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Examining the Origins of Ocean Heat Content Variability in the Eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre

Publication ,  Journal Article
Foukal, NP; Lozier, MS
Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
October 28, 2018

We analyze sources of ocean heat content (OHC) variability in the eastern North Atlantic subpolar gyre from both Eulerian and Lagrangian perspectives within two ocean simulations from 1990 to 2015. Heat budgets reveal that while the OHC seasonal cycle is driven by air-sea fluxes, interannual OHC variability is driven by both air-sea fluxes and the divergence of ocean heat transport, the latter of which is dominated by the oceanic flux through the southern face of the study area. Lagrangian trajectories initialized along the southern face and run backward in time indicate that interannual variability in the subtropical-origin volume flux (i.e., the upper limb of the overturning circulation) drives variability in the temperature flux through the southern face. As such, the heat carried by the imported subtropical waters is an important component of the eastern subpolar gyre heat budget on interannual time scales.

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Published In

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

EISSN

1944-8007

ISSN

0094-8276

Publication Date

October 28, 2018

Volume

45

Issue

20

Start / End Page

11 / 283

Related Subject Headings

  • Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
 

Citation

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Foukal, N. P., & Lozier, M. S. (2018). Examining the Origins of Ocean Heat Content Variability in the Eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(20), 11–283. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079122
Foukal, N. P., and M. S. Lozier. “Examining the Origins of Ocean Heat Content Variability in the Eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre.” Geophysical Research Letters 45, no. 20 (October 28, 2018): 11–283. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079122.
Foukal NP, Lozier MS. Examining the Origins of Ocean Heat Content Variability in the Eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre. Geophysical Research Letters. 2018 Oct 28;45(20):11–283.
Foukal, N. P., and M. S. Lozier. “Examining the Origins of Ocean Heat Content Variability in the Eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre.” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 45, no. 20, Oct. 2018, pp. 11–283. Scopus, doi:10.1029/2018GL079122.
Foukal NP, Lozier MS. Examining the Origins of Ocean Heat Content Variability in the Eastern North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre. Geophysical Research Letters. 2018 Oct 28;45(20):11–283.
Journal cover image

Published In

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

EISSN

1944-8007

ISSN

0094-8276

Publication Date

October 28, 2018

Volume

45

Issue

20

Start / End Page

11 / 283

Related Subject Headings

  • Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences