Past, present, and future changes in the atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Abstract

The key conclusions from the above are as follows: the importance of the AMOC for the climate is paramount; there is a pressing need for sustained observations of the AMOC and associated heat transport; and the potential predictability of the AMOC and therefore of its climate impacts needs further study. The second conclusion, unsurprisingly, agrees with the white paper presented at the OceanObs'09 conference on AMOC observing systems by Cunningham et al. (2010), and also with the U.S. AMOC strategy document (U.S. CLIVAR AMOC Planning Team 2007). © 2012 American Meteorological Society.