AMOC flow and period vs. depth to the bottom of the thermocline. E. KurtzBruce 2014 <p>The curves show calculated volumetric flow (<i>Ψ</i>) and oscillation period (<i>T-</i>) for depths to the bottom of the thermocline at the south end of the flow path (<i>Z<sub>H</sub></i> = <i>Z<sub>ML</sub></i>+<i>Z<sub>TC</sub></i>) ranging from 300 to 400 m for mixed layer temperatures (<i>T<sub>ML</sub></i>) of 28, 30, and 32°C (blue, red and black lines). The length and width of the flow path (<i>L<sub>F</sub></i> and <i>W<sub>F</sub></i>) are the same as for <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0100306#pone-0100306-g004" target="_blank">Fig. 4</a>. The sensitivity of the calculated values for AMOC flow and period to the depth to the bottom of the thermocline is high because the depth of the flow path <i>Z<sub>F</sub></i> used in the calculation of AMOC flow is related to the depth to the bottom of the thermocline, ranging between 0.5 and 0.7 of <i>Z<sub>H</sub></i> depending on the relative depths of the mixed layer and thermocline. This term appears as <i>Z<sub>F</sub><sup>4</sup></i> in Eq. 7. The shaded areas on the figures indicate the approximate range of observed values for AMOC flow and oscillation period.</p>