Transformation of Atlantic Water in the north-eastern Barents Sea in winter
https://doi.org/10.30758/0555-2648-2020-66-3-246-266
Abstract
Hydrographic observations, carried out in March-May, 2019 during “Transarktika-2019” expedition onboard R/V “Akademik Tryoshnikov” allowed studying mechanisms of Atlantic Water (AW) transformation in the Barents Sea. Although this research topic is rather traditional for oceanographic studies, there are still a number of questions, which require clarification. Among these is a deeper understanding of the AW transformation in specific regions in cold season, when the coverage by observations is scarce. In this study we performed temperature and salinity (TS) analysis of conductivity — temperature — depth (CTD) data, collected in the north-eastern “corner” of the Barents Sea — this is the area with difficult access in winter due to high concentration of pack ice. The results allowed identification of areas along the pathways of AW branches, where various types of open sea convection and cascading acted as dominant processes of AW properties change. We distinguish several driving mechanisms controlling modification of the waters of Atlantic origin. An advantage of winter measurements is that the active stage of AW transformation mechanisms is explicitly observed at the consecutive CTD sections.
Keywords
Arctic Ocean,
Atlantic Water,
Barents Sea,
cascading,
field observations,
open sea convection,
sea ice,
TS-analysis
Supporting agencies: The authors would like to thank Roshydromet for financing the entire expeditionary logistics. Scientific research was also supported by RFBR grants No. 18- 05-60048 и 18-05-60083.
About the Authors
V. V. Ivanov
Lomonosov Moscow State University; State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Moscow
St. Petersburg
I. E. Frolov
State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg
K. V. Filchuk
State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg
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For citations:
Ivanov V.V., Frolov I.E., Filchuk K.V. Transformation of Atlantic Water in the north-eastern Barents Sea in winter. Arctic and Antarctic Research. 2020;66(3):246-266. https://doi.org/10.30758/0555-2648-2020-66-3-246-266
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