Deep winter mixed layer anchored by the meandering Antarctic Circumpolar Current: Cross-basin variations

Abstract A deep winter mixed layer forms north of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in the Indo-Pacific sectors, while the mixed layer depth (MLD) is shallow in the Atlantic. Using observations and a global atmospheric model, this study investigates the contribution of surface buoyancy flux and background stratification to inter-basin MLD variations. The surface heat flux is decomposed into broad-scale and frontal-scale variations. At the broad-scale, the meandering ACC path is accompanied by a zonal wavenumber-1 structure of sea surface temperature with a warmer Pacific than Atlantic; under the prevailing westerly winds, this temperature contrast results in larger surface heat loss facilitating deeper MLD in the Indo-Pacific sectors than the Atlantic. In the Indian sector, the intense ACC fronts strengthen surface heat loss compared to the Pacific. The surface freshwater flux pattern largely follows that of evaporation and reinforces the heat flux pattern, especially in the southeast Pacific. A diagnostic relationship is introduced to highlight the role of ACC’s sloping isopycnals in setting a weak sub-mixed-layer stratification north of ACC. This weak stratification varies in magnitude across basins. In the Atlantic and western Indian oceans where the ACC is at a low latitude (∼45°S), solar heating, intrusions of subtropical gyres and energetic mesoscale eddies together maintain relatively strong stratification. In the southeast Pacific, in comparison, the ACC reaches the southernmost latitude (56°S), far away from the subtropical front. This creates weaker stratification allowing deep mixed layers to form, aided by surface buoyancy loss.