Premium
Episodic Southern Ocean Heat Loss and Its Mixed Layer Impacts Revealed by the Farthest South Multiyear Surface Flux Mooring
Author(s) -
Ogle S. E.,
Tamsitt V.,
Josey S. A.,
Gille S. T.,
Cerovečki I.,
Talley L. D.,
Weller R. A.
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1029/2017gl076909
Subject(s) - mooring , mixed layer , oceanography , environmental science , flux (metallurgy) , climatology , heat flux , physical oceanography , geology , atmospheric sciences , heat transfer , materials science , physics , metallurgy , thermodynamics
Abstract The Ocean Observatories Initiative air‐sea flux mooring deployed at 54.08°S, 89.67°W, in the southeast Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, is the farthest south long‐term open ocean flux mooring ever deployed. Mooring observations (February 2015 to August 2017) provide the first in situ quantification of annual net air‐sea heat exchange from one of the prime Subantarctic Mode Water formation regions. Episodic turbulent heat loss events (reaching a daily mean net flux of −294 W/m 2 ) generally occur when northeastward winds bring relatively cold, dry air to the mooring location, leading to large air‐sea temperature and humidity differences. Wintertime heat loss events promote deep mixed layer formation that lead to Subantarctic Mode Water formation. However, these processes have strong interannual variability; a higher frequency of 2 σ and 3 σ turbulent heat loss events in winter 2015 led to deep mixed layers (>300 m), which were nonexistent in winter 2016.