Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective
The large-scale atmospheric circulation and its impacts on the Nordic Seas ocean climate are reviewed. The dominant factors for the atmospheric variability are the Icelandic low and the Azores high, determining the strength of the westerlies. From the ’60s to the ’90s, the atmospheric circulation sh...
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ftunivbergen:oai:bora.uib.no:1956/851 2023-05-15T15:09:44+02:00 Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective Furevik, Tore Nilsen, Jan Even Øie 2005 4688878 bytes application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1956/851 eng eng American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph Series;158 urn:isbn:875904238 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/851 Oceanography Chapter 2005 ftunivbergen 2023-03-14T17:45:00Z The large-scale atmospheric circulation and its impacts on the Nordic Seas ocean climate are reviewed. The dominant factors for the atmospheric variability are the Icelandic low and the Azores high, determining the strength of the westerlies. From the ’60s to the ’90s, the atmospheric circulation shifted from record weak to record strong westerlies, and the storm tracks moved further northeast into the Nordic Seas. The reasons for this shift have most likely been forcing from the tropical ocean in combination with internal processes in the atmosphere. Associated with this low-frequency shift are changes in the atmospheric momentum, heat, and freshwater forcing of the ocean. Both local processes and advective anomalies have played active roles in the substantial changes observed in the Nordic Seas’ circulation and hydrography over the same period. These include a reduction in the deep-water formation, a warming of the water going into the Arctic, and a freshening and probable reduction of the overflow water. The strengthening of the westerlies is concurrent in time with a strong increase in global mean temperatures, and we speculate that the changes in the atmospheric circulation are tied to the increased greenhouse gas forcing through a variety of forcing mechanisms. If so, the observed changes in the Nordic Seas ocean climate are likely to be amplified, and our perceptions of what is normal oceanic conditions will be further challenged in the years to come. Book Part Arctic Nordic Seas University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbergen |
language |
English |
topic |
Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Oceanography Furevik, Tore Nilsen, Jan Even Øie Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective |
topic_facet |
Oceanography |
description |
The large-scale atmospheric circulation and its impacts on the Nordic Seas ocean climate are reviewed. The dominant factors for the atmospheric variability are the Icelandic low and the Azores high, determining the strength of the westerlies. From the ’60s to the ’90s, the atmospheric circulation shifted from record weak to record strong westerlies, and the storm tracks moved further northeast into the Nordic Seas. The reasons for this shift have most likely been forcing from the tropical ocean in combination with internal processes in the atmosphere. Associated with this low-frequency shift are changes in the atmospheric momentum, heat, and freshwater forcing of the ocean. Both local processes and advective anomalies have played active roles in the substantial changes observed in the Nordic Seas’ circulation and hydrography over the same period. These include a reduction in the deep-water formation, a warming of the water going into the Arctic, and a freshening and probable reduction of the overflow water. The strengthening of the westerlies is concurrent in time with a strong increase in global mean temperatures, and we speculate that the changes in the atmospheric circulation are tied to the increased greenhouse gas forcing through a variety of forcing mechanisms. If so, the observed changes in the Nordic Seas ocean climate are likely to be amplified, and our perceptions of what is normal oceanic conditions will be further challenged in the years to come. |
format |
Book Part |
author |
Furevik, Tore Nilsen, Jan Even Øie |
author_facet |
Furevik, Tore Nilsen, Jan Even Øie |
author_sort |
Furevik, Tore |
title |
Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective |
title_short |
Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective |
title_full |
Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective |
title_fullStr |
Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Variability and its Impacts on the Nordic Seas Ocean Climate - a Review. In: The Nordic Seas: An Integrated Perspective |
title_sort |
large-scale atmospheric circulation variability and its impacts on the nordic seas ocean climate - a review. in: the nordic seas: an integrated perspective |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1956/851 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Nordic Seas |
genre_facet |
Arctic Nordic Seas |
op_relation |
Geophysical Monograph Series;158 urn:isbn:875904238 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/851 |
_version_ |
1766340861172383744 |