Polar Research (E-Journal)
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Circulation in the Arctic Ocean
No full textMuch information on processes and circulation within the Arctic Ocean has emerged from measurements made on icebreaker expeditions during the past decade. This article offers a perspective based on these measurements, summarizing new ideas regarding how water masses are formed and how they circulate. Best understood at present is the circulation of the Atlantic Layer and mid-depth waters, to depths of about 1700 m, which move in cyclonic gyres in the four major basins of the Arctic Ocean. New ideas on halocline formation and circulation are directly relevant to concerns regarding changes in ice thickness. The circulation of the halocline water in part mimics that of the underlying Atlantic Layer. A number of large eddies contributing to water mass transport have been observed. The circulation of freshwater from the Pacific Ocean and from river runoff has been better delineated. Circulation within the surface layer resembles the circulation of ice, but is different in several respects. Least understood is the circulation of the deepest waters, though some information is available. Recent observed changes in the surface waters and warm Atlantic Layer have been correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation. While these changes are dramatic, the qualitative circulation pattern may not have been altered significantly
Across the Arctic front west of Spitsbergen: high-resolution CTD sections from 1998–2000
No full textThe structure of the oceanic Arctic front west of Spitsbergen is investigated using data from high-resolution CTD sections from September 1998-2000. Below the fresher surface layer, the front appears as a temperature-salinity front situated near the shelf break. No clear corresponding front in density is found. Our analysis suggests that barotropic front instability is a main factor in provoking subsurface cross-front exchange. The subsurface heat loss in the West Spitsbergen Current due to this exchange is estimated to be of the same order of magnitude as the heat loss to the atmosphere in the surface layer
Acoustic thermometry in the Arctic Ocean
No full textLarge increases in the temperature of the Atlantic Layer in the Arctic Ocean have been observed since the early to mid-1990s and have continued through to the present. These changes were detected in 1994 and in 1999 with acoustic “sections” using acoustic thermometry. Both icebreaker and submarine CTD sections have confirmed these observations. Calculations of the travel time of acoustic mode 2 for the submarine CTD sections show a linear correlation with the mean temperature of the Atlantic Layer of the section. A cabled-to-shore undersea mooring system of Arctic Ocean observatories is needed to provide real-time year-round observations using conventional as well as acoustic remote sensing techniques
75 years evolution in our climate research
No full textDear organizers, ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to be here today to commemorate an outstanding Norwegian scientist, and one of the great events in Norwegian research history. The previous speakers have given us interesting views of the Maud expedition, which was concluded 75 years ago, and of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup’s scientific influence as one of the founders of modern oceanography
Seasonal and long-term sea level variability in the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean
No full textOne of the parameters useful for monitoring large-scale climate variability in the Arctic Ocean is sea level. It integrates virtually all static and dynamic processes in the hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Arctic. Previously unavailable mean monthly sea level data at 44 coastal and island stations in the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas covering years from 1950 to 1990 were used to analyse seasonal and inter-annual variability. Sea level has a significant annual cycle with an average seasonal amplitude (from peak to peak) in the coastal zone of the Arctic seas on the order of 20 - 30 cm. The analysis of inter-annual and inter-decadal changes has shown that at nearly all stations in the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas from the beginning of the 1950s through the end of 1980s there is a positive trend in sea level variability. The main contribution to the sea level rise was in the 1980s; on average for the coastal zone of Siberian shelf the sea level in the 1980s was 5 - 6 cm higher than in the previous decades. A reasonable agreement between observed decadal mean sea level values and the results of diagnostic model simulations suggests that this rise in the Arctic seas is connected with the reorganization of large-scale circulation of the Arctic Ocean, rather than the regional lowering of the coasts, as has been suggested previously
On the excitation of resonant double Kelvin waves in the Barents Sea Opening
No full textIn the northern Barents Sea Opening (BSO) the K1 tidal energy is predominant in the diurnal tidal frequency band, suggesting the generation of a topographic wave with the K1 tidal frequency. Tidal energy of the K1 component becomes strong where bottom topography undulates in the BSO and the scale of the undulation is close to the wavelength of the K1 wave. An analytical model is developed to investigate the energy enhancement mechanism of the tidally induced topographic wave due to a resonance between tidal current, a topographic wave and periodic topography. The wave excited by the resonance is identified as a resonant double Kelvin wave (DKW) and the significant K1 energy in the BSO could be due to the excitation of the resonant DKW
Genetic differentiation of populations of Greenlandic Arctic fox
No full textMost microsatellites are very polymorphic. This makes them powerful markers for observing genetic differentiation between closely related populations. The population structure of the Greenlandic Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) was studied genetically by analysing six polymorphic microsatellite loci of 75 foxes from four populations in different parts of Greenland. Genotypes were determined at the six loci for most of the individuals. Population differentiation was quantified in three different ways both within the total population and pairwise between all populations. The tests were Fisher's exact test, Rho estimates and Fst estimates, all of which supported a highly significant subdivision of the total population, and they showed significant differentiation in allele frequencies between all pairs of localities. It is concluded that the known long-distance migration of the Greenlandic Arctic fox has not resulted in complete genetic mixing of the populations. Fisher's exact test was also used to estimate levels of genetic differentiation between the two colour morphs: white and blue. No difference was found between allele frequencies of the two color morphs in any of the locations, and it was concluded that the white and blue morphs of the Greenlandic Arctic fox share the same habitat, at least during the mating season
Direct measurements of volume transports through Fram Strait
No full textHeat and freshwater transports through Fram Strait are understood to have a significant influence on the hydrographic conditions in the Arctic Ocean and on water mass modifications in the Nordic seas. To determine these transports and their variability reliable estimates of the volume transport through the strait are required. Current meter moorings were deployed in Fram Strait from September 1997 to September 1999 in the framework of the EU MAST III Variability of Exchanges in the Northern Seas programme. The monthly mean velocity fields reveal marked velocity variations over seasonal and annual time scales, and the spatial structure of the northward flowing West Spitsbergen Current and the southward East Greenland Current with a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer. The volume transport obtained by averaging the monthly means over two years amounts to 9.5 ± 1.4 Sv to the north and 11.1 ± 1.7 Sv to the south (1 Sv = 106 m3s?1). The West Spitsbergen Current has a strong barotropic and a weaker baroclinic component; in the East Greenland Current barotropic and baroclinic components are of similar magnitude. The net transport through the strait is 4.2 ± 2.3 Sv to the south. The obtained northward and southward transports are significantly larger than earlier estimates in the literature; however, within its range of uncertainty the balance obtained from a two year average is consistent with earlier estimates
Carbon fluxes in the Arctic Ocean—potential impact by climate change
No full textBecause of its ice cover the central Arctic Ocean has not been considered as a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. With recent observations of decreasing ice cover there is the potential for an increased air–sea carbon dioxide flux. Though the sensitivity of the carbon fluxes to a climate change can at present only be speculated, we know the responses to some of the forcing, including: melting of the sea ice cover make the air–sea flux operate towards equilibrium; increased temperature of the surface water will decrease the solubility and thus the air-sea flux; and an open ocean might increase primary production through better utilization of the nutrients.The potential change in air-sea CO2 fluxes caused by different forcing as a result of climate change is quantified based on measured data. If the sea ice melts, the top 100 m water column of the Eurasian Basin has, with the present conditions, a potential to take up close to 50 g C m?2. The freshening of the surface water caused by a sea ice melt will increase the CO2 solubility corresponding to an uptake of ? g C m?2, while a temperature increase of 1°C in the same waters will out-gas 8 g C m?2, and a utilization of all phosphate will increase primary production by 75 g C m?2
Volume, heat and salt transport by the West Spitsbergen Current
No full textDuring the summer of 2000 (June-July) 14 CTD and ADCP transects perpendicular to the West Spitsbergen Current and along the western border of the Barents Sea were made. The measurements covered the area between 69° 43’and 80° N and 01° and 20° E. The main purpose was to follow changes in volume, heat and salt content of Atlantic Water (AW) on its way north. The strongest and most stable flow of AW was located along the continental slope where northward flowing currents exceeding 40 cm/sec were measured. A few weaker northward branches were also found to the west of the slope. South-directed currents were recorded between them and eddy-like mesoscale structures were commonly observed. Measured by vessel-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (VM-ADCP), the net northward transport of AW volume in the upper 136 m layer decreased from nearly 6 Sv at the southernmost transect to below 1 Sv at a latitude of 78° 50’N. Similarly, heat transport drops from about 173 TW to about 9 TW and relative salt transport (over 34.92 psu) from 980 × 103 kg/sec to 14 × 103 kg/sec. Transport in the southern direction prevails at the transect located between 79° 07’and 79° 30’N. The calculated baroclinic geostrophic transport of AW volume, heat and salt in the upper 1000 m layer behaves similarly. East-directed transport dominates at the Barents Sea boundary while westward flow prevails on the western side of the West Spitsbergen Current