Duteil, Olaf (2019) Wind synoptic activity increases oxygen levels in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (5). pp. 2715-2725. DOI 10.1029/2018GL081041.

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Abstract

The mechanisms controlling the variability of oxygen levels in the ocean are poorly quantified. We focus here on the impact of wind synoptic variability associated with tropical convective regions and extra‐tropical storms. Removing the wind higher frequencies of variability (2 days – 1 month) in an atmosphere reanalysis used to force an ocean model decreases wind stress by up to 20% in the tropics and 50% in the mid‐latitudes, weakening wind‐driven ocean circulation by 20%. Oxygen levels decrease by up to 10 mmol.m‐3 in tropical oceans and 30 mmol.m‐3 in subtropical gyres mainly due to changes in advective processes. While a large part of the tropical oxygen anomaly has local origins, changes in oxygen levels in the subtropical gyres modulate tropical oxygen distribution. Our study suggests that the “storminess” of the ocean is an important parameter that could determine the future evolution of poorly oxygenated regions.

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