scholarly journals Meridional Overturning Circulation in a Multibasin Model. Part I: Dependence on Southern Ocean Buoyancy Forcing

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 1159-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Baker ◽  
Andrew J. Watson ◽  
Geoffrey K. Vallis
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Buoyancy Forcing ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Meridional Overturning

AbstractThe variation in the strength and structure of the overturning circulation under varying Southern Ocean buoyancy forcing, corresponding to present day, a cooler (glacial) state, and a possible future warmer state is analyzed in an idealized two-basin general circulation model connected by a southern circumpolar channel. A connection between the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) cell in the Atlantic basin and the Pacific Deep Water (PDW) cell in the Pacific basin occurs with a direct flow of NADW into the channel’s lower cell, while PDW upwelled in the Pacific basin can flow directly into the upper wind-driven cell in the channel. The intersection of these cells along with direct zonal flows between the basins completes the interbasin circulation. The present-day Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in the model is upwelled both by wind-driven upwelling in the Southern Ocean and by diffusion in the Pacific and Atlantic. In a cooler climate with enhanced sea ice, the NADW cell shoals, which can then no longer flow directly into the channel’s lower cell, reducing the Pacific pathway of NADW. This leads to a substantial weakening of the AMOC, suggesting buoyancy forcing changes can play a substantial role in the transition of the AMOC to a glacial state. In contrast, in a warmer equilibrium climate state with reduced AABW formation, the NADW cell strengthens and deepens. NADW is increasingly directed along the Pacific pathway, while the direct upwelling in the channel’s wind-driven upper cell plays a smaller role.

scholarly journals Meridional Overturning Circulation in a multi-basin model. Part II: Sensitivity to diffusivity and wind in warm and cool climates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Baker ◽  
Andrew J. Watson ◽  
Geoffrey K. Vallis
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Buoyancy Forcing ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Primary Determinant ◽  
Meridional Overturning

AbstractThe response of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) to changes in Southern Ocean (SO) zonal wind forcing and Pacific basin vertical diffusivity is investigated under varying buoyancy forcings, corresponding to ‘warm’, ‘present-day’ and ‘cold’ states, in a two-basin general circulation model connected by a southern circumpolar channel. We find that the Atlantic MOC (AMOC) strengthens with increased SO wind stress or diffusivity in the model Pacific, under all buoyancy forcings. The sensitivity of the AMOC to wind stress increases as the buoyancy forcing is varied from a warm to a present-day or cold state, whereas it is most sensitive to the Pacific diffusivity in a present-day or warm state. Similarly, the AMOC is more sensitive to buoyancy forcing over the Southern Ocean under reduced wind stress or enhanced Pacific diffusivity. These results arise because of the increased importance of the Pacific pathway in the warmer climates, giving an increased linkage between the basins and so the opportunity for the diffusivity in the Pacific to affect the overturning in the Atlantic. In cooler states, such as in glacial climates, the two basins are largely decoupled and the wind strength over the SO is the primary determinant of the AMOC strength. Both wind- and diffusively-driven upwelling sustain the AMOC in the warmer (present-day) state. Changes in SO wind stress alone do not shoal the AMOC to resemble that observed at the last glacial maximum; changes in the buoyancy forcing are also needed to decouple the two basins.

A Theory of the Interhemispheric Meridional Overturning Circulation and Associated Stratification

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1652-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxim Nikurashin ◽  
Geoffrey Vallis
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Mesoscale Eddy ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Diapycnal Mixing ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract A quantitative theoretical model of the meridional overturning circulation and associated deep stratification in an interhemispheric, single-basin ocean with a circumpolar channel is presented. The theory includes the effects of wind, eddies, and diapycnal mixing and predicts the deep stratification and overturning streamfunction in terms of the surface forcing and other parameters of the problem. It relies on a matching among three regions: the circumpolar channel at high southern latitudes, a region of isopycnal outcrop at high northern latitudes, and the ocean basin between. The theory describes both the middepth and abyssal cells of a circulation representing North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water. It suggests that, although the strength of the middepth overturning cell is primarily set by the wind stress in the circumpolar channel, middepth stratification results from a balance between the wind-driven upwelling in the channel and deep-water formation at high northern latitudes. Diapycnal mixing in the ocean interior can lead to warming and upwelling of deep waters. However, for parameters most representative of the present ocean mixing seems to play a minor role for the middepth cell. In contrast, the abyssal cell is intrinsically diabatic and controlled by a balance between the deep mixing-driven upwelling and the residual of the wind-driven and eddy-induced circulations in the Southern Ocean. The theory makes explicit predictions about how the stratification and overturning circulation vary with the wind strength, diapycnal diffusivity, and mesoscale eddy effects. The predictions compare well with numerical results from a coarse-resolution general circulation model.

scholarly journals Eddy Saturation of Equilibrated Circumpolar Currents

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Munday ◽  
Helen L. Johnson ◽  
David P. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
Diapycnal Diffusivity ◽  
Ocean Wind

Abstract This study uses a sector configuration of an ocean general circulation model to examine the sensitivity of circumpolar transport and meridional overturning to changes in Southern Ocean wind stress and global diapycnal mixing. At eddy-permitting, and finer, resolution, the sensitivity of circumpolar transport to forcing magnitude is drastically reduced. At sufficiently high resolution, there is little or no sensitivity of circumpolar transport to wind stress, even in the limit of no wind. In contrast, the meridional overturning circulation continues to vary with Southern Ocean wind stress, but with reduced sensitivity in the limit of high wind stress. Both the circumpolar transport and meridional overturning continue to vary with diapycnal diffusivity at all model resolutions. The circumpolar transport becomes less sensitive to changes in diapycnal diffusivity at higher resolution, although sensitivity always remains. In contrast, the overturning circulation is more sensitive to change in diapycnal diffusivity when the resolution is high enough to permit mesoscale eddies.

scholarly journals Can the boundary profiles at 26° N be used to extract buoyancy-forced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation signals?

Ocean Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1067-1088
Author(s):  
Irene Polo ◽  
Keith Haines ◽  
Jon Robson ◽  
Christopher Thomas
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Buoyancy Forcing ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract. The temporal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is driven both by direct wind stresses and by the buoyancy-driven formation of North Atlantic Deep Water over the Labrador Sea and Nordic Seas. In many models, low-frequency density variability down the western boundary of the Atlantic basin is linked to changes in the buoyancy forcing over the Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) region, and this is found to explain part of the geostrophic AMOC variability at 26∘ N. In this study, using different experiments with an ocean general circulation model (OGCM), we develop statistical methods to identify characteristic vertical density profiles at 26∘ N at the western and eastern boundaries, which relate to the buoyancy-forced AMOC. We show that density anomalies due to anomalous buoyancy forcing over the SPG propagate equatorward along the western Atlantic boundary (through 26∘ N), eastward along the Equator, and then poleward up the eastern Atlantic boundary. The timing of the density anomalies appearing at the western and eastern boundaries at 26∘ N reveals ∼ 2–3-year lags between boundaries along deeper levels (2600–3000 m). Record lengths of more than 26 years are required at the western boundary (WB) to allow the buoyancy-forced signals to appear as the dominant empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode. Results suggest that the depth structure of the signals and the lagged covariances between the boundaries at 26∘ N may both provide useful information for detecting propagating signals of high-latitude origin in more complex models and potentially in the observational RAPID (Rapid Climate Change programme) array. However, time filtering may be needed, together with the continuation of the RAPID programme, in order to extend the time period.

scholarly journals On the Near-Inertial Resonance of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 2661-2672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Sévellec ◽  
Joël J.-M. Hirschi ◽  
Adam T. Blaker
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Resonance Phenomenon ◽  
Dimensionless Number ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a crucial component of the global climate system. It is responsible for around a quarter of the global northward heat transport and contributes to the mild European climate. Observations and numerical models suggest a wide range of AMOC variability. Recent results from an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) in a high-resolution configuration (¼°) suggest the existence of superinertial variability of the AMOC. In this study, the validity of this result in a theoretical framework is tested. At a low Rossby number and in the presence of Rayleigh friction, it is demonstrated that, unlike a typical forced damped oscillator (which shows subinertial resonance), the AMOC undergoes both super- and subinertial resonances (except at low latitudes and for high friction). A dimensionless number Sr, measuring the ratio of ageo- to geostrophic forcing (i.e., the zonal versus meridional pressure gradients), indicates which of these resonances dominates. If Sr ≪ 1, the AMOC variability is mainly driven by geostrophic forcing and shows subinertial resonance. Alternatively and consistent with the recently published ¼° OGCM experiments, if Sr ≫ 1, the AMOC variability is mainly driven by the ageostrophic forcing and shows superinertial resonance. In both regimes, a forcing of ±1 K induces an AMOC variability of ±10 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) through these near-inertial resonance phenomena. It is also shown that, as expected from numerical simulations, the spatial structure of the near-inertial AMOC variability corresponds to equatorward-propagating waves equivalent to baroclinic Poincaré waves. The long-time average of this resonance phenomenon, raising and depressing the pycnocline, could contribute to the mixing of the ocean stratification.

Overturning Circulation Pathways in a Two-Basin Ocean Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 2105-2122
Author(s):  
Louis-Philippe Nadeau ◽  
Malte F. Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Diapycnal Mixing ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Deep Ocean Water

AbstractA toy model for the deep ocean overturning circulation in multiple basins is presented and applied to study the role of buoyancy forcing and basin geometry in the ocean’s global overturning. The model reproduces the results from idealized general circulation model simulations and provides theoretical insights into the mechanisms that govern the structure of the overturning circulation. The results highlight the importance of the diabatic component of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) for the depth of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and for the interbasin exchange of deep ocean water masses. This diabatic component, which extends the upper cell in the Atlantic below the depth of adiabatic upwelling in the Southern Ocean, is shown to be sensitive to the global area-integrated diapycnal mixing rate and the density contrast between NADW and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). The model also shows that the zonally averaged global overturning circulation is to zeroth-order independent of whether the ocean consists of one or multiple connected basins, but depends on the total length of the southern reentrant channel region (representing the Southern Ocean) and the global ocean area integrated diapycnal mixing. Common biases in single-basin simulations can thus be understood as a direct result of the reduced domain size.

scholarly journals Variability of Southern Ocean Transports

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 2667-2688
Author(s):  
Brady S. Ferster ◽  
Bulusu Subrahmanyam ◽  
Ichiro Fukumori ◽  
Ebenezer S. Nyadjro
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Lower Branch ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Salinity Transport ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Meridional Overturning

AbstractThe Southern Ocean (SO) is capable of transporting vast amounts of salt, heat, and nutrients, which allows it to influence and regulate global climate. The variability of depth- and density-integrated volume transports in the SO is studied using the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), version 4, release 3 (1992–2015), ocean state estimate. The estimate has a net eastward transport of 150.6 ± 5.5, 162.6 ± 7.4, and 148.2 ± 5.4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) between the Atlantic–Indian, Indian–Pacific, and Pacific–Atlantic basins, respectively. The time-mean meridional volume transport across 30°S in the Atlantic is estimated to be −1.4 ± 0.6 Sv, −14.4 ± 3.5 Sv in the Indian basin, and 15.5 ± 4.1 Sv in the Pacific, where negative values are southward. Trends in net volume transport between the basins are statistically insignificant. Within the water column, however, the middle and lower branches of the meridional overturning circulation have trends of −0.289 and 0.248 Sv decade−1 in the Atlantic basin. The Indian and Pacific basins have decreasing trends in their lower overturning cells. These results indicate increased overturning circulation within the lower branch in the South Atlantic and decreased lower branch circulation within the Indian and Pacific basins and have implications on the thermohaline-driven circulation. Using ECCO, we estimate a southward potential temperature transport of −176.2° ± 197.2°C Sv and salinity transport of −1.71 ± 22.4 psu Sv into the SO and indicate potential temperature transport is increasing by −15.0° ± 13.2°C Sv decade−1.

scholarly journals An Interhemispheric Four-Box Model of the Meridional Overturning Circulation

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Stone ◽  
Yuriy P. Krasovskiy
Keyword(s):  
High Latitude ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Stable States ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
High Latitude Region ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract The authors introduce a four-box interhemispheric model of the meridional overturning circulation. A single box represents high latitudes in each hemisphere, and in contrast to earlier interhemispheric box models, low latitudes are represented by two boxes—a surface box and a deep box—separated by a thermocline in which a balance is assumed between vertical advection and vertical diffusion. The behavior of the system is analyzed with two different closure assumptions for how the low-latitude upwelling depends on the density contrast between the surface and deep low-latitude boxes. The first is based on the conventional assumption that the diffusivity is a constant, and the second on the assumption that the energy input to the mixing is constant. There are three different stable equilibrium states that are closely analogous to the three found by Bryan in a single-basin interhemispheric ocean general circulation model. One is quasi-symmetric with downwelling in high latitudes of both hemispheres, and two are asymmetric solutions, with downwelling confined to high latitudes in one or the other of the two hemispheres. The quasi-symmetric solution becomes linearly unstable for strong global hydrological forcing, while the two asymmetric solutions do not. The qualitative nature of the solutions is generally similar for both the closure assumptions, in contrast to the solutions in hemispheric models. In particular, all the stable states can be destabilized by finite amplitude perturbations in the salinity or the hydrological forcing, and transitions are possible between any two states. For example, if the system is in an asymmetric state, and the moisture flux into the high-latitude region of downwelling is slowly increased, for both closure assumptions the high-latitude downwelling decreases until a critical forcing is reached where the system switches to the asymmetric state with downwelling in the opposite hemisphere. By contrast, in hemispheric models with the energy constraint, the downwelling increases and there is no loss of stability.

Wind-Driven Seasonal Cycle of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1541-1562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhao ◽  
William Johns
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract The dynamical processes governing the seasonal cycle of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are studied using a variety of models, ranging from a simple forced Rossby wave model to an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model. The AMOC variability is decomposed into Ekman and geostrophic transport components, which reveal that the seasonality of the AMOC is determined by both components in the extratropics and dominated by the Ekman transport in the tropics. The physics governing the seasonal fluctuations of the AMOC are explored in detail at three latitudes (26.5°N, 6°N, and 34.5°S). While the Ekman transport is directly related to zonal wind stress seasonality, the comparison between different numerical models shows that the geostrophic transport involves a complex oceanic adjustment to the wind forcing. The oceanic adjustment is further evaluated by separating the zonally integrated geostrophic transport into eastern and western boundary currents and interior flows. The results indicate that the seasonal AMOC cycle in the extratropics is controlled mainly by local boundary effects, where either the western or eastern boundary can be dominant at different latitudes, while in the northern tropics it is the interior flow and its lagged compensation by the western boundary current that determine the seasonal AMOC variability.

scholarly journals The Onset of the Last Interglacial and Fingerprints of Transient Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Gierz ◽  
Gregor Knorr ◽  
Aline Govin ◽  
Emilie Capron ◽  
Nadezhda Sokolova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Meridional Overturning

Abstract Transitions from glacials to interglacials are the largest climate shifts that occurred during the Quaternary. These glacial terminations are characterized by transient changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and associated alterations in the northward heat transport. It has been a challenge to differentiate between early last interglacial or late penultimate glacial climate conditions at 129-131 ka (thousands of years before present). Neither simulations with a stable interglacial-type nor with a freshwater perturbed AMOC state have reproduced the reconstructed sea surface temperature (SST) fingerprint in the North Atlantic. As previous approaches failed to consider the highly transient nature of the climate system at ~130 ka, the potential of transient, deglaciating AMOC responses and the corresponding impact on North Atlantic SST has yet to be examined. In this study, we employ a fully coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model (AOGCM) equipped with a stable-oxygen isotope module to investigate the underlying AMOC dynamics at the onset of the Last Interglacial (LIG). We demonstrate that successfully capturing both the SST patterns and the calcite δ18O signature in planktonic foraminifera from North Atlantic marine sediment cores necessitates a transiently recovering AMOC. Furthermore, this critically depends on capturing the cold, glacial ocean state prior to the onset of the interglacial.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document