The Arctic Ocean seasonal cycles of heat and freshwater fluxes: observation-based inverse estimates

TL;DR

This study provides the first observation-based estimates of the seasonal heat and freshwater fluxes at the Arctic Ocean boundary, using moored instruments and inverse modeling, offering valuable benchmarks for climate models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel observation-based method to estimate seasonal heat and freshwater fluxes around the Arctic Ocean boundary, combining moored data and inverse modeling techniques.

Findings

Net ocean heat flux: 175 ± 48 TW.

Net freshwater flux: 204 ± 85 mSv.

Water mass transformation causes cooling and freshening of inflowing waters.

Abstract

This paper presents the first estimate of the seasonal cycle of ocean and sea ice net heat and freshwater (FW) fluxes around the boundary of the Arctic Ocean. The ocean transports are estimated primarily using 138 moored instruments deployed in September 2005 to August 2006 across the four main Arctic gateways: Davis, Fram and Bering Straits, and the Barents Sea Opening (BSO). Sea ice transports are estimated from a sea ice assimilation product. Monthly velocity fields are calculated with a box inverse model that enforces volume and salinity conservation. The resulting net ocean and sea ice heat and FW fluxes (annual mean $\pm$ 1 standard deviation) are 175 $\pm$48 TW and 204 $\pm$85 mSv (respectively; 1 Sv = 10$^{6} m^{3} s^{-1}$). These boundary fluxes accurately represent the annual means of the relevant surface fluxes. Oceanic net heat transport variability is driven by temperature variability in upper part of the water column and by volume transport variability in the Atlantic Water layer. Oceanic net FW transport variability is dominated by Bering Strait velocity variability. The net water mass transformation in the Arctic entails a freshening and cooling of inflowing waters by 0.62$\pm$0.23 in salinity and 3.74$\pm$0.76C in temperature, respectively, and a reduction in density by 0.23$\pm$0.20 kg m$^{-3}$. The volume transport into the Arctic of waters associated with this water mass transformation is 11.3$\pm$1.2 Sv, and the export is -11.4$\pm$1.1 Sv. The boundary heat and FW fluxes provide a benchmark data set for the validation of numerical models and atmospheric re-analyses products.