According to the results of recent research, besides the atmospheric circulation, it is heat transport to the Arctic Ocean (AO) by ocean currents, the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) in particular, that is playing a significant role in the process of Arctic warming. Data collected by the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAS), in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas, and Fram Strait during the last 20 years reveal considerable changes in the amount of heat transported by the WSC into the Arctic Ocean. An increase in Atlantic Water (AW) temperature and the intensification of heat transport were observed in 2004–06; after this period, both parameters decreased. The aim of this study was to find out whether the fluctuations in heat input by the WSC have influenced the sea-ice distribution around Svalbard. In fact they do, but oceanic heat transport should nonetheless be regarded as just one of many processes influencing sea-ice behaviour.
The first baroclinic Rossby radius of deformation (R1) is a fundamental horizontal scale of mesoscale processes. This scale is important for planning both numerical modelling and study areas. R1 was computed on the basis of an 11-year series of high resolution CTD measurements collected during r/v ‘Oceania’ cruises. The data set covered the three main basins of the Baltic Proper: the Bornholm Basin (BB), the Słupsk Furrow (SF) and the Gdańsk Basin (GB). The smallest mean value of R1 was found in the Gdańsk Basin (5.2 km), the largest one in the Bornholm Deep (7.3 km). The seasonal variability of R1 is lower in the western basin than in the eastern one. The seasonal cycle of R1 may be broken by extreme events, e.g. main Baltic inflows (MBI) of saline water. The inflowing water rebuilds the vertical stratification in the southern Baltic Sea and dramatically changes the R1 values. The difference of R1 between a stagnation period and an inflow situation is shown on the basis of observations made during 2002–2003. The main inflow occurred in winter, after ten years of stagnation, and the very low values of R1 (about 4 km) changed to very high ones (more than 9 km). Analysis of stagnation and saltwater inflow events may throw light on the value of R1 in future climatic scenarios. The potential influence of climate change on Baltic Sea salinity, especially a decrease in MBI activity, may change the baroclinic Rossby radius of deformation and the mesoscale dynamics. Values of R1 are expected to be lower in the future climate than those measured nowadays.
A recent study has shown increased warming in the fjords of west Spitsbergen. Their location is critical, as they are situated along the main northward pathway of Atlantic Water (AW) which is a great source of heat to the Arctic Ocean and the fjords. In the light of ongoing warming, we aim to discuss differences between the fjords under northward transformation of oceanic waters. We compared summer hydrographic conditions in two fjords located in two opposite ends of west Spistbergen: Hornsund in the south and Kongsfjorden in the north. The study is based on high resolution CTD measurements collected during Arctic cruises between 2001 and 2015. The emphasis was put not only on differences in water temperature, salinity and water masses but also the freshwater content (FWC), AW transport and heat delivery to the fjords. In general, the water in Kongsfjorden is on average 18C warmer and its salinity is higher by 0.5 compared to Hornsund. It is also characterized by two times greater transport of AW and heat delivery to the fjord. On the other hand, Hornsund reveals two times higher FWC. Both fjords undergo a gradual warming due to an increased presence of Atlantic origin waters. The ongoing warming is accompanied by an increase in variability of temperature and salinity dependent on the domination of the Sørkapp Current (SC) or the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) on the West Spitsbergen Shelf (WSS). Nonetheless, Hornsund remains more Arctic-type fjord compared to Kongsfjorden, due to stronger blocking by SC.
Since 1987 annual summer cruises to the Nordic Seas and Fram Strait have been conducted by the IO PAN research vessel Oceania under the long-term monitoring program AREX. Here we present a short description of measurements and preliminary results obtained during the open ocean part of the AREX 2016 cruise. Spatial distributions of Atlantic water temperature and salinity in 2016 are similar to their long-term mean fields except for warmer recirculation of Atlantic water in the northern Fram Strait. The longest observation record from the section N along 768300N reveals a steady increase of Atlantic water salinity, while temperature trend depends strongly on parametrization used to define the Atlantic water layer. However spatially averaged temperature at different depths indicate an increase of Atlantic water temperature in the whole layer from the surface down to 1000 m.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.