Contribution of Surface Waves to Sea Surface Temperatures in the Arctic Ocean

The aim of our study was to examine the contribution of surface waves from WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) to the variation in sea surface temperature (SST) in the Arctic Ocean. The simulated significant wave height (SWH) were validated against the products from Haiyang-2B (HY-2B) in 2021, obtaining a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.45 with a correlation of 0.96 and scatter index of 0.18. The wave-induced effects, i.e., wave breaking and mixing induced by nonbearing waves resulting in changes in radiation stress and Stokes drift, were calculated from WW3, ERA-5 wind, SST, and salinity data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and were taken as forcing fields in the Stony Brook Parallel Ocean Model. The results showed that an RMSE of 0.81 °C with wave-induced effects was less than the RMSE of 1.11 °C achieved without the wave term compared with the simulated SST with the measurements from Argos. Considering the four wave effects and sea ice freezing, the SST in the Arctic Ocean decreased by up to 1 °C in winter. Regression analysis revealed that the SWH was linear in SST (values without subtraction of waves) in summer and autumn, but this behavior was not observed in spring or winter due to the presence of sea ice. The interannual variation also presented a negative relationship between the difference in SST and SWH.