Sensitivity of thermohaline circulation to decadal and multidecadal variability

Sensitivity of thermohaline circulation to decadal and multidecadal variability

In this paper, stochastic freshwater inputs with different variabilities are introduced into an Earth Model of Intermediate Complexity to study their effect on the behaviour of the thermohaline circulation (THC). The variability in the stochastic signal was set to be either decadal or multidecadal (70 years), based on intensity modulation of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. T...

15 Decadal Variability of the Thermohaline Ocean Circulation

Decadal Variability in Coupled Sea-Ice–Thermohaline Circulation Systems*

An interdecadal oscillation in a coupled ocean–ice system was identified in a previous study. This paper extends that study to further examine the stability of the oscillation and the sensitivity of its frequency to various parameters and forcing fields. Three models are used: (i) an analytical box model; (ii) a two-dimensional model for the ocean thermohaline circulation (THC) coupled to a the...

Decadal to multidecadal variability and the climate change background

[1] Three prominent quasi-global patterns of variability and change are observed using the Met Office’s sea surface temperature (SST) analysis and almost independent night marine air temperature analysis. The first is a global warming signal that is very highly correlated with global mean SST. The second is a decadal to multidecadal fluctuation with some geographical similarity to the El Niño–S...

On Multidecadal and Quasi-Decadal North Atlantic Variability

Observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Atlantic from 1958 through 2000, as well as data from an ocean model simulation driven with the atmospheric variability observed during the same period, are examined using multichannel singular spectrum analysis. The two leading oscillatory modes are associated with a multidecadal and a quasi-decadal period. The former is connected to a basi...