Paleo records indicate that during the last deglaciation period (19,000–9,000 years ago) atmospheric CO2 level increased by about 80 ppm. A new study published in Nature Geoscience analysed neodymium (Nd) isotope data in North Pacific sediment cores to find an increase in 14C age of North Pacific subsurface waters sourced from Antarctica indicating an enhanced abyssal overturning... Continue Reading →
Increasing role of the North Atlantic in anthropogenic ocean heat uptake
Anthropogenic aerosols preferentially cool the Northern Hemisphere, and the effect on surface heat flux into the North Atlantic opposes the greenhouse gas (GHG) effect. However, aerosols are projected to decline in the near future, reinforcing the greenhouse effect on the North Atlantic heat uptake. As a result, the surface uptake of anthropogenic heat by the... Continue Reading →
Ship-based observations significantly underestimate carbon dioxide outgassing in the high-latitude Southern Ocean
It is widely believed that the Southern Ocean accounts for a significant portion of the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). However, flux estimates in this region are based on sparse ship-based observations that are strongly biased towards summer. A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters presented new estimates of Southern Ocean air‐sea CO2 fluxes based... Continue Reading →
Arctic sea-ice decrease may suppress U.S. tornado activity in summer
The observed losses in Arctic sea ice during the past decades have been linked to the relaxation of poleward thickness gradients (thus weakened zonal winds) and a slower eastward progression of Rossby waves in the upper-level, which help promote prolonged extreme weather conditions, such as heat waves, within the mid-latitudes (e.g., Francis & Vavrus, 2012). However, the background... Continue Reading →
Cross-equatorial winds control El Niño diversity and change
A new study published in Nature Climate Change used idealized coupled model experiments to show that increased cross-equatorial winds in the eastern Pacific during the past decades strengthened the cold tongue (south of the equator). This in turn reduced ENSO amplitude and promoted more central Pacific (CP) - type El Nino events. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0248-0
Ocean to Climate 