Mass, Heat, and Freshwater Transport From Transoceanic Sections in the Atlantic Ocean at 30°S and 24.5°N: Single Sections Versus Box Models?

Abstract

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is central to the climate of the Atlantic by redistributing mass, heat, and freshwater. Hydrographic sections help monitor its strength at different latitudes, and inverse box models provide estimates of AMOC, heat, and freshwater transports. We have used all available hydrographic zonal sections at 24.5°N and 30°S over the last 30 years to conclude that single section inverse models agree with monthly outputs from an ocean general circulation model at the time of the cruise. In contrast, inverse models using multiple sections at different latitudes and times of the year for each of the last three decades are more consistent with decadal averages from the same model. Therefore, solutions of inverse models with single sections are affected by aliasing and represent the state of the ocean at the time of cruise. However, aliasing is greatly reduced when using multiple sections to assess low-frequency variability.