RAPID-WATCH/MOCHAObservations of the Atlantic Meridional

Overturning Circulation

Why are observations of the AMOC

important and what do they tell us about

climate?

THOR 2nd End‐User Workshop

Decadal Climate Predictions and the

RAPID WATCH ‐Programme

London 24th Oct 2012

Dr Stuart A. Cunningham

Scottish Association of Marine Science &

Marine Alliance for Science & Technology

Scotland

What is Climate?

3

Energy Transport in the Atlantic

4

Energy Transport in the Atlantic

Zonally averaged annual mean surface air temperature anomaly

Rahmstorf & Ganapolski 1999

Observing the Atlantic CirculationRAPID-WATCH/MOCHA: A Purposefully Designed Array for Sustained Observations of the Meridional Overturning Circulation and Heat Flux

http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/rapidmoc/

Vigour of the Atlantic Circulation

… and the climatologically more relevant energy transport

30% decline in annual mean circulation and heat flux

Data from the Global Argo Network of Floats

Temperature Anomalies

2010The Year Britain

Froze

December 2010 : Gatwick

The North Atlantic Oscillation

Is the Atlantic Circulation Slowing?

RAPID

Why are observations of the AMOC important and what do they tell us about climate?

RAPID

1. Verify the output and physics of coupled climate models.2. Baseline against which future change may be measured.3. Fundamental insights into ocean physics.4. Sustained observing to quantify the changing climate

system and to interpret this variability in the widest context.

Argo Network