Sensitivity of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans to the Bering Strait inflow: A modeling study

Water from the Pacific Ocean flowing through the Bering Strait (BS) influences the circulation, heat and salt budget of the Arctic. With salinity between 31.4 and 32.9, it contributes a significantly amount to the Beaufort Gyre fresh water reservoir. The hydrography and volume transport of this inflow vary significantly over a seasonal cycle. Warm water intrusions may act as a trigger for the onset of the seasonal melt of ice, as in the 2007 extreme event. In the current version of the TOPAZ system the BS inflow is simulated with a constant barotropic inflow and a mean seasonal hydrographic cycle. A modeling approach is adopted to understand the importance of the seasonal and inter-annual variability of the transport and the hydrography of the Bering Strait inflow for the Arctic and North Atlantic oceanic climate.