Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break

Grist, Jeremy P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1068-9211; Josey, Simon A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1683-8831; Boehme, Lars; Meredith, Michael P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7342-7756; Laidre, Kristin L.; Heide-Jorgensen, Mads Peter; Kovacs, Kit M.; Lydersen, Christian; Davidson, Fraser J.M.; Stenson, Garry B.; Hammill, Mike O.; Marsh, Robert; Coward, Andrew C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9111-7700. 2014 Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break. Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (23). 8530-8537. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062051

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Abstract/Summary

The warmest water reaching the east and west coast of Greenland is found between 200 m and 600 m. Whilst important for melting Greenland's outlet glaciers, limited winter observations of this layer prohibit determination of its seasonality. To address this, temperature data from Argo profiling floats, a range of sources within the World Ocean Database and unprecedented coverage from marine-mammal borne sensors have been analysed for the period 2002-2011. A significant seasonal range in temperature (~1-2 °C) is found in the warm layer, in contrast to most of the surrounding ocean. The phase of the seasonal cycle exhibits considerable spatial variability, with the warmest water found near the eastern and southwestern shelf-break towards the end of the calendar year. High-resolution ocean model trajectory analysis suggest the timing of the arrival of the year's warmest water is a function of advection time from the subduction site in the Irminger Basin.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062051
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Polar Oceans
ISSN:	0094-8276
Additional Keywords:	Ocean temperature; Greenland Shelf; Seasonal Cycle; Observations; Sea-Mammals; Trajectory analysis
Date made live:	12 Nov 2014 17:25 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/507593

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