Effect of opening the Drake Passage on the oceanic general circulation: A box model study

doi:10.1007/s11430-012-4571-4

	Effect of opening the Drake Passage on the oceanic general circulation: A box model study
	Shao, QiuLi 1,3; Chen, XianYao 1,3; Huang, RuiXin 2
刊名	SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
	2013-09
卷号	56 期号:9 页码:1588-1598
关键词	Drake Passage Antarctic Bottom Water North Atlantic Deep Water box model wind stress thermal front
ISSN号	1674-7313
DOI	10.1007/s11430-012-4571-4
英文摘要	The impacts of opening the Drake Passage (DP) on the oceanic general circulation are examined. When the DP is open, wind stress at mid- and high latitudes gives rise to a wind-driven gyre, which induces a meridional heat exchange between mid- and high latitudes in the Southern Ocean. After the opening of the DP, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) forms and its associated strong temperature front blocks the heat transport from mid-latitudes to high latitudes. A simple box model is formulated, in which the effects of the wind stress (for the case of DP closed) and the thermal front (for the case of DP open) on the variability of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) are explored. The sensitivity experiments demonstrate that: (1) When the DP is closed, the enhancement of the wind-driven gyre leads to the decline of AABW formation in the Southern Ocean and the increase of NADW formation in the North Atlantic. As a result, water in high latitudes of the Southern Ocean becomes warmer, so does the bottom water of global ocean. (2) When the DP is open, there is no formation of AABW until the intensity of thermal front along ACC exceeds a threshold value (it is 4.03A degrees C in our model). Before the formation of AABW, temperature in most of the oceans is higher than that after the formation of AABW, which usually leads to the cooling of high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere and the bottom water in global ocean. When the strength of the thermal front is lower than the critical value, there is no AABW formation, and temperature in most of the oceans is slightly higher. These results demonstrate that during the opening of the DP, changes in wind stress and the formation of the thermal front in the Southern Ocean can substantially affect the formation of AABW and NADW, thus changing the state of meridional overturning circulation in the global ocean.
资助项目	National Natural Science Foundation of China[41176029]
WOS研究方向	Geology
语种	英语
出版者	SCIENCE PRESS
WOS记录号	WOS:000323746500013
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.fio.com.cn/handle/2SI8HI0U/3936]
专题	自然资源部第一海洋研究所
作者单位	1.Key Laboratory of Data Analysis and Applications, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266061, China; 2.Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543-1050, United States; 3.The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266061, China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Shao, QiuLi,Chen, XianYao,Huang, RuiXin. Effect of opening the Drake Passage on the oceanic general circulation: A box model study[J]. SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES,2013,56(9):1588-1598.
APA	Shao, QiuLi,Chen, XianYao,&Huang, RuiXin.(2013).Effect of opening the Drake Passage on the oceanic general circulation: A box model study.SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES,56(9),1588-1598.
MLA	Shao, QiuLi,et al."Effect of opening the Drake Passage on the oceanic general circulation: A box model study".SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES 56.9(2013):1588-1598.