.2020 Feb 6;11(1):761.

doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14449-z.

Enhanced eddy activity in the Beaufort Gyre in response to sea ice loss

Thomas W K Armitage¹, Georgy E Manucharyan², Alek A Petty^{3 4}, Ron Kwok⁵, Andrew F Thompson⁶

Affiliations

¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. Tom.W.Armitage@gmail.com.
² School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
³ Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
⁴ Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁵ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
⁶ Environmental Science and Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.

PMID:32029737
PMCID: PMC7005044
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14449-z

Enhanced eddy activity in the Beaufort Gyre in response to sea ice loss

Thomas W K Armitage et al. Nat Commun.2020.

.2020 Feb 6;11(1):761.

doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14449-z.

Authors

Thomas W K Armitage¹, Georgy E Manucharyan², Alek A Petty^{3 4}, Ron Kwok⁵, Andrew F Thompson⁶

Affiliations

¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. Tom.W.Armitage@gmail.com.
² School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
³ Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
⁴ Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁵ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
⁶ Environmental Science and Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.

PMID:32029737
PMCID: PMC7005044
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14449-z

Abstract

The Beaufort Gyre freshwater content has increased since the 1990s, potentially stabilizing in recent years. The mechanisms proposed to explain the stabilization involve either mesoscale eddy activity that opposes Ekman pumping or the reduction of Ekman pumping due to reduced sea ice-ocean surface stress. However, the relative importance of these mechanisms is unclear. Here, we present observational estimates of the Beaufort Gyre mechanical energy budget and show that energy dissipation and freshwater content stabilization by eddies increased in the late-2000s. The loss of sea ice and acceleration of ocean currents after 2007 resulted in enhanced mechanical energy input but without corresponding increases in potential energy storage. To balance the energy surplus, eddy dissipation and its role in gyre stabilization must have increased after 2007. Our results imply that declining Arctic sea ice will lead to an increasingly energetic Beaufort Gyre with eddies playing a greater role in its stabilization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1. State of the Beaufort Gyre 2003–2014.**
a A map of the Arctic Ocean showing the Western Arctic region plotted inb–f (orange line), the Beaufort Gyre region over which area averages are computed (blue line) and 500 m isobaths taken from Amante and Eakins (black lines).b The 2003–2012 mean dynamic ocean topography (shading; contours are drawn every 5 cm) and surface geostrophic currents (cm s⁻¹; vectors).c The change in dynamic ocean topography (shading; vectors drawn every 2 cm) and geostrophic currents (cm s⁻¹; vectors) between 2003–2006 and 2008–2014,d the 2003–2014 mean ocean surface stress (N m⁻²; vector and shading),e the 2003–2014 mean Ekman pumping velocity (shading) and Ekman layer velocity (m² s⁻¹; vectors), andf the 2003–2014 mean wind power input.

**Fig. 2. Beaufort Gyre Energy and Freshwater Budget.**
a The atmosphere-ocean (green), ice–ocean (blue), and net (atmosphere-ocean + ice-ocean; gray) cumulative energy input to the Beaufort Gyre region (gray), and the boundary thickness fluxes due to Ekman transport (pink).b The monthly ice–ocean (blue) and atmosphere-ocean (green) seasonal cycle of power input before (solid lines) and after (dashed lines) 2007.c The available potential energy (*APE*, orange) and cumulative eddy dissipation (purple) in the Beaufort Gyre region, andd the Beaufort Gyre liquid freshwater content estimates.e The Ekman upwelling (blue), downwelling (green), and net pumping (gray) in the Beaufort Gyre region, andf the seasonal cycle of Ekman pumping before (solid lines) and after (dashed lines) 2007. The gray box inc corresponds to the period when the relationship between DOT and halocline depth breaks down and our estimates of APE and eddy dissipation become unreliable (see “Methods”). The spread on the data ina, e represents the difference in the calculation of wind energy input and Ekman pumping using two different sea ice drift data sets, and the spread inc also incorporates the uncertainty of the fit between dynamic ocean topography and halocline depth (see “Methods”).

**Fig. 3. Seasonal wind energy input to the Beaufort Gyre.**
Seasonal climatologies of the atmosphere-ocean (a–d), ice–ocean (e–h), and total (i–l) wind energy input for winter (January–March), spring (April–May), summer (June–September), and autumn (October–December), as well as the mean seasonal cycles (m–o) before and after 2007.

**Fig. 4. Area of sea ice.**
Time series of sea ice area (10⁶ km²) in the Beaufort Gyre region corresponding to the blue box in Fig. 1a.

**Fig. 5. The changing components of the Beaufort Gyre energy budget.**
a Before andb after 2007, including the wind work,W (comprised of atmosphere-ocean,W_ao, and ice–ocean,W_io, components), available potential energy (APE), and eddy dissipation,W_eddy. The atmosphere and ocean circulations are illustrated byu_a andu_g, respectively. The size of the arrows/vectors represents their relative strength. The loss of sea ice after 2007 led to increased wind energy input to the BG, increased APE, and increased energy dissipation and freshwater stabilization by eddies.

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Enhanced eddy activity in the Beaufort Gyre in response to sea ice loss

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Enhanced eddy activity in the Beaufort Gyre in response to sea ice loss

Authors

Affiliations

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Conflict of interest statement

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