Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation
The Arctic Ocean receives a net freshwater input from land and from the atmosphere. This flux of freshwater, along with net surface heat loss, acts to transform the water mass properties of inflowing Atlantic and Pacific waters. In this study, model simulations are used to quantify the Arctic water...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/376037 2023-07-23T04:16:53+02:00 Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation Lambert, Erwin Nummelin Pemberton Ilicak Marine and Atmospheric Research Sub Dynamics Meteorology 2019-01 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/376037 en eng 2169-9275 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/376037 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Arctic Ocean water mass transformation climate response function river runoff Article 2019 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T02:40:09Z The Arctic Ocean receives a net freshwater input from land and from the atmosphere. This flux of freshwater, along with net surface heat loss, acts to transform the water mass properties of inflowing Atlantic and Pacific waters. In this study, model simulations are used to quantify the Arctic water mass transformation in salinity and temperature space, and its explained variance due to variability in the largest freshwater source to the Arctic: river runoff. This explained variance is quantified using a novel tool, the seasonal climate response function, which describes the magnitude and time scale of adjustment to a runoff perturbation at monthly resolution. Using this method, the transient response of Arctic water mass transformation is reconstructed over time scales ranging from several months to a decade. Model simulations with variable runoff indicate a significant explained model variance of several terms contributing to salinity transformation, including diffusion, the formation and melt of sea ice, and a possibly model‐dependent surface salinity‐restoring term. Most notably, an increase in river runoff strengthens the diffusion of salt and heat, which ultimately leads to an increase in the advective salt and heat import into the Arctic. These results provide evidence for the potential predictability of the Arctic system based on variability in river runoff. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Utrecht University Repository Arctic Arctic Ocean Pacific |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Ocean water mass transformation climate response function river runoff |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Ocean water mass transformation climate response function river runoff Lambert, Erwin Nummelin Pemberton Ilicak Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation |
topic_facet |
Arctic Ocean water mass transformation climate response function river runoff |
description |
The Arctic Ocean receives a net freshwater input from land and from the atmosphere. This flux of freshwater, along with net surface heat loss, acts to transform the water mass properties of inflowing Atlantic and Pacific waters. In this study, model simulations are used to quantify the Arctic water mass transformation in salinity and temperature space, and its explained variance due to variability in the largest freshwater source to the Arctic: river runoff. This explained variance is quantified using a novel tool, the seasonal climate response function, which describes the magnitude and time scale of adjustment to a runoff perturbation at monthly resolution. Using this method, the transient response of Arctic water mass transformation is reconstructed over time scales ranging from several months to a decade. Model simulations with variable runoff indicate a significant explained model variance of several terms contributing to salinity transformation, including diffusion, the formation and melt of sea ice, and a possibly model‐dependent surface salinity‐restoring term. Most notably, an increase in river runoff strengthens the diffusion of salt and heat, which ultimately leads to an increase in the advective salt and heat import into the Arctic. These results provide evidence for the potential predictability of the Arctic system based on variability in river runoff. |
author2 |
Marine and Atmospheric Research Sub Dynamics Meteorology |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lambert, Erwin Nummelin Pemberton Ilicak |
author_facet |
Lambert, Erwin Nummelin Pemberton Ilicak |
author_sort |
Lambert, Erwin |
title |
Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation |
title_short |
Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation |
title_full |
Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation |
title_fullStr |
Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tracing the Imprint of River Runoff Variability on Arctic Water Mass Transformation |
title_sort |
tracing the imprint of river runoff variability on arctic water mass transformation |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/376037 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Pacific |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice |
op_relation |
2169-9275 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/376037 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772178000912056320 |