Coherence of Deep Convection in the Irminger Sea with Oceanic Heat Advection

Abstract

The interannual variability of deep convection in the Irminger Sea is considered essential in controlling the intensity of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Based on the ARMOR-3D oceanic dataset and the Era-Interim atmospheric reanalysis, we suggest that the oceanic heat advection in the sea of the Irminger Current governs the interdecadal variability of deep convection of the Irminger Sea by modulating the upper ocean heat content in the basin. This forms a negative feedback that stabilizes the AMOC: an increase in the advection of oceanic heat into the Irminger Sea leads to a decrease in the convection depth, which further reduces the northward heat transport by the AMOC. We suggest that, on interdecadal time scales, the effect of ocean–atmosphere heat exchange on deep convection is relatively small due to a much lower interannual variability of the former compared to that of the oceanic heat convergence. During the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Irminger Current becomes colder, which allows an alternative explanation for the intermittently observed intensification of convection in the Irminger Sea with an increase in the NAO index. Thus, the long-period variability of the convection intensity in the Irminger Sea is associated not with local atmospheric influence, but rather with remote atmospheric forcing.