Transformation of Atlantic Water in the Barents Sea in winter: overview of “Transarctika-2019” cruise results

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Ivanov ◽  
Ivan Frolov ◽  
Kirill Filchuk
Keyword(s):  
Characteristic Feature ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

<p>In the recent few years the topic of accelerated sea ice loss, and related changes in the vertical structure of water masses in the East-Atlantic sector of the Arctic Ocean, including the Barents Sea and the western part of the Nansen Basin, has been in the foci of multiple studies. This region even earned the name the “Arctic warming hotspot”, due to the extreme retreat of sea ice and clear signs of change in the vertical hydrographic structure from the Arctic type to the sub-Arctic one. A gradual increase in temperature and salinity in this area has been observed since the mid-2000s. This trend is hypothetically associated with a general decrease in the volume of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, which leads to a decrease of ice import in the Barents Sea, salinization, weakening of density stratification, intensification of vertical mixing and an increase of heat and salt fluxes from the deep to the upper mixed layer. The result of such changes is a further reduction of sea ice, i.e. implementation of positive feedback, which is conventionally refereed as the “atlantification. Due to the fact that the Barents Sea is a relatively shallow basin, the process of atlantification might develop here much faster than in the deep Nansen Basin. Thus, theoretically, the hydrographic regime in the northern part of the Barents Sea may rapidly transform to a “Nordic Seas – wise”, a characteristic feature of which is the year-round absence of the ice cover with debatable consequences for the climate and ecosystem of the region and adjacent land areas. Due to the obvious reasons, historical observations in the Barents Sea mostly cover the summer season. Here we present a rare oceanographic data, collected during the late winter - early spring in 2019. Measurements were occupied at four sequential oceanographic surveys from the boundary between the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea – the so called Barents Sea opening to the boundary between the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. Completed hydrological sections allowed us to estimate the contribution of the winter processes in the Atlantic Water transformation at the end of the winter season. Characteristic feature of the observed transformation is the homogenization of the near-to-bottom part of the water column with remaining stratification in the upper part. A probable explanation of such changes is the dominance of shelf convection and cascading of dense water over the open sea convection. In this case, complete homogenization of the water column does not occur, since convection in the open sea is impeded by salinity and density stratification, which is maintained by melting of the imported sea ice in the relatively warm water. The study was supported by RFBR grant # 18-05-60083.</p>

A satellite-based Lagrangian perspective on Atlantic Water fractionation in the Nordic Seas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Léon Chafik ◽  
Sara Broomé
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Bottom Topography ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fram Strait ◽  
Nordic Seas ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Outer Branch

<p>The Arctic Ocean has been receiving more of the warm and saline Atlantic Water in the past decades. This water mass enters the Arctic Ocean via two Arctic gateways: the Barents Sea Opening and the Fram Strait. Here, we focus on the fractionation of Atlantic Water at these two gateways using a Lagrangian approach based on satellite-derived geostrophic velocities. Simulated particles are released at 70N at the inner and outer branch of the North Atlantic current system in the Nordic Seas. The trajectories toward the Fram Strait and Barents Sea Opening are found to be largely steered by the bottom topography and there is an indication of an anti-phase relationship in the number of particles reaching the gateways. There is, however, a significant cross-over of particles from the outer branch to the inner branch and into the Barents Sea, which is found to be related to high eddy kinetic energy between the branches. This cross-over may be important for Arctic climate variability.</p>

scholarly journals The Arctic Ocean Seasonal Cycles of Heat and Freshwater Fluxes: Observation-Based Inverse Estimates

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 2029-2055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takamasa Tsubouchi ◽  
Sheldon Bacon ◽  
Yevgeny Aksenov ◽  
Alberto C. Naveira Garabato ◽  
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Water Layer ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Bering Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

AbstractThis paper presents the first estimate of the seasonal cycle of ocean and sea ice heat and freshwater (FW) fluxes around the Arctic Ocean boundary. The ocean transports are estimated primarily using 138 moored instruments deployed in September 2005–August 2006 across the four main Arctic gateways: Davis, Fram, and Bering Straits, and the Barents Sea Opening (BSO). Sea ice transports are estimated from a sea ice assimilation product. Monthly velocity fields are calculated with a box inverse model that enforces mass and salt conservation. The volume transports in the four gateways in the period (annual mean ± 1 standard deviation) are −2.1 ± 0.7 Sv in Davis Strait, −1.1 ± 1.2 Sv in Fram Strait, 2.3 ± 1.2 Sv in the BSO, and 0.7 ± 0.7 Sv in Bering Strait (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1). The resulting ocean and sea ice heat and FW fluxes are 175 ± 48 TW and 204 ± 85 mSv, respectively. These boundary fluxes accurately represent the annual means of the relevant surface fluxes. The ocean heat transport variability derives from velocity variability in the Atlantic Water layer and temperature variability in the upper part of the water column. The ocean FW transport variability is dominated by Bering Strait velocity variability. The net water mass transformation in the Arctic entails a freshening and cooling of inflowing waters by 0.62 ± 0.23 in salinity and 3.74° ± 0.76°C in temperature, respectively, and a reduction in density by 0.23 ± 0.20 kg m−3. The boundary heat and FW fluxes provide a benchmark dataset for the validation of numerical models and atmospheric reanalysis products.

scholarly journals Arctic Ocean circulation and variability – advection and external forcing encounter constraints and local processes

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2313-2376 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Rudels
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fram Strait ◽  
Intermediate Layers ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Almost All

Abstract. The first hydrographic data from the Arctic Ocean, the section from the Laptev Sea to the passage between Greenland and Svalbard obtained by Nansen on the drift by Fram 1893–1896, aptly illustrate the main features of Arctic Ocean oceanography and indicate possible processes active in transforming the water masses in the Arctic Ocean. Many, perhaps most, of these processes were identified already by Nansen, who put his mark on almost all subsequent research in the Arctic Ocean. Here we shall revisit some key questions and follow how our understanding has evolved from the early 20th century to present. What questions, if any, can now be regarded as solved and which remain still open? Five different but connected topics will be discussed: (1) The low salinity surface layer and the storage and export of freshwater. (2) The vertical heat transfer from the Atlantic water to sea ice and to the atmosphere. (3) The circulation and mixing of the two Atlantic inflow branches. (4) The formation and circulation of deep and bottom waters in the Arctic Ocean. (5) The exchanges through Fram Strait. Foci will be on the potential effects of increased freshwater input and reduced sea ice export on the freshwater storage and residence time in the Arctic Ocean, on the deep waters of the Makarov Basin and on the circulation and relative importance of the two inflows, over the Barents Sea and through Fram Strait, for the distribution of heat in the intermediate layers of the Arctic Ocean.

scholarly journals Arctic Ocean circulation and variability – advection and external forcing encounter constraints and local processes

Ocean Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Rudels
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fram Strait ◽  
Intermediate Layers ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Almost All

Abstract. The first hydrographic data from the Arctic Ocean, the section from the Laptev Sea to the passage between Greenland and Svalbard obtained by Nansen on his drift with Fram 1893–1896, aptly illustrate the main features of Arctic Ocean oceanography and indicate possible processes active in transforming the water masses in the Arctic Ocean. Many, perhaps most, processes were identified already by Nansen, who put his mark on almost all subsequent research in the Arctic. Here we shall revisit some key questions and follow how our understanding has evolved from the early 20th century to present. What questions, if any, can now be regarded as solved and which remain still open? Five different but connected topics will be discussed: (1) The low salinity surface layer and the storage and export of freshwater. (2) The vertical heat transfer from the Atlantic water to sea ice and to the atmosphere. (3) The circulation and mixing of the two Atlantic inflow branches. (4) The formation and circulation of deep and bottom waters in the Arctic Ocean. (5) The exchanges through Fram Strait. Foci will be on the potential effects of increased freshwater input and reduced sea ice export on the freshwater storage and residence time in the Arctic Ocean, on the deep waters of the Makarov Basin, and on the circulation and relative importance of the two inflows, over the Barents Sea and through Fram Strait, for the distribution of heat in the intermediate layers of the Arctic Ocean.

The role of sea ice for plastic pollution in the Arctic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilka Peeken ◽  
Elisa Bergami ◽  
Ilaria Corsi ◽  
Benedikt Hufnagl ◽  
Christian Katlein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

<p>Marine plastic pollution is a growing worldwide environmental concern as recent reports indicate that increasing quantities of litter disperse into secluded environments, including Polar Regions. Plastic degrades into smaller fragments under the influence of sunlight, temperature changes, mechanic abrasion and wave action resulting in small particles < 5mm called microplastics (MP). Sea ice cores, collected in the Arctic Ocean have so far revealed extremely high concentrations of very small microplastic particles, which might be transferred in the ecosystem with so far unknown consequences for the ice dependant marine food chain.  Sea ice has long been recognised as a transport vehicle for any contaminates entering the Arctic Ocean from various long range and local sources. The Fram Strait is hereby both, a major inflow gateway of warm Atlantic water, with any anthropogenic imprints and the major outflow region of sea ice originating from the Siberian shelves and carried via the Transpolar Drift. The studied sea ice revealed a unique footprint of microplastic pollution, which were related to different water masses and indicating different source regions. Climate change in the Arctic include loss of sea ice, therefore, large fractions of the embedded plastic particles might be released and have an impact on living systems. By combining modeling of sea ice origin and growth, MP particle trajectories in the water column as well as MPs long-range transport via particle tracking and transport models we get first insights  about the sources and pathways of MP in the Arctic Ocean and beyond and how this might affect the Arctic ecosystem.</p>

scholarly journals Intensification of the Atlantic Water Supply to the Arctic Ocean Through Fram Strait Induced by Arctic Sea Ice Decline

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Claudia Wekerle ◽  
Xuezhu Wang ◽  
Sergey Danilov ◽  
Nikolay Koldunov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fram Strait ◽  
Sea Ice Decline ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

scholarly journals Spatial Distribution of Atmospheric Aerosol Physicochemical Characteristics in the Russian Sector of the Arctic Ocean

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1170
Author(s):  
Sergey Sakerin ◽  
Dmitry Kabanov ◽  
Valery Makarov ◽  
Viktor Pol’kin ◽  
Svetlana Popova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

The results from studies of aerosol in the Arctic atmosphere are presented: the aerosol optical depth (AOD), the concentrations of aerosol and black carbon, as well as the chemical composition of the aerosol. The average aerosol characteristics, measured during nine expeditions (2007–2018) in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean, had been 0.068 for AOD (0.5 µm); 2.95 cm−3 for particle number concentrations; 32.1 ng/m3 for black carbon mass concentrations. Approximately two–fold decrease of the average characteristics in the eastern direction (from the Barents Sea to Chukchi Sea) is revealed in aerosol spatial distribution. The average aerosol characteristics over the Barents Sea decrease in the northern direction: black carbon concentrations by a factor of 1.5; particle concentrations by a factor of 3.7. These features of the spatial distribution are caused mainly by changes in the content of fine aerosol, namely: by outflows of smokes from forest fires and anthropogenic aerosol. We considered separately the measurements of aerosol characteristics during two expeditions in 2019: in the north of the Barents Sea (April) and along the Northern Sea Route (July–September). In the second expedition the average aerosol characteristics turned out to be larger than multiyear values: AOD reached 0.36, particle concentration up to 8.6 cm−3, and black carbon concentration up to 179 ng/m3. The increased aerosol content was affected by frequent outflows of smoke from forest fires. The main (99%) contribution to the elemental composition of aerosol in the study regions was due to Ca, K, Fe, Zn, Br, Ni, Cu, Mn, and Sr. The spatial distribution of the chemical composition of aerosols was analogous to that of microphysical characteristics. The lowest concentrations of organic and elemental carbon (OC, EC) and of most elements are observed in April in the north of the Barents Sea, and the maximal concentrations in Far East seas and in the south of the Barents Sea. The average contents of carbon in aerosol over seas of the Asian sector of the Arctic Ocean are OC = 629 ng/m3, EC = 47 ng/m3.

scholarly journals How well does wind speed predict air-sea gas transfer in the sea ice zone? A synthesis of radon deficit profiles in the upper water column of the Arctic Ocean

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 3696-3714 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Loose ◽  
R. P. Kelly ◽  
A. Bigdeli ◽  
W. Williams ◽  
R. Krishfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Gas Transfer ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

scholarly journals Effects of sea ice cover on satellite-detected primary production in the Arctic Ocean

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 20160223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mati Kahru ◽  
Zhongping Lee ◽  
B. Greg Mitchell ◽  
Cynthia D. Nevison
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Primary Input ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

The influence of decreasing Arctic sea ice on net primary production (NPP) in the Arctic Ocean has been considered in multiple publications but is not well constrained owing to the potentially large errors in satellite algorithms. In particular, the Arctic Ocean is rich in coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) that interferes in the detection of chlorophyll a concentration of the standard algorithm, which is the primary input to NPP models. We used the quasi-analytic algorithm (Lee et al . 2002 Appl. Opti. 41 , 5755−5772. ( doi:10.1364/AO.41.005755 )) that separates absorption by phytoplankton from absorption by CDOM and detrital matter. We merged satellite data from multiple satellite sensors and created a 19 year time series (1997–2015) of NPP. During this period, both the estimated annual total and the summer monthly maximum pan-Arctic NPP increased by about 47%. Positive monthly anomalies in NPP are highly correlated with positive anomalies in open water area during the summer months. Following the earlier ice retreat, the start of the high-productivity season has become earlier, e.g. at a mean rate of −3.0 d yr −1 in the northern Barents Sea, and the length of the high-productivity period has increased from 15 days in 1998 to 62 days in 2015. While in some areas, the termination of the productive season has been extended, owing to delayed ice formation, the termination has also become earlier in other areas, likely owing to limited nutrients.

scholarly journals Mechanisms influencing seasonal-to-interannual prediction skill of sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean in MIROC

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Ono ◽  
Hiroaki Tatebe ◽  
Yoshiki Komuro ◽  
Masato I. Nodzu ◽  
Masayoshi Ishii
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. To assess the skill of predictions of the seasonal-to-interannual detrended sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean (SIEAO) and to clarify the underlying physical processes, we conducted ensemble hindcasts, started on January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st for each year from 1980 to 2011, for lead times of up three years, using the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC) version 5 initialized with the observed atmosphere and ocean anomalies and sea ice concentration. Significant skill is found for the winter months: the December SIEAO can be predicted up to 1 year ahead. This skill is attributed to the subsurface ocean heat content originating in the North Atlantic. The subsurface water flows into the Barents Sea from spring to fall and emerges at the surface in winter by vertical mixing, and eventually affects the sea ice variability there. Meanwhile, the September SIEAO predictions are skillful for lead times of up to 3 months, due to the persistence of sea ice in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas initialized in July, as suggested by previous studies.

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