A direct estimate of poleward volume, heat, and freshwater fluxes at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans Année : 2017

A direct estimate of poleward volume, heat, and freshwater fluxes at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland

Résumé

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the North Atlantic plays a major role in the transport of heat from low to high latitudes. In this study, we combine recent measurements of currents from the surface to >700 m from a shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler with Argo profiles (to 2000 m) to estimate poleward volume, heat, and freshwater flux at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland. This is made possible thanks to the vessel Nuka Arctica that operates on a 3 week schedule between Greenland and Denmark. For the period late 2012 to early 2016, the deseasoned mean meridional overturning circulation reaches a 18.4 ± 3.4 Sv maximum at the σθ = 27.55 kg m-3 isopycnal, which varies in depth from near the surface in the western Irminger Sea to 1000 m in Rockall Trough. The total heat and freshwater fluxes across 59.5°N = 399 ± 74 TW and −0.20 ± 0.04 Sv, where the uncertainties are principally due to that of the MOC. Analysis of altimetric sea surface height variations along exactly the same route reveals a somewhat stronger geostrophic flow north during this period compared to the 23 year mean suggesting that for a long-term mean the above flux estimates should be reduced slightly to 17.4 Sv, 377 TW, and −0.19 Sv, respectively, with the same estimate uncertainties. The ADCP program is ongoing.
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hal-01630799 , version 1 (03-01-2022)

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T. Rossby, Gilles Reverdin, Léon Chafik, Henrik Søiland. A direct estimate of poleward volume, heat, and freshwater fluxes at 59.5°N between Greenland and Scotland. Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 2017, 122 (7), pp.5870 - 5887. ⟨10.1002/2017JC012835⟩. ⟨hal-01630799⟩
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