Atmospheric Rivers Contribute to Summer Surface Buoyancy Forcing in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) dominate moisture transport globally; however, it is unknown what impact ARs have on surface ocean buoyancy. This study explores the surface buoyancy gained by ARs using high-resolution surface observations from a Wave Glider deployed in the subpolar Southern Ocean (54 degrees S, 0 degrees E) between 19 December 2018 and 12 February 2019 (55 days). When ARs combine with storms, the associated precipitation is significantly enhanced (189%). In addition, the daily accumulation of AR-induced precipitation provides a buoyancy gain to the surface ocean equivalent to warming by surface heat fluxes. Over the 55 days, ARs accounted for 47% of the total precipitation equating to 10% of the summer surface ocean buoyancy gain. This study indicates that ARs play an important role in the summer precipitation over the subpolar Southern Ocean and that they can alter the upper-ocean buoyancy budget from synoptic to seasonal timescales.

Automated summary

This study explores the impact of atmospheric rivers (ARs) on surface ocean buoyancy using high-resolution surface observations. It finds that when ARs combine with storms, precipitation is significantly enhanced, and the accumulated precipitation from ARs provides a buoyancy gain to the surface ocean equivalent to surface heat fluxes. The study also highlights that ARs play an important role in summer precipitation over the subpolar Southern Ocean and can alter the upper-ocean buoyancy budget across different timescales.