Event Date: 17 Aug 2015 04:00 AM - 17 Aug 2015 05:00 AM

Event Venue: Tower Building, Level 2, CREATE Theatrette

SMART-CENSAM Seminar

Numerical modeling the ocean heat content and heat transport through South East Asian water passages

by Dr Danya Xu

Seminar Abstract

In the earth system, ocean plays an important role in regulating the world climate change. Ocean absorbs most of the short wave radiation from the sun, can greatly mitigate fast increasing global atmospheric temperature due to anthropogenic CO2. At the same time, ocean currents transport and redistribute the heat from tropics to higher latitude region interacting with atmosphere by air-sea heat exchange. Recent ARGO data shows the world ocean has been warmed 0.25 degree in the upper 2km in the past 15 years. The global warming hiatus during this period is due to extra heat has been stored in the ocean. It is easy to see this part of the heat releasing is going to promote the global warming.

The Maritime Continent comprises the South China Sea (SCS), the Indonesian Seas (IS) and the complex system of currents known as the Indonesia Through Flow (ITF). ITF is the only tropical interocean passage connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is part of the thermohaline circulation which not only can significantly impact to regional climate but also affects heat transport between ocean basins. Instant observation shows the southward subsurface jet of Makassar Strait implies previous studies may overestimate the overall heat transport by ITF. Numerical modeling this phenomena is still a great challenge.

In this study: Using a state-to-art numerical model, ocean heat content and heat transport through South East Asian water passages are calculated. Compared with the Simple Ocean Data Simulation (SODA) data, seasonal variation of the heat content and transport are estimated. The ocean heat content difference of two decades of 1960-1969 (60s) and 1990-1999 (90s) at SEA demonstrates the warming is due to upper net heat flux and ocean currents.

Speaker’s Biography

Danya is currently working with MIT physical oceanography Professor Paola Rizzoli. His work at SMART mainly focuses on the numerical modeling the climatological status, variations and interactions of the South China Sea Through Flow (SCSTF) and the Indonesian Through Flow (ITF). Danya received his Ph.D of Oceanography in 2008 from the School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, studying the Lagrangian particle transport processes in the coastal ocean.

He is also an ocean modeler interested in data assimilation; tides and ocean wave; storm surge and tsunami; sea level rise (SLR) ; coastal and inter-tidal zone dynamics; water quality model; operational forecast /nowcast system in regional seas.