Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4537088 Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 2010 11 Pages PDF
Abstract

We studied the change in heat content in the Pacific Ocean using data from repeat hydrographic surveys. The most recent trans-Pacific surveys along 47°N and 179 °E conducted in 2007 reveal that circumpolar deep water has warmed along 179 °E as suggested by previous studies and also that the deep water was warmer along 47 °N even since 1999. Simple estimates show that the heat content increased in the layer deeper than 4000 m over almost the entire Pacific Ocean. The increase in heat content below 3000 m was about 5% of the ocean-wide increase. Heat content changes in the deep layer are not uniform and a vertical profile of heat content change has a minimum at a depth around 3000 m. The non-uniform distribution of heat content change in the mid- to bottom layer demonstrates the existence of overturn circulation and may indicate that this circulation is changing.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Geology
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