Ocean Heat Transport

The ocean contributes to regulating the Earth's climate through its ability to transport heat from the equator to the poles. The group studies the role of winds in driving this heat transport, an important question for climate and climate change. We also study the role of tropical cyclones (hurricanes) in driving ocean heat transport.

One of the most important contributions the ocean makes to Earth’s climate is through its poleward heat transport: about 1.5 PW or more than 30% of that accomplished by the ocean-atmosphere system. Recently, concern has arisen over whether global warming could affect this heat transport by, for example, by reducing high latitude convection and triggering a collapse of the deep over turning circulation. While the consequences of abrupt changes in oceanic circulation should be of concern, we argue that the attention devoted to deep circulations is disproportionate to their role in heat transport. For contribution to the heat transport by different components of the oceanic circulation. A new view of the ocean emerges in which a shallow surface intensified circulation dominates the poleward heat transport. this purpose, we introduce a heatfunction which identifies the contribution to the heat transport by different components of the oceanic circulation. A new view of the ocean emerges in which a shallow surface intensified circulation dominates the poleward heat transport.