title: Response to Comment on "The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation without a role for ocean circulation".
abstract: Zhang et al interpret the mixed-layer energy budget in models as showing that "ocean dynamics play a central role in the AMO." Here, we show that their diagnostics cannot reveal the causes of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and that their results can be explained with minimal ocean influence. Hence, we reaffirm our findings that the AMO in models can be understood primarily as the upper-ocean thermal response to stochastic atmospheric forcing.
authors.affiliation: Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, USA. aclement@rsmas.miami.edu.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clement
authors.affiliation: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cane
authors.affiliation: Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Katinka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bellomo
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mauritsen
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bjorn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stevens