Can the Topography of Tibetan Plateau Affect the Antarctic Bottom Water?

Abstract

AbstractThe Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays a vital role in shaping global climate. So far, however, few studies have focused on the impact of the TP on Southern Ocean (SO) circulation. Through fully coupled model experiments with and without the TP, we find that removing the TP could eventually enhance Antarctic bottom water (AABW) circulation by generating Rossby wave trains that propagate from the tropical Indo‐Pacific to Amundsen‐Bellingshausen Sea. The surface air temperature (SAT) cools over the Antarctic Peninsula, which then leads to increased brine injection and thus the initial enhancement of AABW. Later on, the increased horizontal salinity transport and oceanic vertical mixing over Bellingshausen Sea further strengthen the AABW. These findings imply that long term changes of AABW can be affected by not only local process but also remote forcing, including those from the Asian highland regions.