Canada’s Oceans Now: Arctic Ecosystems 2023 - The Beaufort Gyre: collecting heat and fresh water in the ocean

The Beaufort Gyre: collecting heat and fresh water in the ocean
The Beaufort Gyre is a large ocean area where the surface water spins in a circle

In the center of the infographic, an illustration of the Gyre depicted as a 3D cylinder that shows three ocean layers from top to bottom: Surface layer (light blue), Pacific layer (orange), and Atlantic layer (dark purple). A vertical line splits the gyre in half to show the differences from 2006 (left) and 2020 (right).

On the left side of the Beaufort Gyre illustration, explanatory text states:

• “The Beaufort Gyre spins clockwise or counterclockwise (on average) for years at a time depending on wind patterns. A faster clockwise spin causes fresh water from ice melt and rivers to accumulate near the surface of the Gyre, pushing the Pacific layer deeper. Fresh water in the Gyre increased by approximately 50% from 2003-2008. In the past, the spinning switched directions every 5-10 years. Winds have caused it to spin clockwise on average now since 1997. If the spinning reverses direction, the accumulated freshwater surface water will flow through the Canadian Arctic waters to the Atlantic Ocean.”

The 3D illustration shows that the surface layer is spinning clockwise as shown by dark blue arrows circling the top of the cylinder. On the right side (2020) the surface layer is thicker and bulges downwards as indicated by dark blue arrows. The surface layer pushes the other two layers downwards. This bulging pushes the orange Pacific layer down and out onto the neighboring Mackenzie Shelf as shown on the right side of the Gyre illustration with a red arrow pointing up towards the shore. Text below the illustration of the Pacific layer moving onto the Mackenzie shelf states:

• “This pushing of nutrient-rich pacific waters towards the surface is called upwelling. Upwelling measured on the Mackenzie Shelf, hundreds of miles from the center of the Gyre, has doubled over the last 25 years. The downwards bulging of the pacific layer also pushes the deeper Atlantic layer down.”
• On the bottom of the infographic, a series of six images show the change in ocean heat in the pacific layer of the Beaufort Gyre from 2004 to 2021. These images show the heat level, depicted in a color gradient from blue (colder) to red (hotter), from a section of the Gyre shown on a small map to the right. The map shows the Gyre and its clockwise movement in dark blue circular arrows, and the upwelling towards the Mackenzie Shelf with a large red arrow. The image from 2004-2006 is completely blue. Warmer colors begin to appear in the image from 2010-2012. The last image (2019-2021) is completely composed of warm colours. Text below the six images states:
  • “Since 2004, the average heat in the Pacific layer of the Gyre has increased from 250 to 850 million joules per square metre.”