Delia Oppo

Last updated
Delia Wanda Oppo
Alma materColumbia University
Scientific career
InstitutionsWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Thesis The nature, causes, and consequences of thermohaline circulation changes over the past 700,000 years : variations of δ¹³C in benthic and planktonic foraminifera  (1989)

Delia Wanda Oppo is an American scientist who works on paleoceanography where she focuses on past variations in water circulation and the subsequent impact on Earth's climate system. She was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2014.

Contents

Education and career

Oppo has a B.S. from the State University of New York at Albany (1981). [1] She earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1989 where she worked on changes in thermohaline circulation. [2] Following her Ph.D she started at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a postdoctoral scientist working with William Curry. [3] As of 2006, she is a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. [1]

In 2014, Oppo was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union who cited her "for her contributions toward understanding the causes of Earth’s climate variability and its link to ocean circulation and the hydrological cycle". [4]

Research

Oppo's research tracks past changes in ocean circulation, and the resulting impact of these changes on regional climate. Her research uses stable isotopes of carbon which are captured in the shells of foraminifera. [5] [6] [7] In the Atlantic Ocean, her research has examined changes in deep and intermediate water circulation, [8] [9] and climate variability in the North Atlantic. [10] [11] [12] Her research has revealed a weakening of the Gulf Stream, [13] which may impact weather patterns in the United States and Europe. [14] She has also investigated abrupt climate events in the past [15] and changes in the heat content of the ocean over the past 10,000 years, [16] research which shows that the ocean is warming faster than in the past. [17]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dansgaard–Oeschger event</span> Rapid climate fluctuation in the last glacial period.

Dansgaard–Oeschger events, named after palaeoclimatologists Willi Dansgaard and Hans Oeschger, are rapid climate fluctuations that occurred 25 times during the last glacial period. Some scientists say that the events occur quasi-periodically with a recurrence time being a multiple of 1,470 years, but this is debated. The comparable climate cyclicity during the Holocene is referred to as Bond events.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic meridional overturning circulation</span> System of currents in the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is part of a global thermohaline circulation in the oceans and is the zonally integrated component of surface and deep currents in the Atlantic Ocean. It is characterized by a northward flow of warm, salty water in the upper layers of the Atlantic, and a southward flow of colder, deep waters. These "limbs" are linked by regions of overturning in the Nordic and Labrador Seas and the Southern Ocean, although the extent of overturning in the Labrador Sea is disputed. The AMOC is an important component of the Earth's climate system, and is a result of both atmospheric and thermohaline drivers.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Dr. Delia Oppo" . Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  2. ↑ Oppo, Delia Wanda (1989). The nature, causes, and consequences of thermohaline circulation changes over the past 700,000 years: variations of [delta]¹³C in benthic and planktonic foraminifera (Thesis). OCLC   508575003.
  3. ↑ "CV for Delia Oppo" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Oppo". Honors Program. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  5. ↑ Raymo, M.E.; Ruddiman, W.F.; Shackleton, N.J.; Oppo, D.W. (1990-03-01). "Evolution of Atlantic-Pacific δ13C gradients over the last 2.5 m.y." Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 97 (3–4): 353–368. Bibcode:1990E&PSL..97..353R. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(90)90051-X. ISSN   0012-821X.
  6. ↑ Oppo, D. W.; Fairbanks, R. G.; Gordon, A. L.; Shackleton, N. J. (1990). "Late Pleistocene Southern Ocean δ13C variability". Paleoceanography. 5 (1): 43–54. Bibcode:1990PalOc...5...43O. doi:10.1029/PA005i001p00043. ISSN   1944-9186.
  7. ↑ Curry, W. B.; Oppo, D. W. (2005). "Glacial water mass geometry and the distribution of δ13C of ΣCO2 in the western Atlantic Ocean". Paleoceanography. 20 (1): n/a. Bibcode:2005PalOc..20.1017C. doi:10.1029/2004PA001021. hdl: 1912/3432 . ISSN   1944-9186.
  8. ↑ Oppo, Delia W.; Fairbanks, Richard G. (1987-11-01). "Variability in the deep and intermediate water circulation of the Atlantic Ocean during the past 25,000 years: Northern Hemisphere modulation of the Southern Ocean". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 86 (1): 1–15. Bibcode:1987E&PSL..86....1O. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(87)90183-X. ISSN   0012-821X.
  9. ↑ Oppo, D. W.; Lehman, S. J. (1993-02-19). "Mid-Depth Circulation of the Subpolar North Atlantic During the Last Glacial Maximum". Science. 259 (5098): 1148–1152. Bibcode:1993Sci...259.1148O. doi:10.1126/science.259.5098.1148. PMID   17794395. S2CID   23996710.
  10. ↑ McManus, Jerry F.; Oppo, Delia W.; Cullen, James L. (1999-02-12). "A 0.5-Million-Year Record of Millennial-Scale Climate Variability in the North Atlantic". Science. 283 (5404): 971–975. doi:10.1126/science.283.5404.971. PMID   9974387.
  11. ↑ Oppo, Delia W.; Keigwin, Lloyd D.; McManus, Jerry F.; Cullen, James L. (2001). "Persistent suborbital climate variability in marine isotope stage 5 and termination II". Paleoceanography. 16 (3): 280–292. Bibcode:2001PalOc..16..280O. doi:10.1029/2000PA000527. ISSN   1944-9186.
  12. ↑ Oppo, Delia W.; McManus, Jerry F.; Cullen, James L. (2006-12-01). "Evolution and demise of the Last Interglacial warmth in the subpolar North Atlantic". Quaternary Science Reviews. 25 (23–24): 3268–3277. Bibcode:2006QSRv...25.3268O. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.07.006. ISSN   0277-3791.
  13. ↑ Thornalley, David J. R.; Oppo, Delia W.; Ortega, Pablo; Robson, Jon I.; Brierley, Chris M.; Davis, Renee; Hall, Ian R.; Moffa-Sanchez, Paola; Rose, Neil L.; Spooner, Peter T.; Yashayaev, Igor (2018). "Anomalously weak Labrador Sea convection and Atlantic overturning during the past 150 years". Nature. 556 (7700): 227–230. Bibcode:2018Natur.556..227T. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0007-4. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   29643484. S2CID   4771341.
  14. ↑ "Gulf Stream is weakest its been in 1,600 years, study says". UPI. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  15. ↑ Oppo, D. W.; McManus, J. F.; Cullen, J. L. (1998-02-27). "Abrupt Climate Events 500,000 to 340,000 Years Ago: Evidence from Subpolar North Atlantic Sediments". Science. 279 (5355): 1335–1338. Bibcode:1998Sci...279.1335O. doi:10.1126/science.279.5355.1335. PMID   9478890.
  16. ↑ Rosenthal, Yair; Linsley, Braddock K.; Oppo, Delia W. (2013-11-01). "Pacific Ocean Heat Content During the Past 10,000 Years". Science. 342 (6158): 617–621. Bibcode:2013Sci...342..617R. doi:10.1126/science.1240837. PMID   24179224. S2CID   140727975.
  17. ↑ "The Pacific Ocean is now warming 15 times faster than it used to". Grist. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  18. ↑ "Cesare Emiliani Lecture | AGU". www.agu.org. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
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