We are delighted that Dr Laura Cimoli from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography will be presenting at the May EON seminar on the topic of “Deep-ocean transport inferred from anthropogenic transient tracers observations”. More details below, we look forward to seeing you online on the 26th – the event is open to all Imperial students and staff. Please e-mail neil.jennings@imperial.ac.uk if you would like to be sent the calendar invite.
Abstract: The penetration of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and sulfur-hexafluoride (SF6) into the oceans represents an opportunity to trace intermediate-to-abyssal water masses as they leave the surface mixed layer and estimate the ventilation rate of the global ocean since 1940. Here, we analyze CFC and SF6 observations that have been taken over four decades, permitting the largest fraction of the global ocean to be analyzed using these tracers. A time-correction method is developed to address the temporal sparsity of the observations and an eight-decade annually-resolved picture of CFCs and SF6 evolution is produced. By comparing the time-corrected, steady-state concentrations with the available observations, we infer ventilation rate changes on decadal timescales.
Biography: I’m a physical oceanographer interested in the large-scale, deep ocean circulation and the role it plays in climate regulation and tracer distribution. I’m currently a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD) working with Sarah Purkey and Jake Gebbie (WHOI). Prior to that, I obtained my PhD from the University of Oxford (where I worked with Helen Johnson and David Marshall).