Circulation timescales of Atlantic Waters in the Arctic Ocean determined from anthropogenic radionuclides ...

The inflow of Atlantic Waters to the Arctic Ocean is a crucial determinant for the future trajectory of this ocean basin with regard to warming, loss of sea-ice and ocean acidification. Yet many details of the fate and circulation of these waters within the Arctic remain unclear. Here, we use the tw...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wefing, Anne-Marie, Casacuberta, Núria, Christl, Marcus, Gruber, Nicolas, Smith, John N.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: ETH Zurich 2020
Subjects:
amundsen basin
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
canada basin
East Greenland
east greenland current
Fram Strait
Greenland
Ocean acidification
Sea ice
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000445773
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/445773
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Summary:The inflow of Atlantic Waters to the Arctic Ocean is a crucial determinant for the future trajectory of this ocean basin with regard to warming, loss of sea-ice and ocean acidification. Yet many details of the fate and circulation of these waters within the Arctic remain unclear. Here, we use the two long-lived artificial radionuclides 129I and 236U together with two tracer age models to constrain the pathways and circulation times of Atlantic waters in the surface and in the mid-depth Atlantic layer (250–800 m depth). We thereby benefit from the unique time-dependent tagging of Atlantic waters by these two isotopes. In the surface layer, a binary mixing model yields tracer ages of Atlantic Waters between 9–16 years in the Amundsen Basin, 12–17 years in the Fram Strait (East Greenland Current) and up to 20 years in the Canada Basin, reflecting the pathways of Atlantic Waters through the Arctic and their exiting through Fram Strait. In the mid-depth Atlantic layer (250 to 800 m), the transit time distribution ... : Ocean Science Discussions ...

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