Rapid Atlantification along the Fram Strait at the beginning of the 20th century

Tesi, Tommaso; Muschitiello, Francesco; Mollenhauer, Gesine; Miserocchi, Stefano; Langone, Leonardo; Ceccarelli, Chiara; Panieri, Giuliana; Chiggiato, Jacopo; Nogarotto, Alessio; Hefter, Jens; Ingrosso, Gianmarco; Giglio, Federico; Giordano, Patrizia; Capotondi, Lucilla

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abj2946

Cited by 48 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 88 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…OHC changes in the Arctic Ocean are strongly affected by rapid environmental changes, ocean heat transport and local air-sea/ice-sea heat exchanges 20,194 . For instance, ocean warming can be directly affected by heat transport into the region associated with the rapid decline of sea ice and the concurrent expansion of Atlantic waters into the Arctic Ocean (' Atlantification') [196][197][198][199] . However, direct observations reveal no significant trend in heat transport from the subtropical North Atlantic to the Arctic from 2014 to 2018 119,200 , although others suggest an increase from 1993 to 2016 201 , highlighting disparities related to both data uncertainty and substantial interannual variability 20 .…”

Section: Global Deep and Full-depth Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, direct observations reveal no significant trend in heat transport from the subtropical North Atlantic to the Arctic from 2014 to 2018 119,200 , although others suggest an increase from 1993 to 2016 201 , highlighting disparities related to both data uncertainty and substantial interannual variability 20 . Other environmental changes also affect Arctic Ocean OHC, including amplified surface warming since the 1960s at a rate twice the global value, driven by positive surface heat flux into the ocean associated with reduced outgoing longwave radiation and a reduction in albedo from the sea-ice-albedo feedback 23,197 . However, the air-sea/ice-sea heat exchanges are currently poorly quantified because of the data insufficiency 20 .…”

Section: Global Deep and Full-depth Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Past and future ocean warming

Cheng

Schuckmann

Abraham

et al. 2022

Nat Rev Earth Environ

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations cause a positive Earth energy imbalance (EEI), with resulting surplus heat in the climate system increasing ocean heat content (OHC) 1-3 (Fig. 1a, F1). Unprecedented oceanic warming has been observed since at least the 1950s, reaching record values from 2012-2021 (rEFs. 3,4 ). This oceanic warming has been pervasive, spreading from the surface to the abyssal layers (each responding differently; Box 1), and with the long-term oHC trend accelerating [5][6][7][8] .Owing to the large thermal inertia of the ocean, subsurface warming represents the slow response to external influences, in particular to GHG forcing (Box 1). In response to past and current carbon emissions, future ocean warming is therefore committed for many centuries 5,9 , and is related to the current acceleration of ocean warming 10 (Fig. 1a). For instance, under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5, it is projected that the total upper-2,000-m OHC increase from 2017-2100 will be ~5-7 times that observed from 1970 to 2017 (rEF. 6 ). The irreversibility of this ocean warming on centennial timescales creates additional requirements for climate policy, particularly considering the widespread impacts 10,11 .Indeed, ocean warming has a multifaceted role in the Earth system via its links to the energy, water and carbon

show abstract

Section: Global Deep and Full-depth Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Global Deep and Full-depth Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Past and future ocean warming

Cheng

Schuckmann

Abraham

et al. 2022

Nat Rev Earth Environ

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is unclear if this phenomenon of Atlantification in the eastern Eurasian Basin represents a typical trend under climate change, or a decadal variability that was possibly enhanced by climate change. At least the analysis of paleoceanographic records has indicated that the aforementioned ocean warming in the Fram Strait in the early 21st century is unprecedented for the past 800 years (Tesi et al, 2021).…”

Section: Atlantic Water Layer In the Arctic Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Synthesis of the Upper Arctic Ocean Circulation During 2000–2019: Understanding the Roles of Wind Forcing and Sea Ice Decline

Wang

Danilov

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Major changes have occurred in the Arctic Ocean during 2000–2019, including the unprecedented spin-up of the Beaufort Gyre and the emergence of Arctic Atlantification in the eastern Eurasian Basin. We explored the main drivers for these changes by synthesizing numerical simulations and observations in this paper. The Arctic atmospheric circulation was unusual in some years in this period, with strongly negative wind curl over the Canada Basin. However, the wind-driven spin-up of the Beaufort Gyre would have been much weaker had it not been for Arctic sea ice decline. The sea ice decline not only fed the ocean with meltwater, but also made other freshwater components more available to the Beaufort Gyre through mediating the ocean surface stress. This dynamical effect of shifting surface freshwater from the Eurasian Basin towards the Amerasian Basin also resulted in the Arctic Atlantification in the eastern Eurasian Basin, which is characterized by halocline salinification and the uplift of the boundary between the halocline and the Atlantic Water layer. Contemporarily, the sea ice decline caused a strong warming trend in the Atlantic Water layer. The Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of Arctic annual sea surface height for this period reveals that the first two modes of the upper ocean circulation have active centers associated with the Arctic Oscillation and Beaufort High variability, respectively. In the presence of sea ice decline the first two EOFs can better distinguish the ocean variability driven by the two atmospheric circulation modes. Therefore, the major changes in the Arctic Ocean in the past two decades are indicators of climate change as is the sea ice retreat. Our synthesis could help assess how the Arctic Ocean might change in future warming climate.

show abstract

“…The analysis and findings of this work also can be applied to investigate the dynamics of the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is undergoing a so-called Atlantification, in which the area of warm and saline Atlantic Water is gradually expanding (Asbjørnsen et al, 2020;Tesi et al, 2021). The summer ice in the Arctic is rapidly decreasing (Perovich et al, 2019), and potential future scenarios from climate models project an ice-free interior Arctic by around 2050 (Collins et al, 2013).…”

Section: Linking the Nordic Seas And The Arctic Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Regeneration of the Lofoten Vortex through Vertical Alignment

Trodahl

Isachsen

Lilly

et al. 2020

Journal of Physical Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Observations from the past decades have promoted the idea of a long-lived anticyclonic vortex residing in the Lofoten Basin. Despite repeatedly recorded intense anticyclones, the observations cannot firmly decide whether the signature is of a single vortex or a succession of ephemeral vortices. A vortex persisting for decades requires some reinvigoration mechanism. Wintertime convection and vortex merging have been proposed candidates. We examine Lofoten Basin vortex dynamics using a high-resolution regional ocean model. The model is initialised from a coarser state with a weak eddy field. The slope current intensifies and sheds anticyclonic eddies that drift into the basin. After half a year, an anticyclone arrives at the center, providing the nucleus for a vortex that remains distinct throughout the simulation. Analyses show that this vortex is regenerated by repeated absorption and vertical stacking of lighter anticyclones. This compresses and - in concert with potential vorticity conservation - intensifies the combined vortex, which becomes more vertically stratified and also expels some fluid in the process. Wintertime convection serves mainly to vertically homogenise and densify the vortex, rather than intensifying it. Further, topographic guiding of anticyclones shed from the continental slope are vital for the existence and reinvigoration of the Lofoten Vortex. These results offer a new perspective on the regeneration of oceanic anticyclones. In this scenario the Lofoten Vortex is maintained through repeated merging events. Fluid remains gradually exchanged although the vortex is identifiable as a persistent extrema in potential vorticity.

show abstract

Rapid Atlantification along the Fram Strait at the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract: Subpolar Atlantic dynamics drive Arctic climate at the onset of the 20th century.

Cited by 48 publications

References 88 publications

Past and future ocean warming

Past and future ocean warming

A Synthesis of the Upper Arctic Ocean Circulation During 2000–2019: Understanding the Roles of Wind Forcing and Sea Ice Decline

The Regeneration of the Lofoten Vortex through Vertical Alignment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About