The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient
A key idea in the study of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is that its strength is proportional to the meridional density gradient, or more precisely, to the strength of the meridional pressure gradient. A physical basis that would tell us how to estimate the relevant meridion...
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American Meteorological Society
2012
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Online Access: | https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/26232/ https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 |
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ftunivreading:oai:centaur.reading.ac.uk:26232 2024-06-23T07:47:29+00:00 The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient Sijp, W. P. Gregory, Jonathan M. Tailleux, Remi Spence, P. 2012 https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/26232/ https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 unknown American Meteorological Society Sijp, W. P., Gregory, J. M. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90000874.html> orcid:0000-0003-1296-8644 , Tailleux, R. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90000948.html> orcid:0000-0001-8998-9107 and Spence, P. (2012) The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 42 (4). pp. 628-643. ISSN 1520-0485 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1> Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftunivreading https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 2024-06-11T14:57:06Z A key idea in the study of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is that its strength is proportional to the meridional density gradient, or more precisely, to the strength of the meridional pressure gradient. A physical basis that would tell us how to estimate the relevant meridional pressure gradient locally from the density distribution in numerical ocean models to test such an idea, has been lacking however. Recently, studies of ocean energetics have suggested that the AMOC is driven by the release of available potential energy (APE) into kinetic energy (KE), and that such a conversion takes place primarily in the deep western boundary currents. In this paper, we develop an analytical description linking the western boundary current circulation below the interface separating the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) to the shape of this interface. The simple analytical model also shows how available potential energy is converted into kinetic energy at each location, and that the strength of the transport within the western boundary current is proportional to the local meridional pressure gradient at low latitudes. The present results suggest, therefore, that the conversion rate of potential energy may provide the necessary physical basis for linking the strength of the AMOC to the meridional pressure gradient, and that this could be achieved by a detailed study of the APE to KE conversion in the western boundary current. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading Antarctic Journal of Physical Oceanography 42 4 628 643 |
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Open Polar |
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CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading |
op_collection_id |
ftunivreading |
language |
unknown |
description |
A key idea in the study of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is that its strength is proportional to the meridional density gradient, or more precisely, to the strength of the meridional pressure gradient. A physical basis that would tell us how to estimate the relevant meridional pressure gradient locally from the density distribution in numerical ocean models to test such an idea, has been lacking however. Recently, studies of ocean energetics have suggested that the AMOC is driven by the release of available potential energy (APE) into kinetic energy (KE), and that such a conversion takes place primarily in the deep western boundary currents. In this paper, we develop an analytical description linking the western boundary current circulation below the interface separating the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) to the shape of this interface. The simple analytical model also shows how available potential energy is converted into kinetic energy at each location, and that the strength of the transport within the western boundary current is proportional to the local meridional pressure gradient at low latitudes. The present results suggest, therefore, that the conversion rate of potential energy may provide the necessary physical basis for linking the strength of the AMOC to the meridional pressure gradient, and that this could be achieved by a detailed study of the APE to KE conversion in the western boundary current. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sijp, W. P. Gregory, Jonathan M. Tailleux, Remi Spence, P. |
spellingShingle |
Sijp, W. P. Gregory, Jonathan M. Tailleux, Remi Spence, P. The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
author_facet |
Sijp, W. P. Gregory, Jonathan M. Tailleux, Remi Spence, P. |
author_sort |
Sijp, W. P. |
title |
The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
title_short |
The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
title_full |
The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
title_fullStr |
The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
title_full_unstemmed |
The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
title_sort |
key role of the western boundary in linking the amoc strength to the north-south pressure gradient |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/26232/ https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic NADW North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic |
op_relation |
Sijp, W. P., Gregory, J. M. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90000874.html> orcid:0000-0003-1296-8644 , Tailleux, R. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90000948.html> orcid:0000-0001-8998-9107 and Spence, P. (2012) The key role of the western boundary in linking the AMOC strength to the north-south pressure gradient. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 42 (4). pp. 628-643. ISSN 1520-0485 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-0113.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
628 |
op_container_end_page |
643 |
_version_ |
1802651602636505088 |