Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations
The zonally integrated meridional volume transport in the North Atlantic [Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)] is described in a 19-yr-long ocean-state estimate, one consistent with a diverse global dataset. Apart from a weak increasing trend at high northern latitudes, the AMOC appea...
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ftmit:oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/87787 2023-06-11T04:14:44+02:00 Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations Wunsch, Carl Heimbach, Patrick Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Wunsch, Carl Heimbach, Patrick 2013-03 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87787 en_US eng American Meteorological Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00478.1 Journal of Climate 0894-8755 1520-0442 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87787 Wunsch, Carl, and Patrick Heimbach. “Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations.” J. Climate 26, no. 18 (September 2013): 7167–7186. © 2013 American Meteorological Society orcid:0000-0001-6808-3664 orcid:0000-0003-3925-6161 Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Meteorological Society Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2013 ftmit https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00478.1 2023-05-29T08:18:28Z The zonally integrated meridional volume transport in the North Atlantic [Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)] is described in a 19-yr-long ocean-state estimate, one consistent with a diverse global dataset. Apart from a weak increasing trend at high northern latitudes, the AMOC appears statistically stable over the last 19 yr with fluctuations indistinguishable from those of a stationary Gaussian stochastic process. This characterization makes it possible to study (using highly developed tools) extreme values, predictability, and the statistical significance of apparent trends. Gaussian behavior is consistent with the central limit theorem for a process arising from numerous independent disturbances. In this case, generators include internal instabilities, changes in wind and buoyancy forcing fields, boundary waves, the Gulf Stream and deep western boundary current transports, the interior fraction in Sverdrup balance, and all similar phenomena arriving as summation effects from long distances and times. As a zonal integral through the sum of the large variety of physical processes in the three-dimensional ocean circulation, understanding of the AMOC, if it is of central climate importance, requires breaking it down into its unintegrated components over the entire basin. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (AMOC and ECCO Grants) United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (AMOC and ECCO Grants) Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Journal of Climate 26 18 7167 7186 |
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Open Polar |
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DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftmit |
language |
English |
description |
The zonally integrated meridional volume transport in the North Atlantic [Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)] is described in a 19-yr-long ocean-state estimate, one consistent with a diverse global dataset. Apart from a weak increasing trend at high northern latitudes, the AMOC appears statistically stable over the last 19 yr with fluctuations indistinguishable from those of a stationary Gaussian stochastic process. This characterization makes it possible to study (using highly developed tools) extreme values, predictability, and the statistical significance of apparent trends. Gaussian behavior is consistent with the central limit theorem for a process arising from numerous independent disturbances. In this case, generators include internal instabilities, changes in wind and buoyancy forcing fields, boundary waves, the Gulf Stream and deep western boundary current transports, the interior fraction in Sverdrup balance, and all similar phenomena arriving as summation effects from long distances and times. As a zonal integral through the sum of the large variety of physical processes in the three-dimensional ocean circulation, understanding of the AMOC, if it is of central climate importance, requires breaking it down into its unintegrated components over the entire basin. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (AMOC and ECCO Grants) United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (AMOC and ECCO Grants) |
author2 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Wunsch, Carl Heimbach, Patrick |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wunsch, Carl Heimbach, Patrick |
spellingShingle |
Wunsch, Carl Heimbach, Patrick Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations |
author_facet |
Wunsch, Carl Heimbach, Patrick |
author_sort |
Wunsch, Carl |
title |
Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations |
title_short |
Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations |
title_full |
Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations |
title_fullStr |
Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations |
title_sort |
two decades of the atlantic meridional overturning circulation: anatomy, variations, extremes, prediction, and overcoming its limitations |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87787 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
American Meteorological Society |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00478.1 Journal of Climate 0894-8755 1520-0442 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87787 Wunsch, Carl, and Patrick Heimbach. “Two Decades of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Anatomy, Variations, Extremes, Prediction, and Overcoming Its Limitations.” J. Climate 26, no. 18 (September 2013): 7167–7186. © 2013 American Meteorological Society orcid:0000-0001-6808-3664 orcid:0000-0003-3925-6161 |
op_rights |
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00478.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Climate |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
18 |
container_start_page |
7167 |
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7186 |
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