Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard

We focus on the Arctic Ocean between Svalbard and Franz Joseph Land in order to elucidate the possible role of Atlantic water (AW) inflow in shaping ice conditions. Ice conditions substantially affect the temperature regime of the Spitsbergen archipelago, particularly in winter. We test the hypothes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in Meteorology
Main Authors: Vladimir V. Ivanov, Vladimir A. Alexeev, Irina Repina, Nikolay V. Koldunov, Alexander Smirnov
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012
Subjects:
Meteorology. Climatology
QC851-999
Arctic Ocean
Fram Strait
Franz Joseph Land
ice pack
Sea ice
Svalbard
Spitsbergen
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818
https://doaj.org/article/424623d4a6274497bf746b975c21f71c
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Summary:We focus on the Arctic Ocean between Svalbard and Franz Joseph Land in order to elucidate the possible role of Atlantic water (AW) inflow in shaping ice conditions. Ice conditions substantially affect the temperature regime of the Spitsbergen archipelago, particularly in winter. We test the hypothesis that intensive vertical mixing at the upper AW boundary releases substantial heat upwards that eventually reaches the under-ice water layer, thinning the ice cover. We examine spatial and temporal variation of ice concentration against time series of wind, air temperature, and AW temperature. Analysis of 1979–2011 ice properties revealed a general tendency of decreasing ice concentration that commenced after the mid-1990s. AW temperature time series in Fram Strait feature a monotonic increase after the mid-1990s, consistent with shrinking ice cover. Ice thins due to increased sensible heat flux from AW; ice erosion from below allows wind and local currents to more effectively break ice. The winter spatial pattern of sea ice concentration is collocated with patterns of surface heat flux anomalies. Winter minimum sea ice thickness occurs in the ice pack interior above the AW path, clearly indicating AW influence on ice thickness. Our study indicates that in the AW inflow region heat flux from the ocean reduces the ice thickness.

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