Open AccessMeridional heat flux of the North Atlantic Ocean
Author(s) -
Carl Wunsch
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.77.9.5043
Subject(s) - geostrophic wind , zonal and meridional , heat flux , thermohaline circulation , climatology , flux (metallurgy) , ocean current , geostrophic current , ocean dynamics , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , geology , physics , heat transfer , chemistry , mechanics , organic chemistry
Using self-consistent geostrophic general circulation estimates for the North Atlantic Ocean as determined by an inverse method, I calculate the geostrophic and total meridional heat flux. The result is to a large extent dictated by the assumption of a fixed volume flux through the Florida Straits. There is no fundamental discrepancy between oceanic heat fluxes deduced from atmospheric residuals and those estimated directly in the ocean, including the estimates made here, simply because the error bars on all calculations are very large.