Valdimarsson Héðinn

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Valdimarsson
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  • Article
    Liquid freshwater transport estimates from the East Greenland Current based on continuous measurements north of Denmark Strait
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2017-01-10) de Steur, Laura ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Macrander, Andreas ; Våge, Kjetil ; Harden, Benjamin E. ; Jónsson, Steingrímur ; Østerhus, Svein ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn
    Liquid freshwater transports of the shelfbreak East Greenland Current (EGC) and the separated EGC are determined from mooring records from the Kögur section north of Denmark Strait between August 2011 and July 2012. The 11 month mean freshwater transport (FWT), relative to a salinity of 34.8, was 65 ± 11 mSv to the south. Approximately 70% of this was associated with the shelfbreak EGC and the remaining 30% with the separated EGC. Very large southward FWT ranging from 160 mSv to 120 mSv was observed from September to mid-October 2011 and was foremost due to anomalously low upper-layer salinities. The FWT may, however, be underestimated by approximately 5 mSv due to sampling biases in the upper ocean. The FWT on the Greenland shelf was estimated using additional inshore moorings deployed from 2012 to 2014. While the annual mean ranged from nearly zero during the first year to 18 mSv to the south during the second year, synoptically the FWT on the shelf can be significant. Furthermore, an anomalous event in autumn 2011 caused the shelfbreak EGC to reverse, leading to a large reduction in FWT. This reversed circulation was due to the passage of a large, 100 km wide anticyclone originating upstream from the shelfbreak. The late summer FWT of −131 mSv is 150% larger than earlier estimates based on sections in the late-1990s and early-2000s. This increase is likely the result of enhanced freshwater flux from the Arctic Ocean to the Nordic Seas during the early 2010s.
  • Article
    Evolution and transformation of the North Icelandic Irminger Current along the North Iceland Shelf
    (American Geophysical Union, 2022-02-20) Semper, Stefanie ; Våge, Kjetil ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Jónsson, Steingrímur ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn
    The North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC) flowing northward through Denmark Strait is the main source of salt and heat to the north Iceland shelf. We quantify its along-stream evolution using the first high-resolution hydrographic/velocity survey north of Iceland that spans the entire shelf along with historical hydrographic measurements as well as data from satellites and surface drifters. The NIIC generally follows the shelf break. Portions of the flow recirculate near Denmark Strait and the Kolbeinsey Ridge. The current's volume transport diminishes northeast of Iceland before it merges with the Atlantic Water inflow east of Iceland. The hydrographic properties of the current are modified along its entire pathway, predominantly because of lateral mixing with cold, fresh offshore waters rather than air-sea interaction. Progressing eastward, the NIIC cools and freshens by approximately 0.3°C and 0.02–0.03 g kg−1 per 100 km, respectively, in both summer and winter. Dense-water formation on the shelf is limited, occurring only sporadically in the historical record. The hydrographic properties of this locally formed water match the lighter portion of the North Icelandic Jet (NIJ), which emerges northeast of Iceland and transports dense water toward Denmark Strait. In the region northeast of Iceland, the NIIC is prone to baroclinic instability. Enhanced eddy kinetic energy over the steep slope there suggests a dynamical link between eddies shed by the NIIC and the formation of the NIJ as previously hypothesized. Thus, while the NIIC rarely supplies the NIJ directly, it may be dynamically important for the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas.
  • Article
    Water mass transformation in the Iceland Sea: contrasting two winters separated by four decades
    (Elsevier, 2022-06-22) Våge, Kjetil ; Semper, Stefanie ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Jónsson, Steingrímur ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Moore, G. W. K.
    Dense water masses formed in the Nordic Seas flow across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge and contribute substantially to the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Originally considered an important source of dense water, the Iceland Sea gained renewed interest when the North Icelandic Jet — a current transporting dense water from the Iceland Sea into Denmark Strait — was discovered in the early 2000s. Here we use recent hydrographic data to quantify water mass transformation in the Iceland Sea and contrast the present conditions with measurements from hydrographic surveys conducted four decades earlier. We demonstrate that the large-scale hydrographic structure of the central Iceland Sea has changed significantly over this period and that the locally transformed water has become less dense, in concert with a retreating sea-ice edge and diminished ocean-to-atmosphere heat fluxes. This has reduced the available supply of dense water to the North Icelandic Jet, but also permitted densification of the East Greenland Current during its transit through the presently ice-free western Iceland Sea in winter. Together, these changes have significantly altered the contribution from the Iceland Sea to the overturning in the Nordic Seas over the four decade period.
  • Article
    Recent changes in the freshwater composition east of Greenland
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2015-04-01) de Steur, Laura ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Torres, Daniel J. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn
    Results from three hydrographic surveys across the East Greenland Current between 2011 and 2013 are presented with focus on the freshwater sources. End-member analysis using salinity, δ18O, and nutrient data shows that while meteoric water dominated the freshwater content, a significant amount of Pacific freshwater was present near Denmark Strait with a maximum in August 2013. While in 2011 and 2012 the net sea ice melt was dominated by brine, in 2013 it became close to zero. The amount of Pacific freshwater observed near Denmark Strait in 2013 is as large as the previous maximum in 1998. This, together with the decrease in meteoric water and brine, suggests a larger contribution from the Canadian Basin. We hypothesize that the increase of Pacific freshwater is the result of enhanced flux through Bering Strait and a shorter pathway of Pacific water through the interior Arctic to Fram Strait.
  • Article
    The North Icelandic Jet and its relationship to the North Icelandic Irminger Current
    (Sears Foundation for Marine Research, 2017-09-01) Pickart, Robert S. ; Spall, Michael A. ; Torres, Daniel J. ; Våge, Kjetil ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Nobre, Carolina ; Moore, G. W. K. ; Jonsson, Steingrimur ; Mastropole, Dana M.
    Shipboard hydrographic and velocity sections are used to quantify aspects of the North Icelandic Jet (NIJ), which transports dense overflow water to Denmark Strait, and the North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC), which imports Atlantic water to the Iceland Sea. The mean transports of the two currents are comparable, in line with previous notions that there is a local overturning cell in the Iceland Sea that transforms the Atlantic water to dense overflow water. As the NIJ and NIIC flow along the north side of Iceland, they appear to share a common front when the bottom topography steers them close together, but even when they are separate there is a poleward flow inshore of the NIJ. The interannual variability in salinity of the inflowing NIIC is in phase with that of the outflowing NIJ. It is suggested, however, that the NIIC signal does not dictate that of the NIJ. Instead, the combination of liquid and solid freshwater flux from the east Greenland boundary can account for the observed net freshening of the NIIC to the NIJ for the densest half of the overturning circulation in the northwest Iceland Sea. This implies that the remaining overturning must occur in a different geographic area, consistent with earlier model results. The year-to-year variability in salinity of the NIJ can be explained by applying annual anomalies of evaporation minus precipitation over the Iceland Sea to a one-dimensional mixing model. These anomalies vary in phase with the wind stress curl over the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, which previous studies have shown drives the interannual variation in salinity of the inflowing NIIC.
  • Article
    The emergence of the North Icelandic Jet and its evolution from northeast Iceland to Denmark Strait
    (American Meteorological Society, 2019-09-19) Semper, Stefanie ; Våge, Kjetil ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Torres, Daniel J. ; Jónsson, Steingrímur
    The North Icelandic Jet (NIJ) is an important source of dense water to the overflow plume passing through Denmark Strait. The properties, structure, and transport of the NIJ are investigated for the first time along its entire pathway following the continental slope north of Iceland, using 13 hydrographic/velocity surveys of high spatial resolution conducted between 2004 and 2018. The comprehensive dataset reveals that the current originates northeast of Iceland and increases in volume transport by roughly 0.4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) per 100 km until 300 km upstream of Denmark Strait, at which point the highest transport is reached. The bulk of the NIJ transport is confined to a small area in Θ–S space centered near −0.29° ± 0.16°C in Conservative Temperature and 35.075 ± 0.006 g kg−1 in Absolute Salinity. While the hydrographic properties of this transport mode are not significantly modified along the NIJ’s pathway, the transport estimates vary considerably between and within the surveys. Neither a clear seasonal signal nor a consistent link to atmospheric forcing was found, but barotropic and/or baroclinic instability is likely active in the current. The NIJ displays a double-core structure in roughly 50% of the occupations, with the two cores centered at the 600- and 800-m isobaths, respectively. The transport of overflow water 300 km upstream of Denmark Strait exceeds 1.8 ± 0.3 Sv, which is substantially larger than estimates from a year-long mooring array and hydrographic/velocity surveys closer to the strait, where the NIJ merges with the separated East Greenland Current. This implies a more substantial contribution of the NIJ to the Denmark Strait overflow plume than previously envisaged.
  • Preprint
    Revised circulation scheme North of the Denmark Strait
    ( 2013-04-26) Våge, Kjetil ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Spall, Michael A. ; Moore, G. W. K. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Torres, Daniel J. ; Erofeeva, Svetlana Y. ; Nilsen, Jan Even Ø.
    The circulation and water mass transports north of the Denmark Strait are investigated using recently collected and historical in-situ data along with an idealized numerical model and atmospheric reanalysis fields. Emphasis is placed on the pathways of dense water feeding theDenmark StraitOverflowWater plume as well as the upper-layer circulation of freshwater. It is found that the East Greenland Current (EGC) bifurcates at the northern end of the Blosseville Basin, some 450 km upstream of the Denmark Strait, advecting overflow water and surface freshwater away from the boundary. This “separated EGC” flows southward adjacent to the previously identified North Icelandic Jet, indicating that approximately 70% of the Denmark Strait Overflow Water approaches the sill along the Iceland continental slope. Roughly a quarter of the freshwater transport of the EGC is diverted offshore via the bifurcation. Two hypotheses are examined to explain the existence of the separated EGC. The atmospheric fields demonstrate that flow distortion due to the orography of Greenland imparts significant vorticity into the ocean in this region. The negative wind stress curl, together with the closed bathymetric contours of the Blosseville Basin, is conducive for spinning up an anti-cyclonic gyre whose offshore branch could represent the separated EGC. An idealized numerical simulation suggests instead that the current is primarily eddy-forced. In particular, baroclinic instability of the model EGC spawns large anticyclones that migrate offshore and coalesce upon reaching the Iceland continental slope, resulting in the separated EGC. Regardless of the formation mechanism, the recently obtained shipboard data and historical hydrography both indicate that the separated EGC is a permanent feature of the circulation north of the Denmark Strait.
  • Preprint
    Upstream sources of the Denmark Strait Overflow : observations from a high-resolution mooring array
    ( 2016-02-19) Harden, Benjamin E. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Våge, Kjetil ; de Steur, Laura ; Richards, Clark G. ; Bahr, Frank B. ; Torres, Daniel J. ; Børve, Eli ; Jonsson, Steingrimur ; Macrander, Andreas ; Østerhus, Svein ; Håvik, Lisbeth ; Hattermann, Tore
    We present the first results from a densely instrumented mooring array upstream of the Denmark Strait sill, extending from the Iceland shelfbreak to the Greenland shelf. The array was deployed from September 2011 to July 2012, and captured the vast majority of overflow water denser than 27.8 kgm-3 approaching the sill. The mean transport of overflow water over the length of the deployment was 3.54 ± 0.16 Sv. Of this, 0.58 Sv originated from below sill depth, revealing that aspiration takes place in Denmark Strait. We confirm the presence of two main sources of overflow water: one approaching the sill in the East Greenland Current and the other via the North Icelandic Jet. Using an objective technique based on the hydrographic properties of the water, the transports of these two sources are found to be 2.54 ± 0.17 Sv and 1.00 ± 0.17 Sv, respectively. We further partition the East Greenland Current source into that carried by the shelfbreak jet (1.50 ± 0.16 Sv) versus that transported by a separated branch of the current on the Iceland slope (1.04 ± 0.15 Sv). Over the course of the year the total overflow transport is more consistent than the transport in either branch; compensation takes place among the pathways that maintains a stable total overflow transport. This is especially true for the two East Greenland Current branches whose transports vary out of phase with each other on weekly and longer time scales. We argue that wind forcing plays a role in this partitioning.
  • Article
    Frontogenesis and variability in Denmark Strait and its influence on overflow water
    (American Meteorological Society, 2019-07-01) Spall, Michael A. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Lin, Peigen ; von Appen, Wilken-Jon ; Mastropole, Dana M. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Haine, Thomas W. N. ; Almansi, Mattia
    A high-resolution numerical model, together with in situ and satellite observations, is used to explore the nature and dynamics of the dominant high-frequency (from one day to one week) variability in Denmark Strait. Mooring measurements in the center of the strait reveal that warm water “flooding events” occur, whereby the North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC) propagates offshore and advects subtropical-origin water northward through the deepest part of the sill. Two other types of mesoscale processes in Denmark Strait have been described previously in the literature, known as “boluses” and “pulses,” associated with a raising and lowering of the overflow water interface. Our measurements reveal that flooding events occur in conjunction with especially pronounced pulses. The model indicates that the NIIC hydrographic front is maintained by a balance between frontogenesis by the large-scale flow and frontolysis by baroclinic instability. Specifically, the temperature and salinity tendency equations demonstrate that the eddies act to relax the front, while the mean flow acts to sharpen it. Furthermore, the model reveals that the two dense water processes—boluses and pulses (and hence flooding events)—are dynamically related to each other and tied to the meandering of the hydrographic front in the strait. Our study thus provides a general framework for interpreting the short-time-scale variability of Denmark Strait Overflow Water entering the Irminger Sea.
  • Article
    Structure and variability of the North Icelandic Jet from two years of mooring data
    (American Geophysical Union, 2019-06-04) Huang, Jie ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Lin, Peigen ; Spall, Michael A. ; Xu, Fanghua
    Mooring data from September 2011 to July 2013 on the Iceland slope north of Denmark Strait are analyzed to better understand the structure and variability of the North Icelandic Jet (NIJ). Three basic configurations of the flow were identified: (1) a strong separated East Greenland Current (EGC) on the mid‐Iceland slope coincident with a weak NIJ on the upper slope, (2) a merged separated EGC and NIJ, and (3) a strong NIJ located at its climatological mean position, coincident with a weak signature of the separated EGC at the base of the Iceland slope. Our study reveals that the NIJ‐dominant scenario was present during different times of the year for the two successive mooring deployments—appearing mainly from September to February the first year and from January to July the second year. Furthermore, when this scenario was active it varied on short timescales. An energetics analysis demonstrates that the high‐frequency variability is driven by mean‐to‐eddy baroclinic conversion at the shoreward edge of the NIJ, consistent with previous modeling work. The seasonal timing of the NIJ dominant scenario is investigated in relation to the atmospheric forcing upstream of Denmark Strait. The resulting lagged correlations imply that strong turbulent heat fluxes in a localized region on the continental slope of Iceland, south of the Spar Fracture zone, lead to a stronger NIJ dominant state with a two‐month lag. This can be explained dynamically in terms of previous modeling work addressing the circulation response to dense water formation near an island.
  • Preprint
    The East Greenland Spill Jet as an important component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
    ( 2014-06-03) von Appen, Wilken-Jon ; Koszalka, Inga M. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Haine, Thomas W. N. ; Mastropole, Dana M. ; Magaldi, Marcello G. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Girton, James B. ; Jochumsen, Kerstin ; Krahmann, Gerd
    The recently discovered East Greenland Spill Jet is a bottom-intensified current on the upper continental slope south of Denmark Strait, transporting intermediate density water equatorward. Until now the Spill Jet has only been observed with limited summertime measurements from ships. Here we present the first year-round mooring observations demonstrating that the current is a ubiquitous feature with a volume transport similar to the well-known plume of Denmark Strait overflow water farther downslope. Using reverse particle tracking in a high-resolution numerical model, we investigate the upstream sources feeding the Spill Jet. Three main pathways are identified: particles flowing directly into the Spill Jet from the Denmark Strait sill; particles progressing southward on the East Greenland shelf that subsequently spill over the shelfbreak into the current; and ambient water from the Irminger Sea that gets entrained into the flow. The two Spill Jet pathways emanating from Denmark Strait are newly resolved, and long-term hydrographic data from the strait verifies that dense water is present far onto the Greenland shelf. Additional measurements near the southern tip of Greenland suggest that the Spill Jet ultimately merges with the deep portion of the shelfbreak current, originally thought to be a lateral circulation associated with the sub-polar gyre. Our study thus reveals a previously unrecognized significant component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that needs to be considered to understand fully the ocean’s role in climate.
  • Article
    On the hydrography of Denmark Strait
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2017-01-10) Mastropole, Dana M. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Våge, Kjetil ; Jochumsen, Kerstin ; Girton, James B.
    Using 111 shipboard hydrographic sections across Denmark Strait occupied between 1990 and 2012, we characterize the mean conditions at the sill, quantify the water mass constituents, and describe the dominant features of the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW). The mean vertical sections of temperature, salinity, and density reveal the presence of circulation components found upstream of the sill, in particular the shelfbreak East Greenland Current (EGC) and the separated EGC. These correspond to hydrographic fronts consistent with surface-intensified southward flow. Deeper in the water column the isopycnals slope oppositely, indicative of bottom-intensified flow of DSOW. An end-member analysis indicates that the deepest part of Denmark Strait is dominated by Arctic-Origin Water with only small amounts of Atlantic-Origin Water. On the western side of the strait, the overflow water is a mixture of both constituents, with a contribution from Polar Surface Water. Weakly stratified “boluses” of dense water are present in 41% of the occupations, revealing that this is a common configuration of DSOW. The bolus water is primarily Arctic-Origin Water and constitutes the densest portion of the overflow. The boluses have become warmer and saltier over the 22 year record, which can be explained by changes in end-member properties and their relative contributions to bolus composition.
  • Article
    Kinematic structure and dynamics of the Denmark Strait Overflow from ship-based observations
    (American Meteorological Society, 2020-11-01) Lin, Peigen ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Jochumsen, Kerstin ; Moore, G. W. K. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Fristedt, Tim ; Pratt, Lawrence J.
    The dense outflow through Denmark Strait is the largest contributor to the lower limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, yet a description of the full velocity field across the strait remains incomplete. Here we analyze a set of 22 shipboard hydrographic–velocity sections occupied along the Látrabjarg transect at the Denmark Strait sill, obtained over the time period 1993–2018. The sections provide the first complete view of the kinematic components at the sill: the shelfbreak East Greenland Current (EGC), the combined flow of the separated EGC, and the North Icelandic Jet (NIJ), and the northward-flowing North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC). The total mean transport of overflow water is 3.54 ± 0.29 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1), comparable to previous estimates. The dense overflow is partitioned in terms of water mass constituents and flow components. The mean transports of the two types of overflow water—Atlantic-origin Overflow Water and Arctic-origin Overflow Water—are comparable in Denmark Strait, while the merged NIJ–separated EGC transports 55% more water than the shelfbreak EGC. A significant degree of water mass exchange takes place between the branches as they converge in Denmark Strait. There are two dominant time-varying configurations of the flow that are characterized as a cyclonic state and a noncyclonic state. These appear to be wind-driven. A potential vorticity analysis indicates that the flow through Denmark Strait is subject to symmetric instability. This occurs at the top of the overflow layer, implying that the mixing/entrainment process that modifies the overflow water begins at the sill.
  • Article
    The Iceland Greenland Seas Project
    (American Meteorological Society, 2019-09-27) Renfrew, Ian A. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Vage, Kjetil ; Moore, G. W. K. ; Bracegirde, Thomas J. ; Elvidge, Andrew D. ; Jeansson, Emil ; Lachlan-Cope, Thomas ; McRaven, Leah T. ; Papritz, Lukas ; Reuder, Joachim ; Sodemann, Harald ; Terpstra, Annick ; Waterman, Stephanie N. ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Weiss, Albert ; Almansi, Mattia ; Bahr, Frank B. ; Brakstad, Ailin ; Barrell, Christopher ; Brooke, Jennifer K. ; Brooks, Barbara J. ; Brooks, Ian M. ; Brooks, Malcolm E. ; Bruvik, Erik Magnus ; Duscha, Christiane ; Fer, Ilker ; Golid, H. M. ; Hallerstig, M. ; Hessevik, Idar ; Huang, Jie ; Houghton, Leah A. ; Jonsson, Steingrimur ; Jonassen, Marius ; Jackson, K. ; Kvalsund, K. ; Kolstad, Erik W. ; Konstali, K. ; Kristiansen, Jorn ; Ladkin, Russell ; Lin, Peigen ; Macrander, Andreas ; Mitchell, Alexandra ; Olafsson, H. ; Pacini, Astrid ; Payne, Chris ; Palmason, Bolli ; Perez-Hernandez, M. Dolores ; Peterson, Algot K. ; Petersen, Guðrún N. ; Pisareva, Maria N. ; Pope, James O. ; Seidl, Andrew D. ; Semper, Stefanie ; Sergeev, Denis ; Skjelsvik, Silje ; Søiland, Henrik ; Smith, D. ; Spall, Michael A. ; Spengler, Thomas ; Touzeau, Alexandra ; Tupper, George H. ; Weng, Y. ; Williams, Keith D. ; Yang, Xiaohau ; Zhou, Shenjie
    The Iceland Greenland Seas Project (IGP) is a coordinated atmosphere–ocean research program investigating climate processes in the source region of the densest waters of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. During February and March 2018, a field campaign was executed over the Iceland and southern Greenland Seas that utilized a range of observing platforms to investigate critical processes in the region, including a research vessel, a research aircraft, moorings, sea gliders, floats, and a meteorological buoy. A remarkable feature of the field campaign was the highly coordinated deployment of the observing platforms, whereby the research vessel and aircraft tracks were planned in concert to allow simultaneous sampling of the atmosphere, the ocean, and their interactions. This joint planning was supported by tailor-made convection-permitting weather forecasts and novel diagnostics from an ensemble prediction system. The scientific aims of the IGP are to characterize the atmospheric forcing and the ocean response of coupled processes; in particular, cold-air outbreaks in the vicinity of the marginal ice zone and their triggering of oceanic heat loss, and the role of freshwater in the generation of dense water masses. The campaign observed the life cycle of a long-lasting cold-air outbreak over the Iceland Sea and the development of a cold-air outbreak over the Greenland Sea. Repeated profiling revealed the immediate impact on the ocean, while a comprehensive hydrographic survey provided a rare picture of these subpolar seas in winter. A joint atmosphere–ocean approach is also being used in the analysis phase, with coupled observational analysis and coordinated numerical modeling activities underway.
  • Article
    A numerical study of interannual variability in the North Icelandic Irminger Current
    (American Geophysical Union, 2018-10-11) Zhao, Jian ; Yang, Jiayan ; Semper, Stefanie ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Våge, Kjetil ; Valdimarsson, Héðinn ; Jónsson, Steingrímur
    The North Icelandic Irminger Current (NIIC) is an important component of the Atlantic Water (AW) inflow to the Nordic Seas. In this study, both observations and a high‐resolution (1/12°) numerical model are used to investigate the seasonal to interannual variability of the NIIC and its forcing mechanisms. The model‐simulated velocity and hydrographic fields compare well with the available observations. The water mass over the entire north Icelandic shelf exhibits strong seasonal variations in both temperature and salinity, and such variations are closely tied to the AW seasonality in the NIIC. In addition to seasonal variability, there is considerable variation on interannual time scales, including a prominent event in 2003 when the AW volume transport increased by about 0.5 Sv. To identify and examine key forcing mechanisms for this event, we analyzed outputs from two additional numerical experiments: using only the seasonal climatology for buoyancy flux (the momentum case) and using only the seasonal climatology for wind stress (the buoyancy case). It is found that changes in the wind stress are predominantly responsible for the interannual variations in the AW volume transport, AW fraction in the NIIC water, and salinity. Temperature changes on the shelf, however, are equally attributable to the buoyancy flux and wind forcing. Correlational analyses indicate that the AW volume transport is most sensitive to the wind stress southwest of Iceland.