A study of the sensitivity of ocean overturning circulation and climate to freshwater input in different regions of the North Atlantic

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is an important component of the climate system. Models indicate that the AMOC can be perturbed by freshwater forcing in the North Atlantic. Using an ocean-atmosphere general circulation model, we investigate the dependence of such a perturbatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Smith, Robin Stuart, Gregory, Jonathan Michael
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: American Geophysical Union 2009
Subjects:
551 Geology
hydrology
meteorology
Greenland
Greenland ice core
ice core
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/1769/
https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL038607
Description
Summary:The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is an important component of the climate system. Models indicate that the AMOC can be perturbed by freshwater forcing in the North Atlantic. Using an ocean-atmosphere general circulation model, we investigate the dependence of such a perturbation of the AMOC, and the consequent climate change, on the region of freshwater forcing. A wide range of changes in AMOC strength is found after 100 years of freshwater forcing. The largest changes in AMOC strength occur when the regions of deepwater formation in the model are forced directly, although reductions in deepwater formation in one area may be compensated by enhanced formation elsewhere. North Atlantic average surface air temperatures correlate linearly with the AMOC decline, but warming may occur in localised regions, notably over Greenland and where deepwater formation is enhanced. This brings into question the representativeness of temperature changes inferred from Greenland ice-core records.

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