Influence of Atlantic Water on the Sea Ice Cover in the Western Arctic in Winter

• Published in: Russian meteorology and hydrology Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 103 - 117
• Main Authors: Ivanov, V. V., Golovin, P. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.02.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arctic sea ice; Atmospheric Sciences; Boundary layers; Climate change; Climatological normals; Drift; Drifting stations; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Heat flux; Heat transfer; Ice; Ice cover; Ice environments; Melting; Meteorology; North Pole; Oceans; Salinity measurements; Sea ice; Winter; Arctic region; ocean–atmosphere interaction; thermohaline characteristics; sea ice; Arctic Ocean; Nansen Basin; ocean convection; Atlantic water flow
• ISSN: 1068-3739; 1934-8096
• DOI: 10.3103/S1068373918020061

The results of temperature and salinity measurements in the upper 1000-mlayer of the Nansen Basin in the Arctic Ocean made from the North Pole-35 drifting station in winter of 2007/2008 are analyzed. The uniqueness of the dataset processed is defined by the station drift path in the Nansen Basin and by the time of the drift which immediately followed the record decline of Arctic sea ice in September 2007. It is found that the maximum heat flux from the ocean to the ice cover equal to more than 90 W/m 2 was observed in the area of Atlantic water in flow between Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land. It was caused by the drift velocity increase and by the corresponding deepening of the Ekman boundary layer. No significant changes (as compared to climate normals) in the influence of ocean heat on the ice cover in the eastern Nansen Basin in winter were registered.