Analysis of the Beaufort Gyre freshwater content in 2003-2018

© The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Proshutinsky, A., Krishfield, R., Toole, J. M., Timmermans, M-L., Williams, W. J., Zimmermann, S., Yamamoto-Kawai, M., Armitage, T. W. K., Dukhovskoy, D., Golubeva, E., Manucharyan, G. E., Platov, G., Watanabe, E., Kikuchi, T., Nishino, S., Itoh, M., Kang, S-H., Cho, K-H., Tateyama, K., & Zhao, J. Analysis of the Beaufort Gyre freshwater content in 2003-2018. Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 124(12), (2019): 9658-9689, doi:10.1029/2019JC015281.Hydrographic data collected from research cruises, bottom‐anchored moorings, drifting Ice‐Tethered Profilers, and satellite altimetry in the Beaufort Gyre region of the Arctic Ocean document an increase of more than 6,400 km3 of liquid freshwater content from 2003 to 2018: a 40% growth relative to the climatology of the 1970s. This fresh water accumulation is shown to result from persistent anticyclonic atmospheric wind forcing (1997–2018) accompanied by sea ice melt, a wind‐forced redirection of Mackenzie River discharge from predominantly eastward to westward flow, and a contribution of low salinity waters of Pacific Ocean origin via Bering Strait. Despite significant uncertainties in the different observations, this study has demonstrated the synergistic value of having multiple diverse datasets to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of Beaufort Gyre freshwater content variability. For example, Beaufort Gyre Observational System (BGOS) surveys clearly show the interannual increase in freshwater content, but without satellite or Ice‐Tethered Profiler measurements, it is not possible to resolve the seasonal cycle of freshwater content, which in fact is larger than the year‐to‐year variability, or the more subtle interannual variations.National Science Foundation. Grant Numbers: PLR‐1302884,OPP‐1719280, and OPP‐1845877, PLR‐1303644 and OPP‐1756100, OPP‐1756100, PLR‐1303644, OPP‐1845877, OPP‐1719280, PLR‐1302884 Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China. Grant Number: 41330960 Global Change Research Program of China. Grant Number: 2015CB953900 Ministry of Education, Korea Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) /Earth Observation Research Center (EORC) Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) Stanback Postdoctoral Fellowship Russian Foundation for Basic Research. Grant Number: 17‐05‐00382 Presidium of Russian Academy of Sciences HYCOM NOPP. Grant Number: N00014‐15‐1‐2594 DOE. Grant Number: DE‐SC0014378 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutio