Observed increases in Bering Strait oceanic fluxes from the Pacific to the Arctic from 2001 to 2011 and their impacts on the Arctic Ocean water column

Mooring data indicate the Bering Strait throughflow increases ∼50% from 2001 (∼0.7 Sv) to 2011 (∼1.1 Sv), driving heat and freshwater flux increases. Increase in the Pacific‐Arctic pressure‐head explains two‐thirds of the change, the rest being attributable to weaker local winds. The 2011 heat flux (∼5 × 10 20 J) approaches the previous record high (2007) due to transport increases and warmer lower layer (LL) temperatures, despite surface...