Bering Strait's effect on AMOC independent of the background climate

Previous studies have suggested that the status of the Bering Strait may have significant influence on the global climate variability on centennial, millennial, and even longer time scale. Here we used a multiple version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate System Model versions 2, 3 and 4 to investigate the influence of the Bering Strait closure/opening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and global mean climate under present-day, 15 thousand-year before present (kyr BP), 112 kyr BP, and early Pliocene climate boundary conditions. Our results show that regardless the version of the models we used here and the background climates, the Bering Strait's closure will lead to a strengthening of the AMOC, and an increase in the meridional heat transport in the Atlantic. As a result, the climate becomes warmer in the North Atlantic and the surrounding regions, and potential this could have significant effect on the Arctic sea ice and the ice sheets both upstream and downstream during ice age climate.