Agulhas leakage dynamics affects decadal variability in Atlantic overturning circulation

A. Biastoch (), C. W. Böning and J. R. E. Lutjeharms
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A. Biastoch: Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
C. W. Böning: Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
J. R. E. Lutjeharms: University of Cape Town

Nature, 2008, vol. 456, issue 7221, 489-492

Abstract: Interocean exchange: south of Africa The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) mixes heat and salinity among ocean basins and between deep and shallow waters; global climate effects, including moderation of the climate of Western Europe, are extensive. Changes in the strength of the MOC could thus have dramatic impacts for local to regional climate change, but evidence for systematic changes is, to date, equivocal. Decadal variation in the MOC, though, is accepted and was thought to be largely controlled by freshwater inputs from the Labrador Sea. By analysing the differences between a coarse resolution ocean model and a model with a localized fine-resolution grid, Biastoch et al. show that the input of warm and salty water transferred around the southern tip of Africa — termed the Agulhas leakage — contributes significantly to variations in the strength of the MOC.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07426

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