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PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

Warming spins up the Southern Ocean

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Eastward flow in the Southern Ocean is the primary conduit between ocean basins. A comprehensive study of multi-decadal observational records and model experiments reveals that warming in the upper ocean is causing this flow to accelerate.

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Fig. 1: Warming-induced acceleration of the Southern Ocean.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Andrew L. Stewart

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  1. Andrew L. Stewart
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Correspondence to Andrew L. Stewart.

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Stewart, A.L. Warming spins up the Southern Ocean. Nat. Clim. Chang. 11, 1022–1024 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01227-y

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