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Hysteresis and Resilience of the AMOC in an Eddy‐Permitting GCM
Author(s) -
Jackson L. C.,
Wood R. A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2018gl078104
Subject(s) - advection , resilience (materials science) , climatology , gcm transcription factors , climate model , environmental science , hysteresis , geology , general circulation model , climate change , physics , oceanography , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
We show a quasi‐irreversible shutdown (hysteresis) of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in an unfluxadjusted global climate model with an eddy‐permitting ocean. This global climate model is a prototype of one submitted to the sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and is the most comprehensive model to show this behavior. The AMOC has a resilience timescale for a given hosing: If the hosing exceeds the critical hosing for collapse for only a limited time, the AMOC recovers when the hosing is stopped. Beyond the critical time, when the hosing stops the AMOC stays in a weak state with no recovery within 200 years. We show that simple, observable metrics such as AMOC strength and mixed layer depth can indicate whether this critical resilience time has passed and that the mechanism controlling the presence of recovery is a positive advective feedback.