Effects of the Arctic river runoff on the Arctic Ocean circulation

Tian Fei; Wang Zhaomin; Gavilan Estanislao; Liu Chengyan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2020.07.001

Volume 42 Issue 7

Nov. 2020

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Tian Fei，Wang Zhaomin，Gavilan Estanislao, et al. Effects of the Arctic river runoff on the Arctic Ocean circulation[J]. Haiyang Xuebao，2020, 42(7)：1–15 doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2020.07.001

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Effects of the Arctic river runoff on the Arctic Ocean circulation

doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2020.07.001

Tian Fei^{1, 2
,},
Wang Zhaomin^{1, 2
,
,},
Gavilan Estanislao^{1, 2},
Liu Chengyan^{1, 2
,
,}

1.
International Polar Environment Research Laboratory, College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
2.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China

Received Date: 2020-01-08
Rev Recd Date: 2020-04-26

Available Online: 2020-11-18

Publish Date: 2020-07-25

Abstract

Abstract

River runoff plays a dominant role in the freshwater flux to the Arctic Ocean, and the corresponding changes in river runoff may have important effects on many processes in the Arctic Ocean. In this study, the sensitivity of ocean temperature, salinity, sea ice and circulation to river runoff was investigated by using a global high-resolution coupled ocean-sea ice model. By comparing the simulated results from a sensitivity experiment without river runoff with the results from a control simulation with climatology river runoff, we found that the river runoff can significantly modulate the temperature, salinity, sea ice, and ocean currents in the Arctic Ocean. In the sensitivity experiment without river runoff, the sea surface temperature on the shelf near the estuaries decreases, and the salinity increases. At 500 m depth, the temperature decreases, and the salinity increases in the sensitivity experiment. The sea ice concentration and thickness also increase near the estuaries in the sensitivity experiment. The shutdown of the river runoff also has an impact on the circulation, which leads to weaker and fresher East Greenland Current and the Transpolar Drift Stream. The shutdown of runoff forcing can also slow down the Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current along the Eurasian Shelf and speed up the Bering Strait inflow by lowering the sea surface height in the shelf seas. In the sensitive experiment, a colder Atlantic layer, a smaller salinity gradient and a thinner upper halocline can be identified by comparing with the temperature and salinity profiles from the control experiment.
- Arctic river runoff,
- oceanic circulation,
- water masses,
- sea ice

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References(57)

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