The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration
The amount and spatial extent of Greenland Sea (GS) sea ice are primarily driven by the sea ice export across the Fram Strait (FS) and by local seasonal sea ice formation, melting and sea ice dynamics. Maximum sea ice concentration (SIC) variability is found in the marginal ice zone and ‘Odden’ regi...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tcd85426 2023-05-15T16:18:08+02:00 The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration Chatterjee, Sourav Raj, Roshin P. Bertino, Laurent Merlind, Sebastian H. Murukesh, Nuncio Ravichandran, Muthalagu 2020-06-05 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2020-127/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-2020-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2020-127/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2020 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-127 2020-07-20T16:22:07Z The amount and spatial extent of Greenland Sea (GS) sea ice are primarily driven by the sea ice export across the Fram Strait (FS) and by local seasonal sea ice formation, melting and sea ice dynamics. Maximum sea ice concentration (SIC) variability is found in the marginal ice zone and ‘Odden’ region in the central GS. In this study, using satellite passive microwave sea ice observations, atmospheric and a coupled ocean-sea ice reanalysis system we show that both the atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the GS act in tandem to explain the SIC variability in the GS. Anomalous low/high sea level pressure (SLP) over the Nordic Seas is found to strengthen/weaken the Greenland Sea Gyre (GSG) circulation. The large-scale atmospheric circulation pattern associated with this GSG variability features North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) like SLP pattern with its northern center of action shifted north-eastward from its canonical position. During anomalous low SLP periods, northerly wind anomalies reduce the sea ice export in the central GS due to westward Ekman drift of sea ice. This in turn decreases the freshwater content and weakens ocean stratification in the central GS. At the same time, the associated positive wind stress curl anomaly strengthens the GSG circulation which recirculates warm and saline Atlantic water (AW) into this region. Under a weakly stratified condition, the subsurface AW anomalies can reach the surface to inhibit new sea ice formation, further reducing the SIC in the central GS. Thus, this study highlights combined influence of atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the central GS SIC variability. Text Fram Strait Greenland Greenland Sea Nordic Seas North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Sea ice Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Curl ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) Greenland |
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Open Polar |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
The amount and spatial extent of Greenland Sea (GS) sea ice are primarily driven by the sea ice export across the Fram Strait (FS) and by local seasonal sea ice formation, melting and sea ice dynamics. Maximum sea ice concentration (SIC) variability is found in the marginal ice zone and ‘Odden’ region in the central GS. In this study, using satellite passive microwave sea ice observations, atmospheric and a coupled ocean-sea ice reanalysis system we show that both the atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the GS act in tandem to explain the SIC variability in the GS. Anomalous low/high sea level pressure (SLP) over the Nordic Seas is found to strengthen/weaken the Greenland Sea Gyre (GSG) circulation. The large-scale atmospheric circulation pattern associated with this GSG variability features North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) like SLP pattern with its northern center of action shifted north-eastward from its canonical position. During anomalous low SLP periods, northerly wind anomalies reduce the sea ice export in the central GS due to westward Ekman drift of sea ice. This in turn decreases the freshwater content and weakens ocean stratification in the central GS. At the same time, the associated positive wind stress curl anomaly strengthens the GSG circulation which recirculates warm and saline Atlantic water (AW) into this region. Under a weakly stratified condition, the subsurface AW anomalies can reach the surface to inhibit new sea ice formation, further reducing the SIC in the central GS. Thus, this study highlights combined influence of atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the central GS SIC variability. |
format |
Text |
author |
Chatterjee, Sourav Raj, Roshin P. Bertino, Laurent Merlind, Sebastian H. Murukesh, Nuncio Ravichandran, Muthalagu |
spellingShingle |
Chatterjee, Sourav Raj, Roshin P. Bertino, Laurent Merlind, Sebastian H. Murukesh, Nuncio Ravichandran, Muthalagu The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration |
author_facet |
Chatterjee, Sourav Raj, Roshin P. Bertino, Laurent Merlind, Sebastian H. Murukesh, Nuncio Ravichandran, Muthalagu |
author_sort |
Chatterjee, Sourav |
title |
The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration |
title_short |
The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration |
title_full |
The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration |
title_fullStr |
The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration |
title_full_unstemmed |
The impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the Greenland Sea iceconcentration |
title_sort |
impact of atmospheric and oceanic circulations on the greenland sea iceconcentration |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2020-127/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) |
geographic |
Curl Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Curl Greenland |
genre |
Fram Strait Greenland Greenland Sea Nordic Seas North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Fram Strait Greenland Greenland Sea Nordic Seas North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Sea ice |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-2020-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2020-127/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-127 |
_version_ |
1766004255422939136 |