Estimating Atlantic ocean circulation from space

What is it about?

The Atlantic overturning circulation is an important part of the ocean's role in climate. The strength of overturning has been monitored by underwater sensors at 26N in the Atlantic since 2004. In this new paper, I show how the changes in the overturning can be monitored from satellite observations.

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Why is it important?

Using satellite data to monitor the large-scale ocean circulation means that we can estimate the circulation back in time (in this case, since 1993). From these estimates, it appears that the overturning circulation was stronger over the 1993-2003 decade than it is for the 2004-2014 decade. This has implications for the movement of heat around the Earth's climate system.