estimating the meridional overturning circulation (moc) in the atlantic
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Estimating the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in the Atlantic. Greg Pinkel Mentor: Dimitris Menemenlis Comentor: Michael Schodlok. Outline. MOC: Meridional Overturning Circulation - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Estimating the Meridional Overturning Circulation Estimating the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in the Atlantic(MOC) in the Atlantic
Greg PinkelGreg PinkelMentor: Dimitris MenemenlisMentor: Dimitris MenemenlisComentor: Michael SchodlokComentor: Michael Schodlok
Outline
● MOC: Meridional Overturning Circulation ● Observations: RAPID Array ● Model: ECCO2 Model ● Results: Comparisons
MOC: Meridional Overturning Circulation
● North Atlantic MOC:
– northward movement of near surface warm waters
– southward movement of deeper, colder waters
● Warm water emerges from Florida Strait as the Gulf Stream
● Water sinks down at higher latitudes
– begins to move southward at a depth of 2km
Surface winds and density gradients create northward flow ● Warmer, saltier, lighter at low latitudes
Colder, fresher, denser water and higher latitudes
- Max of 25% of the global heat flux (at 24.5 degrees N)
- Northwest parts of Europe to enjoy a mild climate despite the high latitude
- 2007: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported clear evidence that climate change is happening now
● Two things can slow this process
– Ocean surface warming
– Decreased Salinity
● Freshwater runoff from melting glaciers and the Greenland Ice Sheet ------>
● Controversially suggested that MOC has slowed by 30% since 1957
● 20% decrease in northward heat transport
ACIA (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment)
Determining The MOC● Surface: zonal (east-west) stress from winds cause Ekman transport
● Perpendicular to the direction of the wind
● Usually occurs within the top 50m
● Major component of the short-term variability in the MOC
● Wind measurements used to calculate the contribution of the Ekman transport to the MOC
● Measure the density of the water at different depths
● With densities, currents can be estimated at different depths
● Ekman transport and density transport gives a rough estimate of the meridional velocity
● Density-induced transport (light blue arrows)
RAPID/MOCHA Array● Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in the UK
● Rapid Climate Change/Meridional Overturning Circulation and Heat Flux Array (RAPID/MOCHA)
● Deployed in March 2004 to monitor MOC at 26 degrees N
● 19 Moorings measure variations in pressure, temperature, and salinity
● Determine density at different depths
ECCO2: Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II
● High resolution global-ocean and sea-ice data synthesis
● ECCO2 is a project from collaboration between JPL, MIT, and SIO (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
● The estimates are derived from a least-squares fit (or regression) of the MIT-gcm model (MIT general circulation model) to observations
● Cubed-Sphere model
– ¼ degree grid
– 50 depth levels
– 1 cube per month
Rapid/ECCO2 Cube78 Comparisons
Summary/Outlook
● Model and In-situ Temperature data agree well for East and West Boundaries ● Model and In-situ Salinity data correspond well for Western Boundary ● Meridional velocities correlate to depths of ~1000m ● Zonal velocities don't agree but have similar trends
● Grid spacing, differences in depth spacing, interpolation, and large averages may account for some differences ● ECCO2 could be improved by using the RAPID data to further constrain the model
Acknowledgments
● Mentor: Dimitris Menemenlis ● Comentor: Michael Schodlok ● Robin McCandliss (BODC) ● The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) ● JPL ● Caltech