The Ice‐Ocean Governor: Ice‐Ocean Stress Feedback Limits Beaufort Gyre Spin‐Up
Name
IceOceanGovernor.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.53 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Meneghello, Gianluca
Marshall, John C
Campin, Jean-Michel
Doddridge, Edward W
Timmermans, Mary‐Louise
Date Issued
October 2018
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Citation
Meneghello, Gianluca et. al., "The Ice‐Ocean Governor: Ice‐Ocean Stress Feedback Limits Beaufort Gyre Spin‐Up." Geophysical Research Letters 45, 20 (October 2018): 11,293-99 doi. 10.1029/2018GL080171 ©2018 Authors
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The Beaufort Gyre is a key circulation system of the Arctic Ocean and its main reservoir of freshwater. Freshwater storage and release affects Arctic sea ice cover, as well as North Atlantic and global climate. We describe a mechanism that is fundamental to the dynamics of the gyre, namely, the ice-ocean stress governor. Wind blows over the ice, and the ice drags the ocean. But as the gyre spins up, currents catch the ice up and turn off the surface stress. This governor sets the basic properties of the gyre, such as its depth, freshwater content, and strength. Analytical and numerical modeling is employed to contrast the equilibration processes in an ice-covered versus ice-free gyre. We argue that as the Arctic warms, reduced sea ice extent and more mobile ice will result in a deeper and faster Beaufort Gyre, accumulating more freshwater that will be released by Ekman upwelling or baroclinic instability. ©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080171
