![Pacific origin of the abrupt increase in Indian Ocean heat content during the warming hiatus. [and Supplementary Information]](/search/themes/bootstrap3/images/libros.png)
Pacific origin of the abrupt increase in Indian Ocean heat content during the warming hiatus. [and Supplementary Information]
Global mean surface warming has stalled since the end of the twentieth century1,2, but the net radiation imbalance at the top of the atmosphere continues to suggest an increasingly warming planet. This apparent contradiction has been reconciled by an anomalous heat flux into the ocean3–8, induced by a shift towards a La Niña-like state with cold sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific over the past decade or so. A significant portion of the heat missing fromthe atmosphere is therefore expected to be stored in the Pacific Ocean. However, in situ hydrographic records indicate that Pacific Ocean heat content has been decreasing9. Here, we analyse observations along with simulations from a global ocean–sea ice model to track the pathway of heat. We find that the enhanced heat uptake by the Pacific Ocean has been compensated by an increased heat transport from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, carried by the Indonesian throughflow. As a result, Indian Ocean heat content has increased abruptly, which accounts for more than 70% of the global ocean heat gain in the upper 700m during the past decade. We conclude that the Indian Ocean has become increasingly important in modulating global climate variability.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Contribution biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2015
|
| Subjects: | Attribution, Indonesian throughflow, ASFA_2015::H::Heat budget, ASFA_2015::H::Heat transport, ASFA_2015::V::Volume transport, ASFA_2015::O::Ocean-atmosphere system, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/9681 |
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| Summary: | Global mean surface warming has stalled since the end of
the twentieth century1,2, but the net radiation imbalance
at the top of the atmosphere continues to suggest an
increasingly warming planet. This apparent contradiction has
been reconciled by an anomalous heat flux into the ocean3–8,
induced by a shift towards a La Niña-like state with cold
sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific over
the past decade or so. A significant portion of the heat
missing fromthe atmosphere is therefore expected to be stored
in the Pacific Ocean. However, in situ hydrographic records
indicate that Pacific Ocean heat content has been decreasing9.
Here, we analyse observations along with simulations from
a global ocean–sea ice model to track the pathway of heat.
We find that the enhanced heat uptake by the Pacific
Ocean has been compensated by an increased heat transport
from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, carried by
the Indonesian throughflow. As a result, Indian Ocean heat
content has increased abruptly, which accounts for more
than 70% of the global ocean heat gain in the upper 700m
during the past decade. We conclude that the Indian Ocean
has become increasingly important in modulating global climate variability. |
|---|