Browsing by Author "Wu, Zelun"
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Item Impact of Marine Heatwaves on Air-Sea CO2 Flux Along the US East Coast(Geophysical Research Letters, 2024-01-02) Edwing, Kelsea; Wu, Zelun; Lu, Wenfang; Li, Xinyu; Cai, Wei-Jun; Yan, Xiao-HaiMarine heatwaves (MHWs) are extremely warm ocean temperature events that significantly affect marine environments, but their effects on the coastal carbonate system are still uncertain. In this study, we systematically quantify MHWs' impacts on air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) flux anomalies (FCO2′) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) and South Atlantic Bight (SAB) from 1992 to 2020. During the longest MHW in both regions, oceanic CO2 uptake capabilities substantially decreased, primarily due to significant increases in the seawater partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2sea). For all cases, MHWs played a more significant role in driving pCO2sea changes in the MAB than the SAB, where non-thermal drivers dominated pCO2sea variability. In the MAB, weakened wind speeds related to wintertime atmospheric perturbations increase ocean temperatures and pCO2sea, further reducing CO2 uptake during winter MHWs. This work is the first to connect extreme temperatures to coastal air-sea CO2 fluxes. The reduction in CO2 absorption noted during MHWs in this study has important implications for coastal regions to act as continued sinks for excess CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Key Points - Marine heatwaves (MHWs) primarily generated positive sea surface pCO2 (pCO2sea) anomalies in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) and South Atlantic Bight (SAB) but had a larger impact on air-sea CO2 flux anomalies in the MAB - Reduced wind speeds amplified MHW contributions during CO2 sink months and counteracted them during CO2 source months - In the MAB, wintertime atmospheric perturbations related to zonal shifts in the jet stream produce slower wind speeds which aid in generating air-sea heat flux type MHW events that ultimately reduce oceanic CO2 uptake Plain Language Summary The transfer of carbon dioxide (CO2) between the atmosphere and ocean is sensitive to sea surface temperature (SST) changes because warmer SSTs increase the sea surface partial pressure of CO2 and reduce the ocean's ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. It is, therefore, conceivable that marine heatwaves (MHWs), which are extremely warm ocean temperature events, could modify how carbon moves between the ocean and the atmosphere. This study provides the first attempt to evaluate the impacts of MHWs on the air-sea CO2 flux (FCO2) anomalies along the US East Coast, encompassing the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) and South Atlantic Bight (SAB) during 1992–2020. Both regions experienced reduced CO2 absorption in response to the longest MHWs in each region. These extreme temperatures had a larger impact on CO2 absorption in the MAB compared to the SAB, where non-temperature factors were more influential. The coastal ocean plays an important role in helping to mitigate human-induced climate change by absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere. As such, the demonstrated reduced absorption of the ocean associated with MHWs in this study, which might also apply to other coastal locations, has vital implications for the efficiency of the ocean in offsetting global warming impacts.Item Quasi-Decadal Temperature Variability in the Intermediate Layer of Subtropical South Indian Ocean During the Argo Period(Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2023-07-28) Huang, Lei; Zhuang, Wei; Wu, Zelun; Zhang,Yang; Meng, Lingsheng; Edwing, Deanna; Yan, Xiao-HaiIt has been reported that the subtropical South Indian Ocean (SIO) has been rapidly warming over the past two decades and can therefore be characterized as one of the major heat accumulators among the oceanic basins. However, this strong warming is not uniformly distributed in the vertical direction. In comparison to the decade-long warming in the upper layer (0–300 m) in 2004–2013, the intermediate layer (300–1,000 m) displays a shorter warming during 2004–2009 and an intense cooling during 2010–2016. By decomposing temperature variations into heaving and spice components, and performing a heat budget analysis, we show that temperature variations in the intermediate layer during these two periods are primarily contributed by isopycnal migrations driven by local wind forcing. Local wind change in the subtropical SIO can be explained by the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño–Southern Oscillation during 2004–2016, while Southern Annular Mode (SAM) favors anomalous wind change in mid-latitudes and the formation of basin-wide wind change in the SIO. Additionally, wind forcing in the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) formation region, which is closely linked to the SAM, modulates the anomalous spreading of SAMW into the interior of the subtropical SIO. This, therefore, leads to the SAMW intrusion being of secondary importance to the quasi-decadal temperature variability. Our findings demonstrate the independence of wind-driven temperature changes on the quasi-decadal scale in the intermediate layer of the subtropical SIO under the overall warming background of SIO waters. Key Points - Quasi-decadal temperature variations occur in the intermediate layer (300–1,000 m) of subtropical South Indian Ocean (SIO) - Local wind-driven heaving process is the major driver, spice component arising from the Subantarctic Mode Water intrusion is of secondary importance - The local wind change in the subtropical SIO can be well explained by the combined effects of El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole and Southern Annular Mode Plain Language Summary Compared to the decade-long warming in the upper layer of the South Indian Ocean (SIO), which has been studied extensively, our understanding of temperature change in the intermediate layer is relatively limited. This study reveals a quasi-decadal temperature cycle in the intermediate layer of the subtropical SIO during the Argo period, which is characterized by a shorter warming period during 2004–2009 and subsequent cooling during 2010–2016. Decomposition of temperature changes suggests that this quasi-decadal temperature variability is primarily driven by the heaving component, which is tightly associated with local wind variability driven by local and remote forcings, whereas the spice change largely contributed by the SAM-related water mass transmission from higher latitudes, is of secondary importance. Thus, this study expands our knowledge of temperature variability in the SIO and demonstrates that the quasi-decadal variability of intermediate layer temperatures in the subtropical SIO serves as a crucial archive for both global and local climate change.