The impact of rising atmospheric CO₂ on simulated sea ice induced thermohaline circulation variability

The impact of rising atmospheric CO2 levels on the sea ice induced low frequency variability of the North Atlantic climate is examined using a coupled ice/ocean/atmosphere model. In particular, we focus on thermohaline circulation variability forced by fluctuations in ice export from the Arctic basi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Other Authors: Holland, Marika (author), Brasket, Aaron (author), Weaver, Andrew (author)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union 2000
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Online Access:http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-018-835
https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL010949
Description
Summary:The impact of rising atmospheric CO2 levels on the sea ice induced low frequency variability of the North Atlantic climate is examined using a coupled ice/ocean/atmosphere model. In particular, we focus on thermohaline circulation variability forced by fluctuations in ice export from the Arctic basin. Under 2XCO(2) conditions, the thermohaline circulation variance is reduced to 7% of its simulated value under present day forcing. This decrease is caused by relatively low ice export variability and changes in the primary ice melt location in the northern North Atlantic under 2XCO(2) conditions.