Effect of increasing Arctic river runoff on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation:a model study

SHU Qi; QIAO Fangli; SONG Zhenya; XIAO Bin

doi:10.1007/s13131-017-1009-z

Volume 36 Issue 8

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SHU Qi, QIAO Fangli, SONG Zhenya, XIAO Bin. Effect of increasing Arctic river runoff on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation:a model study[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2017, 36(8): 59-65. doi: 10.1007/s13131-017-1009-z

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SHU Qi, QIAO Fangli, SONG Zhenya, XIAO Bin. Effect of increasing Arctic river runoff on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation:a model study[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2017, 36(8): 59-65. doi: 10.1007/s13131-017-1009-z

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Effect of increasing Arctic river runoff on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation:a model study

doi: 10.1007/s13131-017-1009-z

The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061, China;Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China;Key Laboratory of Marine Science and Numerical Modeling, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061, China

Received Date: 2016-07-06

Abstract

Abstract

An increasing amount of freshwater has been observed to enter the Arctic Ocean from the six largest Eurasian rivers over the past several decades. The increasing trend is projected to continue in the twenty-first century according to Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) coupled models. The present study found that water flux from rivers to the Arctic Ocean at the end of the century will be 1.4 times that in 1950 according to CMIP5 projection results under Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5. The effect of increasing Arctic river runoff on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) was investigated using an ocean-ice coupled model. Results obtained from two numerical experiments show that 100, 150 and 200 years after the start of an increase in the Arctic river runoff at a rate of 0.22%/a, the AMOC will weaken by 0.6 (3%), 1.2 (7%) and 1.8 (11%) Sv. AMOC weakening is mainly caused by freshwater transported from increasing Arctic river runoff inhibiting the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). As the AMOC weakens, the deep seawater age will become older throughout the Atlantic Basin owing to the increasing of Arctic runoff.
- climate change,
- Arctic river runoff,
- Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

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References

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