1. Mean and Eddy‐Driven Heat Advection in the Ocean Region Adjacent to the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge Derived From Satellite Altimetry.
- Author
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Lundrigan, S. and Demirov, E.
- Subjects
HEAT advection ,MESOSCALE eddies ,OCEAN temperature ,HEAT transfer - Abstract
Along‐track altimeter and sea surface temperature satellite observations and ARGO in situ measurements of temperature and salinity are used to investigate the heat transport by mean currents and eddies in the ocean region adjacent to the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge from 2003 to 2008. Our results show that the heat advection by the mean flow in the surface layer is zonally asymmetric with a higher magnitude in the western part of the region. This asymmetry is associated with an excessive mean heat advection in an area adjacent to the Denmark Strait. The advection of heat is high and positive south of the strait and low and negative north of it. We suggest that this heat advection impacts the local budgets of heat and potential energy of the mean flow in the surface layer. The mesoscale eddies are identified and their characteristics, including radius, sea level anomaly, lifetime, and paths of propagation, are assessed by using along‐track altimeter data. About 70% of the eddies are observed in the eastern part of the studied region. The eddy‐induced heat transport by warm mesoscale eddies in the Norwegian Sea was found to be about 2.5 times larger than the mean advection by the Norwegian Atlantic Current. We suggest, therefore, that the eddy‐induced transport is a dominant factor in the heat budget of this region. Plain Language Summary: The ocean circulation and transport over the Greenland Scotland Ridge are of crucial significance for maintaining the heat transport between the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. Warm and salty waters of Atlantic Ocean flow through the eastern part of the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge. The return flow into the Atlantic Ocean includes cold and fresh surface and intermediate Arctic waters. The contrast in the characteristics of the inflow and outflow through the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge implies a large net heat into the Nordic Seas and the Arctic. In this article, we study the horizontal mean and eddy heat advection in the ocean region adjacent to the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge. The focus of our work is on the rather on the local impact of the heat transport on the heat content of the ocean region over the ridge. We use ocean observations to estimate and study this transport. Key Points: Mean and eddy‐induced heat advection in the ocean region adjacent to the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge are derived from satellite and ARGO dataThe advective heat flux in the surface layer was found to have the largest magnitude in the area adjacent to the Denmark StraitThe estimate of the heat transport by warm eddies in the Norwegian Sea is about 2.5 times larger than the mean advection of heat [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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