Rain triggers seasonal stratification in a temperate shelf sea

J. E. Jardine (), M. Palmer, C. Mahaffey, J. Holt, S. L. Wakelin, A. Düsterhus, J. Sharples and J. Wihsgott
Additional contact information
J. E. Jardine: National Oceanography Centre
M. Palmer: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
C. Mahaffey: School of Environmental Sciences
J. Holt: National Oceanography Centre
S. L. Wakelin: National Oceanography Centre
A. Düsterhus: Maynooth University
J. Sharples: School of Environmental Sciences
J. Wihsgott: Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The North Atlantic Storm Track acts as a conveyor belt for extratropical cyclones that frequently deliver high winds and rainfall to northwest European shelf seas. Storms are primarily considered detrimental to shelf sea stratification due to wind-driven mixing countering thermal buoyancy, but their impact on shelf scale stratification cycles remains poorly understood. Here, we show that storms trigger stratification through enhanced surface buoyancy from rainfall. A multidecadal model confirms that rainfall contributed to triggering seasonal stratification 88% of the time from 1982 to 2015. Stratification could be further modulated by large-scale climate oscillations, such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV), with stratification onset dates being twice as variable during a positive AMV phase than a negative one. Further insights into how changing storm activity will impact shelf seas are discussed beyond the current view of increasing wind-driven mixing, with significant implications for marine productivity and ecosystem function.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38599-y

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