Transformation of Atlantic Water in the north-eastern Barents Sea in winter

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.

Parameter δ18O in the Marine Environment Ecosystem Studies on the Example of the Barents Sea

“…That is, the almost complete consumption of mineral nitrogen in this part of the sea is the limiting factor in the development of the photosynthesis process. In the western part of the sea, in waters that are composed of the maximum incoming Atlantic waters [52], the values of nitrogen consumption are much lower and are in the range from 40 to 70%, although the values of primary production in these waters are a maximum.…”