Oceans in Climate Change

The oceans are a major sink of heat and carbon, able to delay climate change. The role of ocean heat uptake remains central in quantifying both the magnitude and timescale of the local and global climate response to forcing.

One main focus of our work is address fundamental questions such as:

• What is the role of the ocean circulation is shaping patterns of heat, salinity, carbon and oxygen storage? (e.g., Bronselaer & Zanna, 2020; Zanna et al, 2019)

• What drives the uncertainty in projections of ocean heat uptake and thermosteric sea level change? (e.g., Huber and Zanna, 2017)

• Which physical processes govern the timescale of adjustment of the ocean under climate change? (e.g., Marshall and Zanna, 2014)

• How does the surface forcing and ocean dynamics influence the air-sea fluxes of carbon? (e.g., Bronselaer et al, 2016; Bronselaer et al, 2017)