Open AccessModeling evidence for large, ENSO-driven interannual wintertime AMOC variability
Author(s) -
Kay Smith,
Lorenzo M. Polvani
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac1375
Subject(s) - climatology , el niño southern oscillation , environmental science , climate model , mode (computer interface) , general circulation model , north atlantic oscillation , climate change , geology , oceanography , computer science , operating system
Recently established North Atlantic ocean observing arrays, such as RAPID/MOCHA, have revealed a large degree of high-frequency variability in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Climate modeling studies of the AMOC, however, have traditionally focused on the low-frequency variability of the annual mean AMOC, with an emphasis on multi-decadal and longer time-scale variability. Thus, little is known about the sources of interannual wintertime, wind-driven AMOC variability. Analyzing the Community Earth System Model, we here show the existence of a robust leading mode of interannual variability in the wintertime AMOC that is distinct from the leading mode of the annual mean. We further show that this mode of variability is significantly linked to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation via the North Atlantic Oscillation.