scholarly journals Pacific Subtropical Cell variability in the SODA 2.0.2/3 assimilation

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich A. Schott ◽  
Lothar Stramma ◽  
Weiqiang Wang ◽  
Benjamin S. Giese ◽  
Rainer Zantopp
Keyword(s):  
Subtropical Cell

How volcanism impact on the variability of the South American Monsoon System and the associated Atlantic Subtropical Cell

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sobral Verona ◽  
Ilana Wainer ◽  
Myriam Khodri
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
The South ◽  
Climatic Feature ◽  
Monsoon System ◽  
Convergence Zones ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Subtropical Cell

<p>Large volcanic eruptions can affect the global climate through changes in atmospheric and ocean circulation. Understanding the influence of volcanic eruptions on the hydroclimate over monsoon regions is of great scientific and social importance. The South America Monsoon System (SAMS) is the most important climatic feature of the continent. Both the Intertropical and the South Atlantic wind convergence zones (ITCZ and SACZ, respectively) are fundamental components of the SAMS. They show variations on a broad range of scales, dependent on complex multi-system interactions with the adjacent Atlantic Ocean and teleconnections. Also driven by the winds, the Atlantic Subtropical Cell (STC) is the link between the subduction zone in the subtropical gyre with the tropics. Hence, the STC influence equatorial sea surface temperature variability on interannual to decadal scales in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. In order to improve our understanding of the responses of the ocean-atmosphere system to the volcanic forcing, we aim to identify the dominant mechanisms of seasonal-to-interdecadal variability of the SAMS and the Atlantic STC after large Pinatubo-like (1991) and Tambora-like (1815) eruptions relying on the VolMIP model intercomparison project experiments.</p>

scholarly journals Variability of Upper Pacific Ocean Overturning in a Coupled Climate Model

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 666-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Merryfield ◽  
George J. Boer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Tropical Pacific Ocean ◽  
Coupled Climate Model ◽  
Subtropical Cell

Abstract Variability of subtropical cell (STC) overturning in the upper Pacific Ocean is examined in a coupled climate model in light of large observed changes in STC transport. In a 1000-yr control run, modeled STC variations are smaller than observed, but correlate in a similar way with low-frequency ENSO-like variability. In model runs that include anthropogenically forced climate change, STC pycnocline transports decrease progressively under the influence of global warming, attaining reductions of 8% by 2000 and 46% by 2100. Although the former reduction is insufficient to fully account for the apparent observed decline in STC transport over recent decades, it does suggest that global warming may have contributed to the observed changes. Analysis of coupled model results shows that STC transports play a significant role in modulating tropical Pacific Ocean heat content, and that such changes are dominated by anomalous currents advecting mean temperature, rather than by advection of temperature anomalies by mean currents.

scholarly journals Ventilation time scales of the North Atlantic subtropical cell revealed by coral radiocarbon from the Cape Verde Islands

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 938-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro Fernandez ◽  
Thomas J. Lapen ◽  
Rasmus Andreasen ◽  
Peter K. Swart ◽  
Christopher D. White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Cape Verde Islands ◽  
Ventilation Time ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Subtropical Cell

scholarly journals Tropical Oceanic Response to Extratropical Thermal Forcing in a Coupled Climate Model: A Comparison between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans*

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 3850-3866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijun Yang ◽  
Lu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Change ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Coupled Climate Model ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Oceanic Response ◽  
Extratropical Forcing ◽  
Subtropical Cell

Abstract The tropical oceanic response to the extratropical thermal forcing is quantitatively estimated in a coupled climate model. This work focuses on comparison of the responses between the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. Under the same extratropical forcing, the tropical sea surface temperature responses are comparable. However, the responses in the tropical subsurface in the two oceans are distinct. The tropical subsurface response in the Atlantic can be twice of that in the Pacific. The maximum subsurface temperature change in the tropical Pacific occurs in the eastern lower thermocline, while that in the tropical Atlantic occurs in the west and well below the lower thermocline. The different responses in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific are closely related to the different changes in the meridional overturning circulations. The Pacific shallow overturning circulation, or the subtropical cell, tends to slow down (speed up) in response to the extratropical warming (cooling) forcing. The changes in the upwelling in the eastern equatorial Pacific as well as the shallow subduction from the extratropical southern Pacific along the eastern boundary are accountable for the eastern Pacific temperature change. The Atlantic overturning circulation consists of the shallow subtropical cell and the deep thermohaline circulation. A weakened thermohaline circulation will result in a strengthened northern subtropical cell, in which the change in the lower branch, or the low-latitude North Brazil Current, can cause strong response below the western tropical thermocline. Here the coastal Kelvin wave along the western boundary on the intermediate isopycnal level also plays an important role in the equatorward conveying of the climate anomalies in the mid-to-high-latitude Atlantic, particularly during the initial stage of the extratropical forcing.

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