Link of Ocean Deep Water Thermohaline Anomalies with Atmospheric State Anomalies in the Northern Atlantic

摘要

Anomalies of thermohalinc characteristics of the ocean deep waters formed in the subpolar North Atlantic are shown to be controlled by the natural oscillations of the atmospheric slate in the region, i.e., the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A general mechanism behind the NAO effect on the deep water temperature and salinity on a decadal time scale is proposed. The main factors determining the close link of the deep water thermohaline anomalies and the NAO are the zonal extension of the subpolar gyre and the wintertime deep convection intensity in the Labrador Sea.