As they rim the basin from the southern tip of Greenland to the southern Labrador coast, the waters in the Labrador Sea boundary current undergo a significant transformation in salinity and temperature, but much less so in density. Motivated by these observations, a previously developed simple three-layer model is adapted to understand the processes responsible for this density-compensated overturning in the Labrador Sea. From our model simulations, we find that the density-compensating water mass transformation in the boundary current can be largely attributed to the combined effect of 1) direct atmospheric cooling of the relatively warm boundary current and 2) freshening due to mixing with the shallower and fresh waters derived from Greenland meltwater discharge and Arctic Ocean inflow. Freshening of the boundary current waters due to the excess of precipitation over evaporation in the basin has an important, but less impactful, role in the density compensation. Studies examining the sensitivity of the density compensation to the freshwater entry location reveal a larger impact when the freshwater enters the boundary current on the Greenland side of the basin, compared to the Labrador side. These results yield insights into how increasing meltwater in the subpolar North Atlantic will affect the overturning.
Arctic‐origin and Greenland meltwaters circulate cyclonically in the boundary current system encircling the Labrador Sea. The ability of this freshwater to penetrate the interior basin has important consequences for dense water formation and the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. However, the precise mechanisms by which the freshwater is transported offshore, and the magnitude of this flux, remain uncertain. Here, we investigate wind‐driven upwelling northwest of Cape Farewell using 4 years of high‐resolution data from the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program west Greenland mooring array, deployed from September 2014–2018, along with Argo, shipboard, and atmospheric reanalysis data. A total of 49 upwelling events were identified corresponding to enhanced northwesterly winds, followed by reduced along‐stream flow of the boundary current and anomalously dense water present on the outer shelf. The events occur during the development stage of forward Greenland tip jets. During the storms, a cross‐stream Ekman cell develops that transports freshwater offshore in the surface layer and warm, saline, Atlantic‐origin waters onshore at depth. The net fluxes of heat and freshwater for a representative storm are computed. Using a one‐dimensional mixing model, it is shown that the freshwater input resulting from the locus of winter storms could significantly limit the wintertime development of the mixed layer and hence the production of Labrador Sea Water in the southeastern part of the basin.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1948505
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10400643
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Volume:
- 128
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2169-9275
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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