16 Mar 2017

 

Why the Southern Ocean Matters for Climate

 

Dr. Irina Marinov, University of Pennsylvania

 

The Southern Ocean, the vast and largely unexplored ocean surrounding Antarctica, takes up most of the human-produced greenhouse heat and a large percentage of the carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere. The Southern Ocean is critically important for our planet’s climate on both long and short time scales.

 

Dr. Marinov will discuss briefly the basic mechanisms of Southern Ocean circulation and biology, its role in past (paleo) climate changes, expected changes in the Southern Ocean’s circulation and physics under a warming climate, and the repercussions for the rest of the planet.