On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam
Abstract. The ‘conveyor belt ’ circulation of the Atlantic Ocean transports large amounts of heat northward, acting as a heating system for the northern North Atlantic region. It is widely thought that this circulation is driven by atmospheric freshwater export from the Atlantic catchment region, an...
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ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.312.8596 2023-05-15T17:13:53+02:00 On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam S. Rahmstorf The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 1996 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.312.8596 http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/r96.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.312.8596 http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/r96.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/r96.pdf text 1996 ftciteseerx 2016-01-07T22:36:37Z Abstract. The ‘conveyor belt ’ circulation of the Atlantic Ocean transports large amounts of heat northward, acting as a heating system for the northern North Atlantic region. It is widely thought that this circulation is driven by atmospheric freshwater export from the Atlantic catchment region, and that it transports freshwater northward to balance the loss to the atmosphere. Using results from a simple conceptual model and a global circulation model, it is argued here that the freshwater loss to the atmosphere arises mainly in the subtropical South Atlantic and is balanced by northward freshwater transport in the wind-driven subtropical gyre, while the thermohaline circulation transports freshwater southward. It is further argued that the direction of freshwater transport is closely linked to the dynamical regime and stability of the ‘conveyor belt’: if its freshwater transport is indeed southward, then its flow is purely thermally driven and inhibited by the freshwater forcing. In this case the circulation is not far from Stommel’s saddle-node bifurcation, and a circulation state without NADW formation would also be stable. 1 Text NADW North Atlantic Unknown |
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English |
description |
Abstract. The ‘conveyor belt ’ circulation of the Atlantic Ocean transports large amounts of heat northward, acting as a heating system for the northern North Atlantic region. It is widely thought that this circulation is driven by atmospheric freshwater export from the Atlantic catchment region, and that it transports freshwater northward to balance the loss to the atmosphere. Using results from a simple conceptual model and a global circulation model, it is argued here that the freshwater loss to the atmosphere arises mainly in the subtropical South Atlantic and is balanced by northward freshwater transport in the wind-driven subtropical gyre, while the thermohaline circulation transports freshwater southward. It is further argued that the direction of freshwater transport is closely linked to the dynamical regime and stability of the ‘conveyor belt’: if its freshwater transport is indeed southward, then its flow is purely thermally driven and inhibited by the freshwater forcing. In this case the circulation is not far from Stommel’s saddle-node bifurcation, and a circulation state without NADW formation would also be stable. 1 |
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The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
S. Rahmstorf |
spellingShingle |
S. Rahmstorf On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam |
author_facet |
S. Rahmstorf |
author_sort |
S. Rahmstorf |
title |
On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam |
title_short |
On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam |
title_full |
On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam |
title_fullStr |
On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynam |
title_sort |
on the freshwater forcing and transport of the atlantic thermohaline circulation. climate dynam |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.312.8596 http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/r96.pdf |
genre |
NADW North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
NADW North Atlantic |
op_source |
http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/r96.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.312.8596 http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/r96.pdf |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
_version_ |
1766071083868356608 |