Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008
The West Greenland Current System (WGCS) transports heat and freshwater into the Labrador Sea, influencing the formation of Labrador Sea Water, a key component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Notwithstanding its importance, relatively little is known about the structure and trans...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532 |
id |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:118532 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:118532 2023-05-15T16:27:22+02:00 Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 Rykova, T Straneo, F Bower, AS 2015 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532 en eng Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532/1/118532 - seasonal and interannual variability.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 Rykova, T and Straneo, F and Bower, AS, Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120, (2) pp. 1318-1332. ISSN 2169-9275 (2015) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532 Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2015 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 2019-12-13T22:17:50Z The West Greenland Current System (WGCS) transports heat and freshwater into the Labrador Sea, influencing the formation of Labrador Sea Water, a key component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Notwithstanding its importance, relatively little is known about the structure and transport of this current system and its seasonal and interannual variability. Here we use historical hydrographic data from 1992 to 2008, combined with AVISO satellite altimetry, to diagnose the mean properties as well as seasonal and interannual variability of the boundary current system. We find that while the surface, fresh, cold West Greenland Current is amplified in summer, the subsurface warm, salty Irminger Current has maximum transport in winter, when its waters are also warmer and saltier. Seasonal changes in the total transport are thus mostly due to changes in the baroclinic structure of the current. By contrast, we find a trend toward warmer/saltier waters and a slowdown of the WGCS, within the period studied. The latter is attributed to changes in the barotropic component of the current. Superimposed on this trend, warm and salty anomalies transit through the system in 1997 and 2003 and are associated with a rapid increase in the transport of the boundary current due to changes in the baroclinic component. The boundary current changes precede similar changes in the interior with a 1-2 year lag, indicating that anomalies advected into the region by the boundary current can play an important role in the modulation of convection in the Labrador Sea. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Labrador Sea eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Greenland Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 120 2 1318 1332 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography Rykova, T Straneo, F Bower, AS Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Physical Oceanography |
description |
The West Greenland Current System (WGCS) transports heat and freshwater into the Labrador Sea, influencing the formation of Labrador Sea Water, a key component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Notwithstanding its importance, relatively little is known about the structure and transport of this current system and its seasonal and interannual variability. Here we use historical hydrographic data from 1992 to 2008, combined with AVISO satellite altimetry, to diagnose the mean properties as well as seasonal and interannual variability of the boundary current system. We find that while the surface, fresh, cold West Greenland Current is amplified in summer, the subsurface warm, salty Irminger Current has maximum transport in winter, when its waters are also warmer and saltier. Seasonal changes in the total transport are thus mostly due to changes in the baroclinic structure of the current. By contrast, we find a trend toward warmer/saltier waters and a slowdown of the WGCS, within the period studied. The latter is attributed to changes in the barotropic component of the current. Superimposed on this trend, warm and salty anomalies transit through the system in 1997 and 2003 and are associated with a rapid increase in the transport of the boundary current due to changes in the baroclinic component. The boundary current changes precede similar changes in the interior with a 1-2 year lag, indicating that anomalies advected into the region by the boundary current can play an important role in the modulation of convection in the Labrador Sea. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rykova, T Straneo, F Bower, AS |
author_facet |
Rykova, T Straneo, F Bower, AS |
author_sort |
Rykova, T |
title |
Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 |
title_short |
Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 |
title_full |
Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008 |
title_sort |
seasonal and interannual variability of the west greenland current system in the labrador sea in 1993-2008 |
publisher |
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Labrador Sea |
genre_facet |
Greenland Labrador Sea |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532/1/118532 - seasonal and interannual variability.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 Rykova, T and Straneo, F and Bower, AS, Seasonal and interannual variability of the West Greenland Current System in the Labrador Sea in 1993-2008, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120, (2) pp. 1318-1332. ISSN 2169-9275 (2015) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118532 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010386 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
120 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
1318 |
op_container_end_page |
1332 |
_version_ |
1766016522524819456 |