We present the first results from a densely instrumented mooring array upstream of the Denmark Strait sill, extending from the Iceland shelfbreak to the Greenland shelf. The array was deployed from September 2011 to July 2012, and captured the vast majority of overflow water denser than 27.8 kg m −3 approaching the sill. The mean transport of overflow water over the length of the deployment was 3.54 ± 0.16 Sv. Of this, 0.58 Sv originated from below sill depth, revealing that aspiration takes place in Denmark Strait. We confirm the presence of two main sources of overflow water: one approaching the sill in the East Greenland Current and the other via the North Icelandic Jet. Using an objective technique based on the hydrographic properties of the water, the transports of these two sources are found to be 2.54 ± 0.17 Sv and 1.00 ± 0.17 Sv, respectively. We further partition the East Greenland Current source into that carried by the shelfbreak jet (1.50 ± 0.16 Sv) versus that transported by a separated branch of the current on the Iceland slope (1.04 ± 0.15 Sv). Over the course of the year the total overflow transport * Corresponding author. is more consistent than the transport in either branch; compensation takes place among the pathways that maintains a stable total overflow transport. This is especially true for the two East Greenland Current branches whose transports vary out of phase with each other on weekly and longer time scales. We argue that wind forcing plays a role in this partitioning.

Discharge of surface‐derived meltwater at the submerged base of Greenland's marine‐terminating glaciers creates subglacial discharge plumes that rise along the glacier/ocean interface. These plumes impact submarine melting, calving, and fjord circulation. Observations of plume properties and dynamics are challenging due to their proximity to the calving edge of glaciers. Therefore, to date information on these plumes has been largely derived from models. Here we present temperature, salinity, and velocity data collected in a plume that surfaced at the edge of Saqqarliup Sermia, a midsized Greenlandic glacier. The plume is associated with a narrow core of rising waters approximately 20 m in diameter at the ice edge that spreads to a 200 m by 300 m plume pool as it reaches the surface, before descending to its equilibrium depth. Volume flux estimates indicate that the plume is primarily driven by subglacial discharge and that this has been diluted in a ratio of 1:10 by the time the plume reaches the surface. While highly uncertain, meltwater fluxes are likely 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the subglacial discharge flux. The overall plume characteristics agree with those predicted by theoretical plume models for a convection‐driven plume with limited influence from submarine melting.

Recent acceleration of Greenland's ocean‐terminating glaciers has substantially amplified the ice sheet's contribution to global sea level. Increased oceanic melting of these tidewater glaciers is widely cited as the likely trigger, and is thought to be highest within vigorous plumes driven by freshwater drainage from beneath glaciers. Yet melting of the larger part of calving fronts outside of plumes remains largely unstudied. Here we combine ocean observations collected within 100 m of a tidewater glacier with a numerical model to show that unlike previously assumed, plumes drive an energetic fjord‐wide circulation which enhances melting along the entire calving front. Compared to estimates of melting within plumes alone, this fjord‐wide circulation effectively doubles the glacier‐wide melt rate, and through shaping the calving front has a potential dynamic impact on calving. Our results suggest that melting driven by fjord‐scale circulation should be considered in process‐based projections of Greenland's sea level contribution.

Two-dimensional, nonlinear and nonhydrostatic field-scale numerical simulations are used to examine the resuspension, dispersal and transport of mud-like sediment caused by the shoaling and breaking of long internal solitary waves on uniform slopes. The patterns of erosion and transport are both examined, in a series of test cases with varying conditions. Shoreward sediment movement is mainly within boluses, while seaward movement is within intermediate nepheloid layers. Several relationships between properties of the suspended sediment and control parameters are determined such as the horizontal extent of the nehpeloid layers, the total mass of resuspended sediment and the point of maximum bed erosion. The numerical results provide a plausible explanation for acoustic backscatter patterns observed during and after the shoaling of internal solitary wavetrains in a natural coastal environment. The results may further help interpret sedimentary structures that may have been shaped by internal waves and add an another effective mechanism for offshore dispersal of muddy sediments.

The Lofoten basin of the Nordic Seas is recognized as a crucial component of the meridional overturning circulation in the North Atlantic because of the large horizontal extent of Atlantic Water and winter surface buoyancy loss. In this study, hydrographic and current measurements collected from a mooring deployed in the Lofoten basin from July 2010 to September 2012 are used to describe water mass transformation and the mesoscale eddy field. Winter mixed layer depths (MLDs) are observed to reach approximately 400 m, with larger MLDs and denser properties resulting from the colder 2010 winter. A heat budget of the upper water column requires lateral input, which balances the net annual heat loss of ;80 W m 22. The lateral flux is a result of mesoscale eddies, which dominate the velocity variability. Eddy velocities are enhanced in the upper 1000 m, with a barotropic component that reaches the bottom. Detailed examination of two eddies, from April and August 2012, highlights the variability of the eddy field and eddy properties. Temperature and salinity properties of the April eddy suggest that it originated from the slope current but was ventilated by surface fluxes. The properties within the eddy were similar to those of the mode water, indicating that convection within the eddies may make an important contribution to water mass transformation. A rough estimate of eddy flux per unit boundary current length suggests that fluxes in the Lofoten basin are larger than in the Labrador Sea because of the enhanced boundary current-interior density difference.