AMOC sensitivity to air-sea fluxes parametrization

AMOC sensitivity to air-sea fluxes parametrization | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article AMOC sensitivity to air-sea fluxes parametrization Clement Dehondt, Pascale Braconnot, Olivier Marti, Sebastien Fromang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8609373/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key component of the climate system, yet it exhibits a large inter-model spread and its future evolution remains uncertain. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of the AMOC to air–sea turbulent flux parameterizations using the IPSL climate model with five different bulk formulations. Differences in AMOC strength across the simulations reach up to 2 Sv (≡106 m3 s−1). They are driven by the relative strength of the subtropical and subpolar gyres, which controls heat and salt transport in regions of deep water formation. We quantify the respective contributions of the parameterization and feedbacks from wind, temperature, and specific humidity to the simulated flux differences. The behaviour of the surface roughness length at high wind speeds plays a key role and triggers both local and remote feedbacks. We show that these feedbacks dominate surface fluxes and subpolar gyre differences in the North Atlantic, leading to opposite results compared to the direct effect of the wind stress parameterization. This study emphasises the role of the interplay between heat and momentum fluxes and the way they are mediated by wind speed. Several aspects emerge from this study that could guide developments of air–sea turbulent flux parameterizations and help to understand the results in a coupled model. AMOC air-sea fluxes parametrization feedbacks coupling Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major Revision 11 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 08 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8609373","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":594451595,"identity":"695ce003-3f35-4f72-bec6-55636badc767","order_by":0,"name":"Clement Dehondt","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9727-2282","institution":"LSCE: Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Clement","middleName":"","lastName":"Dehondt","suffix":""},{"id":594451596,"identity":"322ff97b-4679-4729-94fd-558f688165af","order_by":1,"name":"Pascale Braconnot","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"LSCE: Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pascale","middleName":"","lastName":"Braconnot","suffix":""},{"id":594451597,"identity":"f0d15879-6703-484f-be93-aac78c2f4380","order_by":2,"name":"Olivier Marti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"LSCE: Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Olivier","middleName":"","lastName":"Marti","suffix":""},{"id":594451598,"identity":"9ab95dd9-ed99-4d02-b493-a0edf1fe2623","order_by":3,"name":"Sebastien Fromang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"LSCE: Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sebastien","middleName":"","lastName":"Fromang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-15 10:10:00","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8609373/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8609373/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103506682,"identity":"3515f579-356f-41a4-a8e5-eca0b5e84932","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:38:55","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":11976613,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AMOCsensitivitytoairseafluxesparametrization.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8609373/v1_covered_83cabd67-0459-4448-b473-999052a0f7ee.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"AMOC sensitivity to air-sea fluxes parametrization","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"climate-dynamics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"cldy","sideBox":"Learn more about [Climate Dynamics](https://www.springer.com/journal/382)","snPcode":"382","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/382/3","title":"Climate Dynamics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"AMOC, air-sea fluxes parametrization, feedbacks, coupling","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8609373/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8609373/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key component of the climate system, yet it exhibits a large inter-model spread and its future evolution remains uncertain. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of the AMOC to air–sea turbulent flux parameterizations using the IPSL climate model with five different bulk formulations. Differences in AMOC strength across the simulations reach up to 2 Sv (≡106 m3 s−1). They are driven by the relative strength of the subtropical and subpolar gyres, which controls heat and salt transport in regions of deep water formation. We quantify the respective contributions of the parameterization and feedbacks from wind, temperature, and specific humidity to the simulated flux differences. The behaviour of the surface roughness length at high wind speeds plays a key role and triggers both local and remote feedbacks. We show that these feedbacks dominate surface fluxes and subpolar gyre differences in the North Atlantic, leading to opposite results compared to the direct effect of the wind stress parameterization. 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