Sources and upstream pathways of the densest overflow water in the Nordic Seas

Huang, Jin‐ding; Pickart, Robert S.; Huang, Rui Xin; Lin, Peigen; Brakstad, Ailin; Xu, Fanghua

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19050-y

Cited by 40 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The latter is cold (<0°C) and is recognized to be produced by open-ocean convection in the Iceland Sea and Greenland Sea. Only the Greenland Sea intermediate waters are dense enough (>28.02 kg/m 3 ) to feed the lower portion of the ISOW (Huang et al, 2020;Semper et al, 2020). In the past, when deep convection prevailed in the Greenland Sea, the intermediate waters were even below −1°C (Brakstad et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…. As for the ISOW in the Faroe Bank Channel (FBC), the lower portion with densities of 28.00-28.07 kg/m 3 is mainly supplied by the Norwegian Sea Arctic Intermediate Water (NSAIW) and Norwegian Sea Deep Water (Harden et al, 2016), which are mainly from the Greenland Sea (Eldevik et al, 2009;Huang et al, 2020;Shao et al, 2019). The upper portion with densities of 27.8-28.0 kg/m 3 is mainly supplied by the Norwegian Atlantic Water (MNAW) from the Norwegian Sea and by the East Icelandic Water from the Iceland Sea (Eldevik et al, 2009;Hansen & Østerhus, 2000;Mckenna and Berx, 2016).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Transports and Accumulations of Greenland Sea Intermediate Waters in the Norwegian Sea

et al. 2021

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The Greenland Sea intermediate waters transported via the Jan Mayen Channel (JMCh) are a significant source for the Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water. Based on hydrographic data collected by a Norway-China survey in 2015 and Argo floats, we classify the water masses of the Greenland Sea outflow and then reveal their distributions in the Norwegian Sea. The Atlantic-origin water produced by density increase during winter in the northern Greenland Sea was an important component of the intermediate waters exported to the Norwegian Sea, accounting for about 30% of the total volume in 2015. The hydrographic data revealed that the major passage of outflow from the Greenland Sea was located in the southern Mohn Ridge in 2015, rather than in the JMCh, as generally recognized. The transport of intermediate waters from the Greenland Sea via the southern Mohn Ridge in the summer of 2015 is estimated to be about 0.8-1.7 Sv. This transport pattern provides a perspective that there exists a multipassage system of outflow in the JMCh and Mohn Ridge, promoting a stable supply of intermediate waters to the Norwegian Sea. Plain Language SummaryThe Arctic Intermediate Water produced by open-ocean convection in the Greenland Sea Gyre is known as a major source of the deepest overflow across the Iceland-Scotland Ridge. We reveal that the Atlantic-origin water densified in the northern Greenland Sea was another important source of overflow, which was associated with the increasing component of the Atlantic Water in the Greenland Sea. These different sources of overflow waters in the Greenland Sea indicate an underestimate of water production if only the Greenland Sea Gyre is considered. Our study also indicates that the Mohn Ridge can have an equivalent contribution as the Jan Mayen Channel in terms of feeding the Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water. WANG ET AL.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Transports and Accumulations of Greenland Sea Intermediate Waters in the Norwegian Sea

et al. 2021

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“… Schematic circulation of the Nordic Seas, modified from Huang et al. (2020). The pathways of warm Atlantic inflow, dense outflow, and cyclonic gyre circulation in the Greenland and Iceland Seas are shown by the red, green, and purple arrows, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most recently, Huang et al. (2020) argued that the ArOW in the NIJ stems mainly from the Greenland Sea gyre. They deduced this by invoking a new water mass metric to trace the so‐called NIJ transport mode water (Semper et al., 2019) in a potential‐density/potential‐spicity framework.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wintertime Water Mass Transformation in the Western Iceland and Greenland Seas

et al. 2021

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Hydrographic and velocity data from a 2018 winter survey of the western Iceland and Greenland Seas are used to investigate the ventilation of overflow water feeding Denmark Strait. We focus on the two general classes of overflow water: warm, saline Atlantic‐origin Overflow Water (AtOW) and cold, fresh Arctic‐origin Overflow Water (ArOW). The former is found predominantly within the East Greenland Current (EGC), while the latter resides in the interior of the Iceland and Greenland Seas. Progressing north to south, the properties of AtOW in the EGC are modified diapycnally during the winter, in contrast to summer when along‐isopycnal mixing dominates. The water column response to a 10‐days cold‐air outbreak was documented using repeat observations. During the event, the northerly winds pushed the freshwater cap of the EGC onshore, and convection modified the water at the seaward edge of the current. Lateral transfer of heat and salt from the core of AtOW in the EGC appears to have influenced some of this water mass transformation. The long‐term evolution of the mixed layers in the interior was investigated using a 1‐D mixing model. This suggests that, under strong atmospheric forcing, the densest component of ArOW can be ventilated in this region. Numerous anti‐cyclonic eddies spawned from the EGC were observed during the winter survey, revealing that these features can play differing roles in modifying/prohibiting the open‐ocean convection.

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“…known model deficiency (Sakov et al, 2012). The sea ice model (Hunke and Dukowicz, 1997), used in TOPAZ4, has a narrower transition zone between the pack ice and the open ocean. Although assimilation of the sea ice observations does slightly improve the position of MIZ in TOPAZ4 compared to observations, the sharp transition in a narrow band still remains, which could have resulted in higher standard deviations in a narrow MIZ of TOPAZ4 as observed in Fig.…”

Section: Methods and Evaluation Of Topaz4mentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined influence of oceanic and atmospheric circulations on Greenland sea ice concentration

et al. 2021

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Abstract. The amount and spatial extent of Greenland Sea (GS) ice are primarily controlled by the sea ice export across the Fram Strait (FS) and by local seasonal sea ice formation, melting, and sea ice dynamics. In this study, using satellite passive microwave sea ice observations, atmospheric and a coupled ocean-sea ice reanalysis system, TOPAZ4, we show that both the atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the Nordic Seas (NS) act in tandem to explain the SIC variability in the south-western GS. Northerly wind anomalies associated with anomalously low sea level pressure (SLP) over the NS reduce the sea ice export in the south-western GS due to westward Ekman drift of sea ice. On the other hand, the positive wind stress curl strengthens the cyclonic Greenland Sea Gyre (GSG) circulation in the central GS. An intensified GSG circulation may result in stronger Ekman divergence of surface cold and fresh waters away from the south-western GS. Both of these processes can reduce the freshwater content and weaken the upper-ocean stratification in the south-western GS. At the same time, warm and saline Atlantic Water (AW) anomalies are recirculated from the FS region to the south-western GS by a stronger GSG circulation. Under weakly stratified conditions, enhanced vertical mixing of these subsurface AW anomalies can warm the surface waters and inhibit new sea ice formation, further reducing the SIC in the south-western GS.

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Sources and upstream pathways of the densest overflow water in the Nordic Seas

Cited by 40 publications

References 36 publications

Transports and Accumulations of Greenland Sea Intermediate Waters in the Norwegian Sea

Transports and Accumulations of Greenland Sea Intermediate Waters in the Norwegian Sea

Wintertime Water Mass Transformation in the Western Iceland and Greenland Seas

Combined influence of oceanic and atmospheric circulations on Greenland sea ice concentration

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