Atmosphere/Ocean Couplings That Influence Global Climate

The worldwide ocean Conveyor has frequently been identified in the open literature as the reason for the end of ice ages. Several publications have postulated the Conveyor as a driver for Sahel rain fall, SOI/ENSO, El Ninos, North Atlantic SST, Azores High Pressure, Atlantic Trade Wind, Atlantic major hurricane activity, and global surface temperature change. Indeed, it seems intuitive that long-term El-Nino cycles of 23, 50 and 90 years must be predominantly due to the ocean, rather than the atmosphere.

However, the atmosphere also plays a big part in this global equation. New evidence is presented in this paper to show how the atmosphere interfaces with the Conveyor to affect global climate in the following ways: 1. Monsoon winds strongly affect the salt flow from the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean, directly influencing the salt oscillator of the Conveyor (detailed in accompanying poster session). The additional effect of European Mediterranean Sea flow into the Red Sea is not fully understood yet, though it seems to increase bottom water (saltiest) flow out of the Red Sea. 2. The atmosphere also interacts through potential control points (via equatorial currents of the three major oceans, at the Cape of Good Hope and North-Sea freshenings). These interaction points add to the complexity of a climate produced by the competing effects of many drivers.