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Simulated effects of southern hemispheric wind changes on the Pacific oxygen minimum zone
Author(s) -
Getzlaff Julia,
Dietze Heiner,
Oschlies Andreas
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl066841
Subject(s) - westerlies , southern hemisphere , trade wind , climatology , geology , oxygen minimum zone , climate change , oceanography , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , upwelling
A coupled ocean biogeochemistry‐circulation model is used to investigate the impact of observed past and anticipated future wind changes in the Southern Hemisphere on the oxygen minimum zone in the tropical Pacific. We consider the industrial period until the end of the 21st century and distinguish effects due to a strengthening of the westerlies from effects of a southward shift of the westerlies that is accompanied by a poleward expansion of the tropical trade winds. Our model results show that a strengthening of the westerlies counteracts part of the warming‐induced decline in the global marine oxygen inventory. A poleward shift of the trade‐westerlies boundary, however, triggers a significant decrease of oxygen in the tropical oxygen minimum zone. In a business‐as‐usual CO 2 emission scenario, the poleward shift of the trade‐westerlies boundary and warming‐induced increase in stratification contribute equally to the expansion of suboxic waters in the tropical Pacific.