Responses of Atlantic Water Inflow Through Fram Strait to Arctic Storms.

Changes in the volume transport of Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean can affect the heat and mass balance in the central Arctic Ocean. To understand the impacts of Arctic storms on the inflow through Fram Strait, we implemented the NEMO ocean model for the Arctic Ocean, to simulate the decadal variations of the water volume transport through Fram Strait. The simulations suggest that the water inflow tends to be weaker in the decades of the 1960 and 2010s but stronger in the 1980s. The decadal variation is associated with decadal variability of the storm density in the Greenland Sea. When there is an increased storm density near Fram Strait, the southerly wind anomalies dominate the Atlantic water pathway. As a response, there is an increased Atlantic inflow through Fram Strait. Plain Language Summary: On decadal scales, Arctic storms near Fram Strait are highly correlated with the water volume transport into the Arctic Ocean through Fram Strait. When there are more storms near Fram Strait, the transport tends to increase. In addition, the heat flux associated with the water volume transport reflects the impacts of both the linear trend in ocean temperature and the decadal variation of water volume transport. Key Points: On a decadal scale, the storms in the Greenland Sea can affect the volume transport of Atlantic water inflow through Fram StraitAssociated heat flux reflects the impacts of both the linear trend in ocean temperature and the decadal variation of water volume transport [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]