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| Atlantic Meridional Current | |
|---|---|
| Name | Atlantic Meridional Current |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Type | Ocean current |
Atlantic Meridional Current The Atlantic Meridional Current is a major basin-scale ocean flow in the Atlantic Ocean that redistributes heat and salt between the Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, and subtropical basins, interacting with features such as the Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Current, Antarctic Circumpolar Current and regional wind systems like the North Atlantic Oscillation. It is studied by institutions including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and international programs like the Global Ocean Observing System and the World Climate Research Programme.
The current links subpolar and subtropical gyres by transporting warm, saline water poleward and returning colder, fresher water equatorward, thereby connecting regions such as the Labrador Sea, Irminger Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Brazil Basin. Researchers from University of Southampton, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, University of Exeter, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory place the current within the larger Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation framework and compare it to flows in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.
The current displays seasonal to decadal variability in velocity, temperature, salinity and transport measured across sections such as the RAPID Climate Change array at 26°N, transects near the Azores, and moorings in the Rockall Trough. Water-mass properties reflect inputs from the Mediterranean Outflow, convective regions like the Greenland Sea and contributions from the Falkland Current and Benguela Current in the south. Instruments used by teams from NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and the Met Office document vertical structure from the surface mixed layer to deep waters influenced by the North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water.
By advecting heat poleward and modifying meridional heat transport, the current influences regional climates of Western Europe, West Africa, Northeastern United States and Brazil, and interacts with atmospheric modes like the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation teleconnections. Couplings with cryospheric regions including the Greenland Ice Sheet and Arctic sea ice feed back on freshwater budgets and stratification, topics explored in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and assessments from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Variability arises from wind forcing linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation, buoyancy forcing from surface heat loss in convection sites such as the Irminger Sea and the Labrador Sea, and remote changes tied to basin-scale gyre adjustments and wind stress curl over regions like the Azores High. Large volcanic eruptions recorded at Smithsonian Institution archives and anthropogenic changes studied by NASA and European Space Agency also modulate variability. Paleoclimate reconstructions from cores at the Cariaco Basin, Sulu Sea comparisons, and isotopic records curated by the British Geological Survey indicate shifts during events like the Younger Dryas and the Little Ice Age.
Multidisciplinary observing systems combine moorings, floats, ships, remote sensing and autonomous vehicles from programs such as Argo, SOOP, MERIDIAN efforts, and regional campaigns by NOAA and UK Met Office. Technologies include satellite altimetry from missions by European Space Agency and NASA, repeat hydrographic sections by Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program, bio-physical surveys by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and glider deployments coordinated with National Aeronautics and Space Administration funding. Data assimilation into reanalyses produced by ECMWF, GFDL, and Met Office Hadley Centre enables synthesis across scales.
Numerical models from centers such as GFDL, MPI‑M (Max Planck Institute for Meteorology), UK Met Office Hadley Centre, and coupled frameworks used in CMIP6 experiments simulate responses to greenhouse forcing, freshwater perturbations from Greenland Ice Sheet melt, and projected shifts in the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability. High-resolution regional models developed at NCAR and NOC capture mesoscale eddies and interactions with the Gulf Stream and western boundary currents; ensemble forecasts inform stakeholders including the United Nations Environment Programme and national agencies like NOAA.
Changes in transport, temperature, and stratification affect fisheries in regions such as the Grand Banks, West African coast, Mauritanian upwelling, and the Brazilian Shelf, influencing species distributions monitored by organizations like the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and FAO. Coastal weather, storm tracks, sea level along the East Coast of the United States and Northwest Europe, and hazards to ports such as Rotterdam and New York Harbor are modulated through links with the current. Socioeconomic studies by World Bank and resilience planning by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction examine impacts on shipping, fisheries, and coastal communities.