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The arctic ocean seasonal cycles of heat and freshwater fluxes: observation-based inverse estimates

The arctic ocean seasonal cycles of heat and freshwater fluxes: observation-based inverse estimates
The arctic ocean seasonal cycles of heat and freshwater fluxes: observation-based inverse estimates

This paper presents the first estimate of the seasonal cycle of ocean and sea ice heat and freshwater (FW) fluxes around the Arctic Ocean boundary. The ocean transports are estimated primarily using 138 moored instruments deployed in September 2005-August 2006 across the four main Arctic gateways: Davis, Fram, and Bering Straits, and the Barents Sea Opening (BSO). Sea ice transports are estimated from a sea ice assimilation product. Monthly velocity fields are calculated with a box inverse model that enforces mass and salt conservation. The volume transports in the four gateways in the period (annual mean ± 1 standard deviation) are -2.1 ± 0.7 Sv in Davis Strait, -1.1 ± 1.2 Sv in Fram Strait, 2.3 ± 1.2 Sv in the BSO, and 0.7 ± 0.7 Sv in Bering Strait (1 Sv = 106 m3 s-1). The resulting ocean and sea ice heat and FW fluxes are 175 ± 48 TW and 204 ± 85 mSv, respectively. These boundary fluxes accurately represent the annual means of the relevant surface fluxes. The ocean heat transport variability derives from velocity variability in the Atlantic Water layer and temperature variability in the upper part of the water column. The ocean FW transport variability is dominated by Bering Strait velocity variability. The net water mass transformation in the Arctic entails a freshening and cooling of inflowing waters by 0.62 ± 0.23 in salinity and 3.74° ± 0.76°C in temperature, respectively, and a reduction in density by 0.23 ± 0.20 kg m-3. The boundary heat and FW fluxes provide a benchmark dataset for the validation of numerical models and atmospheric reanalysis products.

Arctic, Fluxes, In situ oceanic observations, Inverse methods, Ocean circulation, Seasonal cycle
0022-3670
2029-2055
Tsubouchi, Takamasa
9b139671-b3dd-49cb-a37b-25faea839c06
Bacon, Sheldon
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Aksenov, Yevgeny
1d277047-06f6-4893-8bcf-c2817a9c848e
Garabato, Alberto C.Naveira
f19f6a3e-67a9-499c-b823-e6cb919b3351
Beszczynska-Möller, Agnieszka
252457c5-a7b6-4912-8396-bc26f8a92c73
Hansen, Edmond
5227618e-7dff-456b-ba33-b16454fd1cfe
De Steur, Laura
6862d6f1-ee5c-4bde-84d4-882736d5a880
Curry, Beth
cb57ea33-ffd7-4cb2-a3e1-01237390ed0b
Lee, Craig M.
06afe82e-854f-44b8-9afa-7eb8db1599a4
Tsubouchi, Takamasa
9b139671-b3dd-49cb-a37b-25faea839c06
Bacon, Sheldon
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Aksenov, Yevgeny
1d277047-06f6-4893-8bcf-c2817a9c848e
Garabato, Alberto C.Naveira
f19f6a3e-67a9-499c-b823-e6cb919b3351
Beszczynska-Möller, Agnieszka
252457c5-a7b6-4912-8396-bc26f8a92c73
Hansen, Edmond
5227618e-7dff-456b-ba33-b16454fd1cfe
De Steur, Laura
6862d6f1-ee5c-4bde-84d4-882736d5a880
Curry, Beth
cb57ea33-ffd7-4cb2-a3e1-01237390ed0b
Lee, Craig M.
06afe82e-854f-44b8-9afa-7eb8db1599a4

Tsubouchi, Takamasa, Bacon, Sheldon, Aksenov, Yevgeny, Garabato, Alberto C.Naveira, Beszczynska-Möller, Agnieszka, Hansen, Edmond, De Steur, Laura, Curry, Beth and Lee, Craig M. (2018) The arctic ocean seasonal cycles of heat and freshwater fluxes: observation-based inverse estimates. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 48 (9), 2029-2055. (doi:10.1175/JPO-D-17-0239.1).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper presents the first estimate of the seasonal cycle of ocean and sea ice heat and freshwater (FW) fluxes around the Arctic Ocean boundary. The ocean transports are estimated primarily using 138 moored instruments deployed in September 2005-August 2006 across the four main Arctic gateways: Davis, Fram, and Bering Straits, and the Barents Sea Opening (BSO). Sea ice transports are estimated from a sea ice assimilation product. Monthly velocity fields are calculated with a box inverse model that enforces mass and salt conservation. The volume transports in the four gateways in the period (annual mean ± 1 standard deviation) are -2.1 ± 0.7 Sv in Davis Strait, -1.1 ± 1.2 Sv in Fram Strait, 2.3 ± 1.2 Sv in the BSO, and 0.7 ± 0.7 Sv in Bering Strait (1 Sv = 106 m3 s-1). The resulting ocean and sea ice heat and FW fluxes are 175 ± 48 TW and 204 ± 85 mSv, respectively. These boundary fluxes accurately represent the annual means of the relevant surface fluxes. The ocean heat transport variability derives from velocity variability in the Atlantic Water layer and temperature variability in the upper part of the water column. The ocean FW transport variability is dominated by Bering Strait velocity variability. The net water mass transformation in the Arctic entails a freshening and cooling of inflowing waters by 0.62 ± 0.23 in salinity and 3.74° ± 0.76°C in temperature, respectively, and a reduction in density by 0.23 ± 0.20 kg m-3. The boundary heat and FW fluxes provide a benchmark dataset for the validation of numerical models and atmospheric reanalysis products.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 6 September 2018
Keywords: Arctic, Fluxes, In situ oceanic observations, Inverse methods, Ocean circulation, Seasonal cycle

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 425519
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/425519
ISSN: 0022-3670
PURE UUID: 86f660d0-8ff9-4832-ba78-345d689a6d8b

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Date deposited: 23 Oct 2018 16:30
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 22:18

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Contributors

Author: Takamasa Tsubouchi
Author: Sheldon Bacon
Author: Yevgeny Aksenov
Author: Alberto C.Naveira Garabato
Author: Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller
Author: Edmond Hansen
Author: Laura De Steur
Author: Beth Curry
Author: Craig M. Lee

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