Modeling the Formation and Offshore Transport of Dense Shelf Water From High-Latitude Coastal Polynyas

LONG-TERM GOALS. Our long-term goal is to understand the role that dense water, formed on high-latitude continental shelves, plays in the thermohaline circulation of the Arctic Ocean and the maintenance of the mean hydrographic structure of the deep Arctic basins, e.g. the upper halocline. OBJECTIVE...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chapman, David C, Gawarkiewicz, Glen
Other Authors: WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION MA
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1999
Subjects:
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
*ARCTIC OCEAN
*COASTAL REGIONS
*CONTINENTAL SHELVES
*DENSITY
ARCTIC REGIONS
CIRCULATION
EDDIES(FLUID MECHANICS)
EDDY CURRENTS
HIGH DENSITY
HIGH LATITUDES
HYPOTHESES
ICE OPENINGS
MAINTENANCE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MODELS
MOTION
OFFSHORE
SALINITY
SEA WATER
SKILLS
TEST AND EVALUATION
THERMAL PROPERTIES
TRANSPORT
WATER
WIND
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Chukchi Shelf
Chukchi
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA629850
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA629850
Description
Summary:LONG-TERM GOALS. Our long-term goal is to understand the role that dense water, formed on high-latitude continental shelves, plays in the thermohaline circulation of the Arctic Ocean and the maintenance of the mean hydrographic structure of the deep Arctic basins, e.g. the upper halocline. OBJECTIVES. Our immediate objective is improve our basic understanding and ability to predict (1) the formation and offshore transport of dense shelf waters formed beneath high-latitude coastal polynyas and (2) the pathways by which dense shelf waters enter the deep basins. APPROACH. Our hypothesis is that dense water, formed beneath coastal polynyas, is transported across the shelf by small-scale (15-25 km) eddies (e.g. Gawarkiewicz and Chapman, 1995; Chapman and Gawarkiewicz, 1997; Chapman, 1999; Gawarkiewicz, 1999). These dense water eddies are capable of moving offshore across the shelf break and into the deep basins where they contribute to the maintenance of the observed thermohaline structure. We are testing this hypothesis with (1) process-oriented numerical modeling designed to examine the effects of alongshelf currents, submarine canyons and wind forcing on eddy fluxes, (2) analyses of historical observations from the Chukchi Shelf, and (3) realistic numerical modeling in conjunction with ongoing field programs to test our ability to model realistic coastal polynyas.

Similar Items