Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes

Climate model hindcasts are analyzed to reveal the impacts of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the North Atlantic subpolar ocean, which exhibits variability on seasonal to decadal timescales. The ocean response to a single winter NAO event is separated into fast and slow responses. The fast r...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Khatri, H, Williams, RG, Woollings, T, Smith, DM
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022
_version_ 1826309321971990528
author Khatri, H
Williams, RG
Woollings, T
Smith, DM
author_facet Khatri, H
Williams, RG
Woollings, T
Smith, DM
author_sort Khatri, H
collection OXFORD
description Climate model hindcasts are analyzed to reveal the impacts of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the North Atlantic subpolar ocean, which exhibits variability on seasonal to decadal timescales. The ocean response to a single winter NAO event is separated into fast and slow responses. The fast response persists over winter–spring seasons, during which wind stress and heat flux anomalies associated with the NAO rapidly modify ocean temperatures via changes in Ekman transport and ocean-atmosphere heat exchanges. The slow response persists for 3–4 years, during which overturning and gyre circulations redistribute opposing-signed surface temperature anomalies created by the NAO. This redistribution modifies east-west temperature contrasts altering the meridional heat transport associated with gyres and changing the strength of the overturning circulation. Hence, the fast and slow responses lead to opposing-signed subpolar temperature anomalies in time from the competing effects of local forcing and horizontal heat convergence.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T07:33:57Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:c8aa0bf2-b8c4-4a0a-8eee-a6db3cb08618
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T07:33:57Z
publishDate 2022
publisher Wiley
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:c8aa0bf2-b8c4-4a0a-8eee-a6db3cb086182023-02-10T10:41:32ZFast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c8aa0bf2-b8c4-4a0a-8eee-a6db3cb08618EnglishSymplectic ElementsWiley2022Khatri, HWilliams, RGWoollings, TSmith, DMClimate model hindcasts are analyzed to reveal the impacts of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the North Atlantic subpolar ocean, which exhibits variability on seasonal to decadal timescales. The ocean response to a single winter NAO event is separated into fast and slow responses. The fast response persists over winter–spring seasons, during which wind stress and heat flux anomalies associated with the NAO rapidly modify ocean temperatures via changes in Ekman transport and ocean-atmosphere heat exchanges. The slow response persists for 3–4 years, during which overturning and gyre circulations redistribute opposing-signed surface temperature anomalies created by the NAO. This redistribution modifies east-west temperature contrasts altering the meridional heat transport associated with gyres and changing the strength of the overturning circulation. Hence, the fast and slow responses lead to opposing-signed subpolar temperature anomalies in time from the competing effects of local forcing and horizontal heat convergence.
spellingShingle Khatri, H
Williams, RG
Woollings, T
Smith, DM
Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes
title Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes
title_full Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes
title_fullStr Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes
title_full_unstemmed Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes
title_short Fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the North Atlantic Oscillation: thermal and dynamical changes
title_sort fast and slow subpolar ocean responses to the north atlantic oscillation thermal and dynamical changes
work_keys_str_mv AT khatrih fastandslowsubpolaroceanresponsestothenorthatlanticoscillationthermalanddynamicalchanges
AT williamsrg fastandslowsubpolaroceanresponsestothenorthatlanticoscillationthermalanddynamicalchanges
AT woollingst fastandslowsubpolaroceanresponsestothenorthatlanticoscillationthermalanddynamicalchanges
AT smithdm fastandslowsubpolaroceanresponsestothenorthatlanticoscillationthermalanddynamicalchanges