Estimates of the Southern Ocean general circulation improved by animal-borne instruments
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2013-12 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Roquet Fabien1, Wunsch Carl2, Forget Gael3, Heimbach Patrick3, Guinet Christophe4, Reverdin Gilles5, Charrassin Jean-Benoit5, Bailleul Frederic4, Costa Daniel P.6, Huckstadt Luis A.6, Goetz Kimberly T.6, Kovacs Kit M.7, Lydersen Christian7, Biuw Martin7, Nost Ole A.7, Bornemann Horst8, Ploetz Joachim8, Bester Marthan N.9, McIntyre Trevor9, Muelbert Monica C.10, Hindell Mark A.11, McMahon Clive R.11, Williams Guy12, Harcourt Robert13, Field Iain C.13, Chafik Leon1, Nicholls Keith W.14, Boehme Lars15, Fedak Mike A.15 | ||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Stockholm Univ, Dept Meteorol, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden. 2 : Harvard Univ, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. 3 : MIT, Dept Earth Atmospher & Planetary Sci, Cambridge, MA USA. 4 : CNRS, Ctr Etud Biol Chize, Villiers En Bois, France. 5 : Lab Oceanog & Climat Expt & Approches Numer, Paris, France. 6 : Univ Calif Santa Cruz, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA. 7 : Norwegian Polar Res Inst, Tromso, Norway. 8 : Alfred Wegener Inst Polar & Marine Res, Helmholtz Zentrum Polar & Meeresforsch, Bremerhaven, Germany. 9 : Univ Pretoria, Dept Zool & Entomol, Mammal Res Inst, ZA-0002 Pretoria, South Africa. 10 : Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Inst Oceanog, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. 11 : Univ Tasmania, Inst Marine & Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Tas, Australia. 12 : Univ Tasmania, Hobart, Tas, Australia. 13 : Macquarie Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Marine Predator Res Grp, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. 14 : British Antarctic Survey, Nat Environm Res Council, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England. 15 : Univ St Andrews, Scottish Oceans Inst, Sea Mammal Res Unit, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. |
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| Source | Geophysical Research Letters (0094-8276) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2013-12 , Vol. 40 , N. 23 , P. 6176-6180 | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1002/2013GL058304 | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 107 | ||||||||
| Keyword(s) | animal-borne sampling, Southern Ocean, state estimation, hydrography | ||||||||
| Abstract | Over the last decade, several hundred seals have been equipped with conductivity-temperature-depth sensors in the Southern Ocean for both biological and physical oceanographic studies. A calibrated collection of seal-derived hydrographic data is now available, consisting of more than 165,000 profiles. The value of these hydrographic data within the existing Southern Ocean observing system is demonstrated herein by conducting two state estimation experiments, differing only in the use or not of seal data to constrain the system. Including seal-derived data substantially modifies the estimated surface mixed-layer properties and circulation patterns within and south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Agreement with independent satellite observations of sea ice concentration is improved, especially along the East Antarctic shelf. Instrumented animals efficiently reduce a critical observational gap, and their contribution to monitoring polar climate variability will continue to grow as data accuracy and spatial coverage increase. | ||||||||
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