Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation response to idealized external forcing

The response of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to idealized external (solar) forcing is studied in terms of the internal (unforced) AMOC modes with the Kiel Climate Model (KCM), a coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice general circulation model. The statistical investigation of KCM’s internal AMOC variability obtained from a multi-millennial control run yields three distinct modes: a multi-decadal mode with a period of about 60?years, a quasi-centennial mode with a period of about 100?years and a multi-centennial mode with a period of about 300–400?years. Most variance is explained by the multi-centennial mode, and the least by the quasi-centennial mode. The solar constant varies sinusoidally with two different periods (100 and 60?years) in forced runs with KCM. The AMOC response to the external forcing is rather complex and nonlinear. It involves strong changes in the frequency structure of the variability. While the control run depicts multi-timescale behavior, the AMOC variability in the experiment with 100?year forcing period is channeled into a relatively narrow band centered near the forcing period. It is the quasi-centennial AMOC mode with a period of just under 100?years which is excited, although it is heavily damped in the control run. Thus, the quasi-centennial mode retains its period which does not correspond exactly to the forcing period. Surprisingly, the quasi-centennial mode is also most strongly excited when the forcing period is set to 60?years, the period of the multi-decadal mode which is rather prominent in the control run. It is largely the spatial structure of the forcing rather than its period that determines which of the three internal AMOC modes is excited. The results suggest that we need to understand the full modal structure of the internal AMOC variability in order to understand the circulation’s response to external forcing. This could be a challenge for climate models: we cannot necessarily expect that the response to external forcing is realistically captured by a model, even if only strongly damped modes are not well represented that do not account for much variance under present-day conditions.     

Stochastically-driven multidecadal variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in CCSM3

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in the last 250?years of the 700-year-long present-day control integration of the Community Climate System Model version 3 with T85 atmospheric resolution exhibits a red noise-like irregular multi-decadal variability with a persistence longer than 10?years, which markedly contrasts with the preceding ~300 years of very regular and stronger AMOC variability with ~20?year periodicity. The red noise-like multi-decadal AMOC variability is primarily forced by the surface fluxes associated with stochastic changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) that intensify and shift northward the deep convection in the Labrador Sea. However, the persistence of the AMOC and the associated oceanic anomalies that are directly forced by the NAO forcing does not exceed about 5?years. The additional persistence originates from anomalous horizontal advection and vertical mixing, which generate density anomalies on the continental shelf along the eastern boundary of the subpolar gyre. These anomalies are subsequently advected by the mean boundary current into the northern part of the Labrador Sea convection region, reinforcing the density changes directly forced by the NAO. As no evidence was found of a clear two-way coupling with the atmosphere, the multi-decadal AMOC variability in the last 250?years of the integration is an ocean-only response to stochastic NAO forcing with a delayed positive feedback caused by the changes in the horizontal ocean circulation.     

Mechanisms for decadal scale variability in a simulated Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Variability in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has been analysed using a 600-year pre-industrial control simulation with the Bergen Climate Model. The typical AMOC variability has amplitudes of 1?Sverdrup (1 Sv?=?10⁶?m³?s^?1) and time scales of 40–70?years. The model is reproducing the observed dense water formation regions and has very realistic ocean transports and water mass distributions. The dense water produced in the Labrador Sea (1/3) and in the Nordic Seas, including the water entrained into the dense overflows across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (GSR; 2/3), are the sources of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) forming the lower limb of the AMOC’s northern overturning. The variability in the Labrador Sea and the Nordic Seas convection is driven by decadal scale air-sea fluxes in the convective region that can be related to opposite phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The Labrador Sea convection is directly linked to the variability in AMOC. Linkages between convection and water mass transformation in the Nordic Seas are more indirect. The Scandinavian Pattern, the third mode of atmospheric variability in the North Atlantic, is a driver of the ocean’s poleward heat transport (PHT), the overall constraint on northern water mass transformation. Increased PHT is both associated with an increased water mass exchange across the GSR, and a stronger AMOC.     

AMOC variations in 1979–2008 simulated by NCEP operational ocean data assimilation system

Variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) between 1979 and 2008 are documented using the operational ocean analysis, the Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (GODAS), at the National Centers for Climate Prediction (NCEP). The maximum AMOC at 40°N is about 16?Sv in average with peak-to-peak variability of 3–4?Sv. The AMOC variations are dominated by an upward trend from 1980 to 1995, and a downward trend from 1995 to 2008. The maximum AMOC at 26.5°N is slightly weaker than hydrographic estimates and observations from mooring array. The dominant variability of the AMOC in 20°–65°N (the first EOF, 51% variance) is highly correlated with that in the subsurface temperature (the first EOF, 33% variance), and therefore, with density (the first EOF, 25% variance) in the North Atlantic, and is consistent with the observational estimates based on the World Ocean Database 2005. The dominant variabilities of AMOC and subsurface temperature are also analyzed in the context of possible links with the net surface heat flux, deep convection, western boundary current, and subpolar gyre. Variation in the net surface heat flux is further linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index which is found to lead AMOC variations by about 5?years. Our results indicate that AMOC variations can be documented based on an ocean analysis system such as GODAS.     

高纬度淡水强迫增强背景下大西洋经向翻转环流的响应及其机制

利用卑尔根海洋-大气-海冰耦合气候模式 (Bergen Climate Model, 简称BCM), 研究在北冰洋及北欧海淡水强迫增强的背景下, 大西洋经向翻转环流 (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, 简称AMOC) 的响应及其机制, 着重讨论了海表热力性质、 北大西洋深层水 (North Atlantic Deep Water, 简称NADW) 的生成率、 海洋内部等密度层间的垂直混合 (Diapycnal Mixing, 简称DM) 以及大气风场等物理过程随AMOC的响应所发生的时间演变特征.结果显示, 在持续150年增强 (强度为0.4 Sv) 的淡水强迫下 (淡水试验, FW1), AMOC的强度表现为前50年的快速减弱和在接下来100年中的逐渐恢复.同时, 在淡水试验的前50年北大西洋高纬度海表盐度 (Sea Surface Salinity, 简称SSS) 减小, 海水密度降低, 冬季对流混合减弱, 导致NADW生成率快速减弱; 在接下来的100年中, 尽管增强的淡水强迫依然维持, 由于海洋内部自身的调节和海气相互作用, 导致了AMOC的逐渐恢复.恢复机制可以概括为: (1) 随着向南的NADW的减少, 大西洋中低纬度海水垂直层结逐渐减弱, DM随之逐渐增强, 有利于中低纬度海盆内深层水的上升; (2) 南半球西风应力增强与东风应力的减弱及北半球东风的增强使得大西洋向北的埃克曼体积通量净传输恢复; (3) 大西洋向北的盐度传输逐渐恢复及次极地回旋区降水的减弱, 导致SSS和NADW生成率的恢复, 与之对应, AMOC逐渐恢复.研究还发现, 淡水试验中, NADW的恢复主要以厄尔明格海 (Irminger Sea) 为主, 冬季北大西洋海平面气压场 (SLP) 呈现类似正北大西洋涛动 (NAO+) 的模态, 热带降水中心移到赤道以南, 大西洋热带SSS增强.     

Decadal-timescale changes of the Atlantic overturning circulation and climate in a coupled climate model with a hybrid-coordinate ocean component

A wide range of statistical tools is used to investigate the decadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and associated key variables in a climate model (CHIME, Coupled Hadley-Isopycnic Model Experiment), which features a novel ocean component. CHIME is as similar as possible to the 3rd Hadley Centre Coupled Model (HadCM3) with the important exception that its ocean component is based on a hybrid vertical coordinate. Power spectral analysis reveals enhanced AMOC variability for periods in the range 15–30 years. Strong AMOC conditions are associated with: (1) a Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomaly pattern reminiscent of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) response, but associated with variations in a northern tropical-subtropical gradient; (2) a Surface Air Temperature anomaly pattern closely linked to SST; (3) a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like pattern; (4) a northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The primary mode of AMOC variability is associated with decadal changes in the Labrador Sea and the Greenland Iceland Norwegian (GIN) Seas, in both cases linked to the tropical activity about 15 years earlier. These decadal changes are controlled by the low-frequency NAO that may be associated with a rapid atmospheric teleconnection from the tropics to the extratropics. Poleward advection of salinity anomalies in the mixed layer also leads to AMOC changes that are linked to processes in the Labrador Sea. A secondary mode of AMOC variability is associated with interannual changes in the Labrador and GIN Seas, through the impact of the NAO on local surface density.     

Weakening AMOC connects Equatorial Atlantic and Pacific interannual variability

Observations indicate that since the 1970s Equatorial Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) variations in boreal summer tend to modulate El Niño in the following seasons, indicating that the Atlantic Ocean can have importance for predicting the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The cause of the change in the recent decades remains unknown. Here we show that in the Bergen Climate Model (BCM), a freshwater forced weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) results in a strengthening of the relation between the Atlantic and the Pacific similar to that observed since the 1970s. During the weakening AMOC phase, SST and precipitation increase in the central Equatorial Atlantic, while the mean state of the Pacific does not change significantly. In the Equatorial Atlantic the SST variability has also increased, with a peak in variability in boreal summer. In addition, the characteristic timescales of ENSO variability is shifted towards higher frequencies. The BCM version used here is flux-adjusted, and hence Atlantic variability is realistic in contrast to in many other models. These results indicate that in the BCM a weakening AMOC can change the mean background state of the Tropical Atlantic surface conditions, enhancing Equatorial Atlantic variability, and resulting in a stronger relationship between the Tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This in turn alters the variability in the Pacific.     

Revisiting effect of ocean diapycnal mixing on Atlantic meridional overturning circulation recovery in a freshwater perturbation simulation

The effects of ocean density vertical stratification and related ocean mixing on the transient response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation （AMOC） are examined in a freshwater perturbation simulation using the Bergen Climate Model （BCM）. The results presented here are based on the model outputs of a previous freshwater experiment： a 300-year control integration （CTRL）, a freshwater integration （FW1） which started after 100 years of running the CTRL with an artificially and continuously threefold increase in the freshwater flux to the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian （GIN） Seas and the Arctic Ocean throughout the following 150-year simulation. In FW1, the transient response of the AMOC exhibits an initial decreasing of about 6 Sv （1 Sv=106 m3 s^-1） over the first 50-year integration and followed a gradual recovery during the last 100-year integration. Our results show that the vertical density stratification as the crucial property of the interior ocean plays an important role for the transient responses of AMOC by regulating the convective and diapycnal mixings under the enhanced freshwater input to northern high latitudes in BCM in which the ocean diapycnal mixing is stratification-dependent. The possible mechanism is also investigated in this paper.     

一个灵活的海洋——大气耦合环流模式

Based on the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Climate System Model version 1(CSM-1), a Flexible coupled General Circulation Model version 0 (FGCM-0) is developed in this study through replacing CSM-1＇s oceanic component model with IAP L30T63 global oceanic general circulation model and some necessary modifications of the other component models. After the coupled model FGCM--0 is spun up for dozens of years, it has been run for 60 years without flux correction. The model does not only show the reasonable long-term mean climatology, but also reproduce a lot of features of the interannual variability of climate, e.g. the ENSO-like events in the tropical Pacific Ocean and the dipole mode pattern in the tropical Indian Ocean. Comparing FGCM-0 with the NCAR CSM-1, some common features are found, e.g. the overestimation of sea ice in the North Pacific and the simulated double ITCZ etc.The further analyses suggest that they may be attributed to errors in the atmospheric model.     

Stochastically-forced multidecadal variability in the North Atlantic: a model study

Observations show a multidecadal signal in the North Atlantic ocean, but the underlying mechanism and cause of its timescale remain unknown. Previous studies have suggested that it may be driven by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is the dominant pattern of winter atmospheric variability. To further address this issue, the global ocean general circulation model, Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO), is driven using a 2,000 years long white noise forcing associated with the NAO. Focusing on key ocean circulation patterns, we show that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and Sub-polar gyre (SPG) strength both have enhanced power at low frequencies but no dominant timescale, and thus provide no evidence for a oscillatory ocean-only mode of variability. Instead, both indices respond linearly to the NAO forcing, but with different response times. The variability of the AMOC at 30°N is strongly enhanced on timescales longer than 90 years, while that of the SPG strength starts increasing at 15 years. The different response characteristics are confirmed by constructing simple statistical models that show AMOC and SPG variability can be related to the NAO variability of the previous 53 and 10 winters, respectively. Alternatively, the AMOC and the SPG strength can be reconstructed with Auto-regressive (AR) models of order seven and five, respectively. Both statistical models reconstruct interannual and multidecadal AMOC variability well, while on the other hand, the AR(5) reconstruction of the SPG strength only captures multidecadal variability. Using these methods to reconstruct ocean variables can be useful for prediction and model intercomparision.     

Assessing the Stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation of the Past, Present, and Future

This paper is a review of the recent development of researches on the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation （AMOC）. In particular, we will review recent studies that attempt to best assess the stability of the AMOC in the past, present, and future by using a stability indicator related to the freshwater transport by the AMOC. These studies further illustrate a potentially systematic bias in the state-of-the-art atmosphere-ocean generM circulation models （AOCCMs）, in which the AMOCs seem to be over-stabilized relative to that in the real world. This common model bias in the AMOC stability is contributed, partly, to a common tropical bias associated with the double intertropical convergence zone （ITCZ） in most state-of-the- art AOGCMs, casting doubts on future projection of abrupt climate changes in these climate models.     

高纬度淡水强迫增强背景下大西洋经向翻转环流的响应及其机制

利用卑尔根海洋－大气－海冰耦合气候模式(Bergen Climate Model, 简称BCM), 研究在北冰洋及北欧海淡水强迫增强的背景下, 大西洋经向翻转环流(Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, 简称AMOC)的响应及其机制, 着重讨论了海表热力性质、北大西洋深层水 (North Atlantic Deep Water, 简称NADW) 的生成率、 海洋内部等密度层间的垂直混合 (Diapycnal Mixing, 简称DM) 以及大气风场等物理过程随AMOC的响应所发生的时间演变特征。结果显示, 在持续150年增强 (强度为0.4 Sv) 的淡水强迫下 (淡水试验, FW1), AMOC的强度表现为前50年的快速减弱和在接下来100年中的逐渐恢复。同时, 在淡水试验的前50年北大西洋高纬度海表盐度 (Sea Surface Salinity, 简称SSS) 减小, 海水密度降低, 冬季对流混合减弱, 导致NADW生成率快速减弱; 在接下来的100年中, 尽管增强的淡水强迫依然维持, 由于海洋内部自身的调节和海气相互作用, 导致了AMOC的逐渐恢复。恢复机制可以概括为: (1) 随着向南的NADW的减少, 大西洋中低纬度海水垂直层结逐渐减弱, DM随之逐渐增强, 有利于中低纬度海盆内深层水的上升; (2) 南半球西风应力增强与东风应力的减弱及北半球东风的增强使得大西洋向北的埃克曼体积通量净传输恢复; (3) 大西洋向北的盐度传输逐渐恢复及次极地回旋区降水的减弱, 导致SSS和NADW生成率的恢复, 与之对应, AMOC逐渐恢复。研究还发现, 淡水试验中, NADW的恢复主要以厄尔明格海 (Irminger Sea) 为主, 冬季北大西洋海平面气压场 (SLP) 呈现类似正北大西洋涛动 (NAO+) 的模态, 热带降水中心移到赤道以南, 大西洋热带SSS增强。     

Arctic Climate Changes Based on Historical Simulations (1900‒2013) with the CAMS-CSM

The Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences Climate System Model (CAMS-CSM) is a newly developed global climate model that will participate in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6. Based on historical simulations (1900?2013), we evaluate the model performance in simulating the observed characteristics of the Arctic climate system, which includes air temperature, precipitation, the Arctic Oscillation (AO), ocean temperature/salinity, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), snow cover, and sea ice. The model?data comparisons indicate that the CAMS-CSM reproduces spatial patterns of climatological mean air temperature over the Arctic (60°?90°N) and a rapid warming trend from 1979 to 2013. However, the warming trend is overestimated south of the Arctic Circle, implying a subdued Arctic amplification. The distribution of climatological precipitation in the Arctic is broadly captured in the model, whereas it shows limited skills in depicting the overall increasing trend. The AO can be reproduced by the CAMS-CSM in terms of reasonable patterns and variability. Regarding the ocean simulation, the model underestimates the AMOC and zonally averaged ocean temperatures and salinity above a depth of 500 m, and it fails to reproduce the observed increasing trend in the upper ocean heat content in the Arctic. The large-scale distribution of the snow cover extent (SCE) in the Northern Hemisphere and the overall decreasing trend in the spring SCE are captured by the CAMS-CSM, while the biased magnitudes exist. Due to the underestimation of the AMOC and the poor quantification of air–sea interaction, the CAMS-CSM overestimates regional sea ice and underestimates the observed decreasing trend in Arctic sea–ice area in September. Overall, the CAMS-CSM reproduces a climatological distribution of the Arctic climate system and general trends from 1979 to 2013 compared with the observations, but it shows limited skills in modeling local trends and interannual variability.     

A mechanism for Atlantic multidecadal variability in the Kiel Climate Model

Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV) is investigated in a millennial control simulation with the Kiel Climate Model (KCM), a coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea ice model. An oscillatory mode with approximately 60 years period and characteristics similar to observations is identified with the aid of three-dimensional temperature and salinity joint empirical orthogonal function analysis. The mode explains 30 % of variability on centennial and shorter timescales in the upper 2,000 m of the North Atlantic. It is associated with changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) of ±1–2 Sv and Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of ±0.2 °C. AMV in KCM results from an out-of-phase interaction between horizontal and vertical ocean circulation, coupled through Irminger Sea convection. Wintertime convection in this region is mainly controlled by salinity anomalies transported by the Subpolar Gyre (SPG). Increased (decreased) dense water formation in this region leads to a stronger (weaker) AMOC after 15 years, and this in turn leads to a weaker (stronger) SPG after another 15 years. The key role of salinity variations in the subpolar North Atlantic for AMV is confirmed in a 1,000 year long simulation with salinity restored to model climatology: No low frequency variations in convection are simulated, and the 60 year mode of variability is absent.     

Variability of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in FGOALS-g2简

The variability of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation （AMOC） in the pre-industrial control experiment of the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model, Grid-point Version 2 （FGOALS-g2） was investigated using the model outputs with the most stable state in a 512-yr time window from the total 1500-yr period of the experiment. The period of AMOC in FGOALS-g2 is double peaked at 20 and 32 years according to the power spectrum, and 22 years according to an auto-correlation analysis, which shows very obvious decadal variability. Like many other coupled climate models, the decadal variability of AMOC in FGOALS-g2 is closely related to the convection that occurs in the Labrador Sea region. Deep convection in the Labrador Sea in FGOALS-g2 leads the AMOC maximum by 3-4 years. The contributions of thermal and haline effects to the variability of the convection in three different regions [the Labrador, Irminger and Greenland-Iceland- Norwegian （GIN） Seas] were analyzed for FGOALS-g2. The variability of convection in the Labrador and Irminger Seas is thermally dominant, while that in the colder GIN Seas can be mainly attributed to salinity changes due to the lower thermal expansion. By comparing the simulation results from FGOALS-g2 and 11 other models, it was found that AMOC variability can be attributed to salinity changes for longer periods （longer than 35 years） and to temperature changes for shorter periods.     

Cold-season atmospheric response to the natural variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

The influence of the natural variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on the atmosphere is studied in multi-centennial simulations of six global climate models, using Maximum Covariance Analysis (MCA). In all models, a significant but weak influence of the AMOC changes is found during the Northern Hemisphere cold-season, when the ocean leads the atmosphere by a few years. Although the oceanic pattern slightly varies, an intensification of the AMOC is followed in all models by a weak sea level pressure response that resembles a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The signal amplitude is typically 0.5?hPa and explains about 10% of the yearly variability of the NAO in all models. The atmospheric response seems to be due primarily due to an increase of the heat loss along the North Atlantic Current and the subpolar gyre, associated with an AMOC-driven warming. Sea-ice changes appear to be less important. The stronger heating is associated to a southward shift of the lower-tropospheric baroclinicity and a decrease of the eddy activity in the North Atlantic storm track, which is consistent with the equivalent barotropic perturbation resembling the negative phase of the NAO. This study thus provides some evidence of an atmospheric signature of the AMOC in the cold-season, which may have some implications for the decadal predictability of climate in the North Atlantic region.     

Influences of tropical–extratropical interaction on the multidecadal AMOC variability in the NCEP climate forecast system

We have examined the mechanisms of a multidecadal oscillation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in a 335-year simulation of the Climate Forecast System (CFS), the climate prediction model developed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Both the mean and seasonal cycle of the AMOC in the CFS are generally consistent with observation-based estimates with a maximum northward volume transport of 16?Sv (10⁶?m³/s) near 35°N at 1.2?km. The annual mean AMOC shows an intermittent quasi 30-year oscillation. Its dominant structure includes a deep anomalous overturning cell (referred to as the anomalous AMOC) with amplitude of 0.6?Sv near 35°N and an anomalous subtropical cell (STC) of shallow overturning spanning across the equator. The mechanism for the oscillation includes a positive feedback between the anomalous AMOC and surface wind stress anomalies in mid-latitudes and a negative feedback between the anomalous STC and AMOC. A strong AMOC is associated with warm sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) centered near 45°N, which generates an anticyclonic easterly surface wind anomaly. This anticyclonic wind anomaly enhances the regional downwelling and reinforces the anomalous AMOC. In the mean time, a wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedback extends the warm SSTA to the tropics and induces a cyclonic wind stress anomaly there, which drives a tropical upwelling and weakens the STC north of the equator. The STC anomaly, in turn, drives a cold upper ocean heat content anomaly (HCA) in the northern tropical Atlantic and weakens the meridional heat transport from the tropics to the mid-latitude through an anomalous southward western boundary current. The anomalous STC transports cold HCA from the subtropics to the mid-latitudes, weakening the mid-latitude deep overturning.     

North Atlantic gyre circulation in PRIMAVERA models

We study the impact of horizontal resolution in setting the North Atlantic gyre circulation and representing the ocean–atmosphere interactions that modulate the low-frequency variability in the region. Simulations from five state-of-the-art climate models performed at standard and high-resolution as part of the High-Resolution Model Inter-comparison Project (HighResMIP) were analysed. In some models, the resolution is enhanced in the atmospheric and oceanic components whereas, in some other models, the resolution is increased only in the atmosphere. Enhancing the horizontal resolution from non-eddy to eddy-permitting ocean produces stronger barotropic mass transports inside the subpolar and subtropical gyres. The first mode of inter-annual variability is associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in all the cases. The rapid ocean response to it consists of a shift in the position of the inter-gyre zone and it is better captured by the non-eddy models. The delayed ocean response consists of an intensification of the subpolar gyre (SPG) after around 3 years of a positive phase of NAO and it is better represented by the eddy-permitting oceans. A lagged relationship between the intensity of the SPG and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is stronger in the cases of the non-eddy ocean. Then, the SPG is more tightly coupled to the AMOC in low-resolution models.

     

Interdecadal North-Atlantic meridional overturning circulation variability in EC-EARTH

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in a 600?years pre-industrial run of the newly developed EC-EARTH model features marked interdecadal variability with a dominant time-scale of 50–60?years. An oscillation of approximately 2 Sverdrup (1?Sv?=?10⁶?m³?s^?1) is identified, which manifests itself as a monopole causing the overturning to simultaneously strengthen (/weaken) and deepen (/shallow) as a whole. Eight years before the AMOC peaks, density in the Labrador-Irminger Sea region reaches a maximum, triggering deep water formation. This density change is caused by a counterclockwise advection of temperature and salinity anomalies at lower latitudes, which we relate to the north-south excursions of the subpolar-subtropical gyre boundary and variations in strength and position of the subpolar gyre and the North Atlantic Current. The AMOC fluctuations are not directly forced by the atmosphere, but occur in a delayed response of the ocean to forcing by the North Atlantic Oscillation, which initiates “intergyre”-gyre fluctuations. Associated with the AMOC is a 60-year sea surface temperature variability in the Atlantic, with a pattern and timescale showing similarities with the real-world Atlantic Multidecadal Variability. This good agreement with observations lends a certain degree of credibility that the mechanism that is described in this article could be seen as representative of the real climate system.