Sea-ice retreat suggests re-organization of water mass transformation in the Nordic and Barents Seas

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Moore, G. W. K., Våge, K., Renfrew, I. A., Pickart, R. S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Nordic Seas; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/82088/; https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/82088/7/Moore_etal_2022_NatureComms.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27641-6

Water mass transformation in the Nordic and Barents Seas, triggered by air-sea heat fluxes, is an integral component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). These regions are undergoing rapid warming, associated with a retreat in ice cover. Here we present an analysis covering 1950−2020 of the spatiotemporal variability of the air-sea heat fluxes along the region’s boundary currents, where water mass transformation impacts are large. We find there is an increase in the air-sea heat fluxes along these currents that is a function of the currents’ orientation relative to the axis of sea-ice change suggesting enhanced water mass transformation is occurring. Previous work has shown a reduction in heat fluxes in the interior of the Nordic Seas. As a result, a reorganization seems to be underway in where water mass transformation occurs, that needs to be considered when ascertaining how the AMOC will respond to a warming climate.