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Ocean science

Vagaries of Atlantic overturning

Nature Geoscience volume 9, pages 479–480 (2016)Cite this article

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A weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has emerged from noise after years of painstaking measurements. Three independent lines of evidence suggest that an anthropogenic influence on this overturning is not yet detectable.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is part of the pump that redistributes heat and freshwater over the globe. This redistribution can moderate climate. High-fidelity observations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) began in 2004, and have revealed a weakening trend as well as much variability. Such a decline in the overturning strength is thought to have the potential to affect the North Atlantic climate. A weakening AMOC is expected in response to anthropogenic climate forcing1, but it is unclear if the observed weakening is in fact linked to human activities. This matter is addressed by a trio of papers in Nature Geoscience2,3,4, which elucidate the character of the observed weakening of the AMOC, and the prospects for future change.

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Figure 1: Decadal trend reversals in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC).

NASA

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thomas W. N. Haine is in the department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA,

    Thomas W. N. Haine

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  1. Thomas W. N. Haine
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Correspondence to Thomas W. N. Haine.

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Haine, T. Vagaries of Atlantic overturning. Nature Geosci 9, 479–480 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2748

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