Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic
A coarse resolution model is developed to study the thermohaline circulation of the North Atlantic. This model is driven by the annual mean Hellerman and Rosenstein wind stress field, Levitus sea surface restoring temperatures, and Schmitt, Bogden, and Dorman freshwater flux fields (mixed boundary c...
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1994
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:10670/1.oj117a 2023-05-15T14:57:54+02:00 Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic Aura, Stella M. Myers, Paul G. Weaver, Andrew J. 1994-01-01 https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H41K225 https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/71a091eb-bec5-4429-b955-ac534a11f242 en eng doi:10.7939/R3H41K225 10670/1.oj117a https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/71a091eb-bec5-4429-b955-ac534a11f242 undefined ERA : Education and Research Archive envir geo Other https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_1843/ 1994 fttriple https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H41K225 2023-01-22T17:38:13Z A coarse resolution model is developed to study the thermohaline circulation of the North Atlantic. This model is driven by the annual mean Hellerman and Rosenstein wind stress field, Levitus sea surface restoring temperatures, and Schmitt, Bogden, and Dorman freshwater flux fields (mixed boundary conditions) together with various parameterizations of Arctic freshwater export into the North Atlantic. The model simulations indicate the existence of self-sustained, internal variability of the thermohaline circulation with a period of about 20 years. Associated with the variability is a large variation in the deep-water formation rate in the Labrador Sea and hence the poleward heat transport in the North Atlantic. It is shown that the variability is insensitive to the freshwater flux and wind forcing used and that the timescale for this thermally driven convective/advective oscillation is set by the cooling time of the Labrador Sea. The variability is robust to various parameterizations of Arctic freshwater export but may be suppressed if there is a strong freshwater flux through the Canadian Archipelago (or equivalently, large precipitation) into the Labrador Sea. The importance of topography, although poorly resolved in this coarse resolution study, is addressed and the results are compared with a coupled atmosphere-ocean simulation and observations taken over the North Atlantic. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Canadian Archipelago Labrador Sea North Atlantic Unknown Arctic |
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English |
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envir geo Aura, Stella M. Myers, Paul G. Weaver, Andrew J. Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic |
topic_facet |
envir geo |
description |
A coarse resolution model is developed to study the thermohaline circulation of the North Atlantic. This model is driven by the annual mean Hellerman and Rosenstein wind stress field, Levitus sea surface restoring temperatures, and Schmitt, Bogden, and Dorman freshwater flux fields (mixed boundary conditions) together with various parameterizations of Arctic freshwater export into the North Atlantic. The model simulations indicate the existence of self-sustained, internal variability of the thermohaline circulation with a period of about 20 years. Associated with the variability is a large variation in the deep-water formation rate in the Labrador Sea and hence the poleward heat transport in the North Atlantic. It is shown that the variability is insensitive to the freshwater flux and wind forcing used and that the timescale for this thermally driven convective/advective oscillation is set by the cooling time of the Labrador Sea. The variability is robust to various parameterizations of Arctic freshwater export but may be suppressed if there is a strong freshwater flux through the Canadian Archipelago (or equivalently, large precipitation) into the Labrador Sea. The importance of topography, although poorly resolved in this coarse resolution study, is addressed and the results are compared with a coupled atmosphere-ocean simulation and observations taken over the North Atlantic. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Aura, Stella M. Myers, Paul G. Weaver, Andrew J. |
author_facet |
Aura, Stella M. Myers, Paul G. Weaver, Andrew J. |
author_sort |
Aura, Stella M. |
title |
Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic |
title_short |
Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic |
title_full |
Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the North Atlantic |
title_sort |
interdecadal variability in an idealized model of the north atlantic |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H41K225 https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/71a091eb-bec5-4429-b955-ac534a11f242 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Canadian Archipelago Labrador Sea North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Canadian Archipelago Labrador Sea North Atlantic |
op_source |
ERA : Education and Research Archive |
op_relation |
doi:10.7939/R3H41K225 10670/1.oj117a https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/71a091eb-bec5-4429-b955-ac534a11f242 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H41K225 |
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1766329995190337536 |