Articles | Volume 22, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1261-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1261-2026
Research article
 | 
22 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 22 Apr 2026

Seasonal impact of submesoscale eddies on the ocean heat budget near the sea ice edge

Lily Greig and David Ferreira

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Cited articles

Abernathey, R., Marshall, J., and Ferreira, D.: The dependence of southern ocean meridional overturning on wind stress, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 41, 2261–2278, https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-11-023.1, 2011. a, b
Aylmer, J., Ferreira, D., and Feltham, D.: Different mechanisms of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice response to ocean heat transport, Clim. Dynam., 59, 315–329, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-06131-x, 2022. a, b
Aylmer, J., Ferreira, D., and Feltham, D.: Impact of ocean heat transport on sea ice captured by a simple energy balance model, Nat. Commun. Earth Environ., 5, 406, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01565-7, 2024. a
Bitz, C. M., Holland, M. M., Hunke, E. C., and Moritz, R. E.: Maintenance of the sea-ice edge, J. Climate, 18, 2903–2921, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI3428.1, 2005. a
Brenner, S., Horvat, C., Hall, P., Lo Piccolo, A., Fox-Kemper, B., Labbé, S., and Dansereau, V.: Scale-dependent air-sea exchange in the polar oceans: floe-floe and floe-flow coupling in the generation of ice-ocean boundary layer turbulence, Geophys. Res. Lett., 50, e2023GL105703, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105703, 2023. a
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Short summary
Submesoscale eddies in the ocean (0.1–10 km) are often missing from global climate models, yet they impact nutrient transport, sea ice coverage, and ocean overturning. Using submesoscale-resolving simulations, we show that these eddies near the sea ice edge impact air-sea heat fluxes, ice cover, and ocean heat storage in summer, and mixed layer depth in winter. These findings highlight the need to better represent submesoscale eddies in sea ice – covered regions of global climate models.
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