Water Mass Exchange in the Southern Ocean in Coupled Climate Models

The authors estimate water mass transformation rates resulting from surface buoyancy fluxes and interior diapycnal fluxes in the region south of 30°S in the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) model-based state estimation and three free-running coupled climate models. The meridional transport of deep and intermediate waters across 30°S agrees well between models and observationally based estimates in the Atlantic Ocean but...