Impact of slowdown of Atlantic overturning circulation on heat and freshwater transports
Impact of slowdown of Atlantic overturning circulation on heat and freshwater transports
Recent measurements of the strength of the Atlantic overturning circulation at 26°N show a 1 year drop and partial recovery amid a gradual weakening. To examine the extent and impact of the slowdown on basin wide heat and freshwater transports for 2004–2012, a box model that assimilates hydrographic and satellite observations is used to estimate heat transport and freshwater convergence as residuals of the heat and freshwater budgets. Using an independent transport estimate, convergences are converted to transports, which show a high level of spatial coherence. The similarity between Atlantic heat transport and the Agulhas Leakage suggests that it is the source of the surface heat transport anomalies. The freshwater budget in the North Atlantic is dominated by a decrease in freshwater flux. The increasing salinity during the slowdown supports modeling studies that show that heat, not freshwater, drives trends in the overturning circulation in a warming climate.
AMOC, heat transport, freshwater
7625-7631
Kelly, Kathryn A.
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Drushka, Kyla
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Thompson, LuAnne
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Le Bars, Dewi
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Mcdonagh, Elaine L.
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Kelly, Kathryn A.
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Drushka, Kyla
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Thompson, LuAnne
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Le Bars, Dewi
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Mcdonagh, Elaine L.
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Kelly, Kathryn A., Drushka, Kyla, Thompson, LuAnne, Le Bars, Dewi and Mcdonagh, Elaine L.
(2016)
Impact of slowdown of Atlantic overturning circulation on heat and freshwater transports.
Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (14), .
(doi:10.1002/2016GL069789).
Abstract
Recent measurements of the strength of the Atlantic overturning circulation at 26°N show a 1 year drop and partial recovery amid a gradual weakening. To examine the extent and impact of the slowdown on basin wide heat and freshwater transports for 2004–2012, a box model that assimilates hydrographic and satellite observations is used to estimate heat transport and freshwater convergence as residuals of the heat and freshwater budgets. Using an independent transport estimate, convergences are converted to transports, which show a high level of spatial coherence. The similarity between Atlantic heat transport and the Agulhas Leakage suggests that it is the source of the surface heat transport anomalies. The freshwater budget in the North Atlantic is dominated by a decrease in freshwater flux. The increasing salinity during the slowdown supports modeling studies that show that heat, not freshwater, drives trends in the overturning circulation in a warming climate.
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Accepted/In Press date: 7 July 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 July 2016
Keywords:
AMOC, heat transport, freshwater
Organisations:
Marine Physics and Ocean Climate
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 401183
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/401183
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 13b265e3-0b5e-4764-83f1-6b51001147ea
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Date deposited: 05 Oct 2016 12:23
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:57
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Contributors
Author:
Kathryn A. Kelly
Author:
Kyla Drushka
Author:
LuAnne Thompson
Author:
Dewi Le Bars
Author:
Elaine L. Mcdonagh
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