1. The Ocean’s role in the climate system
Rein Haarsma, Dewi Le Bars
and
Will de Ruijter
USPC 2016

2. From NASA: http://data.giss.nasa.gov

3. From NASA: http://data.giss.nasa.gov
Climate “hiatus”:
The global temperature
reached a plateau
From NASA:

4. Did the incoming energy decrease?
Hansen et al. 2011
No, the energy imbalance is maximum
Where did the heat go?

5. The ARGO program

6. Fast warming of the deep ocean since 2000
Ocean Heat Content
Balmaseda et al. 2013
Fast warming of the deep ocean since 2000

7. Outlines Horizontal ocean circulation 3D ocean circulation
Modes of climate variability

8. Horizontal ocean circulation

10. Wind driven ocean gyres
Very schematic representation!

11. Poleward heat transport
Atmosphere
Ocean
NCEP
Czaja and Marshall, 2006
ECMWF

12. Western intensification
Sea surface temperature
from satellite data:
Red = Warm
Blue = cold

13. Some other western boundary currents
Kuroshio
Current
Agulhas
Current
East Australian
Current

14. Upwelling and global overturning circulation
3D Ocean circulation
Upwelling and global overturning circulation

15. North-South temperature section in the Pacific

16. Ekman spiral

17. Equatorial upwelling
Chlorophyll contents

18. Coastal and equatorial upwellings

19. Meridional heat transport
Poleward heat flux except in the South Atlantic ocean

20. Sea surface salinity (Levitus)
What is the peculiarity of the Atlantic Ocean?

21. North-South salinity cross section of the Atlantic Ocean revealing its meridional overturning circulation

22. Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) measurements

23. Labrador sea convection

24. Sites
of deep
convection
Marshall and Schott,
1999

25. Global Overturning Circulation
Marshall and Speer, 2012

26. Vellinga, Hadley center, UK
What if it stops?
Vellinga, Hadley center, UK

27. Bryden et al. 2005: strength of the overturning has decreased by about 30%...

28. Measuring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
The RAPID array since 2004

29. Important time variability but no trend
this
Srokosz et al. 2012
Important time variability but no trend

30. Not exactly true, now we see a trend, important?
Roberts et al. 2014
Not exactly true, now we see a trend, important?

31. Modes of climate variability
El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO),
North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO),
Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO)...

32. ENSO

33. El Nino impact on the ocean heat content
ENSO
El Nino impact on the ocean heat content
Balmaseda et al. 2013

34. Tipping points
The term “tipping point” commonly refers to a critical threshold at which a tiny perturbation can qualitatively alter the state or development of a system

35. Potential tipping elements
Lenton et al.
2008

36. Importance of the Ocean for climate
Heat storage
Heat transport from the equator to the poles
Inter-annual modes of climate variability
Nutrients availability, CO2 storage...