The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is responsible for a variable and climatically important northward transport of heat. Using data from an array of instruments that span the Atlantic at 26°N, we show that the AMOC has been in a state of reduced overturning since 2008 as compared to 2004–2008. This change of AMOC state is concurrent with other changes in the North Atlantic such as a northward shift and broadening of the Gulf Stream and altered patterns of heat content and sea surface temperature. These changes resemble the response to a declining AMOC predicted by coupled climate models. Concurrent changes in air‐sea fluxes close to the western boundary reveal that the changes in ocean heat transport and sea surface temperature have altered the pattern of ocean‐atmosphere heat exchange over the North Atlantic. These results provide strong observational evidence that the AMOC is a major factor in decadal‐scale variability of North Atlantic climate.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) has been observed continuously at 26° N since April 2004. The AMOC and its component parts are monitored by combining a transatlantic array of moored instruments with submarine-cable-based measurements of the Gulf Stream and satellite derived Ekman transport. The time series has recently been extended to October 2012 and the results show a downward trend since 2004. From April 2008 to March 2012, the AMOC was an average of 2.7 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) weaker than in the first four years of observation (95% confidence that the reduction is 0.3 Sv or more). Ekman transport reduced by about 0.2 Sv and the Gulf Stream by 0.5 Sv but most of the change (2.0 Sv) is due to the mid-ocean geostrophic flow. The change of the mid-ocean geostrophic flow represents a strengthening of the southward flow above the thermocline. The increased southward flow of warm waters is balanced by a decrease in the southward flow of lower North Atlantic deep water below 3000 m. The transport of lower North Atlantic deep water slowed by 7% per year (95% confidence that the rate of slowing is greater than 2.5% per year).

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) represents the zonally integrated stream function of meridional volume transport in the Atlantic Basin. The AMOC plays an important role in transporting heat meridionally in the climate system. Observations suggest a heat transport by the AMOC of 1.3 PW at 26°N—a latitude which is close to where the Atlantic northward heat transport is thought to reach its maximum. This shapes the climate of the North Atlantic region as we know it today. In recent years there has been significant progress both in our ability to observe the AMOC in nature and to simulate it in numerical models. Most previous modeling investigations of the AMOC and its impact on climate have relied on models with horizontal resolution that does not resolve ocean mesoscale eddies and the dynamics of the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Current system. As a result of recent increases in computing power, models are now being run that are able to represent mesoscale ocean dynamics and the circulation features that rely on them. The aim of this review is to describe new insights into the AMOC provided by high‐resolution models. Furthermore, we will describe how high‐resolution model simulations can help resolve outstanding challenges in our understanding of the AMOC.

A large dataset of wind stress estimates, covering a wide range of wind speed and stability conditions, was obtained during three cruises of the RRS Discovery in the Southern Ocean. These data were used by Yelland and Taylor to determine the relationship between 10-m height, neutral stability values for the drag coefficient, and the wind speed, and to devise a new formulation for the nondimensional dissipation function under diabatic conditions. These results have been reevaluated allowing for the airflow distortion caused by the ship. The acceleration and vertical displacement of the flow have been modeled in three dimensions using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The CFD modeling was tested, first by comparison with wind tunnel measurements on models of two Canadian research ships and second, by analysis of data from four anemometers on the foremast of the RRS Charles Darwin. Originally, the four anemometers gave drag coefficient values that differed by up to 20% from one to another and were... Abstract A large dataset of wind stress estimates, covering a wide range of wind speed and stability conditions, was obtained during three cruises of the RRS Discovery in the Southern Ocean. These data were used by Yelland and Taylor to determine the relationship between 10-m height, neutral stability values for the drag coefficient, and the wind speed, and to devise a new formulation for the nondimensional dissipation function under diabatic conditions. These results have been reevaluated allowing for the airflow distortion caused by the ship. The acceleration and vertical displacement of the flow have been modeled in three dimensions using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The CFD modeling was tested, first by comparison with wind tunnel measurements on models of two Canadian research ships and second, by analysis of data from four anemometers on the foremast of the RRS Charles Darwin. Originally, the four anemometers gave drag coefficient values that differed by up to 20% from one to another and were...

The strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) at 26^∘ N has now been continuously measured by the RAPID array over the period April 2004–September 2018. This record provides unique insight into the variability of the large-scale ocean circulation, previously only measured by sporadic snapshots of basin-wide transport from hydrographic sections. The continuous measurements have unveiled striking variability on timescales of days to a decade, driven largely by wind forcing, contrasting with previous expectations about a slowly varying buoyancy-forced large-scale ocean circulation. However, these measurements were primarily observed during a warm state of the Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) which has been steadily declining since a peak in 2008–2010. In 2013–2015, a period of strong buoyancy forcing by the atmosphere drove intense water-mass transformation in the subpolar North Atlantic and provides a unique opportunity to investigate the response of the large-scale ocean circulation to buoyancy forcing. Modelling studies suggest that the AMOC in the subtropics responds to such events with an increase in overturning transport, after a lag of 3–9 years. At 45^∘ N, observations suggest that the AMOC may already be increasing. Examining 26^∘ N, we find that the AMOC is no longer weakening, though the recent transport is not above the long-term mean. Extending the record backwards in time at 26^∘ N with ocean reanalysis from GloSea5, the transport fluctuations at 26^∘ N are consistent with a 0- to 2-year lag from those at 45^∘ N, albeit with lower magnitude. Given the short span of time and anticipated delays in the signal from the subpolar to subtropical gyres, it is not yet possible to determine whether the subtropical AMOC strength is recovering nor how the AMOC at 26^∘ N responds to intense buoyancy forcing.