scholarly journals A Regime Perspective on the North Atlantic Eddy-Driven Jet Response to Sudden Stratospheric Warmings

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 3901-3917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda C. Maycock ◽  
Gibbon I. T. Masukwedza ◽  
Peter Hitchcock ◽  
Isla R. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Intrinsic Variability ◽  
The South ◽  
Reanalysis Dataset ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
The North Atlantic

AbstractChanges to the preferred states, or regime behavior, of the North Atlantic eddy-driven jet (EDJ) following a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is examined using a large ensemble experiment from the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model in which the stratosphere is nudged toward an SSW. In the 3 months following the SSW (January–March), the North Atlantic EDJ shifts equatorward by ~3°, on average; this arises from an increased occurrence of the EDJ’s south regime and reductions in its north and central regimes. Qualitatively similar behavior is shown in a reanalysis dataset. We show that under SSW conditions the south regime becomes more persistent and that this can explain the overall increase in the EDJ latitude decorrelation time scale. A cluster analysis reveals that, following the SSW, the south EDJ regime is characterized by weaker low-level baroclinicity and eddy heat fluxes in the North Atlantic Ocean. We hypothesize, therefore, that the increased persistence of the south regime is related to the weaker baroclinicity leading to slower growth rates of the unstable modes and hence a slower buildup of eddy heat flux, which has been shown to precede EDJ transitions. In the North Atlantic sector, the surface response to the SSW projects onto a negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern, with almost no change in the east Atlantic (EA) pattern. This behavior appears to be distinct from the modeled intrinsic variability in the EDJ, where the jet latitude index captures variations in both the NAO and EA patterns. The results offer new insight into the mechanisms for stratosphere–troposphere coupling following SSWs.

Estimating Eddy Heat Flux from Float Data in the North Atlantic: The Impact of Temporal Sampling Interval

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 923-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian S. Chinn ◽  
Sarah T. Gille
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sampling Interval ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Temporal Sampling ◽  
The North ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
Daily Sampling ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Acoustically tracked float data from 16 experiments carried out in the North Atlantic are used to evaluate the feasibility of estimating eddy heat fluxes from floats. Daily float observations were bin averaged in 2° by 2° by 200-db-deep geographic bins, and eddy heat fluxes were estimated for each bin. Results suggest that eddy heat fluxes can be highly variable, with substantial outliers that mean that fluxes do not converge quickly. If 100 statistically independent observations are available in each bin (corresponding to 500–1000 float days of data), then results predict that 80% of bins will have eddy heat fluxes that are statistically different from zero. Pop-up floats, such as Autonomous Lagrangian Circulation Explorer (ALACE) and Argo floats, do not provide daily sampling and therefore underestimate eddy heat flux. The fraction of eddy heat flux resolved using pop-up float sampling patterns decreases linearly with increasing intervals between float mapping and can be modeled analytically. This implies that flux estimates from pop-up floats may be correctable to represent true eddy heat flux.

scholarly journals Dynamic boreal summer atmospheric circulation response as a negative feedback to Greenland melt during the MIS-11 interglacial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Crow ◽  
Matthias Prange ◽  
Michael Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Negative Feedback ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Dynamic State ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. The unique alignment of orbital precession and obliquity during the Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS-11) interglacial produced perhaps the longest period of planetary warmth above pre-industrial conditions in the past 800 kyr. Reconstructions point to a significantly reduced Greenland ice sheet volume during this period as a result, although the remaining extent and volume of the ice sheet are poorly constrained. A series of time-slice simulations across MIS-11 using a coupled climate model indicates that boreal summer was particularly warm around Greenland and high latitudes of the Atlantic sector for a period of at least 20 kyr. This state of reduced atmospheric baroclinicity, coupled with an enhanced and poleward-shifted intertropical convergence zone and North African monsoon, favored weakened high-latitude winds and the emergence of a single, unified midlatitude jet stream. Consequent reductions in lower-tropospheric eddy heat flux over the north Atlantic therefore emerge as a negative feedback to additional warming over Greenland, perhaps partially counteracting conditions otherwise very favorable for widespread melting of the ice sheet. The relationship between Greenland precipitation and the state of the North Atlantic jet is less apparent, but slight summer changes in precipitation appear to be more than offset by increases during the remainder of the year. Such a dynamic state is surprising, as it bears stronger resemblance to the unified-jet state postulated as typical for glacial states than to the modern-day interglacial state.

scholarly journals Influence of the North Atlantic oscillation on the atmospheric levels of benzo[a]pyrene over Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero ◽  
Nuno Ratola
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
The South ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

AbstractThe atmospheric concentration of persistent organic pollutants (and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, in particular) is closely related to climate change and climatic fluctuations, which are likely to influence contaminant’s transport pathways and transfer processes. Predicting how climate variability alters PAHs concentrations in the atmosphere still poses an exceptional challenge. In this sense, the main objective of this contribution is to assess the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the mean concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP, the most studied PAH congener) in a domain covering Europe, with an emphasis on the effect of regional-scale processes. A numerical simulation for a present climate period of 30 years was performed using a regional chemistry transport model with a 25 km spatial resolution (horizontal), higher than those commonly applied. The results show an important seasonal behaviour, with a remarkable spatial pattern of difference between the north and the south of the domain. In winter, higher BaP ground levels are found during the NAO+ phase for the Mediterranean basin, while the spatial pattern of this feature (higher BaP levels during NAO+ phases) moves northwards in summer. These results show deviations up to and sometimes over 100% in the BaP mean concentrations, but statistically significant signals (p<0.1) of lower changes (20–40% variations in the signal) are found for the north of the domain in winter and for the south in summer.

Evidence for a Rapid Global Climate Shift across the Late 1960s

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2721-2744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Baines ◽  
Chris K. Folland
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
African Sahel

Abstract It is shown that a number of important characteristics of the global atmospheric circulation and climate changed in a near-monotonic fashion over the decade, or less, centered on the late 1960s. These changes were largest or commonest in tropical regions, the Southern Hemisphere, and the Atlantic sector of the Northern Hemisphere. Some, such as the decrease in rainfall in the African Sahel, are well known. Others appear to be new, but their combined extent is global and dynamical linkages between them are evident. The list of affected variables includes patterns of SST; tropical rainfall in the African Sahel and Sudan, the Amazon basin, and northeast Brazil; pressure and SST in the tropical North Atlantic and the west and central Pacific; various branches of the southern Hadley circulation and the southern subtropical jet stream; the summer North Atlantic Oscillation; south Greenland temperature; the Southern Hemisphere storm track; and, quite likely, the Antarctic sea ice boundary. These changes are often strongest in the June–August season; changes are also seen in December–February but are generally smaller. In Greenland, annual mean temperature seems to be affected strongly, reflecting similar changes in SST throughout the year in the higher latitudes of the North Atlantic. Possible causes for these coordinated changes are briefly evaluated. The most likely candidates appear to be a likely reduction in the northward oceanic heat flux associated with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation in the 1950s to 1970s, which was nearly in phase with a rapid increase in anthropogenic aerosol emissions during the 1950s and 1960s, particularly over Europe and North America.

scholarly journals The North Atlantic Eddy Heat Transport and Its Relation with the Vertical Tilting of the Gulf Stream Axis

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1281-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Treguier ◽  
C. Lique ◽  
J. Deshayes ◽  
J. M. Molines
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Heat Transport ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Gulf Stream ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
The North ◽  
Spatial Shift ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
Eddy Heat Transport ◽  
The North Atlantic

AbstractCorrelations between temperature and velocity fluctuations are a significant contribution to the North Atlantic meridional heat transport, especially at the northern boundary of the subtropical gyre. In satellite observations and in a numerical model at ⅞° resolution, a localized pattern of positive eddy heat flux is found northwest of the Gulf Stream, downstream of its separation at Cape Hatteras. It is confined to the upper 500 m. A simple kinematic model of a meandering jet can explain the surface eddy flux, taking into account a spatial shift between the maximum velocity of the jet and the maximum cross-jet temperature gradient. In the Gulf Stream such a spatial shift results from the nonlinear temperature profile and the vertical tilting of the velocity profile with depth. The numerical model suggests that the meandering of the Gulf Stream could account, at least in part, for the large eddy heat transport (of order 0.3 PW) near 36°N in the North Atlantic and for its compensation by the mean flow.

scholarly journals Dynamical analysis of a reduced model for the North Atlantic Oscillation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Quinn ◽  
Dylan Harries ◽  
Terence J. O’Kane
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Unstable State ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

AbstractThe dynamics of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are analyzed through a data-driven model obtained from atmospheric reanalysis data. We apply a regularized vector autoregressive clustering technique to identify recurrent and persistent states of atmospheric circulation patterns in the North Atlantic sector (110°W-0°E, 20°N-90°N). In order to analyze the dynamics associated with the resulting cluster-based models, we define a time-dependent linear delayed map with a switching sequence set a priori by the cluster affiliations at each time step. Using a method for computing the covariant Lyapunov vectors (CLVs) over various time windows, we produce sets of mixed singular vectors (for short windows) and approximate the asymptotic CLVs (for longer windows). The growth rates and alignment of the resulting time-dependent vectors are then analyzed. We find that the window chosen to compute the vectors acts as a filter on the dynamics. For short windows, the alignment and changes in growth rates are indicative of individual transitions between persistent states. For long windows, we observe an emergent annual signal manifest in the alignment of the CLVs characteristic of the observed seasonality in the NAO index. Analysis of the average finite-time dimension reveals the NAO− as the most unstable state relative to the NAO+, with persistent AR states largely stable. Our results agree with other recent theoretical and empirical studies that have shown blocking events to have less predictability than periods of enhanced zonal flow.

scholarly journals The Life Cycle of the North Atlantic Storm Track*

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 821-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Novak ◽  
Maarten H. P. Ambaum ◽  
Rémi Tailleux
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
High Heat ◽  
High Heat Flux ◽  
Dominant Type ◽  
The North ◽  
Eddy Heat Flux ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract The North Atlantic eddy-driven jet exhibits latitudinal variability with evidence of three preferred latitudinal locations: south, middle, and north. Here the authors examine the drivers of this variability and the variability of the associated storm track. The authors investigate the changes in the storm-track characteristics for the three jet locations and propose a mechanism by which enhanced storm-track activity, as measured by upstream heat flux, is responsible for cyclical downstream latitudinal shifts in the jet. This mechanism is based on a nonlinear oscillator relationship between the enhanced meridional temperature gradient (and thus baroclinicity) and the meridional high-frequency (periods of shorter than 10 days) eddy heat flux. Such oscillations in baroclinicity and heat flux induce variability in eddy anisotropy, which is associated with the changes in the dominant type of wave breaking and a different latitudinal deflection of the jet. The authors’ results suggest that high heat flux is conducive to a northward deflection of the jet, whereas low heat flux is conducive to a more zonal jet. This jet-deflecting effect was found to operate most prominently downstream of the storm-track maximum, while the storm track and the jet remain anchored at a fixed latitudinal location at the beginning of the storm track. These cyclical changes in storm-track characteristics can be viewed as different stages of the storm track’s spatiotemporal life cycle.

scholarly journals North Atlantic 20th century multidecadal variability in coupled climate models: sea surface temperature and ocean overturning circulation

Ocean Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Medhaug ◽  
T. Furevik
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. Output from a total of 24 state-of-the-art Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models is analyzed. The models were integrated with observed forcing for the period 1850–2000 as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. All models show enhanced variability at multi-decadal time scales in the North Atlantic sector similar to the observations, but with a large intermodel spread in amplitudes and frequencies for both the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The models, in general, are able to reproduce the observed geographical patterns of warm and cold episodes, but not the phasing such as the early warming (1930s–1950s) and the following colder period (1960s–1980s). This indicates that the observed 20th century extreme in temperatures are due to primarily a fortuitous phasing of intrinsic climate variability and not dominated by external forcing. Most models show a realistic structure in the overturning circulation, where more than half of the available models have a mean overturning transport within the observed estimated range of 13–24 Sverdrup. Associated with a stronger than normal AMOC, the surface temperature is increased and the sea ice extent slightly reduced in the North Atlantic. Individual models show potential for decadal prediction based on the relationship between the AMO and AMOC, but the models strongly disagree both in phasing and strength of the covariability. This makes it difficult to identify common mechanisms and to assess the applicability for predictions.

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