The thermodynamic balance of the Weddell Gyre
The thermodynamic balance of the Weddell Gyre
The thermodynamic balance of the Weddell Gyre is assessed from an inverse estimate of the circulation across the gyre's rim. The gyre experiences a weak net buoyancy gain that arises from a leading-order cancellation between two opposing contributions, linked to two cells of water mass transformation and diapycnal overturning. The lower cell involves a cooling-driven densification of 8.4?±?2.0?Sv of Circumpolar Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water near the gyre's southern and western margins. The upper cell entails a freshening-driven conversion of 4.9?±?2.0?Sv of Circumpolar Deep Water into lighter upper-ocean waters within the gyre interior. The distinct role of salinity between the two cells stems from opposing salinity changes induced by sea ice production, meteoric sources and admixture of fresh upper-ocean waters in the lower cell, which contrasts with coherent reductions in salinity associated with sea ice melting and meteoric sources in the upper cell.
Weddell Gyre, Thermodynamics
317-325
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Zika, Jan D.
1843cce7-77ce-4ef6-9f79-bcf4f9db30e5
Jullion, Loïc
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Brown, Peter J.
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Holland, Paul R.
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Meredith, Michael P.
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Bacon, Sheldon
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16 January 2016
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Zika, Jan D.
1843cce7-77ce-4ef6-9f79-bcf4f9db30e5
Jullion, Loïc
e72025ed-bc3d-4c9f-a78e-4b41cb1c6da9
Brown, Peter J.
29f4e81e-e0c4-4147-984b-0215571fb2ca
Holland, Paul R.
1288654c-2b5b-4d4c-b360-7eebe59c7539
Meredith, Michael P.
25fd5f1c-f3ed-40a2-af59-5a7074a25fcd
Bacon, Sheldon
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C., Zika, Jan D., Jullion, Loïc, Brown, Peter J., Holland, Paul R., Meredith, Michael P. and Bacon, Sheldon
(2016)
The thermodynamic balance of the Weddell Gyre.
Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (1), .
(doi:10.1002/2015GL066658).
Abstract
The thermodynamic balance of the Weddell Gyre is assessed from an inverse estimate of the circulation across the gyre's rim. The gyre experiences a weak net buoyancy gain that arises from a leading-order cancellation between two opposing contributions, linked to two cells of water mass transformation and diapycnal overturning. The lower cell involves a cooling-driven densification of 8.4?±?2.0?Sv of Circumpolar Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water near the gyre's southern and western margins. The upper cell entails a freshening-driven conversion of 4.9?±?2.0?Sv of Circumpolar Deep Water into lighter upper-ocean waters within the gyre interior. The distinct role of salinity between the two cells stems from opposing salinity changes induced by sea ice production, meteoric sources and admixture of fresh upper-ocean waters in the lower cell, which contrasts with coherent reductions in salinity associated with sea ice melting and meteoric sources in the upper cell.
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grl53879.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
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grl53879.pdf
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More information
Submitted date: May 2015
Accepted/In Press date: 18 December 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 January 2016
Published date: 16 January 2016
Keywords:
Weddell Gyre, Thermodynamics
Organisations:
Physical Oceanography, Marine Physics and Ocean Climate
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 377035
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377035
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: dff3278f-27ad-4f0c-961e-c8665ccc599d
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Date deposited: 05 Jan 2016 16:37
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24
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Contributors
Author:
Jan D. Zika
Author:
Loïc Jullion
Author:
Peter J. Brown
Author:
Paul R. Holland
Author:
Michael P. Meredith
Author:
Sheldon Bacon
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