A Predicted Pause in the Rapid Warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf in the Coming Decade

作者：Vimal Koul, Andrew Ross, Charles A. Stock, Liping Zhang, Thomas L. Delworth, Andrew T. Wittenberg · 发表于：Geophysical Research Letters · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1029/2024gl110946 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes、Climate variability and models、Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics

Abstract The capability to anticipate the exceptionally rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf and its evolution over the next decade could enable effective mitigation for coastal communities and marine resources. However, global climate models have struggled to accurately predict this warming due to limited resolution; and past regional downscaling efforts focused on multi‐decadal projections, neglecting predictive skill associated with internal variability. We address these gaps with a high resolution (1/12°) ensemble of dynamically downscaled decadal predictions. The downscaled simulations accurately predicted past oceanic variability at scales relevant to marine resource management, with skill typically exceeding global coarse‐resolution predictions. Over the long term, warming of the Shelf is projected to continue; however, we forecast a temporary warming pause in the next decade. This predicted pause is attributed to internal variability associated with a transient, moderate strengthening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and a southward shift of the Gulf Stream.