Subpolar North Atlantic western boundary density anomalies and the Meridional Overturning Circulation

F. Li (), M. S. Lozier (), S. Bacon, A. S. Bower, S. A. Cunningham, M. F. Jong, B. deYoung, N. Fraser, N. Fried, G. Han, N. P. Holliday, J. Holte, L. Houpert, M. E. Inall, W. E. Johns, S. Jones, C. Johnson, J. Karstensen, I. A. Le Bras, P. Lherminier, X. Lin, H. Mercier, M. Oltmanns, A. Pacini, T. Petit, R. S. Pickart, D. Rayner, F. Straneo, V. Thierry, M. Visbeck, I. Yashayaev and C. Zhou
Additional contact information
F. Li: Xiamen University
M. S. Lozier: Georgia Institute of Technology
S. Bacon: National Oceanography Centre
A. S. Bower: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
S. A. Cunningham: Scottish Association for Marine Science
M. F. Jong: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
B. deYoung: Memorial University
N. Fraser: Scottish Association for Marine Science
N. Fried: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
G. Han: Institute of Ocean Sciences
N. P. Holliday: National Oceanography Centre
J. Holte: UCSD
L. Houpert: National Oceanography Centre
M. E. Inall: Scottish Association for Marine Science
W. E. Johns: University of Miami
S. Jones: Scottish Association for Marine Science
C. Johnson: Scottish Association for Marine Science
J. Karstensen: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
I. A. Le Bras: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
P. Lherminier: Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale
X. Lin: Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology
H. Mercier: Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale
M. Oltmanns: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
A. Pacini: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
T. Petit: Georgia Institute of Technology
R. S. Pickart: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
D. Rayner: National Oceanography Centre
F. Straneo: UCSD
V. Thierry: Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale
M. Visbeck: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
I. Yashayaev: Bedford Institute of Oceanography
C. Zhou: Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which have the potential to drive societally-important climate impacts, have traditionally been linked to the strength of deep water formation in the subpolar North Atlantic. Yet there is neither clear observational evidence nor agreement among models about how changes in deep water formation influence overturning. Here, we use data from a trans-basin mooring array (OSNAP—Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program) to show that winter convection during 2014–2018 in the interior basin had minimal impact on density changes in the deep western boundary currents in the subpolar basins. Contrary to previous modeling studies, we find no discernable relationship between western boundary changes and subpolar overturning variability over the observational time scales. Our results require a reconsideration of the notion of deep western boundary changes representing overturning characteristics, with implications for constraining the source of overturning variability within and downstream of the subpolar region.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23350-2

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