Bremen 2017 – scientific programme
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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik
UP 5: Postersession
UP 5.24: Poster
Tuesday, March 14, 2017, 16:40–18:10, GW2 B3010
Variability of transport and pathways of the North Atlantic Current: a comparison of satellite altimetry data and observational data from pressure inverted echo sounders — •Hannah Nowitzki1,2, Monika Rhein1,2, Achim Roessler1,2, and Dagmar Kieke1,2 — 1MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Bremen, Germany — 2Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Germany
The North Atlantic with its major currents being part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is one of the major climate relevant regions and of special interest in the context of climate change. The North Atlantic Current (NAC) forms the upper branch of the AMOC and transports warm and saline water from the subtropics into the subpolar North Atlantic. This provides the energy for basal melt of the Greenland Ice Sheets and also leads, for instance through the exchange of heat between the sea surface and the atmosphere, to relatively mild winter temperatures in northern Europe. The strength of the NAC and its pathways, both examined in this work, are thus closely linked to the global climate.
To study the circulation in the subpolar North Atlantic with a focus on the NAC, satellite altimetry data is combined with NAC transports measured with pressure inverted echo sounders. This data is then related to the North Atlantic Oscillation in order to study the link between the NAC circulation and atmospheric fluctuations.