The effects of the water flow through the Canadian Archipelago in a global ice‐ocean model

Numerical experiments are conducted with a global ice‐ocean model in order to evaluate the influence of the water flow from the Arctic Ocean to Baffin Bay through the Canadian Archipelago on the water‐mass properties of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas and, more generally, on the global ocean circulation. The results indicate that this flow plays a significant role in controlling the freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean. When the Canadian Archipelago passage is open in the model, the Arctic pycnocline experiences a noticeable increase in salinity. Furthermore, the flow of relatively fresh Arctic waters through the passage yields a pronounced decrease of surface salinity and density in the Labrador Sea, which leads to a diminution of convective activity there. As a result, the North Atlantic Deep Water outflow in the model is reduced by about 5%. Deep convection in the Norwegian Sea exhibits almost no change, and this despite a weakening of the inflow of relatively fresh Arctic waters through Fram Strait.