Intense storms that sweep over the Southern Ocean enable the ocean to absorb more heat from the atmosphere.
Intense storms that sweep over the Southern Ocean enable the ocean to absorb more heat from the atmosphere. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that today’s climate models underestimate how storms mix the ocean and thereby give less reliable future projections of our climate.
The Southern Ocean is a vast expanse of ocean encircling the Antarctic continent, regulating Earth’s climate by moving heat, carbon, and nutrients out in the world’s oceans.
It provides a critical climate service by absorbing over 75 per cent of the excess heat generated by humans globally. The Southern Ocean’s capacity to reduce climate warming depends on how efficiently it can absorb heat from our atmosphere.
In a new study in Nature Geoscience, researchers from the University of Gothenburg ’s Department of Marine Sciences show that storms play a key role in controlling how the Southern Ocean exchanges heat with the atmosphere. The team finds that intense winds churn the ocean, drawing colder deep water upward and pushing warmer surface water downward. The surface stays cooler and can take up more heat from the atmosphere.
Read More: University of Gothenburg
Image: This is the uncrewed surface vehicle, called Wave Glider, that was critical in the study. (Credit: Sam Fredriksson)
