Meridional heat transport variability induced by mesoscale processes in the subpolar North Atlantic

Jian Zhao (), Amy Bower, Jiayan Yang, Xiaopei Lin () and N. Penny Holliday
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Jian Zhao: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Amy Bower: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Jiayan Yang: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Xiaopei Lin: Ocean University of China and Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology
N. Penny Holliday: National Oceanography Centre

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The ocean’s role in global climate change largely depends on its heat transport. Therefore, understanding the oceanic meridional heat transport (MHT) variability is a fundamental issue. Prevailing observational and modeling evidence suggests that MHT variability is primarily determined by the large-scale ocean circulation. Here, using new in situ observations in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic Ocean and an eddy-resolving numerical model, we show that energetic mesoscale eddies with horizontal scales of about 10–100 km profoundly modulate MHT variability on time scales from intra-seasonal to interannual. Our results reveal that the velocity changes due to mesoscale processes produce substantial variability for the MHT regionally (within sub-basins) and the subpolar North Atlantic as a whole. The findings have important implications for understanding the mechanisms for poleward heat transport variability in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean, a key region for heat and carbon sequestration, ice–ocean interaction, and biological productivity.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03134-x

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