Correlation of ocean mass and temperature fluxes among hydrographic sections in the southern oceans

Abstract

Two dominant correlations of ocean mass and temperature fluxes are found among distant hydrographic sections in the southern ocean. Mass transports are highly correlated among sections crossing the Antarctic Circumpolar Current at Drake Passage, south of Africa, and south of Australia, while there is a smaller temperature transport correlation among these sections. A second correlation is found in the mass and temperature fluxes between subtropical sections across the Indian and Pacific Oceans via south of Australia, and a temperature flux correlation between the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans via south of Africa. Knowledge of the property flux correlation among distant hydrographic sections provides information on the role of the Southern Ocean in the global overturning circulation.