How does tropical Atlantic Multidecadal Variability develop?

Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV) has been linked to climate variability in many regions across the globe. However, the mechanisms through which the AMV develops remain unclear. Modelling studies show that global teleconnections from the AMV are sensitive to how the tropical branch is represented, though understanding how the decadal Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies develop in this region has received little attention. Here, we present a quantitative examination of the generation of tropical AMV using SST restoring experiments. In contrast to the generally proposed mechanisms of wind-flux-SST or cloud feedback, this study provides new insight into the dominance and crucial role of upper ocean dynamics, particularly concerning the mixed layer depth. Given the sensitivity of tropical AMV on global implications, the accurate simulation of the upper ocean dynamics in coupled climate models becomes imperative.