<
https://www.icm.csic.es/en/news/change-southern-ocean-structure-can-have-climate-implications>
"Thanks to data obtained from Earth observation satellites, an international
team of scientists has detected an unprecedented phenomenon for the first time:
a change in the state of the Southern Ocean. The study, led by the University
of Southampton (United Kingdom), was recently published in the journal
PNAS.
The Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) played a fundamental role in the
research by developing a set of pioneering satellite observations within the
framework of the SO-FRESH project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).
The study’s main finding is both surprising and alarming: since 2016, a
sustained increase in surface salinity has been detected across the Antartic
Circumpolar Current. That change in water composition suggests a change in the
balance of the components the ocean circulation in the Southern Hemisphere.
Fresher surface water close to the sea ice edge is being replaced by more
saline waters.
“We are witnessing a true change in ocean properties in the Southern
Hemisphere—something we’ve never seen before. Climate models predict
freshening of surface wàters in the Southern Ocean, while we observe the
opposite, an increase in salinity” explains Antonio Turiel, ICM-CSIC
researcher and co-author of the study. “While the world is debating the
potential collapse of the AMOC in the North Atlantic, we’re seeing that the
Southern Ocean is drastically changing, as sea ice coverage declines and the
upper ocean is becoming saltier. This could have unprecedented global
climate impacts.”
According to the research team, the consequences of this reversal (freshening
to salinification) are already becoming visible. Saltier Surface waters can
drive enhanced Exchange with deep, warmer waters, driving enhanced upward heat
flux and the accelerated melting of sea ice in the Southern Ocean, potentially
releasing CO₂."
Via Geoff Goodfellow in
The RISKS Digest Volume 34 Issue 70:
https://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/34/70#subj1
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
