Studies of Physical-biogeochemical Interactions in the Southern Ocean

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This project will develop a three-dimensional numerical model of ocean circulation, tracer transport and biogeochemistry, and apply these to the Southern Ocean. More limited prior studies, which had focused on zonally averaged, axisymmetric aspects of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, will be extended in a study of the controls that give rise to regional and basin-to-basin variations in the dynamics and biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean. Key scientific questions motivating the study are: What are the dynamics underlying the zonal asymmetries in the meridional overturning circulation; what are the respective roles of topographic constraints, surface forcing functions (wind and buoyancy) and communication with the rest of the world ocean, and what are the implications of asymmetries for the uptake and storage of transient tracers, anthropogenic carbon dioxide, and the patterns of biological productivity. The ultimate objective is to gain a better understanding of the influence of mesoscale oceanic processes on tracer transport, and how to represent those processes in coarser resolution diagnostic and predictive models.