Air-sea interaction in the South Atlantic region: mechanisms of climatic variability during the last millennium

Abstract

The Atlantic Ocean has a fundamental role in global climate control through heat transport from the South to the North Atlantic Basin. The responsible for this transport is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, driven by differences in temperature and density of water masses. Thus, the study of the variability patterns of the South Atlantic Basin is necessary to understand and predict the global climate. Within the global changes scenario it is also important to investigate abrupt climate events in the past to improve the prediction of future climates. This project aims to examine air-sea interaction processes during abrupt events in the Last Millennium (850 to 1850 Common Era, C.E.) in the South Atlantic and South America region. There will be applied advanced spectral analysis techniques on transient runs data from the numerical models National Center for Atmospheric Research and Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace. The objective consists in identify spatial patterns of ocean-atmosphere coupling in the South Atlantic region along the Last Millennium. We will also propose physical mechanisms to the climatic variability patterns found within the Last Millennium. (AU)