Diagnosing Overturning and Water Mass Transformation in the Labrador Sea From Argo Floats

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项目编号	1459474
	Diagnosing Overturning and Water Mass Transformation in the Labrador Sea From Argo Floats
	James Holte
主持机构	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
项目开始年	2015
	2015-03-15
项目结束日期	2016-08-31
资助机构	US-NSF
项目类别	Standard Grant
项目经费	161230(USD)
国家	美国
语种	英语
英文摘要	The sinking of cold, saline water at high latitudes in the Atlantic Ocean and its spread along the sea floor, which is balanced by the return flow of warmer waters at the surface, is known as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). It plays an important role in maintaining Earth?s climate as well as key ocean properties. Labrador Sea overturning is a key component of AMOC, but its magnitude and variability has been difficult to measure accurately. This study will explore whether float observations can be used as a cost-effective way to answer such questions. The project has the potential to enhance and quantify our understanding of the connection between dense water formation and overturning circulation in the Labrador Sea and lead to an improved strategy for continued AMOC sampling. Information from the study will improve understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of Labrador Sea overturning and export on interannual and decadal timescales. A quality-controlled data set will be available online and incorporated into undergraduate and graduate classes. The project will also support a post doc and facilitate his transition to a more permanent position. The Labrador Sea's contribution to the AMOC is relatively unknown and the potential change between the 1900s and 2000s is still uncertain. The primary objective of the project is to quantify the Labrador Sea?s contribution to the AMOC using profiling floats. The mean overturning calculated in a preliminary analysis is in line with previous estimates, suggesting that floats are a viable dataset for examining these aspects of the Labrador Sea. The project will be part of a large ongoing effort to understand AMOC over the next few years and complement OSNAP moored data. Argo and PALACE floats in the Labrador Sea and boundary current have collected data for the past two decades. The Argo floats offer seasonal and spatial data coverage at the basin-wide scale. PALACE floats data from the 1990s allows the opportunity to compare Labrador Sea overturning from two different periods; one of enhanced deep convection in the 1990s, and weaker convection in the 2000s.
来源学科分类	Geosciences - Ocean Sciences
文献类型	项目
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/67685
专题	环境与发展全球科技态势
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	James Holte.Diagnosing Overturning and Water Mass Transformation in the Labrador Sea From Argo Floats.2015.