Onderzoek uit 2017
Observed fingerprint of a weakening Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation We have identified a characteristic SST fingerprint of an AMOC slowdown on the basis of high-resolution model simulations. The fingerprint consists of a cooling in the subpolar gyre region due to reduced heat transport, and a warming in the Gulf Stream region due to a northward shift of the Gulf Stream. This fingerprint is most pronounced during winter and spring, and it is found in the observed long-term temperature trends, indicating a pronounced weakening of the AMOC since the mid-twentieth century.
The AMOC weakening may already have an impact on weather in Europe. Cold weather in the subpolar Atlantic correlates with high summer temperatures over Europe, and the 2015 European heat wave has been linked to the record ‘cold blob’ in the Atlantic that year Model simulations further suggest that an AMOC weakening could become the “main cause of future west European summer atmospheric circulation changes”, as well as potentially leading to increased storminess in Europe.