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Abstract

Under the background of wind forcing changes associated with the Arctic sea ice retreat, the mesoscale processes undergoing distinct variabilities in Beaufort Gyre (BG) region, which are influenced by the complicated processes responding to the atmosphere-sea ice-ocean interaction as new Arctic state. BG eddy field is experiencing the increasing oceanic transport and energic cascade in recent decade. In this paper, the varying eddies and eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the Canada Basin and Chukchi-Beaufort continental slope are examined based on the mooring observations, altimetry measurements and reanalysis oceanic analysis data.The lower halocline has deepened by ~40 m in the southern BG basin, while the larger deepening, ~70m, occurred in the northern basin after 2014. Meridionally asymmetric of the halocline vertical structure and the available potential energy (APE) trend are accompanied with the related eddy interannual variabilities. EKE has been continuously increasing toward the central basin at the mean time the halocline depth and strength reached a relatively symmetric and stable regime. It is clearly clarified that the interannual dynamical eddy modulation by eddy flux facilitating the freshwater transport and redistribution inhibited the meridional asymmetry of the BG halocline. Halocline variabilities represent the stratification adjustments in the upper ocean under the circumstance of the changing mesoscale processes.