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Kara Sea freshwater transport through Vilkitsky Strait: Variability, forcing, and further pathways toward the western Arctic Ocean from a model and observations

Kara Sea freshwater transport through Vilkitsky Strait: Variability, forcing, and further pathways toward the western Arctic Ocean from a model and observations
Kara Sea freshwater transport through Vilkitsky Strait: Variability, forcing, and further pathways toward the western Arctic Ocean from a model and observations
Siberian river water is a first-order contribution to the Arctic freshwater budget, with the Ob, Yenisey, and Lena supplying nearly half of the total surface freshwater flux. However, few details are known regarding where, when, and how the freshwater transverses the vast Siberian shelf seas. This paper investigates the mechanism, variability, and pathways of the fresh Kara Sea outflow through Vilkitsky Strait toward the Laptev Sea. We utilize a high-resolution ocean model and recent shipboard observations to characterize the freshwater-laden Vilkitsky Strait Current (VSC), and shed new light on the little-studied region between the Kara and Laptev Seas, characterized by harsh ice conditions, contrasting water masses, straits, and a large submarine canyon. The VSC is 10–20 km wide, surface intensified, and varies seasonally (maximum from August to March) and interannually. Average freshwater (volume) transport is 500?±?120 km3 a?1 (0.53?±?0.08 Sv), with a baroclinic flow contribution of 50–90%. Interannual transport variability is explained by a storage-release mechanism, where blocking-favorable summer winds hamper the outflow and cause accumulation of freshwater in the Kara Sea. The year following a blocking event is characterized by enhanced transports driven by a baroclinic flow along the coast that is set up by increased freshwater volumes. Eventually, the VSC merges with a slope current and provides a major pathway for Eurasian river water toward the western Arctic along the Eurasian continental slope. Kara (and Laptev) Sea freshwater transport is not correlated with the Arctic Oscillation, but rather driven by regional summer pressure patterns.
Siberian river water, Arctic boundary currents, Siberian shelf seas, buoyancy-driven current, Arctic Ocean model, Laptev Sea
2169-9275
4925-4944
Janout, Markus A.
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Aksenov, Yevgeny
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Hölemann, Jens A.
f142162c-6dd6-468a-bd14-ea2259cc6409
Rabe, Benjamin
b6b25c05-4e93-4f1e-9679-42999b98c453
Schauer, Ursula
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Polyakov, Igor V.
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Bacon, Sheldon
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Coward, Andrew C.
53b78140-2e65-476a-b287-e8384a65224b
Karcher, Michael
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Lenn, Yueng-Djern
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Kassens, Heidemarie
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Timokhov, Leonid
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Janout, Markus A.
17ada10d-f7d6-46a3-b58a-c21f9e169f3d
Aksenov, Yevgeny
1d277047-06f6-4893-8bcf-c2817a9c848e
Hölemann, Jens A.
f142162c-6dd6-468a-bd14-ea2259cc6409
Rabe, Benjamin
b6b25c05-4e93-4f1e-9679-42999b98c453
Schauer, Ursula
c6c191a2-5191-4845-8bc6-f8837488d1ee
Polyakov, Igor V.
e8c20ffa-5c91-49c7-8165-460c3c1db859
Bacon, Sheldon
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Coward, Andrew C.
53b78140-2e65-476a-b287-e8384a65224b
Karcher, Michael
5c50aee9-258d-4f66-a62f-5d469e6f72b4
Lenn, Yueng-Djern
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Kassens, Heidemarie
f634f198-9f93-4d4b-aead-08ce7cb38b99
Timokhov, Leonid
5b2affcc-21fd-412b-8aef-bcfa82d58fcf

Janout, Markus A., Aksenov, Yevgeny, Hölemann, Jens A., Rabe, Benjamin, Schauer, Ursula, Polyakov, Igor V., Bacon, Sheldon, Coward, Andrew C., Karcher, Michael, Lenn, Yueng-Djern, Kassens, Heidemarie and Timokhov, Leonid (2015) Kara Sea freshwater transport through Vilkitsky Strait: Variability, forcing, and further pathways toward the western Arctic Ocean from a model and observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120 (7), 4925-4944. (doi:10.1002/2014JC010635).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Siberian river water is a first-order contribution to the Arctic freshwater budget, with the Ob, Yenisey, and Lena supplying nearly half of the total surface freshwater flux. However, few details are known regarding where, when, and how the freshwater transverses the vast Siberian shelf seas. This paper investigates the mechanism, variability, and pathways of the fresh Kara Sea outflow through Vilkitsky Strait toward the Laptev Sea. We utilize a high-resolution ocean model and recent shipboard observations to characterize the freshwater-laden Vilkitsky Strait Current (VSC), and shed new light on the little-studied region between the Kara and Laptev Seas, characterized by harsh ice conditions, contrasting water masses, straits, and a large submarine canyon. The VSC is 10–20 km wide, surface intensified, and varies seasonally (maximum from August to March) and interannually. Average freshwater (volume) transport is 500?±?120 km3 a?1 (0.53?±?0.08 Sv), with a baroclinic flow contribution of 50–90%. Interannual transport variability is explained by a storage-release mechanism, where blocking-favorable summer winds hamper the outflow and cause accumulation of freshwater in the Kara Sea. The year following a blocking event is characterized by enhanced transports driven by a baroclinic flow along the coast that is set up by increased freshwater volumes. Eventually, the VSC merges with a slope current and provides a major pathway for Eurasian river water toward the western Arctic along the Eurasian continental slope. Kara (and Laptev) Sea freshwater transport is not correlated with the Arctic Oscillation, but rather driven by regional summer pressure patterns.

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Accepted/In Press date: 18 July 2015
Published date: July 2015
Keywords: Siberian river water, Arctic boundary currents, Siberian shelf seas, buoyancy-driven current, Arctic Ocean model, Laptev Sea
Organisations: Marine Systems Modelling, Marine Physics and Ocean Climate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 379490
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/379490
ISSN: 2169-9275
PURE UUID: 293902da-8055-46c6-aee1-bb8a4a2b81de

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Date deposited: 22 Jul 2015 08:34
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:41

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Contributors

Author: Markus A. Janout
Author: Yevgeny Aksenov
Author: Jens A. Hölemann
Author: Benjamin Rabe
Author: Ursula Schauer
Author: Igor V. Polyakov
Author: Sheldon Bacon
Author: Andrew C. Coward
Author: Michael Karcher
Author: Yueng-Djern Lenn
Author: Heidemarie Kassens
Author: Leonid Timokhov

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