Latest News
Folow us on Twitter: @RAPID_AMOCEXPEDITION UPDATE
The RRS Discovery has arived in Southampton after a successful RAPID AMOC expedition.
Posted (9th March 2022)
NEW EXPEDITION DATES
The RRS Discovery will leave Southampton on the 4th February 2022 and return on the 9th March 2022.
Posted (26th January 2022)
AMOC time series
The next update to the RAPID AMOC time series is released. The time series has been extended to March 2020.
Posted (17th September 2021)
AMOC time series UPDATE
The next update to the RAPID AMOC time series will be in July 2021. It will extend the time series to March 2020.
Posted (24th May 2021)
EXPEDITION UPDATE
The RRS Discovery has arived in Southampton after a successful RAPID AMOC expedition.
Posted (26th January 2021)
NEW PUBLICATION
Detectability of an AMOC Decline in Current and Projected Climate Changes D. Lobelle, C. Beaulieu, V. Livina, F. Sévellec, E. Frajka‐Williams, 2020, GRL, 47, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089974
Posted (28th October 2020)
NEW PUBLICATION
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and associated heat transport
D. L. Volkov, C. S. Meinen, C. Schmid, B. Moat, M. Lankhorst, S. Dong, F. Li, W. Johns, S. Lozier, R. Perez, G. Goni, M. Kersalé, E. Frajka-Williams, M. Baringer, D. Smeed, D. Rayner, A. Sanchez-Franks, and U. Send, 2020,
[in “State of the Climate in 2019"]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 101 (8), S163–S169, https:// doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0105.1
Posted (12th August 2020)
NEW TIME SERIES UPDATE
The time series to October 2018 has been updated
Posted (19th July 2020)
NEW EXPEDITION DATES
The RRS Discovery will leave Southampton on the 8th Decmber 2020 and return on the 25th January 2021.
Posted (29th June 2020)
NEW PUBLICATION
Pending recovery in the strength of the meridional overturning circulation at 26° N
Ben I. Moat, David A. Smeed, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, Damien G. Desbruyères, Claudie Beaulieu, William E. Johns, Darren Rayner, Alejandra Sanchez-Franks, Molly O. Baringer, Denis Volkov, and Harry L. Bryden
Ocean Sci.,16, 863-874, 2020.
Posted (20th January 2020)
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Reduction in ocean heat transport at 26°N since 2008 cools the eastern subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean
Harry L. Bryden, William E. Johns, Brian A. King, Gerard McCarthy, Elaine L. McDonagh, Ben I. Moat, and David A. Smeed
Journal of Climate, 33, 1677-1689, 2020
Sustainable observations of the AMOC: Methodology and Technology
G.D. McCarthy, P.J. Brown,C.N. Flagg,G. Goni,L. Houpert,C.W. Hughes,R. Hummels,M. Inall,K. Jochumsen,K.M.H. Larsen,P. Lherminier,C.S. Meinen,B.I. Moat,D. Rayner,M. Rhein,A. Roessler,C. Schmid,D.A. Smeed,
Reviews of Geophysics, 58, 2020
Posted (6th December 2019)
AGU Fall Meeting
Going to the @theAGU
Fall meeting?
Feili Li will present, 'Heat and freshwater convergence over the extra-tropical North Atlantic'
Tuesday, 10 December 2019
08:00 - 12:20
Posted (20th November 2019)
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Insights into Decadal North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature and Ocean Heat Content Variability from an Eddy-Permitting Coupled Climate Model
B. I. Moat, B. Sinha, S. A. Josey, J. Robson, P. Ortega, F. Sévellec, N. P. Holliday, G. D. McCarthy, A. L. New, and J. J.-M. Hirschi
Journal of Climate, 32, 6137 - 6161
Posted (27th August 2019)
Latest Time Series has been released
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RAPID data updated to September 2018 are now freely available on our website at:
RAPID-AMOC data
Our observations are funded by NERC in the UK and by NSF and NOAA in the US respectively, giving our full acronym RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS
Posted (5th July 2019)
IUGG, Montreal, Canada, 2019
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Join us for RAPID 26N presentations at IUGG2019.
D. Smeed, E. Frajka-Williamas, W. Johns, M. Baringer, B. Moat, D. Rayner, D. Volkov.
Sources of variability of the overturning circulation in the subtropical North Atlantic
Friday July 12th, 11:45 - 12:00 P05b - The Meridional Overturning Circulation: Mean State and Variability
B. Moat, B. Sinha, S. Josey, J. Robson, P. Ortega, F. Sévellec, N. P. Holliday, G. McCarthy, A. New, J. Hirschi.
Insights into decadal North Atlantic sea surface temperature and ocean heat content variability from a high-resolution coupled climate model
Saturday July 13th, 17:00 - 17:15 P05b - The Meridional Overturning Circulation: Mean State and Variability
E. Worthington, R. Marsh, J. Mecking, S. Drijfhout, D. Smeed, B. Moat, G. McCarthy
Simplifying the Dynamics of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26°N.
Friday July 12th, 14:00 - 14:15 P05b - The Meridional Overturning Circulation: Mean State and Variability
A. Sanchez-Franks, E. Frajka-Williams, B. I. Moat
Full depth Transport Estimates of the Atlantic Overturning at 26°N from Altimetry and GRACE
Friday July 12th, 11:45 - 12:00 P05b - Posters - The Meridional Overturning Circulation: Mean State and Variability
H. Bryden, W. Johns, B. King, G. McCarthy, E. McDonagh, B. Moat, D. Smeed
Reduction in Ocean Heat Transport at 26°N since 2008 Cools the Eastern Subpolar Gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean
Friday July 12th, 11:00 - 11:15 P05b - The Meridional Overturning Circulation: Mean State and Variability
Posted (11th June 2019)
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Teleconnection between the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and Sea Level in the Mediterranean Sea
Volkov D.L. , M. Baringer, D. Smeed, W. Johns, F. Landerer
Journal of Climate, 32, 935-955
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Observed Transport and Variability
Eleanor Frajka-Williams1, Isabelle J. Ansorge, Johanna Baehr, Harry L. Bryden, Maria Paz Chidichimo, Stuart A. Cunningham, Gokhan Danabasoglu, Shenfu Dong, Kathleen A. Donohue, Shane Elipot, Patrick Heimbach, N. Penny Holliday, Rebecca Hummels, Laura C. Jackson, Johannes Karstensen, Matthias Lankhorst, Isabela A. Le Bras, M. Susan Lozier, Elaine L. McDonagh, Christopher S. Meinen, Herlé Mercier, Bengamin I. Moat, Renellys C. Perez, Christopher G. Piecuch, Monika Rhein, Meric A. Srokosz, Kevin E. Trenberth, Sheldon Bacon, Gael Forget, Gustavo Goni, Dagmar Kieke, Jannes Koelling, Tarron Lamont,, Gerard D. McCarthy, Christian Mertens, Uwe Send, David A. Smeed, Sabrina Speich, Marcel van den Berg, Denis Volkov and Chris Wilson
Front. Mar. Sci., 6
Structure and variability of the Antilles Current at 26.5N
C. S. Meinen, W. E. Johns, B. I. Moat, R. H. Smith, E. H. Johns, D. Rayner, E. Frajka-Williams, R. F. Garcia, S. L. Garzoli
Journal of Geophysical research: Oceans,
Posted (1st June 2019)
European Geophysical Union, Vienna, 2019
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Join us for RAPID 26N presentations at #EGU2019.
Samantha Hallam, Robert Marsh, Simon Josey, Patrick Hyder, Ben Moat, and Joel Hirschi
Ocean Precursors to the extreme Atlantic 2017 hurricane season
Tue, 09 Apr, 09:45–10:00 Room F1
David Smeed, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, William Johns, Molly Baringer, Ben Moat, Darren Rayner, and Denis Volkov
Sources of variability of the overturning circulation in the subtropicalNorth Atlantic
Tue, 09 Apr, 12:15–12:30 Room N2
Ben Moat, Bablu Sinha, Simon Josey, Jon Robson, Pablo Ortega, Florian Sévellec, N. Penny Holliday, Gerard McCarthy, Adrian New, and Joel Hirschi
New insights into decadal North Atlantic sea surface temperature andocean heat content variability from a high-resolution coupled climate model
Tue, 09 Apr, 15:30–15:45 Room N2
Eleanor Frajka-Williams, Shane Elipot, Matthias Lankhorst, Ben Moat, and David Smeed Meridional coherence of the MOC in the subtropical North Atlantic
Wed, 10 Apr, 08:30–10:15 Hall X4 X4.57
Darren Rayner, Ben Moat, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, David Smeed, Peter Brown, Lidia Carracedo, Elaine McDonagh, Hannah Wright, Steve Mack, Peter Foden, John Walk, and Chris Balfour
Recent Developments of the RAPID 26N Array
Wed, 10 Apr, 08:30–10:15 Hall X4 X4.64
Alejandra Sanchez-Franks, Brian King, Benjamin Webber, Adrian Matthews, Peter Sheehan, Ambica Behara, Cp Neema, Aswathi Das, and Pn Vinayachandran
The railroad switch effect of seasonally reversing currents on the Bay of Bengal High Salinity Core
Wed, 10 Apr, 14:30–14:45 Room 1.85
Emma Worthington, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, and Gerard McCarthy
Estimating the Deep Overturning Transport Variability at 26∘N Using Bottom Pressure Recorders
Wed, 10 Apr, 16:15–18:00 Hall X3 X3.24
John Prytherch, Michael Tjernström, Ian Brooks, Peggy Achtert, Ben Moat, and Margaret Yelland
Turbulent surface exchange during the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition"
Thu, 11 Apr, 14:20–14:22 PICO spot 5a
D Gwyn Evans, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, and Alberto Naveira Garabato
Dissipation in mesoscale eddies impinging on topography
Fri, 12 Apr, 11:45–12:00 Room L4/5
Bieito Fernández-Castro, D. Gwyn Evans, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, and Alberto C Naveira-Garabato
Glider-borne observations of turbulent energy dissipation in an anti-cyclonic mode water eddy
Fri, 12 Apr, 12:00–12:15 Room L4/5
Posted (5th April 2019)
NEW RAPID 26N STAFF
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Very pleased to have @thelocal_ale join the @RAPID_AMOC science team! Follow her to find out about her work in the Indian Ocean using Argo and surface fluxes, and now on to ocean transports in the Atlantic.
Posted (14th January 2019)
2018 RAPID-AMOC cruise COMPLETD
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The trans-Altantic RAPID expedition on RRS James Cook is complete.
The updated time series will be available in May 2019
Posted (29th November 2018)
2018 RAPID-AMOC cruise UPDATE
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The next trans-Altantic RAPID cruise will take place on the RRS James Cook between 20th October 2018 and 29 November 2018.
Posted (17th September 2018)
Challenger conference for Marine Science 2018
Join us for three RAPID 26N presentations at #Challenger2018@BenMoat1: The evolution of the RAPID monitoring array and the 12.9-year record of the AMOC at 26N
Darren Rayner: Development and Field Trials of Two Autonomous Telemetry Systems for Transferring Data from the RAPID 26°N Array
@eleanorFrajka: Coherent Circulation Changes in the Deep North Atlantic from 16°N and 26°N Transport Arrays
Science-policy breakfast discussion: "The slowing Gulf Stream? What we know and potential impacts", European Parliament, Brussels (BE)
- Ben Moat briefed Members of the European Parliment about the importance of ocean observing
Summary report and briefing document
4th September European Parliament, Brussels (BE)
European Geophysical Union, Vienna, 2018
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Join us for two RAPID 26N presentations at #EGU2018.
@David_Smeed
An analysis of the reduced overturning state of the North Atlantic observed by the RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS array
@BenMoat1
The evolution of the RAPID monitoring array and the 12.9-year record of the AMOC at 26N
Posted (28th March 2018)
Ocean Sciences,Portland, Oregon, 2018
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Join us for two RAPID 26N talks next week at #OSM18.
@David_Smeed talking about
RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS array and the reduced overturning state of the North Atlantic
@BenMoat1 talking about
Relationship between changes in the AMOC, North Atlantic heat content and SST
Posted (7th Feb 2018)
NEW PUBLICATION
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The North Atlantic Ocean Is in a State of Reduced Overturning
D.A. Smeed, S. A. Josey, C. Beaulieu, W.E. Johns, B. I. Moat, E. Frajka-Williams, D. Rayner, C. S. Meinen, M. O. Baringer and H. L. Bryden and G. McCarthy. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, doi: 10.1002/2017GL076350
Posted (1st Feb 2018)
NEW PUBLICATION
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The Accuracy of Estimates of the Overturning Circulation from Basin-wide Mooring Arrays
B Sinha, D.A. Smeed, G. McCarthy, B. I. Moat, S. A. Josey, J. J.-M. Hirschi, E. Frajka-Williams, A. T. Blaker, D. Rayner and G. Madec. Progress in Oceanography (in press), doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2017.12.001
Posted (11th December 2017)
Latest Time Series has been released
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RAPID data updated to February 2017 are now freely available on our website at:
RAPID-AMOC data
Our observations are funded by NERC in the UK and by NSF and NOAA in the US respectively, giving our full acronym RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS
The citation that should be used in journals is:
Smeed D.; McCarthy G.; Rayner D.; Moat B.I.; Johns W.E.; Baringer M.O.; Meinen C.S. (2017). Atlantic meridional overturning circulation observed by the RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS (RAPID-Meridional Overturning Circulation and Heatflux Array-Western Boundary Time Series) array at 26N from 2004 to 2017. British Oceanographic Data Centre - Natural Environment Research Council, UK. doi: 10.5285/5acfd143-1104-7b58-e053-6c86abc0d94b
Posted (31st October 2017)
ACSIS - OSNAP - RAPID Joint Science Meeting
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Understanding Change and Variability in the North Atlantic Climate System,
19-21 September 2017, Oxford, UK.
Meeting web site
Posted (1st September 2017)
AMOC Impacts
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What we have learned about AMOC impacts on the UK in ten years:
Atlantic Meridonal Overturning Circulation
Posted (28th July 2017)
NEW PUBLICATION
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Atlantic multi-decadal variability and the UK ACSIS programme
Sutton, R.T.; McCarthy, G.D.; Robson, J.; Sinha, B.; Archibald, A.; Gray, L.J..
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0266.1 (early release)
Posted (12th July 2017)
NEW PUBLICATION
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Large-scale forcing of the European Slope Current and associated inflows to the North Sea
Robert Marsh, Ivan D. Haigh, Stuart A. Cunningham, Mark E. Inall, Marie Porter and Ben I. Moat
Ocean Sci.,13,315-335, doi:10.5194/os-2016-61
Posted (21st April 2017)
NEW PUBLICATION
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The importance of deep, basinwide measurements in optimised Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation observing arrays
McCarthy, G.D.; Menary, M.B.; Mecking, J.V.; Moat, B.I.; Johns, W.E.; Andrews, M.; Rayner, D.; Smeed, D.A..
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122 (3). 1808-1826.10.1002/2016JC012200
Posted (10th March 2017)
Uncertainty estimate for the AMOC updated
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The Uncertainty estimate for the AMOC time series has been updated to October 2015
Posted (14th November 2016)
US AMOC Science Team meeting
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The next US AMOC Science Team meeting will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 23-25, 2017.
Posted (14th October 2016)
2017 RAPID cruise dates
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Depart Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Tuesday 28th February 2017.
Expected arrival Freeport, Bahamas Saturday 8th April 2017.
Posted (5th September 2016)
NEW PUBLICATION
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Aurelie Duchez, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, Simon Josey, Dafydd Evans, Jeremy Grist, Robert Marsh, Gerard McCarthy, Bablu Sinha, David Berry, and Joel J.-M. Hirschi, 2016,
Drivers of exceptionally cold North Atlantic Ocean temperatures and their link to the 2015 European heat wave,
Environmental Research Letters, 11,7 , doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/11/7/074004
A new link between the development of heat waves over Central and Western Europe and temperatures in the North Atlantic has been discovered by scientists from the National Oceanography Centre and the University of Southampton. This finding may be an important factor for the prediction of summer heat waves over Europe, since it suggests the Atlantic Ocean could have a role as a precursor.
Posted (19th July 2016)
Latest Time Series has been released
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RAPID data updated to October 2015 are now freely available on our website at:
RAPID-AMOC data
The AMOC has an average strength of 16.9 Sv and standard deviation of 4.4 Sv from April 2004 to October 2015.
This newest release does not show the same rate of decline as previously observed.
However, the AMOC since 2008 has a strength of 16 Sv, much reduced on the strength prior to 2008 of 18.8 Sv.
This is consistent with changes that have been seen throughout the North Atlantic and may have contributed to the prominent cool blob.
Our observations are funded by NERC in the UK and by NSF and NOAA in the US respectively, giving our full acronym RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS
Posted (7th July 2016)
The DOI for the latest data set
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The citation that should be used in journals is:
Smeed D.; McCarthy G.; Rayner D.; Moat B.I.; Johns W.E.; Baringer M.O.; Meinen C.S. (2016). Atlantic meridional overturning circulation observed by the RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS (RAPID-Meridional Overturning Circulation and Heatflux Array-Western Boundary Time Series) array at 26N from 2004 to 2015. British Oceanographic Data Centre - Natural Environment Research Council, UK. doi:10.5285/35784047-9b82-2160-e053-6c86abc0c91b
Posted (6th July 2016)
2017 RAPID-AMOC cruise UPDATE
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The next trans-altantic RAPID cruise will take place on the RRS James Cook in the spring of 2017.
Posted (1st June 2016)
NEW PUBLICATION
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Moat, B.I.; Josey, S.A.; Sinha, B.; Blaker, A.T.; Smeed, D.A.; McCarthy, G.; Johns, W.E.; Hirschi, J.-M.; Frajka-Williams, E.; Rayner, D.; Duchez, A.; Coward, A.C.. 2016, Major variations in sub-tropical North Atlantic heat transport at short (5 day) timescales and their causes, Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans, 121, 3237 to 3249, doi:10.1002/2016JC011660.
key points:
Model/observation study of 26.5°N Atlantic heat transport at 5 day to monthly timescales.
Contrasting wind field patterns drive transport variability at the two timescales considered.
North-westerly winds from North America drive 5 day variability and reduce transport by 0.5-1.4 PW.
Posted (20th May 2016)
RAPID-AMOC time series revealed at EGU 2016
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The latest time series will be revealed at EGU 2016 in OS1.4 The North Atlantic: natural variability and global change.
Posted (5th April 2016)
NEW PUBLICATION
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E. Frajka-Williams, C. S. Meinen, W. E. Johns, D. A. Smeed, A. Duchez, A. J. Lawrence, D. A. Cuthbertson, G. D. McCarthy, H. L. Bryden, M. O. Baringer, B. I. Moat, and D. Rayner, 2016, Compensation between meridional flow components of the Atlantic MOC at 26N, Ocean Science, 12, 481 to 493, doi:10.5194/os-12-481-2016
The ocean meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is predicted by climate models to slow down in this century, resulting in reduced transport of heat northward to mid-latitudes. At 26N, the Atlantic MOC has been measured continuously for the past decade (2004 to 2014). In this paper, we discuss the 10 year record of variability, identify the origins of the continued weakening of the circulation, and discuss high-frequency (subannual) compensation between transport components.
Posted (1st April 2016)
The 2015 RAPID-AMOC cruise is complete
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45 days at sea and we are now in Nassau. The final moorings were recovered yesterday after a short hold up due to the weather. Now the work on the data starts in earnest and we calculate how the AMOC has behaved over the last 18 months.
Posted (1st December 2015)
The 2015 RAPID-AMOC cruise begins
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Last weekend the RRS Discovery left Southampton for her 6-week expedition to service the RAPID array of moorings across the Atlantic at 26N.
Follow our progress on the crusie blog
Posted (19th October 2015)