Diffusive and Adiabatic Meridional Overturning Circulations in the Cooling Abyss of the Indo-Pacific Ocean

TL;DR

This paper investigates the transient overturning circulations in the Indo-Pacific abyssal ocean, emphasizing the role of isopycnal displacement and idealized modeling to understand cooling phases and overturning patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a novel perspective on abyssal overturning by focusing on unsteady thermal states and idealized experiments, contrasting with previous slope-mixing theories.

Findings

Advective overturning consistently shows upwelling patterns.

Diabatic overturning direction depends on transient thermal state.

Cooling phases influence abyssal circulation dynamics.

Abstract

Recent field campaigns have consistently documented bottom-intensified mixing near the seafloor, suggesting diabatic downwelling in the abyssal ocean. This phenomenon appears to contradict with the mass balance of the abyssal ocean, where dense bottom water plunges into the region from the Antarctic side. Previous studies have sought to resolve this apparent paradox by proposing mixing-induced diabatic upwelling along bottom slopes. In contrast, this study offers an alternative perspective, highlighting the role of isopycnal displacement in the transient abyss. Motivated by emerging evidence of a cooling phase in the abyssal Indo-Pacific, likely linked to the last Little Ice Age, this study reinterprets the interior-downwelling paradox from the perspective of unsteady thermal states. Idealized numerical experiments were conducted to explore the abyssal overturning dynamics, with a focus on the behavior of advective, adiabatic, and diffusive overturning circulation streamfunctions in both cooling and warming scenarios. The results reveal that while the direction of diabatic overturning (upwelling or downwelling) depends on the transient state of the ocean, advective overturning circulation consistently exhibits an upwelling pattern, underscoring the inherent robustness of upward water parcel movement within abyssal dynamics.