Seminar

Observations and models altogether suggest that there are times when freshwater content plays an indirect or "passive" role in the North Atlantic (ie the atmospheric forcing controls the ocean freshwater content and circulation variability such as Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) ;  while at other times, salinity directly influences the circulation: increased (respectively decreased) high latitude freshwater content weakens (resp. intensifies) the subpolar ocean circulation. In this talk, I will present a model inter-comparison study that investigates the timing, amplitude and variability of freshwater content in the North Atlantic in relation to the full 3-D circulation variability, including AMOC. A suite of analytical indices is developed and consistently applied to a few CMIP5 coupled models to characterize their oceanic FW budget and AMOC variability and assess underlying mechanisms of interaction.