Dynamics of the southern ocean

The Southern Ocean plays a disproportionately large role in controlling global climate, but its circulation is not well understood. This project will investigate the physics of the circulation in the Southern Ocean. It will focus on the role of small scale processes in controlling the ocean's response to climate change, implications for the transfer of heat towards the Antarctic continent and alterations to the natural outgassing of carbon dioxide from Southern Ocean waters. The project will directly improve our capacity to represent the Southern Ocean in global climate models, and thereby enhance our capacity to make accurate and confident projections of future climate.