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- Title
The Changing Behavior of the West Greenland Current System in a Very High‐Resolution Model.
- Authors
Gou, Ruijian; Pennelly, Clark; Myers, Paul G.
- Abstract
Analyzing a high‐resolution (1/60°) numerical model over 2008–2018, the inter‐annual variability of the West Greenland Coastal Current (WGCC) on the shelf and West Greenland Current (WGC) at the shelf break is presented. Both currents flow from Cape Farewell and extend to Davis Strait, with their speeds and transports corresponding well with observations. The trend over the study period of the WGCC and WGC strength near southwest Greenland are opposite, with the former declining while the latter strengthened, both by a speed change above 0.1 m/s. Both currents are predominantly buoyancy forced, but wind forcing becomes more dominant approaching Davis Strait. The main exchanges from the two currents with the interior of the Labrador Sea occur between Cape Desolation and Fylla Bank. The net volume, freshwater, heat transport decreases between these two sections are 1.4 Sv, 13 mSv, 36.7 TW, respectively. The freshwater transport of the WGC itself does not drop in between these sections, receiving freshwater from the WGCC to compensate for the losses to the basin interior. Thus, we see significant freshwater (83.1 mSv) and heat transports (70.7 TW) of the WGC remaining at Fylla Bank that reach the northern basin instead of being fluxed into the interior of the Labrador Sea. This suggests that the exchange between the boundary current system and the interior is more limited than previously thought, and most of the Greenland and Arctic melt reaches the northern Labrador Sea. Our results highlight the importance of resolving the WGCC and shelf processes. Plain Language Summary: The West Greenland Coastal Current (WGCC) is a shelf current that carries the cold and fresh water from the Arctic and Greenland while the West Greenland Current (WGC) is a shelf break current that carries the Arctic water at surface and warm, salty Atlantic water at depth. Their transports could have a significant impact on the stratification in the Labrador Sea. However, due to the lack of observations and insufficient model resolution, their variability are not well understood yet. In this study, we present their inter‐annual variability along the west Greenland coast, from a high‐resolution numerical model, over 2008–2018. Both currents flow from Cape Farewell north to Davis Strait. The trend of the WGCC and WGC near southwest Greenland are opposite, with the former declining while the latter strengthened. The currents are forced by both wind and buoyancy, with wind more important the further north. Between Cape Desolation and Fylla Bank is where most of the offshore exchanges between the currents and the interior Labrador Sea occurs. Nevertheless, the exchanges are limited as the majority of the freshwater and heat flows to the north. Key Points: The net freshwater transport of the West Greenland Current does not drop between Cape Desolation and Fylla Bank sectionsAlong southwest Greenland, the shelf component weakens while the shelf break component strengthens inter‐annually, both by a >0.1 m s−1 speed change over 2008–2018The current system is buoyancy driven near southwest Greenland, with wind forcing more dominant in the north
- Subjects
GREENLAND; WIND pressure; BUOYANCY; WATER depth; FRESH water; MELTWATER
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 2022, Vol 127, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
2169-9275
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022JC018404