Mesoscale Eddies in the Arctic Ocean: Insights from a High-Resolution Simulation

• Main Authors: Müller, V., Qang, Q., Koldunov, N., Sergey, D., Thomas, J.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5020474

Mesoscale eddies are significant drivers of the dynamics in the Arctic Ocean and are crucial to understanding ongoing changes in the region. However, adequately resolving these small-scale features in ocean models is challenging, and high-resolution simulations are required to accurately represent mesoscale processes.In this study, we utilized a simulation from the unstructured-mesh Finite volumE Sea ice-Ocean Model (FESOM2) with a 1-km horizontal resolution in the Arctic Ocean, which can be considered eddy-resolving. This model has been previously used to study the distribution of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the Arctic, and we now evaluate the changes of EKE in the Eurasian Basin from seasonal to interannual time scales and their connection to other properties, such as sea-ice cover, baroclinic conversion rate, and stratification.We found that EKE seasonality is predominantly influenced by changes in sea-ice cover, while monthly anomalies have different drivers at different depths. The mixed layer, which is strongly linked to the surface, is primarily affected by sea-ice variability. In contrast, deeper levels are shielded from the surface by stratification and are more strongly influenced by baroclinic conversion.Overall, our high-resolution simulation sheds light on the complex relationship between mesoscale eddies, sea-ice cover, baroclinic conversion and stratification in the Arctic Ocean.