Measuring Westward Recirculation in the Subpolar Gyre of the Southeastern Indian Ocean

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The traditional image of Southern Ocean circulation between Australia and Antarctica illustrates the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), a dominant belt of eastward transport with a comparatively weak adjacent westward flow. The relatively weak westward flow is part of an anticyclonic, or counterclockwise, circulation north of the ACC and a cyclonic, or clockwise, circulation south of the ACC. Recent imaging developed from the World Ocean Circulation Hydrographic Program suggests that a strong cyclonic gyre exists, representing a newly discovered general circulation feature in a remote and unexplored region of the Southern Ocean. Oceanographers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute will install a 6-mooring array of current meters and a subsurface profiling float across the Antarctic continental slope to map the circulation of this newly discovered cyclonic gyre. In addition, scientists will use moored profilers to monitor the flow of the dense plume of water associated with the ACC that sinks along the continental slope and joins the descending limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation. Findings from this study will resolve uncertainties about the nature of the general circulation in the Southern Ocean and enhance our understanding of the global meridional overturning system. This project will also impact climate change research by allowing scientists to combine the proposed measurements with high-resolution numerical modeling to improve the performance of coupled climate models. Funding from this proposal will support the development of an early-career scientist, as well as potential research and training for a UK-based PhD student.