Cross-slope flow in the Atlantic Inflow Current driven by the on-shelf deflection of a slope current

Porter, Marie; Dale, Andrew; Jones, Samuel; Siemering, Beatrix; Inall, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2018.09.002

Cited by 23 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…Scientific relevance of the NW European shelf seas system to the AMOC are perhaps best reflected in two recent papers: one highlighting large localized inflow of an eastern boundary current onto the shallow continental shelf at 56°N (Porter et al, ) and a second predicting the possibility of large future decreases in the exchange between the North Atlantic subpolar gyre and the northern North Sea (Holt et al, ).…”

Section: Observational Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Observations of the AMOC: Methodology and Technology

McCarthy¹,

Brown

Flagg

et al. 2020

Reviews of Geophysics

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Section: Observational Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Observations of the AMOC: Methodology and Technology

McCarthy¹,

Brown

Flagg

et al. 2020

Reviews of Geophysics

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“…The exchange of water between the ocean and shelf seas is still an evolving field of study, as is our understanding of how oceanic and shelf-edge processes play out at the coast (Brooks and Townsend, 1989;Holt et al, 2009;Münchow and Garvine, 1993). In this paper we investigate the behaviour of a newly characterised across-shelf current, the Atlantic Inflow Current (AIC; Porter et al, 2018), and the role it plays in transporting oceanic water across the northwest European shelf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the reduced cross-shelf flow associated with the slope current, the presence of relatively undiluted oceanic water is detectable many tens of kilometres on-shelf (Inall et al, 2009;Jones et al, 2018; at several persistent locations along the shelf. These regions of oceanic incursion are important for the delivery of production-limiting oceanic nutrients to coastal seas and, by extension, the level of primary production and prospects of local fisheries (Gowen et al, 1998;Miller, 2013;Proctor et al, 2003). The waters of the northwest European shelf exhibit a general clockwise circulation around the UK, and if oceanic water remains on the shelf it will ultimately be mixed into this coastal current system (Hill, 1983;Simpson and Hill, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This on-shelf transport implies a balancing off-shelf flow of water, and the properties of the North Atlantic Current are gradually modified as it progresses polewards through its interaction with shelf seas (Holliday et al, 2000;Reid et al, 2001) While schematics of shelf circulation typically infer a permanent residency of oceanic water on regions of the shelf (Ellett and Edwards, 1983;Ellett and MacDougal, 1985;Inall et al, 2009;Simpson et al, 1979), in reality these intrusions appear to be sporadic both in duration and geographic extent. Evidence for the spatial mobility of fronts and water masses on the Malin Shelf is provided by satellite observations, as well as in situ cruise and mooring data (Ellett and Edwards, 1983;Inall et al, 2009;Jones et al, 2018;Porter et al, 2018). The variable occupation of the Malin Shelf by oceanic water means that coastal water properties in some regions exhibit high temporal variability .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An HSP constitutes a brief but significant change from usual circulation patterns because nearly undiluted oceanic water is observed at a coastline normally buffered from the Atlantic by the SCC. HSPs may be an important mediator of winter coastal water properties as oceanic water is a source of both heat and nutrients to the shelf seas Porter et al, 2018;Siemering et al, 2016). They may have other impacts at the coast, for instance the import of organisms typically restricted to waters further offshore.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Storm-driven across-shelf oceanic flows into coastal waters

et al. 2020

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Abstract. The North Atlantic Ocean and northwest European shelf experience intense low-pressure systems during the winter months. The effect of strong winds on shelf circulation and water properties is poorly understood as observations during these episodes are rare, and key flow pathways have been poorly resolved by models up to now. We compare the behaviour of a cross-shelf current in a quiescent period in late summer, with the same current sampled during a stormy period in midwinter, using drogued drifters. Concurrently, high-resolution time series of current speed and salinity from a coastal mooring are analysed. A Lagrangian analysis of modelled particle tracks is used to supplement the observations. Current speeds at 70 m during the summer transit are 10–20 cm s−1, whereas on-shelf flow reaches 60 cm s−1 during the winter storm. The onset of high across-shelf flow is identified in the coastal mooring time series, both as an increase in coastal current speed and as an abrupt increase in salinity from 34.50 to 34.85, which lags the current by 8 d. We interpret this as the wind-driven advection of outer-shelf (near-oceanic) water towards the coastline, which represents a significant change from the coastal water pathways which typically feed the inner shelf. The modelled particle analysis supports this interpretation: particles which terminate in coastal waters are recruited locally during the late summer, but recruitment switches to the outer shelf during the winter storm. We estimate that during intense storm periods, on-shelf transport may be up to 0.48 Sv, but this is near the upper limit of transport based on the multi-year time series of coastal current and salinity. The likelihood of storms capable of producing these effects is much higher during positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winters.

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Hidden structural heterogeneity enhances marine hotspots’ biodiversity

2021

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Studies in terrestrial and shallow-water ecosystems have unravelled the key role of interspecific interactions in enhancing biodiversity, but important knowledge gaps persist for the deep sea. Cold-water coral reefs are hotspots of biodiversity, but the role of interspecific interactions and “habitat cascades” (i.e. positive effects on focal organisms mediated by biogenic habitat formation) in shaping their biodiversity is unknown. Associations between macrofaunal hosts and epifauna were examined in 47 stations at the Mingulay Reef Complex (northeast Atlantic). In total, 101 (group level) and 340 (species level) unique types of facultative associations formed by 43 hosts and 39 epifaunal species were found. Molluscs and empty polychaete tubes had higher values for the type and number of host-epifaunal associations, the Shannon–Wiener (H) and Margalef (d) indices of the epifauna than the rest of the taxonomic groups (p < 0.05). Hosts’ body size, orientation, surface smoothness, and growth form explained a significant amount of variability (32.96%) in epifauna community composition. Epifaunal species richness (S), H and d were 27.4 (± 2.2%), 56.2 (± 2.8%) and 39.9 (± 2.3%) of the respective values for the total sessile communities living on coral framework. This is intriguing as coral framework is orders of magnitude larger than the size of macrofaunal hosts. It is suggested that bivalves, tunicates and empty polychaete tubes increase habitat heterogeneity and enhance biodiversity through “habitat cascades”, in a similar way that epiphytes do in tropical rainforests. Most macrofaunal habitat suppliers in the studied cold-water coral reef are calcified species and likely susceptible to ocean acidification. This indicates that the impacts of climate change on the total biodiversity, structure and health of cold-water coral reefs may potentially be more severe than previously thought.

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Cross-slope flow in the Atlantic Inflow Current driven by the on-shelf deflection of a slope current

Cited by 23 publications

References 59 publications

Sustainable Observations of the AMOC: Methodology and Technology

Sustainable Observations of the AMOC: Methodology and Technology

Storm-driven across-shelf oceanic flows into coastal waters

Hidden structural heterogeneity enhances marine hotspots’ biodiversity

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