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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-616
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-616
14 Feb 2025
 | 14 Feb 2025

Seasonality of meridional overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic: implications for relying on the streamfunction maximum as a metric of AMOC slowdown

Alan D. Fox, Neil J. Fraser, and Stuart A. Cunningham

Abstract. Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has a notable seasonal component. This influences the jet stream and the location, frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Understanding this seasonality is important for mitigating the impacts of AMOC changes on European weather and climate. Here we place meridional overturning and fluxes in a coherent framework. This framework highlights the integral relationship between meridional overturning circulation and property transports, both being functions purely of the overturning streamfunction Ψ. Using this framework we examine the seasonality observed in overturning and density, temperature and freshwater fluxes at the OSNAP line in the subpolar North Atlantic. We find the seasonal cycle of the MOC metric (the standard measure of overturning defined as the maximum of the overturning streamfunction) to be dominated by Ekman transports and the large-scale seasonal cycle of surface density; heat flux to be dominated by barotropic velocity variability; the seasonal cycle of freshwater flux by a combination of barotropic velocities and the salinity in the western boundary current; and density flux to reflect a broad range of characteristics and processes. We show that the MOC metric is a poor predictor, on seasonal time-scales, of either density fluxes or the more societally relevant ocean heat and freshwater transports. This is due to each of these metrics responding to different physical processes. The MOC metric, on seasonal timescales at least, has very high sensitivity to near-surface physical characteristics in a limited geographical area. These characteristics are not necessarily reflective of the fundamental processes driving overturning. Therefore, we suggest caution in the use of the standard MOC metric when studying overturning, and the routine use of the density flux as a valuable additional overturning metric.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

11 Aug 2025
Seasonality of meridional overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic: density flux as a metric for understanding the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
Alan D. Fox, Neil J. Fraser, and Stuart A. Cunningham
Ocean Sci., 21, 1735–1760, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1735-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1735-2025, 2025
Short summary
Alan D. Fox, Neil J. Fraser, and Stuart A. Cunningham

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-616', Anonymous Referee #1, 21 Mar 2025
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Alan Fox, 02 Apr 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-616', Anonymous Referee #2, 10 Apr 2025
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Alan Fox, 10 Apr 2025
  • EC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-616', Meric Srokosz, 17 Apr 2025

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-616', Anonymous Referee #1, 21 Mar 2025
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Alan Fox, 02 Apr 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-616', Anonymous Referee #2, 10 Apr 2025
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Alan Fox, 10 Apr 2025
  • EC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-616', Meric Srokosz, 17 Apr 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Alan Fox on behalf of the Authors (07 May 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (13 May 2025) by Meric Srokosz
RR by David Smeed (13 May 2025)
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (21 May 2025)
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (24 May 2025) by Meric Srokosz
AR by Alan Fox on behalf of the Authors (27 May 2025)  Author's response   Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

11 Aug 2025
Seasonality of meridional overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic: density flux as a metric for understanding the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
Alan D. Fox, Neil J. Fraser, and Stuart A. Cunningham
Ocean Sci., 21, 1735–1760, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1735-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1735-2025, 2025
Short summary
Alan D. Fox, Neil J. Fraser, and Stuart A. Cunningham
Alan D. Fox, Neil J. Fraser, and Stuart A. Cunningham

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Short summary
Understanding seasonality of the overturning circulation is important for mitigating the impacts of AMOC changes on European weather and climate. We examine the seasonal cycle in various common measures of overturning and find each to be dominated by different processes, not necessarily reflective of the processes driving overturning. We advocate for the use of a density flux measure as a valuable addition to AMOC monitoring.
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