Eddy-Driven Recirculation of Atlantic Water in Fram Strait
PUBLICATIONS Geophysical Research Letters RESEARCH LETTER Eddy-driven recirculation of Atlantic Water in Fram Strait 10.1002/2016GL068323 Tore Hattermann1,2, Pål Erik Isachsen3,4, Wilken-Jon von Appen2, Jon Albretsen5, and Arild Sundfjord6 Key Points: 1Akvaplan-niva AS, High North Research Centre, Tromsø, Norway, 2Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and • fl Seasonally varying eddy-mean ow 3 4 interaction controls recirculation of Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway, Institute of Geosciences, 5 6 Atlantic Water in Fram Strait University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, Institute for Marine Research, Bergen, Norway, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway • The bulk recirculation occurs in a cyclonic gyre around the Molloy Hole at 80 degrees north Abstract Eddy-resolving regional ocean model results in conjunction with synthetic float trajectories and • A colder westward current south of observations provide new insights into the recirculation of the Atlantic Water (AW) in Fram Strait that 79 degrees north relates to the Greenland Sea Gyre, not removing significantly impacts the redistribution of oceanic heat between the Nordic Seas and the Arctic Ocean. The Atlantic Water from the slope current simulations confirm the existence of a cyclonic gyre around the Molloy Hole near 80°N, suggesting that most of the AW within the West Spitsbergen Current recirculates there, while colder AW recirculates in a Supporting Information: westward mean flow south of 79°N that primarily relates to the eastern rim of the Greenland Sea Gyre. The • Supporting Information S1 fraction of waters recirculating in the northern branch roughly doubles during winter, coinciding with a • Movie S1 seasonal increase of eddy activity along the Yermak Plateau slope that also facilitates subduction of AW Correspondence to: beneath the ice edge in this area.
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