Resolving ocean heat content changes by combining Space gravimetry, Argo and radar altimetry -- ROCSTAR

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Changes in the ocean heat are strongly linked to the heat flux at the ocean-atmosphere boundary and therefore play a major role in modulating the Earth’s climate. However, significant uncertainties still exist in in-situ derived estimates and certain regions of the ocean are still poorly sampled. ROCSTAR, will provide new insights in the Earth’s energy budget by improving oceanic temperature (T) and salinity (S) estimates. This is accomplished by combining space geodetic data together with Argo profiles, solving for temperature, salinity and regionally varying sea level contributions simultaneously. The resulting estimates cover the entire ocean column and the associated steric changes will be consistent with both observed ocean bottom pressure and sea level anomalies. In light of this, the project aims to:1. increase the accuracy and consistency of T and S fields and provide corresponding realistic error estimates2. extend T and S estimates in regions with few profiles and in the abyssal ocean3. quantify the role which the shallow and deep layers of the ocean play in the Earth’s energy and sea level budget4. identify ocean heat hotspots and study their link to the terrestrial water cycle in Southeast AsiaROCSTAR will be positioned within SPP1189’s focus point WPA (Origin of Regional Sea level changes). The project aggregates global observations and dedicated case studies in the Indian Ocean and West Pacific, the primary sources for moisture and cyclone and Typhoon development for the southeast Asian region, will be pursued. Furthermore, ROCSTAR will actively participate in outreach activities of the SPP and develop a conceptual board game to explain the regional sea level budget to non-scientists.