Interannual variability of the meridional transports across the SAMOC basin-wide array (SAMBAR)

Abstract

The proposed research aims at a better understanding of the interannual variability of the heat content and meridional transports across 34.5S, a zonal section referred as SAMBA (the South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (SAMOC) Basin-wide Array). It will investigate impacts of global changes on the ocean and the feedback of changes in the South Atlantic Circulation on the Regional Climate and on the stability of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). For reaching the objectives, the activities will include: the acquisition of instruments and their deployment in the South Atlantic; the conduction of annual cruises to deploy, to service and to perform data telemetry of data stored in moored instruments; to conduct hydrographic surveys of physical and biochemical properties of the water column; the data mining of ancillary data and the analysis of observations and results of numerical experiments. The results will contribute for a better understanding of the climate, in regional and global scales, and to more immediate societal benefits and economic impacts, as the Brazilian coastal regions are exposed and highly vulnerable to changes in the Atlantic circulation. Slight changes in currents and thermodynamic properties can have dramatic impacts on the regional climate, on the sea level height, on coastal geomorphology and on the coastal ecosystems. The better knowledge of the large-scale processes in the South Atlantic is essential for the proper design of coastal observing systems and most effective policies for understanding the impacts of climate changes, for actions for mitigation, adaptation and protection of the environment. (AU)