Circulation features in the central Arctic Ocean revealed by nuclear fuel reprocessing tracers from Scientific Ice Expeditions 1995 and 1996

Smith, J. N.; Ellis, K.M.; Boyd, T.

doi:10.1029/1999jc900244

Cited by 81 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This suggests that one cause for the relatively small differences between the model and experimental results may be a slightly slower advection in the model as compared to that which actually prevailed during this time period. Observations and model results both show the presence of a flow branch carrying radionuclides into the interior of the Canada Basin from the northern edge of the Chukchi Plateau, as previously noted in several tracer studies [Smith et al, 1999;Smethie et al, 2000].…”

Section: Model Comparison With 129 I Measurements In the 1990smentioning

confidence: 52%

“…The 129 I data set is derived from the collection of water samples from icebreaker ] and nuclear submarine expeditions [Smith et al, 1999]. In 1995 and 1996 as part of the SCICEX program, the eastern Canadian, the Makarov and parts of the Eurasian Basins were sampled at three depth levels (corresponding to submarine standard operating depths); the Polar Mixed Layer, the halocline and the upper AWL at 59 m, 134 m and 240 m, respectively.…”

Section: Model Comparison With 129 I Measurements In the 1990smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[6] One liter water samples were collected for 129 I analyses in PVC bottles from a wide range of surface vessels and U.S. Navy nuclear submarines [Smith et al, , 1999. Sampling was conducted from submarines by the collection of water through the hull of the vessel and from temporary ice camps established on the surface of the ice by submarine personnel during a series of Scientific Ice Expeditions (SCICEX) between 1995 and 2003.…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This transport constitutes the dominant source for these tracers in northern latitudes. These radionuclides serve as oceanographic tracers for water of Atlantic origin in the Arctic Ocean and have provided substantial insight into water circulation time scales and the fate of contaminants from the industrialized zones of Europe [Smith et al, , 1999Gascard et al, 2004]. 129 I is particularly well suited for circulation studies in the central Arctic, because 129 I sample collection is simple and the 129 I data set for research cruises using icebreakers, nuclear submarines and aircraft during the 1990s and 2000s is relatively large.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent changes in Arctic Ocean circulation revealed by iodine‐129 observations and modeling

et al. 2012

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Anthropogenic radionuclides released into European coastal waters from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants at Sellafield (UK) and La Hague (France) flow northward through the Nordic Seas and label Atlantic Water (AW) entering the Arctic Ocean. Transport of the soluble radionuclide 129I through the Arctic Ocean has been simulated using a numerical model for the period from 1970 to 2010. The simulated tracer distributions closely conform to 129I measurements made across the Arctic Ocean during the mid‐1990s and 2000s and clearly illustrate the dramatic changes in oceanic circulation which occurred during this time. The largest changes in surface circulation were associated with the transition from a negative to a positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation in the early 1990s and the subsequent return to a weak positive phase in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Model and experimental results indicate that a new circulation regime evolved after 2004 when a period of intense, anti‐cyclonic surface stress led to a strengthening of the Beaufort Gyre. We submit that this resulted in a suppression of the cyclonic boundary current of mid‐depth Atlantic Water (AW) below the Beaufort Gyre, with upper AW in the Canada Basin showing signs of a reversal from cyclonic to anti‐cyclonic flow. These results are consistent with the development of a new AW circulation scheme involving a separation between flow at intermediate depths in the Eurasian and Canada Basins which could eventually result in modification of the Arctic intermediate water which feeds the overflows.

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Section: Model Comparison With 129 I Measurements In the 1990smentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Model Comparison With 129 I Measurements In the 1990smentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent changes in Arctic Ocean circulation revealed by iodine‐129 observations and modeling

et al. 2012

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“…11). Some additional loops were found (Smith et al, 1999;Smethie et al, 2000) but also the spreading of the warmer water into the southern Canada Basin ap- peared uncertain. Did it enter the Canada Basin between the Chukchi Cap and the Chukchi continental slope or did it move around the Chukchi Cap (Shimada et al, 2004)?…”

Section: The Circulation Of the Atlantic Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic Ocean circulation and variability – advection and external forcing encounter constraints and local processes

Rudels

2012

Ocean Sci.

116

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Abstract. The first hydrographic data from the Arctic Ocean, the section from the Laptev Sea to the passage between Greenland and Svalbard obtained by Nansen on his drift with Fram 1893-1896, aptly illustrate the main features of Arctic Ocean oceanography and indicate possible processes active in transforming the water masses in the Arctic Ocean. Many, perhaps most, processes were identified already by Nansen, who put his mark on almost all subsequent research in the Arctic. Here we shall revisit some key questions and follow how our understanding has evolved from the early 20th century to present. What questions, if any, can now be regarded as solved and which remain still open? Five different but connected topics will be discussed: (1) The low salinity surface layer and the storage and export of freshwater. (2) The vertical heat transfer from the Atlantic water to sea ice and to the atmosphere. (3) The circulation and mixing of the two Atlantic inflow branches. (4) The formation and circulation of deep and bottom waters in the Arctic Ocean. (5) The exchanges through Fram Strait. Foci will be on the potential effects of increased freshwater input and reduced sea ice export on the freshwater storage and residence time in the Arctic Ocean, on the deep waters of the Makarov Basin, and on the circulation and relative importance of the two inflows, over the Barents Sea and through Fram Strait, for the distribution of heat in the intermediate layers of the Arctic Ocean.

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Is weaker Arctic sea ice changing the Atlantic water circulation?

2014

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With a numerical model, we test the sensitivity of the Arctic Ocean circulation at middepth (212-1200 m) to the change in the sea ice rheology parameter P* that controls the sea ice compressive strength. We show that the reduction of the sea ice strength via P* within commonly used envelope reduces the sea ice extent and consequently enhances the ocean surface heat loss in the marginal ice zone. This leads to cooling of the Atlantic water inflow into the Arctic Ocean. As a result Eurasian Basin and Amerasian Basin temperatures are in average cooled by 0.1 C and 0.05 C, respectively. An increased sea ice drift speed in the central Arctic leads to an enhanced circulation of the anticyclonic Beaufort Gyre of the Amerasian Basin, which in turn weakens the cyclonic Atlantic water circulation below and enhances the recirculation of the Atlantic water in the Eurasian Basin. Consequently the balance of the volume fluxes through the Arctic gateways changes. Fram Strait net outflow increases by 0.46 Sv, Barents Sea Opening net inflow increases by 0.19 Sv and Davis Strait net outflow decreases by 0.28 Sv. This may spread the effects of the sea ice strength change beyond the limits of the Arctic Ocean and into the deep water convection zones in the North Atlantic. These substantial effects should be considered also in the model optimization efforts where P* is commonly used as one of the tuning parameters to achieve better sea ice simulations, whereas the effects on the ocean circulation are rarely taken into account.

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Circulation features in the central Arctic Ocean revealed by nuclear fuel reprocessing tracers from Scientific Ice Expeditions 1995 and 1996

Cited by 81 publications

References 27 publications

Recent changes in Arctic Ocean circulation revealed by iodine‐129 observations and modeling

Recent changes in Arctic Ocean circulation revealed by iodine‐129 observations and modeling

Arctic Ocean circulation and variability – advection and external forcing encounter constraints and local processes

Is weaker Arctic sea ice changing the Atlantic water circulation?

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