The effect of greenhouse gas concentrations and ice sheets on the glacial AMOC in a coupled climate model

Klockmann, Marlene; Mikolajewicz, Uwe; Marotzke, Jochem

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1829-2016

Articles | Volume 12, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1829-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1829-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 9

Research article

|

08 Sep 2016

Research article |

| 08 Sep 2016

The effect of greenhouse gas concentrations and ice sheets on the glacial AMOC in a coupled climate model

Marlene Klockmann, Uwe Mikolajewicz, and Jochem Marotzke

Data sets

Constraints on the magnitude and patterns of ocean cooling at the Last Glacial Maximum MARGO Project Members https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.733406

Short summary

We study the response of the glacial AMOC to different forcings in a coupled AOGCM. The depth of the upper overturning cell remains almost unchanged in response to the full glacial forcing. This is the result of two opposing effects: a deepening due to the ice sheets and a shoaling due to the low GHG concentrations. Increased brine release in the Southern Ocean is key to the shoaling. With glacial ice sheets, a shallower cell can be simulated with GHG concentrations below the glacial level.