Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition
This work explores the impact of the development of global meridional and zonal sea surfacetemperature (SST) gradients on the Mediterranean runoff variability during the Plio-Pleistocene transition,about 3 Ma. Results show that total annual mean Pliocene Mediterranean runoff is about 40% larger thandu...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/7/Colleoni_et_al-2015-Paleoceanography.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/ |
id |
ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:1474373 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:1474373 2023-12-24T10:23:12+01:00 Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition Colleoni, F Cherchi, A Masina, S Brierley, CM 2015-06 text https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/7/Colleoni_et_al-2015-Paleoceanography.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/ eng eng https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/7/Colleoni_et_al-2015-Paleoceanography.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/ open Paleoceanography , 30 (6) pp. 751-767. (2015) Mediterranean runoff Pliocene climate climate modeling SST gradient Plio-Pleistocene transition Article 2015 ftucl 2023-11-27T13:07:37Z This work explores the impact of the development of global meridional and zonal sea surfacetemperature (SST) gradients on the Mediterranean runoff variability during the Plio-Pleistocene transition,about 3 Ma. Results show that total annual mean Pliocene Mediterranean runoff is about 40% larger thanduring the preindustrial period due to more increased extratropical specific humidity. As a consequenceof a weakened and extended Hadley cell, the Pliocene northwest Africa hydrological network producesa discharge 30 times larger than today. Our results support the conclusion that during the Pliocene, theMediterranean water deficit was reduced relative to today due to a larger river discharge. By means ofa stand-alone atmospheric general circulation model, we simulate the separate impact of extratropicaland equatorial SST cooling on the Mediterranean runoff. While cooling the equatorial SST does not implysignificant changes to the Pliocene Mediterranean hydrological budget, the extratropical SST coolingincreases the water deficit due to a decrease in precipitation and runoff. Consequently, river dischargefrom this area reduces to preindustrial levels. The main teleconnections acting upon the Mediterraneanarea today, i.e., the North Atlantic Oscillation during winter and the “monsoon-desert” mechanism duringsummer already have a large influence on the climate of our Pliocene simulations. Finally, our results alsosuggest that in a climate state significantly warmer than today, changes of the Hadley circulation couldpotentially lead to increased water resources in northwest Africa. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation University College London: UCL Discovery |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
English |
topic |
Mediterranean runoff Pliocene climate climate modeling SST gradient Plio-Pleistocene transition |
spellingShingle |
Mediterranean runoff Pliocene climate climate modeling SST gradient Plio-Pleistocene transition Colleoni, F Cherchi, A Masina, S Brierley, CM Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition |
topic_facet |
Mediterranean runoff Pliocene climate climate modeling SST gradient Plio-Pleistocene transition |
description |
This work explores the impact of the development of global meridional and zonal sea surfacetemperature (SST) gradients on the Mediterranean runoff variability during the Plio-Pleistocene transition,about 3 Ma. Results show that total annual mean Pliocene Mediterranean runoff is about 40% larger thanduring the preindustrial period due to more increased extratropical specific humidity. As a consequenceof a weakened and extended Hadley cell, the Pliocene northwest Africa hydrological network producesa discharge 30 times larger than today. Our results support the conclusion that during the Pliocene, theMediterranean water deficit was reduced relative to today due to a larger river discharge. By means ofa stand-alone atmospheric general circulation model, we simulate the separate impact of extratropicaland equatorial SST cooling on the Mediterranean runoff. While cooling the equatorial SST does not implysignificant changes to the Pliocene Mediterranean hydrological budget, the extratropical SST coolingincreases the water deficit due to a decrease in precipitation and runoff. Consequently, river dischargefrom this area reduces to preindustrial levels. The main teleconnections acting upon the Mediterraneanarea today, i.e., the North Atlantic Oscillation during winter and the “monsoon-desert” mechanism duringsummer already have a large influence on the climate of our Pliocene simulations. Finally, our results alsosuggest that in a climate state significantly warmer than today, changes of the Hadley circulation couldpotentially lead to increased water resources in northwest Africa. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Colleoni, F Cherchi, A Masina, S Brierley, CM |
author_facet |
Colleoni, F Cherchi, A Masina, S Brierley, CM |
author_sort |
Colleoni, F |
title |
Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition |
title_short |
Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition |
title_full |
Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition |
title_fullStr |
Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of global SST gradients on the Mediterranean runoff changes across the Plio-Pleistocene transition |
title_sort |
impact of global sst gradients on the mediterranean runoff changes across the plio-pleistocene transition |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/7/Colleoni_et_al-2015-Paleoceanography.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/ |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Paleoceanography , 30 (6) pp. 751-767. (2015) |
op_relation |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/7/Colleoni_et_al-2015-Paleoceanography.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474373/ |
op_rights |
open |
_version_ |
1786197021523181568 |