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Intensification of the Atlantic Water supply to the Arctic Ocean through Fram Strait induced by Arctic sea ice decline
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  • Qiang Wang,
  • Claudia Wekerle,
  • Xuezhu Wang,
  • S. Danilov,
  • Nikolay V. Koldunov,
  • Dimitry Sein,
  • Dimitry Sidorenko,
  • Wilken-Jon von Appen,
  • Thomas Jung
Qiang Wang
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Claudia Wekerle
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
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Xuezhu Wang
Hohai University
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S. Danilov
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
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Nikolay V. Koldunov
Alfred Wegener Institute
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Dimitry Sein
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
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Dimitry Sidorenko
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
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Wilken-Jon von Appen
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
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Thomas Jung
AWI
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Abstract

Substantial changes have occurred in the Arctic Ocean in the last decades. Not only sea ice has retreated significantly, but also the ocean at mid-depth showed a warming tendency. By using simulations we identified a mechanism that intensifies the upward trend in ocean heat supply to the Arctic Ocean through Fram Strait. The reduction in sea ice export through Fram Strait induced by Arctic sea ice decline increases the salinity in the Greenland Sea, which lowers the sea surface height and strengthens the cyclonic gyre circulation in the Nordic Seas. The Atlantic Water (AW) volume transport to the Nordics Seas and Arctic Ocean is consequently strengthened. This enhances the warming trend of the Arctic AW layer, potentially contributing to the “Atlantification” of the Eurasian Basin. Therefore, the Nordic Seas can play the role of a switchyard for the Arctic sea ice decline to influence the Arctic heat budget at mid-depth.
16 Feb 2020Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 47 issue 3. 10.1029/2019GL086682