A pair of numerical experiments based on a pan-Arctic coupled sea ice-ocean model are conducted to study the large-scale sea ice circulation in the western Arctic Ocean. The numerical results suggest that the ocean geostrophic currents in the anticyclonic Beaufort Gyre serve as a gradually evolving conveyor belt, contributing to nearly half of the ice volume transport across the Beaufort Sea. In normal cases, this oceanic conveyor assists surface winds in shaping an anticyclonic ice circulation. The ocean geostrophic currents do not respond to surface stress so immediately as the ice drift. Therefore, when abnormal westerly winds blow over the Beaufort Sea to reverse the ice drift, the oceanic conveyor usually sustains its anticyclonic nature and mitigates the wind impact, impeding the reversal of ice transport.

geostrophic currents,sea ice circulation,western Arctic Ocean