Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study
The Labrador Sea is one of the few regions on the planet where the interior ocean can exchange heat directly with the atmosphere via strong, localized, wintertime convection, with possible implications for the state of North Atlantic climate and global surface warming. Using an observationally‐const...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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American Geophysical Union
2018
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/1/Jones_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research%253A_Oceans.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/7/Jones.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:519860 2023-05-15T16:30:17+02:00 Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study Jones, Daniel C. Forget, Gael Sinha, Bablu Josey, Simon A. Boland, Emma J.D. Meijers, Andrew J.S. Shuckburgh, Emily 2018-04-06 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/1/Jones_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research%253A_Oceans.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/7/Jones.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 en eng American Geophysical Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/1/Jones_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research%253A_Oceans.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/7/Jones.pdf Jones, Daniel C. orcid:0000-0002-8701-4506 Forget, Gael; Sinha, Bablu; Josey, Simon A. orcid:0000-0002-1683-8831 Boland, Emma J.D. orcid:0000-0003-2430-7763 Meijers, Andrew J.S. orcid:0000-0003-3876-7736 Shuckburgh, Emily orcid:0000-0001-9206-3444 . 2018 Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 123 (4). 2646-2667. https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 2023-02-04T19:46:28Z The Labrador Sea is one of the few regions on the planet where the interior ocean can exchange heat directly with the atmosphere via strong, localized, wintertime convection, with possible implications for the state of North Atlantic climate and global surface warming. Using an observationally‐constrained ocean adjoint model, we find that annual mean Labrador Sea heat content is sensitive to temperature/salinity changes (1) along potential source water pathways (e.g. the subpolar gyre, the North Atlantic Current, the Gulf Stream) and (2) along the West African and European shelves, which are not significant source water regions for the Labrador Sea. The West African coastal/shelf adjustment mechanism, which may be excited by changes in along‐shelf wind stress, involves pressure anomalies that propagate along a coastal waveguide towards Greenland, changing the across‐shelf pressure gradient in the North Atlantic and altering heat convergence in the Labrador Sea. We also find that non‐local (in space and time) heat fluxes (e.g. in the Irminger Sea, the seas south of Iceland) can have a strong impact on Labrador Sea heat content. Understanding and predicting the state of the Labrador Sea and its potential impacts on North Atlantic climate and global surface warming will require monitoring of oceanic and atmospheric properties at remote sites in the Irminger Sea, the subpolar gyre, and along the West African and European shelf/coast system, among others. Plain Language Summary There are only a handful of locations on Earth where natural processes can rapidly inject heat and carbon into the interior ocean, where it can remain for decades to centuries, potentially slowing global surface warming. One of these locations is the Labrador Sea, which features strong exchanges of heat with the atmosphere and exceptionally deep mixing between the surface ocean and interior ocean. In this paper, we examine the factors that influence the heat content of the Labrador Sea. Using a numerical model, we find that although the heat ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Iceland Labrador Sea north atlantic current North Atlantic Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Greenland Irminger Sea ENVELOPE(-34.041,-34.041,63.054,63.054) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 123 4 2646 2667 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
The Labrador Sea is one of the few regions on the planet where the interior ocean can exchange heat directly with the atmosphere via strong, localized, wintertime convection, with possible implications for the state of North Atlantic climate and global surface warming. Using an observationally‐constrained ocean adjoint model, we find that annual mean Labrador Sea heat content is sensitive to temperature/salinity changes (1) along potential source water pathways (e.g. the subpolar gyre, the North Atlantic Current, the Gulf Stream) and (2) along the West African and European shelves, which are not significant source water regions for the Labrador Sea. The West African coastal/shelf adjustment mechanism, which may be excited by changes in along‐shelf wind stress, involves pressure anomalies that propagate along a coastal waveguide towards Greenland, changing the across‐shelf pressure gradient in the North Atlantic and altering heat convergence in the Labrador Sea. We also find that non‐local (in space and time) heat fluxes (e.g. in the Irminger Sea, the seas south of Iceland) can have a strong impact on Labrador Sea heat content. Understanding and predicting the state of the Labrador Sea and its potential impacts on North Atlantic climate and global surface warming will require monitoring of oceanic and atmospheric properties at remote sites in the Irminger Sea, the subpolar gyre, and along the West African and European shelf/coast system, among others. Plain Language Summary There are only a handful of locations on Earth where natural processes can rapidly inject heat and carbon into the interior ocean, where it can remain for decades to centuries, potentially slowing global surface warming. One of these locations is the Labrador Sea, which features strong exchanges of heat with the atmosphere and exceptionally deep mixing between the surface ocean and interior ocean. In this paper, we examine the factors that influence the heat content of the Labrador Sea. Using a numerical model, we find that although the heat ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jones, Daniel C. Forget, Gael Sinha, Bablu Josey, Simon A. Boland, Emma J.D. Meijers, Andrew J.S. Shuckburgh, Emily |
spellingShingle |
Jones, Daniel C. Forget, Gael Sinha, Bablu Josey, Simon A. Boland, Emma J.D. Meijers, Andrew J.S. Shuckburgh, Emily Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
author_facet |
Jones, Daniel C. Forget, Gael Sinha, Bablu Josey, Simon A. Boland, Emma J.D. Meijers, Andrew J.S. Shuckburgh, Emily |
author_sort |
Jones, Daniel C. |
title |
Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
title_short |
Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
title_full |
Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
title_fullStr |
Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
title_sort |
local and remote influences on the heat content of the labrador sea: an adjoint sensitivity study |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/1/Jones_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research%253A_Oceans.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/7/Jones.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-34.041,-34.041,63.054,63.054) |
geographic |
Greenland Irminger Sea |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Irminger Sea |
genre |
Greenland Iceland Labrador Sea north atlantic current North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Greenland Iceland Labrador Sea north atlantic current North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/1/Jones_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research%253A_Oceans.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519860/7/Jones.pdf Jones, Daniel C. orcid:0000-0002-8701-4506 Forget, Gael; Sinha, Bablu; Josey, Simon A. orcid:0000-0002-1683-8831 Boland, Emma J.D. orcid:0000-0003-2430-7763 Meijers, Andrew J.S. orcid:0000-0003-3876-7736 Shuckburgh, Emily orcid:0000-0001-9206-3444 . 2018 Local and remote influences on the heat content of the Labrador Sea: an adjoint sensitivity study. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 123 (4). 2646-2667. https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2018JC013774 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
123 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
2646 |
op_container_end_page |
2667 |
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1766019997402923008 |