Work

Wind Synoptic Activity Increases Oxygen Levels in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: The mechanisms controlling the variability of oxygen levels in the ocean are poorly quantified. I focus here on the impact of wind synoptic variability associated with tropical convective regions and extratropical storms. Removing the wind higher frequencies of variability (2 days to 1 month) in an atmosphere reanalysis used to force an ocean model decreases wind stress by up to 20% in the tropics and 50% in the midlatitudes, weakening wind‐driven ocean circulation by 20%. Oxygen levels decrease by up to 10 mmol/m3 in tropical oceans and 30 mmol/m3 in subtropical gyres mainly due to changes in advective processes. While a large part of the tropical oxygen anomaly has local origins, changes in oxygen levels in the subtropical gyres modulate tropical oxygen distribution. This study suggests that the “storminess” of the ocean is an important parameter that could determine the future evolution of poorly oxygenated regions.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2018gl081041

Author: Olaf Duteil

Institution: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Language: English

Topic: Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes

Subfield: Oceanography

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Life below water

Open Access status: green

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft