Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and associated poleward heat transport are balanced by northern heat loss to the atmosphere and corresponding water-mass transformation. The circulation of northward-flowing Atlantic Water at the surface and returning overflow water at depth is particu...
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Language: | English |
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American Meteorological Society
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1956/19696 https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 |
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ftunivbergen:oai:bora.uib.no:1956/19696 2023-05-15T16:00:40+02:00 Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge Bringedal, Carina Eldevik, Tor Skagseth, Øystein Spall, Michael A. Østerhus, Svein 2019-01-30T12:27:40Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1956/19696 https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 eng eng American Meteorological Society EC/H2020: 727852 EC/FP7: 308299 Norges forskningsråd: 229763 urn:issn:1520-0442 urn:issn:0894-8755 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/19696 https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 cristin:1645604 Copyright 2018 American Meteorological Society Journal of Climate Ocean circulation Thermocline circulation Atmosphere-ocean interaction North Atlantic Oscillation Statistical techniques Time series Peer reviewed Journal article 2019 ftunivbergen https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 2023-03-14T17:39:38Z The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and associated poleward heat transport are balanced by northern heat loss to the atmosphere and corresponding water-mass transformation. The circulation of northward-flowing Atlantic Water at the surface and returning overflow water at depth is particularly manifested—and observed—at the Greenland–Scotland Ridge where the water masses are guided through narrow straits. There is, however, a rich variability in the exchange of water masses across the ridge on all time scales. Focusing on seasonal and interannual time scales, and particularly the gateways of the Denmark Strait and between the Faroe Islands and Shetland, we specifically assess to what extent the exchanges of water masses across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge relate to wind forcing. On seasonal time scales, the variance explained of the observed exchanges can largely be related to large-scale wind patterns, and a conceptual model shows how this wind forcing can manifest via a barotropic, cyclonic circulation. On interannual time scales, the wind stress impact is less direct as baroclinic mechanisms gain importance and observations indicate a shift in the overflows from being more barotropically to more baroclinically forced during the observation period. Overall, the observed Greenland–Scotland Ridge exchanges reflect a horizontal (cyclonic) circulation on seasonal time scales, while the interannual variability more represents an overturning circulation. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Denmark Strait Faroe Islands Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) Faroe Islands Greenland Journal of Climate 31 24 9881 9901 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbergen |
language |
English |
topic |
Ocean circulation Thermocline circulation Atmosphere-ocean interaction North Atlantic Oscillation Statistical techniques Time series |
spellingShingle |
Ocean circulation Thermocline circulation Atmosphere-ocean interaction North Atlantic Oscillation Statistical techniques Time series Bringedal, Carina Eldevik, Tor Skagseth, Øystein Spall, Michael A. Østerhus, Svein Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge |
topic_facet |
Ocean circulation Thermocline circulation Atmosphere-ocean interaction North Atlantic Oscillation Statistical techniques Time series |
description |
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and associated poleward heat transport are balanced by northern heat loss to the atmosphere and corresponding water-mass transformation. The circulation of northward-flowing Atlantic Water at the surface and returning overflow water at depth is particularly manifested—and observed—at the Greenland–Scotland Ridge where the water masses are guided through narrow straits. There is, however, a rich variability in the exchange of water masses across the ridge on all time scales. Focusing on seasonal and interannual time scales, and particularly the gateways of the Denmark Strait and between the Faroe Islands and Shetland, we specifically assess to what extent the exchanges of water masses across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge relate to wind forcing. On seasonal time scales, the variance explained of the observed exchanges can largely be related to large-scale wind patterns, and a conceptual model shows how this wind forcing can manifest via a barotropic, cyclonic circulation. On interannual time scales, the wind stress impact is less direct as baroclinic mechanisms gain importance and observations indicate a shift in the overflows from being more barotropically to more baroclinically forced during the observation period. Overall, the observed Greenland–Scotland Ridge exchanges reflect a horizontal (cyclonic) circulation on seasonal time scales, while the interannual variability more represents an overturning circulation. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bringedal, Carina Eldevik, Tor Skagseth, Øystein Spall, Michael A. Østerhus, Svein |
author_facet |
Bringedal, Carina Eldevik, Tor Skagseth, Øystein Spall, Michael A. Østerhus, Svein |
author_sort |
Bringedal, Carina |
title |
Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge |
title_short |
Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge |
title_full |
Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge |
title_fullStr |
Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge |
title_full_unstemmed |
Structure and Forcing of Observed Exchanges across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge |
title_sort |
structure and forcing of observed exchanges across the greenland–scotland ridge |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1956/19696 https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 |
geographic |
Faroe Islands Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Faroe Islands Greenland |
genre |
Denmark Strait Faroe Islands Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
Denmark Strait Faroe Islands Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Journal of Climate |
op_relation |
EC/H2020: 727852 EC/FP7: 308299 Norges forskningsråd: 229763 urn:issn:1520-0442 urn:issn:0894-8755 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/19696 https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 cristin:1645604 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2018 American Meteorological Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0889.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Climate |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
9881 |
op_container_end_page |
9901 |
_version_ |
1766396675554803712 |