Variability of Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean Inferred From a Model Simulation at 1‐km Resolution

Abstract

Mesoscale eddies play an important role in driving the dynamics of the Arctic Ocean. Understanding their behavior is crucial for comprehending the ongoing changes in the region. In this study, by using a novel decade‐long simulation at 1 km resolution with the unstructured‐mesh Finite volumE Sea ice‐Ocean Model, we evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of eddy kinetic energy in the Eurasian Basin. We find that monthly, annual, and interannual variability of EKE near the surface is predominantly influenced by changes in sea ice cover, while the eddy activity at deeper depth, being shielded from the surface by ocean stratification, is more strongly influenced by local baroclinic energy conversion. Moreover, our research demonstrates that eddies in the Eurasian Basin can transport ocean heat from the Atlantic Water layer toward sea ice and cause local basal melting in the order of about 20 cm per month even in wintertime. Our study suggests that eddy activity in the Arctic Ocean will strengthen along with future sea ice decline, and that the impact of ocean heat of the Atlantic Water layer on sea ice retreat may become prominent.

Diffusive‐Convection Staircase Merger Events Mediated by Subsurface Eddies in the Canada Basin

“…This conjecture is qualitatively consistent with the observations of Fine et al (2018), in which an Arctic subsurface eddy was capable of trapping Pacific warm waters while undergoing strong DC mixing across its upper edge. Future studies along this direction may benefit from fine-resolution ocean models of the Arctic (Liu et al, 2024;Müller et al, 2024) serving to provide spatiallyand temporally-coherent flow fields, and from dynamical systems techniques that enable the identification of Lagrangian eddy boundaries from such flow fields (Abernathey & Haller, 2018;Haller & Beron-Vera, 2013;Haller et al, 2016Haller et al, , 2018Tarshish et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2015Wang et al, , 2016. The observed dependence of merger responses on AW eddies indicates that the relevant merger formation mechanisms may differ from those proposed by Radko (2007).…”