Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean
Name
[15200485 - Journal of Physical Oceanography] Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
3.23 MB
Format
Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
973a6c4b90c1ce3015625ee97e7b9542
Author(s)
Meneghello, Gianluca
Marshall, John
Lique, Camille
Isachsen, Pål Erik
Doddridge, Edward
Campin, Jean-Michel
Regan, Heather
Talandier, Claude
Date Issued
December 2020
Journal
Journal of Physical Oceanography
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
© 2020 American Meteorological Society. Observations of ocean currents in the Arctic interior show a curious, and hitherto unexplained, vertical and temporal distribution of mesoscale activity. A marked seasonal cycle is found close to the surface: strong eddy activity during summer, observed from both satellites and moorings, is followed by very quiet winters. In contrast, subsurface eddies persist all year long within the deeper halocline and below. Informed by baroclinic instability analysis, we explore the origin and evolution of mesoscale eddies in the seasonally ice-covered interior Arctic Ocean. We find that the surface seasonal cycle is controlled by friction with sea ice, dissipating existing eddies and preventing the growth of new ones. In contrast, subsurface eddies, enabled by interior potential vorticity gradients and shielded by a strong stratification at a depth of approximately 50 m, can grow independently of the presence of sea ice. A high-resolution pan-Arctic ocean model confirms that the interior Arctic basin is baroclinically unstable all year long at depth. We address possible implications for the transport of water masses between the margins and the interior of the Arctic basin, and for climate models’ ability to capture the fundamental difference in mesoscale activity between ice-covered and ice-free regions.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1
