DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation
Abstract Two ensemble simulations with the ECHAM5/ MPI-OM climate model have been investigated for the atmospheric response to a thermohaline circulation (THC) collapse. The model forcing was specified from observations between 1950 and 2000 and it followed a rising greenhouse gases emission scenari...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2008
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.161.2853 http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf |
id |
ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.161.2853 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.161.2853 2023-05-15T17:34:21+02:00 DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation Clim Dyn A. Laurian S. S. Drijfhout W. Hazeleger The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 2008 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.161.2853 http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.161.2853 http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf text 2008 ftciteseerx 2016-01-07T15:44:07Z Abstract Two ensemble simulations with the ECHAM5/ MPI-OM climate model have been investigated for the atmospheric response to a thermohaline circulation (THC) collapse. The model forcing was specified from observations between 1950 and 2000 and it followed a rising greenhouse gases emission scenario from 2001 to 2100. In one ensemble, a THC collapse was induced by adding freshwater in the northern North Atlantic, from 2001 onwards. After about 20 years, an almost stationary response pattern develops, that is, after the THC collapse, global mean temperature rises equally fast in both ensembles with the hosing ensemble displaying a constant offset. The atmospheric response to the freshwater hosing features a strong zonal gradient in the anomalous 2-m air temperature over Western Europe, associated with a strong land– sea contrast. Since Western Europe climate features a strong marine impact due to the prevailing westerlies, the question arises how such a strong land–sea contrast can be maintained. We show that a strong secondary cloud response is set up with increased cloud cover over sea and decreased cloud cover over land. Also, the marine impact on Western European climate decreases, which results from a reduced transport of moist static energy from sea to land. As a result, the change in lapse rate over the cold sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies west of the continent is much larger than over land, dominated by changes in moisture content rather than temperature. Text North Atlantic Unknown |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
ftciteseerx |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Two ensemble simulations with the ECHAM5/ MPI-OM climate model have been investigated for the atmospheric response to a thermohaline circulation (THC) collapse. The model forcing was specified from observations between 1950 and 2000 and it followed a rising greenhouse gases emission scenario from 2001 to 2100. In one ensemble, a THC collapse was induced by adding freshwater in the northern North Atlantic, from 2001 onwards. After about 20 years, an almost stationary response pattern develops, that is, after the THC collapse, global mean temperature rises equally fast in both ensembles with the hosing ensemble displaying a constant offset. The atmospheric response to the freshwater hosing features a strong zonal gradient in the anomalous 2-m air temperature over Western Europe, associated with a strong land– sea contrast. Since Western Europe climate features a strong marine impact due to the prevailing westerlies, the question arises how such a strong land–sea contrast can be maintained. We show that a strong secondary cloud response is set up with increased cloud cover over sea and decreased cloud cover over land. Also, the marine impact on Western European climate decreases, which results from a reduced transport of moist static energy from sea to land. As a result, the change in lapse rate over the cold sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies west of the continent is much larger than over land, dominated by changes in moisture content rather than temperature. |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Clim Dyn A. Laurian S. S. Drijfhout W. Hazeleger |
spellingShingle |
Clim Dyn A. Laurian S. S. Drijfhout W. Hazeleger DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
author_facet |
Clim Dyn A. Laurian S. S. Drijfhout W. Hazeleger |
author_sort |
Clim Dyn |
title |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
title_short |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
title_full |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
title_fullStr |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 Response of the Western European climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
title_sort |
doi 10.1007/s00382-008-0513-4 response of the western european climate to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.161.2853 http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.161.2853 http://www.knmi.nl/publications/fulltexts/clim_dyn.pdf |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
_version_ |
1766133146570457088 |