Accessibility navigation


Historical reconstruction of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation from the ECMWF operational ocean reanalysis

Balmaseda, M. A., Smith, G. C., Haines, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2768-2374, Anderson, D., Palmer, T. N. and Vidard, A. (2007) Historical reconstruction of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation from the ECMWF operational ocean reanalysis. Geophysical Research Letters, 34. L23615. ISSN 0094-8276

[img]
Preview
Text - Published Version
· Please see our End User Agreement before downloading.

265kB

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

To link to this item DOI: 10.1029/2007GL031645

Abstract/Summary

A reconstruction of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) for the period 1959–2006 has been derived from the ECMWF operational ocean reanalysis. The reconstruction shows a wide range of time-variability, including a downward trend. At 26N, both the MOC intensity and changes in its vertical structure are in good agreement with previous estimates based on trans-Atlantic surveys. At 50N, the MOC and strength of the subpolar gyre are correlated at interannual time scales, but show opposite secular trends. Heat transport variability is highly correlated with the MOC but shows a smaller trend due to the warming of the upper ocean, which partially compensates for the weakening of the circulation. Results from sensitivity experiments show that although the time-varying upper boundary forcing provides useful MOC information, the sequential assimilation of ocean data further improves the MOC estimation by increasing both the mean and the time variability.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Environmental Systems Science Centre
ID Code:904
Additional Information:An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright (2007) American Geophysical Union.
Publisher:American Geophysical Union

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation