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Spatial and Seasonal Controls on Eddy Subduction in the Southern Ocean
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Spatial and Seasonal Controls on Eddy Subduction in the Southern Ocean
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Spatial and Seasonal Controls on Eddy Subduction in the Southern Ocean
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Journal Article
Spatial and Seasonal Controls on Eddy Subduction in the Southern Ocean
2024
Overview
Carbon export driven by submesoscale, eddy‐associated vertical velocities (“eddy subduction”), and particularly its seasonality, remains understudied, leaving a gap in our understanding of ocean carbon sequestration. Here, we assess mechanisms controlling eddy subduction's spatial and seasonal patterns using 15 years of observations from BGC‐Argo floats in the Southern Ocean. We identify signatures of eddy subduction as subsurface anomalies in temperature‐salinity and oxygen. The anomalies are spatially concentrated near weakly stratified areas and regions with strong lateral buoyancy gradients diagnosed from satellite altimetry, particularly in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current's standing meanders. We use bio‐optical ratios, specifically the chlorophyll a to particulate backscatter ratio (Chl/bbp) to find that eddy subduction is most active in the spring and early summer, with freshly exported material associated with seasonally weak vertical stratification and increasing surface biomass. Climate change is increasing ocean stratification globally, which may weaken eddy subduction's carbon export potential. Plain Language Summary Oceans play an important role in global climate by soaking up and sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide. Photosynthetic activity at the surface turns carbon dioxide into organic carbon, and if this carbon leaves the surface to the deep ocean, it can be locked away from the atmosphere. One way this occurs is through the physical circulation associated with swirling eddies, which can rapidly transport organic carbon‐rich surface waters and “inject” them into deep waters. However, we still don't fully understand the seasonal timing of this process, or what drives its spatial distribution. We investigated this in the Southern Ocean, which is very important to global climate, using data collected by drifting robots. We find that this process is the most active in regions where eddies drive strong surface stirring, and during the spring, when weak stratification allows injections to penetrate deep into the ocean. Because this process is poorly represented in climate models, these findings will improve our understanding of how the ocean absorbs carbon. Key Points Eddy subduction in the Southern Ocean is observed as subsurface anomalies in spice and oxygen measured by autonomous profiling floats Spatial distribution is controlled by weak stratification and strong lateral buoyancy gradients, diagnosed using satellite altimetry Bio‐optical proxies suggest that eddy subduction is most active in spring/early summer, driven by weak vertical stratification
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