Meanders of the West Greenland Current near Cape Farewell

Pacini, Astrid; Pickart, Robert S.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2021.103664

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Satellite observations did show that the surface geostrophic velocity of the WGC increased from 2014 to 2018 (Pacini & Pickart, 2022). To date, there is no observational evidence on the inter‐annual trend of the WGCC.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Between OSNAP West and Cape Desolation sections, there is little change in the total transports, so there is limited offshore exchanges. Given that Pacini and Pickart (2022) observe significant meandering of the WGC at OSNAP West, it is likely that those meanders are then attenuated and thus do not provide offshore fluxes, given the transport coherence to Cape Desolation.…”

Section: Transportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Changing Behavior of the West Greenland Current System in a Very High‐Resolution Model

2022

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The West Greenland Current (WGC; Figure 1) has a significant role in modulating the deep convection in the Labrador Sea (Li et al., 2021), where an important mode water -Labrador Sea Water (LSW), is produced. It is a strong current that is situated on the shelf break of west Greenland. It carries a significant amount of buoyant water, with low salinity water of Arctic origin at the surface, as well as the warm and salty Irminger water at intermediate depths (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Changing Behavior of the West Greenland Current System in a Very High‐Resolution Model

2022

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“…Localized eddy formation due to unstable boundary currents over steep topography is common, for example, in the Lofoten Basin (Isachsen et al., 2012; Richards & Straneo, 2015) and the Labrador Sea (Gelderloos et al., 2011; Lilly et al., 2003), where the lateral heat fluxes from these eddies play an important role for the water mass transformation. In the Labrador Sea, anticyclonic warm‐core eddies with radii of 15–30 km detach from the West Greenland Current, and EKE is particularly enhanced during winter (Lilly et al., 2003; Pacini & Pickart, 2022). The size of these so‐called Irminger Rings is determined by the length scale over which the slope changes in the along‐stream direction (Bracco et al., 2008).…”

Section: Eddy Activity Northeast Of Icelandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and Transformation of the North Icelandic Irminger Current Along the North Iceland Shelf

et al. 2022

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The North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC) flowing northward through Denmark Strait is the main source of salt and heat to the north Iceland shelf. We quantify its along‐stream evolution using the first high‐resolution hydrographic/velocity survey north of Iceland that spans the entire shelf along with historical hydrographic measurements as well as data from satellites and surface drifters. The NIIC generally follows the shelf break. Portions of the flow recirculate near Denmark Strait and the Kolbeinsey Ridge. The current's volume transport diminishes northeast of Iceland before it merges with the Atlantic Water inflow east of Iceland. The hydrographic properties of the current are modified along its entire pathway, predominantly because of lateral mixing with cold, fresh offshore waters rather than air‐sea interaction. Progressing eastward, the NIIC cools and freshens by approximately 0.3°C and 0.02–0.03 g kg−1 per 100 km, respectively, in both summer and winter. Dense‐water formation on the shelf is limited, occurring only sporadically in the historical record. The hydrographic properties of this locally formed water match the lighter portion of the North Icelandic Jet (NIJ), which emerges northeast of Iceland and transports dense water toward Denmark Strait. In the region northeast of Iceland, the NIIC is prone to baroclinic instability. Enhanced eddy kinetic energy over the steep slope there suggests a dynamical link between eddies shed by the NIIC and the formation of the NIJ as previously hypothesized. Thus, while the NIIC rarely supplies the NIJ directly, it may be dynamically important for the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas.

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“…There are differing pathways freshwater is transported by the WGC, it can flow northward into Baffin Bay or cyclonically around the Labrador basin (Pacini et al, 2021;Gou et al, 2021). Freshwater from the WGC can be fluxed into the central Labrador Sea via offshore Ekman transport (Luo et al, 2016;Castelao et al, 2019;Schulze Chretien & Frajka-Williams, 2018) and eddies (Lilly et al, 2003;Katsman et al, 2004;Rieck et al, 2019;Pacini & Pickart, 2022). The Labrador and Irminger Sea will both be referred to as LAB and IRM throughout the manuscript.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging impacts of enhanced Greenland melting on Labrador Sea dynamics

Schiller-Weiss,

Martin,

Schwarzkopf

2024

Preprint

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Freshwater input from Greenland ice sheet melt has been increasing in the past decades from warming temperatures. To identify the impacts from enhanced meltwater input into the subpolar North Atlantic from 1997–2021, we use output from two nearly identical simulations in the eddy-rich model VIKING20X (1/20°) only differing in the freshwater input from Greenland: one with realistic interannually varying runoff increasing in the early 2000s and the other with climatologically (1961–2000) continued runoff. The majority of the additional freshwater remains within the boundary current enhancing the density gradient towards the warm and salty interior waters yielding increased current velocities. The accelerated boundary current shows a tendency towards eddy shedding into the Labrador Sea interior. Further, the experiments allow to attribute higher stratification and shallower mixed layers southwest of Greenland and deeper mixed layers in the Irminger Sea, particularly in 2015–2018, to the runoff increase in the early 2000s.

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Meanders of the West Greenland Current near Cape Farewell

Cited by 7 publications

References 82 publications

The Changing Behavior of the West Greenland Current System in a Very High‐Resolution Model

The Changing Behavior of the West Greenland Current System in a Very High‐Resolution Model

Evolution and Transformation of the North Icelandic Irminger Current Along the North Iceland Shelf

Emerging impacts of enhanced Greenland melting on Labrador Sea dynamics

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