Interactions between the Arctic Mediterranean and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A Review

Weijer, Wilbert; Haine, Thomas W. N.; Siddiqui, Ali H.; Cheng, Wei; Veneziani, Milena; Kurtakoti, Prajvala

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2022.130

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…1). In the Nordic Seas, the warm Atlantic water is gradually transformed by atmospheric heat loss and freshwater input [2][3][4][5] , leading to the formation of dense overflow waters that form a substantial contribution to the lower limb of the AMOC [6][7][8] . The Nordic Seas are thus key to the state of the AMOC 9 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Future strengthening of the Nordic Seas overturning circulation

et al. 2023

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The overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas involves the transformation of warm Atlantic waters into cold, dense overflows. These overflow waters return to the North Atlantic and form the headwaters to the deep limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The Nordic Seas are thus a key component of the AMOC. However, little is known about the response of the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas to future climate change. Here we show using global climate models that, in contrast to the North Atlantic, the simulated density-space overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas increases throughout most of the 21st century as a result of enhanced horizontal circulation and a strengthened zonal density gradient. The increased Nordic Seas overturning is furthermore manifested in the overturning circulation in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic. A strengthened Nordic Seas overturning circulation could therefore be a stabilizing factor in the future AMOC.

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confidence: 99%

Future strengthening of the Nordic Seas overturning circulation

et al. 2023

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“…The connection between freshwater production at high latitudes and AMOC weakening has been made before (see [89] and references therein). But the reason usually given is that freshwater "caps the convective regions", preventing deep water formation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

The weakening AMOC under extreme climate change

Madan

Gjermundsen

Iversen

et al. 2023

Preprint

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We examine changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the quadrupled CO2 experiments conducted under the sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The increase in CO2 triggers extensive Arctic warming, causing widespread melting of sea ice. The resulting freshwater spreads southward, first from the Labrador Sea and then the Nordic Seas, and proceeds southward along the eastern coast of North America. The freshwater enters the subpolar gyre north of the separated Gulf Stream, decreasing the density contrast across the current. The current weakens in response, reducing the inflow to the deepwater production regions. The AMOC cell weakens in tandem, first near the North Atlantic Current and then spreading to higher and lower latitudes. This contrasts with the common perception that freshwater caps the convection regions stifling deep water production; rather, it is the inflow to the subpolar gyre which is suppressed. Changes in surface temperature have a much weaker effect, and there are no consistent changes in local or remote wind forcing among the models. Thus an increase in freshwater discharge, primarily from the Labrador Sea, is the precursor to AMOC weakening in these simulations.

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“…These diminished northward heat transports are associated with the weakened AMOC and altered ocean stratification (i.e., the upper limb of the climatological overturning carrying strongly cooled waters northward while the lower upper limb carrying less cooled or slightly warmed waters southward, Figure S4 in Supporting Information S1). The AMOC induced ocean cooling can even extend to the central Arctic at depths around 100 m, which reflects a notable AMOC effect on the Arctic Mediterranean (Wilbert Weĳer et al, 2022). To summarize, our results suggest that a weakened AMOC brings on a strong cooling of ocean waters in the upper 100 m in the subpolar Atlantic and the Atlantic sector of the Arctic, which facilitates the increase of ice on its bottom and minors the declining trend of Arctic sea ice during the past four decades.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Diminishes Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss

Lee,

Liu

2023

Geophysical Research Letters

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The Arctic sea ice has been rapidly dwindling over the past four decades, significantly impacting the Arctic region and beyond. During the same period, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) was also found in a declining trend. Here we investigate the role of the AMOC in the recent Arctic sea ice changes by comparing simulations from the Community Climate System Model version 4 with decelerated and stationary AMOCs under anthropogenic climate change. We find that the weakened AMOC can slow down the decline rates of Arctic sea ice area and volume by 36% and 22% between 1980 and 2020, respectively. The decelerated ocean circulation causes a reduction of northward Atlantic heat transport and hence a general interior ocean cooling in the Arctic Mediterranean, which helps alleviate the Arctic sea ice loss primarily through thermodynamic processes occurring at the base of the sea ice.

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Interactions between the Arctic Mediterranean and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A Review

Cited by 18 publications

References 78 publications

Future strengthening of the Nordic Seas overturning circulation

Future strengthening of the Nordic Seas overturning circulation

The weakening AMOC under extreme climate change

The Weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Diminishes Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss

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