Zonal asymmetry of recent heat content change in Antarctic Intermediate Water

Xubin NI; Ling DU; Linlin FAN; Huangyuan SHI

doi:10.1007/s00343-025-5015-2

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Zonal asymmetry of recent heat content change in Antarctic Intermediate Water

Physics | Updated：2026-05-07

- Zonal asymmetry of recent heat content change in Antarctic Intermediate Water
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 44, Issue 2, Pages: 492-510(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Frontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  2.College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  3.College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524000, China
- Author bio：
  
  duling@ouc.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-5015-2
  CLC：
- Received：16 January 2025，
  
  Accepted：16 June 2025，
  
  Online First：30 April 2025，
  
  Published：01 March 2026
- Accepted：
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NI Xubin,DU Ling,FAN Linlin,et al.Zonal asymmetry of recent heat content change in Antarctic Intermediate Water[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2026,44(02):492-510.
DOI：

NI Xubin,DU Ling,FAN Linlin,et al.Zonal asymmetry of recent heat content change in Antarctic Intermediate Water[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2026,44(02):492-510. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-5015-2.

摘要

Abstract

Climate changes lead to significant warming of the Southern Ocean. By analyzing observational products and objective analysis data

this study reveals that the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) shows a zonal asymmetry of heat content changes

resulting from the different regional responses to the large-scale circulations. The heat content changes show significant interannual to decadal variations superimposed on a long-term trend

mainly attributed to the heat redistribution affected by the atmospheric circulations. AAIW in the Indian sector exhibits a significant widespread warming

and AAIW in the southwest Pacific sector presents an unexpected cooling. Warming has increased by 0.4 ZJ (zettajoules

1 ZJ=10

J) per decade since 1979 in the Indian sector

which is equivalent to the heat gain rate of 0.04 W/m

during 1979–2019 in the Southern Ocean. Upwelling of warm circumpolar deep water driven by upward Ekman pumping

induced by the persistent positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode in recent years

plays a leading role in promoting this warming. The unexpected cooling in the southwest Pacific sector

reaching 0.2 ZJ per decade during 1979–2019

is due to the increasing cold water from sea ice and melting water. An increase of low-pressure anomaly facilitates the shallowing and tilting of isopycnals and the intrusion of cold water into the interior ocean

which is closely associated with the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. The enhancement of this zonal asymmetry in the AAIW shows an increasing heat content in the Indian sector and a decreasing heat content in the Pacific sector

which implies that the Indian Ocean will become an important potential warming pool in the future.

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Keywords

references

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