The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic
This paper synthesizes our understanding of the Arctic's large-scale freshwater cycle. It combines terrestrial and oceanic observations with insights gained from the ERA-40 reanalysis and land surface and ice-ocean models. Annual mean freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean is dominated by river d...
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American Geophysical Union
2006
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:971 2024-06-09T07:42:30+00:00 The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic Serreze, Mark C. Barrett, Andrew P. Slater, Andrew G. Woodgate, Rebecca A. Aagaard, Knut Lammers, Richard B. Steele, Michael Moritz, Richard Meredith, Michael Lee, Craig M. 2006 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/971/ http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005JC003424.shtml https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424 unknown American Geophysical Union Serreze, Mark C.; Barrett, Andrew P.; Slater, Andrew G.; Woodgate, Rebecca A.; Aagaard, Knut; Lammers, Richard B.; Steele, Michael; Moritz, Richard; Meredith, Michael orcid:0000-0002-7342-7756 Lee, Craig M. 2006 The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111 (C11), C11010. 19, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424> Marine Sciences Hydrology Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2006 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424 2024-05-15T08:39:04Z This paper synthesizes our understanding of the Arctic's large-scale freshwater cycle. It combines terrestrial and oceanic observations with insights gained from the ERA-40 reanalysis and land surface and ice-ocean models. Annual mean freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean is dominated by river discharge (38%), inflow through Bering Strait (30%), and net precipitation (24%). Total freshwater export from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic is dominated by transports through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (35%) and via Fram Strait as liquid (26%) and sea ice (25%). All terms are computed relative to a reference salinity of 34.8. Compared to earlier estimates, our budget features larger import of freshwater through Bering Strait and larger liquid phase export through Fram Strait. While there is no reason to expect a steady state, error analysis indicates that the difference between annual mean oceanic inflows and outflows (∼8% of the total inflow) is indistinguishable from zero. Freshwater in the Arctic Ocean has a mean residence time of about a decade. This is understood in that annual freshwater input, while large (∼8500 km3), is an order of magnitude smaller than oceanic freshwater storage of ∼84,000 km3. Freshwater in the atmosphere, as water vapor, has a residence time of about a week. Seasonality in Arctic Ocean freshwater storage is nevertheless highly uncertain, reflecting both sparse hydrographic data and insufficient information on sea ice volume. Uncertainties mask seasonal storage changes forced by freshwater fluxes. Of flux terms with sufficient data for analysis, Fram Strait ice outflow shows the largest interannual variability. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Canadian Arctic Archipelago Fram Strait North Atlantic Sea ice Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Canadian Arctic Archipelago Journal of Geophysical Research 111 C11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Marine Sciences Hydrology |
spellingShingle |
Marine Sciences Hydrology Serreze, Mark C. Barrett, Andrew P. Slater, Andrew G. Woodgate, Rebecca A. Aagaard, Knut Lammers, Richard B. Steele, Michael Moritz, Richard Meredith, Michael Lee, Craig M. The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences Hydrology |
description |
This paper synthesizes our understanding of the Arctic's large-scale freshwater cycle. It combines terrestrial and oceanic observations with insights gained from the ERA-40 reanalysis and land surface and ice-ocean models. Annual mean freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean is dominated by river discharge (38%), inflow through Bering Strait (30%), and net precipitation (24%). Total freshwater export from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic is dominated by transports through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (35%) and via Fram Strait as liquid (26%) and sea ice (25%). All terms are computed relative to a reference salinity of 34.8. Compared to earlier estimates, our budget features larger import of freshwater through Bering Strait and larger liquid phase export through Fram Strait. While there is no reason to expect a steady state, error analysis indicates that the difference between annual mean oceanic inflows and outflows (∼8% of the total inflow) is indistinguishable from zero. Freshwater in the Arctic Ocean has a mean residence time of about a decade. This is understood in that annual freshwater input, while large (∼8500 km3), is an order of magnitude smaller than oceanic freshwater storage of ∼84,000 km3. Freshwater in the atmosphere, as water vapor, has a residence time of about a week. Seasonality in Arctic Ocean freshwater storage is nevertheless highly uncertain, reflecting both sparse hydrographic data and insufficient information on sea ice volume. Uncertainties mask seasonal storage changes forced by freshwater fluxes. Of flux terms with sufficient data for analysis, Fram Strait ice outflow shows the largest interannual variability. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Serreze, Mark C. Barrett, Andrew P. Slater, Andrew G. Woodgate, Rebecca A. Aagaard, Knut Lammers, Richard B. Steele, Michael Moritz, Richard Meredith, Michael Lee, Craig M. |
author_facet |
Serreze, Mark C. Barrett, Andrew P. Slater, Andrew G. Woodgate, Rebecca A. Aagaard, Knut Lammers, Richard B. Steele, Michael Moritz, Richard Meredith, Michael Lee, Craig M. |
author_sort |
Serreze, Mark C. |
title |
The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic |
title_short |
The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic |
title_full |
The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic |
title_sort |
large-scale freshwater cycle of the arctic |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/971/ http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005JC003424.shtml https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Canadian Arctic Archipelago Fram Strait North Atlantic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Canadian Arctic Archipelago Fram Strait North Atlantic Sea ice |
op_relation |
Serreze, Mark C.; Barrett, Andrew P.; Slater, Andrew G.; Woodgate, Rebecca A.; Aagaard, Knut; Lammers, Richard B.; Steele, Michael; Moritz, Richard; Meredith, Michael orcid:0000-0002-7342-7756 Lee, Craig M. 2006 The large-scale freshwater cycle of the Arctic. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111 (C11), C11010. 19, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003424 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
111 |
container_issue |
C11 |
_version_ |
1801371331097264128 |