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Decadal weakening of the shallow overturning circulation in the South Indian Ocean
Author(s) -
Lee Tong
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2004gl020884
Subject(s) - slowdown , trade wind , circulation (fluid dynamics) , climatology , indian ocean , ocean heat content , oceanography , thermohaline circulation , ocean current , shutdown of thermohaline circulation , geology , walker circulation , period (music) , environmental science , north atlantic deep water , physics , political science , acoustics , law , thermodynamics
Satellite observations reveal a substantial weakening of the southeasterly trade wind over the South Indian Ocean during 1992–2000 and a resultant slowdown of the shallow meridional overturning circulation in this Ocean. The estimated rate of the slowdown of this circulation, 6.8 ± 1.4 × 10 6 m 3 /s over the 9‐year period, is nearly 70% of the mean strength of this circulation. Such a change has important implications to upper‐ocean heat content and decadal climate variability of the Indian Ocean, as well as to the ecosystem and air‐sea exchange of CO 2 in the region.