Characteristics of mesoscale eddies of Arctic marginal seas: results of numerical modeling

Abstract A simple method is proposed for identifying mesoscale eddies in the results of numerical modeling. The method uses extrema in distributions of the sea level elevation as eddy markers. By using the method, we analyze statistics of mesoscale eddies resulting from SibPOM numerical simulations in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic marginal seas. The results of using this method show that the number of cyclonic eddies slightly exceeds the number of anticyclonic eddies, but the excess is only 2-3%. Also, we demonstrate that a significant number of eddies arise under the ice cover. The number of such eddies increases significantly in winter. This fact indicates that the convection caused by salt rejection during freezing plays an essential role in their formation. The numerical modeling results confirm the phenomenon of active eddy generation in the ice edge zone. Besides, the results show that in the near-edge zone, a more significant number of eddies are formed from the icy side adjacent to the edge, and not from the ice-free side. The periods of seawater freezing and ice melting, accompanied by corresponding displacements in the ice edge, produce eddies different in nature. The number of eddies in the marginal ice zone has two seasonal maxima corresponding to these two periods.