Inherently unstable climate behaviour due to weak thermohaline ocean circulation

There is a wide range of weak mean states to the oceanic thermohaline circulation (THC) that cannot be stably sustained by the climate system. When a global coupled ocean-atmosphere-ice general circulation model is forced in the unstable range, the THC may rapidly strengthen, collapse or display str...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 386; no. 6625; pp. 592 - 595
Main Author Tziperman, Eli
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing 10.04.1997
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
Climate
Climate system
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Marine
Marine and continental quaternary
Mathematical models
Ocean circulation
Ocean currents
Surficial geology
Thermohaline circulation
Water circulation
North Atlantic
atmosphere
models
salinity
steady-state processes
Quaternary
Atlantic Ocean
transport
upper Quaternary
paleoclimate
surface water
bottom water
climate modification
global change
instability
thermohaline circulation
temperature
Cenozoic
Phanerozoic
heat flux
Holocene
oscillations
heat transfer
ocean circulation
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Summary:There is a wide range of weak mean states to the oceanic thermohaline circulation (THC) that cannot be stably sustained by the climate system. When a global coupled ocean-atmosphere-ice general circulation model is forced in the unstable range, the THC may rapidly strengthen, collapse or display strong oscillations.
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ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/386592a0