Journal ArticleDOI
On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation
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In this article, it is argued that the freshwater loss to the atmosphere arises mainly in the subtropical South Atlantic and is balanced by northward freshwater transport in the wind-driven sub-tropical gyre, while the thermohaline circulation transports freshwater southward.Abstract:
The 'conveyor belt' circulation of the Atlantic Ocean transports large amounts of heat northward, acting as a heating system for the northern North Atlantic region. It is widely thought that this circulation is driven by atmospheric freshwater export from the Atlantic catchment region, and that it transports freshwater northward to balance the loss to the atmosphere. Using results from a simple conceptual model and a global circulation model, it is argued here that the freshwater loss to the atmosphere arises mainly in the subtropical South Atlantic and is balanced by northward freshwater transport in the wind-driven subtropical gyre, while the thermohaline circulation transports freshwater southward. It is further argued that the direction of freshwater transport is closely linked to the dynamical regime and stability of the 'conveyor belt': if its freshwater transport is indeed southward, then its flow is purely thermally driven and inhibited by the freshwater forcing. In this case the circulation is not far from Stommel's saddle-node bifurcation, and a circulation state without NADW formation would also be stable.read more
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Atmospheric bridge, oceanic tunnel, and global climatic teleconnections
Zhengyu Liu,Michael A. Alexander +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review teleconnections within the atmosphere and ocean, their dynamics and their role in coupled climate variability, and discuss the timescales of several teleconnection processes.
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Observations, inferences, and mechanisms of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A review
Martha W. Buckley,John Marshall +1 more
TL;DR: A review about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), its mean structure, temporal variability, controlling mechanisms, and role in the coupled climate system can be found in this article.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Influence of Vegetation-Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction on Climate During the Mid-Holocene
TL;DR: The model results indicate strong synergistic effects of changes in vegetation cover, ocean temperature, and sea ice at boreal latitudes, but in the subtropics, the atmosphere-vegetation feedback is most important.
Journal ArticleDOI
Trajectory shifts in the Arctic and subarctic freshwater cycle.
Bruce J. Peterson,James W. McClelland,Ruth G. Curry,Robert M. Holmes,John Walsh,Knut Aagaard +5 more
TL;DR: The changes in freshwater inputs and ocean storage occurred in conjunction with the amplifying North Atlantic Oscillation and rising air temperatures, and fresh water may now be accumulating in the Arctic Ocean and will likely be exported southward if and when the North AtlanticOscillation enters into a new high phase.
Journal ArticleDOI
Indian‐Atlantic interocean exchange: Dynamics, estimation and impact
W. P. M. de Ruijter,Arne Biastoch,Sybren Drijfhout,Johann R. E. Lutjeharms,Ricardo P. Matano,T. Pichevin,P. van Leeuwen,Wilbert Weijer +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the interocean exchange around South Africa: the estimation of the fluxes into the South Atlantic from different types of observations, their present level of understanding of the exchanges dynamics and forcing, its representation in state-of-the-art models, and, finally, the impact of the Indian-Atlantic fluxes on regional and global scale both within the Atlantic Ocean and in interaction with the overlying atmosphere.
References
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Climatological atlas of the world ocean
TL;DR: A project to objectively analyze historical ocean temperature, salinity, oxygen, and percent oxygen saturation data for the world ocean has recently been completed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey.
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Climatological Atlas of the World Ocean
TL;DR: A project to objectively analyze historical ocean temperature, salinity, oxygen, and percent oxygen saturation data for the world ocean has recently been completed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey.
Journal ArticleDOI
Normal Monthly Wind Stress Over the World Ocean with Error Estimates
Sol Hellerman,Mel Rosenstein +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, wind and air-minus-sea temperatures are calculated in a form suitable for determining stress by any bulk aerodynamics model in which the drag coefficient can be represented by six or less coefficients of a second-degree polynomial in wind speed and stability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Interocean Exchange of Thermocline Water
TL;DR: In this paper, it is proposed that this return flow is accomplished primarily within the ocean's warm water thermocline layer, where the main thermoclines of the ocean are linked as they participate in a thermohaline-driven global scale circulation cell associated with NADW formation.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Great Ocean Conveyor
TL;DR: The ocean's conveyor appears to be driven by the salt left behind as the result of water-vapor transport through the atmosphere from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin this paper.
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