Publication Date:
2022-10-26
Description:
© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Schloesser, F., Thompson, P. R., & Piecuch, C. G. Meridional asymmetry in recent decadal sea-level trends in the subtropical Pacific Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(6), (2021): e2020GL091959, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091959.
Description:
Recent sea surface height (SSH) trends in the South Pacific are substantially greater than trends in the North Pacific. Here, we use the Estimating the Climate and Circulation of the Ocean Version 4 Release 4 ocean state estimate and the Ocean Reanalysis System 5 to identify the forcing and mechanisms underlying that meridional asymmetry during 2005–2015. Thermosteric contributions dominate the spatial structure in Pacific SSH trends, but contributions from local surface heat fluxes are small. Wind stress trends drive a spin-up of the South Pacific subtropical gyre and a northward shift of the North Pacific subtropical gyre. A reduced gravity model forced with reanalysis winds qualitatively reproduces the meridional seesaw in sea level, suggesting that asymmetric trends in subtropical wind stress drive a cross-equatorial heat transport. A reversal in forcing associated with this process could impact near-term rates of coastal sea-level change, particularly in Pacific Island communities.
Description:
F. Schloesser and P. R. Thompson were supported by NASA grant 80NSSC17K0564 and NSF grant 1558980. C. G. Piecuch was supported by the NASA Sea Level Change Team (grant 80NSSC20K1241).
Keywords:
Pacific heat content trends
;
Pacific sea level trends
;
Thermosteric sea level
;
Wind driven circulation
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
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