The Role of Mesoscale Eddies in the Remote Oceanic Response to Altered Southern Hemisphere Winds

Abstract

It has been suggested that a strengthening of the Southern Hemisphere winds would induce a more vigorous overturning through an increased northward Ekman flux, bringing more light waters into the oceanic basins and enhancing the upwelling of North Atlantic Deep Water in the Southern Ocean, thereby increasing ocean ventilation. Simulations from a coarse- and a fine-resolution version of a coupled model, subject to idealized wind stress changes in the Southern Ocean, are presented. In the fine-resolution eddy-permitting model, changes in poleward eddy fluxes largely compensate for the enhanced equatorward Ekman transport in the Southern Ocean. As a consequence, northward transport of light waters, pycnocline depth, Northern Hemisphere overturning, and Southern Ocean upwelling anomalies are much reduced compared with simulations in the coarse-resolution model with parameterized eddies. These results suggest a relatively weak sensitivity of present-day global ocean overturning circulation to the projected strengthening of the Southern Hemisphere winds.