Diagnosing Overturning and Water Mass Transformation in the Labrador Sea From Argo Floats

寒冷的咸水在大西洋高纬度下沉并沿海底扩散，被表面较暖的海水回流所平衡，称为大西洋子午线翻转环流(AMOC)。它在维护地球-S气候以及关键的海洋属性方面发挥着重要作用。拉布拉多海倾覆是AMOC的关键组成部分，但其强度和变化性一直难以准确测量。这项研究将探索是否可以使用浮动观测作为一种经济有效的方式来回答这样的问题。该项目有可能加强和量化我们对拉布拉多海致密水形成和翻转环流之间联系的了解，并导致改进继续进行AMOC采样的战略。这项研究提供的信息将增进对拉布拉多海倾覆和出口在年际和年代际时间尺度上的时空变异性的理解。质量控制数据集将在网上提供，并纳入本科生和研究生课程。该项目还将支持一名博士后，并帮助他过渡到更永久的职位。拉布拉多海对AMOC的贡献相对未知，20世纪至21世纪初的潜在变化仍不确定。该项目的主要目标是使用剖面浮标来量化拉布拉多海-S对海洋和海洋生态系统的贡献。初步分析中计算的平均倾覆与之前的估计一致，表明浮标是研究拉布拉多海这些方面的可行数据集。该项目将是在未来几年了解AMOC并补充OSNAP停泊数据的大型持续努力的一部分。阿尔戈和宫殿在拉布拉多海的浮标和边界流收集了过去20年的数据。Argo浮标提供盆地范围内的季节性和空间数据覆盖。20世纪90年代的宫殿漂浮物数据使我们有机会比较拉布拉多海在两个不同时期的倾覆；一个时期是90年代深层对流增强，而21世纪头10年对流减弱。

The sinking of cold, saline water at high latitudes in the Atlantic Ocean and its spread along the sea floor, which is balanced by the return flow of warmer waters at the surface, is known as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). It plays an important role in maintaining Earth?s climate as well as key ocean properties. Labrador Sea overturning is a key component of AMOC, but its magnitude and variability has been difficult to measure accurately. This study will explore whether float observations can be used as a cost-effective way to answer such questions. The project has the potential to enhance and quantify our understanding of the connection between dense water formation and overturning circulation in the Labrador Sea and lead to an improved strategy for continued AMOC sampling. Information from the study will improve understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of Labrador Sea overturning and export on interannual and decadal timescales. A quality-controlled data set will be available online and incorporated into undergraduate and graduate classes. The project will also support a post doc and facilitate his transition to a more permanent position.The Labrador Sea's contribution to the AMOC is relatively unknown and the potential change between the 1900s and 2000s is still uncertain. The primary objective of the project is to quantify the Labrador Sea?s contribution to the AMOC using profiling floats. The mean overturning calculated in a preliminary analysis is in line with previous estimates, suggesting that floats are a viable dataset for examining these aspects of the Labrador Sea. The project will be part of a large ongoing effort to understand AMOC over the next few years and complement OSNAP moored data. Argo and PALACE floats in the Labrador Sea and boundary current have collected data for the past two decades. The Argo floats offer seasonal and spatial data coverage at the basin-wide scale. PALACE floats data from the 1990s allows the opportunity to compare Labrador Sea overturning from two different periods; one of enhanced deep convection in the 1990s, and weaker convection in the 2000s.