Biography：

Dr. Xuan Shan received her B.S. in Ocean Science (2017) and Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography (2022) from Ocean University of China. She then joined Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a postdoc from 2022 to 2025. In January 2026, she returned to Ocean University of China as an Associate Professor at the Key Laboratory of Physical Oceanography (Ministry of Education). Her recent research focuses on multi-scale ocean dynamics and their response to warming climate in the Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean.

Abstract：

Anthropogenic warming is projected to enhance Arctic freshwater exportation into the Labrador Sea. This extra freshwater may weaken deep convection and contribute to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) decline. Here, by analyzing an unprecedented high-resolution climate model simulation for the 21st century, we show that the Labrador Current strongly restricts the lateral spread of freshwater from the Arctic Ocean into the open ocean such that the freshwater input has a limited role in weakening the overturning circulation. In contrast, in the absence of a strong Labrador Current in a climate model with lower resolution, the extra freshwater is allowed to spread into the interior region and eventually shut down deep convection in the Labrador Sea. Given that the Labrador Sea overturning makes a significant contribution to the AMOC in many climate models, our results suggest that the AMOC decline during the 21st century could be overestimated in these models due to the poorly resolved Labrador Current.