On the mechanism of centennial thermohaline oscillations.

International audience Centennial oscillations of the ocean thermohaline circulation are studied in a 2-D latitude-depth model under mixed boundary conditions (i.e. restoring surface temperature and prescribed freshwater flux). The oscillations are revealed through linear stability analysis of a ste...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Marine Research
Main Authors: Florian, Sévellec, Thierry, Huck, Mahdi Ben, Jelloul
Other Authors: Laboratoire de physique des océans (LPO), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2006
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Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-00308767
https://doi.org/10.1357/002224006778189608
Description
Summary:International audience Centennial oscillations of the ocean thermohaline circulation are studied in a 2-D latitude-depth model under mixed boundary conditions (i.e. restoring surface temperature and prescribed freshwater flux). The oscillations are revealed through linear stability analysis of a steady state obtained in a single hemisphere configuration. A density variance budget is performed and helps determine the physical processes sustaining these oscillations: the restoring surface temperature appears as a source of density variance - this is a consequence of positively-correlated temperature and salinity anomalies. A minimal model, the Howard-Malkus loop oscillator, enables us to understand physically the oscillatory and growth mechanisms. The centennial oscillation is connected to the advection of salinity anomaly around the loop; it is also related to the salinity feedback on the overturning which reinforces anomalies through a change of residence time in the freshwater flux regions. Analytical solutions of this loop model show that these centennial oscillations exist in a specific parameter regime in terms of the freshwater flux amplitude F0: oscillations are damped if F0 is too weak, but if F0 is too large, the instability grows exponentially without oscillating-the latter regime is known as the positive salinity feedback. The robustness of these oscillations is then analyzed in more realistic bihemispheric configurations, some including a highly idealized Antarctic Circumpolar Current: oscillations are then always damped. These results are rationalized with the loop model, and compared to the oscillations found in general circulation models.