Abstract
A numerical model of the Atlantic Ocean was used to study the low-frequency variability of meridional transports in the North Atlantic. The model shows a behaviour similar to those used in previous studies, and the temporal variability of certain variables compares favourably to observed time series. By changing the depth and width of the sills between the subpolar North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas, the mean horizontal and overturning circulation as well as some water mass properties are modified significantly. The reaction of meridional oceanic transports to atmospheric forcing fluctuations remains, however, unchanged. The critical role of the surface heat flux retroaction term for the meridional heat transport in stand-alone ocean models is discussed. The experiments underline the role of atmospheric variability for fluctuations of the large-scale ocean circulation on time scales from years to decades, and they support the hypothesis that the mean overturning strength is controlled by the model representation of the density of the overflow water masses.
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Acknowledgments.
We acknowledge financial support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through HSP III, which made a stay of J.-O. Beismann at LEGI possible, during which a considerable part of this work was done. This work was part of the CLIPPER project, funded by grants from CNRS, IFREMER, CMO and CNES. Model simulations were run at the IDRIS computer center in Orsay, France. We are grateful to Jean-Marc Molines, who managed the CLIPPER models. Comments by two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the manuscript.
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Beismann, JO., Barnier, B. Variability of the meridional overturning circulation of the North Atlantic: sensitivity to overflows of dense water masses. Ocean Dynamics 54, 92–106 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-003-0088-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-003-0088-x