Fraser Neil

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Last Name
Fraser
First Name
Neil
ORCID
0000-0002-2171-9060

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  • Article
    Subpolar North Atlantic western boundary density anomalies and the Meridional Overturning Circulation
    (Nature Research, 2021-05-24) Li, Feili ; Lozier, M. Susan ; Bacon, Sheldon ; Bower, Amy S. ; Cunningham, Stuart A. ; de Jong, Marieke F. ; deYoung, Brad ; Fraser, Neil ; Fried, Nora ; Han, Guoqi ; Holliday, Naomi Penny ; Holte, James W. ; Houpert, Loïc ; Inall, Mark E. ; Johns, William E. ; Jones, Sam ; Johnson, Clare ; Karstensen, Johannes ; Le Bras, Isabela A. ; Lherminier, Pascale ; Lin, Xiaopei ; Mercier, Herlé ; Oltmanns, Marilena ; Pacini, Astrid ; Petit, Tillys ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Rayner, Darren ; Straneo, Fiamma ; Thierry, Virginie ; Visbeck, Martin ; Yashayaev, Igor ; Zhou, Chun
    Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which have the potential to drive societally-important climate impacts, have traditionally been linked to the strength of deep water formation in the subpolar North Atlantic. Yet there is neither clear observational evidence nor agreement among models about how changes in deep water formation influence overturning. Here, we use data from a trans-basin mooring array (OSNAP—Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program) to show that winter convection during 2014–2018 in the interior basin had minimal impact on density changes in the deep western boundary currents in the subpolar basins. Contrary to previous modeling studies, we find no discernable relationship between western boundary changes and subpolar overturning variability over the observational time scales. Our results require a reconsideration of the notion of deep western boundary changes representing overturning characteristics, with implications for constraining the source of overturning variability within and downstream of the subpolar region.
  • Article
    Seasonality of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the subpolar North Atlantic
    (Nature Research, 2023-05-25) Fu, Yao ; Lozier, M Susan ; Biló, Tiago Carrilho ; Bower, Amy S. ; Cunningham, Stuart A. ; Cyr, Frédéric ; de Jong, M. Femke ; deYoung, Brad ; Drysdale, Lewis ; Fraser, Neil ; Fried, Nora ; Furey, Heather H. ; Han, Guoqi ; Handmann, Patricia ; Holliday, N. Penny ; Holte, James ; Inall, Mark E. ; Johns, William E. ; Jones, Sam ; Karstensen, Johannes ; Li, Feili ; Pacini, Astrid ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Rayner, Darren ; Straneo, Fiammetta ; Yashayaev, Igor
    Understanding the variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is essential for better predictions of our changing climate. Here we present an updated time series (August 2014 to June 2020) from the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program. The 6-year time series allows us to observe the seasonality of the subpolar overturning and meridional heat and freshwater transports. The overturning peaks in late spring and reaches a minimum in early winter, with a peak-to-trough range of 9.0 Sv. The overturning seasonal timing can be explained by winter transformation and the export of dense water, modulated by a seasonally varying Ekman transport. Furthermore, over 55% of the total meridional freshwater transport variability can be explained by its seasonality, largely owing to overturning dynamics. Our results provide the first observational analysis of seasonality in the subpolar North Atlantic overturning and highlight its important contribution to the total overturning variability observed to date.