nerc.ac.uk

The warming of the Southern Ocean and its significance

Gille, Sarah; Meredith, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7342-7756; Sallée, J.-B.; Schmidtko, Sunke. 2022 The warming of the Southern Ocean and its significance. Antarctic Environments Portal [Marine]. 10.48361/1ddx-1w59

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.
[thumbnail of Open Access. Download most current version from publisher website.] Text (Open Access. Download most current version from publisher website.)
The warming of the Southern Ocean and i...pdf - Published Version
Restricted to NORA staff only

Download (1MB) | Request a copy

Abstract/Summary

The Southern Ocean encircles Antarctica and extends north to abut the subtropics at ~30-35°S. The Southern Ocean is a difficult place to collect measurements because it is far from many major ports, and only a limited number of nations have the research infrastructure and expertise to mount campaigns to the Southern Ocean. Measurement difficulties are confounded by the fact that the Southern Ocean has some of the stormiest conditions on the planet, it is covered by seasonal and in some places, perennial sea ice, and it contains icebergs. Expanded observing campaigns since the early 2000s have taken advantage of autonomous measurement systems to show that the Southern Ocean is gaining heat faster than the rest of the global ocean, with detectable heat gain extending from the ocean surface to depths of 1000-2000 m or more. Warming of the Southern Ocean has implications for the climate system as a whole. This is because the presence of warmer water at the periphery of the Antarctic continent can contribute to ice sheet melt and consequent sea level rise, and also because transfer of heat from the atmosphere to the ocean has long-term consequences for ocean circulation and for the climate system as a whole.

Item Type: Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.48361/1ddx-1w59
Related URLs:
Date made live: 16 Aug 2023 09:42 +0 (UTC)
URI: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/535612

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...