Tipping points in overturning circulation mediated by ocean mixing and the configuration and magnitude of the hydrological cycle: A simple model

Abstract

The current configuration of the ocean overturning involves upwelling predominantly in the Southern Ocean and sinking predominantly in the Atlantic basin. The reasons for this remain unclear, as both models and paleoclimatic observations suggest that sinking can sometimes occur in the Pacific. We present a six-box model of the overturning in which temperature, salinity and low-latitude pycnocline depths are allowed to vary prognostically in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The overturning is driven by temperature, winds, and mixing and modulated by the hydrological cycle. In each basin there are three possible flow regimes, depending on whether low-latitude water flowing into northern surface boxes is transformed into dense deep water, somewhat lighter intermediate water, or light water that is returned at the surface. The resulting model combines insights from a number of previous studies and allows for nine possible global flow regimes. For the modern ocean, we find that although the interbasin atmospheric freshwater flux suppresses Pacific sinking, the equator-to-pole flux enhances it. When atmospheric temperatures are held fixed, seven possible flow regimes can be accessed by changing the amplitude and configuration of the modern hydrological cycle . North Pacific overturning can strengthen with either increases or decreases in the hydrological cycle, as well as under reversal of the interbasin freshwater flux. Tipping-point behavior of both transient and equilibrium states is modulated by parameters such as the poorly constrained lateral diffusive mixing. If hydrological cycle amplitude is varied consistently with global temperature, northern polar amplification is necessary for the Atlantic overturning to collapse.