A sea change in our view of overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic

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Lozier, MS, Li, F, Bacon, S, Bahr, F, Bower, AS, Cunningham, SA, de Jong, MF, de Steur, L, deYoung, B, Fischer, J et al (show 28 more authors) , Gary, SF, Greenan, BJW, Holliday, NP, Houk, A, Houpert, L, Inall, ME, Johns, WE, Johnson, HL, Johnson, C, Karstensen, J, Koman, G, Le Bras, IA, Lin, X, Mackay, N, Marshall, DP, Mercier, H, Oltmanns, M, Pickart, RS, Ramsey, AL, Rayner, D, Straneo, F, Thierry, V, Torres, DJ, Williams, RG, Wilson, C ORCID: 0000-0003-0891-2912, Yang, J, Yashayaev, I and Zhao, J (2019) A sea change in our view of overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic SCIENCE, 363 (6426). pp. 516-521. ISSN 0036-8075, 1095-9203

Text OSNAP submission to Science July 2018.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (1MB)

Abstract

To provide an observational basis for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections of a slowing Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the 21st century, the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP) observing system was launched in the summer of 2014. The first 21-month record reveals a highly variable overturning circulation responsible for the majority of the heat and freshwater transport across the OSNAP line. In a departure from the prevailing view that changes in deep water formation in the Labrador Sea dominate MOC variability, these results suggest that the conversion of warm, salty, shallow Atlantic waters into colder, fresher, deep waters that move southward in the Irminger and Iceland basins is largely responsible for overturning and its variability in the subpolar basin.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	4012 Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering, 3708 Oceanography, 40 Engineering, 37 Earth Sciences, 13 Climate Action
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	21 Feb 2019 11:04
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2025 03:51
DOI:	10.1126/science.aau6592
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3032519
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