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| Titel |
The global ocean circulation on a retrograde rotating earth |
| VerfasserIn |
V. Kamphuis, S. E. Huisman, H. A. Dijkstra |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1814-9324
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Climate of the Past ; 7, no. 2 ; Nr. 7, no. 2 (2011-05-09), S.487-499 |
| Datensatznummer |
250004512
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/cp-7-487-2011.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| To understand the three-dimensional ocean circulation patterns that have
occurred in past continental geometries, it is crucial to study the role of
the present-day continental geometry and surface (wind stress and buoyancy)
forcing on the present-day global ocean circulation. This circulation, often
referred to as the Conveyor state, is characterised by an Atlantic Meridional
Overturning Circulation (MOC) with a deep water formation at northern latitudes
and the absence of such a deep water formation in the North Pacific. This MOC
asymmetry is often attributed to the difference in surface freshwater flux:
the Atlantic as a whole is a basin with net evaporation, while the Pacific
receives net precipitation. This issue is revisited in this paper by
considering the global ocean circulation on a retrograde rotating earth,
computing an equilibrium state of the coupled atmosphere-ocean-land
surface-sea ice model CCSM3. The Atlantic-Pacific asymmetry in surface
freshwater flux is indeed reversed, but the ocean circulation pattern is not
an Inverse Conveyor state (with deep water formation in the North Pacific) as
there is relatively weak but intermittently strong deep water formation in the North
Atlantic. Using a fully-implicit, global ocean-only model the stability
properties of the Atlantic MOC on a retrograde rotating earth are
also investigated, showing a similar regime of multiple equilibria as in the
present-day case. These results indicate that the present-day
asymmetry in surface freshwater flux is not the most important
factor setting the Atlantic-Pacific salinity difference and, thereby, the
asymmetry in the global MOC. |
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