Anticipating AMOC transitions via deep learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Zhang, Wenjie, Huang, Yu, Bathiany, Sebastian, Shin, Yechul, Ben-Yami, Maya, Zhou, Suiping, Boers, Niklas
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Zhang, Wenjie
Huang, Yu
Bathiany, Sebastian
Shin, Yechul
Ben-Yami, Maya
Zhou, Suiping
Boers, Niklas
author_facet Zhang, Wenjie
Huang, Yu
Bathiany, Sebastian
Shin, Yechul
Ben-Yami, Maya
Zhou, Suiping
Boers, Niklas
contents Key components of the Earth system can undergo abrupt and potentially irreversible transitions when the magnitude or rate of external forcing exceeds critical thresholds. In this study, we use the example of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to demonstrate the challenges associated with anticipating such transitions when the system is susceptible to bifurcation-induced, rate-induced, and noise-induced tipping. Using a calibrated AMOC box model, we conduct large ensemble simulations and show that transition behavior is inherently probabilistic: under identical freshwater forcing scenarios, some ensemble members exhibit transitions while others do not. In this stochastic regime, traditional early warning indicators based on critical slowing down are unreliable in predicting impending transitions. To address this limitation, we develop a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based approach that identifies higher-order statistical differences between transitioning and non-transitioning trajectories within the ensemble realizations. This method enables the real-time prediction of transition probabilities for individual trajectories prior to the onset of tipping. Our results show that the CNN-based indicator provides effective early warnings in a system where transitions can be induced by bifurcations, critical forcing rates, and noise. These findings underscore the potential in identifying safe operating spaces and early warning indicators for abrupt transitions of Earth system components under uncertainty.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_06450
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anticipating AMOC transitions via deep learning
Zhang, Wenjie
Huang, Yu
Bathiany, Sebastian
Shin, Yechul
Ben-Yami, Maya
Zhou, Suiping
Boers, Niklas
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Key components of the Earth system can undergo abrupt and potentially irreversible transitions when the magnitude or rate of external forcing exceeds critical thresholds. In this study, we use the example of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to demonstrate the challenges associated with anticipating such transitions when the system is susceptible to bifurcation-induced, rate-induced, and noise-induced tipping. Using a calibrated AMOC box model, we conduct large ensemble simulations and show that transition behavior is inherently probabilistic: under identical freshwater forcing scenarios, some ensemble members exhibit transitions while others do not. In this stochastic regime, traditional early warning indicators based on critical slowing down are unreliable in predicting impending transitions. To address this limitation, we develop a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based approach that identifies higher-order statistical differences between transitioning and non-transitioning trajectories within the ensemble realizations. This method enables the real-time prediction of transition probabilities for individual trajectories prior to the onset of tipping. Our results show that the CNN-based indicator provides effective early warnings in a system where transitions can be induced by bifurcations, critical forcing rates, and noise. These findings underscore the potential in identifying safe operating spaces and early warning indicators for abrupt transitions of Earth system components under uncertainty.
title Anticipating AMOC transitions via deep learning
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.06450