Atlantic water flow into the Arctic Ocean through the St. Anna Trough in the northern Kara Sea
Atlantic water flow into the Arctic Ocean through the St. Anna Trough in the northern Kara Sea
The Atlantic Water flow from the Barents and Kara seas to the Arctic Ocean through the St. Anna Trough (SAT) is conditioned by interaction between Fram Strait branch water circulating in the SAT and Barents Sea branch water—both of Atlantic origin. Here we present data from an oceanographic mooring deployed on the eastern flank of the SAT from September 2009 to September 2010 as well as CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) sections across the SAT. A distinct vertical density front over the SAT eastern slope deeper than ?50 m is attributed to the outflow of Barents Sea branch water to the Arctic Ocean. In turn, the Barents Sea branch water flow to the Arctic Ocean is conditioned by two water masses defined by relative low and high fractions of the Atlantic Water. They are also traceable in the Nansen Basin downstream of the SAT entrance. A persistent northward current was recorded in the subsurface layer along the SAT eastern slope with a mean velocity of 18 cm s?1 at 134–218 m and 23 cm s?1 at 376–468 m. Observations and modeling suggest that the SAT flow has a significant density-driven component. It is therefore expected to respond to changes in the cross-trough density gradient conditioned by interaction between the Fram Strait and Barents Sea branches. Further modeling efforts are necessary to investigate hydrodynamic instability and eddy generation caused by the interaction between the SAT flow and the Arctic Ocean Fram Strait branch water boundary current.
Atlantic Water, Fram Strait branch water flow, Barents Sea branch water flow, mooring observations, St. Anna Trough
5158-5178
Dmitrenko, Igor A.
dae2f610-0747-48ad-9251-93701c49caff
Rudels, Bert
61275c4c-dce8-49a6-931b-cfdcbe5cd537
Kirillov, Sergey A.
140daa96-6bf0-4767-83f9-d01569e77427
Aksenov, Yevgeny O.
1d277047-06f6-4893-8bcf-c2817a9c848e
Lien, Vidar S.
5c775436-ddbb-433e-9f62-8ac6fed89d5e
Ivanov, Vladimir V.
69891325-0d10-41d9-aa8e-9f0abfcf3be6
Schauer, Ursula
c6c191a2-5191-4845-8bc6-f8837488d1ee
Polyakov, Igor V.
e8c20ffa-5c91-49c7-8165-460c3c1db859
Coward, Andrew
53b78140-2e65-476a-b287-e8384a65224b
Barber, David G.
bf2c7798-2049-415e-8c61-4c85f18d78d8
July 2015
Dmitrenko, Igor A.
dae2f610-0747-48ad-9251-93701c49caff
Rudels, Bert
61275c4c-dce8-49a6-931b-cfdcbe5cd537
Kirillov, Sergey A.
140daa96-6bf0-4767-83f9-d01569e77427
Aksenov, Yevgeny O.
1d277047-06f6-4893-8bcf-c2817a9c848e
Lien, Vidar S.
5c775436-ddbb-433e-9f62-8ac6fed89d5e
Ivanov, Vladimir V.
69891325-0d10-41d9-aa8e-9f0abfcf3be6
Schauer, Ursula
c6c191a2-5191-4845-8bc6-f8837488d1ee
Polyakov, Igor V.
e8c20ffa-5c91-49c7-8165-460c3c1db859
Coward, Andrew
53b78140-2e65-476a-b287-e8384a65224b
Barber, David G.
bf2c7798-2049-415e-8c61-4c85f18d78d8
Dmitrenko, Igor A., Rudels, Bert, Kirillov, Sergey A., Aksenov, Yevgeny O., Lien, Vidar S., Ivanov, Vladimir V., Schauer, Ursula, Polyakov, Igor V., Coward, Andrew and Barber, David G.
(2015)
Atlantic water flow into the Arctic Ocean through the St. Anna Trough in the northern Kara Sea.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120 (7), .
(doi:10.1002/2015JC010804).
Abstract
The Atlantic Water flow from the Barents and Kara seas to the Arctic Ocean through the St. Anna Trough (SAT) is conditioned by interaction between Fram Strait branch water circulating in the SAT and Barents Sea branch water—both of Atlantic origin. Here we present data from an oceanographic mooring deployed on the eastern flank of the SAT from September 2009 to September 2010 as well as CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) sections across the SAT. A distinct vertical density front over the SAT eastern slope deeper than ?50 m is attributed to the outflow of Barents Sea branch water to the Arctic Ocean. In turn, the Barents Sea branch water flow to the Arctic Ocean is conditioned by two water masses defined by relative low and high fractions of the Atlantic Water. They are also traceable in the Nansen Basin downstream of the SAT entrance. A persistent northward current was recorded in the subsurface layer along the SAT eastern slope with a mean velocity of 18 cm s?1 at 134–218 m and 23 cm s?1 at 376–468 m. Observations and modeling suggest that the SAT flow has a significant density-driven component. It is therefore expected to respond to changes in the cross-trough density gradient conditioned by interaction between the Fram Strait and Barents Sea branches. Further modeling efforts are necessary to investigate hydrodynamic instability and eddy generation caused by the interaction between the SAT flow and the Arctic Ocean Fram Strait branch water boundary current.
Text
jgrc21331.pdf
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 23 July 2015
Published date: July 2015
Keywords:
Atlantic Water, Fram Strait branch water flow, Barents Sea branch water flow, mooring observations, St. Anna Trough
Organisations:
Marine Systems Modelling
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 379601
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/379601
ISSN: 2169-9275
PURE UUID: fe59f2c1-c3b4-467e-9574-7c5f4c890d08
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 24 Jul 2015 09:24
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:44
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Igor A. Dmitrenko
Author:
Bert Rudels
Author:
Sergey A. Kirillov
Author:
Yevgeny O. Aksenov
Author:
Vidar S. Lien
Author:
Vladimir V. Ivanov
Author:
Ursula Schauer
Author:
Igor V. Polyakov
Author:
Andrew Coward
Author:
David G. Barber
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics