Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies
Abstract Oceanic transport of heat by ubiquitous mesoscale eddies plays a critical role in regulating climate variability and redistributing excess heat absorbed by ocean under global warming. Eddies have long been simplified as axisymmetric vortices and their influence on heat transport remains unc...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41294-7 |
| _version_ | 1797209271897686016 |
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| author | Hailin Wang Bo Qiu Hanrui Liu Zhengguang Zhang |
| author_facet | Hailin Wang Bo Qiu Hanrui Liu Zhengguang Zhang |
| author_sort | Hailin Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Oceanic transport of heat by ubiquitous mesoscale eddies plays a critical role in regulating climate variability and redistributing excess heat absorbed by ocean under global warming. Eddies have long been simplified as axisymmetric vortices and their influence on heat transport remains unclear. Here, we combine satellite and drifter data and show that oceanic mesoscale eddies are asymmetric and directionally-dependent, and are controlled by their self-sustaining nature and their dynamical environment. Both the direction and amplitude of eddy-induced heat fluxes are significantly influenced by eddy’s asymmetry and directional dependence. When the eddy velocity field is decomposed into asymmetric and symmetric components, the eddy kinetic energy exhibits a nearly equal partition between these two components. The total eddy-induced meridional heat flux similarly doubles the heat flux induced by the symmetric components, highlighting the crucial contribution of eddy asymmetry on the magnitude of eddy-induced oceanic heat transport. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:25:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-442117e2dbff4289847a2e1f17f72c2c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:52:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-442117e2dbff4289847a2e1f17f72c2c2024-04-14T11:20:16ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-09-0114111010.1038/s41467-023-41294-7Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddiesHailin Wang0Bo Qiu1Hanrui Liu2Zhengguang Zhang3Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Key Laboratory of Physical Oceanography, Academy of the Future Ocean, Chongben Honors College, Ocean University of ChinaDepartment of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at ManoaFrontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Key Laboratory of Physical Oceanography, Academy of the Future Ocean, Chongben Honors College, Ocean University of ChinaFrontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Key Laboratory of Physical Oceanography, Academy of the Future Ocean, Chongben Honors College, Ocean University of ChinaAbstract Oceanic transport of heat by ubiquitous mesoscale eddies plays a critical role in regulating climate variability and redistributing excess heat absorbed by ocean under global warming. Eddies have long been simplified as axisymmetric vortices and their influence on heat transport remains unclear. Here, we combine satellite and drifter data and show that oceanic mesoscale eddies are asymmetric and directionally-dependent, and are controlled by their self-sustaining nature and their dynamical environment. Both the direction and amplitude of eddy-induced heat fluxes are significantly influenced by eddy’s asymmetry and directional dependence. When the eddy velocity field is decomposed into asymmetric and symmetric components, the eddy kinetic energy exhibits a nearly equal partition between these two components. The total eddy-induced meridional heat flux similarly doubles the heat flux induced by the symmetric components, highlighting the crucial contribution of eddy asymmetry on the magnitude of eddy-induced oceanic heat transport.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41294-7 |
| spellingShingle | Hailin Wang Bo Qiu Hanrui Liu Zhengguang Zhang Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies Nature Communications |
| title | Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies |
| title_full | Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies |
| title_fullStr | Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies |
| title_short | Doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non-symmetry of mesoscale eddies |
| title_sort | doubling of surface oceanic meridional heat transport by non symmetry of mesoscale eddies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41294-7 |
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