DYNamics and predictability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning and Climate (DYNAMOC)

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The 'Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation', or AMOC, describes a large scale circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean which carries warm surface waters northward and cooler deeper waters southwards. This circulation carries huge amounts of heat, and variations in its strength can have a substantial influence on European climate. The DYNAMOC project aims to improve understanding of how this circulation has varied in the past and how it has affected climate, and also to assess the potential for useful predictions months to years ahead. DYNAMOC will make use of new advanced computer simulations and forecasting systems which are able to simulate the AMOC in unprecedented detail. It will also make use of the RAPID observations of the AMOC strength at 26 degrees North, available since 2004, as a benchmark for testing the models and predictions. The research will test some specific hypotheses about how the AMOC works, how it is changing now. It will investigate how a slow down or speed up in the AMOC affects summers and winters in the UK and other countries. DYNAMOC will provide an assessment of the likely behaviour of the AMOC, and its impacts on climate, over the next decade. It will also produce recommendations for improving forecasting systems in the future.DYNAMOC is a collaboration between the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, the National Oceanography Centre and the UK Met Office.