Mid-pliocene Atlantic meridional overturning circulation simulated in PlioMIP2

In the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2), coupled climate models have been used to simulate an interglacial climate during the mid-Piacenzian warm period (mPWP; 3.264 to 3.025 Ma). Here, we compare the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), poleward ocean heat transport and sea surface warming in the Atlantic simulated with these models. In PlioMIP2, all models simulate an intensified mid-Pliocene AMOC. How- ever, there is no consistent response in the simulated Atlantic ocean heat transport nor in the depth of the Atlantic overturning cell. The models show a large spread in the simulated AMOC maximum, the Atlantic ocean heat transport and the surface warming in the North Atlantic. Although a few models simulate a surface warming of similar to 8-12 degrees C in the North Atlantic, similar to the reconstruction from Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) version 4, most models appear to underestimate this warming. The large model spread and model-data discrepancies in the PlioMIP2 ensemble do not support the hypothesis that an intensification of the AMOC, together with an increase in northward ocean heat transport, is the dominant mechanism for the mid-Pliocene warm climate over the North Atlantic.

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Author Zhang, Z.
Li, X.
Guo, C.
Otterå, O. H.
Nisancioglu, K. H.
Tan, N.
Contoux, C.
Ramstein, G.
Feng, R.
Otto-Bliesner, Bette
Brady, Esther C.
Chandan, D.
Peltier, W. R.
Baatsen, M. L. J.
von der Heydt, A. S.
Weiffenbach, J. E.
Stepanek, C.
Lohmann, G.
Zhang, Q.
Li, Q.
Chandler, M. A.
Sohl, L. E.
Haywood, A. M.
Hunter, S. J.
Tindall, J. C.
Williams, C.
Lunt, D. J.
Chan, W.
Abe-Ouchi, A.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2021-02-25T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
Alternate Identifier N/A
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
Progress N/A
Metadata Date 2025-07-11T19:09:29.434913
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:24196
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Zhang, Z., Li, X., Guo, C., Otterå, O. H., Nisancioglu, K. H., Tan, N., Contoux, C., Ramstein, G., Feng, R., Otto-Bliesner, Bette, Brady, Esther C., Chandan, D., Peltier, W. R., Baatsen, M. L. J., von der Heydt, A. S., Weiffenbach, J. E., Stepanek, C., Lohmann, G., Zhang, Q., Li, Q., Chandler, M. A., Sohl, L. E., Haywood, A. M., Hunter, S. J., Tindall, J. C., Williams, C., Lunt, D. J., Chan, W., Abe-Ouchi, A.. (2021). Mid-pliocene Atlantic meridional overturning circulation simulated in PlioMIP2. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7z89gtj. Accessed 01 August 2025.

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