winds in the stratosphere affect ocean circulation
Posted by
cypresstx on 9/24/2012, 9:54 am
http://phys.org/news/2012-09-north-atlantic-achilles-heel-upper.html
""The weakening and strengthening of the stratospheric circulation seems to correspond with changes in ocean circulation in the North Atlantic," Reichler says. To reduce uncertainties about the observations, the researchers used computers to simulate 4,000 years worth of atmosphere and ocean circulation. "The computer model showed that when we have a series of these polar vortex changes, the ocean circulation is susceptible to those stratospheric events," Reichler says. To further verify the findings, the researchers combined 18 atmosphere and ocean models into one big simulation, and "we see very similar outcomes." The study suggests there is "a significant stratospheric impact on the ocean," the researchers write. "Recurring stratospheric vortex events create long-lived perturbations at the ocean surface, which penetrate into the deeper ocean and trigger multidecadal variability in its circulation. This leads to the remarkable fact that signals that emanate from the stratosphere cross the entire atmosphere-ocean system."
from a study by Thomas Reichler , published in Nature Geoscience
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1586.html (fee for full access)
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