The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Decadal Variability of Ocean Heat Content in the Southeastern Pacific
ID:886 Poster Presentation

2027-01-15 16:30 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 55 - Decadal Climate Variation, Prediction and Predictability

Abstract
While the global ocean heat content has been rising, the regional ocean heat content exhibits substantial variations on various temporal and spatial scales. Over the past decade, the southeastern Pacific has experienced pronounced ocean warming, accompanied by accelerated ocean heat accumulation and an increasing occurrence of record-breaking sea level and sea surface temperature anomalies. This study demonstrates that these extreme events are successive manifestations of the ongoing regional warming rather than isolated climate anomalies. Although differing in their surface forcing and tropical precursors, the events share a common dynamical framework governing the evolution of regional ocean heat content. In both cases, thermosteric expansion associated with persistent subsurface heat accumulation accounts for the extreme sea level anomalies. Ocean heat budget analyses reveal that anomalous surface turbulent heat fluxes initiate upper-ocean warming, while horizontal heat advection and wind-driven downwelling redistribute and store heat in the southeastern Pacific, sustaining the long-lived increase in ocean heat content. The associated oceanic responses are consistently linked to persistent anticyclonic wind anomalies over the South Pacific. While the large-scale atmospheric forcing originates from different tropical basins, Rossby wave teleconnections establish the anomalous circulation, and the Southern Hemisphere zonal wave-3 variability further modulates its phase and spatial evolution, reinforcing regional air–sea coupling and ocean heat accumulation. These results provide a unified dynamical framework linking decadal ocean warming with successive regional extremes in the southeastern Pacific, offering new insights into Southern Ocean heat uptake, regional sea level variability, and the physical processes regulating marine biogeochemical and carbon uptake.
Speaker
Jianjie Feng Xiamen University

Author
Jianjie Feng Xiamen University

    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