Stability of the thermohaline circulation in a simple coupled model
In an analytical study the stability of the thermohaline circulation with respect to freshwater perturbations in high latitudes is investigated. The study is based on a coupled ocean and atmosphere box model in an idealized North Atlantic geometry. The box model provides a qualitative understanding...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
1996
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/1987/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.12578 |
Summary: | In an analytical study the stability of the thermohaline circulation with respect to freshwater perturbations in high latitudes is investigated. The study is based on a coupled ocean and atmosphere box model in an idealized North Atlantic geometry. The box model provides a qualitative understanding of how the thermohaline circulation is affected by feedback mechanisms associated with changes in atmospheric transports of heat and moisture. Within a linear analysis we examine the stability of the thermohaline circulation for a range of different atmospheric boundary conditions. The stability of the coupled system depends on the imposed transport parameterizations and the basic state. For the underlying non-linear system we examine the sensitivity with respect to the strength of salinity perturbation. |
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