Extreme High Greenland Blocking Index Leads to the Reversal of Davis and Nares Strait Net Transport Toward the Arctic Ocean

Myers, Paul G.; Guardia, Laura Castro de la; Fu, Chuanshuai; Gillard, Laura C.; Grivault, Nathan; Hu, Xin‐Sheng; Lee, Craig M.; Moore, G. W. K.; Pennelly, Clark; Ribergaard, Mads Hvid; Romanski, J.

doi:10.1029/2021gl094178

Cited by 12 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The study of Myers et al. (2021) also covers an analysis of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the Arctic Ocean (AO) index. In addition, Liang et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Myers et al. (2021) used the Greenland Blocking Index and storm track path changes to explain a reversal of the Baffin Bay transport through Davis Strait in winter 2010–2011. The study of Myers et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent modeling and observational study, Myers et al. (2021) described a net transport reversal at the end of 2010 through Davis Strait, which led to a significant northward oceanic heat transport into Baffin Bay. Myers et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multidecadal Water Mass Dynamics on the West Greenland Shelf

et al. 2022

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The waters on the West Greenland continental shelf and slope play an important role in the global climate system with their link to the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean circulation system and the Greenland Ice Sheet. Lately, low temperature waters on the West Greenland shelf have been observed as far south as ∼64°N and associated with a cold and relatively saline water mass originating north of Davis Strait in Baffin Bay referred to as Baffin Bay Polar Water (BBPW). Here we use long, seasonal hydrographic time series from West Greenland at ∼64°N to study how frequently BBPW is reaching this far south. The analysis covers the period 1950–2018 with a data gap between 1988 and 2005. BBPW was observed frequently and was responsible for the temperature changes observed in the late 1960s–1980s and more intermittently post‐2008. Some of the large temperature changes we observe in the time series have previously been ascribed to “Great Salinity Anomalies” (GSAs) propagating around the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean circulation system. The prevailing view of the propagation of GSAs has been ascribed to advection of anomalies along the large‐scale circulation system. Our study shows that BBPW may play an important role in the interpretation of GSAs and melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Large temporal temperature changes at ∼64°N are associated with arrival of BBPW from the north and not advection of anomalies with the large‐scale current system from the south. This advocates for a shift in water masses caused by changes in the position and/or strength of oceanic currents.

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“…The study of Myers et al. (2021) also covers an analysis of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the Arctic Ocean (AO) index. In addition, Liang et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multidecadal Water Mass Dynamics on the West Greenland Shelf

et al. 2022

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“…Local wind stress over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, with dependence on local sea ice conditions, may also influence the ocean throughflow in the straits of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (Grivault et al 2018). Winds southwest of Greenland can influence the SSH along the western coast of Greenland, thus influencing the throughflow in the Nares Strait (Myers et al 2021). The AO_vari and notAO_vari_wind simulations did not obtain the profound increase in the Davis Strait export as simulated in notAO_vari and the control run, indicating that local winds are not the main driver for this event.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The export transport is correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation index on interannual timescales (Jahn et al 2010, Houssais and Herbaut 2011, Wekerle et al 2013, while local wind and sea ice conditions in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago region can also influence the export transport (Grivault et al 2018). On monthly timescales, the flow through the Davis Strait and Nares Strait can reverse its direction temporarily to become Arctic inflow when the sea surface height (SSH) along the western coast of Greenland is strongly increased under the condition of an extremely high Greenland Blocking Index (Myers et al 2021). Previous studies also suggest that the signal of sea-level changes south of Greenland can propagate quickly through fast waves to the northern Baffin Basin and influence the Arctic export (Houssais andHerbaut 2011, Wekerle et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An extreme event of enhanced Arctic Ocean export west of Greenland caused by the pronounced dynamic sea level drop in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre in the mid-to-late 2010s

Wang

Shu

Danilov

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The North Atlantic subpolar gyre influences the climate in many different ways. Here we identified that it is also responsible for a recent extreme event of Arctic Ocean freshwater export west of Greenland. A shift in climate regimes occurred in the mid-2000s, with a significant negative trend in the dynamic sea level in the subpolar gyre since then. We found that the dynamic-sea-level drop induced a strong increase in freshwater export west of Greenland, in particular in 2015 -- 2017 when the sea level was close to the minimum. Sea ice melting and atmospheric variability in the Arctic had only a small contribution to this event. As the exported water from the Arctic Ocean has low salinity and constituents of chemical tracers very different from those in the North Atlantic, such events might have impacts on the North Atlantic ecosystem and the climate as well. Our study suggests that such events might be predictable if the subpolar gyre sea level has certain predictability.

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Inter-annual Variability of the Current System off the West Greenland Coast from a very high-resolution numerical model

Gou

Pennelly

Myers

2022

Preprint

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Analyzing a high-resolution (1/60°) numerical model over 2008 to 2018, the inter-annual variability of the West Greenland Coastal Current (WGCC) on the shelf and West Greenland Current (WGC) at shelf break is presented. Both currents flow from Cape Farewell and extend to Davis Strait, with their model speeds and transports corresponding well with observations. The inter-annual variability of the WGCC and WGC near southwest Greenland are opposite, with the former declining while the latter strengthened, both by a speed change above 0.1 m/s. Both currents are predominantly buoyancy forced, but wind forcing becomes more dominant towards Davis Strait. The main exchanges from the two currents to interior occur between Cape Desolation and Fylla Bank, with net volume, freshwater, heat transport decreases of 1.4 Sv, 13 mSv, 36.7 TW. The freshwater transport of the WGC itself does not drop in between these sections, receiving freshwater from the WGCC to compensate for the losses to the basin interior. Thus, we see significant freshwater (83.1 mSv) and heat transports (70.7 TW) of the WGC remaining at Fylla Bank that reach the northern basin instead of being fluxed into the interior pof the Labrador Sea. This suggests that the exchange between the current system and the interior is more limited than previously thought, and most of the Greenland and Arctic melt reaches the northern Labrador Sea. Our results highlight the importance of resolving the WGCC and shelf processes.

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Extreme High Greenland Blocking Index Leads to the Reversal of Davis and Nares Strait Net Transport Toward the Arctic Ocean

Cited by 12 publications

References 42 publications

Multidecadal Water Mass Dynamics on the West Greenland Shelf

Multidecadal Water Mass Dynamics on the West Greenland Shelf

An extreme event of enhanced Arctic Ocean export west of Greenland caused by the pronounced dynamic sea level drop in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre in the mid-to-late 2010s

Inter-annual Variability of the Current System off the West Greenland Coast from a very high-resolution numerical model

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