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    The dynamics of shelf forcing in Greenlandic fjords

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    jpo-d-18-0057.1.pdf (4.207Mb)
    Date
    2018-11-15
    Author
    Jackson, Rebecca H.  Concept link
    Lentz, Steven J.  Concept link
    Straneo, Fiamma  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/10738
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-18-0057.1
    DOI
    10.1175/JPO-D-18-0057.1
    Keyword
     Estuaries; Glaciers; Baroclinic flows; Coastal flows; Kelvin waves; Regional models 
    Abstract
    The fjords that connect Greenland’s glaciers to the ocean are gateways for importing heat to melt ice and for exporting meltwater into the ocean. The transport of heat and meltwater can be modulated by various drivers of fjord circulation, including freshwater, local winds, and shelf variability. Shelf-forced flows (also known as the intermediary circulation) are the dominant mode of variability in two major fjords of east Greenland, but we lack a dynamical understanding of the fjord’s response to shelf forcing. Building on observations from east Greenland, we use numerical simulations and analytical models to explore the dynamics of shelf-driven flows. For the parameter space of Greenlandic fjords, we find that the fjord’s response is primarily a function of three nondimensional parameters: the fjord width over the deformation radius (W/Rd), the forcing time scale over the fjord adjustment time scale, and the forcing amplitude (shelf pycnocline displacements) over the upper-layer thickness. The shelf-forced flows in both the numerical simulations and the observations can largely be explained by a simple analytical model for Kelvin waves propagating around the fjord. For fjords with W/Rd > 0.5 (most Greenlandic fjords), 3D dynamics are integral to understanding shelf forcing—the fjord dynamics cannot be approximated with 2D models that neglect cross-fjord structure. The volume flux exchanged between the fjord and shelf increases for narrow fjords and peaks around the resonant forcing frequency, dropping off significantly at higher- and lower-frequency forcing.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2018. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 48 (2018): 2799-2827, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-18-0057.1.
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    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Physical Oceanography 48 (2018): 2799-2827
     
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