Nicole Lovenduski's research

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Current Research

Wind stress vs. Stratification Changes in the Southern Ocean and their impact on air-sea CO₂ fluxes

It is likely that the Southern Ocean will experience large changes in wind stress and stratification in the coming century, due to ozone loss, warmer tropospheric and surface ocean temperatures, enhanced melting of land and sea ice, and enhance precipitation at high latitudes. We are using a highly idealized model to explore the possible future evolution of the Southern Ocean natural and anthropogenic carbon cycles under both enhanced wind stress and increased stratification. We simulate the ocean carbon cycle using the MIT ocean general circulation model with a simplified geometry and biogeochemistry. We then probe the model with various configurations of atmospheric forcing and CO₂ boundary conditions to separately examine these processes in the the most simplified and theoretical manner. For more information, please refer to our Journal of Marine Research publication.

Southern Ocean mesoscale processes and their impact on biogeochemical cycling

The Southern Ocean plays a crucial role in the climate system, absorbing a large fraction of anthropogenic CO₂. Unfortunately, ocean carbon cycle models show the largest disagreement in Southern Ocean air-sea CO₂ fluxes, due to their poor representation of physical circulation at the scale of ocean fronts and eddies. We are using a high resolution (eddy-permitting) ocean carbon cycle model to improve the realism and quantification of the biogeochemical cycling in this region. For more information about this model, please refer to Taka's poster.

Idealized sensitivity studies of the North Atlantic carbon cycle

The North Atlantic basin is characterized by efficient biological nutrient utilization, strong seasonal deep mixing, and cold surface temperatures, making it a broad region of CO₂ uptake. Observations of surface ocean pCO₂ indicate that this sink strength may be declining, but the cause of such a decline remains under debate. We are using the sector version of the MITgcm to conduct sensitivity studies and better elucidate the possible mechanisms leading to such a decline. For more information about this model and its use in the North Atlantic basin, please refer to this page.