Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean
© 2020 American Meteorological Society. Observations of ocean currents in the Arctic interior show a curious, and hitherto unexplained, vertical and temporal distribution of mesoscale activity. A marked seasonal cycle is found close to the surface: strong eddy activity during summer, observed from b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Meteorological Society
2022
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133814.2 |
| _version_ | 1811085749732245504 |
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| author | Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-Michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-Michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude |
| author_sort | Meneghello, Gianluca |
| collection | MIT |
| description | © 2020 American Meteorological Society. Observations of ocean currents in the Arctic interior show a curious, and hitherto unexplained, vertical and temporal distribution of mesoscale activity. A marked seasonal cycle is found close to the surface: strong eddy activity during summer, observed from both satellites and moorings, is followed by very quiet winters. In contrast, subsurface eddies persist all year long within the deeper halocline and below. Informed by baroclinic instability analysis, we explore the origin and evolution of mesoscale eddies in the seasonally ice-covered interior Arctic Ocean. We find that the surface seasonal cycle is controlled by friction with sea ice, dissipating existing eddies and preventing the growth of new ones. In contrast, subsurface eddies, enabled by interior potential vorticity gradients and shielded by a strong stratification at a depth of approximately 50 m, can grow independently of the presence of sea ice. A high-resolution pan-Arctic ocean model confirms that the interior Arctic basin is baroclinically unstable all year long at depth. We address possible implications for the transport of water masses between the margins and the interior of the Arctic basin, and for climate models’ ability to capture the fundamental difference in mesoscale activity between ice-covered and ice-free regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:15:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/133814.2 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:15:04Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | American Meteorological Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/133814.22024-02-23T20:01:38Z Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-Michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate © 2020 American Meteorological Society. Observations of ocean currents in the Arctic interior show a curious, and hitherto unexplained, vertical and temporal distribution of mesoscale activity. A marked seasonal cycle is found close to the surface: strong eddy activity during summer, observed from both satellites and moorings, is followed by very quiet winters. In contrast, subsurface eddies persist all year long within the deeper halocline and below. Informed by baroclinic instability analysis, we explore the origin and evolution of mesoscale eddies in the seasonally ice-covered interior Arctic Ocean. We find that the surface seasonal cycle is controlled by friction with sea ice, dissipating existing eddies and preventing the growth of new ones. In contrast, subsurface eddies, enabled by interior potential vorticity gradients and shielded by a strong stratification at a depth of approximately 50 m, can grow independently of the presence of sea ice. A high-resolution pan-Arctic ocean model confirms that the interior Arctic basin is baroclinically unstable all year long at depth. We address possible implications for the transport of water masses between the margins and the interior of the Arctic basin, and for climate models’ ability to capture the fundamental difference in mesoscale activity between ice-covered and ice-free regions. 2022-01-20T14:03:53Z 2021-10-27T19:56:48Z 2022-01-20T14:03:53Z 2020-12 2020-03 2021-09-17T13:44:46Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0022-3670 1520-0485 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133814.2 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-20-0054.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/octet-stream American Meteorological Society American Meteorological Society (AMS) |
| spellingShingle | Meneghello, Gianluca Marshall, John Lique, Camille Isachsen, Pål Erik Doddridge, Edward Campin, Jean-Michel Regan, Heather Talandier, Claude Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
| title | Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
| title_full | Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
| title_fullStr | Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
| title_short | Genesis and Decay of Mesoscale Baroclinic Eddies in the Seasonally Ice-Covered Interior Arctic Ocean |
| title_sort | genesis and decay of mesoscale baroclinic eddies in the seasonally ice covered interior arctic ocean |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133814.2 |
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