Role of Greenland Freshwater Anomaly in the Recent Freshening of the Subpolar North Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: The cumulative Greenland freshwater flux anomaly has exceeded 5,000 km³ since the 1990s. The volume of this surplus freshwater is expected to cause substantial freshening in the North Atlantic. Analysis of hydrographic observations in the subpolar seas reveals freshening signals in the 2010s. The sources of this freshening are yet to be determined. In this study, the relationship between the surplus Greenland freshwater flux and this freshening is tested by analyzing the propagation of the Greenland freshwater anomaly and its impact on salinity in the subpolar North Atlantic based on observational data and numerical experiments with and without the Greenland runoff. A passive tracer is continuously released during the simulations at freshwater sources along the coast of Greenlan

SUBMITTER: Dukhovskoy DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6618073 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature