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What governs the North Atlantic salinity maximum in a global GCM?
Author(s) -
Qu Tangdong,
Gao Shan,
Fukumori Ichiro
Publication year - 2011
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 - 10.1029/2011gl046757
Subject(s) - salinity , entrainment (biomusicology) , advection , forcing (mathematics) , mixed layer , climatology , environmental science , ocean general circulation model , eddy , thermohaline circulation , ocean current , temperature salinity diagrams , oceanography , flux (metallurgy) , geology , climate change , general circulation model , meteorology , geography , turbulence , philosophy , physics , materials science , rhythm , metallurgy , thermodynamics , aesthetics
Taking advantage of the rapid advance in ocean modeling, this study investigates the sea surface salinity maximum in the North Atlantic, using results from a model of the Consortium for Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO). Salinity budget terms were computed at the model's integration time step and archived as monthly averages. The simulated mixed layer salinity budget provides the first quantitative evidence for the ocean's role in governing the sea surface salinity maximum in the North Atlantic. Our analysis reveals that ocean dynamics explains about half of the sea surface salinity variance, being of equal importance as surface forcing. The sea surface salinity maximum varies both seasonally and interannually, as a consequence of interplay among surface flux, advection, and vertical entrainment. Contribution from eddies and small‐scale processes is relatively weak but not negligible. These results may provide useful hints for the design and interpretation of future observations in the region.