Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean
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...
Published in: | Journal of Physical Oceanography |
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Language: | English |
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American Meteorological Society
2021
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ftarchimer:oai:archimer.ifremer.fr:77743 2023-05-15T14:29:09+02:00 Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude 2021-01 application/pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79866.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79913.zip https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/ eng eng American Meteorological Society https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79866.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79913.zip doi:10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use Journal Of Physical Oceanography (0022-3670) (American Meteorological Society), 2021-01 , Vol. 51 , N. 1 , P. 115-129 Arctic Baroclinic flows Eddies Ocean circulation In situ oceanic observations Quasigeostrophic models text Publication info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2021 ftarchimer https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 2023-01-31T23:50:41Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Basin Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) Arctic Arctic Ocean Journal of Physical Oceanography 51 1 115 129 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
op_collection_id |
ftarchimer |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Baroclinic flows Eddies Ocean circulation In situ oceanic observations Quasigeostrophic models |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Baroclinic flows Eddies Ocean circulation In situ oceanic observations Quasigeostrophic models Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
topic_facet |
Arctic Baroclinic flows Eddies Ocean circulation In situ oceanic observations Quasigeostrophic models |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude |
author_facet |
Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude |
author_sort |
Meneghello, Gianluca |
title |
Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
title_short |
Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
title_full |
Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
title_sort |
genesis and decay of mesoscale baroclinic eddies in the seasonally ice-covered interior arctic ocean |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79866.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79913.zip https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/ |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Basin Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Basin Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice |
op_source |
Journal Of Physical Oceanography (0022-3670) (American Meteorological Society), 2021-01 , Vol. 51 , N. 1 , P. 115-129 |
op_relation |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79866.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/79913.zip doi:10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00665/77743/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Physical Oceanography |
container_volume |
51 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
115 |
op_container_end_page |
129 |
_version_ |
1766303225633308672 |