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Published May 2006 | Published
Journal Article Open

Two-Way Feedback Interaction between the Thermohaline and Wind-Driven Circulations

Abstract

The thermohaline circulation (THC) affects the meridional atmospheric temperature gradient and therefore the atmospheric wind and the wind-driven ocean circulation. The wind-driven circulation (WDC), in turn, affects the THC by the advection of salinity anomalies into deep-water formation sites. This paper considers this two-way coupling between the WDC and THC using a simple box-type model and analysis tools from engineering feedback control. The two-way feedback can have a significant effect on the dynamics of the coupled system. For a reasonable choice of parameters, the feedback destabilizes the THC equilibrium for low freshwater forcing. For higher freshwater forcing, the feedback results in a new stable equilibrium instead of the large amplitude oscillation that develops without feedback. It is expected that the analysis approach used here may be broadly applicable to the study of feedback interconnections of other climate systems as well.

Additional Information

© Copyright by American Meteorological Society 2006 (Manuscript received 22 October 2004, in final form 29 September 2005) This work was supported by the James McDonnell Foundation. We thank Claudia Pasquero for her assistance with the model and additional advice. The comments of two anonymous reviewers helped to significantly improve the presentation.

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August 22, 2023
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