The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols
Multidecadal trends in the large-scale ocean circulation are influenced by changes in radiative forcings such as long-lived greenhouse gases, volcanic aerosols, and solar irradiance. Model simulations suggest that anthropogenic aerosols can also force circulation changes, including delaying the weak...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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Online Access: | https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z09x5/the-response-of-the-large-scale-ocean-circulation-to-20th-century-asian-and-non-asian-aerosols https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 |
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ftusqland:oai:research.usq.edu.au:z09x5 2024-01-21T10:08:35+01:00 The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols Cowan, T. Cai, W. 2013 https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z09x5/the-response-of-the-large-scale-ocean-circulation-to-20th-century-asian-and-non-asian-aerosols https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 unknown John Wiley & Sons https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 Cowan, T. and Cai, W. 2013. "The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols." Geophysical Research Letters. 40 (11), pp. 2761-2767. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 article PeerReviewed 2013 ftusqland https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 2023-12-25T23:33:21Z Multidecadal trends in the large-scale ocean circulation are influenced by changes in radiative forcings such as long-lived greenhouse gases, volcanic aerosols, and solar irradiance. Model simulations suggest that anthropogenic aerosols can also force circulation changes, including delaying the weakening of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation, altering the interhemispheric sea surface temperature gradient, and inducing a pan-oceanic heat redistribution. The extent to which aerosols from different regions contribute to these oceanic changes is currently unknown. Using specifically designed 20th century coupled climate model experiments that separate Asian and non-Asian aerosol impacts, it is shown that the non-Asian aerosol component, predominantly sulfate aerosols, accounts for much of the simulated aerosol-induced oceanic changes. These include delaying the weakening of the global meridional circulation, increasing the northward heat transport across the equatorial Atlantic, and inducing a subsurface cooling in the subtropical southern Indian Ocean. As global sulfate aerosol levels peaked in the 1980s, these trends may be starting to reverse. This study highlights the importance of Northern Hemisphere non-Asian anthropogenic aerosols in driving remote changes in Southern Hemisphere subtropical and extratropical oceans. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North atlantic Thermohaline circulation University of Southern Queensland: USQ ePrints Indian Geophysical Research Letters 40 11 2761 2767 |
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University of Southern Queensland: USQ ePrints |
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Multidecadal trends in the large-scale ocean circulation are influenced by changes in radiative forcings such as long-lived greenhouse gases, volcanic aerosols, and solar irradiance. Model simulations suggest that anthropogenic aerosols can also force circulation changes, including delaying the weakening of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation, altering the interhemispheric sea surface temperature gradient, and inducing a pan-oceanic heat redistribution. The extent to which aerosols from different regions contribute to these oceanic changes is currently unknown. Using specifically designed 20th century coupled climate model experiments that separate Asian and non-Asian aerosol impacts, it is shown that the non-Asian aerosol component, predominantly sulfate aerosols, accounts for much of the simulated aerosol-induced oceanic changes. These include delaying the weakening of the global meridional circulation, increasing the northward heat transport across the equatorial Atlantic, and inducing a subsurface cooling in the subtropical southern Indian Ocean. As global sulfate aerosol levels peaked in the 1980s, these trends may be starting to reverse. This study highlights the importance of Northern Hemisphere non-Asian anthropogenic aerosols in driving remote changes in Southern Hemisphere subtropical and extratropical oceans. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cowan, T. Cai, W. |
spellingShingle |
Cowan, T. Cai, W. The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols |
author_facet |
Cowan, T. Cai, W. |
author_sort |
Cowan, T. |
title |
The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols |
title_short |
The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols |
title_full |
The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols |
title_fullStr |
The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols |
title_full_unstemmed |
The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols |
title_sort |
response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century asian and non-asian aerosols |
publisher |
John Wiley & Sons |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z09x5/the-response-of-the-large-scale-ocean-circulation-to-20th-century-asian-and-non-asian-aerosols https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
North Atlantic North atlantic Thermohaline circulation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North atlantic Thermohaline circulation |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 Cowan, T. and Cai, W. 2013. "The response of the large-scale ocean circulation to 20th century Asian and non-Asian aerosols." Geophysical Research Letters. 40 (11), pp. 2761-2767. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50587 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
2761 |
op_container_end_page |
2767 |
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1788699346788679680 |