On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic
On the basis of model simulations, we examine what information on changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) can be extracted from associated changes in sea surface height (SSH), specifically from a broad Atlantic north–south gradient as has been suggested prev...
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ftleibnizopen:oai:oai.leibnizopen.de:t0mhqIgBdbrxVwz6teFs 2023-07-02T03:33:46+02:00 On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic Kienert, H. Rahmstorf, S. 2012 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.34657/356 https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/3824 eng eng München : European Geopyhsical Union CC BY 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Earth System Dynamics, Volume 3, Issue 2, Page 109-120 Atlantic meridional overturning circulations Atmospheric COCO2 concentratio Forcings Freshwater fluxes Meridional overturning circulations Model simulation Sea surface height Southern ocean Time-scales Wind forcing 500 article Text 2012 ftleibnizopen https://doi.org/10.34657/356 2023-06-11T23:33:58Z On the basis of model simulations, we examine what information on changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) can be extracted from associated changes in sea surface height (SSH), specifically from a broad Atlantic north–south gradient as has been suggested previously in the literature. Since a relation between AMOC and SSH changes can only be used as an AMOC diagnostic if it is valid independently of the specific forcing, we consider three different forcing types: increase of CO2 concentration, freshwater fluxes to the northern convection sites and the modification of Southern Ocean winds. We concentrate on a timescale of 100 yr. We find approximately linear and numerically similar relations between a sea-level difference within the Atlantic and the AMOC for freshwater as well as wind forcing. However, the relation is more complex in response to atmospheric CO2 increase, which precludes this sea-level difference as an AMOC diagnostic under climate change. Finally, we show qualitatively to what extent changes in SSH and AMOC strength, which are caused by simultaneous application of different forcings, correspond to the sum of the changes due to the individual forcings, a potential prerequisite for more complex SSH-based AMOC diagnostics publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) Southern Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) |
op_collection_id |
ftleibnizopen |
language |
English |
topic |
Atlantic meridional overturning circulations Atmospheric COCO2 concentratio Forcings Freshwater fluxes Meridional overturning circulations Model simulation Sea surface height Southern ocean Time-scales Wind forcing 500 |
spellingShingle |
Atlantic meridional overturning circulations Atmospheric COCO2 concentratio Forcings Freshwater fluxes Meridional overturning circulations Model simulation Sea surface height Southern ocean Time-scales Wind forcing 500 Kienert, H. Rahmstorf, S. On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Atlantic meridional overturning circulations Atmospheric COCO2 concentratio Forcings Freshwater fluxes Meridional overturning circulations Model simulation Sea surface height Southern ocean Time-scales Wind forcing 500 |
description |
On the basis of model simulations, we examine what information on changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) can be extracted from associated changes in sea surface height (SSH), specifically from a broad Atlantic north–south gradient as has been suggested previously in the literature. Since a relation between AMOC and SSH changes can only be used as an AMOC diagnostic if it is valid independently of the specific forcing, we consider three different forcing types: increase of CO2 concentration, freshwater fluxes to the northern convection sites and the modification of Southern Ocean winds. We concentrate on a timescale of 100 yr. We find approximately linear and numerically similar relations between a sea-level difference within the Atlantic and the AMOC for freshwater as well as wind forcing. However, the relation is more complex in response to atmospheric CO2 increase, which precludes this sea-level difference as an AMOC diagnostic under climate change. Finally, we show qualitatively to what extent changes in SSH and AMOC strength, which are caused by simultaneous application of different forcings, correspond to the sum of the changes due to the individual forcings, a potential prerequisite for more complex SSH-based AMOC diagnostics publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kienert, H. Rahmstorf, S. |
author_facet |
Kienert, H. Rahmstorf, S. |
author_sort |
Kienert, H. |
title |
On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic |
title_short |
On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic |
title_full |
On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the relation between Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-level gradients in the Atlantic |
title_sort |
on the relation between meridional overturning circulation and sea-level gradients in the atlantic |
publisher |
München : European Geopyhsical Union |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.34657/356 https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/3824 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Earth System Dynamics, Volume 3, Issue 2, Page 109-120 |
op_rights |
CC BY 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.34657/356 |
_version_ |
1770273844441907200 |