Abstract:
The Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current (ACBC) transports the Atlantic Water (AW) into the Arctic Ocean, shaping regional water and heat budgets and being tightly coupled with sea-ice melt-freeze cycles and freshwater export. Using long-term mooring observations along the four sections spanning the Eurasian Basin, from the Fram Strait to the Laptev Sea, and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis method, we examine the evolution and spatiotemporal variability of the ACBC. Results show that along its cyclonic pathway the Fram Strait branch exhibits a gradual weakening and deepening of its velocity core. Injection from the Barents Sea branch generates a shelf-edge jet along the Svalbard section, with peak speeds reaching up to 35 cm/s. Volume transport decreases along the path, from (3.45±0.26) Sv in the Fram Strait to (2.79±0.23) Sv in the Laptev Sea, and the heat flux likewise diminishes across successive sections. The current exhibits a pronounced seasonality: stronger in winter than in summer, which is closely linked to the strength of the AW inflow. These findings clarify the characteristics and variability of the ACBC in the Eurasian Basin and are helpful to the assessment of current structure and deeper understanding of the overall state of the Arctic Ocean as well as governing mechanisms.