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The upper branch of the Southern Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation

Project type
Znanstveno-istraživački projekti
Programme
The New International Fellowship Mobility Programme for Experienced Researchers in Croatia
Financier
Ministry of Science, Education and Youth of the Republic of Croatia
Start date
Jan 16th 2014
End date
Jan 15th 2017
Status
Done
Total cost
72316 EUR
More information

The global ocean overturning circulation plays a central role in climate and climate variability bystoring and transporting heat, fresh water, carbon and nutrients around the world ocean. Whilethe primary site of surface water subduction into ocean interior in the North Atlantic is wellstudied and understood, the return pathway and the dominant physical processes by whichdeep waters return to the surface in the Southern Ocean to close the meridional overturningcirculation is still not well known. Yet, the deep water upwelling in the Southern Ocean is offundamental importance for climate, since the upwelled waters control the rate of ocean heatand carbon uptake from the atmosphere, and supply of nutrients for the global thermocline. Wepropose to provide a three-dimensional quantitative estimates of water masses that comprisethe returning portion of the overturning circulation and physical processes involved using theresults of a data assimilating ocean circulation model.

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