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Australia: The Land Where Time Began |
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Tasman Sea Climate Change Projection from an Eddy-Resolving Ocean Model
The greatest rate of ocean warming in the 20th century is
displayed by the western boundary current regions of the ocean and it is
projected by climate models that the accelerated rate of warming will
continue as climate change progresses. According to Matear et
al. all existing climate
change projections come from simulations that do not fully resolve
either these boundary currents or their eddies. In this paper Matear et
al. show how the responses of
the Tasman Sea to climate change differs from the projected changes
obtained by the use of a coarse resolution Global Climate Model (GCM) by
using of an Ocean Eddy-resolving Model (OEM) that captures the dynamics
of the East Australian Current (EAC) as well as its eddies. The OEM
projects that with climate change EAC transport is increased with eddy
activity and there is a southwards latitudinal shift of approximately 1o
of the separation point of the EAC from the shelf after which it flows
to the east. In the Tasman Sea the OEM increased the eddy activity with
climate change, which then increases the nutrient supply to the upper
levels of the ocean, and this then leads to an increase in
concentrations of phytoplankton and a primary production increase of 10
% in the oligotrophic waters of the Tasman Sea. In the climate change
projection of the GCM it projects there will be a decrease in primary
production with climate change. When the OEM climate change projection
for the Tasman Sea is applied to other western boundary current regions
it suggests, according to Matear et
al., the intensification of
all western boundary currents with climate change should also increase
eddy activity, which would then provide an important nutrient supply
mechanism, and this should counter the increased stratification that is
projected with global warming.
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Author: M.H.Monroe Email: admin@austhrutime.com Sources & Further reading |