Nathaniel Lee BindoffUniversity of Tasmania · Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)
Nathaniel Lee Bindoff
PhD
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245
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Introduction
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January 2007 - December 2010
January 2005 - present
May 1992 - present
Publications
Publications (245)
Ocean deoxygenation is an important consequence of climate change that poses an imminent threat to marine life and global food security. However, our understanding of the complex interactions between changes in circulation, solubility, and respiration that drive global‐scale deoxygenation is incomplete. Here, we consider idealized biogeochemical st...
Standing meanders along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) have been shown to be regions of elevated eddy variability, meridional heat transport, and vertical exchange. In this study, we investigate the influence of a standing meander south of Australia on air‐sea heat fluxes, upper ocean structure, and subduction in the 1/10° ACCESS‐OM2 ocean...
This Work has been submitted to the Journal of Physical Oceanography. Copyright in this Work may be transferred without further notice.
Eddy stirring at mesoscale oceanic fronts generates finescale filaments, visible in submesoscale-resolving model simulations and high-resolution satellite images of sea surface temperature, ocean colour and sea ice. Submesoscale filaments have widths of О (1-10 km) and evolve on timescales of hours to days, making them extremely challenging to obse...
The advent of under-ice profiling float and biologging techniques has enabled year-round observation of the Southern Ocean and its Antarctic margin. These under-ice data are often overlooked in widely used oceanographic datasets, despite their importance in understanding the seasonality and its role in sea ice changes, bottom water formation, and g...
We present a new global oxygen atlas. This atlas uses all of the available full water column profiles of oxygen, salinity, and temperature available as part of the World Ocean Database released in 2018. Instead of optimal interpolation, we use the Data Interpolating Variational Analysis (DIVA) approach to map the available profiles onto 108 depth l...
Accurate predictive modeling of the ocean's global carbon and oxygen cycles is challenging because of uncertainties in both biogeochemistry and ocean circulation. Advances over the last decade have made parameter optimization feasible, allowing models to better match observed biogeochemical fields. However, does fitting a biogeochemical model to ob...
We characterize the internal wave field at a standing meander of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) where strong winds, bathymetry, and a strong eddy field combine to form a dynamic environment for the generation and dissipation of internal waves. We use Electromagnetic Autonomous Profiling Explorer float data spanning 0−1600 m depth collected...
Accurate predictive modelling of the ocean's global carbon and oxygen cycles is challenging because of uncertainties in both biogeochemistry and ocean circulation. Advances over the last decade have made parameter optimization feasible, allowing models to better match observed biogeochemical fields. However, does fitting a biogeochemical model to o...
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in the Southern Ocean is a nearly
zonal current encircling Antarctica, driven by strong westerlies that have
intensified in recent decades. The current acts as a barrier between
warmer water equatorward and colder water poleward. Meanders form in
regions where the current encounters strong topographic changes...
Hemispheric asymmetry in global ocean warming was observed during 2005–2015. Previously, we showed that 92% of net global ocean heat gain during this period was in the southern hemisphere and that this period represented one extreme of an asymmetric mode of internal ocean variability that is independent of anthropogenic warming. We now identify for...
This study presents novel observational estimates of turbulent dissipation and mixing in a standing meander between the Southeast Indian Ridge and the Macquarie Ridge in the Southern Ocean. By applying a finescale parameterization on the temperature, salinity and velocity profiles collected from Electromagnetic Autonomous Profiling Explorer (EM-APE...
The growing threat of Marine heatwaves (MHWs) to ecosystems demands that we better understand their physical drivers. This information can be used to improve the performance of ocean models in predicting major events so more appropriate management decisions can be made. Air-sea heat fluxes have been found to be one of the dominant drivers of MHWs b...
The special observing periods (SOPs) of the Year of Polar Prediction present an opportunity to assess the skill of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models operating over the Antarctic, many of which assimilated additional observations during an SOP to produce some of the most observationally informed model output to date for the Antarctic region...
Meanders formed where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) interacts with topography have been identified as dynamical hot spots, characterized by enhanced eddy energy, momentum transfer, and cross-front exchange. However, few studies have used observations to diagnose the dynamics of ACC standing meanders. We use a synoptic hydrographic survey...
Physical Oceanography - Mesoscale and Larger - Session PL07 - Mechanisms for Variability, Circulation, and Transformation of Water Masses in the Southern Ocean
This study presents the characteristics and spatio-temporal structure of near-inertial waves and their interaction with Leeuwin Current eddies in the eastern South Indian Ocean as observed by Electromagnetic Autonomous Profiling Explorer (EM-APEX) floats. The floats sampled the upper ocean during July – October 2013 with a frequency of 8 profiles p...
Long‐term temperature changes drive coastal Marine Heatwave (MHW) trends globally. Here, we provide a more comprehensive global analysis of cross‐shore gradients of MHW and Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) changes using an ensemble of three satellite SST products during recent decades. Our analysis reveals depressed onshore SST trends in more than 2/...
The Antarctic subpolar Southern Ocean (sSO) has fundamental climate importance. Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) originates in the sSO and supplies the lower limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), occupying 36% of ocean volume. Climate models struggle to represent continental shelf processes that form AABW. We explore sources of persist...
The Antarctic subpolar Southern Ocean (sSO) has fundamental climate importance. Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) originates in the sSO and supplies the lower limb of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), occupying 36% of ocean volume. Climate models struggle to represent continental shelf processes that form AABW. We explore sources of persist...
This study investigates the spatio-temporal variability of turbulent mixing in the eastern South Indian Ocean using a collection of data from EM-APEX profiling floats, shipboard CTD and microstructure profilers. The floats collected 1566 profiles of temperature, salinity and horizontal velocity data down to 1200 m over a period of about four months...
This study uses sea surface salinity (SSS) as an additional precursor for improving the prediction of summer [December–February (DJF)] rainfall over northeastern Australia. From a singular value decomposition between SSS of prior seasons and DJF rainfall, we note that SSS of the Indo-Pacific warm pool region [SSSP (150°E–165°W and 10°S–10°N) and SS...
Major marine heatwave (MHW) events have caused catastrophic impacts on coastal marine ecosystems. However, to date there has not been a global assessment of MHWs in coastal areas where rich marine ecosystems are at risk. Here, we combine four satellite Sea Surface Temperature (SST) products to quantify the distribution, characteristics, and decadal...
In this study, we compare observed Southern Ocean temperature and salinity changes with the historical simulations from 13 models the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5), using an optimal fingerprinting framework. We show that there is an unequivocal greenhouse gas-forced warming in the Southern Ocean. This warming is strongest...
The long-term trend of sea surface salinity (SSS) reveals an intensification of the global hydrological cycle due to human-induced climate change. This study demonstrates that SSS variability can also be used as a measure of terrestrial precipitation on inter-seasonal to inter-annual time scales, and to locate the source of moisture. Seasonal compo...
Recent research shows that 90% of the net global ocean heat gain during 2005–2015 was confined to the southern hemisphere with little corresponding heat gain in the northern hemisphere ocean. We propose that this heating pattern of the ocean is driven by anthropogenic climate change and an asymmetric climate variation between the two hemispheres. T...
We quantify the annual-mean structure, transport budget and coupling between surface and deep currents along the southern Australian shelves, that we propose be collectively known as the Southern Australia Current System. The system contains eastward Shelf Break Currents (SBC) including the Leeuwin Current Extension, the South Australian Current an...
Roughly a third (~30 ppm) of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that entered the ocean during ice ages is attributed to biological mechanisms. A leading hypothesis for the biological drawdown of CO2 is iron (Fe) fertilisation of the high latitudes, but modelling efforts attribute at most 10 ppm to this mechanism, leaving ~20 ppm unexplained. We show that an...
This is the Summary for Policy Makers of the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, as approved by the IPCC member countries at the Plenary in Monaco, 25 September 2019.
The South Indian Ocean (SIO) is a region of strong air‐sea heat loss due to the unique ocean circulation pattern influenced by the Indonesian Throughflow. In this study, the seasonal variation of the surface layer heat budget in the eastern SIO is investigated using 2 years of measurements from a mooring at 25°S, 100°E, the only colocated upper oce...
Natural variability and change of the Earth’s climate have significant global societal impacts. With its large heat and carbon capacity and relatively slow dynamics, the ocean plays an integral role in climate, and provides an important source of predictability at seasonal and longer timescales. In addition, the ocean provides the slowly evolving l...
In this article, we analyze the impacts of climate change on Antarctic marine ecosystems. Observations demonstrate large-scale changes in the physical variables and circulation of the Southern Ocean driven by warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, and a positive Southern Annular Mode. Alterations in the physical environment are driving change thro...
The Australian Community Climate and Earth-System Simulator-Global (ACCESS-G) features an atmosphere-only numerical weather prediction (NWP) suite used operationally by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to forecast weather conditions for the Antarctic. The current operational version of the forecast model, the Australian Parallel Suite v2 (APS2)...
The isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) are commonly used proxies for understanding the ocean. When used in tandem, they provide powerful insight into physical and biogeochemical processes. Here, we detail the implementation of δ13C and δ15N in the ocean component of an Earth system model. We evaluate our simulated δ13C and δ15N against c...
This Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere1 in a Changing Climate (SROCC) was prepared following an IPCC Panel decision in 2016 to prepare three Special Reports during the Sixth Assessment Cycle2 . By assessing new scientific literature3 , the SROCC4 responds to government and observer organization proposals. The SROCC follows the other two Sp...
The isotopes of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) are commonly used proxies for understanding the ocean. When used in tandem, they provide powerful insight into physical and biogeochemical processes. Here, we detail the implementation of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in the ocean component of an Earth system model. We evaluate our simulated δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N against c...
Antarctic sea ice trends have to date been linked to surface winds, through sea ice motion and atmospheric thermal advection. This paper analyzes sea ice volume in 10 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model configurations under pre-industrial and historical climate forcings, to compare the relative importance of ice motion and t...
While anthropogenic influence on global climate is clear, human impact on the Southern Ocean has been difficult to pin down. A new detection and attribution study achieves just that.
We use a global ocean model to investigate the role of dinitrogen (N2) fixation within the global carbon (C) cycle. We find that:
1. N 2 fixation is ~25% (800 Pg C) of the biological C store under preindustrial conditions.
2. The biological C pump is severely limited without N 2 fixers in its capacity to respond to increases in aeolian iron (Fe)...
Remarkable warming of the Southern Indian Ocean during the recent two decades is assessed using a heat budget analysis based on the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean version 4 release 3 model results. The annual mean temperature averaged in the upper-700 m Southern Indian Ocean during 1998–2015 has experienced significant warming...
Changes to the frequency of fire due to management decisions and climate change have the potential to affect the flammability of vegetation, with long-term effects on the vegetation structure and composition. Frequent fire in some vegetation types can lead to transformational change beyond which the vegetation type is radically altered. Such feedba...
The biogeochemistry of the ocean exerts a strong influence on the climate by modulating atmospheric greenhouse gases. In turn, ocean biogeochemistry depends on numerous physical and biological processes that change over space and time. Accurately simulating these processes is fundamental for accurately simulating the ocean's role within the climate...
An investigation of the oceanic and atmospheric conditions leading up to the major northern Australian mangrove dieback in late 2015 to identify potential stressors that contributed to the tree deaths. This study indicates that it was most likely a result of a combination of very dry atmospheric conditions and lower than average sea level. In combi...
The Tasman Sea off southeast Australia exhibited its longest and most intense marine heatwave ever recorded in 2015/16. Here we report on several inter-related aspects of this event: observed characteristics, physical drivers, ecological impacts and the role of climate change. This marine heatwave lasted for 251 days reaching a maximum intensity of...
The response of Antarctic sea ice to large-scale patterns of atmospheric variability varies according to sea ice sector and season. In this study, interannual atmosphere–sea ice interactions were explored using observations and reanalysis data, and compared with simulated interactions by models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (...
A framework for identifying species that may become invasive under future climate conditions is presented, based on invader attributes and biogeography in combination with projections of future climate. We illustrate the framework using the CLIMEX niche model to identify future climate suitability for three species of Hawkweed that are currently pr...
The Leeuwin Current System (LCS) along the coast of Western Australia consists of the poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current (LC), the equatorward-flowing Leeuwin Undercurrent (LUC), and neighboring flows in the South Indian Ocean (SIO). Using geostrophic currents obtained from a highly-resolved (1/8°) hydrographic climatology (CSIRO Atlas of Regional Se...
The response of Antarctic sea ice to large-scale patterns of atmospheric variability varies according to sea ice sector and season. In this study, interannual atmosphere-sea ice interactions were explored using observation-based data and compared with simulated interactions by models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. Simulated r...
Fire is a complex process involving interactions and feedbacks between biological, socioeconomic, and physical drivers across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This complexity limits our ability to incorporate fire into Earth system models and project future fire activity under climate change. Conceptual, empirical, and process models have iden...
We studied 21 sediment cores located on the Campbell and Challenger Plateaus surrounding New Zealand to investigate changes in oxygenation at intermediate depths of the Southern-Ocean since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The cores sit within the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (U...
Circumpolar upwelling circulation near the Antarctic has mainly been attributed to winds. An analysis of
water-mass transformation shows that the dominant driver is instead the formation of sea ice near Antarctica and
its melt offshore.
In the present work, we investigate the interannual variability of the South Indian Countercurrent (SICC), a major and still understudied current of the Indian Ocean circulation. To characterize the interannual variability of the SICC, four different data sets (altimetry, GLORYS, OFAM3, and SODA) are analyzed using multiple tools, which include Sin...
Ocean warming accounts for the majority of the earth’s recent energy imbalance. Historic ocean heat
content (OHC) changes are important for understanding changing climate. Calculations of OHC anomalies
(OHCA) from in situ measurements provide estimates of these changes. Uncertainties in OHCA estimates
arise from calculating global fields from tempo...
For the 32-year period from 1979 to 2010, trends of surface and subsurface temperature and meridional motion of the current system in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) region are studied with in situ observations and an eddy-resolving general circulation model. The observed and simulated surface temperature shows a similar pattern between the...