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abstracts
The 8k event: Abrupt transition of the subpolar gyre towards a modern North Atlantic circulation
Andreas Born, Anders Levermann
In the relatively stable conditions of our present interglacial, the 8k event is the largest climatic disruption with a widespread cooling in the North Atlantic region probably associated with a meltwater outburst from North American proglacial lakes. North Atlantic deep-sea sediment cores suggest that abrupt and persistent changes in the oceanic surface circulation, the onset of a modern-like situation, took place at the same time. Here we provide a causal link between these events supported by coupled climate model simulations. We show that an abrupt strengthening of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre establishes a modern flow regime and stabilizes the meridional overturning circulation.
Andreas Born, Paleoclimates, University of Bergen, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research,Allegaten 55, 5007 Bergen, Norway, andreas.born@bjerknes.uib.no
Anders Levermann, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Earth System Analysis, Germany
Session: F3: Global Earth-System Dynamics
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