Contribution of Weddell Gyre to Global Overturning Circulation

Eos ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 95 (41) ◽  
pp. 376-376
Author(s):  
JoAnna Wendel
Keyword(s):  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Weddell Gyre ◽  
Global Overturning Circulation

scholarly journals The contribution of the Weddell Gyre to the lower limb of the Global Overturning Circulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 3357-3377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Jullion ◽  
Alberto C. Naveira Garabato ◽  
Sheldon Bacon ◽  
Michael P. Meredith ◽  
Pete J. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Weddell Gyre ◽  
Global Overturning Circulation

scholarly journals The Energetics of Southern Ocean Upwelling

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew McC. Hogg ◽  
Paul Spence ◽  
Oleg A. Saenko ◽  
Stephanie M. Downes
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Available Potential Energy ◽  
Ocean Winds ◽  
Global Overturning Circulation

AbstractThe ocean’s meridional overturning circulation is closed by the upwelling of dense, carbon-rich waters to the surface of the Southern Ocean. It has been proposed that upwelling in this region is driven by strong westerly winds, implying that the intensification of Southern Ocean winds in recent decades may have enhanced the rate of upwelling, potentially affecting the global overturning circulation. However, there is no consensus on the sensitivity of upwelling to winds or on the nature of the connection between Southern Ocean processes and the global overturning circulation. In this study, the sensitivity of the overturning circulation to changes in Southern Ocean westerly wind stress is investigated using an eddy-permitting ocean–sea ice model. In addition to a suite of standard circulation metrics, an energy analysis is used to aid dynamical interpretation of the model response. Increased Southern Ocean wind stress enhances the upper cell of the overturning circulation through creation of available potential energy in the Southern Hemisphere, associated with stronger upwelling of deep water. Poleward shifts in the Southern Ocean westerlies lead to a complicated transient response, with the formation of bottom water induced by increased polynya activity in the Weddell Sea and a weakening of the upper overturning cell in the Northern Hemisphere. The energetic consequences of the upper overturning cell response indicate an interhemispheric connection to the input of available potential energy in the Northern Hemisphere.

scholarly journals The Global Overturning Circulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Cessi
Keyword(s):  
Wind Stress ◽  
Conceptual Models ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Diapycnal Mixing ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Global Overturning Circulation

In this article, I use the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean version 4 (ECCO4) reanalysis to estimate the residual meridional overturning circulation, zonally averaged, over the separate Atlantic and Indo-Pacific sectors. The abyssal component of this estimate differs quantitatively from previously published estimates that use comparable observations, indicating that this component is still undersampled. I also review recent conceptual models of the oceanic meridional overturning circulation and of the mid-depth and abyssal stratification. These theories show that dynamics in the Antarctic circumpolar region are essential in determining the deep and abyssal stratification. In addition, they show that a mid-depth cell consistent with observational estimates is powered by the wind stress in the Antarctic circumpolar region, while the abyssal cell relies on interior diapycnal mixing, which is bottom intensified.

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