Bjerknes Compensation in a Changing Climate

The term 'Bjerknes Compensation' is used to describe the hypothesis that variations in the atmospheric and oceanic heat transport balance each other given the fluxes at the top of the atmosphere and the ocean heat content remain approximately constant. This study focuses on Bjerknes Compensation in polar latitudes across the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experiments and the mechanisms through which it occurs. The compensation in the northern polar latitudes is present in almost all CMIP6 experiments. While only a few historical simulations show compensation in the southern polar latitudes, it is enhanced in the 21st century, as seen in 1pctCO2 and abrupt-4XCO2 experiments. We investigate whether the compensation at higher latitudes (northern and southern) becomes stronger or weaker in a changing climate and the role of AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) and retreating sea ice in it.