nerc.ac.uk

Variability of Antarctic Bottom Water at 24.5°N in the Atlantic

Frajka-Williams, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8773-7838; Cunningham, S.A.; Bryden, H.; King, B.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1338-3234. 2011 Variability of Antarctic Bottom Water at 24.5°N in the Atlantic. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116. C11026. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007168

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.
[img]
Preview
PDF
aabw_submitrev_sep2011.pdf

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

A recent hydrographic section at 24.5°N in the Atlantic and 6 months of observations from a moored array show that Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), the densest and deepest water mass in the world oceans, has been warming. While Johnson et al. (2008) showed that northward AABW transport at 24.5°N has been declining from 1981 to 2004, suggesting that the lower cell of the overturning circulation could halt in the near future, estimates from the latest hydrographic section in 2010 indicate a partial recovery of northward AABW transport. From 6 months of temperature and salinity observations at a deep moored array at 24–26°N, we find that short-term variability between April and November 2009 is of the same magnitude as the changes observed from hydrographic sections between 1981 and 2004. These observations highlight the possibility that transport changes estimated from hydrographic sections may be aliased by short-term variability. The observed AABW transport variability affects present estimates of the upper meridional overturning circulation by ±0.4 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1).

Item Type: Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007168
ISSN: 01480227
Date made live: 17 Nov 2011 11:51 +0 (UTC)
URI: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/303563

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Document Downloads

Downloads for past 30 days

Downloads per month over past year

More statistics for this item...