Journal ArticleDOI
Deep convection in the Irminger Sea forced by the Greenland tip jet
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TLDR
It is demonstrated that deep convection can occur in this region when the North Atlantic Oscillation Index is high, which is consistent with observations and differs significantly from those known to operate in the Labrador and Mediterranean seas.Abstract:
Open-ocean deep convection, one of the processes by which deep waters of the world's oceans are formed, is restricted to a small number of locations (for example, the Mediterranean and Labrador seas). Recently, the southwest Irminger Sea has been suggested as an additional location for open-ocean deep convection. The deep water formed in the Irminger Sea has the characteristic temperature and salinity of the water mass that fills the mid-depth North Atlantic Ocean, which had been believed to be formed entirely in the Labrador basin. Here we show that the most likely cause of the convection in the Irminger Sea is a low-level atmospheric jet known as the Greenland tip jet, which forms periodically in the lee of Cape Farewell, Greenland, and is associated with elevated heat flux and strong wind stress curl. Using a history of tip-jet events derived from meteorological land station data and a regional oceanic numerical model, we demonstrate that deep convection can occur in this region when the North Atlantic Oscillation Index is high, which is consistent with observations. This mechanism of convection in the Irminger Sea differs significantly from those known to operate in the Labrador and Mediterranean seas.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Satellite measurements reveal persistent small-scale features in ocean winds.
TL;DR: Four-year averages of 25-kilometer-resolution measurements of near-surface wind speed and direction over the global ocean from the QuikSCAT satellite radar scatterometer reveal the existence of surprisingly persistent small-scale features in the dynamically and thermodynamically important curl and divergence of the wind stress.
Journal ArticleDOI
On the driving processes of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
Till Kuhlbrodt,Alexa Griesel,Marisa Montoya,Anders Levermann,Matthias Hofmann,Stefan Rahmstorf +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review both observational data and model results concerning the two main candidates: vertical mixing processes in the ocean's interior and wind-induced Ekman upwelling in the Southern Ocean.
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Decline of subpolar North Atlantic circulation during the 1990s
Sirpa Häkkinen,Peter B. Rhines +1 more
TL;DR: Analysis of the local surface forcing suggests that the 1990s buoyancy forcing has a dynamic effect consistent with altimetric and hydrographic observations: A weak thermohaline forcing allows the decay of the domed structure of subpolar isopycnals and weakening of circulation.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Global Climatology of Surface Wind and Wind Stress Fields from Eight Years of QuikSCAT Scatterometer Data
TL;DR: The Scatterometer Climatology of Ocean Winds (SCOW) atlas as mentioned in this paper consists of 12 variables, including wind stress and wind stress derivative (curl and divergence) fields.
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The Arctic climate system
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TL;DR: In this article, the evolution of knowledge about the Arctic and its climate has been discussed, including physical characteristics and basic climate features, and the basic atmospheric and ocean energy budgets of the Arctic.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation
TL;DR: An evaluation of the atmospheric moisture budget reveals coherent large-scale changes since 1980 that are linked to recent dry conditions over southern Europe and the Mediterranean, whereas northern Europe and parts of Scandinavia have generally experienced wetter than normal conditions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Hydrostatic, quasi‐hydrostatic, and nonhydrostatic ocean modeling
TL;DR: In this paper, the Navier Stokes model on the sphere has been used to model the global circulation of the ocean, from the convective scale to the global scale, and a solution strategy has been proposed to deal with small-scale phenomena which are not in hydrostatic balance.
Journal ArticleDOI
Long-term coordinated changes in the convective activity of the North Atlantic
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the recent history of these changes showing that the major convective centres of the Greenland- and Labrador Seas are currently at opposite convective extrema in our postwar record, with vertical exchange at the former site limited to 1000 m or so, but with Labrador Sea convection reaching deeper than previously observed, to over 2300 m.
Journal ArticleDOI
Spaceborne radar measurement of wind velocity over the ocean-an overview of the NSCAT scatterometer system
TL;DR: The NSCAT system includes several enhancements, such as three antenna azimuths in each of two swaths, and an onboard digital Doppler processor to allow backscatter measurements to be colocated everywhere within the orbit as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Patterns of Low-Frequency Monthly Sea Level Pressure Variability (1899–1986) and Associated Wave Cyclone Frequencies
TL;DR: In this paper, a set of highly recurrent low-frequency sea level pressure teleconnection patterns were identified by performing rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) on a long-term (1899-1986) Northern Hemisphere gridded dataset.
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