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。     

耦合模式FGOALS-s2模拟的大西洋经圈翻转环流（AMOC）的年代际变率

利用中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室（LASG/IAP）发展的耦合的气候系统模式FGOALS-s2工业革命前控制试验结果研究了大西洋经向翻转流（Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation,AMOC）的年代际变率及其物理机制。传统AMOC是利用深度坐标下的质量流函数来表征,本文通过对密度坐标下49.5°N的AMOC指数与其余纬度的AMOC指数作相关分析,发现AMOC的变化有从深水形成区向南传播的过程,且密度坐标下的AMOC变率在北大西洋高纬度明显大于低纬度。分析进一步表明,模式模拟的AMOC具有年代际振荡,周期约为70年。这个低频振荡主要是由与AMOC变化相关的温度和盐度的变化与海表风场之间的相互作用引起,具体机制如下:格陵兰-冰岛-挪威海有异常强的海表风场,导致蒸发增强,继而使海表盐度增加,深水形成增多,从而使AMOC增强。AMOC加强后,会使得向北的热量和盐度输送增加,减弱此处的经向温度梯度,风场随之减弱,从而完成位相的反转。     

北大西洋高纬度海区湍流热通量对全球增暖的响应

大西洋经向翻转环流(the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation,AMOC)由低纬输送大量热量至高纬度北大西洋海区,并通过热通量由海洋输送给大气,主导了附近区域的气候形态,并对北半球尺度的气候变化产生显著影响。本文根据CMIP5多模式多增暖情景的预估模拟结果,通过与增暖前控制试验的对比发现,全球增暖可导致该海区湍流热通量的减小,且减小的幅度随增暖强度增大,模拟结果与观测一致。进一步研究发现,热通量的减小存在季节差异,冬季的减小幅度远大于夏季。结合淡水扰动试验的分析表明,全球增暖下AMOC强度的减弱导致大西洋经向热输送减少,进而导致高纬度北大西洋海洋向大气的热输送减小。     

潮汐混合对大西洋经圈翻转环流(AMOC)模拟影响的数值模拟研究

海洋中的潮汐混合对大西洋经圈翻转环流AMOC(Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation)模拟的影响是海洋环流模式研究的热点问题之一。本文采用IAP/LASG发展的气候系统海洋模式LICOM(LASG/IAP Climate system Ocean Model)及与海冰耦合模式进行了有无潮汐混合方案的试验,重点探讨了潮汐混合对AMOC强度模拟的影响。结果显示,引入潮汐混合后模拟的AMOC强度极大值比对照试验增加约1倍,更接近RAPID(Rapid Climate Change Programme)观测。而且,潮汐混合试验中模拟的AMOC上层环流深度(3200 m)比对照试验加深1000 m左右,同样更接近RAPID观测。海洋底部的垂直混合增强,使海洋层结变得更加不稳定,加强了北大西洋高纬地区,特别是拉布拉多海等地区的深对流,这是AMOC加强的直接原因。同时,潮汐混合试验中上层海洋环流也加强,增加了中低纬副热带高盐海水向高纬输送,使表层增密,海洋层结更加不稳定,也可以进一步增强AMOC。     

耦合模式FGOALS-g2中大西洋经向翻转流对3个典型浓度路径的响应

利用2个关于大西洋经向翻转流(Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation,AMOC)的指数:AMOC指数(15oN~65oN、深度为500 m以下的AMOC的最大值)和AMOC扩展指数(15oN~65oN、深度为2000~2500m的AMOC的最大值),研究了耦合模式FGOALS-g2(Grid-point Version 2 of Flexible Global Ocean-AtmosphereLand System Model)中的AMOC在CMIP5(Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5)的3个典型浓度路径(Representation Concentration Pathways,RCP)(RCP2.6、RCP4.5和RCP8.5分别对应于2100年时490、650和1370 ppm的CO2浓度水平)下的响应问题,发现:在RCP2.6和RCP4.5浓度路径下,2006~2040年时间段内AMOC指数和AMOC扩展指数都呈现快速下降的趋势,2041~2100年时间段内AMOC指数逐渐恢复,AMOC扩展指数基本维持不变;在RCP8.5浓度路径下,2006~2100年时间段内AMOC指数和AMOC扩展指数都表现出快速下降的趋势。通过分析FGOALS-g2中北大西洋深水的成因发现:3个典型浓度路径下AMOC的长期变化趋势主要受到GIN(Greenland–Iceland–Norwegian)海域的深水形成率的调控,而AMOC的年代际尺度的变化则主要受到Labrador海域深水形成率的控制。同时揭示了:由于北大西洋2000 m深度附近的层结稳定性在RCP2.6和RCP4.5下(相比于1980~2005年)提高了30%~40%,使得由AMOC指数恢复产生的深水无法继续下沉,从而导致AMOC扩展指数没有出现恢复的现象。     

全新世北大西洋冷事件

对北大西洋冷事件的研究至今不过10a左右,这个问题之所以令人关注,主要是因为它一,能反映了北大西洋经向翻转环流（MOC）的强度变化。MOC足全球热盐环流（THC）的重要组成部分。发生冷事件时,北大西洋表层为融冰淡水所控制,这抑制了北大西洋深水（NADW）的形成,使得MOC减弱,向北输送的热量大为减少,给欧洲带来冷干气候。近年来对北大西洋冷事件有了比较详细的了解,得到了较为一致的年表。     

Freshening biases in the freshwater flux of CORE data

CORE.v2是单独海洋环流模式常用的强迫场,其微弱的偏差会造成模拟结果巨大的差异。因此,本文使用单独的海洋环流模式LICOM2.0对CORE.v2的强迫场进行了验证。结果表明,在北大西洋和太平洋的副热带区域的淡水通量有使海表盐度变淡的偏差的作用,这可能是由于CORE.v2中的弱的表面风,强的比湿或者过多的降水所造成的。另外,在北大西洋高纬度区域的海表盐度变淡的偏差主要是与海洋动力学过程有关而非强迫场所造成的。     

热带北大西洋海温异常对南海夏季风的影响及其机理

利用HadiSST资料、CMAP降水资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,分析了热带北大西洋(Northern Tropical Atlantic,NTA)海表温度异常(Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly,SSTA)与南海夏季风(South China Sea Summer Monsoon,SCSSM)的联系及可能机制。观测分析表明,夏季NTA海温异常与SCSSM存在显著的负相关关系;NTA海温正异常时,北半球副热带东太平洋至大西洋区域存在气旋式环流异常,有利于热带大西洋(热带中太平洋)地区产生异常上升(下沉)运动,使得西北太平洋地区出现反气旋环流异常,该反气旋环流异常西侧的南风异常使得SCSSM增强。利用春季NTA指数、东南印度洋海温异常指数、北太平洋海温异常指数、南太平洋经向模(South Pacific Ocean Meridional Dipole,SPOMD)及Niňo3.4指数构建了SCSSM季节预测模型,预测模型后报与观测的SCSSM指数的相关系数为0.81,表明该模型可较好预测SCSSM。     

北大西洋海温异常影响中东急流的观测分析和数值试验

采用1968—2009年的NOAA Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature(ERSST)资料、逐月NCEP/NCAR再分析资料以及改进的NCAR CAM3模式,分析了前期12月北大西洋海温异常对1月中东急流的影响。观测分析和数值试验结果表明,前期12月北大西洋关键区海温异常对1月中东急流具有重要影响,当前期12月北大西洋关键区海温为正（负）异常时,1月中东急流减弱（加强）;前期12月北大西洋关键区海温异常通过激发下游地区的异常大气波列来影响1月中东急流的变化。      

北大西洋涛动指数变化与北半球冬季阻塞活动

线性回归分析表明北大西洋涛动(NAO)主要与大西洋、欧洲及乌拉尔山地区阻塞的频率和强度的变化存在显著相关关系.在NAO负位相时期阻塞活动在大西洋地区较为频繁且强度较强,正位相时期大西洋地区阻塞活动减少,强度减弱,而欧洲阻塞加强,频率增加,同时乌拉尔山地区的阻塞活动也显著减少.NAO正指数的增强和减弱对应于大西洋和欧洲阻...     

Tropical versus high latitude freshwater influence on the Atlantic circulation

We investigate the model sensitivity of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) to anomalous freshwater flux in the tropical and northern Atlantic. Forcing in both locations leads to the same qualitative response: a positive freshwater anomaly induces a weakening of the AMOC and a negative freshwater anomaly strengthens the AMOC. Strong differences arise in the temporal characteristics and amplitude of the response. The advection of the tropical anomaly up to the deep water formation area leads to a time delayed response compared to a northern forcing. Thus, in its transient response, the AMOC is less sensitive to a constant anomalous freshwater flux in the tropics than in the north. This difference decreases with time and practically vanishes in equilibrium with constant freshwater forcing. The equilibrium response of the AMOC shows a non-linear dependence on freshwater forcing in both locations, with a stronger sensitivity to positive freshwater forcing. As a consequence, competitive forcing in both regions is balanced when the negative forcing is about 1.5 times larger than the positive forcing. The relaxation time of the AMOC after termination of a freshwater perturbation depends significantly on the AMOC strength itself. A strong overturning exhibits a faster relaxation to its unperturbed state. By means of a set of complementary experiments (pulse-perturbations, constant and stochastic forcing) we quantify these effects and discuss the corresponding time scales and physical processes.     

Variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in the last millennium and two IPCC scenarios

The variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is investigated in several climate simulations with the ECHO-G atmosphere-ocean general circulation model, including two forced integrations of the last millennium, one millennial-long control run, and two future scenario simulations of the twenty-first century. This constitutes a new framework in which the AMOC response to future climate change conditions is addressed in the context of both its past evolution and its natural variability. The main mechanisms responsible for the AMOC variability at interannual and multidecadal time scales are described. At high frequencies, the AMOC is directly responding to local changes in the Ekman transport, associated with three modes of climate variability: El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the East Atlantic (EA) pattern. At low frequencies, the AMOC is largely controlled by convection activity south of Greenland. Again, the atmosphere is found to play a leading role in these variations. Positive anomalies of convection are preceded in 1?year by intensified zonal winds, associated in the forced runs to a positive NAO-like pattern. Finally, the sensitivity of the AMOC to three different forcing factors is investigated. The major impact is associated with increasing greenhouse gases, given their strong and persistent radiative forcing. Starting in the Industrial Era and continuing in the future scenarios, the AMOC experiences a final decrease of up to 40% with respect to the preindustrial average. Also, a weak but significant AMOC strengthening is found in response to the major volcanic eruptions, which produce colder and saltier surface conditions over the main convection regions. In contrast, no meaningful impact of the solar forcing on the AMOC is observed. Indeed, solar irradiance only affects convection in the Nordic Seas, with a marginal contribution to the AMOC variability in the ECHO-G runs.     

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.     

Revisiting meridional overturing bistability using a minimal set of state variables: stochastic theory

A stochastic analytical model of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is presented and tested against climate model data. AMOC stability is characterised by an underlying deterministic differential equation describing the evolution of the central state variable of the system, the average Atlantic salinity. Stability of an equilibrium implies that infinitesimal salinity perturbations are damped, and violation of this requirement yields a range of unoccupied salinity states. The range of states is accurately predicted by the analytical model for a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity. The introduction of climatic noise yields an equation describing the evolution of the probability density function of the state variable, and therefore the AMOC. Given the hysteresis behaviour of the steady AMOC versus surface freshwater forcing, the statistical model is able to describe the variability of the AMOC based on knowledge of the variability in the forcing. The method accurately describes the wandering between AMOC-On and AMOC-Off states in the climate model. The framework presented is a first step in relating the stability of the AMOC to more observable aspects of its behaviour, such as its transient response to variable forcing.     

Sensitivity of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to South Atlantic freshwater anomalies

The sensitivity of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to changes in basin integrated net evaporation is highly dependent on the zonal salinity contrast at the southern border of the Atlantic. Biases in the freshwater budget strongly affect the stability of the AMOC in numerical models. The impact of these biases is investigated, by adding local anomaly patterns in the South Atlantic to the freshwater fluxes at the surface. These anomalies impact the freshwater and salt transport by the different components of the ocean circulation, in particular the basin-scale salt-advection feedback, completely changing the response of the AMOC to arbitrary perturbations. It is found that an appropriate dipole anomaly pattern at the southern border of the Atlantic Ocean can collapse the AMOC entirely even without a further hosing. The results suggest a new view on the stability of the AMOC, controlled by processes in the South Atlantic.     

The role of meltwater-induced subsurface ocean warming in regulating the Atlantic meridional overturning in glacial climate simulations

The Community Climate System Model version 3, (CCSM3) is used to investigate the effect of the high latitude North Atlantic subsurface ocean temperature response in idealized freshwater hosing experiments on the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The hosing experiments covered a range of input magnitudes at two locations in a glacial background state. Subsurface subpolar ocean warms when freshwater is added to the high latitude North Atlantic (NATL cases) and weakly cools when freshwater is added to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM cases). All cases show subsurface ocean warming in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The sensitivity of the AMOC response to the location and magnitude of hosing is related to the induced subsurface temperature response, which affects the magnitude of the large-scale meridional pressure gradient at depth through the effect on upper ocean density. The high latitude subsurface warming induced in the NATL cases lowers the upper ocean density in the deepwater formation region enhancing a density reduction by local freshening. In the GOM cases the effect of SH warming partially offsets the effect of the high latitude freshening on the meridional density gradient. Following the end of hosing, a brief convective event occurs in the largest NATL cases which flushes some of the heat stored in the subsurface layers. This fuels a rapid rise in AMOC that lasts less than a couple of decades before subsequent freshening from increases in precipitation and sea ice melt reverses the initial increase in the meridional density gradient. Thereafter AMOC recovery slows to the rate found in comparable GOM cases. The result for these glacial transient hosing experiments is that the pace of the longer recovery is not sensitive to location of the imposed freshwater forcing.     

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.     

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.     

Potential role of Atlantic Warm Pool-induced freshwater forcing in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: ocean–sea ice model simulations

Recent studies have indicated that the multidecadal variations of the Atlantic Warm Pool (AWP) can induce a significant freshwater change in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean. In this paper, the potential effect of the AWP-induced freshwater flux on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is studied by performing a series of ocean–sea ice model experiments. Our model experiments demonstrate that ocean response to the anomalous AWP-induced freshwater flux is primarily dominated by the basin-scale gyre circulation adjustments with a time scale of about two decades. The positive (negative) freshwater anomaly leads to an anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulation overlapping the subtropical gyre. This strengthens (weakens) the Gulf Stream and the recirculation in the interior ocean, thus increases warm (cold) water advection to the north and decreases cold (warm) water advection to the south, producing an upper ocean temperature dipole in the midlatitude. As the freshwater (salty water) is advected to the North Atlantic deep convection region, the AMOC and its associated northward heat transport gradually decreases (increases), which in turn lead to an inter-hemispheric SST seesaw. In the equilibrium state, a comma-shaped SST anomaly pattern develops in the extratropical region, with the largest amplitude over the subpolar region and an extension along the east side of the basin and into the subtropical North Atlantic. Based on our model experiments, we argue that the multidecadal AWP-induced freshwater flux can affect the AMOC, which plays a negative feedback role that acts to recover the AMOC after it is weakened or strengthened. The sensitivity of AMOC response to the AWP-induced freshwater forcing amplitude is also examined and discussed.