Stationary Rossby waves dominate subduction of anthropogenic carbon in the Southern Ocean.

ABSTRACT: The Southern Ocean has taken up more than 40% of the total anthropogenic carbon (C_ant) stored in the oceans since the preindustrial era, mainly in subantarctic mode and intermediate waters (SAMW-AAIW). However, the physical mechanisms responsible for the transfer of C_ant into the ocean interior remain poorly understood. Here, we use high resolution (1/10°) ocean simulations to investigate these mechanisms at the SAMW-AAIW subduction hotspots. Mesoscale Stationary Rossby Waves (SRWs), generated where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current interacts with topography, make the dominant contribution to the C_ant transfer in SAMW-AAIW in the Indian and Pacific sectors (66% and 95% respectively). Eddy-resolving simulations reproduce the observed C_ant sequestr

SUBMITTER: Langlais CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5719014 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature