Changing circulation
Ocean currents transport heat globally around the earth. Data from ice cores reveals that the pathways of the ocean currents have undergone major changes in a relatively short timescale of around 100 years. The associated change in heat transport by the oceans changes the climate. At NOC research is directed at understanding how the present day ocean currents operate using observational data to validate ocean circulation models. These models can then be used to predict how the ocean circulation will change in response to changing winds, evaporation and precipitation linked with a warmer climate.
Water masses in the ocean
Seawater in the ocean is not homogeneous but has wide a range of temperature, salinity (‘saltiness’) and other characteristics. Individual bodies of water may have a distinctive and narrow range of temperature and salinity, and these are termed water masses. Water masses are analogous to air masses, which we experience through the changing weather.
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Eddies in the ocean
Ocean eddies are typically bigger than a city and contain a billion tonnes of swirling water. They take a few days to rotate, drifting slowly and carrying warm and cold water around the ocean. These massive vortices are an important part of Earth’s climate, but understanding their complex behaviour remains one of the grand challenges for oceanographers and climate scientists.
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High resolution global modelling
Using numerical ocean models, we simulate the global ocean circulation from the surface to the abyss. Despite the increasing wealth of observations from ships, satellites, floats and moorings observational coverage is still sparse for vast parts of the deep ocean. However, with the increasing exploitation of the deep seas it is important that we understand ocean currents and their variability not just at the surface, but at all depths. To achieve this goal numerical ocean models are a valuable tool.
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The oceans' role in climate
Water is fundamental to human existence on Earth. The oceans hold over nine tenths of the planet’s water and cover almost three quarters of the Earth’s surface. Ocean currents move huge quantities of heat and water around the globe, with flows so strong that the standard unit of measurement for these is a million cubic metres of water per second. By exchanging heat and water with the atmosphere, the latter through evaporation and rainfall, the oceans affect both the day-to-day weather that we experience and the longer-term global climate, over decades and centuries. They also affect the climate by absorbing and releasing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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