2024 journal article
Summer Westerly Wind Intensification Weakens Southern Ocean Seasonal Cycle Under Global Warming
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 51(14).
open access via doi.org (publisher)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action
(Web of Science)
14. Life Below Water
(OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 5, 2024
Abstract Since the 1950s, observations and climate models show an amplification of sea surface temperature (SST) seasonal cycle in response to global warming over most of the global oceans except for the Southern Ocean (SO), however the cause remains poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed observations, ocean reanalysis, and a set of historical and abruptly quadrupled CO 2 simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 archive and found that the weakened SST seasonal cycle over the SO could be mainly attributed to the intensification of summertime westerly winds. Under the historical warming, the intensification of summertime westerly winds over the SO effectively deepens ocean mixed layer and damps surface warming, but this effect is considerably weaker in winter, thus weakening the SST seasonal cycle. This wind‐driven mechanism is further supported by our targeted coupled model experiments with the wind intensification effects being removed.