Abstract The mechanisms of wind-forced variability of the zonal overturning circulation (ZOC) are explored using an idealized shallow water numerical model, quasigeostrophic theory, and simple analytic conceptual models. Two wind-forcing scenarios are considered: midlatitude variability in the subtropical/subpolar gyres and large-scale variability spanning the equator. It is shown that the midlatitude ZOC exchanges water with the western boundary current and attains maximum amplitude on the same order of magnitude as the Ekman transport at a forcing period close to the basin-crossing time scale for baroclinic Rossby waves. Near the equator, large-scale wind variations force a ZOC that increases in amplitude with decreasing forcing period such that wind stress variability on annual time scales forces a ZOC of O (50) Sv (1 Sv ≡ 10 6 m 3 s −1 ). For both midlatitude and low-latitude variability the ZOC and its related heat transport are comparable to those of the meridional overturning circulation. The underlying physics of the ZOC relies on the influences of the variation of the Coriolis parameter with latitude on both the geostrophic flow and the baroclinic Rossby wave phase speed as the fluid adjusts to time-varying winds. Significance Statement The purpose of this study is to better understand how large-scale winds at mid- and low latitudes move water eastward or westward, even in the deep ocean that is not in direct contact with the atmosphere. This is important because these currents can shift where heat is stored in the ocean and if it might be released into the atmosphere. It is shown that large-scale winds can drive rapid cross-basin transports of water masses, especially so at low latitudes. The present results provide a guide on what controls this motion and highlight the importance of large-scale ocean waves on the water movement and heat storage.
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An idealized modeling study of the mid-latitude variability of the wind-driven meridional overturning circulation
Abstract The frequency and latitudinal dependence of the mid-latitude wind-driven meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is studied using theory and linear and nonlinear applications of a quasi-geostrophic numerical model. Wind-forcing is varied by either changing the strength of the wind or by shifting the meridional location of the wind stress curl pattern. At forcing periods less than the first mode baroclinic Rossby wave basin crossing time scale the linear response in the mid-depth and deep ocean is in phase and opposite to the Ekman transport. For forcing periods close to the Rossby wave basin crossing time scale, the upper and deep MOC are enhanced, and the mid-depth MOC becomes phase shifted, relative to the Ekman transport. At longer forcing periods the deep MOC weakens and the mid-depth MOC increases, but eventually for long enough forcing periods (decadal) the entire wind-driven MOC spins down. Nonlinearities and mesoscale eddies are found to be important in two ways. First, baroclinic instability causes the mid-depth MOC to weaken, lose correlation with the Ekman transport, and lose correlation with the MOC in the opposite gyre. Second, eddy thickness fluxes extend the MOC beyond the latitudes of direct wind forcing. These results are consistent with several recent studies describing the four-dimensional structure of the MOC in the North Atlantic.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1947290
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10310015
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Physical Oceanography
- ISSN:
- 0022-3670
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0317.1
