No consistent simulated trends in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning
Circulation for the past 6,000 years
Abstract
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key feature
of the North Atlantic with global ocean impacts. The AMOC’s response to
past changes in forcings during the Holocene provides important context
for the coming centuries. Here, we investigate AMOC trends using an
emerging set of transient simulations using multiple global climate
models for the past 6,000 years. We find no consistent changes in the
overall AMOC strength across the simulations, which conforms with
reconstructions assimilating proxy records. Similarly, the decadal
variability of the AMOC does not change during the mid- and
late-Holocene. There are interesting AMOC changes seen in the early
Holocene, but their nature depends a lot on which inputs are used to
drive the experiment.