The ship campaign PS147 (Atlantic Transit) with the German research vessel Polarstern took place from 12 March to 14 April 2025. The transit proceeded from Stanley, Falkland Islands, to Bremerhaven, Germany, with a stopover in Mindelo, Cape Verde, dividing the campaign into two sections, PS147/1 and PS147/2. During the voyage, several climate zones were crossed, including the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
Here, we present data from the ship-integrated instruments within the DavisShip system (DShip), including meteorological parameters from the weather station as well as ship position and orientation from the navigation system. These data form part of a series of standardized datasets of atmospheric observations collected during the PS147 campaign.
The ship campaign PS147 (Atlantic Transit) with the German research vessel Polarstern took place from 12 March to 14 April 2025. The transit proceeded from Stanley, Falkland Islands, to Bremerhaven, Germany, with a stopover in Mindelo, Cape Verde, dividing the campaign into two sections, PS147/1 and PS147/2. During the voyage, several climate zones were crossed, including the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Here, we present a series of standardised data sets of the atmospheric observations gathered during the PS147 campaign.
The ship campaign PS147 (Atlantic Transit) with the German research vessel Polarstern took place from 12 March to 14 April 2025. The transit proceeded from Stanley, Falkland Islands, to Bremerhaven, Germany, with a stopover in Mindelo, Cape Verde, dividing the campaign into two sections, PS147/1 and PS147/2. During the voyage, several climate zones were crossed, including the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Here, we present the column water vapour retrieved from GNSS data. These data form part of a series of standardized datasets of atmospheric observations collected during the PS147 campaign.
The upper-ocean circulation of the tropical Atlantic is a complex superposition of thermohaline and wind-driven flow components. The resulting zonally- and vertically-integrated upper-ocean meridional flow is referred to as the upper branch of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) - a major component and potential tipping element of the global climate system. We investigate the tropical part of the northward AMOC branch, i.e. the return flow covering the upper 1,200 m, based on Argo data and repeated shipboard velocity measurements. The western boundary mean circulation at 11°S is realistically reproduced from high-resolution Argo data showing a remarkably good representation of the vertical structure of meridional velocity and the volume transport of water mass layers when compared to results from direct velocity measurements along a repeated ship section. Thus, we extend the analysis to the inner tropical Atlantic. Within the AMOC return flow, a diapycnal upwelling of central water into the thermocline layer of ~2 Sv is derived between 11°S and 10°N which is about half the magnitude of previous estimates, likely due to improved horizontal resolution. The mean strength of the AMOC return flow is ~16 Sv across 11°S and 10°N. At 11°S, northward transport is concentrated at the western boundary where the AMOC return flow enters the tropics at all vertical layers above 1,200 m. At 10°N, northward transport is observed both at the western boundary and in the interior predominantly in the surface and intermediate layer indicating recirculation and transformation of thermocline and central water within the tropics.