Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The warm and saline Atlantic Water has long been recognized as being subjected to substantial heat loss during its transit towards the polar regions. In particular, the Lofoten Basin, a subpolar sea with energetic eddy activity and strong air-sea interactions, plays a crucial role in the transformation of Atlantic Water. Vertical heat transport at submesoscales (0.1-10 km) in the Lofoten Basin is potentially a key link in the heat transfer to the atmosphere. Here, based on multi-year Seaglider observations augmented by satellite altimeters, radiometers, and high-resolution numerical model results, we evaluate the oceanic vertical heat transport in the Lofoten Basin and demonstrate how geostrophic strain enhances heat transport. The enhancement is found to be associated with submesoscale ageostrophic motions along the mesoscale eddy edges, occurring on spatial scales smaller than 10 km and below the mixed layer depth. These strain-induced submesoscale vertical motions transport heat from the ocean interior to the surface, leading to a 0.4 °C increase in sea surface temperature and the formation of "warm ring" structures in both cyclones and anticyclones. The dominant role of submesoscale heat transport likely represents the primary mechanism for substantial heat loss from Atlantic Water in the Lofoten Basin.
Source: Nature Communications
Institutions: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of California, Los Angeles, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, University of Bergen, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, Laoshan Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Shanghai Science and Technology Development Foundation, European Space Agency, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Universitetet i Bergen, Norges Forskningsråd, Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China
OpenAlex ID: W4415358225