<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>A two-decade-long accumulation of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort Gyre has recently started to be released. Here we use satellite observations and model simulations to show that changes in wind regimes and sea ice declines are causing freshwater to accumulate close to the export gateways to the North Atlantic. This emerging buffer zone plays an important role in modulating the propagation of freshwater into the subpolar North Atlantic.</jats:p>