Stuart A. Cunningham

Bio: Stuart A. Cunningham is an academic researcher from Scottish Association for Marine Science. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thermohaline circulation & Ocean gyre. The author has an hindex of 35, co-authored 106 publications receiving 6638 citations. Previous affiliations of Stuart A. Cunningham include University of Southampton & National Oceanography Centre.

Temporal Variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N

Abstract: The vigor of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is thought to be vulnerable to global warming, but its short-term temporal variability is unknown so changes inferred from sparse observations on the decadal time scale of recent climate change are uncertain. We combine continuous measurements of the MOC (beginning in 2004) using the purposefully designed transatlantic Rapid Climate Change array of moored instruments deployed along 26.5°N, with time series of Gulf Stream transport and surface-layer Ekman transport to quantify its intra-annual variability. The year-long average overturning is 18.7 ± 5.6 sverdrups (Sv) (range: 4.0 to 34.9 Sv, where 1 Sv = a flow of ocean water of 106 cubic meters per second). Interannual changes in the overturning can be monitored with a resolution of 1.5 Sv.

Slowing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at 25° N

Abstract: The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation carries warm upper waters into far-northern latitudes and returns cold deep waters southward across the Equator. Its heat transport makes a substantial contribution to the moderate climate of maritime and continental Europe, and any slowdown in the overturning circulation would have profound implications for climate change. A transatlantic section along latitude 25° N has been used as a baseline for estimating the overturning circulation and associated heat transport. Here we analyse a new 25° N transatlantic section and compare it with four previous sections taken over the past five decades. The comparison suggests that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has slowed by about 30 per cent between 1957 and 2004. Whereas the northward transport in the Gulf Stream across 25° N has remained nearly constant, the slowing is evident both in a 50 per cent larger southward-moving mid-ocean recirculation of thermocline waters, and also in a 50 per cent decrease in the southward transport of lower North Atlantic Deep Water between 3,000 and 5,000 m in depth. In 2004, more of the northward Gulf Stream flow was recirculating back southward in the thermocline within the subtropical gyre, and less was returning southward at depth.

Transport and variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in Drake Passage

Abstract: The baroclinic transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) above 3000 m through Drake Passage is 107.3 ± 10.4 Sv and has been steady between 1975 and 2000. For six hydrographic sections (1993–2000) along the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) line SR1b, the baroclinic transport relative to the deepest common level is 136.7 ± 7.8 Sv. The ACC transport is carried in two jets, the Subantarctic Front 53 ± 10 Sv and the Polar Front (PF) 57.5 ± 5.7 Sv. Southward of the ACC the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current transports 9.3 ± 2.4 Sv. We observe the PF at two latitudes separated by 90 km. This bimodal distribution is related to changes in the circulation and properties of Antarctic Bottom Water. Three realizations of the instantaneous velocity field were obtained with lowered ADCPs. From these observations we obtain near-bottom reference velocities for transport calculations. Net transport due to these reference velocities ranges from -28 to 43 Sv, consistent with previous estimates of variability. The transport in density layers shows systematic variations due to seasonal heating in near-surface layers. Volume transport-weighted mean temperatures vary by 0.40°C from spring to summer; a seasonal variation in heat flux of about 0.22 PW. Finally, we review a series of papers from the International Southern Ocean Studies Program. The average yearlong absolute transport is 134 Sv, and the standard deviation of the average is 11.2 Sv; the error of the average transport is 15 to 27 Sv. We emphasize that baroclinic variability is an important contribution to net variability in the ACC.

Continuous, Array-Based Estimates of Atlantic Ocean Heat Transport at 26.5°N

Abstract: Continuous estimates of the oceanic meridional heat transport in the Atlantic are derived from the Rapid Climate Change–Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) and Heatflux Array (RAPID–MOCHA) observing system deployed along 26.5°N, for the period from April 2004 to October 2007. The basinwide meridional heat transport (MHT) is derived by combining temperature transports (relative to a common reference) from 1) the Gulf Stream in the Straits of Florida; 2) the western boundary region offshore of Abaco, Bahamas; 3) the Ekman layer [derived from Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) wind stresses]; and 4) the interior ocean monitored by “endpoint” dynamic height moorings. The interior eddy heat transport arising from spatial covariance of the velocity and temperature fields is estimated independently from repeat hydrographic and expendable bathythermograph (XBT) sections and can also be approximated by the array. The results for the 3.5 yr of data thus far available show a mean MHT of 1.33 ± 0.40 PW for 10-day-averaged estimates, on which time scale a basinwide mass balance can be reasonably assumed. The associated MOC strength and variability is 18.5 ± 4.9 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1). The continuous heat transport estimates range from a minimum of 0.2 to a maximum of 2.5 PW, with approximately half of the variance caused by Ekman transport changes and half caused by changes in the geostrophic circulation. The data suggest a seasonal cycle of the MHT with a maximum in summer (July–September) and minimum in late winter (March–April), with an annual range of 0.6 PW. A breakdown of the MHT into “overturning” and “gyre” components shows that the overturning component carries 88% of the total heat transport. The overall uncertainty of the annual mean MHT for the 3.5-yr record is 0.14 PW or about 10% of the mean value.

GFDL's CM2 global coupled climate models. Part I: Formulation and simulation characteristics

Abstract: The formulation and simulation characteristics of two new global coupled climate models developed at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) are described. The models were designed to simulate atmospheric and oceanic climate and variability from the diurnal time scale through multicentury climate change, given our computational constraints. In particular, an important goal was to use the same model for both experimental seasonal to interannual forecasting and the study of multicentury global climate change, and this goal has been achieved. Two versions of the coupled model are described, called CM2.0 and CM2.1. The versions differ primarily in the dynamical core used in the atmospheric component, along with the cloud tuning and some details of the land and ocean components. For both coupled models, the resolution of the land and atmospheric components is 2° latitude × 2.5° longitude; the atmospheric model has 24 vertical levels. The ocean resolution is 1° in latitude and longitude, wi...

Evaluation of climate models

Abstract: Climate models have continued to be developed and improved since the AR4, and many models have been extended into Earth System models by including the representation of biogeochemical cycles important to climate change. These models allow for policy-relevant calculations such as the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compatible with a specified climate stabilization target. In addition, the range of climate variables and processes that have been evaluated has greatly expanded, and differences between models and observations are increasingly quantified using ‘performance metrics’. In this chapter, model evaluation covers simulation of the mean climate, of historical climate change, of variability on multiple time scales and of regional modes of variability. This evaluation is based on recent internationally coordinated model experiments, including simulations of historic and paleo climate, specialized experiments designed to provide insight into key climate processes and feedbacks and regional climate downscaling. Figure 9.44 provides an overview of model capabilities as assessed in this chapter, including improvements, or lack thereof, relative to models assessed in the AR4. The chapter concludes with an assessment of recent work connecting model performance to the detection and attribution of climate change as well as to future projections.

A Reanalysis of Ocean Climate Using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA)

Abstract: This paper describes the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) reanalysis of ocean climate variability. In the assimilation, a model forecast produced by an ocean general circulation model with an average resolution of 0.25° 0.4° 40 levels is continuously corrected by contemporaneous observations with corrections estimated every 10 days. The basic reanalysis, SODA 1.4.2, spans the 44-yr period from 1958 to 2001, which complements the span of the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmospheric reanalysis (ERA-40). The observation set for this experiment includes the historical archive of hydrographic profiles supplemented by ship intake measurements, moored hydrographic observations, and remotely sensed SST. A parallel run, SODA 1.4.0, is forced with identical surface boundary conditions, but without data assimilation. The new reanalysis represents a significant improvement over a previously published version of the SODA algorithm. In particular, eddy kinetic energy and sea level variability are much larger than in previous versions and are more similar to estimates from independent observations. One issue addressed in this paper is the relative importance of the model forecast versus the observations for the analysis. The results show that at near-annual frequencies the forecast model has a strong influence, whereas at decadal frequencies the observations become increasingly dominant in the analysis. As a consequence, interannual variability in SODA 1.4.2 closely resembles interannual variability in SODA 1.4.0. However, decadal anomalies of the 0–700-m heat content from SODA 1.4.2 more closely resemble heat content anomalies based on observations.

Climate change projections using the IPSL-CM5 Earth System Model: From CMIP3 to CMIP5

Abstract: We present the global general circulation model IPSL-CM5 developed to study the long-term response of the climate system to natural and anthropogenic forcings as part of the 5th Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). This model includes an interactive carbon cycle, a representation of tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry, and a comprehensive representation of aerosols. As it represents the principal dynamical, physical, and bio-geochemical processes relevant to the climate system, it may be referred to as an Earth System Model. However, the IPSL-CM5 model may be used in a multitude of configurations associated with different boundary conditions and with a range of complexities in terms of processes and interactions. This paper presents an overview of the different model components and explains how they were coupled and used to simulate historical climate changes over the past 150 years and different scenarios of future climate change. A single version of the IPSL-CM5 model (IPSL-CM5A-LR) was used to provide climate projections associated with different socio-economic scenarios, including the different Representative Concentration Pathways considered by CMIP5 and several scenarios from the Special Report on Emission Scenarios considered by CMIP3. Results suggest that the magnitude of global warming projections primarily depends on the socio-economic scenario considered, that there is potential for an aggressive mitigation policy to limit global warming to about two degrees, and that the behavior of some components of the climate system such as the Arctic sea ice and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may change drastically by the end of the twenty-first century in the case of a no climate policy scenario. Although the magnitude of regional temperature and precipitation changes depends fairly linearly on the magnitude of the projected global warming (and thus on the scenario considered), the geographical pattern of these changes is strikingly similar for the different scenarios. The representation of atmospheric physical processes in the model is shown to strongly influence the simulated climate variability and both the magnitude and pattern of the projected climate changes.

Ocean Deoxygenation in a Warming World

Abstract: Ocean warming and increased stratification of the upper ocean caused by global climate change will likely lead to declines in dissolved O2 in the ocean interior (ocean deoxygenation) with implications for ocean productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, and marine habitat. Ocean models predict declines of 1 to 7% in the global ocean O2 inventory over the next century, with declines continuing for a thousand years or more into the future. An important consequence may be an expansion in the area and volume of so-called oxygen minimum zones, where O2 levels are too low to support many macrofauna and profound changes in biogeochemical cycling occur. Significant deoxygenation has occurred over the past 50 years in the North Pacific and tropical oceans, suggesting larger changes are looming. The potential for larger O2 declines in the future suggests the need for an improved observing system for tracking ocean O2 changes.