Ocean Circulation Stability under Possible Future Climate Scenarios: Lessons from a Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean-Cryosphere Model

• Main Author: Gierz, Paul
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Greenland; Ice Sheet; Nordic Seas; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/33457/; https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/33457/1/ClassicThesis.pdf; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.41928; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.41928.d001

Utilizing a novel setup of the \textsc{cosmos} climate model including dynamic ice sheets, it is possible to directly evaluate the effect of future climate warming on the North Atlantic region. The dynamic ice sheets allow for the accurate simulation of meltwater injection from the Greenland Ice Sheet, effecting the salinity budget of critical deep water formation sites in the Nordic Seas. Given a strong enough perturbation of the salinity budget, the corresponding density of the upper ocean layers changes, resulting in a marked decrease in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. This in turn has influences on the ability to transport heat from the equator towards the polar latitudes, resulting in far-reaching changes to the global climate system.