Banse Early Career Scientist Seminar 15 Nov 2023

Wednesday, November 15, 03:30 PM to 04:30 PM PST

Wednesday, November 15, 03:30 PM to 04:30 PM PT, with tea and cookies to follow
Ocean Sciences Building (OSB), Room 425

Jannes Koelling, UW CICOES

Title

The lungs of the ocean: oxygen uptake and export in the subpolar North Atlantic

Abstract 

The subpolar North Atlantic Ocean is one of the main regions where the deep ocean can be ventilated with oxygen, or one of the “lungs" of the ocean. This ventilation is driven by an interplay of ocean circulation, deep water formation, and strong atmospheric forcing, which results in significant amounts of oxygen being taken up from the atmosphere and subsequently spreading to other parts of the ocean with North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). 

However, the exact mechanisms of how the ocean is ventilated in this region are still poorly constrained, including the spatial patterns and magnitude of air-sea gas exchange, detailed spreading pathways of NADW, and particularly the linkage between the two, i.e. how much of the oxygen that is taken up is incorporated into the newly formed deep waters. During this talk, I will present some of my previous work towards improving our understanding of these processes in the subpolar North Atlantic, including studies on air-sea gas exchange, physical oxygen transport, and long-term variability in oxygen content. I will also discuss my current work and future plans for my CICOES project, the aim of which is to generate a much more comprehensive picture of deep ocean ventilation in this important region than has been possible to date.