We start with the severe European winter of 1962/63, a winter when the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index was strongly negative with persistent easterly wind anomalies across northern Europe and the British Isles. We then note that the NAO is a manifestation of synoptic Rossby wave breaking. The positive feedback with which synoptic eddies act to maintain the atmospheric jet stream against friction turns out to also be the mechanism by which the equatorial deep jets in the ocean are maintained against dissipation. We were fortunate to be able to demonstrate this in both a simple model set-up that supports deep jets and directly from mooring data on, and on either side of, the equator at 23 W in the Atlantic Ocean. The deep jets offer some potential for prediction over the neighbouring African continent on interannual time scales. This then leads to a brief discussion of the importance of the tropics for prediction on both seasonal and decadal time scales and longer, linking back to the winter of 1962/63.  The models we use for prediction not only contain surprisingly large biases but also require the parameterization of unresolved processes and some brief discussion will be given on the representation of mesoscale eddies in ocean models, such as are used in prediction systems and for making future climate projections.

How to cite: Greatbatch, R.: The North Atlantic Oscillation and related topics, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4832, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4832, 2020.

In this study we track and analyze eddy movement in the global ocean using 20 years of altimeter data and show that, in addition to the well-known westward propagation and slight polarity-based meridional deflections, mesoscale eddies also move randomly in all directions at all latitudes as a result of eddy-eddy interaction. The speed of this random eddy movement decreases with latitude and equals the baroclinic Rossby wave speed at about 25° of latitude. The tracked eddies are on average isotropic at mid and high latitudes, but become noticeably more elongated in the zonal direction at low latitudes. Our analyses suggest a critical latitude of approximately 25° that separates the global ocean into a low-latitude anisotropic wavelike regime and a high-latitude isotropic turbulence regime. One important consequence of random eddy movement is that it results in lateral diffusion of eddy energy. The associated eddy energy diffusivity, estimated using two different methods, is found to be a function of latitude. The zonal-mean eddy energy diffusivity varies from over 1500 m² s^-1 at low latitudes to around 500 m² s^-1 at high latitudes, but significantly larger values are found in the eddy energy hotspots at all latitudes, in excess of 5000 m² s^-1. Results from this study have important implications for recently-developed energetically-consistent mesoscale eddy parameterization schemes which require solving the eddy energy budget.  

How to cite: Zhai, X., Ni, Q., Wang, G., and Marshall, D.: Random movement of mesoscale eddies in the global ocean, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-114, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-114, 2020.

We present a method to decompose the time mean vertically averaged transport, as simulated by an high-resolution ocean model, into its four dominant components. These components are driven by the gradient of potential energy per unit area (PE), the divergence of the flux of time mean momentum (MMF) and eddy momentum (EMF), and the wind stress. Since the local vorticity budget and the bathymetry are noisy and dominated by small spatial scales, a barotropic shallow water model is used as a filter to diagnose the respective transports instead of integrating along lines of constant f/H.
Applying this method to the output of a high-resolution model of the North Atlantic we find that PE is the most important driver, including the northwest corner. MMF is an important driver of transport around the Labrador Sea continental slope and, together with the EMF, it drives significant transport along the path of the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic current. Additionally, the circulation patterns driven by the EMF compares well with an estimate based on a satellite product. Hence, the presented method provides insights into the relative importance of the different dynamical processes that may drive barotropic transport in an ocean model. But it may also be used to isolate potential issues if a model misrepresents the barotropic transport.

How to cite: Claus, M., Wang, Y., Greatbatch, R., and Sheng, J.: Dissecting the Barotropic Transport in a High-resolution ocean model, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18490, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18490, 2020.

How to cite: Renault, L., Masson, S., and McWilliams, J. C.: The Current Feedback to the Atmosphere: Implications for the Ocean Dynamics, Air-Sea Interactions, and Climate., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13372, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13372, 2020.

Marine electromagnetic (EM) signals largely depend on three factors: oceanic transport (i.e., depth-integrated flow), the local main magnetic field, and the local seawater conductivity (which depends on the local temperature and salinity). Thus, there is interest in using seafloor telecommunication cables to isolate marine EM signals and study ocean processes because these cables measure voltage differences between their two ends. Data from such cables can provide information on the depth-integrated transport occurring in the water column above the cable. However, these time-varying data are a superposition of all EM fields present at the observatory, no matter what source or process created the field. The main challenge in using such submarine voltage cables to study ocean circulation is properly isolating its signal.

Our study utilizes voltage data from retired seaoor telecommunication cables in the Pacific Ocean to examine whether such cables could be used to monitor transport on large-oceanic scales. We process the cable data to isolate the seasonal and monthly variations, and evaluate the correlation between the processed data and numerical predictions of the electric field induced by ocean circulation. We find that the correlation between cable voltage data and numerical predictions strongly depends on both the strength and coherence of the transport owing across the cable. The cable within the Kuroshio Current had the highest correlation between data and predictions, whereas two of the cables in the Eastern Pacific gyre (a region with both low transport values and interfering transport signals across the cable) did not have any clear correlation between data and predictions. Meanwhile, a third cable also located in the Eastern Pacific gyre did have correlation between data and predictions, because although the transport values were low, it was located in a region of coherent transport flow across the cable. While much improvement is needed before utilizing seafloor voltage cables to study and monitor oceanic transport across wide oceanic areas, we believe that the answer to our title's questions is yes: seafloor voltage cables can eventually be used to study large-scale transport.

How to cite: Schnepf, N., Nair, M., Velimsky, J., and Thomas, N.: Can seafloor voltage cables be used to study large scale transport? An investigation in the Pacific Ocean., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-72, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-72, 2020.

Western boundary currents (WBC), fast flowing currents on the western side of ocean basins, transport a huge amount of warm water poleward, affect the atmospheric conditions along their paths, take up a large amount of carbon dioxide, and regulate the global climate (Minobe et al. 2008; Takahashi et al. 2009; Wu et al. 2012). In contrast to their widely examined horizontal motions, much less attention has been paid to the vertical motions associated with the WBC systems. Here, we examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of vertical motions associated with the major WBC systems by analyzing vertical velocity estimates from five ocean synthesis products and one eddy-permitting ocean simulation over an overlapping period from Jan 1992 to Dec 2009. Robust and intense subsurface upwelling occurs in the five major subtropical WBC systems. These upwelling systems together with the vast downwelling inside subtropical ocean basins form basin-scale zonal overturning circulations and play a crucial role in the vertical transport of ocean properties and tracers inside the global ocean. Also, the vertical motions in the Kuroshio Current and the Eastern Australian Current regions display robust interannual and decadal oscillations, which are well correlated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation, respectively. This study unveils an overlooked role of the WBCs in the subsurface oceanic vertical transport and is expected to be a starting point for more in-depth investigations on their dynamics and roles in the climate system.

How to cite: Liao, F., Liang, X., Li, Y., and Thurnherr, A.: Intense Subsurface Upwelling Associated with Major Western Boundary Currents, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6214, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6214, 2020.

Despite the fact that there are numerous estimates of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation and transport, its evolution and distribution pathways are still debatable (Morozov E.G. et al., 2010).

The main task of this work was to identify the structure and transport of deep and bottom water mass of the fracture zones (7 40', Vernadsky and Doldrums). The research is based on new data (multibeam bottom relief, temperature, salinity, velocity) obtained during the research cruise on the RV "Akademik Nikolaj Strakhov" in October-November 2019 and WODB18 historical data.

The main result of the research is proper estimation of the AABW and LNADW transport, which takes into consideration the influence of fracture zone morphometry. Accordingly, the preliminary circulation scheme of water masses is obtained.

How to cite: Volkova, V., Demidov, A., and Gippius, F.: The features of Antarctic Bottom Water in the fracture zones at 7-10 deg. N of the Mid-Atlantic ridge , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-19271, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19271, 2020.

Thermohaline staircases are stepped structures in the temperature and salinity stratification that result from double diffusive processes. In the open ocean, double diffusive processes enhance the downgradient diapycnal heat transfer compared to turbulent mixing. However, in combination with salinity effects, the resulting buoyancy flux within the thermohaline staircases is counter gradient. This vertical density transport strengthens the stratification and, consequently, affects the density of the water masses above and below the staircase layer. Although 44 percent of the world’s oceans is susceptible to double diffusion and thermohaline staircases are ubiquitous in these regions, the impact of double diffusion on diapycnal heat transfer and on water mass transformation has not been quantified yet. Here, we analyse a dataset of Argo float profiles to obtain a global overview of the occurrence of thermohaline staircases and to estimate their impact on diapycnal heat transfer and water mass transformation. Several regions with a high staircase occurrence are identified. Besides the well-known regions in the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the subtropical Atlantic Ocean, our analysis reveals a new staircase region in the Indian Ocean. Using this global overview, we estimate, for the first time, the contribution of downgradient diapycnal heat transfer by the staircases. It appears that this contribution is very low compared to the dissipation required to maintain the observed temperature stratification. However, each staircase region can potentially impact the global circulation by affecting the density of the water masses above and below. In particular, the staircase region in the Indian Ocean overlies the waters of the Tasman Leakage. These waters flow westward from Australia towards the Agulhas region and affect the properties of waters entering the Atlantic Ocean. This implies that the vertical flux of salt into the Tasman Leakage waters induced by the presence of thermohaline staircases above can impact the salt transport into the Atlantic Ocean, which in turn is expected to impact the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. 

How to cite: van der Boog, C., Pietrzak, J. D., Dijkstra, H. A., and Katsman, C. A.: The impact of thermohaline staircases: estimates from a global analysis of Argo floats, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13823, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13823, 2020.

In the framework of the Peruvian Oxygen minimum zone System Tracer Release Experiment (POSTRE) about 70 kg of trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (SF5CF3) was injected into the bottom boundary layer of the upper Peruvian continental slope at 250m depth in October 2015. Three different injection sites, at 10°45’S, 12°20’S and 14°S were selected. At the tracer release sites and due to tide-topography interaction, mixing above the upper continental slope of Peru was intensified. Turbulent dissipation rates increase by about an order of magnitude in lower 50 to 100m above the bottom. During previous tracer release experiments, where tracer was injected into the stratified mixing layer above the bottom boundary layer, a change of the center of mass toward higher densities resulted. Newer theories suggest that this diapycnal downwelling is balanced by a diapycnal upwelling within the bottom boundary layer. Indeed, during the tracer survey it was found that the density of tracer’s center of mass had decreased by 0.13 kg m^-3. This corresponds to an upward displacement of 70-100m. Using microsctructure shear data from 8 cruises, we obtain a diapycnal velocity of about 0.5 m day^-1 within the bottom boundary layer. This suggests that on average, the tracer was trapped within the bottom boundary layer for a period between 1.5 and 3 month. Overall, our tracer study provides the first observational evidence of diapycnal upwelling occurring within the bottom boundary layer of a bottom enhanced mixing environment and supports recent ideas of a vigorous global overturning circulation.

How to cite: Dengler, M., Visbeck, M., Tanhua, T., Lüdke, J., and Freund, M.: Observational evidence of diapycnal upwelling in a bottom enhanced mixing environment, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11565, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11565, 2020.

Oceanic phytoplankton absorbing solar radiation can influence the upper ocean physics. This process is called phytoplankton light absorption. Previous studies indicate that phytoplankton light absorption significantly impacts the oceanic heat distribution and, if taken into account in an Earth System model, can lead to different climates under similar primary production. However, the dominant processes responsible for these drastic changes in atmospheric temperature have not been yet identified. Phytoplankton light absorption increases the sea surface temperature, therefore altering the exchange of heat between the ocean and the atmosphere. Additionally, phytoplankton light absorption indirectly modifies the ocean carbon cycle and thus the CO2 flux into the atmosphere. To shed light on these aspects, we use an Earth System model of intermediate complexity coupled to an ecosystem model (EcoGENIE). By running a suite of experiements, we determine which fluxes are most important in controlling atmospheric temperature. Here, we present first results of our study.

How to cite: Asselot, R., Lunkeit, F., Holden, P., and Hense, I.: Ocean-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide and heat in response to phytoplankton light absorption, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5207, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5207, 2020.

The Lofoten Basin is one of the most dynamically unstable regions of the North Atlantic and represents a ‘hot spot’ of the mesoscale eddy activity in the Nordic Seas.  A quasi-stationary, deep, anticyclonic eddy is located in the central part of the basin. One of the key features of the Lofoten Basin circulation is a separation of eddies from the main branch of Norwegian current and their westward propagation towards the central part of the basin. Because of these processes, warm and saline Atlantic waters are transported to the deeper part of the basin. Understanding the physical processes responsible for the water mass transformations in this area is of particular interest in order to apprehend the climate of the region.

In this study we obtain three-dimensional structures of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies for the LB region by combining the observational data set covering the 2000-2017 period with satellite altimetry data. The results reveal that significant eddy-induced anomalies are concentrated within a distance of 1 radius of the composite AE and CE and extend vertically to the depth of 1000 m. The core of the composite AE is located in the 200-400 m while the composite CE has a double-core structure with the maximum anomalies centered in the upper layer above 100 m and a negative peak located at 700 m. The difference in the structure of AE and CE is referred to the upwelling and downwelling processes in the AEs and CEs respectively.

The study also provides an estimation of the depth-integrated heat and salt transport as well as zonal volume eddy-induced transport. Each AE (CE) generates volume transport of 1.98 Sv (1.87 Sv), heat transport of 2.9*1014 W (-8.3*104 W) and salt transport of 2.3*106 kg/s (-1.6*1013 kg/s).  Zonal eddy-induced transport has a general westward propagation direction reaching maximum of 0.6 Sv in the north-eastern part of the study area. The northward transport takes place predominantly in the southern and eastern parts of the study region and has significantly smaller magnitude. 

This work was supported by Russian Science Foundation [project № 18-17-00027];

How to cite: Sandalyuk, N.: Thermohaline structure and transport of mesoscale eddies in the Lofoten Basin from in situ and altimetry data, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11322, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11322, 2020.

We present results from a 2 month deployment of an ocean glider over the Northwestern Iberian Margin. Glider observations during the exceptionally strong 2010 summer upwelling season resolved the evolution of physical and biogeochemical variables during two upwelling events. Upwelling brought low oxygen Eastern North Atlantic Central Water from 190 m depth onto the shelf up to a depth of 50 m. During the two observed periods of upwelling,
equatorward transport over the shelf increased from 0.13 (± 0.04) Sv to 0.18 (± 0.08) Sv and a poleward jet developed over the shelf-break. The persistent upwelling favourable winds maintained equatorward flow on the outer shelf for two months with no reversals during relaxation periods, a phenomenon not previously observed. During upwelling, near surface chlorophyll a concentration increased by more than 6 mg m^-3 . Dissolved oxygen concentration in the near surface increased by more than 40 μmol kg^-1 , 6 days after the chlorophyll a maximum.

This was the first and, to date, only deployment of a glider over the North West Iberian Margin. A single glider was able to occupy a cross shelf section for two months, without the need for a costly ship based campaign. This presentation highlights some of the challenges of using gliders to study shelf break regions.

How to cite: Rollo, C., Heywood, K., Hall, R., Barton, E. D., and Kaiser, J.: Glider observations of the Northwestern Iberian Margin during an exceptional summer upwelling season, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-267, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-267, 2020.

Potential temperature/salinity (theta/S) characteristics of water masses in the ocean interior can often be traced back over long distances to their source regions. In practice, understanding how water masses are altered by interior mixing and stirring requires a detailed understanding of the interior pathways linking fluid parcels to their source regions. So far, oceanographers have generally assumed that these pathways are strongly constrained to take place on potential density surfaces of some kind, of which the most commonly employed have been the Jackett and McDougall neutral density variable and sigma2, the potential density referenced to 2000 dbar. Because sigma2 is a somewhat ad-hoc and artificial construct, the more physically-based neutral density variable has been widely assumed to represent the most accurate variable to describe interior pathways, but the analysis of van Sebille et al. (2011) intriguingly suggests otherwise. In order to shed light on the issue, this work hypothesizes that if neutral surfaces were optimal to describe lateral stirring in the ocean, they should be the surfaces along which the observed spread in potential temperature and salinity anomalies should be minimum, since lateral stirring is about 7 orders of magnitude more vigorous in the lateral directions than perpendicular to them. Surprisingly, it is found that this is actually never the case in ocean regions with positive density ratios, traditionally associated with double-diffusive regimes. In those regions, indeed, it is always possible to find material surfaces, not necessarily definable in terms of potential density, along which the spread is reduced for both potential temperature and salinity compared to that over neutral surfaces. In doubly-stable regions, on the other hand, it is not possible to find material variables able to simultaneously reduce both the spread in potential temperature and salinity compared to that over neutral surfaces. Given the widespread nature of double-diffusive regimes in the world oceans, especially in the Atlantic Ocean, these results have strong implications for the ability of ocean climate models to accurately simulate water masses, as it is unclear how to maintain water masses properties by mixing vigorously along directions along which the spread in theta/S is far from its minimum.

How to cite: Wolf, G., Remi, T., David, F., and Till, K.: Does lateral stirring really take place along neutral surfaces in double-diffusive regions of the oceans?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7494, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7494, 2020.

Despite recent progress in measuring the ocean eddy field with satellite missions at the mesoscale (order of 100 km), containing the major fraction of ocean kinetic energy, many questions still remain regarding the generation, conversion and dissipation mechanisms of eddy kinetic energy (K_e). In this work, we use the output from an idealized 500-m resolution ocean numerical simulation to study the conversion of K_e in the absence and presence of wind stress forcing. In contrast to the result of the unforced run, K_e increased approximately nine times in the mixed layer and considerably in the pycnocline in the forced run. Eddies and filaments were seen to re-stratify the mixed layer and wind-induced turbulence at the base of the mixed layer promoted its deepening and therefore dramatically enhanced the exchange between K_e and eddy available potential energy (P_e). The wind stress forcing additionally affected the conversion processes between P_e and mean kinetic energy (K_m). The wind also excited inertial and superinertial motions throughout almost the whole water column. Although those motions played a major role in the conversion between P_e and K_e, the net effect by inertial and superinertial flows was almost null. In addition, we found an asymmetric character in kinetic energy conversion in eddies. Cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies showed different behaviour regarding conversion from P_e and K_e, which was positive on the high K_e part in the anti-cyclonic eddy but negative in the cyclonic eddy.

How to cite: Li, S., Serra, N., and Stammer, D.: Kinetic Energy Conversion in A Wind-forced Submesoscale Flow, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5657, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5657, 2020.

The European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory (EMSO) consists, to date, of 11 regional multiple sensor-equipped platforms distributed around Europe from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea. Each system collects multidisciplinary measurements in the water column as well as at the seafloor addressing several critical questions related to ocean health, climate change, marine ecosystems and natural hazards. EMSO is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) since 2016, and one of the many challenges has been to design new online services promoting marine data produced by the whole network. Here, we report on an on-going activity to compile, control and deliver quality controlled temperature and salinity data and metadata gathered through the EMSO network from the sea surface down to 4000m. As part of this effort, we work on the development of online tools for temperature and salinity data visualization and knowledge discovery based on widely used software components such as dashboards. These services aim to support the stakeholders' needs (from scientists and industries to institutions and policymakers) by providing relevant information on multidisciplinary oceanographic data. They also highlight the importance of filling the knowledge gap on the abyssal ocean by delivering useful deep long-term series necessary to assess the impact of key processes on global issues such as climate change and marine ecosystem sustainability.

How to cite: Novello, A., Lefevre, D., LoBue, N., Rodero, I., Bardaji, R., and Cannat, M.: Towards new online access services for the EMSO ERIC temperature and salinity data, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13466, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13466, 2020.

The Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI) is a key indicator to understand the Earth’s changing. However, measuring this indicator is challenging since it is a globally integrated variable whose variations are small, of the order of several tenth of W.m-2, compared to the amount of energy entering and leaving the climate system of ~340 W.m-2. Recent studies suggest that the EEI response to anthropogenic GHG and aerosols emissions is 0.5-1 W.m-2. It implies that an accuracy of <0.3 W.m-2 at decadal time scales is necessary to evaluate the long term mean EEI associated with anthropogenic forcing. Ideally an accuracy of <0.1 W.m-2 at decadal time scales is desirable if we want to monitor future changes in EEI. The ocean heat content (OHC) is a very good proxy to estimate EEI as ocean concentrates the vast majority of the excess of energy (~93%) associated with EEI. Several methods exist to estimate OHC:

• the direct measurement of in situ temperature based on temperature/Salinity profiles (e.g. ARGO floats),
• the measurement of the net ocean surface heat fluxes from space (CERES),
• the estimate from ocean reanalyses that assimilate observations from both satellite and in situ instruments,
• the measurement of the thermal expansion of the ocean from space based on differences between the total sea-level content derived from altimetry measurements and the mass content derived from GRACE data (noted “Altimetry-GRACE”).

To date, the best results are given by the first method based on ARGO network. However ARGO measurements do no sample deep ocean below 2000 m depth and marginal seas as well as the ocean below sea ice. Re-analysis provides a more complete estimation but large biases in the polar oceans and spurious drifts in the deep ocean mask a significant part of the OHC signal related to EEI. The method based on estimation of ocean net heat fluxes (CERES) is not appropriate for OHC calculation due to a too strong uncertainty (±15 W.m-2). 

In the MOHeaCAN project supported by ESA, we are being developed the “Altimetry-GRACE” approach  which is promising since it provides consistent spatial and temporal sampling of the ocean, it samples the entire global ocean, except for polar regions, and it provides estimates of the OHC over the ocean’s entire depth. Consequently, it complements the OHC estimation from ARGO.  However, to date the uncertainty in OHC from this method is close to 0.5 W.m-2, and thus greater than the requirement of 0.3 W.m-2 needed to a good EEI estimation. Therefore the scientific objective of the MOHeaCan project is  to improve these estimates :

How to cite: Ablain, M., Meyssignac, B., Blazquez, A., Florence, M., Jugier, R., and Benveniste, J.: A new project to monitor the Ocean Heat Content and the Earth Energy imbalance from space: MOHeaCAN, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18017, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18017, 2020.

Isopycnally averaged hydrographic data gives results that are significantly different to the standard method of averaging at constant depth. The act of averaging isopycnally ensures that water masses are neither created or destroyed.  We average using the weighted least squares quadratic (or LOESS) fitting method of Chelton and Schlax (1994) and Ridgway et al. (2002) along appropriately defined density surfaces.  This produces an gridded oceanographic atlas that is composed of the Fourier coefficients of the mean temporal trend, the strength of the semi-annual and seasonal cycle allowing the user to reconstruct a climatology at any temporal resolution. Initially we are producing an atlas consisting of Absolute Salinty and Conservative Temperature but in the future we aim to include nutrient data.

How to cite: Barker, P. and McDougall, T.: GOANA, a Global Ocean Atlas, Neutrally Averaged, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6504, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6504, 2020.

Sea water temperature and salinity measurements have been collected onboard in September in the Philippine seas of the western North Pacific. This area is close to typhoon occurrence area and is the path through which developed typhoons pass, and also large and small eddies are developed. Therefore variability of sea water property is large.  As a result of analysis, the seawater properties of the upper water showed a big difference before and after the typhoon. After the typhoon, surface water temperature dropped by about 1 degree C and salinity by 1 psu.  Mixed layer became deeper, and changes in seawater properties occurred throughout the upper layers. The depth of the mixed layer was largely different by more than 30-50m, especially the water temperature was changed more than 3 degree C at the depth below thermocline. Real-time sea surface water temperature and salinity measurements show more easily identify the physical property change of sea surface water before and after typhoon.

How to cite: Oh, K.-H., Lee, S., Min, H. S., and Kang, S.-K.: Variability of seawater property after typhoon passage in the Philippine sea of the western North Pacific, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13483, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13483, 2020.

Eddies are integral part of ocean circulation. They play an important role in energy transfer. The surface kinetic energy in eddies can be ten times higher than the energy of the current through which these are generated. Eddies influence the thermodynamic characteristics of the upper-ocean. Oceanic eddies trap and transport hot (cold) water in the core of an anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddy. Therefore, these eddies can modify the thermal structure by the advection of temperature anomalies and its subsequent mixing. Generation of eddies takes place mainly due to the baroclinic instability of the ocean. However, some of the eddies may form due to coastal and bathymetrical geometry. The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is an enclosed basin in the northern Indian Ocean (IO). The BoB exhibits unique physical and dynamical properties due to surplus low-saline waters and shallow mixed layer. It observes seasonal variation of wind and changes in the surface current pattern. Major rivers originating from the Himalayan glaciers drain into the BoB throughout the year with a peak in July-October. The riverine freshwater together with strong post-monsoon (October-November) coastal current generate complex and turbulent surface current pattern with a large number of eddies in the BoB. The wind forcing, coastal currents, and bathymetry make favorable conditions for the generation of eddies in the BoB. In the present study, a numerical ocean model Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) used to simulate the mesoscale eddies in the BoB. The ROMS model uses sigma vertical coordinates which helps in taking account of the effects of coastal and bathymetrical structures on surface circulation and eddy generation. The model results are verified with the available observations. For the detection and tracking of eddies at the surface, both the geometrical and dynamical methods are used. The geometrical method is based on the identification of local minima and maxima of dynamic sea surface height. Whereas, the dynamical method utilizes current turbulences arising from strain or vorticity to identify eddies. Using model simulations, the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are identified in the BoB. The life span (time period) and the kinetic energy of individual eddies are calculated. The spatial and temporal distribution of eddies and their energetics in the BoB are discussed. Further, the propagation tracks of individual eddies are estimated.

How to cite: Chandra, N. and Pant, V.: Eddies and their energetics in the Bay of Bengal , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1879, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1879, 2020.

Sea surface temperature (SST) seasonal extrema are important for water mass formation, intensification of tropical cyclones and coral bleaching, so should be well-represented in models used for future climate projections. Typically, climate model evaluations focus on annual or longer-term mean SST. However, accurate mean SST does not guarantee accurate seasonal extrema or annual cycles. Models that have no biases in mean SST can have biases in seasonal extrema and annual cycles, and vice versa.

Here we assess seasonal extrema in a selection of CMIP6 model historical runs (including BCC-CSM2-MR, CanESM5, CESM2, GFDL-CM4 and GISS-E2-1-G), averaged over 1981-2010, against the World Ocean Atlas (WOA18) observational climatology.  The magnitude and pattern of SST biases for seasonal extrema vary from model to model. GFDL-CM4 and CESM2 simulate SST extrema reasonably well, while BCC-CSM2-MR and GISS-E2-1-G have obvious deficiencies. The global area-weighted root mean square (RMS) difference from WOA18 is larger than 2^oC in BCC-CSM2-MR and GISS-E2-1-G, and their common maximum bias (larger than 5^oC) is the cold bias located in the subpolar North Pacific, Greenland Sea and Norwegian Sea. The model biases of maximum SST (summer SST) and minimum SST (winter SST) are in some cases different, leading to biased SST annual cycles. The SST biases are typically smaller for summer, except for models with significant winter cold bias in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (BCC-CSM2-MR and GISS-E2-1-G). Generally speaking, the bias of the SST annual cycle is smaller than that of seasonal extrema; models that are too cold in winter are typically also too cold in summer. In eastern boundary regions, the models have too small annual cycles. In these regions, the warm bias of winter SST is less than the warm bias of summer SST. This is because the warm bias in models due to poorly captured stratocumulus can be compensated by coastal upwelling, which cools the sea surface more in summer than in winter.

We note that extra attention should be paid when evaluating SST extrema in some polar areas as the observational climatology there can be unrealistic, particularly in winter.

How to cite: Wang, Y., Heywood, K., Stevens, D., and Damerell, G.: Representation of the Seasonal Cycle of sea surface temperature in CMIP6 models, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-702, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-702, 2020.

The South China Sea (SCS) ocean circulations numerical model has been build up based on ROMS with high horizontal resolution. It had been operated in NMEFC to provide daily updated the hydrodynamic forecasting in SCS for the future 5 days since 2013, and named as the SCS operational Oceanography Forecasting System (SCSOFS). Recently, a few systematic optimizations have been carried out to the configuration of the physical model to improve SCSOFS forecast skill. For example, the differential schemes of horizontal and vertical advection of tracers are changed from 4^th-order centered to 4^th-ordered Akima, the schemes of horizontal mixing of tracers are changed from along epineutral surfaces to along geopotential surfaces, in order to correct for the spurious diapycnal diffusion of the advection operator in terrain-following coordinates, which could cause anomaly temperature increasing about 1 centigrade in deep layer. The method of sea surface atmospheric forcing is changed from direct forcing to bulk formula, by introducing the negative feedback effects between ocean and atmosphere, in order to improve forecast skill of sea surface temperature.

How to cite: Zhu, X., Wang, H., and Zu, Z.: The improvements to the numerical model of South China Sea Ocean Circulations, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-9726, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9726, 2020.

Ocean heat and freshwater transports play an important role in today’s climate system.  The Atlantic meridional heat transport transports 1.2 PW of heat northward leading to the warm climate we experience in Europe today, while the freshwater transport due to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is often used as an indicator for the stability of the AMOC.  Future climate projections show that the AMOC is expected to weaken over the next several decades.  These changes to the AMOC as well as other circulations changes will not only impact the heat and freshwater transports in the Atlantic but also the temperature and salinity structure.  Using both CMIP5 and CMIP6 data this study untangles the impacts of velocity changes versus temperature/ salinity in future climate projections on Atlantic heat and freshwater transports.  Initial results show that changes in velocity dominate heat transport changes while the changes in salinity structure play a large role in freshwater transports with the impact of velocity changes being latitude and model dependent.

How to cite: Mecking, J. and Drijfhout, S.: Transient Response of Atlantic Heat and Freshwater Transports in Future Climate Scenarios, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7896, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7896, 2020.

As an important branch of the global overturning circulation, the deep western boundary current (DWBC) in the Pacific was poorly understood due to sparse observations. Six state-of-the-art global ocean model outputs were used herein to evaluate their performance for simulating the DWBC in the Melanesian Basin (MB) and Central Pacific Basin (CPB). These model outputs were compared to the historical observations, in aspects of water-mass characteristics, spatial structure and meridional volume transport of the DWBC, and seasonal variation. The results showed that most of the models reproduced the DWBC in the two basins well. Besides OFES with obvious cold and salty biases, the other models had minor deviations of the temperature and salinity in the deep layer. These models can reconstruct the spatial structure of the DWBC in detail and simulate appropriate transports of the eastern branch DWBC, ranging from 6.36 Sv to 8.55 Sv. But the western branch DWBC was underestimated in the models except HYCOM (4.48 Sv). HYCOM performed best for the DWBC with a whole transport of 12.84 Sv. Analysis of the temperature and salinity from Levitus data demonstrates the existence of annual and semi-annual cycles in the deep water of the MB and CPB, respectively, with warmer and saltier water mass in summer and autumn. Overall, the six models have good abilities to simulate the seasonal variations of temperature and volume transport of the DWBC in the Pacific. The seasonal signals probably originated from the DWBC upstream and propagated along its pathway.

How to cite: Jiang, H. and Xu, H.: Evaluation of global ocean model on simulating deep western boundary current in the Pacific, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-8152, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-8152, 2020.

Oceanic turbulent flows consist of complex motions (fronts, eddies and waves) that co-exist on many different spatio-temporal scales and nonlinearly interacting with each other. In this study data-adaptive harmonic decomposition (DAHD) has been applied to high-dimensional datasets of complex turbulent flows simulated by ocean models of different complexity. DAHD allows a low-rank description of multiscale and chaotic dynamics by a small subset of data-adaptive patterns oscillating harmonically at given temporal frequency. The shape and scaling laws of temporal energy spectrum of the extracted patterns reveal global fingerprint of underlying dynamics, providing new opportunities to characterize and compare oceanic datasets and models. 

1. Ryzhov, E.A., D. Kondrashov, N. Agarwal, and P.S. Berloff, 2019: 
On data-driven augmentation of low-resolution ocean model dynamics, 
Ocean Modelling, 142, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2019.101464. 

2. Kondrashov, D., M. D. Chekroun and P. Berloff, 2018: 
Multiscale Stuart-Landau Emulators: Application to Wind-Driven Ocean Gyres,
Fluids, 3(1), 21, doi:10.3390/fluids3010021.

How to cite: Kondrashov, D.: Data-adaptive harmonic analysis of high-dimensional oceanic turbulent flows, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-12290, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12290, 2020.

With a focus on modelling physical aspects of estuaries covering Rhode Island, USA, the Ocean State Ocean Model (OSOM) has been implemented using the Regional Ocean Modeling System. The estuary includes Narragansett Bay, Mt. Hope Bay, and nearby regions including the shelf circulation from Long Island to Nantucket. Our goal is to find predictability and estuarine time scales in order to build a forecasting system 

Perturbed ensemble simulations with altered initial condition parameters (temperature, salinity) are combined with concepts from Information Theory to quantify the predictability of the OSOM forecast system. Predictability provides a theoretical estimate of the potential forecasting capabilities of the model in the form of prediction time scales and enhances readily estimable timescales such as the freshwater/ saline water flushing timescale. The predictability of the OSOM model is around 10-40 days, varying by perturbation parameters and season. Internal variability is low when compared to forced variability for the current resolution of OSOM suggesting modest chaos at this resolution.

Freshwater flushing time scale and total exchange flow was calculated for the OSOM model. The freshwater flushing time scale was found to be ~20 days and varies with the choice of the estuary boundary. The predictability time scales and flushing time scales reveal important dynamics of the tracers involved and elucidate their role in driving the estuary.  

How to cite: Sane, A., Fox-Kemper, B., Ullman, D., Kincaid, C., and Rothstein, L.: Predictability of estuarine model using Information Theory: ROMS Ocean State Ocean Model, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6489, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6489, 2020.

Starting in 2000, Argo reached global coverage in 2007 and has sustained a globally distributed array of ~ 3000 profiling floats for almost two decades. This Argo array delivers ocean temperature and salinity profiles from the sea surface to 2000 dbar roughly 300km apart every 10 days in realtime. Just as the present Argo array originated from an opportunistic mix of developments in both technology and data management, a new step-change in global ocean observing is now possible. Advances in platform and sensor technologies presents a new opportunity to (i) improve Argo’s global reach and value beyond the original design, (ii) extend Argo to span the full ocean depth, (iii) add biogeochemical sensors for improved understanding of oceanic cycles of carbon, nutrients, and ecosystems – all within the context of a comprehensive Argo data system. Each of these enhancements are evolving along a path from experimental deployments to regional pilot arrays to global implementation.The ultimate objective is to implement a fully global, top-to-bottom, dynamically complete, and multidisciplinary Argo Program that will integrate seamlessly with satellite and with other in situ elements of the Global Ocean Observing System. The integrated system will deliver enhanced operational reanalysis and forecasting capability, and assessment of the state and variability of the climate system with respect to physical, biogeochemical, and ecosystems parameters. It will enable basic research of unprecedented breadth and magnitude, and a wealth of ocean-education and outreach opportunities.

How to cite: Wijffels, S., Suga, T., and Roemmich, D. and the Argo Steering Team: Argo Beyond 2020: Towards a global, full-depth multidisciplinary array, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5978, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5978, 2020.

We consider here the potential of Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) observations available form the ICOADS for estimating ocean surface heat budget at centennial time scales. VOS provide the longest coverage of the World Ocean by in-situ meteorological observations in time going back to the mid 18^th century. We concentrate here on the shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes, largely relying on cloud cover. Visually observed cloud cover reports from Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS) and assimilated in ICOADS are were used to build long-term time series of cloud cover and short-wave radiation characteristics over the ocean for the last century. Cloud cover reports from VOS are subject for a number of inhomogeneities and uncertainties. Considering the centennial perspective, in 1949, WMO changed the practice of reporting cloud cover from tenths to octas. Moreover, some additional uncertainties were inherent in the early 20^th century reports. This resulted in a definite break in cloud cover time series which further propagate to the inhomogeneity of the reconstructed time series of shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes. This inhomogeneity was associated with (while not limited to) the biased convertionconversion of tens to octas when developing ICOADS records using IMMA (and earlier generation formats). In this convertionconversion octa values “2” and “6” consolidated values corresponding to 2 and 3 tens and 7 and 8 tens respectively, thus making the fractional cloud cover distribution peaked to 2 and 6 octas. In order to remove correct this bias and to homogenize cloud cover time series we developed a new method based upon a discrete probability distribution for fractional cloud cover. Applying analytical distribution, we provide the correction of cloud cover reports and arrive to homogeneous time series of cloud cover. Further homogenized times series of cloud cover were used for computing radiative fluxes over the global ocean for the period from 1900 onwards.

How to cite: Gulev, S. and Aleksandrova, M.: Homogenizing visually observed cloud cover over global oceans with implications for reconstructions of radiative fluxes at sea surface, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-12826, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12826, 2020.

To understand the role of the ocean in the climate system, it is no longer sufficient to study either physics or biogeochemistry. Future efforts need to combine these disciplines to truly understand our future climate. The water mass transformation (WMT) weaves together circulation, thermodynamics, and biogeochemistry into a description of the ocean that complements traditional Eulerian and Lagrangian methods. Here we present a derivation of a WMT framework that offers an analysis that renders novel insights and predictive capabilities for studies of ocean physics and biogeochemistry that determine ocean tracer uptake, circulation and storage. We will discuss application for this framework for biogeochemical studies and its potential for inferring unmeasurable biogeochemical processes from estimates of the measurable physical processes.

How to cite: Groeskamp, S.: The Water Mass Transformation Framework for Ocean Physics and Biogeochemistry, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5476, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5476, 2020.

Ocean heat content is arguably one of the most relevant metrics for tracking global climate change and in particular the current global heating. Because of its enormous heat capacity, the global ocean stores about 93 percent of the excess heat in the Earth System. Time series of global ocean heat content (OHC) closely track Earth’s energy imbalance as observed as the net radiative balance at the top of the atmosphere. For these reasons simulated OHC time series are a cornerstone for assessing the scientific performance of Earth System models (ESM) and global climate models. Here we present a detailed analysis of the OHC change in simulations of the historical climate (20^th century up to 2014) performed with four of the current, state-of-the art generation of ESMs and climate models. These four models are UKESM1, HadGEM3-GC3.1-LL, CNRM-ESM2-1 and CNRM-CM6-1. All four share the same ocean component, NEMO3.6 in the shaconemo eORCA1 configuration, and they all take part in CMIP6, the current Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Analysing a small number of models gives us the opportunity to analyse OHC change for the global ocean as well as for individual ocean basins. In addition to the ensemble means, we focus on some individual ensemble members for a more detailed process understanding. For the global ocean, the two CNRM models reproduce the observed OHC change since the 1960s closely, especially in the top 700 m of the ocean. The two UK models (UKESM1 and HadGEM3-GC3.1-LL) do not simulate the observed global ocean warming in the 1970s and 1980s, and they warm too fast after 1991. We analyse how this varied performance across the models relates to the simulated radiative forcing of the atmosphere. All four models show a smaller ocean heat uptake since 1971, and a larger transient climate response (TCR), than the CMIP5 ensemble mean. Close analysis of a few individual ensemble members indicates a dominant role of heat uptake and deep-water formation processes in the Southern Ocean for variability and change in global OHC. Evaluating OHC change in individual ocean basins reveals that the lack of warming in the UK models stems from the Pacific and Indian basins, while in the Atlantic the OHC change 1971-2014 is close to the observed value. Resolving the ocean warming in depth and time shows that regional ocean heat uptake in the North Atlantic plays a substantial role in compensating small warming rates elsewhere. An opposite picture emerges from the CNRM models. Here the simulated OHC change is close to observations in the Pacific and Indian basins, while tending to be too small in the Atlantic, indicating a markedly different role for the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and cross-equatorial heat transport in these models.

How to cite: Kuhlbrodt, T., Voldoire, A., Palmer, M., Killick, R., and Jones, C.: Historical ocean heat uptake in CMIP6 Earth System models: global and regional perspectives, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4696, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4696, 2020.

Warm and saline water from the North Atlantic enters the Arctic Mediterranean through three gaps. The strongest of these three flows is the inflow between Iceland and Faroes, which is focused into a narrow boundary current north of the Faroes. This boundary current, the Faroe Current, has been observed with regular CTD cruises since 1988 and with moored ADCPs since 1997, as well as satellite altimetry since 1993. Once calibrated by the long-term ADCP measurements, the satellite altimetry is found to yield high-accuracy determination of the velocity field and volume transport down to fixed depth. Due to geostrophic adjustment, satellite altimetry combined with CTD data also allow fairly accurate determination of the depth of the Atlantic layer. From the combined data set, monthly transport time series have been generated for the period Jan 1993 to April 2019. Over the period, the annually averaged volume transport of Atlantic water in the Faroe Current seems to have increased slightly, while the heat transport relative to an outflow temperature of 0°C increased by 13%, significant at the 95% level. The salinity increased from the mid-1990s to around 2010, after which it has decreased, especially after 2016, leading to the lowest salinities in the whole period since 1988. To stay updated on a possible inflow reduction due to reduced thermohaline ventilation caused by this freshening, the future monitoring system of the Faroe Current is planned to be expanded with moored PIES (Pressure Inverted Echo Sounders). An experiment with two PIES in 2017-2019 has documented that these instruments allow high-accuracy monitoring of the depth of the Atlantic layer on the section, which combined with satellite altimetry and CTD observations should give more accurate transport estimates.

How to cite: Hansen, B., Larsen, K. M. H., Hátún, H., and Østerhus, S.: Long-term observations of the strongest inflow branch of warm water to the Arctic Mediterranean, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-8192, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-8192, 2020.

The oceans have mitigated global warming by the absorption of 90% of the excess heat resulting from anthropogenic radiative forcing and of 1/3 of the anthropogenic carbon (Cant). There are still major uncertainties concerning their regional rates of uptake (or loss), transport and storage by the oceans, knowledge of which is key to the heat and carbon balances, and essential to reduce the uncertainties in global warming prediction. Here, we used tracers observations (transient and passive CFC-11, CFC-12, SF₆, natural C14, the conservative PO₄* and NO₃*, salinity and temperature) and a maximum entropy inverse method to compute Green’s functions (G), which contain intrinsically information on ocean dynamics and transit times from the source regions. From G, we propagated surface history of temperature and Cant to reconstruct their fields in the ocean for the industrial era and to quantify their source regions. We present reconstructions of Cant and excess heat (taken as the temperature anomaly from 1850) along the 24°N trans-Atlantic section, at the crossroads of the main contributors of the AMOC and an hot spot of heat and carbon storage, from 5 repeats spanning 1992 to 2015. We show that Cant reconstructions, dominated by the strong increase of Cant in the atmosphere, compare well with a previous global historical reconstruction as well as Cant estimates in the water masses at 24°N. The excess heat reconstructions are tempered by the natural variability that can exceed the anthropogenic trend. They show a net invasion and warming of the top 800m from the 1920’s (0.01°C/y). The trend slightly weakens in the late 1970’s followed by an acceleration from the 2000’s (0.02°C/y). For the well–ventilated deeper waters of the DWBC around 1500m, after a notable cooling period, a weak warming departs in the 1950’s with a trend of 0.001°C/y up to the 2000’s and of 0.006°C/y afterwards. The waters below 2000m suggest a continuous warming from the 1930’s, with a more pronounced trend centered at 3000m of 0.001°C/y up to the 2000’s and of 0.003°C/y afterwards. This excess heat evolution in the DWBC contrasts with the Cant evolution which shows continuous increase in Cant content in the upper NADW. Our results highlight the difference of drowning up of Cant ant heat into the deeper ocean, reflecting their different surface histories in the formation regions.

How to cite: Mercier, H. and Messias, M.-J.: Historical Reconstruction of Anthropogenic Carbon and Excess Heat Content in the Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10226, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10226, 2020.

Variations in the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) are known to have important impacts on global scale climate phenomena including precipitation patterns, surface air temperatures, coastal sea level, and extreme weather. The MOC flow structure in the South Atlantic is thought to control the stability of the entire global MOC system. Given this importance, significant resources have been invested on observing the MOC in the South Atlantic over the past decade. Multiple years of full-depth daily observations from moored instruments at 34.5°S are used to calculate the meridional transports near the western and eastern boundaries, as well as the basin-wide interior transports, via geostrophic methods. These transport estimates are combined with Ekman transports derived from satellite wind products to yield daily estimates of the total meridional transports. Analysis of the MOC volume transport using all available moored instruments from 2013 to 2017 allows us to quantify for the first time the daily volume transport of both the upper and abyssal overturning cells at 34.5°S. The structure of these flows is characterized in unprecedented detail; no statistically significant trend is detectable in either cell. Abyssal-cell transport variability is largely independent of the transport variability in the upper-cell. Analysis of this new data set is crucial for improving our understanding of the temporal and spatial scales of variability that governs MOC related flows, and for disentangling their respective roles in modulating its overall variability.

How to cite: Kersalé, M., Meinen, C., Perez, R., Le Hénaff, M., Valla, D., Lamont, T., Sato, O., Dong, S., Terre, T., van Caspel, M., Chidichimo, M. P., van den Berg, M., Speich, S., Piola, A., Campos, E., Ansorge, I., Volkov, D., Lumpkin, R., and Garzoli, S.: Temporal Variability of the Meridional Overturning Cells in the South Atlantic, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6123, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6123, 2020.

Germany’s national ocean observing activities are carried out by multiple actors including governmental bodies, research institutions, and universities, and miss central coordination and governance. A particular strategic approach to coordinate and facilitate ocean research has formed in Germany under the umbrella of the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM). KDM aims at bringing together the marine science expertise of its member institutions and collectively presents them to policy makers, research funding organizations, and to the general public. Within KDM, several strategic groups (SGs), composed of national experts, have been established in order to strengthen different scientific and technological aspects of German Marine Research. Here we present the SG for sustained open ocean observing and the SG for sustained coastal observing. The coordination effort of the SG’s include (1) Representing German efforts in ocean observations, providing information about past, ongoing and planned activities and forwarding meta-information to data centers (e.g., JCOMMOPS), (2) Facilitating the integration of national observations into European and international observing programs (e.g. GCOS, GOOS, BluePlanet, GEOSS), (3) Supporting innovation in observing techniques and the development of scientific topics on observing strategies, (4) Developing strategies to expand and optimize national observing systems in consideration of the needs of stakeholders and conventions, (5) Contributing to agenda processes and roadmaps in science strategy and funding, and (6) Compiling recommendations for improved data collection and data handling, to better connect to the global data centers adhering to quality standards.

How to cite: Jochumsen, K., Bachmayer, R., Baschek, B., Brandt, A., Fritz, J.-S., Gaye, B., Janssen, F., Karstensen, J., Kraberg, A., Martinez, P., Vink, A., and Zielinski, O.: Coordinating sustained coastal and ocean observing efforts in Germany, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-9044, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9044, 2020.

We describe the construction of a new global dataset of Night Marine Air Temperature (NMAT), which provides monthly 5-degree values of NMAT back to 1880 with associated uncertainty estimates. The new dataset (CLASSnmat) builds on the HadNMAT2 dataset, which was released in 2013. CLASSnmat uses the ship-based NMAT values from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS Release 3). However, a new method is used in CLASSnmat to remove duplicated values from the observations, and to infill missing ship identifiers. In addition, a revised method of correcting the warm-bias that occurs in the data during World 2 is applied, which allows the retention of more data than in HadNMAT2. As with its predecessor, the NMAT data in CLASSnmat are not interpolated to grid-cells devoid of observations, but a revised gridding method is used which improves the propagation of uncertainty from the individual measurements through to the gridded values. CLASSnmat is released with NMAT values corrected to 2, 10 and 20m height to allow direct comparison against other measures of temperature, e.g. land-based observations or reanalysis temperature values.

How to cite: Cornes, R., Kent, E., Berry, D., and Kennedy, J.: CLASSnmat: a new dataset of Night Marine Air Temperature back to 1880, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11585, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11585, 2020.

Accurate estimates and forecasts of physical and biogeochemical processes at the air-sea interface must rely on integrated in-situ and satellite surface observations of essential Ocean/Climate Variables (EOVs /ECVs). Such observations, when sustained over appropriate temporal and spatial scales, are particularly powerful in constraining and improving the skills, impact and value of weather, ocean and climate forecast models. The calibration and validation of satellite ocean products also rely on in-situ observations, thus creating further positive high-impact applications of observing systems designed for global sustained observations of EOV and ECVs.

The Global Drifter Program has operated uninterrupted for several decades and constitutes a particular successful example of a network of multiparametric platforms providing observations of climate, weather and oceanographic relevance (e.g. air-pressure, sea surface temperature, ocean currents). This presentation will review the requirements of sustainability of an observing system such as the GDP (i.e. cost effectiveness, peer-review of the observing methodology and of the technology, free data access and international cooperation), will present some key metrics recently used to quantify the impact of drifter observations, and will discuss two prominent examples of GDP regional observations and the transition to operations of novel platforms, such us wind and directional wave spectra drifters, in sparsely sampled regions of the Arabian Sea and of the North Atlantic Ocean.

How to cite: Centurioni, L. and Hormann, V.: Global In-Situ Observations of Essential Climate and Ocean Variables by the Global Drifter Program. Applications and Impacts, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20408, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20408, 2020.

Whilst anthropogenic activities are significantly altering the climate, both warming the atmosphere and increasing CO2, the ocean is

significantly ameliorating both effects. This effect is so important that the transient climate response to carbon emissions (TCRE), can be

formulated primarily in terms of the ocean. We show that in direct analogy to the TCRE, Anthropogenic Carbon (Canth) and temperature increases in the ocean are

linearly related, both globally and integrated over a range of scales. These ocean responses are typically of order 0.02K/mumol/kg,

(equivalently ~80MJ/mol). This linear relation allows for direct translation between temperature and carbon inventory increases. Furthermore,

we are far better able to decompose DIC changes into Canth increases and that of other carbon pools, than we are decomposing heat

inventory changes into added and redistributed heat. By separating total DIC change into Canth and that of other carbon pools, we can therefore remove the effect

of the transient response relationship between heat and carbon. This allows the production of estimates of added and redistributed heat in the

ocean from remaining DIC changes. Our results suggest that the variability of the transient response is predominately set by heat uptake, not carbon, and that this

variability may be traced to individual water masses. Therefore, it may be necessary to separate this transient response regionally in order

to obtain accurate estimates of added and redistributed heat at a global scale using this technique. The Eulerian transient response is set

predominantly by isotherm heave. The part of the transient response set by climate sensitivity, analogous to a semi-Lagrangian approach, is

set largely by patterns of regional heat uptake.

How to cite: Turner, C., Oliver, K., Brown, P., and McDonagh, E.: Heat and carbon changes in the ocean as a transient response and tool for decomposing heat uptake, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7828, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7828, 2020.

The aim of the project is to evaluate the response of the global ocean climate to anomalous surface fluxes in terms of ocean heat uptake and circulation changes. All simulations have been performed with the NOAA-GFDL Modular Ocean Model (MOM) version 5. Ocean-only MOM has been integrated toward a near-equilibrium state using as multicentinal initial conditions derivated from a former CORE-I protocol implementation (Griffies et al., 2009). After equilibrium, a restored control simulation has been obtained by a further 70 years of integration while effective total air-sea heat fluxes and freshwater fluxes were stored at daily intervals. A second control simulation has been obtained by the prescription of these storage fluxes. Differences between the restored and prescribed fluxes controls are rather small. Explicit flux sensitivity experiments are proposed by the Flux-Anomaly-Forced Model Intercomparison Project (FAFMIP) in which prescribed surface flux perturbations are applied to the ocean in separated simulations (Gregory et al., 2016). Experiments are 70 years long and branch from piControl conditions. Both wind stress and freshwater anomalies implies nearly-to-zero temperature changes in volume mean temperature. Only the last implies a rather small cooling effect after year 50 of integration. In contrast, anomalous heat flux causes significant volume mean temperature changes. Observed total temperature changes are solely determined by the local addition of heat implying vanishing of the redistribution effect in the entire ocean by inter-basin exchanges and vertical mixing. So far, surface heat anomalies produce the most notable zonal-mean change in ocean temperature. Strong positive temperature change is observed along the top ocean while deepening of temperature anomalies occurs at high latitudes in both hemispheres. Both added and redistributed temperature tracers show maxima in the same area. In most cases, both processes are proportionally inverse. Except for the northern ocean, added temperature tracer is roughly limited to the first 1000 m deep. In contrast, redistributed temperature tracer shows the cooling of subtropical areas and the warming of both the tropical and southern ocean. Maximum at the North Atlantic is possibly due to atmosphere-sea feedbacks, while near-surface tropical and subtropical changes are due to redistribution processes. Heat is mainly taken as a passive tracer in the North Atlantic Ocean and along the entire Southern Ocean. Warming up of mid and low latitudes by redistribution processes is due to the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). In turn, changes in AMOC are dominated by surface heat flux changes. The reduction of northward heat transport cools down high latitudes near the surface causing low latitudes to warm up.

How to cite: Navarro-Labastida, R. and Farneti, R.: Ocean climate response to anomalous surface buoyancy and momentum fluxes, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20822, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20822, 2020.

Mode water formation results from air-sea exchange processes in association with the dynamics and thermodynamics of ocean currents or fronts in every ocean basin. Here, a new algorithm is applied to the Argo global array to define surface mixed layer depths and to detect mode waters with homogeneous properties underneath. Specifically, we revisit the spatial and temporal evolution of South Atlantic subtropical mode water (SASTMW) using this new algorithm and find that our set of criteria is more precise than previous detections of mode water. With satellite altimetry measurements and eddy tracking algorithms (Laxenaire et al., 2018), the colocalization between mesoscale eddies and mode waters can be achieved. We then test how much the profiles indicative of mode water are matched with locations of mesoscale eddies and to what extent these eddies influence mode water variability. In addition, we investigate the relationship between the temporal integral of surface heat flux with the heat stored within the layers of the SASTMWs during the formation periods. Nearly all Argo profiles indicate that mode water formation occurs at the time and within the region where loss of latent heat flux from ocean to the atmosphere is significant. Anticyclonic eddies, specifically, play a crucial role in heat redistribution associated with mode waters advected by the subtropical gyre.

How to cite: Chen, Y., Speich, S., and Bopp, L.: Effect of mesoscale eddies on subtropical mode water formation and ocean heat storage, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6157, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6157, 2020.

The pathway by which Atlantic Water ultimately inflows to the Arctic Ocean via the Yermak Plateau are of great interest for improving the current understanding of the evolving state of the European Arctic. The Arctic branches of the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC), i.e. the Svalbard Branch (SB), the Yermak Pass Branch (YPB) and the Yermak Branch (YB), are the primary routes through which warm AW enters the Arctic Ocean (AO). These branches either flow around (YB) or passes (SB, YPB) over the Yermak Plateau, the Arctic Sill, which is a topographic obstacle for warm water intrusion to the Arctic and possible melting of sea ice. In addition, The Spitsbergen Polar Current (SPC), carrying fresh costal and Arctic type water from the Barents Sea has to cross the Yermak Platea along the northwestern corner of the Spitsbergen coastline. In order to reveal the dynamics across the YP and the roles of the different AW branches in heat flux variability across this arctic sill, a set of in situ ocean data, ocean climatology (UNIS HD), reanalyzed atmospheric data (NORA10) and altimetry data products from Ssalto/Duacs (CMEMS), where synthesized in order to study the seasonal and year-to-year variability in ocean currents across the YP. In situ data from the Remote Sensing of Ocean Circulation and Environmental Mass Changes (REOCIRC) project consist of water time series of temperature, salinity, ocean current and Ocean Bottom Pressure (OBP), which covered the SB and the SPC. Air-ocean interaction mechanisms for controlling volume transport and heat fluxes in the SB and SPC are presented, and further linked to the variability of the other primary AW routes towards the AO. Moreover, surface geostrophic currents from Absolute Dynamic Topography (ADT) are calibrated against the geostrophic bottom current calculated from in situ OBP recorders. Estimates of winter volume- and heat transports across the YP for the time period 1993-2019 are presented, and interannual variability in the SB linked to the WSC and other AW branches are discussed together with consequences for sea ice melting north of Svalbard.

How to cite: Nilsen, F., Ersdal, E. A., and Skogseth, R.: Atlantic- and Arctic Water transport across the Yermak Plateau, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11409, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11409, 2020.

On the continental slope north of Svalbard, Atlantic Water is transported eastward as a part of the Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current. As inflow of Atlantic Water through the Fram Strait is the largest oceanic heat source to the Arctic Ocean, it is important to improve our knowledge about the dynamics and processes that govern the heat exchange between Atlantic Water and water masses of Arctic origin. This includes processes that enable lateral exchange across the shelf break or into the interior of the deep basin. Here, we study the vorticity dynamics on the slope and its contribution to the water mass modifications and heat exchange. Focusing on topographically trapped waves – sub-inertial oscillations trapped to follow the continental slope – we establish their existence and properties on the northern slope of Svalbard using a free baroclinic wave model. Their dependence on background stratification and current properties is explored in sensitivity analysis. Next, we discuss their contribution to lateral exchange from the boundary current on the slope to the continental shelf, troughs, and the deep Nansen Basin in the Arctic Ocean, including exchange associated with instabilities and resulting eddy shedding off the vorticity waves. Hydrographic and current time series from 2018-19 at two mooring arrays crossing the slope north of Svalbard (The Nansen Legacy project) are used to associate the observed physical environment with model-predicted topographic waves. Analysis of the in-situ data will determine which wave mode that can exist over the sloping seafloor and the observed hydrography and flow, and the model will give the corresponding spatial characteristics for the given frequencies and wave numbers. Energetic oscillations present in the observations are analyzed in light of the model results. Of special interest are the seasonal variability in hydrography and current strength and the resulting modification of the wave characteristics. Moreover, the interaction between the vorticity waves and tidal oscillations in the diurnal band is emphasized.

How to cite: Kalhagen, K., Nilsen, F., Skogseth, R., Fer, I., Koenig, Z., and Kolås, E.: Topographically trapped waves along the continental slope north of Svalbard, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-17494, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17494, 2020.

Located on a crossroads of some of the main currents associated to the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) shelves are specially affected by changes in large-scale ocean circulation. Such circulation changes impact not only the regional climate, but also the overall water masses composition, with consequences on physical conditions, nutrient availability, oxygen content, pH, etc. Systematic hydrographic observations of this system have been carried out by Canada and other countries since 1948. The observational program was reinforced in 1999 with the creation of the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP), ensuring enhanced seasonal coverage and new biogeochemical observations. In 2014, this monitoring was augmented with the monitoring of ocean acidification parameters. Here we review historical physical-biogeochemical changes on the NL shelves, with an emphasis on low frequency variability and cycles. Results suggest, for example, that the cold intermediate layer (CIL), a cold mid-depth layer that is a key feature of the NL ecosystem, exhibited profound changes during the last 70 years. In the mid 60's, the CIL was anomalously warm compared to the rest of the time series. This warm period was followed by a cold period centered in the early 90's. Historical salinity records also suggest that fresher waters are found during warmer years, and vice-versa. Nitrate/Phosphate ratios suggest recent changes in water masses composition towards less Arctic waters flowing on the shelves. This is concurrent with a reduction in nutrients concentration on the NL shelves since about 2012, together with changes in the strength of the Labrador Current along the shelf.

How to cite: Cyr, F., Gibb, O., Bélanger, D., Han, G., Maillet, G., and Pepin, P.: Decadal physical-biogeochemical changes in the Newfoundland and Labrador ecosystem, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10620, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10620, 2020.

Repeated hydrographic surveys have allowed for the monitoring of the 24.5°N trans-Atlantic transect of volume and heat transports  since the middle of the last century. However, identifying the geographic origins and the temporal characteristics of full depth ocean heat content (OHC) anomalies is still at the frontier of  global ocean warming research albeit it is critical to the  understanding of  the current warming of the ocean and its future evolution. To address this gap,  we  combine volume transports at 24.5°N  with an historical reconstruction of  excess heat, which we define as the heat gained across the section since the year 1850 to  present. The  reconstruction is based on  a maximum entropy approach  that links the  location and time of the last entry into the ocean of a series of transient and geochemical tracers to their full depth in situ measurements in the interior. Here, we apply it to tracers measured on the hydrographic sections at  24.5°N since 1992. This methodology is a step forward in exploring the coherence of the OHC distributions at 24.5°N over time with the variability of the SST in  the source regions and the role of the AMOC, all genuinely based on observations. We find that the AMOC ranges from 16 to 19 Sv, heat transport from 0.9 to 1.5 PW and excess heat transport from 19 to 31 TW. The excess heat is transported northward across 24.5°N thus reinforcing the warming of the North Atlantic Ocean.

How to cite: Messias, M.-J. and Mercier, H.: Transport of Excess Heat at 24.5°N, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-22652, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22652, 2020.

Over the last thirty years the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) has been maintaining the Atlantic Zone Off-Shore Monitoring Program (AZOMP), which includes annual occupation of several sections and stations in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Among these, the AR7W line across the Labrador Sea has one of the longest time-series where both transient tracers and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) have been collected since the early 1990s.

Among multiple transient tracers that have been measured along this transect (CFC-11, CFC-113, CCl₄ and SF₆), only measurement of CFC-12 extends over the full time-series from 1992 to 2018, overlapping with DIC observations. Measurements of CFC-12 were also available for a previous cruise in 1986, extending the time-series to three decades.

In this work we present the temporal variability of CFC-12 (1986-2016) and DIC (1992-2016) concentrations as well as their distribution in the major water masses of the region.

The CFC-12 data are used to reconstruct the time-history of the tracer’s saturation at the time of convection based on multiple regression with the atmospheric input function of CFC-12 and the annual maximum mixed layer depth. The so-modelled time-varying saturation is employed to relax the constant saturation assumption of the Transit Time Distribution (TTD) method, allowing for a better estimate of anthropogenic carbon (C_ant) in the region.

We present the column inventories and storage rate of C_ant in central Labrador Sea between 1986 and 2016 obtained using the TTD method with time-varying saturation. We compare these estimates with a classical TTD approach that assumes constant saturation, and we highlight the differences in trends and magnitudes obtained with the two approaches.    

Finally, our work shows the multi-decadal dataset of DIC in the Labrador Sea which enables a comparison between the TTD-based C_ant estimates and the measured DIC trends, providing insights into temporal variability of natural carbon in the region.

How to cite: Raimondi, L., Azetsu-Scott, K., Tanhua, T., Yashayaev, I., and Wallace, D.: Transient Tracers and Anthropogenic Carbon in Central Labrador Sea: a Multi-Decadal Study, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10546, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10546, 2020.

Since November 1995, we have monitored the volume transport of Faroe Bank Channel overflow (FBC-overflow) and since 2001, the bottom temperature at the sill of the channel. The FBC-overflow is the coldest and densest overflow component and contributes approximately one third of the total overflow. Together with water that it entrains en route, it is therefore one of the main sources for North Atlantic Deep Water and the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). In spite of reported AMOC weakening, the FBC-overflow has shown no signs of reduced volume transport. In contrast, a linear trend analysis indicated a weak (but non-significant) positive trend in volume transport of +5% from 1996 to 2018. The bottom water at the sill of the channel is the coldest component of the FBC-overflow and the densest overflow component overall. Since high-quality monitoring of the bottom water temperature began in summer 2001, the bottom water has warmed by approximately 0.2 °C with most of the warming occurring in two periods: 2004-2007 and 2015-2019. During the period, salinity has also been changing and the combined temperature/salinity effect on the density of the FBC-overflow will be discussed.

How to cite: Larsen, K. M. H., Hansen, B., Hátún, H., and Østerhus, S.: More than two decades of Faroe Bank Channel overflow: Stable, but warming, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13682, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13682, 2020.

The temperature in the Atlantic waters south of Iceland has increased by about 1°C since 1995 with most of the rise occurring before 2000. A similar rise in air temperature in Iceland was observed simultaneously and the rise in temperature is often interpreted as being caused by global warming. Many effects of this in the ocean and on land such as changed distribution of marine species in the area as well as melting of glaciers in Iceland have been attributed to this rising temperature. However, it is unlikely that this rapid increase in temperature was solely due to global warming, especially since it was accompanied by an increase in salinity. It is more likely that there was a change in the ocean circulation in the area leading to more sub-tropical water entering the sub-polar gyre causing a shift in temperature and salinity. A similar increase in temperature and salinity was observed earlier during 1930-1964 in this area. Between the two warm periods the waters were dominated by lower temperature and salinity. These changes have been related to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. By comparing the water mass properties in the two warm periods it is possible to estimate the relative contribution from natural variability and global warming for the recent warm period. It will be shown how the retreat and advancing of glaciers in Iceland are in harmony with the changes in water mass properties in the waters south of Iceland. It is important that decisions about how to adapt to coming climate change are based on how much of the observed change is due to natural variability and global warming respectively. This is a method that can be used in other areas of the northern North Atlantic.

How to cite: Jónsson, S.: Estimating global warming and natural variability signals in the ocean south of Iceland, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7488, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7488, 2020.

The North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (SPG) has been widely implicated as the source of large-scale changes in the subpolar marine environment. However, inconsistencies between different indices of SPG strength based on Sea Surface Height (SSH) observations have raised questions about the active role SPG strength and size play in determining water properties in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic (ENA). Here, by analyzing SSH-based and various other SPG-strength indices derived from observations and a global coupled model, we show that the interpretation of SPG strength-salinity relationship is dictated by the choice of the SPG index. Our results emphasize that SPG indices should be interpreted cautiously because they represent variability in different regions of the subpolar North Atlantic. Idealized Lagrangian trajectory experiments illustrate that zonal shifts of main current pathways in the ENA and meridional shifts of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) in the western intergyre region during strong and weak SPG circulation regimes are manifestations of variability in the size and strength of the SPG. Such shifts in advective pathways modulate the proportions of subpolar and subtropical water reaching the ENA, and thus impact salinity. Inconsistency among SPG indices arises due to the inability of some indices to capture the meridional shifts of the NAC in the western intergyre region. Overall, our results imply that salinity variability in the ENA is not exclusively sourced from the subtropics, instead the establishment of a dominant subpolar pathway also points to redistribution within the SPG.

How to cite: Koul, V., Tesdal, J.-E., Bersch, M., Brune, S., Hátún, H., Haak, H., Borchert, L., Schrum, C., and Baehr, J.: Dynamical constraints on the choice of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre index, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2645, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2645, 2020.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a major mechanism for northward heat transport on our planet and the prime reason why the Northern Hemisphere is warmer than the Southern Hemisphere (Feulner et al. 2013). The AMOC is a sensitive non-linear system dependent on subtle thermohaline density differences in ocean water, and major AMOC transitions have been implicated e.g. in millennial climate events during the last glacial (Rahmstorf 2002).

There is evidence that the AMOC is slowing down in response to modern global warming, as predicted by climate models (Caesar et al. 2018). We will review and compile proxy evidence for AMOC changes during the past 1-2 millennia, including e.g. Sherwood et al. 2011, Thibodeau et al. 2018, Thornalley et al. 2018, Rahmstorf et al. 2015, Zanna et al. 2019. We conclude that there now is substantial and consistent evidence from multiple independent sources for a modern AMOC slowdown that is unprecedented in at least a millennium.

References

Caesar, L., S. Rahmstorf, A. Robinson, G. Feulner, and V. Saba. 2018. Nature, 556: 191-96.

Feulner, G, S Rahmstorf, A Levermann, and S Volkwardt. 2013. Journal of Climate, 26: 7136-50.

Rahmstorf, S. 2002. Nature, 419: 207-14.

Rahmstorf, S., Jason E. Box, Georg Feulner, Michael E. Mann, Alexander Robinson, Scott Rutherford, and Erik J. Schaffernicht. 2015. Nature Climate Change, 5: 475-80.

Sherwood, O. A., M. F. Lehmann, C. J. Schubert, D. B. Scott, and M. D. McCarthy. 2011. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 108: 1011-5.

Thibodeau, Benoit, Christelle Not, Jiang Hu, Andreas Schmittner, David Noone, Clay Tabor, Jiaxu Zhang, and Zhengyu Liu. 2018. Geophysical Research Letters, 45: 12,376-12,85.

Thornalley, D. J. R., D. W. Oppo, P. Ortega, J. I. Robson, C. M. Brierley, R. Davis, I. R. Hall, P. Moffa-Sanchez, N. L. Rose, P. T. Spooner, I. Yashayaev, and L. D. Keigwin. 2018. Nature, 556: 227-30.

Zanna, L., S. Khatiwala, J. M. Gregory, J. Ison, and P. Heimbach. 2019. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 116: 1126-31.

How to cite: Rahmstorf, S. and Caesar, L.: The Atlantic Overturning Circulation: At its Weakest in a Millennium?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13859, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13859, 2020.

The strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) at 26°N has now been continuously measured by the RAPID array over the period April 2004 - Sept 2018. This record provides unique insight into the variability of the large-scale ocean circulation, previously only measured by sporadic snapshots of basin-wide transports from hydrographic sections. The continuous measurements have unveiled striking variability on timescales of days to a decade, driven largely by wind-forcing, contrasting with previous expectations about a slowly-varying, buoyancy forced large-scale ocean circulation. However, these measurements were primarily observed during a warm state of the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV) which has been steadily declining since a peak in 2008-2010. In 2013-2015, a period of strong buoyancy- forcing by the atmosphere drove intense watermass transformation in the subpolar North Atlantic and provides a unique opportunity to investigate the response of the large-scale ocean circulation to buoyancy forcing.

Modelling studies suggest that the AMOC in the subtropics responds to such events with an increase in overturning transport, after a lag of 3-9 years. At 45°N, observations suggest that the AMOC my already be increasing. We have therefore examined the record of transports at 26°N to see whether the AMOC in the subtropical North Atlantic is now recovering from a previously reported low period commencing in 2009. Comparing the two latitudes, the AMOC at 26°N is higher than its previous low. Extending the record at 26°N with ocean reanalysis from GloSea5, the transport fluctuations follow those at 45°N by 0-2 years, albeit with lower magnitude. Given the short span of time and anticipated delays in the signal from the subpolar to subtropical gyres, it is not yet possible to determine whether the subtropical AMOC strength is recovering.

How to cite: Moat, B., Smeed, D., Frajka-Williams, E., Desbruyeres, D., Beaulieu, C., Johns, W., Rayner, D., Sanchez-Franks, A., Baringer, M., Volkov, D., and Bryden, H.: Pending recovery in the strength of the meridional overturning circulation at 26°N, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5785, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5785, 2020.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is pivotal for regional and global climate due to its key role in the uptake and redistribution of heat, carbon and other tracers. Establishing the causes of historical variability in the AMOC can tell us how the circulation responds to natural and anthropogenic changes at the ocean surface. However, attributing observed AMOC variability and inferring causal relationships is challenging because the circulation is influenced by multiple factors which co-vary and whose overlapping impacts can persist for years.  Here we reconstruct and unambiguously attribute variability in the AMOC at the latitudes of two observational arrays to the recent history of surface wind stress, temperature and salinity. We use a state-of-the-art technique that computes space- and time-varying sensitivity patterns of the AMOC strength with respect to multiple surface properties from a numerical ocean circulation model constrained by observations. While on inter-annual timescales, AMOC variability at 26°N is overwhelmingly dominated by a linear response to local wind stress, in contrast, AMOC variability at subpolar latitudes is generated by both wind stress and surface temperature and salinity anomalies. Our analysis allows us to obtain the first-ever reconstruction of subpolar AMOC from forcing anomalies at the ocean surface.

How to cite: Kostov, Y., Johnson, H. L., Marshall, D. P., Forget, G., Heimbach, P., Holliday, N. P., Li, F., Lozier, M. S., Pillar, H. R., and Smith, T.: Contrasting sources of variability in subtropical and subpolar Atlantic overturning, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5894, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5894, 2020.

The atmosphere over the North Atlantic sector exhibits significant interannual and interdecadal variability, as well as long-term trends due to global change. This variability is accompanied by changes in predictability. The origins of North Atlantic variability can to a large extent be traced back to the ocean and the land surface, the upper atmosphere, the tropics, as well as circum-global patterns. In particular, the tropical Pacific and the upper atmosphere have a strong influence on interannual and decadal variability in the North Atlantic region. As an example, the tropical Pacific affects the North Atlantic both through a tropospheric pathway across North America and through an indirect pathway through the stratosphere. Hence, due to the large number of factors influencing the North Atlantic region, their inter-dependence and their non-stationarity, the influence of these different factors is difficult to disentangle. Furthermore, models are often not able to capture the inter-dependence and superposition of these factors, which affects to what extent models are able to predict the North Atlantic region. This submission will explore the contribution to variability and predictability for several of these remote influences.

How to cite: Domeisen, D.: Origins of variability and predictability in the North Atlantic region, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7815, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7815, 2020.

This study focuses on the decadal time scale variability of the North Atlantic Ocean-Atmosphere system. This time scale is relevant to preparedness and adaptation as society becomes increasingly threatened by the adverse impact of anthropogenic climate change. North Atlantic decadal climate variability has been related to interaction between the subpolar and subtropical gyre and manifested in persistent multi-year SST and heat content anomalies and shifts in the latitude of the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Current (GS/NAC). We apply a space-time analysis to annual, North Atlantic, upper ocean heat content (OHC) anomalies from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Community Earth System Model (CESM) long pre-industrial control run. The analysis reveals decadal anomalies associated with two patterns: a dipole centered on the GS/NAC, in the western side of the Basin that oscillates quasi-regularly, reversing its sign every of 6 to 7 years. The second pattern is centered in the eastern side of the basin and lags the first by about 5 years, implying that heat is transported between the subtropical and subpolar gyres. Analysis of surface windstress anomalies connected with these OHC fluctuations implies that the latter are forced by stochastic atmospheric variability. Further analysis compares the model patterns with observations to determine their relevance and predictability and assesses their response to climate change.

How to cite: Kushnir, Y., Lee, D. R. (., and Ting, M.: North Atlantic decadal variability in a coupled global model and relevance to observations, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11083, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11083, 2020.

Leading up to and during the summer of 2015 sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre reached anomalously low values while in the subtropical gyre just to the SSTs were anomalously warm. Recent observation and modelling studies have found evidence showing that these SST anomalies can be linked to the heat wave experienced over Europe that summer.  The latest observation based data still shows anomalously cold temperatures, as well as the anomalously fresh conditions that went along the 2015 cold blob in the upper layers of the eastern North Atlantic Subpolar gyre.  A second heat wave over Europe occurred in the summer of 2018 where the SSTs reached another minimum value.  Therefore, being able to predict the development, enhancement and persistence of such an anomaly is essential for good seasonal and longer predictions.  At present several modelling systems have had difficulties in simulating/maintaining the 2015 cold blob. In this work we apply a novel initialization technique using anomalous initialization from a forced ocean simulation to simulate the 2015 cold blob.  Initial results show that the model is able to maintain the cold blob as well as have a strengthening of the cold blob, however, it has difficulties capturing the timing of this strengthening.

How to cite: Drijfhout, S., Mecking, J., Hirschi, J., and Megann, A.: Predicting the 2015 North Atlantic Cold Blob, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6802, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6802, 2020.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) contribute to long-term climate variability of Northern Hemisphere. The North Atlantic Ocean carries 25% of global heat transferred tropics to polar latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (Srokosz, 2012). In the subpolar seas of the North Atlantic water goes down in few localized areas to deep convection, where all Atlantic deep water masses are formed. This process pumps a huge amount of CO2 to the deep ocean, which have strong consequence for global climate (Buckley and Marshall, 2016; Kuhlbrodt, 2007). The water comes back to the surface mainly in upwelling regions of the Southern Ocean (Toggweiler and Samuels 1998, Delworth and Zeng, 2008), as well as in the tropics due to vertical mixing.

In this study we try to link the long-term variability of the AMOC to it’s main driving mechanisms: the deep ocean convection in the Greenland, the Labrador and the Irminger seas, and to wind driven upwelling in the Southern Ocean.

As a reference for the AMOC intensity on the decadal and longer time scales, we use AMOC indexes from several studies (Caesar, 2018; Chen and Tung, 2018), which extend the time series back to the 1950s. The intensity of deep convection (IC) over the same time period is computed using convection index (Bashmacnikov et al., 2019). Wind-driving upwelling in the Southern Ocean is computed through evaluation of the divergence of Ekman fluxes (ED), using the wind velocity from atmospheric reanalysis (ERA 40 1957-1979 and ERA-Interim 1980-2016).

To estimate contribution of each of the forcing factors to the temporal variability of the AMOC, were used cross-correlation and regression analyses with varying time lags. The biggest cross-correlation coefficient was found with the IC in the Greenland Sea, the negative lags indicate that it is the AMOC, which affects the variability of convection intensity. The second largest cross-correlation coefficient was found with the IC in the Labrador Sea (0.7) with the lag of 13 years. The maximum cross-correlation with the IC in the Irminger Sea was 0.6 on a narrow interval of the time lags. The ED in Southern ocean demonstrate a significant correlation with the AMOC, with the correlation coefficient of 0.5 at the time lag of 15 years.

The contributions of each of the control mechanisms to temporal variability of the AMOC were investigated by the regression analysis for the time lags at which the maximum cross-correlations of each of the parameters are obtained. As a result the maximum regression coefficient was obtained for the IC in the Irminger Sea (0.65), the second one for the ED (0.35) using the time lags of 9 and 25 years, respectively. The regression coefficient for the IC in the Labrador Sea did not exceed 0.2 for all tested time lags. The physical mechanism, connecting the variability of the AMOC intensity to these two control mechanisms is a subject of our further research.

The work was supported by a grant from the Russian science Foundation (project No. 17-17-01151)

How to cite: Kuznetcova, D. and Mamadzhanian, A.: Do deep convection control the long-term variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-754, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-754, 2020.

The centennial to multi-centennial variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is studied in a 1200-yr pre-industrial control simulation of the IPSL-CM6-LR atmosphere-ocean coupled model. In this run, a spectrum analysis finds a periodicity of the low-frequency variability of AMOC, with a period of about 200-year. This variability alters the Northern Hemisphere climate over the land and modulates the Arctic sea ice extent and volume. The associated density variations show large positive (negative) salinity-driven density anomalies in the Nordic Seas and subpolar gyre associated with a strong (week) AMOC state. The positive salinity anomalies in the Greenland Sea are found to be generated by anomalous southward salinity transport in the Fram Straits. The gradual AMOC increase and the associated oceanic northward heat transport melt the sea ice in the Arctic and build shallow negative salinity anomalies in the central Arctic. In parallel, the AMOC is also associated with a northward salt transport into the Eastern Arctic, by an inflow of Atlantic water from the Barents Sea to the East Siberian Ocean. The accumulated surface freshwater in the central Arctic is ultimately exported into the Atlantic mainly through the Fram Strait via intensified East Greenland Current, lowering the upper ocean density and enhancing the stratification at the regions where the cold deep limb of AMOC is formed. The positive salinity anomalies at subsurface then slowly reach the surface though diffusion, increasing the surface salinity. The oscillation then turns into the opposite phase.

How to cite: Jiang, W., Gastineau, G., and Codron, F.: Centennial variability driven by salinity exchanges between the Atlantic and Arctic in a coupled climate model, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-844, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-844, 2020.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has been, and will continue to be, a key factor in the modulation of climate change both locally and globally. Reliable simulations of its decadal to century-timescale evolution are key to providing skilful predictions of future regional climate, and to understanding the likelihood of a potential AMOC collapse. However, there remains considerable uncertainty even in past AMOC evolution. Here, we show that the multi-model mean AMOC strengthened by approximately 10% to 1985 in new historical simulations for the 6th Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP6), contrary to results obtained from CMIP5. The simulated strengthening is due to a stronger anthropogenic aerosol forcing, in particular due to aerosol-cloud interactions. However, comparison with an observed sea surface temperature fingerprint of AMOC evolution during 1850-1985, and the shortwave forcing during 1985-2014, suggest that anthropogenic forcing and the subsequent AMOC response may be overestimated in some CMIP6 models.

How to cite: Menary, M., Robson, J., Allan, R., Booth, B., Cassou, C., Gastineau, G., Gregory, J., Hodson, D., Jones, C., Mignot, J., Ringer, M., Sutton, R., Wilcox, L., and Zhang, R.: Aerosol-forced AMOC changes in CMIP6 historical simulations., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2379, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2379, 2020.

The AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) is a key driver of climate change and variability. Since continuous, direct measurements of the overturning strength in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) have been unavailable until recently, the understanding, based largely on climate models, is that the Labrador Sea has an important role in shaping the evolution of the AMOC. However, a recent high profile observational campaign (Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic, OSNAP) has called into question the importance of the Labrador Sea, and hence of the credibility of the AMOC representation in climate models. Here, we reconcile these viewpoints by comparing the OSNAP data with a new, high-resolution coupled climate model: HadGEM3-GC3.1-MM. Unlike many previous models, we find our model compares well to the OSNAP overturning observations. Furthermore, overturning variability across the eastern OSNAP section (OSNAP-E), and not in the Labrador Sea region, appears linked to AMOC variability further south. Labrador Sea densities are shown to be an important indicator of downstream AMOC variability, but these densities are driven by upstream variability across OSNAP-E rather than local processes in the Labrador Sea.

How to cite: Lozier, S., Menary, M., and Jackson, L.: Reconciling the role of the Labrador Sea overturning circulation in OSNAP and climate models, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2981, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2981, 2020.

The Lofoten basin (the LB) contains relatively warm and salty waters regarding border basins such as Greenland and Barents Seas. Variability of the processes inside occurring in the basin reflects on the climate as on the mesoscales as on the interannual scales. We use a term mixed layer depth (MLD) as a border of the pycnocline in the water column, this parameter lets us evaluate the intensity of the convection in the region. Several methods of MLD calculations are tested in the current study: Kara, Montegut, and Dukhovskoy. The convection in the basin destructs stratification and forms massive intermediate water mass. The MITgcm data for 1993-2012 and over 5000 in-situ Argo T, S profiles for 2001-2017 were used in the calculations of the MLD.

We consider the maximum MLD (mMLD) in the region and its spatial distribution. The mMLD is higher in the central part of the LB and corresponds to the location of the Lofoten basin eddy (the LBE). Here the mMLD reaches 1000 meters, the medium maximum is 400 meters based both on the in-situ and model data. The maximum mixed layer depth ​​varies in the range of 400-1000 meters according to both datasets were used. The MLD over 400 meters is observed from January to May every year.

Acknowledgments: The authors acknowledge the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 18-17-00027). The results of the MITgcm were provided by D.L. Volkov, Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, USA.

How to cite: Fedorov, A. and Tatyana, B.: Deep convection in the Lofoten Basin: ARGO vs MITgcm, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3036, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3036, 2020.

The decadal to multi-decadal temperature variability of the intermediate (700 – 2000 m) North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (SPG) significantly imprints the global pattern of ocean heat uptake. Here, the origins and dominant pathways of this variability are investigating with an ocean analysis product (EN4), an ocean state estimate (ECCOv4), and idealized modeling approaches. Sustained increases and decreases of intermediate temperature in the SPG correlate with long-lasting warm and cold states of the upper ocean – the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability – with the largest anomalous vertical heat exchanges found in the vicinity of continental boundaries and strong ocean currents. In particular, vertical diffusion along the boundaries of the Labrador and Irminger Seas and advection in the region surrounding Flemish Cap stand as important drivers of the recent warming trend observed during 1996-2014. The impact of those processes is well captured by a 1-dimensional diffusive model with appropriate boundary-like parametrization and illustrated through the continuous downward propagation of a passive tracer in an eddy-permitting numerical simulation. Our results imply that the slow and quasi-periodic variability of intermediate thermohaline properties in the SPG are not strictly driven by the well-known convection-restratification events in the open seas but also receives a key contribution from boundary sinking and mixing. Increased skill for modelling and predicting intermediate-depth ocean properties in the North Atlantic will hence require the appropriate representation of surface-deep dynamical connections within the boundary currents encircling Greenland and Newfoundland.

How to cite: Desbruyeres, D., Sinha, B., McDonagh, E., Josey, S., Megann, A., Smeed, D., Holliday, P., New, A., and Moat, B.: Drivers of deep heat uptake in the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6915, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6915, 2020.

Temporal variability of the annual mean barotropic streamfunction in a high-resolution model configuration (VIKING20) for the northern North Atlantic is analyzed using a decomposition technique based on the vertically-averaged momentum equation. The method is illustrated by examining how the Gulf Stream transport in the recirculation region responds to the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). While no significant response is found in the year overlapping with the winter NAO index, a tendency is found for the Gulf Stream transport to increase as the NAO becomes more positive, starting in lead years 1 and 2 when the mean flow advection (MFA) and eddy momentum flux (EMF) terms associated with the nonlinear terms dominate in the momentum equations. Only after 2 years, the potential energy (PE) term, associated with the density field, starts to play a role and it is only after 5 years that the transport dependence on the NAO ceases to be significant. The PE contribution to the transport streamfunction has significant memory of up to 5 years in the Labrador and Irminger Seas. However, it is only around the northern rim of these seas that VIKING20 and the transport reconstruction exhibit similar memory. This is due to masking by the nonlinear MFA and EMF contributions.

How to cite: Wang, Y., Greatbatch, R., Claus, M., and Sheng, J.: Decomposing barotropic transport variability in a high-resolution ocean model of the North Atlantic Ocean, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-8399, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-8399, 2020.