Recent evidence shows that wind‐driven ocean currents, like the western boundary currents, are strongly affected by global warming. However, due to insufficient observations both on temporal and spatial scales, the impact of climate change on large‐scale ocean gyres is still not clear. Here, based on satellite observations of sea surface height and sea surface temperature, we find a consistent poleward shift of the major ocean gyres. Due to strong natural variability, most of the observed ocean gyre shifts are not statistically significant, implying that natural variations may contribute to the observed trends. However, climate model simulations forced with increasing greenhouse gases suggest that the observed shift is most likely to be a response of global warming. The displacement of ocean gyres, which is coupled with the poleward shift of extratropical atmospheric circulation, has broad impacts on ocean heat transport, regional sea level rise, and coastal ocean circulation.

Abrupt decadal climate changes during the last glacial‐interglacial cycle are less pronounced during maximum glacial conditions and absent during the Holocene. To further understand the underlying dynamics, we conduct hosing experiments for three climate states: preindustrial (PI), 32 kiloannum before present (ka B.P.), and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our simulations show that a stronger temperature inversion between the surface and intermediate layer in the South Labrador Sea induces a faster restart of convective processes (32 ka B.P. > LGM > PI) during the initial resumption of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). A few decades later, an AMOC overshoot is mainly linked to the advection of warmer and saltier intermediate‐layer water from the tropical Atlantic into the South Labrador Sea, which causes a stronger deep‐water formation than that before the freshwater perturbation. This mechanism is most pronounced during the 32 ka B.P., weaker during the LGM and absent during the PI.

The deglacial history of CO₂ release from the deep North Pacific remains unresolved. This is due to conflicting indications about subarctic Pacific ventilation changes based on various marine proxies, especially for Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS-1) when a rapid atmospheric CO₂ rise occurs. Here, we use a complex Earth System Model to investigate the deglacial North Pacific overturning and its control on ocean stratification. Our results show an enhanced intermediate-to-deep ocean stratification coeval with intensified North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) formation during HS-1, compared to the Last Glacial Maximum. The stronger NPIW formation causes lower salinities and higher temperatures at intermediate depths. By lowering NPIW densities, this enlarges vertical density gradient and thus enhances intermediate-to-deep ocean stratification during HS-1. Physically, this process prevents the North Pacific deep waters from a better communication with the upper oceans, thus prolongs the existing isolation of glacial Pacific abyssal carbons during HS-1.