Assessing the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation of the past, present, and future

This paper is a review of the recent development of researches on the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). In particular, we will review recent studies that attempt to best assess the stability of the AMOC in the past, present, and future by using a stability indicato...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Meteorological Research 2014-10, Vol.28 (5), p.803-819
Main Authors: Liu, Wei, Liu, Zhengyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Atmospheric Sciences
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Geophysics and Environmental Physics
Meteorology
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Summary:This paper is a review of the recent development of researches on the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). In particular, we will review recent studies that attempt to best assess the stability of the AMOC in the past, present, and future by using a stability indicator related to the freshwater transport by the AMOC. These studies further illustrate a potentially systematic bias in the state-of-the-art atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs), in which the AMOCs seem to be over-stabilized relative to that in the real world. This common model bias in the AMOC stability is contributed, partly, to a common tropical bias associated with the double intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in most state-of-the-art AOGCMs, casting doubts on future projection of abrupt climate changes in these climate models.
ISSN:2095-6037
2198-0934
DOI:10.1007/s13351-014-4006-6