Zhou
Chun
Zhou
Chun
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ArticleIntense abyssal flow through the Yap‐Mariana Junction in the western North Pacific(American Geophysical Union, 2022-01-28) Zhou, Chun ; Xu, Hongzhou ; Xiao, Xin ; Zhao, Wei ; Yang, Jiayan ; Yang, Qingxuan ; Jiang, Huichang ; Xie, Qiang ; Long, Tong ; Wang, Tinghao ; Huang, Xiaodong ; Zhang, Zhiwei ; Guan, Shoude ; Tian, JiweiWater-mass transports in the vast and seemingly quiescent abyssal ocean, basically along topographically-guided pathways, play a pivotal role in the Earth's climate. The pulse of abyssal circulations can be taken with observations at topographic choke points. The Yap-Mariana Junction (YMJ) is the exclusive choke point through which the Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) enters the Philippine Sea. Here, we quantify the LCDW transport and its variability based on mooring observations at the YMJ and the Mariana Trench (MT). The LCDW flows northward toward the Philippine Sea as an intensified current on the western side of the YMJ, with maximum mean velocity reaching 7.6 cm/s. The mean LCDW transports through the MT and the YMJ are 2.2 ± 1.0 Sv and 2.1 ± 0.4 Sv, respectively. Reversal flow at autumn in both the YMJ and MT is captured, indicating seasonal variability of the abyssal flow.
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ArticleSubpolar North Atlantic western boundary density anomalies and the Meridional Overturning Circulation(Nature Research, 2021-05-24) Li, Feili ; Lozier, M. Susan ; Bacon, Sheldon ; Bower, Amy S. ; Cunningham, Stuart A. ; de Jong, Marieke F. ; deYoung, Brad ; Fraser, Neil ; Fried, Nora ; Han, Guoqi ; Holliday, Naomi Penny ; Holte, James W. ; Houpert, Loïc ; Inall, Mark E. ; Johns, William E. ; Jones, Sam ; Johnson, Clare ; Karstensen, Johannes ; Le Bras, Isabela A. ; Lherminier, Pascale ; Lin, Xiaopei ; Mercier, Herlé ; Oltmanns, Marilena ; Pacini, Astrid ; Petit, Tillys ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Rayner, Darren ; Straneo, Fiamma ; Thierry, Virginie ; Visbeck, Martin ; Yashayaev, Igor ; Zhou, ChunChanges in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which have the potential to drive societally-important climate impacts, have traditionally been linked to the strength of deep water formation in the subpolar North Atlantic. Yet there is neither clear observational evidence nor agreement among models about how changes in deep water formation influence overturning. Here, we use data from a trans-basin mooring array (OSNAP—Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program) to show that winter convection during 2014–2018 in the interior basin had minimal impact on density changes in the deep western boundary currents in the subpolar basins. Contrary to previous modeling studies, we find no discernable relationship between western boundary changes and subpolar overturning variability over the observational time scales. Our results require a reconsideration of the notion of deep western boundary changes representing overturning characteristics, with implications for constraining the source of overturning variability within and downstream of the subpolar region.
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ArticleStructure and formation of anticyclonic eddies in the Iceland Basin(John Wiley & Sons, 2018-08-08) Zhao, Jian ; Bower, Amy S. ; Yang, Jiayan ; Lin, Xiaopei ; Zhou, ChunThe Iceland Basin has the most energetic eddy activities in the subpolar North Atlantic. This study documents the structure for an anticyclonic eddy in the Iceland Basin using high‐resolution hydrographic and velocity observations. The eddy core waters have lens‐like structure with warm and salty features in the upper 1,000 m. The eddy distorts the density surface by doming the upper isopycnals and deepening the ones near the permanent pycnocline. The eddy has a diameter of about 120 km with substantial barotropic component in the velocity profiles. One branch of the North Atlantic Current in the central Iceland Basin is superimposed onto the eddy, leading to asymmetric velocity structure. Satellite maps show that eddy first shows up over the western slope of the Hatton Bank and moves westward to the central Iceland Basin. The waters enclosed in the eddy core share the same properties with Subpolar Mode Waters. Similar anticyclonic eddies are also found in high‐resolution numerical model simulations, which is used to explore eddy formation. The model results reveal that the potential vorticity gradient prior to the eddy event change signs in both horizontal and vertical directions. This potential vorticity gradient structure meets the necessary condition for the barotropic and baroclinic instabilities. Further calculation of the energy conversions suggests that eddies extract mean potential energy from the large‐scale isopycnal slope and gain the mean kinetic energy in the upper ocean. Therefore, both barotropic and baroclinic instabilities are involved to support the eddy growth.
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ArticleIncreasing deep-water overflow from the Pacific into the South China Sea revealed by mooring observations(Nature Research, 2023-04-10) Zhou, Chun ; Xiao, Xin ; Zhao, Wei ; Yang, Jiayan ; Huang, Xiaodong ; Guan, Shoude ; Zhang, Zhiwei ; Tian, JiweiCold and dense water from the North Pacific Ocean that spills through the Luzon Strait, the only deep conduit between the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific Ocean, renews deep-water mass, modulates hydrographic and biogeochemical cycles, and drives abyssal and overturning circulations in the SCS. The variability of this key oceanic process, however, has been poorly studied, mainly due to a lack of sustained observations. A comprehensive observational program that started in 2009 has provided 12 years of continuous time series of velocity and volume transport within the Luzon Strait. Here we show the observation-based assessment of decadal trends of deep-water transport through this vital passage. With the estimated 12-year mean volume transport of the deep-water overflow into the SCS of 0.84 ± 0.39 Sv (1 Sv = 10 ms), a significant linear upward trend of 9% is revealed during this period. This is consistent with long-term changes in satellite-observed ocean bottom pressure. The results of this study may have broad implications for the overturning circulations and biogeochemical processes, including carbon cycles in this region.