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Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break

Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break
Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break
The warmest water reaching the east and west coast of Greenland is found between 200?m and 600?m. Whilst important for melting Greenland's outlet glaciers, limited winter observations of this layer prohibit determination of its seasonality. To address this, temperature data from Argo profiling floats, a range of sources within the World Ocean Database and unprecedented coverage from marine-mammal borne sensors have been analysed for the period 2002-2011. A significant seasonal range in temperature (~1-2?°C) is found in the warm layer, in contrast to most of the surrounding ocean. The phase of the seasonal cycle exhibits considerable spatial variability, with the warmest water found near the eastern and southwestern shelf-break towards the end of the calendar year. High-resolution ocean model trajectory analysis suggest the timing of the arrival of the year's warmest water is a function of advection time from the subduction site in the Irminger Basin.
Ocean temperature, Greenland Shelf, Seasonal Cycle, Observations, Sea-Mammals, Trajectory analysis
0094-8276
8530-8537
Grist, Jeremy P.
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Josey, Simon A.
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Boehme, Lars
48120921-5681-4684-85de-660dd50c2651
Meredith, Michael P.
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Laidre, Kristin L.
c9310245-5685-4423-a7d9-80ec3ae2bc40
Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter
b26da9ec-e004-4d64-b5c6-4f61b57b9ec7
Kovacs, Kit M.
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Lydersen, Christian
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Davidson, Fraser J.M.
e67271db-356b-42a0-b32a-a328bea8b7fd
Stenson, Garry B.
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Hammill, Mike O.
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Marsh, Robert
702c2e7e-ac19-4019-abd9-a8614ab27717
Coward, Andrew C.
53b78140-2e65-476a-b287-e8384a65224b
Grist, Jeremy P.
ffea99af-f811-436f-9bac-5b02ba6dc00f
Josey, Simon A.
2252ab7f-5cd2-49fd-a951-aece44553d93
Boehme, Lars
48120921-5681-4684-85de-660dd50c2651
Meredith, Michael P.
25fd5f1c-f3ed-40a2-af59-5a7074a25fcd
Laidre, Kristin L.
c9310245-5685-4423-a7d9-80ec3ae2bc40
Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter
b26da9ec-e004-4d64-b5c6-4f61b57b9ec7
Kovacs, Kit M.
3a35e775-8028-4f93-922c-1aa502e6ff47
Lydersen, Christian
1196750c-7d6b-423e-b918-9b8725fa364b
Davidson, Fraser J.M.
e67271db-356b-42a0-b32a-a328bea8b7fd
Stenson, Garry B.
9f18a65b-346c-427e-90c6-21e9c03d753f
Hammill, Mike O.
03d2f588-8af6-4392-b7fe-7fd61aa9f5e5
Marsh, Robert
702c2e7e-ac19-4019-abd9-a8614ab27717
Coward, Andrew C.
53b78140-2e65-476a-b287-e8384a65224b

Grist, Jeremy P., Josey, Simon A., Boehme, Lars, Meredith, Michael P., Laidre, Kristin L., Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter, Kovacs, Kit M., Lydersen, Christian, Davidson, Fraser J.M., Stenson, Garry B., Hammill, Mike O., Marsh, Robert and Coward, Andrew C. (2014) Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break. Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (23), 8530-8537. (doi:10.1002/2014GL062051).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The warmest water reaching the east and west coast of Greenland is found between 200?m and 600?m. Whilst important for melting Greenland's outlet glaciers, limited winter observations of this layer prohibit determination of its seasonality. To address this, temperature data from Argo profiling floats, a range of sources within the World Ocean Database and unprecedented coverage from marine-mammal borne sensors have been analysed for the period 2002-2011. A significant seasonal range in temperature (~1-2?°C) is found in the warm layer, in contrast to most of the surrounding ocean. The phase of the seasonal cycle exhibits considerable spatial variability, with the warmest water found near the eastern and southwestern shelf-break towards the end of the calendar year. High-resolution ocean model trajectory analysis suggest the timing of the arrival of the year's warmest water is a function of advection time from the subduction site in the Irminger Basin.

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Accepted/In Press date: November 2014
Published date: 16 December 2014
Keywords: Ocean temperature, Greenland Shelf, Seasonal Cycle, Observations, Sea-Mammals, Trajectory analysis
Organisations: Marine Systems Modelling, Physical Oceanography, Marine Physics and Ocean Climate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 371748
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/371748
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: e80a5701-7e03-4d8c-836b-78eadab39c24

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Date deposited: 13 Nov 2014 11:05
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 18:26

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Contributors

Author: Jeremy P. Grist
Author: Simon A. Josey
Author: Lars Boehme
Author: Michael P. Meredith
Author: Kristin L. Laidre
Author: Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen
Author: Kit M. Kovacs
Author: Christian Lydersen
Author: Fraser J.M. Davidson
Author: Garry B. Stenson
Author: Mike O. Hammill
Author: Robert Marsh
Author: Andrew C. Coward

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