Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.
Nat Commun. 2022 Jan 10;13(1):67. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27641-6.
Water mass transformation in the Nordic and Barents Seas, triggered by air-sea heat fluxes, is an integral component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). These regions are undergoing rapid warming, associated with a retreat in ice cover. Here we present an analysis covering 1950-2020 of the spatiotemporal variability of the air-sea heat fluxes along the region's boundary currents, where water mass transformation impacts are large. We find there is an increase in the air-sea heat fluxes along these currents that is a function of the currents' orientation relative to the axis of sea-ice change suggesting enhanced water mass transformation is occurring. Previous work has shown a reduction in heat fluxes in the interior of the Nordic Seas. As a result, a reorganization seems to be underway in where water mass transformation occurs, that needs to be considered when ascertaining how the AMOC will respond to a warming climate.
北欧和巴伦支海的水体转换受海气热通量驱动，是大西洋经向翻转环流（AMOC）的一个组成部分。这些地区正在迅速变暖，与冰盖退缩有关。在这里，我们对 1950-2020 年沿该地区边界流的海气热通量的时空变化进行了分析，在这些地区，水体转换的影响很大。我们发现，这些海流的海气热通量增加，这是海流相对于海冰变化轴的方向的函数，这表明正在发生增强的水体转换。先前的工作表明，北欧海域内部的热通量减少。因此，似乎正在进行水体转换发生的位置的重新组织，在确定 AMOC 将如何应对气候变暖时需要考虑这一点。
