Articles | Volume 22, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1073-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-22-1073-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Increased ocean heat transport to the central Arctic despite a well working Barents Sea Cooling Machine
Shaun A. Eisner
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
James A. Carton
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
Leon Chafik
Department of Meteorology and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Lars H. Smedsrud
Geophysical Institute and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Related authors
No articles found.
Solène Jousset, Sandrine Mulet, Eric Greiner, John Wilkin, Lien Vidar, Léon Chafik, Roshin Raj, Antonio Bonaduce, Nicolas Picot, and Gérald Dibarboure
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 2285–2303, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2285-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2285-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite altimetry has revolutionized ocean observation, making it possible to track sea level with very good spatio-temporal coverage. However, only sea level anomalies are retrieved; to monitor the entire ocean signal, mean dynamic topography (MDT) must be added to these anomalies. In this study, an evaluation of the CNES-CLS22 MDT shows significant improvements in the Arctic. Over the globe, this new solution represents an incremental update to previous CNES-CLS18 MDT.
Letizia Tedesco, Delphine Lannuzel, Julie Janssen, and Lars H. Smedsrud
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6509, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6509, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
Sea ice around Antarctica contains much more iron than the surrounding ocean, but how this iron becomes trapped in ice has been unclear. We used a computer model to show that tiny ice crystals forming in turbulent winter waters can collect iron from seawater and concentrate it in newly formed ice. When this ice melts, it can release a short but intense pulse of iron that helps fuel ocean life and supports the Southern Ocean’s role in regulating climate.
Linda Latuta, Lars H. Smedsrud, Elin Darelius, Per Juel Hansen, and Josh K. Willis
Ocean Sci., 21, 3487–3505, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-3487-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-3487-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
New hydrographic observations from Disko Bay, Greenland, focus on the previously undersampled autumn to spring seasons. Data collected between 2022 and 2024 reveal seasonal inflow of warm, salty Atlantic water from Baffin Bay, as well as seasonal and spatial variability within cooler Polar Water. The findings establish a framework for interpreting physical variability within Disko Bay and its connection to the west Greenland coastal system.
Gennady A. Chepurin, James A. Carton, Luyu Sun, and Stephen G. Penny
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3810, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3810, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Ocean reanalyses reconstruct the physical state of the ocean – its temperature, salinity, and currents – using historical observations to constrain a numerical simulation of the fluid equations of motion. This paper describes the SODA4 reanalysis, which is now able to resolve the oceanic eddy field and its interactions with the large-scale flow throughout most of the ocean. Reanalyses are key to climate research because they merge messy historical observations into a continuous climate record.
Fabio Mangini, Léon Chafik, Antonio Bonaduce, Laurent Bertino, and Jan Even Ø. Nilsen
Ocean Sci., 18, 331–359, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-331-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We validate the recent ALES-reprocessed coastal satellite altimetry dataset along the Norwegian coast between 2003 and 2018. We find that coastal altimetry and conventional altimetry products perform similarly along the Norwegian coast. However, the agreement with tide gauges slightly increases in terms of trends when we use the ALES coastal altimetry data. We then use the ALES dataset and hydrographic stations to explore the steric contribution to the Norwegian sea-level anomaly.
Cited articles
Aksenov, Y., Ivanov, V. V., Nurser, A. J. G., Bacon, S., Polyakov, I. V., Coward, A. C., Naveira-Garabato, A. C., and Beszczynska-Moeller, A.: The Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 116, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006637, 2011. a
Årthun, M. and Schrum, C.: Ocean surface heat flux variability in the Barents Sea, J. Marine Syst., 83, 88–98, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2010.07.003, 2010. a
Årthun, M., Brakstad, A., Dörr, J., Johnson, H. L., Mans, C., Semper, S., and Våge, K.: Atlantification drives recent strengthening of the Arctic overturning circulation, Science Advances, 11, eadu1794, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adu1794, 2025. a
Bengtsson, L., Semenov, V. A., and Johannessen, O. M.: The early twentieth-century warming in the Arctic–A possible mechanism, J. Climate, 17, 4045–4057, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<4045:TETWIT>2.0.CO;2, 2004. a
Beszczynska-Möller, A., Fahrbach, E., Schauer, U., and Hansen, E.: Variability in Atlantic water temperature and transport at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean, 1997–2010, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 69, 852–863, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss056, 2012. a
Cai, Z., You, Q., Chen, H. W., Zhang, R., Chen, D., Chen, J., Kang, S., and Cohen, J.: Amplified wintertime Barents Sea warming linked to intensified Barents oscillation, Environ. Res. Lett., 17, 044068, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5bb3, 2022. a
Carton, J. A. and Chepurin, G. A.: RARE: The Regional Arctic Reanalysis, J. Climate, 36, 2333–2348, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-22-0340.1, 2023. a
Carton, J. A. and Giese, B. S.: A Reanalysis of Ocean Climate Using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA), Mon. Weather Rev., 136, 2999–3017, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007MWR1978.1, 2008. a
Carton, J. A. and Santorelli, A.: Global decadal upper-ocean heat content as viewed in nine analyses, J. Climate, 21, 6015–6035, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JCLI2489.1, 2008. a
Chepurin, G. A., Carton, J. A., Sun, L., and Penny, S. G.: SODA4: a mesoscale ocean/sea ice reanalysis 1980–2024, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3810, 2025a. a, b, c
Chepurin, G., Carton, J., Sun, L., and Penny, S.: SODA4: a mesoscale ocean/sea ice reanalysis 1980–2024, University of Maryland [data set], https://dsrs.atmos.umd.edu/DATA, last access: 1 December 2025b. a
de Boyer Montégut, C., Madec, G., Fischer, A. S., Lazar, A., and Iudicone, D.: Mixed layer depth over the global ocean: An examination of profile data and a profile-based climatology, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002378, 2004. a
Eisner, S. A., Carton, J. A., and Chafik, L.: Atlantic Water Heat Transport Variability and Trends Into the Amerasian Basin: A First Look Using SODA4, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 130, e2025JC023382, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JC023382, 2025. a
E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information: Global Ocean Physics Reanalysis, Marine Data Store [data set], https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00021, 2023. a
Freeman, E., Woodruff, S. D., Worley, S. J., Lubker, S. J., Kent, E. C., Angel, W. E., Berry, D. I., Brohan, P., Eastman, R., Gates, L., Gloeden, W., Ji, Z., Lawrimore, J., Rayner, N. A., Rosenhagen, G., and Smith, S. R.: ICOADS Release 3.0: a major update to the historical marine climate record, Int. J. Climatol., 37, 2211–2232, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4775, 2017. a
Gonzalez-Pola, C., Larsen, K. M. H., Fratantoni, P., and Beszczynska-Möller, A.: ICES Report on Ocean Climate 2021, https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.24755574.v1, 2023. a
Hersbach, H., Bell, B., Berrisford, P., Hirahara, S., Horányi, A., Muñoz-Sabater, J., Nicolas, J., Peubey, C., Radu, R., Schepers, D., Simmons, A., Soci, C., Abdalla, S., Abellan, X., Balsamo, G., Bechtold, P., Biavati, G., Bidlot, J., Bonavita, M., De Chiara, G., Dahlgren, P., Dee, D., Diamantakis, M., Dragani, R., Flemming, J., Forbes, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A., Haimberger, L., Healy, S., Hogan, R. J., Hólm, E., Janisková, M., Keeley, S., Laloyaux, P., Lopez, P., Lupu, C., Radnoti, G., de Rosnay, P., Rozum, I., Vamborg, F., Villaume, S., and Thépaut, J.-N.: The ERA5 global reanalysis, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 146, 1999–2049, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3803, 2020. a
Heukamp, F. O., Kanzow, T., Wang, Q., Wekerle, C., and Gerdes, R.: Impact of cyclonic wind anomalies caused by massive winter sea ice retreat in the Barents Sea on Atlantic Water transport toward the Arctic: A model study, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 128, e2022JC019045, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019045, 2023. a
Holliday, N. P., Bersch, M., Berx, B., Chafik, L., Cunningham, S., Florindo-López, C., Hátún, H., Johns, W., Josey, S. A., Larsen, K. M. H., Mulet, S., Oltmanns, M., Reverdin, G., Rossby, T., Thierry, V., Valdimarsson, H., and Yashayaev, I.: Ocean Circulation Causes the Largest Freshening Event for 120 Years in Eastern Subpolar North Atlantic, Nat. Commun., 11, 585, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14474-y, 2020. a
Ikeda, M.: Decadal oscillations of the air-ice-ocean system in the Northern Hemisphere, Atmos. Ocean, 28, 106–139, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.1990.9649369, 1990. a
Ingvaldsen, R. B., Assmann, K. M., Primicerio, R., Fossheim, M., Polyakov, I. V., and Dolgov, A. V.: Physical manifestations and ecological implications of Arctic Atlantification, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 2, 874–889, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-021-00228-x, 2021. a
Jonasson, O., Gladkova, I., and Ignatov, A.: Towards global daily gridded super-collated SST product from low earth orbiting satellites (L3S-LEO-Daily) at NOAA, in: Ocean Sensing and Monitoring XIV, vol. 12118, SPIE, 40–51, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2620103, 2022a. a
Jonasson, O., Ignatov, A., Pryamitsyn, V., Petrenko, B., and Kihai, Y.: JPSS VIIRS SST Reanalysis Version 3, Remote Sens.-Basel, 14, 3476, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143476, 2022b. a
Karspeck, A. R., Stammer, D., Köhl, A., Danabasoglu, G., Balmaseda, M., Smith, D. M., Fujii, Y., Zhang, S., Giese, B., Tsujino, H., and Rosati, A.: Comparison of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation between 1960 and 2007 in Six Ocean Reanalysis Products, Clim. Dynam., 49, 957–982, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2787-7, 2017. a
Lellouche, J.-M., Eric, G., Romain, B.-B., Gilles, G., Angélique, M., Marie, D., Clément, B., Mathieu, H., Olivier, L. G., Charly, R., Candela, T., Testut, C.-E., Gasparin, F., Ruggiero, G., Benkiran, M., Drillet, Y., and Le Traon, P.-Y.: The Copernicus global 1/12 oceanic and sea ice GLORYS12 reanalysis, Front. Earth Sci., 9, 698876, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.698876, 2021. a
Mishonov, A. V., Boyer, T. P., Baranova, O. K., Bouchard, C. N., Cross, S. L., Garcia, H. E., Locarnini, R. A., Paver, C. R., Reagan, J. R., Wang, Z., Seidov, D., Grodsky, A. I., and Beauchamp, J. G.: World Ocean Database 2023, https://doi.org/10.25923/z885-h264, 2024. a
Onarheim, I. H. and Årthun, M.: Toward an ice-free Barents Sea, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 8387–8395, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074304, 2017. a
Onarheim, I. H., Eldevik, T., Smedsrud, L. H., and Stroeve, J. C.: Seasonal and regional manifestation of Arctic sea ice loss, J. Climate, 31, 4917–4932, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074304, 2018. a
Pnyushkov, A., Polyakov, I. V., Padman, L., and Nguyen, A. T.: Structure and dynamics of mesoscale eddies over the Laptev Sea continental slope in the Arctic Ocean, Ocean Sci., 14, 1329–1347, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1329-2018, 2018a. a
Pnyushkov, A. V., Polyakov, I. V., Rember, R., Ivanov, V. V., Alkire, M. B., Ashik, I. M., Baumann, T. M., Alekseev, G. V., and Sundfjord, A.: Heat, salt, and volume transports in the eastern Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean from 2 years of mooring observations, Ocean Sci., 14, 1349–1371, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1349-2018, 2018b. a, b
Pnyushkov, A. V., Polyakov, I. V., Alekseev, G., Ashik, I., Baumann, T. M., Carmack, E., Ivanov, V., and Rember, R.: A steady regime of volume and heat transports in the eastern Arctic Ocean in the early 21st century, Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 705608, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.705608, 2021. a
Polyakov, I. V., Pnyushkov, A. V., Charette, M., Cho, K.-H., Jung, J., Kipp, L., Muilwijk, M., Whitmore, L., Yang, E. J., and Yoo, J.: Atlantification advances into the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean, Science Advances, 11, eadq7580, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adq7580, 2025. a
Reagan, J. R., Boyer, T. P., García, H. E., Locarnini, R. A., Baranova, O. K., Bouchard, C., Cross, S. L., Mishonov, A. V., Paver, C. R., Seidov, D., Wang, Z., and Dukhovskoy, D.: World Ocean Atlas 2023, https://doi.org/10.25921/va26-hv25, 2023. a
Rudels, B., Friedrich, H. J., and Quadfasel, D.: The Arctic circumpolar boundary current, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 46, 1023–1062, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(99)00015-6, 1999. a
Schauer, U., Loeng, H., Rudels, B., Ozhigin, V. K., and Dieck, W.: Atlantic water flow through the Barents and Kara Seas, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 49, 2281–2298, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0637(02)00125-5, 2002. a
Shu, Q., Wang, Q., Song, Z., and Qiao, F.: The poleward enhanced Arctic Ocean cooling machine in a warming climate, Nat. Commun., 12, 2966, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23321-7, 2021. a, b
Skagseth, Ø., Furevik, T., Ingvaldsen, R., Loeng, H., Mork, K. A., Orvik, K. A., and Ozhigin, V.: Volume and heat transports to the Arctic Ocean via the Norwegian and Barents Seas, in: Arctic–subarctic ocean fluxes: Defining the role of the northern seas in climate, 45–64, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6774-7_3, 2008. a, b
Smedsrud, L. H., Esau, I., Ingvaldsen, R. B., Eldevik, T., Haugan, P. M., Li, C., Lien, V. S., Olsen, A., Omar, A. M., Otterå, O. H., Risebrobakken, B., Sandø, A. B., Semenov, V. A., and Sorokina, S. A.: The role of the Barents Sea in the Arctic climate system, Rev. Geophys., 51, 415–449, https://doi.org/10.1002/rog.20017, 2013. a, b, c, d, e, f
Smedsrud, L. H., Muilwijk, M., Brakstad, A., Madonna, E., Lauvset, S. K., Spensberger, C., Born, A., Eldevik, T., Drange, H., Jeansson, E., Li, C., Olsen, A., Skagseth, Ø., Slater, D. A., Straneo, F., Våge, K., and Årthun, M.: Nordic Seas Heat Loss, Atlantic Inflow, and Arctic Sea Ice Cover Over the Last Century, Rev. Geophys., 60, e2020RG000725, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020RG000725, 2022. a
Spall, M. A.: On the circulation of Atlantic Water in the Arctic Ocean, J. Phys. Oceanogr, 43, 2352–2371, https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-13-079.1, 2013. a
Uotila, P., Goosse, H., Haines, K., Chevallier, M., Barthélemy, A., Bricaud, C., Carton, J., Fučkar, N., Garric, G., Iovino, D., Kauker, F., Korhonen, M., Lien, V. S., Marnela, M., Massonnet, F., Mignac, D., Peterson, K. A., Sadikni, R., Shi, L., Tietsche, S., Toyoda, T., Xie, J., and Zhang, Z.: An Assessment of Ten Ocean Reanalyses in the Polar Regions, Clim. Dynam., 52, 1613–1650, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4242-z, 2019. a
Wang, Q., Wang, X., Wekerle, C., Danilov, S., Jung, T., Koldunov, N., Lind, S., Sein, D., Shu, Q., and Sidorenko, D.: Ocean heat transport into the Barents Sea: Distinct controls on the upward trend and interannual variability, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 13180–13190, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083837, 2019. a, b
Woodgate, R. A., Aagaard, K., Muench, R. D., Gunn, J., Björk, G., Rudels, B., Roach, A., and Schauer, U.: The Arctic Ocean boundary current along the Eurasian slope and the adjacent Lomonosov Ridge: Water mass properties, transports and transformations from moored instruments, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 48, 1757–1792, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0637(00)00091-1, 2001. a, b
Short summary
The Barents Sea is a major route for Atlantic Water to enter the Arctic. Cold air cools incoming Atlantic Water before it exits to the Arctic through the St. Anna Trough. We derive the first long-term estimate of the heat leaving the Barents Sea through St. Anna Trough. The heat leaving has increased since 1980, but only by half as much as the increase in heat entering. Finally, we present evidence for a previously proposed "ocean feedback" mechanism to help cool inflowing Atlantic Water.
The Barents Sea is a major route for Atlantic Water to enter the Arctic. Cold air cools incoming...