Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea
The Irminger Sea is one of the few regions in the ocean where deep (>1,000 m) convection occurs. Convection is followed by restratification during summer, when the stratification of the water column is reestablished and the convectively formed water is exported at depth. There are currently no de...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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Language: | English |
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ftnioz:oai:imis.nioz.nl:360218 2023-05-15T16:29:44+02:00 Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea Sterl, M.F. de Jong, M.F. 2022 application/pdf https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/35/385935.pdf en eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/doi.org/10.1029/2022jc019126 https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/35/385935.pdf info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess %3Ci%3EJGR%3A+Oceans+127%2812%29%3C%2Fi%3E%3A+e2022JC019126.+%3Ca+href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1029%2F2022jc019126%22+target%3D%22_blank%22%3Ehttps%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1029%2F2022jc019126%3C%2Fa%3E info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2022 ftnioz https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jc019126 2023-02-08T23:20:03Z The Irminger Sea is one of the few regions in the ocean where deep (>1,000 m) convection occurs. Convection is followed by restratification during summer, when the stratification of the water column is reestablished and the convectively formed water is exported at depth. There are currently no descriptions of interannual variability and physical drivers of restratification in the Irminger Sea. We investigate restratification in the upper 600 m of the central Irminger Sea using reanalysis data for the years 1993–2019. We find distinctly different restratification processes in the upper 100 m (the upper layer) and the water below it (the lower layer). In the upper layer, the stratification is dominated by a seasonal cycle that matches the cycle of the surface heat flux. In 2010 and 2019, there were peaks in upper layer restratification, which could partly be related to strong atmospheric heat and freshwater fluxes. Greenland runoff likely also contributed to the high restratification, although this contribution could not be quantified in the present study. In the lower layer there is strong interannual variability in stratification, caused by variability both in the convection and the restratification strength. The restratification strength is strongly correlated with the eddy kinetic energy in the eastern Irminger Sea, suggesting that lower layer restratification is driven by lateral advection of warm, saline waters through Irminger Current eddies. In the future, surface warming and freshening of the Irminger Sea due to anthropogenic climate change are expected to increase upper layer stratification, potentially inhibiting convection. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland NIOZ Repository (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) Greenland Irminger Sea ENVELOPE(-34.041,-34.041,63.054,63.054) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 127 12 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
NIOZ Repository (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) |
op_collection_id |
ftnioz |
language |
English |
description |
The Irminger Sea is one of the few regions in the ocean where deep (>1,000 m) convection occurs. Convection is followed by restratification during summer, when the stratification of the water column is reestablished and the convectively formed water is exported at depth. There are currently no descriptions of interannual variability and physical drivers of restratification in the Irminger Sea. We investigate restratification in the upper 600 m of the central Irminger Sea using reanalysis data for the years 1993–2019. We find distinctly different restratification processes in the upper 100 m (the upper layer) and the water below it (the lower layer). In the upper layer, the stratification is dominated by a seasonal cycle that matches the cycle of the surface heat flux. In 2010 and 2019, there were peaks in upper layer restratification, which could partly be related to strong atmospheric heat and freshwater fluxes. Greenland runoff likely also contributed to the high restratification, although this contribution could not be quantified in the present study. In the lower layer there is strong interannual variability in stratification, caused by variability both in the convection and the restratification strength. The restratification strength is strongly correlated with the eddy kinetic energy in the eastern Irminger Sea, suggesting that lower layer restratification is driven by lateral advection of warm, saline waters through Irminger Current eddies. In the future, surface warming and freshening of the Irminger Sea due to anthropogenic climate change are expected to increase upper layer stratification, potentially inhibiting convection. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sterl, M.F. de Jong, M.F. |
spellingShingle |
Sterl, M.F. de Jong, M.F. Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea |
author_facet |
Sterl, M.F. de Jong, M.F. |
author_sort |
Sterl, M.F. |
title |
Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea |
title_short |
Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea |
title_full |
Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea |
title_fullStr |
Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Restratification structure and processes in the Irminger Sea |
title_sort |
restratification structure and processes in the irminger sea |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/35/385935.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-34.041,-34.041,63.054,63.054) |
geographic |
Greenland Irminger Sea |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Irminger Sea |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
%3Ci%3EJGR%3A+Oceans+127%2812%29%3C%2Fi%3E%3A+e2022JC019126.+%3Ca+href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1029%2F2022jc019126%22+target%3D%22_blank%22%3Ehttps%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1029%2F2022jc019126%3C%2Fa%3E |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/doi.org/10.1029/2022jc019126 https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/35/385935.pdf |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jc019126 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
127 |
container_issue |
12 |
_version_ |
1766019437637402624 |