Relationship between sea surface salinity and ocean circulation and climate change

• Published in: Science China. Earth sciences Vol. 62; no. 5; pp. 771 - 782
• Main Authors: Du, Yan, Zhang, Yuhong, Shi, Jiancheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Science China Press 01.05.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amplification; Circulation; Climate change; Climate system; Climate variability; Climatology; Dynamics; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Eddies; Evaporation; Frequency dependence; Freshwater; Global warming; Hydrologic cycle; Hydrologic data; Hydrological cycle; Hydrology; Indonesian Throughflow; Inland water environment; Mesoscale eddies; Ocean circulation; Ocean currents; Ocean dynamics; Ocean surface; Oceanography; Oceans; Physical oceanography; Planetary waves; Precipitation; Progress; Rainfall; Regions; Remote sensing; Rossby waves; Salinity; Salinity effects; Satellite observation; Satellites; Sea surface; Seawater; Seawater salinity; Spaceborne remote sensing; Surface salinity; Temperature (air-sea); Trends; Variability; Walker circulation; Water circulation; Indian Ocean; Climate change; Multi-scale interaction; Sea surface salinity; Ocean circulation
• ISSN: 1674-7313; 1869-1897
• DOI: 10.1007/s11430-018-9276-6

Based on Argo sea surface salinity ( SSS ) and the related precipitation ( P ), evaporation ( E ), and sea surface height data sets, the climatological annual mean and low-frequency variability in SSS in the global ocean and their relationship with ocean circulation and climate change were analyzed. Meanwhile, together with previous studies, a brief retrospect and prospect of seawater salinity were given in this work. Freshwater flux ( E-P ) dominated the mean pattern of SSS , while the dynamics of ocean circulation modulated the spatial structure and low-frequency variability in SSS in most regions. Under global warming, the trend in SSS indicated the intensification of the global hydrological cycle, and featured a decreasing trend at low and high latitudes and an increasing trend in subtropical regions. In the most recent two decades, global warming has slowed down, which is called the “global warming hiatus”. The trend in SSS during this phase, which was different to that under global warming, mainly indicated the response of the ocean surface to the decadal and multi-decadal variability in the climate system, referring to the intensification of the Walker Circulation. The significant contrast of SSS trends between the western Pacific and the southeastern Indian Ocean suggested the importance of oceanic dynamics in the cross-basin interaction in recent decades. Ocean Rossby waves and the Indonesian Throughflow contributed to the freshening trend in SSS in the southeastern Indian Ocean, while the increasing trend in the southeastern Pacific and the decreasing trend in the northern Atlantic implied a long-term linear trend under global warming. In the future, higher resolution SSS data observed by satellites, together with Argo observations, will help to extend our knowledge on the dynamics of mesoscale eddies, regional oceanography, and climate change.