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Undergraduate Paper Session

Undergraduate Paper Session #4.1

Subevent of Undergraduate Paper Session #4

Times: Starts at 2026 Mar 28 10:00AM (Central Time (US & Canada))

A Flow Network Approach to Deep Convection Transport in the Subpolar North Atlantic

Micah Chandler <mmchan4208@ung.edu>, University Of North Georgia

Abstract:

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate by transporting heat and nutrients throughout the ocean. Warm, saline surface waters flow northward, where cooling in subpolar regions increases their density, causing them to sink and return southward as part of the deep ocean circulation. Over the past century, rising greenhouse gas concentrations have begun to alter this circulation, leading to gradual changes in its structure and variability. Within the subpolar North Atlantic, regions such as the Irminger Sea and the Icelandic Basin play a key role, as deep convection, where surface waters cool, sink, and mix into the deep ocean, strongly influences AMOC variability. Improving our understanding of the processes that control convection in these regions will enhance our ability to assess ongoing changes in the AMOC, with the broader goal of informing climate policy. This work develops a new, computationally efficient framework that combines Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponents, Lagrangian Coherent Structures, and graph-theoretic measures such as connectivity and betweenness to diagnose how deep convection redistributes water within the subpolar North Atlantic.

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