ANALYSES FROM INDIVIDUAL DATA SOURCES SUCH AS THE GRACE SATELLITE SATELLITE ALTIMETERS AND THE ARGO PROGRAM SUGGEST THAT SUBSURFACE OCEAN COOLING IS POSSIBLE IN THE FACE OF WARMING ELSEWHERE BUT THE UNCERTAINTIES ARE TOO LARGE TO BE CONCLUSIVE. HERE WE SEEK TO PLACE THE ECCO REANALYSIS RESULTS IN THE CONTEXT OF THESE PRIMARY INFORMATION SOURCES IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE ROBUSTNESS OF THE REANALYSIS. SHOULD A LONG-TERM CLIMATE RESPONSE BE DETECTABLE IN THE MID-DEPTH OCEAN WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY REPRODUCING OUR BEST GLOBAL DATA SETS IT WOULD REPRESENT TANGIBLE EVIDENCE OF THE LINGERING INFLUENCE OF PAST CLIMATE TODAY. DESPITE SMALL SUBSURFACE TEMPERATURE TRENDS THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE PLANETARY ENERGY BUDGET ARE POTENTIALLY LARGE DUE TO THE GREAT HEAT CAPACITY AND MASS OF THE SUBSURFACE OCEAN.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators