posted on 2023-05-19, 08:10authored bySloyan, BM, Wijffels, SE, Tilbrook, B, Katsumata, K, Murata, A, Macdonald, AM
Repeated occupations of two hydrographic sections in the southwest Pacific basin from the 1990s to 2000s track property changes of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). The largest property changes-warming, freshening, increase in total carbon, and decrease in oxygen-are found near the basin's deep western boundary between 50° and 20°S. The magnitude of the property changes decreases with increasing distance from the western boundary. At the deep western boundary, analysis of the relative importance of AABW (n >28.1 kgm-3) freshening, heating, or isopycnal heave suggests that the deep ocean stratification change is the result of both warming and freshening processes. The consistent deep ocean changes near the western boundary of the southwest Pacific basin dispel the notion that the deep oceans quiescent. High-latitude climate variability is being directly transmitted into the deep southwest Pacific basin and the global deep ocean through dynamic deep western boundary currents.
History
Publication title
Journal of Physical Oceanography
Volume
43
Issue
10
Pagination
2132-2141
ISSN
0022-3670
Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Publisher
Amer Meteorological Soc
Place of publication
45 Beacon St, Boston, USA, Ma, 02108-3693
Rights statement
Copyright 2013 American Meteorological Society
Repository Status
Open
Socio-economic Objectives
Oceanic processes (excl. in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean)