Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf
The Northwest Atlantic Shelf provides ecological and economic benefits along the heavily populated North American coastline and beyond. In 2009-2010, abrupt warming prompted an ecosystem shift with consequences for fisheries, yet the cause of this event is unclear. Here we use satellite altimetry an...
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ftunivrhodeislan:oai:digitalcommons.uri.edu:gsofacpubs-3011 2024-02-04T10:03:19+01:00 Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf Gonçalves Neto, Afonso Langan, Joseph A. Palter, Jaime B. 2021-12-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2042 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 unknown DigitalCommons@URI https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2042 doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications text 2021 ftunivrhodeislan https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 2024-01-08T19:10:01Z The Northwest Atlantic Shelf provides ecological and economic benefits along the heavily populated North American coastline and beyond. In 2009-2010, abrupt warming prompted an ecosystem shift with consequences for fisheries, yet the cause of this event is unclear. Here we use satellite altimetry and in situ measurements to show that, in 2008, the Gulf Stream migrated closer to the Tail of the Grand Banks, a shift that has persisted ever since. This change reduced the westward connectivity of the Labrador Current that otherwise supplies cold, fresh, oxygen-rich waters to the shelf. Within one year after the appearance of anomalously warm and saline water at the Tail of Grand Banks, subsurface warming progressed south-westwards. Historical observations suggest a similar sequence of events may have occurred in the 1970s. Therefore, monitoring water properties at the Tail of Grand Banks may offer predictability for shelf properties and ecosystem perturbations with substantial lead time. Text Northwest Atlantic University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI Communications Earth & Environment 2 1 |
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University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
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ftunivrhodeislan |
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description |
The Northwest Atlantic Shelf provides ecological and economic benefits along the heavily populated North American coastline and beyond. In 2009-2010, abrupt warming prompted an ecosystem shift with consequences for fisheries, yet the cause of this event is unclear. Here we use satellite altimetry and in situ measurements to show that, in 2008, the Gulf Stream migrated closer to the Tail of the Grand Banks, a shift that has persisted ever since. This change reduced the westward connectivity of the Labrador Current that otherwise supplies cold, fresh, oxygen-rich waters to the shelf. Within one year after the appearance of anomalously warm and saline water at the Tail of Grand Banks, subsurface warming progressed south-westwards. Historical observations suggest a similar sequence of events may have occurred in the 1970s. Therefore, monitoring water properties at the Tail of Grand Banks may offer predictability for shelf properties and ecosystem perturbations with substantial lead time. |
format |
Text |
author |
Gonçalves Neto, Afonso Langan, Joseph A. Palter, Jaime B. |
spellingShingle |
Gonçalves Neto, Afonso Langan, Joseph A. Palter, Jaime B. Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf |
author_facet |
Gonçalves Neto, Afonso Langan, Joseph A. Palter, Jaime B. |
author_sort |
Gonçalves Neto, Afonso |
title |
Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf |
title_short |
Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf |
title_full |
Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf |
title_fullStr |
Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf |
title_full_unstemmed |
Changes in the Gulf Stream preceded rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf |
title_sort |
changes in the gulf stream preceded rapid warming of the northwest atlantic shelf |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@URI |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2042 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_source |
Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2042 doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5 |
container_title |
Communications Earth & Environment |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1789970651910504448 |