TY - JOUR

T1 - Analysis of the Beaufort Gyre Freshwater Content in 2003–2018

AU - Proshutinsky, A.

AU - Krishfield, R.

AU - Toole, J. M.

AU - Timmermans, M. L.

AU - Williams, W.

AU - Zimmermann, S.

AU - Yamamoto-Kawai, M.

AU - Armitage, T. W.K.

AU - Dukhovskoy, D.

AU - Golubeva, E.

AU - Manucharyan, G. E.

AU - Platov, G.

AU - Watanabe, E.

AU - Kikuchi, T.

AU - Nishino, S.

AU - Itoh, M.

AU - Kang, S. H.

AU - Cho, K. H.

AU - Tateyama, K.

AU - Zhao, J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: ©2019. The Authors.

PY - 2019/12/1

Y1 - 2019/12/1

N2 - Hydrographic data collected from research cruises, bottom-anchored moorings, drifting Ice-Tethered Profilers, and satellite altimetry in the Beaufort Gyre region of the Arctic Ocean document an increase of more than 6,400 km3 of liquid freshwater content from 2003 to 2018: a 40% growth relative to the climatology of the 1970s. This fresh water accumulation is shown to result from persistent anticyclonic atmospheric wind forcing (1997–2018) accompanied by sea ice melt, a wind-forced redirection of Mackenzie River discharge from predominantly eastward to westward flow, and a contribution of low salinity waters of Pacific Ocean origin via Bering Strait. Despite significant uncertainties in the different observations, this study has demonstrated the synergistic value of having multiple diverse datasets to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of Beaufort Gyre freshwater content variability. For example, Beaufort Gyre Observational System (BGOS) surveys clearly show the interannual increase in freshwater content, but without satellite or Ice-Tethered Profiler measurements, it is not possible to resolve the seasonal cycle of freshwater content, which in fact is larger than the year-to-year variability, or the more subtle interannual variations.

AB - Hydrographic data collected from research cruises, bottom-anchored moorings, drifting Ice-Tethered Profilers, and satellite altimetry in the Beaufort Gyre region of the Arctic Ocean document an increase of more than 6,400 km3 of liquid freshwater content from 2003 to 2018: a 40% growth relative to the climatology of the 1970s. This fresh water accumulation is shown to result from persistent anticyclonic atmospheric wind forcing (1997–2018) accompanied by sea ice melt, a wind-forced redirection of Mackenzie River discharge from predominantly eastward to westward flow, and a contribution of low salinity waters of Pacific Ocean origin via Bering Strait. Despite significant uncertainties in the different observations, this study has demonstrated the synergistic value of having multiple diverse datasets to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of Beaufort Gyre freshwater content variability. For example, Beaufort Gyre Observational System (BGOS) surveys clearly show the interannual increase in freshwater content, but without satellite or Ice-Tethered Profiler measurements, it is not possible to resolve the seasonal cycle of freshwater content, which in fact is larger than the year-to-year variability, or the more subtle interannual variations.

KW - Arctic Ocean

KW - Beaufort Gyre

KW - circulation

KW - climate change

KW - freshwater balance

KW - modeling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077865888&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1029/2019JC015281

DO - 10.1029/2019JC015281

M3 - Article

C2 - 32055432

AN - SCOPUS:85077865888

VL - 124

SP - 9658

EP - 9689

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research

SN - 0148-0227

IS - 12

ER -