Dong

Lopez

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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High-and low-resolution coupled climate model simulations are analyzed to investigate the impact of model resolution on South Atlantic Ocean Heat Content (OHC) variability at interannual time scale and the associated physical mechanisms. In both models, ocean heat transport convergence is the main driver of OHC variability on interannual time scales. However, the origin of the meridional heat transport (MHT) convergence anomalies differs in the two models. In the high-resolution model, OHC variability is dominated by MHT from the south. This is in contrast to the low-resolution model, where OHC variability is largely controlled by MHT from the north. In the low-resolution simulation, both the Ekman and geostrophic transports contribute to the OHC variability, whereas in the high-resolution model, the geostrophic transport dominates. These differences highlight the importance of model resolution to appropriately represent ocean dynamics in the South Atlantic Ocean and associated impacts on regional and global climate. Plain Language Summary In this study we analyze heat content changes of the upper South Atlantic Ocean and the impact of model resolution on these changes. Results from two numerical simulations are compared. One simulation with high-resolution allows smaller-scale processes directly, while the other simulation with low-resolution does not. In both simulations oceanic heat transport dominates the ocean heat content changes on interannual time scale, while atmospheric fluxes play a secondary role. The heat anomalies, however, originate from different regions in the two simulations. While the oceanic heat transport from the south dominates in the high-resolution simulation, oceanic heat transport from the north dominates in the low-resolution simulation. Furthermore, wind-induced surface heat transport plays a significant role in the low-resolution while the heat transport in the high-resolution simulation is dominated by changes in the ocean density field at depth. These results suggest fundamentally different driving mechanisms between the simulations and highlight the importance of model resolution to appropriately represent ocean dynamics in the South Atlantic Ocean and associated impacts on large-scale climate.

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What Caused the Large‐Scale Heat Deficit in the Subtropical South Atlantic Ocean During 2009–2012?

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

Synergy of In Situ and Satellite Ocean Observations in Determining Meridional Heat Transport in the Atlantic Ocean

Synergy of In Situ and Satellite Ocean Observations in Determining Meridional Heat Transport in the Atlantic Ocean

Air–sea heat fluxes variations in the Southern Atlantic Ocean: Present‐day and future climate scenarios

Interannual Variability of the South Atlantic Ocean Heat Content in a High‐Resolution Versus a Low‐Resolution General Circulation Model

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