Calculating the Meridional Volume, Heat, and Freshwater Transports from an Observing System in the Subpolar North Atlantic: Observing System Simulation Experiment

Abstract

AbstractA transbasin monitoring array from Labrador to Scotland was deployed in the summer of 2014 as part of the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP). The aim of the observing system is to provide a multiyear continuous measure of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the associated meridional heat and freshwater transports in the subpolar North Atlantic. Results from the array are expected to improve the understanding of the variability of the subpolar transports and the nature and degree of the AMOC’s latitudinal dependence. In this present work, the measurements of the OSNAP array are described and a suite of observing system simulation experiments in an eddy-permitting numerical model are used to assess how well these measurements will estimate the fluxes across the OSNAP section. The simulation experiments indicate that the OSNAP array and calculation methods will adequately capture the mean and temporal variability of the overturning circulation and of the heat and freshwater transports across the subpolar North Atlantic.