Stationary Rossby waves dominate subduction of anthropogenic carbon in the Southern Ocean
Langlais, C.E.; Lenton, A.; Matear, R.; Monselesan, D.; Legresy, B.; Cougnon, E.; Rintoul, S. (2017). Stationary Rossby waves dominate subduction of anthropogenic carbon in the Southern Ocean. NPG Scientific Reports 7(1): 10 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17292-3
In: Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2045-2322; e-ISSN 2045-2322, meer
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| Auteurs | | Top |
- Langlais, C.E.
- Lenton, A.
- Matear, R.
- Monselesan, D.
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- Legresy, B.
- Cougnon, E.
- Rintoul, S.
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| Abstract |
The Southern Ocean has taken up more than 40% of the total anthropogenic carbon (C-ant) stored in the oceans since the preindustrial era, mainly in subantarctic mode and intermediate waters (SAMW-AAIW). However, the physical mechanisms responsible for the transfer of C-ant into the ocean interior remain poorly understood. Here, we use high resolution (1/10 degrees) ocean simulations to investigate these mechanisms at the SAMW-AAIW subduction hotspots. Mesoscale Stationary Rossby Waves (SRWs), generated where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current interacts with topography, make the dominant contribution to the C-ant transfer in SAMW-AAIW in the Indian and Pacific sectors (66% and 95% respectively). Eddy-resolving simulations reproduce the observed C-ant sequestration in these layers, while lower spatial resolution models, that do not reproduce SRWs, underestimate the inventory of C-ant in these layers by 40% and overestimate the storage in denser layers. A key implication is that climate model simulations, that lack sufficient resolution to represent sequestration by SRWs, are therefore likely to overestimate the residence time of C-ant in the ocean, with implications for simulated rates of climate change. |
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