| A direct method is presented to obtain the meridional overturning and heat transport in oceanic basins from observations under the sole assumptions of geostrophy and hydrostatics. The method is made possible because of the rising Argo float displacements database that can provide a reference level at 1000 dbar for the time mean circulation at 1 degrees x 1 degrees resolution. To achieve the overturning and heat transport objectives, the absolute geostrophic time mean circulation must have nondivergent barotropic transports and this requires the solutions of two Poisson equations with suitable boundary conditions, one for the geopotential at 1000 dbar and one for the barotropic stream function. Applied to the subpolar Atlantic for the period 2000-2009, an... |
