Science, Technology & Engineering Highlights
STE Highlights features current, cutting-edge scientific research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and recent awards and recognitions of Los Alamos scientists.
Dye tracer released from the Beaufort Gyre region of the western Arctic Ocean indicates freshwater transport through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago into the western Labrador Sea, causing freshening there.
Freshwater is accumulating in the Arctic Ocean like never before. The Beaufort Sea, which is the largest Arctic Ocean freshwater reservoir, has increased its freshwater content by 40 percent over the last two decades. A rapid release of this freshwater into the Atlantic Ocean could impact a critical circulation pattern, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which has a significant influence on northern-hemisphere climate. A new modeling study by Los Alamos researchers and collaborators from NOAA and the University of Washington dove into the mechanics surrounding this scenario.
Read more in the current STE Highlights.