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Seasonal Change in the Upper Ocean (The Annual Cycle)

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Presentation on theme: "Seasonal Change in the Upper Ocean (The Annual Cycle)"— Presentation transcript:

1 Seasonal Change in the Upper Ocean (The Annual Cycle)

2 SST Annual Cycle  Amplitude Equator: 1 o -2 o C Mid-latitudes (40 o ): 5 o -10 o C Poleward: Reduced (melting and freezing of sea ice) Coastal region: 10 o -20 o C  Evolution Northern hemisphere Maximum SST: August/September Minimum SST: February/March Sub surface: Delayed up to 2 months. Annual cycle decreases rapidly with depth: confined mostly above 100 little change below 200 meters Departure of monthly climatology from climatological annual mean (based on CPC data, 1982-2001)

3 Annual range of sea-surface temperature in °C calculated from the Reynolds and Smith (1995) mean sea-surface temperature data set. Contour interval is 1°C with heavy contours at 4°C and 8°C. Shaded areas exceed 8°C.

4 Annual cycle of temperature in the upper layer Mixed layer: In winter, SST is low, wind waves are large, mixed layer is deep (extending to the main thermocline). In summer, (SST high  water stable), mixed layer is shallow. Seasonal thermocline: seasonal thermocline develops in the upper zone in summer.  high stability within the seasonal thermocline  separate the water from upper to deeper zones  causing a “fossilized mixing zone” (water from remaining winter mixed layer) Example: Seasonal thermocline at Ocean Weather Station “P” (50 o N, 145 o W) March is nearly isothermal in upper 100 meters. March-August, SST increases, (absorption of solar radiation). Mixed layer  30 m. August-March, net loss of heat, seasonal thermocline eroding due to mixing.

5 Seasonal change of temperature profiles at different latitudes

6 Growth and decay of the mixed layer and seasonal thermocline from November 1989 to September 1990 at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Station (BATS) at 31.8°N 64.1°W. Data were collected by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. Note that pressure in decibars is nearly the same as depth in meters (see § 6.8 for a definition of decibars).

7 Figure 6.8 Typical temperature and salinity profiles in the open ocean. AAC: At 62.0°S, 170.0°E in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current on 16 January 1969 as measured by the R/V Hakuho Maru. Warm Pool: At 9.5°N, 176.3°E in the tropical west Pacific warm pool on 12 March 1989 as measured by Bryden and Hall on the R/V Moana Wave. BATS: At 31.8°N, 64.1°W near Bermuda on 17 April and 10 September 1990 as measured by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. Data are included with Java Ocean Atlas.

8 Temperature diurnal cycle SST diurnal cycle: usually small(<0.4 o C) Diurnal cycle is mainly in upper 10 meters Produce a “diurnal thermocline” Localized higher amplitude of SST: 1 o C (occasionally 3 o -4 o C) in regions of high isolation + low wind, 2~3 o C in shallow water along coast.

9 Seasonal Cycle of the Thermocline at Equatorial Atlantic Ocean

10 Some Examples of the Interannual Variability in Upper Tropical Ocean

11 Standard deviation of SST anomalies

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13 Fluctuations of the equatorial undercurrent and thermocline depth during 1981-1983

14 An example of El Niño evolution

15 December,1997-February, 1998 20 o C isotherm anomalies (m) COLA ODA SSH anomalies (cm) TOPEX/Poseidon Relation between fluctuations of SSH (  ) and thermocline depth (h)

16 December,1997-February, 1998 20 o C isotherm anomalies (m) COLA ODA SSH anomalies (cm) TOPEX/Poseidon

17 Tropical Atlantic SST Anomalies

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19 ENSO-like phenomenon is not just found in the Pacific

20 Anomalous event in the Indian Ocean

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24 Image courtesy of Stepen Hare and Nathan Mantua, University of Washington, units are degrees Celsius The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is a long-term ocean fluctuation of the Pacific Ocean. The PDO waxes and wanes approximately every 20 to 30 years. And not just the tropics

25 And it is not just ENSO!

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