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A subannual subsurface pathway from the Gulf Stream to the Subpolar Gyre and its role in warming and salinification in the 1990s

A subannual subsurface pathway from the Gulf Stream to the Subpolar Gyre and its role in warming and salinification in the 1990s
A subannual subsurface pathway from the Gulf Stream to the Subpolar Gyre and its role in warming and salinification in the 1990s

The transport of warm, saline subtropical water to the subpolar gyre (SPG) in the North Atlantic has been the subject of a range of Lagrangian studies, establishing intergyre exchange on timescales of 2–7 years, with greater subsurface throughflow. Here calculating particle trajectories in a high-resolution, global hindcast, we present new evidence for a direct, subsurface pathway to the SPG from the Gulf Stream (GS) on subannual timescales. The pathway is most evident for particles initially at 200-m depth in the GS and is enhanced after a prolonged period of positive North Atlantic Oscillation. This occurred in the mid-1990s and led to warming and salinification of the western SPG consistent with observations. The more realistic advective pathways and timescales in the high-resolution model enable, for the first time, attribution of temperature and salinity changes in the SPG to a direct influx of GS water.

climate, Gulf Stream, Lagrangian, model, North Atlantic, ocean
0094-8276
7518-7526
Jacobs, Zoe L.
3b55fc85-c85e-442e-949c-8a71850a66e8
Grist, Jeremy P.
ffea99af-f811-436f-9bac-5b02ba6dc00f
Marsh, Robert
702c2e7e-ac19-4019-abd9-a8614ab27717
Josey, Simon A.
2252ab7f-5cd2-49fd-a951-aece44553d93
Jacobs, Zoe L.
3b55fc85-c85e-442e-949c-8a71850a66e8
Grist, Jeremy P.
ffea99af-f811-436f-9bac-5b02ba6dc00f
Marsh, Robert
702c2e7e-ac19-4019-abd9-a8614ab27717
Josey, Simon A.
2252ab7f-5cd2-49fd-a951-aece44553d93

Jacobs, Zoe L., Grist, Jeremy P., Marsh, Robert and Josey, Simon A. (2019) A subannual subsurface pathway from the Gulf Stream to the Subpolar Gyre and its role in warming and salinification in the 1990s. Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (13), 7518-7526. (doi:10.1029/2019GL083021).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The transport of warm, saline subtropical water to the subpolar gyre (SPG) in the North Atlantic has been the subject of a range of Lagrangian studies, establishing intergyre exchange on timescales of 2–7 years, with greater subsurface throughflow. Here calculating particle trajectories in a high-resolution, global hindcast, we present new evidence for a direct, subsurface pathway to the SPG from the Gulf Stream (GS) on subannual timescales. The pathway is most evident for particles initially at 200-m depth in the GS and is enhanced after a prolonged period of positive North Atlantic Oscillation. This occurred in the mid-1990s and led to warming and salinification of the western SPG consistent with observations. The more realistic advective pathways and timescales in the high-resolution model enable, for the first time, attribution of temperature and salinity changes in the SPG to a direct influx of GS water.

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Accepted/In Press date: 17 June 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 June 2019
Published date: 16 July 2019
Keywords: climate, Gulf Stream, Lagrangian, model, North Atlantic, ocean

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 432864
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/432864
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: a437a5ca-f642-4ba1-a9b5-79272e26448a

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Date deposited: 31 Jul 2019 16:30
Last modified: 05 Jun 2024 18:03

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Contributors

Author: Zoe L. Jacobs
Author: Jeremy P. Grist
Author: Robert Marsh
Author: Simon A. Josey

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