In this session, we focus on the South Atlantic Ocean, which plays a key role in regional to global climate variability but has received considerably less scientific attention than its Northern Hemisphere counterpart.
The South Atlantic connects the North Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Ocean circulations by channeling the upper and lower limb of the thermohaline circulation and being part of the wind-driven Southern Hemisphere supergyre. Local air-sea fluxes, interior mixing, and inter-basin exchange processes such as Agulhas leakage influence its northward heat and salt transport, with potential implications for the strength and stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Moreover, the South Atlantic features intricate regional ocean circulation patterns, such as the Benguela Upwelling System and the Brazil-Malvinas confluence zone. These highly productive ecosystems sustain diverse marine life and are of fundamental importance for regional fisheries. It is crucial to understand how natural variability and climate change alter South Atlantic dynamics and ecosystems. However, in situ observations are often too sparse in time to robustly infer trends, and model simulations are still showing contrasting trends.
We invite contributions that advance our understanding of the physical and biogeochemical processes governing South Atlantic regional dynamics, inter-basin exchanges, extremes and global impacts. These may cover short (e.g., seasonal) to very large (e.g., millennial) timescales and originate from observational, modelling, and paleo proxy work as well as from interdisciplinary approaches. We aim to promote discussions on future inclusive South Atlantic observing and modelling strategies.