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...
Published in: | Advances in Meteorology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Advances in Meteorology
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 |
id |
fthindawi:oai:hindawi.com:10.1155/2012/201818 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fthindawi:oai:hindawi.com:10.1155/2012/201818 2023-05-15T14:57:56+02:00 Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard Vladimir V. Ivanov Vladimir A. Alexeev Irina Repina Nikolay V. Koldunov Alexander Smirnov 2012 https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 en eng Advances in Meteorology https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 Copyright © 2012 Vladimir V. Ivanov et al. Research Article 2012 fthindawi https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 2019-05-26T01:28:51Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Fram Strait Franz Joseph Land ice pack Sea ice Svalbard Spitsbergen Hindawi Publishing Corporation Arctic Arctic Ocean Svalbard Advances in Meteorology 2012 1 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Hindawi Publishing Corporation |
op_collection_id |
fthindawi |
language |
English |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vladimir V. Ivanov Vladimir A. Alexeev Irina Repina Nikolay V. Koldunov Alexander Smirnov |
spellingShingle |
Vladimir V. Ivanov Vladimir A. Alexeev Irina Repina Nikolay V. Koldunov Alexander Smirnov Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard |
author_facet |
Vladimir V. Ivanov Vladimir A. Alexeev Irina Repina Nikolay V. Koldunov Alexander Smirnov |
author_sort |
Vladimir V. Ivanov |
title |
Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard |
title_short |
Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard |
title_full |
Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard |
title_sort |
tracing atlantic water signature in the arctic sea ice cover east of svalbard |
publisher |
Advances in Meteorology |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Fram Strait Franz Joseph Land ice pack Sea ice Svalbard Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Fram Strait Franz Joseph Land ice pack Sea ice Svalbard Spitsbergen |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2012 Vladimir V. Ivanov et al. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/201818 |
container_title |
Advances in Meteorology |
container_volume |
2012 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
11 |
_version_ |
1766330029234454528 |