Claim: Study pinpoints key causes of ocean circulation change

While AMOC variability off the southern USA is dominated by the impact of winds, variability in the North Atlantic is generated by the combined effects of winds, heat and freshwater anomalies. “Our reconstruction suggests that, compared to the subtropics, the overturning circulation in the subpolar North Atlantic is more sensitive to changes in the background ocean state such as shifts in the sites of deep convection,” Dr Kostov said.