Effects of atmospheric vorticity on the seasonal hydrographic cycle over the eastern Siberian shelf

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Dmitrenko, Igor A., Kirillov, Sergey A., Tremblay, L. Bruno, Bauch, Dorothea, Makhotin, Mikhail
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: AGU (American Geophysical Union) 2008
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; East Siberian Sea; laptev
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/4043/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/4043/1/350_Dmitrenko_2008_EffectsOfAtmosphericVorticityOn_Artzeit_pubid10512.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032739

The seasonal hydrographic cycle explains about 25–75% of the entire salinity variability spectrum of the Siberian shelf hydrography. Quasi-decadal variations in the seasonal salinity difference over the Laptev and East Siberian sea shelves derived from continuous summer-to-winter historical records from the 1960s–1990s are attributed to atmospheric vorticity quasi-decadal variations. Summer cyclonic vorticity results in riverine water accumulation on the shelf, increasing the salinity summer-to-winter difference. Summer anticyclonic wind pattern enhances fresh water movement from the shelf towards the Arctic Ocean that tends to weaken the seasonal salinity amplitude.