OSACC

Organization and Sensitivity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Overview

It has been recently argued that the governor of the Earth's climate may lie in the southern seas, where the strongest ocean current on Earth, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), flows between the tips of the continents of the South and Antarctica. Abrupt climate changes, transition into and out of glacial climates, as well as climate's response to anthropogenic C02 forcing may be directly linked to the dynamics of the ACC. However, the ACC remains poorly understood, as small scale eddies that are not resolved by climate models determine its properties. We therefore need a comprehensive theory for the interaction between the eddies and the mean current to achieve understanding of the ACC dynamics. In this project, we undertake this task and use recently developed methods to provide this theory that could be used for assessment of the impact of ACC dynamics on climate.

NKUA

 

This project is funded by the John S. Latsis Foundation under the scheme “Research projects 2011”