Arctic river-runoff: mean residence time on the shelves and in the halocline

The mean residence time of river-runoff on the shelves and in the halocline of the Arctic Ocean is estimated from salinity and tracer data (tritium, 3He and the 18O/16O ratio). These estimates are derived from comparison of apparent tracer ages of the halocline waters using a combination of tracers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Main Authors: Schlosser, Peter, Bauch, Dorothea, Fairbanks, Richard, Bönisch, Gerhard
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 1994
Subjects:
Online Access:https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/14244/
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/14244/1/1994_Schlosser_Bauch_etal_DSR_1.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1016/0967-0637(94)90018-3
Description
Summary:The mean residence time of river-runoff on the shelves and in the halocline of the Arctic Ocean is estimated from salinity and tracer data (tritium, 3He and the 18O/16O ratio). These estimates are derived from comparison of apparent tracer ages of the halocline waters using a combination of tracers that yield different information: (1) the tritium “vintage” age, which records the time that has passed since the river-runoff entered the shelf; and (2) the tritium/3He age, which reflects the time since the shelf waters left the shelf. The difference between the ages determined by these two methods is about 3–6 years. Correction for the initial tritium/3He age of the shelf waters (about 0.5–1.5 years) yields a mean residence time of the river-runoff on the shelves of the Siberian Seas of about 3.5 ± 2 years.