Dr. Travis Miles and Dr. Joe Gradone, along with partners at NC State and UVI, have been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF OCE-2421622) to better understand the Caribbean Sea. This project will address critical gaps in understanding the processes modifying subsurface temperature and salinity properties within the Caribbean Sea, a through-flow region for North and South Atlantic waters that form both the upper ocean limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and subtropical Atlantic recirculation. At this latitude, the Caribbean Through-Flow represents ~25% of the northern hemisphere’s northward atmospheric-ocean heat transport. In addition, the Caribbean is highly vulnerable to tropical cyclone impacts, ecosystem degradation, and climate impacts with steadily increasing upper ocean temperatures. This project will improve our understanding of the mechanisms driving water mass transformation and the implications for regional and global communities. The proposed autonomous underwater glider deployments and modeling efforts represent a crucial step towards filling significant observational and conceptual gaps in our understanding of the Caribbean Sea’s role in the broader oceanic circulation system.
