Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry
The influence of reduced solar forcing (grand solar minimum or geoengineering scenarios like solar radiation management) on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is assessed in an ensemble of atmosphere–ocean–chemistry–climate model simulations. Ensemble sensitivity simulations are...
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Online Access: | https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/1/esd-7-877-2016.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/ |
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ftunivbern:oai:boris.unibe.ch:91553 2023-08-20T04:04:46+02:00 Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry Muthers, Stefan Raible, Christoph Rozanov, Eugene Stocker, Thomas 2016 application/pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/1/esd-7-877-2016.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/ eng eng Copernicus Publications https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Muthers, Stefan; Raible, Christoph; Rozanov, Eugene; Stocker, Thomas (2016). Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry. Earth system dynamics, 7(4), pp. 877-892. Copernicus Publications 10.5194/esd-7-877-2016 <http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-877-2016> 530 Physics 550 Earth sciences & geology info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion PeerReviewed 2016 ftunivbern https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-877-2016 2023-07-31T21:30:54Z The influence of reduced solar forcing (grand solar minimum or geoengineering scenarios like solar radiation management) on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is assessed in an ensemble of atmosphere–ocean–chemistry–climate model simulations. Ensemble sensitivity simulations are performed with and without interactive chemistry. In both experiments the AMOC is intensified in the course of the solar radiation reduction, which is attributed to the thermal effect of the solar forcing: reduced sea surface temperatures and enhanced sea ice formation increase the density of the upper ocean in the North Atlantic and intensify the deepwater formation. Furthermore, a second, dynamical effect on the AMOC is identified driven by the stratospheric cooling in response to the reduced solar forcing. The cooling is strongest in the tropics and leads to a weakening of the northern polar vortex. By stratosphere–troposphere interactions, the stratospheric circulation anomalies induce a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation in the troposphere which is found to weaken the AMOC through wind stress and heat flux anomalies in the North Atlantic. The dynamic mechanism is present in both ensemble experiments. In the experiment with interactive chemistry, however, it is strongly amplified by stratospheric ozone changes. In the coupled system, both effects counteract and weaken the response of the AMOC to the solar forcing reduction. Neglecting chemistry–climate interactions in model simulations may therefore lead to an overestimation of the AMOC response to solar forcing. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic North Atlantic Sea ice BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) Arctic Earth System Dynamics 7 4 877 892 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbern |
language |
English |
topic |
530 Physics 550 Earth sciences & geology |
spellingShingle |
530 Physics 550 Earth sciences & geology Muthers, Stefan Raible, Christoph Rozanov, Eugene Stocker, Thomas Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
topic_facet |
530 Physics 550 Earth sciences & geology |
description |
The influence of reduced solar forcing (grand solar minimum or geoengineering scenarios like solar radiation management) on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is assessed in an ensemble of atmosphere–ocean–chemistry–climate model simulations. Ensemble sensitivity simulations are performed with and without interactive chemistry. In both experiments the AMOC is intensified in the course of the solar radiation reduction, which is attributed to the thermal effect of the solar forcing: reduced sea surface temperatures and enhanced sea ice formation increase the density of the upper ocean in the North Atlantic and intensify the deepwater formation. Furthermore, a second, dynamical effect on the AMOC is identified driven by the stratospheric cooling in response to the reduced solar forcing. The cooling is strongest in the tropics and leads to a weakening of the northern polar vortex. By stratosphere–troposphere interactions, the stratospheric circulation anomalies induce a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation in the troposphere which is found to weaken the AMOC through wind stress and heat flux anomalies in the North Atlantic. The dynamic mechanism is present in both ensemble experiments. In the experiment with interactive chemistry, however, it is strongly amplified by stratospheric ozone changes. In the coupled system, both effects counteract and weaken the response of the AMOC to the solar forcing reduction. Neglecting chemistry–climate interactions in model simulations may therefore lead to an overestimation of the AMOC response to solar forcing. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Muthers, Stefan Raible, Christoph Rozanov, Eugene Stocker, Thomas |
author_facet |
Muthers, Stefan Raible, Christoph Rozanov, Eugene Stocker, Thomas |
author_sort |
Muthers, Stefan |
title |
Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
title_short |
Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
title_full |
Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
title_fullStr |
Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
title_full_unstemmed |
Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
title_sort |
response of the amoc to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/1/esd-7-877-2016.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/ |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic North Atlantic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic North Atlantic Sea ice |
op_source |
Muthers, Stefan; Raible, Christoph; Rozanov, Eugene; Stocker, Thomas (2016). Response of the AMOC to reduced solar radiation - the modulating role of atmospheric chemistry. Earth system dynamics, 7(4), pp. 877-892. Copernicus Publications 10.5194/esd-7-877-2016 <http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-877-2016> |
op_relation |
https://boris.unibe.ch/91553/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-877-2016 |
container_title |
Earth System Dynamics |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
877 |
op_container_end_page |
892 |
_version_ |
1774715147849302016 |