Convection penetrates to the ocean bottom in the North Atlantic but not in the North Pacific. This study examines the role of basin width in shutting down high‐latitude ocean convection. Deep convection is triggered by polar cooling, but it is opposed by precipitation. A two‐layer analytical model illustrates that the overturning circulation acts to mitigate the effect of precipitation by advecting salty, dense water from subtropical latitudes to polar latitudes. The nonlinear dependence of the overturning strength on basin width makes it more efficient in a narrow basin, resulting in a convection shutdown at a stronger freshwater forcing. These predictions are confirmed by simulations with a general circulation model configured with a single closed basin to the north and a reentrant channel to the south. This suggests that basin width may play a role in suppressing convection in the North Pacific but not in the North Atlantic.

中文翻译：

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北部深对流的盆地宽度依赖性

对流渗透到北大西洋的海底，但不渗透到北太平洋。本研究探讨了盆地宽度在关闭高纬度海洋对流中的作用。深对流是由极冷引起的，但与降水相反。一个两层分析模型表明，倾覆环流通过将咸的，稠密的水从亚热带纬度转移到极地纬度来减轻降水的影响。倾覆强度对流域宽度的非线性依赖性使其在狭窄的流域中更有效，从而导致对流关闭并产生更强的淡水强迫。这些预测可以通过使用一般的循环模型进行模拟来证实，该模型由北侧的单个封闭盆地和南侧的折返通道构成。