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Kersalé M, Meinen CS, Perez RC, Le Hénaff M, Valla D, Lamont T, Sato OT, Dong S, Terre T, van Caspel M, Chidichimo MP, van den Berg M, Speich S, Piola AR, Campos EJD, Ansorge I, Volkov DL, Lumpkin R, Garzoli SL. Highly variable upper and abyssal overturning cells in the South Atlantic. Sci Adv 2020; 6:eaba7573. [PMID: 32821826 PMCID: PMC7406378 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba7573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) is a primary mechanism driving oceanic heat redistribution on Earth, thereby affecting Earth's climate and weather. However, the full-depth structure and variability of the MOC are still poorly understood, particularly in the South Atlantic. This study presents unique multiyear records of the oceanic volume transport of both the upper (<~3100 meters) and abyssal (>~3100 meters) overturning cells based on daily moored measurements in the South Atlantic at 34.5°S. The vertical structure of the time-mean flows is consistent with the limited historical observations. Both the upper and abyssal cells exhibit a high degree of variability relative to the temporal means at time scales, ranging from a few days to a few weeks. Observed variations in the abyssal flow appear to be largely independent of the flow in the overlying upper cell. No meaningful trends are detected in either cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Kersalé
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - C. S. Meinen
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - R. C. Perez
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - M. Le Hénaff
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - D. Valla
- Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - T. Lamont
- Oceans and Coasts Research Branch, Department of Environmental Affairs, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - O. T. Sato
- Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - S. Dong
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - T. Terre
- IFREMER, University of Brest, CNRS, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, Plouzané, France
| | - M. van Caspel
- Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - M. P. Chidichimo
- Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
- Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudio del Clima y sus Impactos (UMI-IFAECI/CNRS-CONICET-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - M. van den Berg
- Oceans and Coasts Research Branch, Department of Environmental Affairs, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - S. Speich
- Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique–IPSL, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - A. R. Piola
- Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudio del Clima y sus Impactos (UMI-IFAECI/CNRS-CONICET-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - E. J. D. Campos
- Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - I. Ansorge
- Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - D. L. Volkov
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - R. Lumpkin
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
| | - S. L. Garzoli
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA
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