Dynamics and Temporal Variability of the North Atlantic Current in the Iceland Basin (2014–2022)

Dotto, Tiago S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0565-6941; Holliday, N. Penny ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9733-8002; Fraser, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2171-9060; Moat, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8676-7779; Firing, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3640-3974; Burmeister, Kristin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3881-0298; Rayner, Darren ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2283-4140; Cunningham, Stuart ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9439-5442; Worthington, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6444-6461; Johns, William E.. 2025 Dynamics and Temporal Variability of the North Atlantic Current in the Iceland Basin (2014–2022). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130 (6). 10.1029/2024JC021836

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Text © 2025. The Author(s).This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. JGR Oceans - 2025 - Dotto - Dynamics and Temporal Variability of the North Atlantic Current in the Iceland Basin 2014 2022.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (8MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

The North Atlantic Current (NAC) is a major source of heat toward the subpolar gyre and northern seas. However, its variability and drivers are not well understood. Here, we evaluated 8 years of continuous daily measurements as part of the international program Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program to investigate the NAC in the Iceland Basin. We found that the NAC volume and freshwater anomaly transport and heat content (HC) were highly variable with significant variability at timescales of 16–120 days to annual. Intraseasonal to short interannual variability was associated with mesoscale and intermittent mesoscale features abundant in the region. Composites analysis revealed that strong NAC periods were associated with less eddy kinetic energy in the Iceland Basin, which was consistent with the presence of frontal-like structures instead of eddy-like structures. On longer timescales, the westward migration of the eastern boundary of the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA) gyre favors a stronger NAC volume transport and HC in the region. Stronger zonal wind stress triggers a fast response that piles water up between the SPNA and subtropical gyres, which increases the sea surface height gradient and drives the acceleration of the NAC. The strengthening of the NAC increases the heat and salt transport northward. During our study period, both heat and salt increased across the moorings. These observations are important for understanding the heat and freshwater variability in the SPNA, which ultimately impacts the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1029/2024JC021836
ISSN:	2169-9275
Additional Keywords:	AMOC, overturning, subpolar North Atlantic, temporal variability
Date made live:	03 Jul 2025 16:57 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/539775

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