EGU22-10380
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10380
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Partitioning meridional heat transport in Early Eocene Climatic Optimum model simulations

Fanni Dora Kelemen and Bodo Ahrens
Fanni Dora Kelemen and Bodo Ahrens
  • Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Troposphere Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (kelemen@iau.uni-frankfurt.de)

The meridional heat transport is primarily governed by the geometry between the Earth and the Sun and it has been shown in previous studies that it is nearly invariant in different climates. Nevertheless, the processes, which contribute to the whole transport, do not stay invariable, but their changes compensate each other. Thus, the changes in the various transport processes give an insight into the climate system and its changes in different conditions, such as the high CO2 concentrations of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO).

In our work we investigate the meridional heat transport and its elements in climate model simulations from DeepMIP focusing on the EECO. The meridional heat transport is divided into atmospheric and ocean heat transport. The atmospheric heat transport is further divided into moist and dry energy transport and also into transport by the meridional overturning circulation, transient eddies and stationary eddies. Annual and seasonal changes are compared in the preindustrial control simulation, in the 1xCO2 simulation and in simulations with high CO2 concentration values (3xCO2, 4xCO2, 6xCO2). We found that in a warmer climate, where the hydrological cycle is expected to be stronger, the transport of the meridional overturning circulation at the tropics, so the circulation of the Hadley cell, is more intense. Also, at the subtropics the energy transport of monsoon systems and at the mid-latitudes the energy transport of cyclones and anticyclones is different than in the control climate.

 

How to cite: Kelemen, F. D. and Ahrens, B.: Partitioning meridional heat transport in Early Eocene Climatic Optimum model simulations, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-10380, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10380, 2022.