Critical Role of Continental Slopes in Halocline and Eddy Dynamics of the Ekman‐Driven Beaufort Gyre

Manucharyan, Georgy E.; Isachsen, Pål Erik

doi:10.1029/2018jc014624

Cited by 26 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Notably, the west side of the southern Canada Basin is bounded by the steep Northwind Ridge; the ridge has a slope of more than 10° in places from the abyssal plain of the Canada Basin (around 3,800 m deep) to the Chukchi Borderland and Northwind Abyssal Plain regions, shallower than 1,000 m in parts (Jakobsson et al, , ). This prominent topographic feature may affect the symmetry of the gyre and its susceptibility to baroclinic instability (e.g., Manucharyan & Isachsen, ).…”

Section: The Beaufort Gyrementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Arctic Ocean Circulation: A Review of Ocean Dynamics in a Changing Climate

2020

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The Arctic Ocean is a focal point of climate change, with ocean warming, freshening, sea-ice decline, and circulation that link to the changing atmospheric and terrestrial environment. Major features of the Arctic and the interconnected nature of its wind-and buoyancy-driven circulation are reviewed here by presenting a synthesis of observational data interpreted from the perspective of geophysical fluid dynamics (GFD). The general circulation is seen to be the superposition of Atlantic Water flowing into and around the Arctic basin and the two main wind-driven circulation features of the interior stratified Arctic Ocean: the Transpolar Drift Stream and the Beaufort Gyre. The specific drivers of these systems, including wind forcing, ice-ocean interactions, and surface buoyancy fluxes, and their associated GFD are explored. The essential understanding guides an assessment of how Arctic Ocean structure and dynamics might fundamentally change as the Arctic warms, sea-ice cover declines, and the ice that remains becomes more mobile.

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Section: The Beaufort Gyrementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Arctic Ocean Circulation: A Review of Ocean Dynamics in a Changing Climate

2020

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“…Overall, the regional freshwater content increased by ~40% (i.e., 6,400 km 3 ) from 2003 to 2018, at a rate of approximately 4,420 ±1,300 km 3 per decade. These overall, seasonal, interannual, and longer term fluctuations depend on the complicated interplay of wind, ice, and ocean dynamics and thermodynamics regulating Beaufort Gyre spin‐up, dissipation, and stabilization (see for details Kelly, Proshutinsky, Popova et al, ; Liang & Losch, ; Manucharyan & Isachsen, ; Mensa et al, ; Regan et al, ; and Zhao et al, , etc., in this special collection).…”

Section: Interannual Changes Of Freshwater Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other outstanding issues related to Beaufort Gyre freshwater content, which have required modeling approaches, relate to understanding the role of meteoric water (river runoff plus net precipitation; see Lambert et al, , and Kelly, Popova, Aksenov, et al, (), and Kelly, Proshutinsky, Popova.et al, (), in this special collection) in the observed freshwater content changes, mechanisms for Pacific water transport into the Beaufort Gyre and better understanding of the role of eddies in Beaufort Gyre stabilization (Manucharyan & Isachsen, ; and Zhao & Timmermans, , in this special collection).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Special Collection on Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) 2: Beaufort Gyre Phenomenon

2020

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One of the foci of the Forum for Artic Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) project is improving Arctic regional ice‐ocean models and understanding of physical processes regulating variability of Arctic environmental conditions based on synthesis of observations and model results. The Beaufort Gyre, centered in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean, is an ideal phenomenon and natural laboratory for application of FAMOS modeling capabilities to resolve numerous scientific questions related to the origin and variability of this climatologic freshwater reservoir and flywheel of the Arctic Ocean. The unprecedented volume of data collected in this region is nearly optimal to describe the state and changes in the Beaufort Gyre environmental system at synoptic, seasonal, and interannual time scales. The in situ and remote sensing data characterizing ocean hydrography, sea surface heights, ice drift, concentration and thickness, ocean circulation, and biogeochemistry have been used for model calibration and validation or assimilated for historic reconstructions and establishing initial conditions for numerical predictions. This special collection of studies contributes time series of the Beaufort Gyre data; new methodologies in observing, modeling, and analysis; interpretation of measurements and model output; and discussions and findings that shed light on the mechanisms regulating Beaufort Gyre dynamics as it transitions to a new state under different climate forcing.

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“…Theory and idealised modelling suggest that FWC in the Arctic Ocean, or at least in its largest reservoir the Beaufort Gyre, bears a multi-year to decadal memory of past atmospheric forcing (Davis et al 2014;Manucharyan and Spall 2016;Manucharyan and Isachsen 2019;Doddridge et al 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

Response of Arctic Freshwater to the Arctic Oscillation in Coupled Climate Models

et al. 2020

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The freshwater content (FWC) of the Arctic Ocean is intimately linked to the stratification—a physical characteristic of the Arctic Ocean with wide relevance for climate and biology. Here, we explore the relationship between atmospheric circulation and Arctic FWC across 12 different control-run simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Using multiple lagged regression, we seek to isolate the linear response of Arctic FWC to a step change in the strength of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) as well as the second and third orthogonal modes of SLP variability over the Arctic domain. There is broad agreement among models that a step change to a more anticyclonic AO leads to an increase in Arctic FWC, with an e-folding time scale of 5–10 yr. However, models differ widely in the degree to which a linear response to SLP variability can explain FWC changes. Although the mean states, time scales, and magnitudes of FWC variability may be broadly similar, the physical origins of variability are highly inconsistent among models. We perform a robustness test that incorporates a Monte Carlo approach to determine which response functions are most likely to represent causal, physical relationships within the models and which are artifacts of regression. Convolution with SLP reanalysis data shows that the four most robust response functions have some skill at reproducing observed accumulation of FWC during the late 1990s and 2000s, consistent with the idea that this change was largely wind driven.

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Critical Role of Continental Slopes in Halocline and Eddy Dynamics of the Ekman‐Driven Beaufort Gyre

Cited by 26 publications

References 47 publications

Understanding Arctic Ocean Circulation: A Review of Ocean Dynamics in a Changing Climate

Understanding Arctic Ocean Circulation: A Review of Ocean Dynamics in a Changing Climate

Introduction to Special Collection on Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) 2: Beaufort Gyre Phenomenon

Response of Arctic Freshwater to the Arctic Oscillation in Coupled Climate Models

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