Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
The hydrographic properties of the North Atlantic Ocean changed significantly from 1950 to 2000: the subtropics warmed and became more saline, whereas the subpolar ocean cooled and freshened. These changes directly affect the storage of heat and fresh water in the ocean, but their consequences for o...
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Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/1/Lozier.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947 |
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:30098 2023-05-15T17:28:30+02:00 Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation Lozier, M. Susan Roussenov, Vassil Reed, Mark S. C. Williams, Richard G. 2010 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/1/Lozier.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947 en eng Nature Publishing Group https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/1/Lozier.pdf Lozier, M. S., Roussenov, V., Reed, M. S. C. and Williams, R. G. (2010) Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Nature Geoscience, 3 (10). pp. 728-734. DOI 10.1038/NGEO947 <https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947>. doi:10.1038/NGEO947 Article PeerReviewed 2010 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947 2023-04-07T15:21:26Z The hydrographic properties of the North Atlantic Ocean changed significantly from 1950 to 2000: the subtropics warmed and became more saline, whereas the subpolar ocean cooled and freshened. These changes directly affect the storage of heat and fresh water in the ocean, but their consequences for ocean dynamics are determined by the resultant changes in seawater density. Here we use historical hydrographic data to show that the overall seawater density in the North Atlantic basin decreased during this 50-year period. As a result of these density changes, sea-surface heights changed in a spatially varying pattern with typical rates of 2 mm yr−1, in broad agreement with tide-gauge measurements. Melding the observed density fields within a numerical model we find a slight weakening in the overturning of the subtropical gyre by −1.5±1 Sv and a slight strengthening in the overturning of the subpolar gyre by +0.8±0.5 Sv. These gyre-specific changes run counter to the canonical notion of a single, basin-scale overturning cell and probably reflect interannual and decadal trends rather than any long-term climate trend. We conclude that gyre dynamics strongly affect temperature and salinity changes that translate into changes in the meridional overturning circulation. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Nature Geoscience 3 10 728 734 |
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OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
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English |
description |
The hydrographic properties of the North Atlantic Ocean changed significantly from 1950 to 2000: the subtropics warmed and became more saline, whereas the subpolar ocean cooled and freshened. These changes directly affect the storage of heat and fresh water in the ocean, but their consequences for ocean dynamics are determined by the resultant changes in seawater density. Here we use historical hydrographic data to show that the overall seawater density in the North Atlantic basin decreased during this 50-year period. As a result of these density changes, sea-surface heights changed in a spatially varying pattern with typical rates of 2 mm yr−1, in broad agreement with tide-gauge measurements. Melding the observed density fields within a numerical model we find a slight weakening in the overturning of the subtropical gyre by −1.5±1 Sv and a slight strengthening in the overturning of the subpolar gyre by +0.8±0.5 Sv. These gyre-specific changes run counter to the canonical notion of a single, basin-scale overturning cell and probably reflect interannual and decadal trends rather than any long-term climate trend. We conclude that gyre dynamics strongly affect temperature and salinity changes that translate into changes in the meridional overturning circulation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lozier, M. Susan Roussenov, Vassil Reed, Mark S. C. Williams, Richard G. |
spellingShingle |
Lozier, M. Susan Roussenov, Vassil Reed, Mark S. C. Williams, Richard G. Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
author_facet |
Lozier, M. Susan Roussenov, Vassil Reed, Mark S. C. Williams, Richard G. |
author_sort |
Lozier, M. Susan |
title |
Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
title_short |
Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
title_full |
Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
title_fullStr |
Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
title_sort |
opposing decadal changes for the north atlantic meridional overturning circulation |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/1/Lozier.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30098/1/Lozier.pdf Lozier, M. S., Roussenov, V., Reed, M. S. C. and Williams, R. G. (2010) Opposing decadal changes for the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Nature Geoscience, 3 (10). pp. 728-734. DOI 10.1038/NGEO947 <https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947>. doi:10.1038/NGEO947 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO947 |
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Nature Geoscience |
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3 |
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10 |
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734 |
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