General circulation and transport in the pan Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean

An International Arctic Research Center (IARC) coupled ice-ocean model (CIOM) was applied to investigate the general circulation of the Pan-Arctic-North Atlantic Ocean. As a first step, the annual mean was computed under daily wind and other atmospheric forcings using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of 1990, restored to the surface monthly climatological temperature and salinity (NODC data). We focused on the mean circulation and the transport in the upper layer (0-200m), middle layer (200-1000m), and lower layer (1000-3000m or -bottom). The total transport of the Labrador Sea is about 60 Sv (Sverdrup), consistent with historical estimates. The simulated transport of the Labrador Current at the Hamilton section compares well to the observation. The western North Atlantic is dominated by the subpolar cyclonic gyre, while the eastern North Atlantic is dominated by the anticyclonic gyres. Greenland Basin has a cyclonic gyre, while the Noweigian Basin has a cyclonic gyre. In Fram Strait, the model simulated an outflow of Arctic surface water from the Greenland side and inflow of the North Atlantic Water from the eastern side. The simulated temperature and salinity in Fram Strait indicate the intrusion of the Atlantic Water and the outflow of the Arctic surface water. In the Arctic Basin, the simulated total transport is cyclonic in both the Eurasian Basin and the Canadian Basin although the surface ocean current is anticyclonic. An anticyclonic gyre was found in the East Siberian Shelf centered in the Chukchi Rise (Cap), which is due to the anticyclonic wind stress center located in the same location and the topographic steering of Chukchi Rise