This project aims to understand the relationship between poleward oceanic and atmospheric heat transport in the Southern Ocean by analyzing output from the community Climate System Model Version 4 (CCSM4). In particular, time series of meridional heat transport in both the atmosphere and the ocean are used to study whether variability in ocean heat transport is balanced by opposing changes in atmospheric heat transport, called Bjerknes Compensation. It is shown that the heat storage term in the Southern Ocean has a significant impact on the oceanic heat budget; as a result, no robust coherences between oceanic and atmospheric heat transports could be found at these southern latitudes.
Weijer, Wilbert [Los Alamos National Laboratory],Kinstle, Caroline M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory]. An investigation of Bjerknes Compensation in the Southern Ocean in the CCSM4. 2012-01-01.