Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy
The spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy of a several hundred metre thick surface layer are computed for the Nordic seas and adjacent parts of the northern North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean using a total of almost 100 000 hydrographic stations. The fields clearl...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2001
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Online Access: | https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169 https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 |
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ftjpolarres:oai:journals.openacademia.net:article/2169 2023-05-15T15:08:57+02:00 Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy Björk, Göran Gustafsson, Bo G. Stigebrandt, Anders 2001-01-12 application/pdf https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169 https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 eng eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169/5420 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169 doi:10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 Copyright (c) 2018 Polar Research Polar Research; Vol. 20 No. 2 (2001): Special issue: Proceedings of the H.U. Sverdrup Symposium; 161-168 1751-8369 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2001 ftjpolarres https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 2021-11-11T19:12:09Z The spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy of a several hundred metre thick surface layer are computed for the Nordic seas and adjacent parts of the northern North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean using a total of almost 100 000 hydrographic stations. The fields clearly show the major features of the area's circulation, with warm salty water in the eastern part and fresher, colder water in the western part. Comparisons with published estimates show that the potential energy field, representing the baroclinic part of the flow, accounts for about 30 % of the total flow but roughly 100 % of the flow of Polar Water in the northern part of the East Greenland Current, about 50 % of the total flow in the Norwegian Atlantic Current, and just a small fraction of the flow in the eastern part of Fram Strait. This suggests that the barotropic circulation is quite important in many parts of the Nordic seas. The barotropic circulation is also clearly seen by its effects on the integrated fields with isolines following deep bathymetric contours. We speculate that the barotropic circulation in combination with topographic obstacles, like the Greenland–Scotland Ridge and the ridge system in the Jan Mayen area, may have large impact on the spreading of freshwater and heat in the Nordic seas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean East Greenland east greenland current Fram Strait Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge Jan Mayen Nordic Seas North Atlantic Polar Research Polar Research (E-Journal) Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Jan Mayen Polar Research 20 2 161 168 |
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Open Polar |
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Polar Research (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjpolarres |
language |
English |
description |
The spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy of a several hundred metre thick surface layer are computed for the Nordic seas and adjacent parts of the northern North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean using a total of almost 100 000 hydrographic stations. The fields clearly show the major features of the area's circulation, with warm salty water in the eastern part and fresher, colder water in the western part. Comparisons with published estimates show that the potential energy field, representing the baroclinic part of the flow, accounts for about 30 % of the total flow but roughly 100 % of the flow of Polar Water in the northern part of the East Greenland Current, about 50 % of the total flow in the Norwegian Atlantic Current, and just a small fraction of the flow in the eastern part of Fram Strait. This suggests that the barotropic circulation is quite important in many parts of the Nordic seas. The barotropic circulation is also clearly seen by its effects on the integrated fields with isolines following deep bathymetric contours. We speculate that the barotropic circulation in combination with topographic obstacles, like the Greenland–Scotland Ridge and the ridge system in the Jan Mayen area, may have large impact on the spreading of freshwater and heat in the Nordic seas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Björk, Göran Gustafsson, Bo G. Stigebrandt, Anders |
spellingShingle |
Björk, Göran Gustafsson, Bo G. Stigebrandt, Anders Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
author_facet |
Björk, Göran Gustafsson, Bo G. Stigebrandt, Anders |
author_sort |
Björk, Göran |
title |
Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
title_short |
Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
title_full |
Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
title_fullStr |
Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Upper layer circulation of the Nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
title_sort |
upper layer circulation of the nordic seas as inferred from the spatial distribution of heat and freshwater content and potential energy |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169 https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Jan Mayen |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland Jan Mayen |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean East Greenland east greenland current Fram Strait Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge Jan Mayen Nordic Seas North Atlantic Polar Research |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean East Greenland east greenland current Fram Strait Greenland Greenland-Scotland Ridge Jan Mayen Nordic Seas North Atlantic Polar Research |
op_source |
Polar Research; Vol. 20 No. 2 (2001): Special issue: Proceedings of the H.U. Sverdrup Symposium; 161-168 1751-8369 |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169/5420 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2169 doi:10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2018 Polar Research |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v20i2.6513 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
20 |
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2 |
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161 |
op_container_end_page |
168 |
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1766340215621812224 |