Large near-inertial oscillations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation - Université Pierre et Marie Curie Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Ocean Modelling Année : 2012

Large near-inertial oscillations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Résumé

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a key contributor to Europe's mild climate. Both observations and models suggest that the AMOC strength varies on a wide range of timescales. Here we show the existence of previously unreported large near inertial AMOC oscillations in a high resolution ocean model. Peak-to-peak these oscillations can exceed 50 Sv (50 * 106 m3 s-1) in one day. The AMOC oscillations are caused by equatorward propagating near-inertial gravity waves (NIGWs) which are forced by temporally changing wind forcing. The existence of NIGWs in the ocean is supported by observations, and a significant fraction of the ocean's kinetic energy is associated with the near inertial frequencies. Our results also suggest that the NIGW-driven MOC variability would be near invisible to contemporary AMOC observing systems such as the RAPID MOC system at 26.5°N.

Dates et versions

hal-00752851 , version 1 (16-11-2012)

Identifiants

Citer

Adam T. Blaker, Joël J.-M. Hirschi, Bablu Sinha, Beverly A. de Cuevas, Steven G. Alderson, et al.. Large near-inertial oscillations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Ocean Modelling, 2012, 42, pp.50-56. ⟨10.1016/J.OCEMOD.2011.11.008⟩. ⟨hal-00752851⟩
120 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More