Increased Asian aerosols drive a slowdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

ABSTRACT: Observational evidence and climate model experiments suggest a slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) since the mid-1990s. Increased greenhouse gases and the declined anthropogenic aerosols (AAs) over North America and Europe are believed to contribute to the AMOC slowdown. Asian AAs continue to increase but the associated impact has been unclear. Using ensembles of climate simulations, here we show that the radiative cooling resulting from increased Asian AAs drives an AMOC reduction. The increased AAs over Asia generate circumglobal stationary Rossby waves in the northern midlatitudes, which shift the westerly jet stream southward and weaken the subpolar North Atlantic westerlies. Consequently, reduced transport of cold air from North America hinders water mas

SUBMITTER: Liu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10762259 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature