skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A new look at ocean ventilation time scales and their uncertainties

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012529· OSTI ID:1355937
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Department of Ocean Sciences University of Miami Miami Florida USA
  2. National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder Colorado USA
  3. Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos New Mexico USA

Abstract A suite of eddy‐resolving ocean transient tracer model simulations are first compared to observations. Observational and model pCFC‐11 ages agree quite well, with the eddy‐resolving model adding detail. The CFC ages show that the thermocline is a barrier to interior ocean exchange with the atmosphere on time scales of 45 years, the measureable CFC transient, although there are exceptions. Next, model simulations are used to quantify effects on tracer ages of the spatial dependence of internal ocean tracer variability due to stirring from eddies and biases from nonstationarity of the atmospheric transient when there is mixing. These add to tracer age uncertainties and biases, which are large in frontal boundary regions, and small in subtropical gyre interiors. These uncertainties and biases are used to reinterpret observed temporal trends in tracer‐derived ventilation time scales taken from observations more than a decade apart, and to assess whether interpretations of changes in tracer ages being due to changes in ocean ventilation hold water. For the southern hemisphere subtropical gyres, we infer that the rate of ocean ventilation 26–27.2 σ θ increased between the mid‐1990s and the decade of the 2000s. However, between the mid‐1990s and the decade of the 2010s, there is no significant trend—perhaps except for South Atlantic. Observed age/AOU/ventilation changes are linked to a combination of natural cycles and climate change, and there is regional variability. Thus, for the future it is not clear how strong or steady in space and time ocean ventilation changes will be.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Contributing Organization:
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1355937
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1355938; OSTI ID: 1356159
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-23369
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans Vol. 122 Journal Issue: 5; ISSN 2169-9275
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 28 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (76)

Labrador Sea Water: Pathways, CFC Inventory, and Formation Rates journal February 2002
The fate of the Deep Western Boundary Current in the South Atlantic journal September 2015
Halocarbon ratio and tritium/3He dating of water masses in the Nansen Basin, Arctic Ocean journal September 1992
Representation of Topography by Shaved Cells in a Height Coordinate Ocean Model journal September 1997
Southern Hemisphere climate response to ozone changes and greenhouse gas increases journal January 2004
A New Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Boundary Dataset for the Community Atmosphere Model journal October 2008
Sensible and Latent Heat Flux Measurements over the Ocean journal May 1982
Trends in Southern Hemisphere wind-driven circulation in CMIP5 models over the 21st century: Ozone recovery versus greenhouse forcing journal May 2014
Boundary impulse response functions in a century-long eddying global ocean simulation journal October 2009
A global comparison of subtropical underwater formation rates journal September 2005
Atmospheric chlorofluoromethanes in the deep equatorial Atlantic journal April 1985
Measurements within the Pacific-Indian oceans throughflow region journal July 1994
Enhanced CO 2 outgassing in the Southern Ocean from a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode : SAM AND SOUTHERN OCEAN CO journal June 2007
Vertical profiles of CCl 3 F (F-11) and CCl 2 F 2 (F-12) in the central Arctic Ocean basin journal January 1985
Decadal Changes along an Indian Ocean Section at 32°S and Their Interpretation journal June 2000
Quantifying mesoscale variability in ocean transient tracer fields journal July 2001
Recent Changes in the Ventilation of the Southern Oceans journal January 2013
Sulfur hexafluoride as a transient tracer in the North Pacific Ocean: SULFUR HEXAFLUORIDE IN NORTH PACIFIC journal September 2006
Using a CFC effective age to estimate propagation and storage of climate anomalies in the deep western North Atlantic Ocean: USING A CFC EFFECTIVE AGE journal December 2002
Long-term variations of surface and intermediate waters in the southern Indian Ocean along 32°S journal January 2012
Comparison of Subantarctic Mode Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water formation rates in the South Pacific between NCAR-CCSM4 and observations: SAMW/AAIW MODEL-OBSERVATION COMPARISON journal January 2014
Circulation and ventilation flux of the Pacific Ocean journal October 2001
Varying planetary heat sink led to global-warming slowdown and acceleration journal August 2014
Age tracers in an ocean GCM journal June 2001
Temporal changes in pCFC-12 ages and AOU along two hydrographic sections in the eastern subtropical North Pacific journal January 2006
Implicit free-surface method for the Bryan-Cox-Semtner ocean model journal January 1994
The Ventilated Thermocline journal February 1983
Putting models to the data test: a case study using Indian Ocean CFC-11 data journal January 2005
Multidecadal Warming and Shoaling of Antarctic Intermediate Water journal January 2012
Water mass modification at the Agulhas retroflection: chlorofluoromethane studies journal March 1988
Ventilation rates of the Greenland and Norwegian Seas derived from distributions of the chlorofluoromethanes F11 and F12 journal April 1991
Changes in Ocean Heat, Carbon Content, and Ventilation: A Review of the First Decade of GO-SHIP Global Repeat Hydrography journal January 2016
Observations of CFCs and SF 6 as Ocean Tracers journal January 2011
The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO2 journal July 2004
Convective modifications of water masses in the Agulhas journal March 1992
The shipboard analysis of trace levels of sulfur hexafluoride, chlorofluorocarbon-11 and chlorofluorocarbon-12 in seawater journal August 2008
Basin-wide distributions of chlorofluorocarbons CFC-11 and CFC-12 in the North Pacific: 1985-1989 journal September 1996
Global oceanic chlorofluorocarbon inventory journal January 2004
Reconstructed histories of the annual mean atmospheric mole fractions for the halocarbons CFC-11 CFC-12, CFC-113, and carbon tetrachloride journal June 2000
Observed decreases in oxygen content of the global ocean: GLOBAL DECREASES IN OCEAN OXYGEN LEVELS journal December 2011
A Generalized Transport Theory: Water-Mass Composition and Age journal June 2002
Climatic variability in upper ocean ventilation rates diagnosed using chlorofluorocarbons journal May 1998
Tracing the flow of North Atlantic Deep Water using chlorofluorocarbons journal June 2000
Estimating changes in ocean ventilation from early 1990s CFC-12 and late 2000s SF 6 measurements : CHANGES IN OCEAN VENTILATION journal March 2013
Historical SAM Variability. Part II: Twentieth-Century Variability and Trends from Reconstructions, Observations, and the IPCC AR4 Models journal October 2009
Formation rates of Subantarctic mode water and Antarctic intermediate water within the South Pacific journal May 2011
Tracer dating and ocean ventilation journal January 1990
The western equatorial Pacific: A water mass crossroads journal January 1994
Determining the Strength of the Deep Western Boundary Current Using the Chlorofluoromethane Ratio journal July 1989
Influence of mixing on CFC uptake and CFC ages in the North Pacific thermocline journal January 2004
The Penetration of Tritium into the Tropical Pacific journal May 1987
The Southern Ocean and Its Climate in CCSM4 journal April 2012
Tritium-Helium Dating in the Sargasso Sea: A Measurement of Oxygen Utilization Rates journal April 1977
Expanding Oxygen-Minimum Zones in the Tropical Oceans journal May 2008
Evaluation of ocean model ventilation with CFC-11: comparison of 13 global ocean models journal January 2002
Transit time distributions and oxygen utilization rates in the Northeast Pacific Ocean from chlorofluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride journal February 2013
Oceanic vertical mixing: A review and a model with a nonlocal boundary layer parameterization journal January 1994
Circulation of Antarctic intermediate water in the South Indian Ocean journal October 1993
Fifty-Year Trends in Global Ocean Salinities and Their Relationship to Broad-Scale Warming journal August 2010
Decadal Changes in the South Indian Ocean Thermocline journal May 2005
On the relations among CFC derived water mass ages journal May 2001
Temporal evolution of CFC 11 and CFC 12 concentrations in the ocean interior journal July 1996
Investigation of the causes of historical changes in the subsurface salinity minimum of the South Atlantic journal September 2014
Meridional overturning transports at 30°S in the Indian and Pacific Oceans in 2002–2003 and 2009 journal August 2016
Evaluation of oceanic transport parameters using transient tracers from observations and model output journal February 2014
Ocean chemistry, ocean warming, and emerging hypoxia: Commentary journal May 2016
The tritium:krypton-85 age of Denmark Strait Overflow Water and Gibbs Fracture Zone Water just south of Denmark Strait journal January 1989
Relationships among tracer ages journal January 2003
Explicit Generation of Orthogonal Grids for Ocean Models journal July 1996
On Ocean Transport Diagnostics: The Idealized Age Tracer and the Age Spectrum journal June 2002
A comparison of ocean tracer dating techniques on a meridional section in the eastern North Atlantic journal April 1997
Transit time distributions and oxygen utilization rates from chlorofluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride in the Southeast Pacific Ocean: TTDS FROM CFCS AND SF6 IN SOUTH PACIFIC journal May 2015
On the role of the Agulhas system in ocean circulation and climate journal April 2011
Solubilities of chlorofluorocarbons 11 and 12 in water and seawater journal December 1985
Decadal ventilation and mixing of Indian Ocean waters journal January 2008
Decadal Spinup of the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre journal February 2007

Similar Records

The North Atlantic tritium and radiocarbon transients 1972-1983
Journal Article · Thu Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) · OSTI ID:1355937

Demons in the North Atlantic: Variability of Deep Ocean Ventilation
Journal Article · Thu Apr 29 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Geophysical Research Letters · OSTI ID:1355937

What Drives Upper-Ocean Temperature Variability in Coupled Climate Models and Observations?
Journal Article · Thu Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Journal of Climate · OSTI ID:1355937

Related Subjects