Sources and Variability of Weddell Sea Deep Water

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The Southern Ocean is the source of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). This water mass fills most of the global ocean abyss and thus plays a crucial role in the Meridional Overturning Circulation. As a key feature for the global circulation, changes in the production rates or in the main characteristics of the AABW may impact the circulation in all oceans. The Weddell Sea Deep Water (WSDW), which is formed directly along the slope of the western Weddell Sea or due to mixing with Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW), escaping the Weddell Sea is the most important source of AABW. There are three main source regions of WSDW: the continental shelves of the western and southwestern Weddell Sea, and the eastern Weddell Sea, where recirculating water and water coming from the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean mix. The main goal of this project is to identify the WSDW variability driven by the different sources and determine the consequences for AABW further downstream. Historical, recent, and future mooring data will be used together with and numerical modelling to fulfill the objectives.