Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1393-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1393-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Sep 2023
Research article |
| 21 Sep 2023
| 21 Sep 2023
Evaluating altimetry-derived surface currents on the south Greenland shelf with surface drifters
Arthur Coquereau
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, Univ. Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, Brest, France
Nicholas P. Foukal
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Related authors
Arthur Coquereau, Florian Sévellec, Thierry Huck, Joël J.-M. Hirschi, and Quentin Jamet
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-17, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-17, 2025
Short summary
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Using statistical methods and a set of ensemble climate models, we decompose the sources of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) variance. Three distinct phases of physical variability are identified: from 1850 to 1990, internal variability dominates; from 1990 to 2050, dynamical adjustment related to AMOC decline takes over; after 2050, differences between forcing scenarios become dominant. Beyond these physical factors, model variability remains the major source of uncertainty.
Elodie Duyck, Nicholas P. Foukal, and Eleanor Frajka-Williams
Ocean Sci., 21, 241–260, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-241-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-241-2025, 2025
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This study uses drifters – instruments that follow surface ocean currents – to investigate the pathways of Arctic origin waters that enter the North Atlantic west of Greenland. It shows that these waters remain close to the coast as they flow over the Labrador shelf and only spread into the open ocean south of the Labrador Sea. These results contribute to better understanding how the North Atlantic will be affected by additional freshwater from Greenland and the Arctic in the coming decades.
Arthur Coquereau, Florian Sévellec, Thierry Huck, Joël J.-M. Hirschi, and Quentin Jamet
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-17, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-17, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Using statistical methods and a set of ensemble climate models, we decompose the sources of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) variance. Three distinct phases of physical variability are identified: from 1850 to 1990, internal variability dominates; from 1990 to 2050, dynamical adjustment related to AMOC decline takes over; after 2050, differences between forcing scenarios become dominant. Beyond these physical factors, model variability remains the major source of uncertainty.
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Short summary
Understanding meltwater circulation around Greenland is crucial as it could influence climate variability but difficult as data are scarce. Here, we use 34 surface drifters to evaluate satellite-derived surface currents and show that satellite data recover the general structure of the flow and can recreate the pathways of particles around the southern tip of Greenland. This result permits a wide range of work to proceed looking at long-term changes in the circulation of the region since 1993.
Understanding meltwater circulation around Greenland is crucial as it could influence climate...
