Open AccessDiagnosing the Southern Ocean Overturning from Tracer Fields
Author(s) -
Jan D. Zika,
Bernadette M. Sloyan,
Trevor J. McDougall
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of physical oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1520-0485
pISSN - 0022-3670
DOI - 10.1175/2009jpo4052.1
Subject(s) - isopycnal , geology , circumpolar deep water , thermohaline circulation , hydrography , zonal and meridional , water mass , oceanography , potential vorticity , southern hemisphere , tracer , oceanic basin , ocean current , mixing (physics) , potential temperature , climatology , vorticity , north atlantic deep water , geomorphology , structural basin , vortex , meteorology , geography , physics , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics
The strength and structure of the Southern Hemisphere meridional overturning circulation (SMOC) is related to the along-isopycnal and vertical mixing coefficients by analyzing tracer and density fields from a hydrographic climatology. The meridional transport of Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is expressed in terms of the along-isopycnal (K) and diapycnal (D) tracer diffusivities and in terms of the along-isopycnal potential vorticity mixing coefficient (KPV). Uniform along-isopycnal (<600 m2 s−1) and low vertical mixing (10−5 m2 s−1) can maintain a southward transport of less than 60 Sv (Sv = 106 m2 s−1) of UCDW across the ACC, which is distributed largely across the South Pacific and east Indian Ocean basins. For vertical mixing rates of O(10−4 m2 s−1) or greater, the inferred transport is significantly enhanced. The transports inferred from both tracer and density distributions suggest a ratio K to D of O(2 × 106) particularly on deeper layers of UCDW. Given the range of observed southward transports of UCDW, it is found that K = 300 ± 150 m2 s−1 and D = 10−4 ± 0.5 × 10−4 m2 s−1 in the Southern Ocean interior. A view of the SMOC is revealed where dense waters are converted to lighter waters not only at the ocean surface, but also on depths below that of the mixed layer with vertical mixing playing an important role.