The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning
The lower limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is the equatorward flow of dense waters formed through the cooling and freshening of the poleward-flowing upper limb. In the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA), upper limb variability is primarily set by the North Atlantic Current,...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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2024
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202024%20-%20Sanchez%E2%80%90Franks%20-%20The%20Irminger%20Gyre%20as%20a%20Key%20Driver%20of%20the%20Subpolar%20North%20Atlantic.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:537545 2024-06-23T07:54:51+00:00 The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning Sanchez-Franks, A. Holliday, N. P. Evans, D. G. Fried, N. Tooth, O. Chafik, L. Fu, Y. Li, F. de Jong, M. F. Johnson, H. L. 2024-04-22 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202024%20-%20Sanchez%E2%80%90Franks%20-%20The%20Irminger%20Gyre%20as%20a%20Key%20Driver%20of%20the%20Subpolar%20North%20Atlantic.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 en eng https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202024%20-%20Sanchez%E2%80%90Franks%20-%20The%20Irminger%20Gyre%20as%20a%20Key%20Driver%20of%20the%20Subpolar%20North%20Atlantic.pdf Sanchez-Franks, A. orcid:0000-0002-4831-5461 Holliday, N. P. orcid:0000-0002-9733-8002 Evans, D. G. orcid:0000-0002-6328-4093 Fried, N.; Tooth, O.; Chafik, L.; Fu, Y.; Li, F.; de Jong, M. F.; Johnson, H. L. 2024 The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning. Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (8). https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457> cc_by_4 Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2024 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 2024-06-11T23:54:48Z The lower limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is the equatorward flow of dense waters formed through the cooling and freshening of the poleward-flowing upper limb. In the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA), upper limb variability is primarily set by the North Atlantic Current, whereas lower limb variability is less well understood. Using observations from a SPNA mooring array, we show that variability of the AMOC's lower limb is connected to poleward flow in the interior Irminger Sea. We identify this poleward flow as the northward branch of the Irminger Gyre (IG), accounting for 55% of the AMOC's lower limb variability. Over 2014–2018, wind stress curl fluctuations over the Labrador and Irminger Seas drive this IG and AMOC variability. On longer (>annual) timescales, however, an increasing trend in the thickness of intermediate water, from 2014 to 2020, within the Irminger Sea coincides with a decreasing trend in IG strength. Article in Journal/Newspaper north atlantic current North Atlantic Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Curl ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) Irminger Sea ENVELOPE(-34.041,-34.041,63.054,63.054) Geophysical Research Letters 51 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
The lower limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is the equatorward flow of dense waters formed through the cooling and freshening of the poleward-flowing upper limb. In the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA), upper limb variability is primarily set by the North Atlantic Current, whereas lower limb variability is less well understood. Using observations from a SPNA mooring array, we show that variability of the AMOC's lower limb is connected to poleward flow in the interior Irminger Sea. We identify this poleward flow as the northward branch of the Irminger Gyre (IG), accounting for 55% of the AMOC's lower limb variability. Over 2014–2018, wind stress curl fluctuations over the Labrador and Irminger Seas drive this IG and AMOC variability. On longer (>annual) timescales, however, an increasing trend in the thickness of intermediate water, from 2014 to 2020, within the Irminger Sea coincides with a decreasing trend in IG strength. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sanchez-Franks, A. Holliday, N. P. Evans, D. G. Fried, N. Tooth, O. Chafik, L. Fu, Y. Li, F. de Jong, M. F. Johnson, H. L. |
spellingShingle |
Sanchez-Franks, A. Holliday, N. P. Evans, D. G. Fried, N. Tooth, O. Chafik, L. Fu, Y. Li, F. de Jong, M. F. Johnson, H. L. The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning |
author_facet |
Sanchez-Franks, A. Holliday, N. P. Evans, D. G. Fried, N. Tooth, O. Chafik, L. Fu, Y. Li, F. de Jong, M. F. Johnson, H. L. |
author_sort |
Sanchez-Franks, A. |
title |
The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning |
title_short |
The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning |
title_full |
The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning |
title_fullStr |
The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning |
title_sort |
irminger gyre as a key driver of the subpolar north atlantic overturning |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202024%20-%20Sanchez%E2%80%90Franks%20-%20The%20Irminger%20Gyre%20as%20a%20Key%20Driver%20of%20the%20Subpolar%20North%20Atlantic.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) ENVELOPE(-34.041,-34.041,63.054,63.054) |
geographic |
Curl Irminger Sea |
geographic_facet |
Curl Irminger Sea |
genre |
north atlantic current North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
north atlantic current North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537545/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202024%20-%20Sanchez%E2%80%90Franks%20-%20The%20Irminger%20Gyre%20as%20a%20Key%20Driver%20of%20the%20Subpolar%20North%20Atlantic.pdf Sanchez-Franks, A. orcid:0000-0002-4831-5461 Holliday, N. P. orcid:0000-0002-9733-8002 Evans, D. G. orcid:0000-0002-6328-4093 Fried, N.; Tooth, O.; Chafik, L.; Fu, Y.; Li, F.; de Jong, M. F.; Johnson, H. L. 2024 The Irminger Gyre as a key driver of the subpolar North Atlantic overturning. Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (8). https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108457 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
51 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1802647143468498944 |