Oceanographers observed increased heat transport to the Arctic Ocean in 2010, changes they attributed to warming inflow waters from subarctic regions or south of the Arctic.
They also found evidence of an increase in the volume of ocean inflows responsible for carrying warm waters from the Pacific and Atlantic to the Arctic, after reviewing current research analyzing water flowing between the Arctic and Sub-Arctic oceans and studies aimed at predicting temperature, salinity and volume transport water at these connection points in the future.
Other changes the scientists reported as indicative of ongoing climate change were a reduction in sea ice formation in the Arctic Ocean, along with a decrease in Arctic salinity due to the influx of low-salinity water from the Pacific Ocean.
“Both the convergence of ocean heat from lower latitudes to the Arctic Ocean and the hydrological cycle connecting the Arctic and sub-Arctic seas were stronger in 2000-2020 than in 1980-2000 and will continue to strengthen in future climate warming,” Qiang Wang said. , first author of the review article and principal scientist at the Alfred Wegener Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany.
After reviewing previous observational and modeling studies on Arctic-subarctic ocean connectivity and examining their changes and driving mechanisms, the researchers published their findings in the journal Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research.
Changes in the Arctic Ocean and the connections that connect it to the Pacific and Atlantic through several ocean gateways can impact both climate and marine ecosystems.
In that study, the researchers reported that CMIP Phase 6, or CMIP6, climate modeling predictions indicated that the Arctic Ocean’s rate of warming is about twice the global average and will remain at that level due to increasing convergence of ocean heat into the Arctic. Ocean.
CMIP stands for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, a collaborative framework designed to improve knowledge about climate change.
The scientists further predicted that the Arctic Ocean would experience an increase in freshwater input through increased net precipitation, river runoff and an overall decrease in sea ice.
They also found that modeling predicts an increased export of freshwater from the Arctic to the North Atlantic Ocean through the Fram Strait (located between Greenland and Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic), which impacts the AMOC, or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which in turn affects the large-scale ocean circulations and climate.
The largest source of heat in the Arctic Ocean is thought to be the Barents Sea between Bear Island in the south of Svalbard and the northernmost point of Norway, scientists said.
The increase in this heat source contributes to the retreat of Arctic sea ice in cold seasons and promotes atmospheric warming, they said.
However, the researchers also argued that currently available observing instruments are insufficient to accurately measure ocean transports in all Arctic gateways.
“Both observational and modeling capabilities need to be further improved to better monitor and predict changes in the Arctic-Subarctic ocean coupling,” Wang said.
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