Thu, 04/16/2015 - 12:20pm Marine Sciences Building Room 261 Seminars Dr. Hao Luo a post doctoral researcher working with Dr. Castelao in the Department of Marine Sciences will present a seminar titled: Model investigation of interannual variability of the Labrador Sea and of fate of freshwater from Greenland ice sheet melting The Labrador Sea is one of the few sites in the world ocean where deep convection occurs. Understanding what drives the interannual variability in the Labrador Sea has far-reaching impacts in the study of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the global climate system. In this region, it is also essential to understand where the meltwater from Greenland goes due to its potential impact on coastal ocean physics and marine ecosystem. We have applied a state-of-the-art eddy-permitting Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to investigate the interannual variability of surface eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and potential temperature (PT) in the Labrador Sea and also investigate the fate of the freshwater from Greenland ice sheet melting. We have found that interannual variability of EKE at west Greenland coast is associated with incoming boundary current, while the EKE at the central Labrador Sea is highly modulated by the local atmospheric forcings. These local forcings also drive the interannual signal of PT at depth in the central Labrador Sea, while the incoming current system contributes roughly half of warming trend during the last decade. We also found that east Greenland rivers contributes significant portion of freshwater into the Labrador Sea, while the most of meltwater from west Greenland rivers are advected northward out of the model domain into the Buffin Bay.
