Journal Article

Global surface warming enhanced by weak Atlantic overturning circulation

Chen, Xianyao, Tung, Ka-Kit

2018

Overview

Evidence from palaeoclimatology suggests that abrupt Northern Hemisphere cold events are linked to weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) 1 , potentially by excess inputs of fresh water 2 . But these insights—often derived from model runs under preindustrial conditions—may not apply to the modern era with our rapid emissions of greenhouse gases. If they do, then a weakened AMOC, as in 1975–1998, should have led to Northern Hemisphere cooling. Here we show that, instead, the AMOC minimum was a period of rapid surface warming. More generally, in the presence of greenhouse-gas heating, the AMOC’s dominant role changed from transporting surface heat northwards, warming Europe and North America, to storing heat in the deeper Atlantic, buffering surface warming for the planet as a whole. During an accelerating phase from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, the AMOC stored about half of excess heat globally, contributing to the global-warming slowdown. By contrast, since mooring observations began 3 – 5 in 2004, the AMOC and oceanic heat uptake have weakened. Our results, based on several independent indices, show that AMOC changes since the 1940s are best explained by multidecadal variability 6 , rather than an anthropogenically forced trend. Leading indicators in the subpolar North Atlantic today suggest that the current AMOC decline is ending. We expect a prolonged AMOC minimum, probably lasting about two decades. If prior patterns hold, the resulting low levels of oceanic heat uptake will manifest as a period of rapid global surface warming. In preindustrial times, a weak Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation led to cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, but now it is predicted to cause accelerated global surface warming.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 704/106/35 / 704/106/694 / 704/829/2737 / Air pollution / Analysis / Anthropogenic factors / Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) / Climate change / Environmental aspects / Fresh water / Freshwater environments / Gas heating / Global warming / Greenhouse effect / Greenhouse gases / Heat / Humanities and Social Sciences / Letter / multidisciplinary / Northern Hemisphere / Ocean temperature / Oceans / Paleoclimatology / Salinity / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Surface temperature / Thermohaline circulation / Water circulation