92nd American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting (January 22-26, 2012)

Thursday, 26 January 2012: 1:45 PM
Mixing and Deep Ocean Convection (invited)
Room 256 (New Orleans Convention Center )
Xiao-Hai Yan, Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE

In order to detect the early onset and predict the long-term variability of the climate, it is important to develop an understanding of the physical processes that regulate the deep water formation rate and its contributions to the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). We use remote sensing tools (multi-sensor satellites) to observe and measure deep ocean convection (DOC), the mixing of surface with deep ocean water. The exchange of temperature and salinity between the upper and lower layers of the ocean has an important effect on the currents in the ocean (which are mostly buoyancy driven), and the exchange of heat between the upper layer and the atmosphere. The improved understanding of DOC resulting from this study will allow us to better assess its impact on MOC (so called Thermal Conveyor Belt) and further, on climate change, and thus help to detect the early onset of rapid climate change. This presentation will provide an overview and summarize the latest developments and research results on characteristic features of DOC in the Labrador Sea based on multi satellite sensors and Argo float measurements.

Supplementary URL: