Variations in freshwater pathways from the Arctic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms that drive exchanges between the Arctic Ocean and adjacent oceans is critical to building our knowledge of how the Arctic is reacting to a warming climate, and how potential changes in Arctic Ocean freshwater export may impact the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation). Here, freshwater pathways from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic are investigated using a 1 degree global model. An EOF analysis of modeled sea surface height (SSH) demonstrates that while the second mode accounts for only 15% of the variability, the associated geostrophic currents are strongly correlated with freshwater exports through CAA (Canadian Arctic Archipelago; r=0.75), Nares Strait (r=0.77) and Fram Strait (r=−0.60). Separation of sea level into contributing parts allows us to show that the EOF1 is primarily a barotropic mode reflecting variability in bottom pressure equivalent sea level, while the EOF2 mode reflects changes in steric height in the Arctic Basin. This second mode is linked to momentum wind driven surface current, and dominates the Arctic Ocean freshwater exports. Both the Arctic Oscillation and Arctic Dipole atmospheric indices are shown to be linked to Arctic Ocean freshwater exports, with the forcing associated with the Arctic Dipole reflecting the out-of-phase relationship between transports through the CAA and those through Fram Strait. Finally, observed freshwater transport variation through the CAA is found to be strongly correlated with tide gauge data from the Beaufort Sea coast (r=0.81), and with the EOF2 mode of GRACE bottom pressure data (r=0.85) on inter-annual timescales.