On the sub-decadal variability of South Atlantic Antarctic Intermediate Water
On the sub-decadal variability of South Atlantic Antarctic Intermediate Water
Variability of Antarctic Intermediate Water salinity in the South Atlantic is investigated on interannual and intradecadal timescales. Novel observations of slow, westward propagating salinity anomalies in Argo data are presented. The features have no corresponding signal in temperature and are anomalous in density. Analysis of 40 years of model output supports the existence of these westward propagating salinity anomalies and indicates that they are typical occurrences in time. The features are intensified in a latitude band around 30°S associated with the propagation of Agulhas rings. However, the features are much larger than Agulhas rings and occur on decadal timescales in the model. They propagate westward with speeds of 2.3 cm/s in observations, and 1.7 cm/s in model data. They are more consistent with planetary waves than with the advection of large-scale salinity anomalies. The observation of these features has implications for the interpretation of salinity anomalies, such as the linking of hydrological cycle changes to salinity changes.
L10605
McCarthy, G.D.
99241bcb-5667-469d-b7ae-4d308d516bd6
King, B.A.
960f44b4-cc9c-4f77-b3c8-775530ac0061
Cipollini, P.
276e356a-f29e-4192-98b3-9340b491dab8
McDonagh, E.L.
47e26eeb-b774-4068-af07-31847e42b977
Blundell, J.R.
88114f32-6b76-46b2-b2d8-d6ef64a82b0d
Biastoch, A.
fa7df768-2a47-4071-aafc-30f36910def8
2012
McCarthy, G.D.
99241bcb-5667-469d-b7ae-4d308d516bd6
King, B.A.
960f44b4-cc9c-4f77-b3c8-775530ac0061
Cipollini, P.
276e356a-f29e-4192-98b3-9340b491dab8
McDonagh, E.L.
47e26eeb-b774-4068-af07-31847e42b977
Blundell, J.R.
88114f32-6b76-46b2-b2d8-d6ef64a82b0d
Biastoch, A.
fa7df768-2a47-4071-aafc-30f36910def8
McCarthy, G.D., King, B.A., Cipollini, P., McDonagh, E.L., Blundell, J.R. and Biastoch, A.
(2012)
On the sub-decadal variability of South Atlantic Antarctic Intermediate Water.
Geophysical Research Letters, 39 (10), .
(doi:10.1029/2012GL051270).
Abstract
Variability of Antarctic Intermediate Water salinity in the South Atlantic is investigated on interannual and intradecadal timescales. Novel observations of slow, westward propagating salinity anomalies in Argo data are presented. The features have no corresponding signal in temperature and are anomalous in density. Analysis of 40 years of model output supports the existence of these westward propagating salinity anomalies and indicates that they are typical occurrences in time. The features are intensified in a latitude band around 30°S associated with the propagation of Agulhas rings. However, the features are much larger than Agulhas rings and occur on decadal timescales in the model. They propagate westward with speeds of 2.3 cm/s in observations, and 1.7 cm/s in model data. They are more consistent with planetary waves than with the advection of large-scale salinity anomalies. The observation of these features has implications for the interpretation of salinity anomalies, such as the linking of hydrological cycle changes to salinity changes.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 2012
Organisations:
Marine Physics and Ocean Climate
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 340761
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/340761
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 0cdf5a4c-0063-4441-8f20-490e3b446229
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 02 Jul 2012 12:56
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 11:29
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
G.D. McCarthy
Author:
B.A. King
Author:
P. Cipollini
Author:
E.L. McDonagh
Author:
A. Biastoch
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics