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Tracking ocean heat uptake during the surface warming hiatus.
Wei Liu1, Shang-Ping Xie1, Jian Lu2
1Climate, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physical Oceanography (CASPO), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA.
Nature Communications
|March 31, 2016
Summary
Ocean heat uptake penetrates deep into the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, characteristic of anthropogenic warming. The Pacific and Indian Oceans are key to tracking ocean heat during surface warming hiatus events.
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Climate Science
- Earth System Science
Background:
- Global warming has experienced a hiatus in surface temperature rise.
- Ocean heat uptake is a critical component of the Earth's energy imbalance.
- Deep ocean heat penetration has been observed in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the drivers of deep ocean heat penetration during global warming hiatus periods.
- To determine the role of different ocean basins in heat redistribution.
- To identify key regions for monitoring ocean heat uptake during surface warming hiatuses.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of observational oceanographic data.
- Examination of ocean heat content changes in different basins.
- Correlation of ocean heat redistribution with surface warming patterns and climate drivers.
Main Results:
- Deep heat penetration in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans is characteristic of anthropogenic warming, not unique to hiatus periods.
- Heat redistribution in the upper 350m between the Pacific and Indian Oceans is linked to the surface warming hiatus.
- The Indian Ocean exhibits anomalous warming below 50m during hiatus events due to enhanced Indonesian throughflow transport.
Conclusions:
- The mean meridional overturning circulation depth dictates deep ocean heat uptake in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans.
- The Pacific and Indian Oceans are crucial for tracking ocean heat uptake during surface warming hiatuses.
- Intensified trade winds in the equatorial Pacific influence Indian Ocean warming via the Indonesian throughflow.
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