Vertical redistribution of salt and layered changes in global ocean salinity
| Autor: | Ou Wang, Nadya T. Vinogradova, Xinfeng Liang, Chao Liu, Rui M. Ponte |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Science General Physics and Astronomy Climate change 02 engineering and technology Article General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Layered structure 03 medical and health sciences Flux (metallurgy) 14. Life underwater Water cycle lcsh:Science Multidisciplinary Vertical exchange General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 6. Clean water Salinity Ocean sciences 030104 developmental biology Oceanography 13. Climate action Environmental science lcsh:Q 0210 nano-technology Climate sciences |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2019) Nature Communications |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | Salinity is an essential proxy for estimating the global net freshwater input into the ocean. Due to the limited spatial and temporal coverage of the existing salinity measurements, previous studies of global salinity changes focused mostly on the surface and upper oceans. Here, we examine global ocean salinity changes and ocean vertical salt fluxes over the full depth in a dynamically consistent and data-constrained ocean state estimate. The changes of the horizontally averaged salinity display a vertically layered structure, consistent with the profiles of the ocean vertical salt fluxes. For salinity changes in the relatively well-observed upper ocean, the contribution of vertical exchange of salt can be on the same order of the net surface freshwater input. The vertical redistribution of salt thus should be considered in inferring changes in global ocean salinity and the hydrological cycle from the surface and upper ocean measurements. Climate change is increasing the flow of freshwater to the ocean, yet study of salinity shifts is hampered by a lack of data. Here the authors show that the flux of salt through the ocean rivals that of freshwater inputs and leads to a layered structure of global salinity changes over the past twenty years. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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