Overlooked possibility of a collapsed Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in warming climate

2017/01/05 by Wei Liu, Shang‐Ping Xie, Zhengyu Liu +1 · 11 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Climate variability and models #Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/sciadv.1601666

openalex publication_date 2017/01/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

concentration is abruptly doubled from the 1990 level. Compared to an uncorrected model, the AMOC collapse brings about large, markedly different climate responses: a prominent cooling over the northern North Atlantic and neighboring areas, sea ice increases over the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian seas and to the south of Greenland, and a significant southward rain-belt migration over the tropical Atlantic. Our results highlight the need to develop dynamical metrics to constrain models and the importance of reducing model biases in long-term climate projection.

Citations

• Quantifying the AMOC feedbacks during a 2×CO2 stabilization experiment with land-ice melting
• Collapse and rapid resumption of Atlantic meridional circulation linked to deglacial climate changes
• A Reanalysis of Ocean Climate Using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA)
• South Atlantic overturning circulation at 24°S
• Response of Thermohaline Circulation to Freshwater Forcing under Present-Day and LGM Conditions
• On the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
• Ocean circulation and climate during the past 120,000 years
• Observations, inferences, and mechanisms of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A review

Cited by

• Stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A Review and Synthesis
• The evolution of the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation since 1980
• Shifts in national land use and food production in Great Britain after a climate tipping point
• Climate impacts of a weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in a warming climate
• Freshwater forcing of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation revisited
• Weakening Atlantic overturning circulation causes South Atlantic salinity pile-up
• Reduced ENSO Variability due to a Collapsed Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
• Interbasin and interhemispheric impacts of a collapsed Atlantic Overturning Circulation
• Ongoing AMOC and related sea-level and temperature changes after achieving the Paris targets
• Slow and soft passage through tipping point of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in a changing climate
• Atlantic meridional overturning circulation [wikipedia]