Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Arctic Ocean From a Global Simulation With a 1‐km Arctic

Wang, Qiang; Koldunov, Nikolay; Danilov, Sergey; Sidorenko, Dmitry; Wekerle, Claudia; Scholz, Patrick; Bashmachnikov, Igor; Jung, Thomas

doi:10.1029/2020gl088550

Cited by 36 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(103 reference statements)

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“…Nevertheless, we believe our qualitative findings are plausible with respect to the dynamical processes investigated. It is expected that eddy‐resolving models with kilometer resolution, which just start to emerge (Wang et al., 2020), will further improve our skills in understanding and predicting the Arctic Ocean dynamics in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonmonotonic Change of the Arctic Ocean Freshwater Storage Capability in a Warming Climate

Wang

Shu

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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Freshwater in the Arctic Ocean is one of the key climate components. It is not well understood how the capability of the Arctic Ocean to store freshwater will develop when freshwater supplies increase in a warming climate. By using numerical experiments, we find that this capability varies with the Arctic sea ice decline nonmonotonically, with the largest capability at intermediate strength of sea ice decline. Through enhancing the ocean surface stress, sea ice decline not only accumulates freshwater toward the Amerasian Basin but also tends to reduce the amount of freshwater in both the Eurasian and Amerasian basins by increasing the occupation of Atlantic‐origin water in the upper ocean. An increase in river runoff modulates the counterbalance of the two competing effects, leading to the nonmonotonic changes of the Arctic freshwater storage capability in a warming climate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonmonotonic Change of the Arctic Ocean Freshwater Storage Capability in a Warming Climate

Wang

Shu

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…To cross-validate our results, we also used the Okubo-Weiss criterion, which belongs to the second category of methods (Okubo, 1970;Weiss, 1991). Eddies are identified as areas where vorticity dominates over strain.…”

Section: Eddy Detection and Trackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Properties and dynamics of mesoscale eddies in Fram Strait from a comparison between two high-resolution ocean–sea ice models

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Fram Strait, the deepest gateway to the Arctic Ocean, is strongly influenced by eddy dynamics. Here we analyse the output from two eddy-resolving models (ROMS – Regional Ocean Modeling System; FESOM – Finite-Element Sea-ice Ocean Model) with around 1 km mesh resolution in Fram Strait, with a focus on their representation of eddy properties and dynamics. A comparison with mooring observations shows that both models reasonably simulate hydrography and eddy kinetic energy. Despite differences in model formulation, they show relatively similar eddy properties. The eddies have a mean radius of 4.9 and 5.6 km in ROMS and FESOM, respectively, with slightly more cyclones (ROMS: 54 %, FESOM: 55 %) than anticyclones. The mean lifetime of detected eddies is relatively short in both simulations (ROMS: 10 d, FESOM: 11 d), and the mean travel distance is 35 km in both models. More anticyclones are trapped in deep depressions or move toward deep locations. The two models show comparable spatial patterns of baroclinic and barotropic instability. ROMS has relatively stronger eddy intensity and baroclinic instability, possibly due to its smaller grid size, while FESOM has stronger eddy kinetic energy in the West Spitsbergen Current. Overall, the relatively good agreement between the two models strengthens our confidence in their ability to realistically represent the Fram Strait ocean dynamics and also highlights the need for very high mesh resolution.

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“…This high resolution improves the representation of the narrow straits in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) (Wekerle et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2018b), although it is only marginally eddypermitting in the Arctic basin (Wang et al, 2020a). The vertical resolution is 10 m in the upper 100 m and gradually coarsened downward.…”

Section: Methods and Model Setupsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…As eddies could influence the lateral transport of water masses (Hu et al, 2019;Spall, 2020), using eddy-resolving model setups might improve the quantitative results presented here. With increasing available computing resources in the future, one might be able to carry out long and multiple eddy-resolving 1 km scale Arctic simulations, as prototyped in Wang et al (2020a), to better quantify the effect of eddies and the ocean response to wind variability.…”

Section: Limitations and Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circulation Pathways and Exports of Arctic River Runoff Influenced by Atmospheric Circulation Regimes

et al. 2021

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River runoff supplies the Arctic Ocean with a large amount of freshwater and land-derived material, so it is important for both the physical and biogeochemical marine environment. In this study, we used wind perturbation simulations to elucidate the response of the circulation pathways and exports of Arctic river runoff to different atmospheric circulation regimes. Specifically, wind perturbations representing the negative and positive phases of the Arctic Oscillation and Beaufort High modes were imposed over the Arctic Ocean separately in different sensitivity experiments. In addition, some combinations of the two modes were also considered in sensitivity experiments. By comparing these experiments with a control simulation, we revealed the impact of different wind perturbations. The atmospheric circulation regimes influence the Arctic surface geostrophic currents through changing the halosteric height, which is associated with the changes in spatial distribution of surface freshwater. The circulation pathways of river runoff, and Pacific and Atlantic derived surface waters are mainly determined by the surface geostrophic currents. The positive (negative) Arctic Oscillation reduces (increases) freshwater storage and sea surface height in the Makarov and Eurasian basins, thus strengthening (weakening) the cyclonic circulation and weakening (strengthening) the anticyclonic circulation; Accordingly, the Eurasian runoff leaves the Siberian shelf at more eastern (western) locations, and has an enhanced export through the Fram Strait (Canadian Arctic Archipelago). The positive (negative) Beaufort High increases (reduces) freshwater storage and sea surface height in the Amerasian Basin, thus strengthening (weakening) the anticyclonic circulation; Accordingly, the Eurasian runoff export through the Fram Strait and the Mackenzie River runoff export through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are reduced (increased). The positive Arctic Oscillation increases freshwater available to the Beaufort Gyre, which can be efficiently accumulated there in the presence of a positive Beaufort High forcing. The impact of the Beaufort High mode on the location of the Transpolar Drift Stream and runoff circulation pathways is stronger with a positive Arctic Oscillation than with a neutral Arctic Oscillation state. Our results also showed that Eurasian runoff can only have a relatively small contribution to freshwater accumulation in the Beaufort Gyre region.

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Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Arctic Ocean From a Global Simulation With a 1‐km Arctic

Cited by 36 publications

References 51 publications

Nonmonotonic Change of the Arctic Ocean Freshwater Storage Capability in a Warming Climate

Nonmonotonic Change of the Arctic Ocean Freshwater Storage Capability in a Warming Climate

Properties and dynamics of mesoscale eddies in Fram Strait from a comparison between two high-resolution ocean–sea ice models

Circulation Pathways and Exports of Arctic River Runoff Influenced by Atmospheric Circulation Regimes

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