Mechanisms on controlling inter-annual variability of Atlantic Water inflow through the Nordic Seas into the Arctic
Date:2019/12/24

Reporter:Xuezhu Wang,Hohai University

Invite:Zhaoru Zhang

Time:2019/12/24, 14:00~15:00

Location:SOO Room 120

Abstract:

The Nordic Seas (NS), which include Norwegian Sea, Iceland Sea, and Greenland Sea, are the transition zone between the temperate North Atlantic and the cold Arctic Ocean. The oceanic heat carried by Atlantic Water (AW) inflow, which enters the Arctic Ocean through the Barents Sea Opening (BSO) and Fram Strait after passing through the NS, is known to have impacts on the Arctic Ocean heat budget and influence the Arctic sea ice coverage. In this study, a set of simulations were conducted with a global multi-resolution ocean-sea ice model FESOM, in which the inter-annual variation of atmospheric forcing was maintained only in or outside the NS region. We found that the inter-annual variability of AW inflow through Fram Strait is mainly controlled by the upstream atmospheric forcing in the NS, while that of BSO branch is modulated by large scale variability out of the NS.

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