A monitoring design for the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Current hydrographic data can provide snapshots but no continuous timeseries of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). Using output from two eddy-permitting numerical ocean models we test the feasibility of a monitoring system for the MOC in the North Atlantic. The results suggest that a rela...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Hirschi, J., Baehr, J., Marotzke, J., Stark, J., Cunningham, S., Beismann, Jens-Olaf
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: AGU (American Geophysical Union) 2003
Subjects:
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/4669/
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/4669/1/Hirschi_et_al-2003-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016776
Description
Summary:Current hydrographic data can provide snapshots but no continuous timeseries of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). Using output from two eddy-permitting numerical ocean models we test the feasibility of a monitoring system for the MOC in the North Atlantic. The results suggest that a relatively simple arrangement, using moorings placed across a longitude-depth section and the zonal wind stress, is able to capture most of the MOC strength and vertical structure as a function of time. Being closely related to the transport of energy to the North Atlantic, measuring the MOC would open the prospect of having continuous information about a key element of northern hemisphere climate.

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