Fischer, Jürgen , Karstensen, Johannes , Oltmanns, Marilena and Schmidtko, Sunke (2018) Mean circulation and EKE distribution in the Labrador Sea Water level of the subpolar North Atlantic. Ocean Science, 14 . pp. 1167-1183. DOI 10.5194/os-14-1167-2018.

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Abstract

A long-term mean flow field for the subpolar North Atlantic region with a horizontal resolution of approximately 25km is created by gridding Argo-derived velocity vectors using two different topography-following interpolation schemes. The 10-day float displacements in the typical drift depths of 1000 to 1500m represent the flow in the Labrador Sea Water density range. Both mapping algorithms separate the flow field into potential vorticity (PV) conserving, i.e., topography-following contribution and a deviating part, which we define as the eddy contribution. To verify the significance of the separation, we compare the mean flow and the eddy kinetic energy (EKE), derived from both mapping algorithms, with those obtained from multiyear mooring observations.

The PV-conserving mean flow is characterized by stable boundary currents along all major topographic features including shelf breaks and basin-interior topographic ridges such as the Reykjanes Ridge or the Rockall Plateau. Mid-basin northward advection pathways from the northeastern Labrador Sea into the Irminger Sea and from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge region into the Iceland Basin are well-resolved. An eastward flow is present across the southern boundary of the subpolar gyre near 52°N, the latitude of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ).

The mid-depth EKE field resembles most of the satellite-derived surface EKE field. However, noticeable differences exist along the northward advection pathways in the Irminger Sea and the Iceland Basin, where the deep EKE exceeds the surface EKE field. Further, the ratio between mean flow and the square root of the EKE, the Peclet number, reveals distinct advection-dominated regions as well as basin-interior regimes in which mixing is prevailing.

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