title: Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation covaries with Agulhas leakage.
abstract: The interoceanic transfer of seawater between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, 'Agulhas leakage', forms a choke point for the overturning circulation in the global ocean. Here, by combining output from a series of high-resolution ocean and climate models with in situ and satellite observations, we construct a time series of Agulhas leakage for the period 1870-2014. The time series demonstrates the impact of Southern Hemisphere westerlies on decadal timescales. Agulhas leakage shows a correlation with the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation on multi-decadal timescales; the former leading by 15 years. This is relevant for climate in the North Atlantic.
authors.affiliation: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biastoch
authors.affiliation: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonathan V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Durgadoo
authors.affiliation: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, 300 Forrestal Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Adele K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: Climate Change Research Centre &ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia.|Grantham Institute &Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Sebille
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: Wilbert
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weijer
authors.affiliation: NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab, 201 Forrestal Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08542, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Griffies