Abstract Eddies play an important role in the regulation of oceanic heat redistribution. This study investigates and analyzes submesoscale eddies in the upper ocean from the edge of the Beaufort Shelfbreak to the southern Canada Basin using data from the MITgcm LLC4320 model, focusing on their spatiotemporal distribution, trajectories, heat content, and variations in anomalous heat content. The results indicate that eddy activity within the jet region exhibits seasonal variation. Eddy counts peak in the spring months (April-June) and gradually decreases through summer to early autumn (August-November). Following their formation near the shelfbreak, cyclonic submesoscale eddies tend to propagate along the jet. Conversely, anticyclonic submesoscale eddies are more likely to detach from the jet region. It is estimated that approximately 44% of anticyclonic submesoscale eddies migrate northward into the southern Canada Basin, thereby serving as key submesoscale carriers for transporting shelfbreak waters into the basin. A marked seasonal temperature disparity exists between the shelfbreak waters and the basin. Consequently, anticyclonic submesoscale eddies formed during the summer months typically exhibit warm cores. Conversely, those formed in winter are predominantly cold-core. Environmental factors during the formation and evolution of submesoscale eddies have been shown to cause significant variability in the thermal structure among individual anticyclonic submesoscale eddies. Specifically, among the anticyclonic submesoscale eddies generated in the jet region that subsequently enter the basin, anticyclonic cold-core submesoscale eddies exhibit heat content differences of approximately − 26.5 × 10 15 J to -2.2 × 10 15 J, whereas anticyclonic warm-core submesoscale eddies show differences of 11.0 × 10 15 J to 16.1 × 10 15 J. Assuming an idealised scenario, cold-core eddies have the potential to influence the formation of sea ice within an area ranging from 6 to 77 km², with a mean of 33 km². In contrast, warm-core eddies have the capacity to affect the melting of sea ice over an area of 32–47 km², with a mean of 40 km². The results obtained suggest that anticyclonic submesoscale eddies play a role in regulating the upper-ocean heat distribution and sea-ice growth and melt processes in the Canada Basin.
Xie et al. (Sat,) studied this question.