Articles | Volume 19, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-61-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-61-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Jan 2023
Research article |
| 09 Jan 2023
| 09 Jan 2023
Unraveling the mechanisms and implications of a stronger mid-Pliocene Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in PlioMIP2
Julia E. Weiffenbach
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Department of Physics, Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
Michiel L. J. Baatsen
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Department of Physics, Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
Henk A. Dijkstra
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Department of Physics, Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
Centre for Complex Systems Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CE Utrecht, the Netherlands
Anna S. von der Heydt
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Department of Physics, Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
Centre for Complex Systems Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CE Utrecht, the Netherlands
Ayako Abe-Ouchi
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, 277-8564, Japan
Esther C. Brady
Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Wing-Le Chan
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, 277-8564, Japan
Deepak Chandan
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1A7, Canada
Mark A. Chandler
CCSR/GISS, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025, USA
Camille Contoux
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Ran Feng
Department of Geosciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06033, USA
Chuncheng Guo
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, 5007 Bergen, Norway
Zixuan Han
College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 10691, Sweden
Alan M. Haywood
School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
National Supercomputer Centre, Linköping University, Linköping, 58183, Sweden
Xiangyu Li
Department of Atmospheric Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geoscience, Wuhan 430074, China
Gerrit Lohmann
Alfred-Wegener-Institut – Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung (AWI), 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Department of Environmental Physics, MARUM, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Daniel J. Lunt
School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
Kerim H. Nisancioglu
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway
Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics, University of Oslo, 0315 Oslo, Norway
Bette L. Otto-Bliesner
Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO 80305, USA
W. Richard Peltier
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1A7, Canada
Gilles Ramstein
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Linda E. Sohl
CCSR/GISS, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025, USA
Christian Stepanek
Alfred-Wegener-Institut – Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung (AWI), 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Ning Tan
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Julia C. Tindall
School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
Charles J. R. Williams
School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
NCAS-Climate, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, RG6 6ET Reading, UK
Qiong Zhang
Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 10691, Sweden
Zhongshi Zhang
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, 5007 Bergen, Norway
Department of Atmospheric Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geoscience, Wuhan 430074, China
Data sets
Sea surface temperature anomalies for Pliocene interglacial KM5c (PlioVAR) E. L. McClymont, H. L. Ford, S. L. Ho, M. Alonso-Garcia, I. Bailey, M. A. Berke, K. Littler, M. O. Patterson, B. F. Petrick, F. Peterse, A. C. Ravelo, B. Risebrobakken, S. De Schepper, G. E. A. Swann, K. Thirumalai, J. E. Tierney, C. van der Weijst, and S. White https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.911847
NOAA Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST), Version 5 B. Huang, P. W. Thorne, V. F. Banzon, T. Boyer, G. Chepurin, J. H. Lawrimore, M. J. Menne, T. M. Smith, R. S. Vose, and H.-M. Zhang https://doi.org/10.7289/V5T72FNM
Community sourced mid-{Piacenzian} sea surface temperature (SST) data: U.S. Geological Survey data release K. Foley and H. Dowsett https://doi.org/10.5066/P9YP3DTV
Model code and software
jweiffenbach/PlioMIP2-AMOC: v1.1 J. E. Weiffenbach https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7288756
Short summary
We study the behavior of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the mid-Pliocene. The mid-Pliocene was about 3 million years ago and had a similar CO2 concentration to today. We show that the stronger AMOC during this period relates to changes in geography and that this has a significant influence on ocean temperatures and heat transported northwards by the Atlantic Ocean. Understanding the behavior of the mid-Pliocene AMOC can help us to learn more about our future climate.
We study the behavior of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the...
