Changes in extreme regional sea surface height due to an abrupt weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

As an extreme scenario of dynamical sea level changes, regional sea surface height (SSH) changes that occur in the North Atlantic due to an abrupt weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are simulated. Two versions of the same ocean-only model are used to study the effect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ocean Science
Main Authors: S.-E. Brunnabend, H. A. Dijkstra, M. A. Kliphuis, B. van Werkhoven, H. E. Bal, F. Seinstra, J. Maassen, M. van Meersbergen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2014
Subjects:
envir
geo
Greenland
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/os-10-881-2014
http://www.ocean-sci.net/10/881/2014/os-10-881-2014.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/cdf2585857784e9188706331d3969c5e
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Summary:As an extreme scenario of dynamical sea level changes, regional sea surface height (SSH) changes that occur in the North Atlantic due to an abrupt weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are simulated. Two versions of the same ocean-only model are used to study the effect of ocean model resolution on these SSH changes: a high-resolution (HR) strongly eddying version and a low-resolution (LR) version in which the effect of eddies is parameterised. The weakening of the AMOC is induced in both model versions by applying strong freshwater perturbations around Greenland. A rapid decrease of the AMOC in the HR version induces much shorter return times of several specific regional and coastal extremes in North Atlantic SSH than in the LR version. This effect is caused by a change in main eddy pathways associated with a change in separation latitude of the Gulf Stream.

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