In memory of William Kurt Dewar: Exploring the dynamics of oceanic boundary currents (e.g., the Gulf Stream) and their impact on weather

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Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 2 July 2025 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 20 October 2025

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Background

Boundary currents in the ocean impact our climate on a wide range of scales. The Gulf Stream, for example, being one of the prominent western boundary currents of the ocean, not only has captivated geophysical fluid dynamicists for its richness in dynamics, but also the climate science community by its significant contribution to the global heat and moisture budget. Air-sea fluxes of heat and moisture over the Gulf Stream path have a disproportionately imprint onto their zonal-mean signal in the Northern hemisphere, which in turn affect the frequency and intensity of storm tracks. The heat transport by the Gulf Stream modulates the weather along the U.S. east coast and in western Europe, and contributes profoundly to the global meridional heat transport as the upper rim of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. It has also been argued that the Gulf Stream front is a hotspot for biophysical interaction. Similarly, other boundary currents, both eastern and western, are also regions of dynamical curiosity, and oceanographic, atmospheric and biogeochemical implications extend far beyond their geographical locations.

Despite decades of research having gone into understanding the dynamics of boundary currents, their oceanographic characteristics and impact on atmospheric circulation and hydroclimate remain elusive; such as what controls the western boundary current separation from continental shelves, the pathway to dissipation of energy input from the winds and buoyancy forcing, air-sea coupling across spatiotemporal scales, mechanisms triggering cyclogenesis and precipitation in the troposphere, and impacts on distant regions through modulation of atmospheric rivers. The problem stems from boundary currents being a phenomenon that spans the range of basin-to-molecular spatial and diurnal-to-decadal temporal scales; fundamentally, this complexity arises from a tight coupling between the dynamics, thermodynamics, and boundary conditions. In the context of climate, it is crucial to improve our understanding and projections of these regions and how they will evolve under a changing climate.

When it comes to the dynamics and thermodynamics of the Gulf Stream and flow-boundary interactions, there are few who were as insightful, resourceful and humorous as Professor William Kurt Dewar, who sadly passed away in 2024. We would like to commemorate and celebrate Prof. Dewar’s legacy by dedicating this special edition to him. One of his favorite side topics was biomixing of the ocean, i.e., the contribution of mixing due to activity by fauna in the ocean (Does the marine biosphere mix the ocean?), and the battles that likely ensue between sperm whales and the giant squid.



Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

- Theoretical, modeling and observational approaches in understanding ocean-atmosphere interaction;

- Dynamics of boundary currents (e.g., Gulf Stream, Kuroshio, Agulhas current, Gulf of Mexico loop current, California Current, etc.) under a changing climate;

- Temperature and precipitation regulation by western boundary currents over the U.S., western Europe and east Asia;

- The Gulf Stream and Kuroshio path and storm tracks over the North Atlantic and Pacific respectively;

- Teleconnection and/or synchronization between the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio;

- Eastern boundary currents and their impact on local weather, hydroclimate and biogeochemistry;

- Effects of the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio meanders and rings on primary production and fishery.

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  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
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  • Original Research

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Policy and Practice Reviews
  • Policy Brief
  • Review
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: oceanic boundary currents, air-sea fluxes, mixing, climate change, hydroclimate

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