Ocean submesoscales as a key component of the global heat budget

Nature Communications
Zhan SuDimitris Menemenlis

Abstract

Recent studies highlight that oceanic motions associated with horizontal scales smaller than 50 km, defined here as submesoscales, lead to anomalous vertical heat fluxes from colder to warmer waters. This unique transport property is not captured in climate models that have insufficient resolution to simulate these submesoscale dynamics. Here, we use an ocean model with an unprecedented resolution that, for the first time, globally resolves submesoscale heat transport. Upper-ocean submesoscale turbulence produces a systematically-upward heat transport that is five times larger than mesoscale heat transport, with winter-time averages up to 100 W/m2 for mid-latitudes. Compared to a lower-resolution model, submesoscale heat transport warms the sea surface up to 0.3 °C and produces an upward annual-mean air-sea heat flux anomaly of 4-10 W/m2 at mid-latitudes. These results indicate that submesoscale dynamics are critical to the transport of heat between the ocean interior and the atmosphere, and are thus a key component of the Earth's climate.

References

Mar 14, 2008·Nature·Shoshiro MinobeRichard Justin Small
Jan 1, 2009·Annual Review of Marine Science·Patrice Klein, Guillaume Lapeyre
Dec 17, 2014·Nature Communications·Hideharu SasakiYoshikazu Sasai
Apr 22, 2015·Nature Communications·Jörn CalliesJonathan Gula
Jun 10, 2016·Proceedings. Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·James C McWilliams

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Citations

Jun 30, 2019·Nature Communications·Zhengguang ZhangSeth Travis
Nov 26, 2019·Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans·M Mar FlexasDimitris Menemenlis
May 3, 2021·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Muhammad UsmanYameen Ali

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