Articles | Volume 21, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-241-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-21-241-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Circulation of Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay waters on the Labrador shelf and into the subpolar North Atlantic
Institute of Oceanography, CEN, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Nicholas P. Foukal
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia, Savannah, GA, USA
Eleanor Frajka-Williams
Institute of Oceanography, CEN, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Arthur Coquereau and Nicholas P. Foukal
Ocean Sci., 19, 1393–1411, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1393-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1393-2023, 2023
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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.
Related subject area
Approach: In situ Observations | Properties and processes: Overturning circulation, gyres and water masses
Hydrographic section along 55° E in the Indian and Southern oceans
Continued warming of deep waters in the Fram Strait
Observed change and the extent of coherence in the Gulf Stream system
Anomalous North Pacific subtropical mode water volume and density decrease in a recent stable Kuroshio Extension period from Argo observations
New insights into the eastern subpolar North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation from OVIDE
The Southern Ocean deep mixing band emerges from a competition between winter buoyancy loss and upper stratification strength
Comparing observed and modelled components of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26° N
Water properties and bottom water patterns in hadal trench environments
Long-term eddy modulation affects the meridional asymmetry of the halocline in the Beaufort Gyre
Technical note: Determining Arctic Ocean halocline and cold halostad depths based on vertical stability
The Iceland–Faroe warm-water flow towards the Arctic estimated from satellite altimetry and in situ observations
Katsuro Katsumata, Shigeru Aoki, Kay I. Ohshima, and Michiyo Yamamoto-Kawai
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2237, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2237, 2024
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Ship-based observation provides data of such sea water properties as temperature, salinity, nutrients, and various gases, but some important world oceans have not still been covered. A voyage in 2019/20 in the southwest Indian Ocean along approximately 55° E from 30° S to the Antarctica attempted to fill one such data sparse regions. The measured cross section of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and accompanying eddies demonstrates various oceanic behaviours including fronts and eddy mixing.
Salar Karam, Céline Heuzé, Mario Hoppmann, and Laura de Steur
Ocean Sci., 20, 917–930, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-917-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-917-2024, 2024
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A long-term mooring array in the Fram Strait allows for an evaluation of decadal trends in temperature in this major oceanic gateway into the Arctic. Since the 1980s, the deep waters of the Greenland Sea and the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic have warmed rapidly at a rate of 0.11°C and 0.05°C per decade, respectively, at a depth of 2500 m. We show that the temperatures of the two basins converged around 2017 and that the deep waters of the Greenland Sea are now a heat source for the Arctic Ocean.
Helene Asbjørnsen, Tor Eldevik, Johanne Skrefsrud, Helen L. Johnson, and Alejandra Sanchez-Franks
Ocean Sci., 20, 799–816, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-799-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-799-2024, 2024
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The Gulf Stream system is essential for northward ocean heat transport. Here, we use observations along the path of the extended Gulf Stream system and an observationally constrained ocean model to investigate variability in the Gulf Stream system since the 1990s. We find regional differences in the variability between the subtropical, subpolar, and Nordic Seas regions, which warrants caution in using observational records at a single latitude to infer large-scale circulation change.
Jing Sheng, Cong Liu, Yanzhen Gu, Peiliang Li, Fangguo Zhai, and Ning Zhou
Ocean Sci., 20, 817–834, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-817-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-817-2024, 2024
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The homogeneous water column, named mode water, retains atmosphere conditions and biogeochemical elements from the deep winter mixed layer and became weaker and warmer in the North Pacific subtropical ocean in 2018–2021 even though the Kuroshio Extension was stable. Locally anomalous east wind transporting warm water to the north and enhanced near-surface stratification hinder the deepening of the winter mixed layer. This study has broad implications for climate change and biogeochemical cycles.
Herlé Mercier, Damien Desbruyères, Pascale Lherminier, Antón Velo, Lidia Carracedo, Marcos Fontela, and Fiz F. Pérez
Ocean Sci., 20, 779–797, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-779-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-779-2024, 2024
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We study the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) measured between Greenland and Portugal between 1993–2021. We identify changes in AMOC limb volume and velocity as two major drivers of AMOC variability at subpolar latitudes. Volume variations dominate on the seasonal timescale, while velocity variations are more important on the decadal timescale. This decomposition proves useful for understanding the origin of the differences between AMOC time series from different analyses.
Romain Caneill, Fabien Roquet, and Jonas Nycander
Ocean Sci., 20, 601–619, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-601-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-601-2024, 2024
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In winter, heat loss increases density at the surface of the Southern Ocean. This increase in density creates a mixed layer deeper than 250 m only in a narrow deep mixing band (DMB) located around 50° S. North of the DMB, the stratification is too strong to be eroded, so mixed layers are shallower. The density of cold water is almost not impacted by temperature changes. Thus, heat loss does not significantly increase the density south of the DMB, so no deep mixed layers are produced.
Harry Bryden, Jordi Beunk, Sybren Drijfhout, Wilco Hazeleger, and Jennifer Mecking
Ocean Sci., 20, 589–599, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-589-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-589-2024, 2024
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There is widespread interest in whether the Gulf Stream will decline under global warming. We analyse 19 coupled climate model projections of the AMOC over the 21st century. The model consensus is that the AMOC will decline by about 40 % due to reductions in northward Gulf Stream transport and southward deep western boundary current transport. Whilst the wind-driven Gulf Stream decreases by 4 Sv, most of the decrease in the Gulf Stream is due to a reduction of 7 Sv in its thermohaline component.
Jessica Kolbusz, Jan Zika, Charitha Pattiaratchi, and Alan Jamieson
Ocean Sci., 20, 123–140, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-123-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-123-2024, 2024
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We collected observations of the ocean environment at depths over 6000 m in the Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean, and western Pacific using sensor-equipped landers. We found that trench locations impact the water characteristics over these depths. Moving northward, they generally warmed but differed due to their position along bottom water circulation paths. These insights stress the importance of further research in understanding the environment of these deep regions and their importance.
Jinling Lu, Ling Du, and Shuhao Tao
Ocean Sci., 19, 1773–1789, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1773-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1773-2023, 2023
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With the recent developments in observations and reanalysis data in the Beaufort Gyre, we investigate an improved understanding of eddy activity and asymmetrical halocline variability in the upper ocean. The halocline structures on the southern and northern sides of the central gyre have tended to be identical since 2014. The results suggest that enhanced eddy modulation through eddy fluxes influences oceanic stratification, resulting in reduced meridional asymmetry of the halocline.
Enrico P. Metzner and Marc Salzmann
Ocean Sci., 19, 1453–1464, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1453-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1453-2023, 2023
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The Arctic Ocean cold halocline separates the cold surface mixed layer from the underlying warm Atlantic Water, and thus provides a precondition for sea ice formation. Here, we introduce a new method for detecting the halocline base and compare it to two existing methods. We show that the largest differences between the methods are found in the regions that are most prone to a halocline retreat in a warming climate, and we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the three methods.
Bogi Hansen, Karin M. H. Larsen, Hjálmar Hátún, Steffen M. Olsen, Andrea M. U. Gierisch, Svein Østerhus, and Sólveig R. Ólafsdóttir
Ocean Sci., 19, 1225–1252, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1225-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1225-2023, 2023
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Based on in situ observations combined with sea level anomaly (SLA) data from satellite altimetry, volume as well as heat (relative to 0 °C) transport of the Iceland–Faroe warm-water inflow towards the Arctic (IF inflow) increased from 1993 to 2021. The reprocessed SLA data released in December 2021 represent observed variations accurately. The IF inflow crosses the Iceland–Faroe Ridge in two branches, with retroflection in between. The associated coupling to overflow reduces predictability.
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Short summary
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.
This study uses drifters – instruments that follow surface ocean currents – to investigate the...