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Greenland tip jet and deep convection in the Irminger Sea: disentangling the roles of heat loss and wind stress
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DOI：10.5194/os-22-1819-2026.png)
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Abstract
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Abstract. The strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) depends on deep-water formation in the Subpolar Gyre; particularly in the Irminger Sea; where convection is strongly modulated by short-lived but intense Greenland tip jet wind events. These mesoscale westerlies induce substantial surface heat loss and impose wind stress on the ocean; jointly influencing convective intensity. Using the high-resolution Parallel Ocean Program (POP) within the Community Earth System Model (CESM); we disentangle the thermal and mechanical effects of tip jet on mixed layer deepening through three ensemble experiments: full-forcing (heat loss + wind stress anomalies); heat-only; and wind-only; each compared to a climatological control run. All forced cases show a significant December–April deepening of the mixed layer relative to the control. The heat-only and full-forcing experiments produce similar mixed layer depth (MLD) increases (+1200 m; reaching ∼1800 m); confirming that surface heat loss is the primary driver of deep convection. The wind-only case shows a smaller but still significant increase (+400 m; MLD ∼1000 m); associated with enhanced early-winter mixing and wind-driven salinity increases in the upper ocean. This wind stress forcing erodes the fresh surface layer; reduces buoyancy; and promotes shear-driven mixing in December so that climatological winter heat loss can deepen the mixed layer more efficiently. Because wind stress is not projected to weaken under future warming; its mechanical influence may help delay or modulate the decline of convection in the Irminger Sea as surface heat loss decreases.
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