Impact of geothermal heating on the global ocean circulation

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Description/Abstract

The response of a global circulation model to a uniform geothermal heat flux of 50 mW m-2 through the sea floor is examined. If the geothermal heat input were transported upward purely by diffusion, the deep ocean would warm by 1.2°C. However, geothermal heating induces a substantial change in the deep circulation which is larger than previously assumed and subsequently the warming of the deep ocean is only a quarter of that suggested by the diffusive limit. The numerical ocean model responds most strongly in the Indo-Pacific with an increase in meridional overturning of 1.8 Sv, enhancing the existing overturning by approximately 25%.