The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Observation-based basin-scale diagnostics of ocean heat content variability in the North Atlantic
ID:1238 Invited Oral Presentation

2027-01-15 08:30 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 62 - Variability of the Atlantic Ocean: past, present and future

Abstract

The North Atlantic plays a central role in regulating regional and global climate through heat storage and transport. While variability in ocean heat content (OHC) has been increasingly observed, the mechanisms governing its seasonal-to-interannual changes remain insufficiently constrained due to the lack of coherent, multi-source observational synthesis. Here we analyze OHC changes in the extratropical North Atlantic from 2014 to 2020, combining satellite-derived data, RAPID-MOCHA and OSNAP mooring observations, hydrographic profiles, and atmospheric reanalysis products within a box inverse model framework. The inverse model enforces integral constraints on mass, heat, and freshwater conservation across a multi-product ensemble, with satellite surface geostrophic velocity as an additional constraint, achieving basin-scale heat budget closure between OSNAP and RAPID. Seasonal OHC variability is mainly driven by net air-sea heat fluxes, whereas interannual changes reflect basin-scale imbalances between advective heat convergence and net surface cooling. The advective heat convergence is further decomposed into overturning and gyre components at both bounding sections, revealing their respective roles in driving interannual OHC variability. This observation-based framework provides new constraints on the mechanisms linking North Atlantic heat content changes to large-scale circulation.

Speaker
Yingjie Liu Ifremer / CNRS

Author
Yingjie Liu Ifremer / CNRS

    Important Dates

    • Jan 30

      2026

      Session / Event proposals open

    • Mar 31

      2026

      Session / Event proposals close
      (Extended to April 7)

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Session acceptance notifications

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions & registration open

    • Jun 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions close
      (Extended to July 21)

    • Aug 31

      2026

      Abstract acceptance notifications

    • Sep 15

      2026

      Scientific program released

    • Oct 15

      2026

      Early bird registration closes

    • Jan 12–15

      2027

      XMAS 2027