As the upper layer of the world ocean gradually warms, heat transport from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Indian Ocean should increase. In turn, increased heat convergence in the Atlantic Ocean would warm that basin more than the others. Consistent with this hypothesis, instrumental records indicate that the Atlantic Ocean has warmed substantially more than any other ocean basin since the mid-20th century. The focus of this research opportunity is to better understand the inter-ocean exchanges of heat, freshwater, and carbon using global ocean-sea ice coupled models; in-situ hydrographic data; and satellite-based sea level data. Examples of specific research topics include global ocean heat content changes during the recent global surface warming hiatus; regional intermediate, deep, or abyssal ocean (from 500 m depth down to the sea floor) heat storage; and natural versus anthropogenic changes in the inter-ocean heat transport during the instrumental period.

 

References

Dong S, Garzoli SL, Baringer MO: Journal of Physical Oceanography 41(8): 1498-1511, 2011

Lee SK, et al: Geophysical Research Letters 38: L17607, 2011, doi:10.1029/2011GL048856

Lee SK, et al: Nature Geoscience 8: 445-449, 2015, doi:10.1038/ngeo2438

Volkov D, et al: Geophysical Research Letters 44: 927-936, 2017, doi:10.1002/2016GL071661

key words

Global thermohaline circulation; Inter-ocean exchanges; Global warming; Ocean-sea ice coupled model; Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC); Indonesian throughflow; Agulhas leakage; Regional sinks of heat, salt, and carbon;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents and non-U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants