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Midlatitude North Atlantic heat transport: A time series based on satellite and drifter data
Citation
Hobbs, WR and Willis, JK, Midlatitude North Atlantic heat transport: A time series based on satellite and drifter data, Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 117 Article C01008. ISSN 0148-0227 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.
Abstract
Using temperature, salinity, and displacement data from Argo floats combined with
satellite sea surface height, a time series of the Atlantic meridional heat transport from
January 2002 to August 2010 has been estimated for 41degree N. The calculation method is
validated against hydrographic climatologies and output from the ECCO2 ocean data
assimilation model, and the assumptions are shown to be reasonable; the greatest source of
error is from the sparse distribution of Argo floats. The mean heat transport is
0.50 0.1 PW, which is consistent with previous estimates made using surface flux data
but is low compared estimates from hydrographic cruise data. Consistent with results from
the RAPID array, the heat transport has a significant annual cycle and high degree of
subannual variability, indicating that statistical uncertainty in previous calculations may
have been underestimated. There is little evidence of a trend over the short period of
available data. Correlations with sea surface temperature suggest clear physical
relationships between heat transport and SST, even on the short time scales of available
data.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | North Atlantic;heat transport;ocean observations |
Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
Research Group: | Oceanography |
Research Field: | Physical oceanography |
Objective Division: | Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards |
Objective Group: | Understanding climate change |
Objective Field: | Climate variability (excl. social impacts) |
UTAS Author: | Hobbs, WR (Dr Will Hobbs) |
ID Code: | 81128 |
Year Published: | 2012 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 42 |
Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
Deposited On: | 2012-11-22 |
Last Modified: | 2022-08-18 |
Downloads: | 419 View Download Statistics |
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