Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre
Against the background of wind-forcing change along with Arctic sea ice retreat, the mesoscale processes undergoing distinct variation in the Beaufort Gyre (BG) region are increasingly important to oceanic transport and energy cascades, and these changes subsequently put oceanic stratification into...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere110246 2024-01-14T10:04:56+01:00 Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre Lu, Jinling Du, Ling Tao, Shuhao 2023-12-13 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-501 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-501/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-501 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-501/ eISSN: Text 2023 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-501 2023-12-18T17:24:20Z Against the background of wind-forcing change along with Arctic sea ice retreat, the mesoscale processes undergoing distinct variation in the Beaufort Gyre (BG) region are increasingly important to oceanic transport and energy cascades, and these changes subsequently put oceanic stratification into a new state. Here, the varying number and strength of eddies in the central Canada Basin (CB) and Chukchi–Beaufort continental slope are obtained based on mooring observations (2003–2018), altimetry measurements (1993–2019), and reanalysis data (1980–2020). In this paper, the variability in the BG halocline, representing the adjustment of stratification in the upper layer, is shown in order to analyse how variability occurs under changing mesoscale processes. We find that over almost the last 2 decades the halocline depth has deepened by ∼ 40 m in the south of the central gyre, while that in the north has deepened by ∼ 70 m according to multiple datasets. Surrounding the central gyre, the asymmetry of the halocline, with much steeper and deeper isopycnals over the southern continental slope, reduced after 2014. In the meantime, eddy activities in the upper layer from the southern margin of the BG to the abyssal plain have been enhanced. Moreover, the convergence of the eddy lateral flux has increased as the halocline structures on either side, which is at least 120 km from the central gyre, have reached a nearly identical and stable regime. It has been clarified that long-term dynamic eddy modulation through eddy fluxes, facilitating the freshwater redistribution, affects the meridional asymmetry of the BG halocline. Our results provide a better understanding of the eddy modulation processes and their influence on the halocline structure. Text Arctic canada basin Chukchi Sea ice Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Arctic Canada |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
Against the background of wind-forcing change along with Arctic sea ice retreat, the mesoscale processes undergoing distinct variation in the Beaufort Gyre (BG) region are increasingly important to oceanic transport and energy cascades, and these changes subsequently put oceanic stratification into a new state. Here, the varying number and strength of eddies in the central Canada Basin (CB) and Chukchi–Beaufort continental slope are obtained based on mooring observations (2003–2018), altimetry measurements (1993–2019), and reanalysis data (1980–2020). In this paper, the variability in the BG halocline, representing the adjustment of stratification in the upper layer, is shown in order to analyse how variability occurs under changing mesoscale processes. We find that over almost the last 2 decades the halocline depth has deepened by ∼ 40 m in the south of the central gyre, while that in the north has deepened by ∼ 70 m according to multiple datasets. Surrounding the central gyre, the asymmetry of the halocline, with much steeper and deeper isopycnals over the southern continental slope, reduced after 2014. In the meantime, eddy activities in the upper layer from the southern margin of the BG to the abyssal plain have been enhanced. Moreover, the convergence of the eddy lateral flux has increased as the halocline structures on either side, which is at least 120 km from the central gyre, have reached a nearly identical and stable regime. It has been clarified that long-term dynamic eddy modulation through eddy fluxes, facilitating the freshwater redistribution, affects the meridional asymmetry of the BG halocline. Our results provide a better understanding of the eddy modulation processes and their influence on the halocline structure. |
format |
Text |
author |
Lu, Jinling Du, Ling Tao, Shuhao |
spellingShingle |
Lu, Jinling Du, Ling Tao, Shuhao Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre |
author_facet |
Lu, Jinling Du, Ling Tao, Shuhao |
author_sort |
Lu, Jinling |
title |
Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre |
title_short |
Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre |
title_full |
Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre |
title_fullStr |
Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre |
title_full_unstemmed |
Long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the Beaufort Gyre |
title_sort |
long-term eddy modulation inhibited the meridional asymmetry of halocline in the beaufort gyre |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-501 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-501/ |
geographic |
Arctic Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada |
genre |
Arctic canada basin Chukchi Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic canada basin Chukchi Sea ice |
op_source |
eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-501 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-501/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-501 |
_version_ |
1788059356336488448 |