• Login
    About WHOAS
    View Item 
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Academic Programs
    • WHOI Theses
    • View Item
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Academic Programs
    • WHOI Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of WHOASCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywordsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywords

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Water mass distribution and Polar Front structure in the Southwestern Barents Sea

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Harris_thesis.pdf (13.98Mb)
    Date
    1996-05
    Author
    Harris, Carolyn L.  Concept link
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5724
    Location
    Barents Sea Polar Front
    DOI
    10.1575/1912/5724
    Keyword
     Ocean circulation; Oceanic mixing; Climatic changes 
    Abstract
    The water mass distribution in the southwestern Barents Sea, the thermohaline structure of the western Barents Sea Polar Front, and the formation of local water masses are described based on an analysis of historical hydrographic data and a recent process-oriented field experiment. This study concentrated on the frontal region between Bj0rn0ya and Hopen Island where Arctic water is found on the Spitzbergen Bank and Atlantic Water in the Bear Island Trough and Hopen Trench. Distributions of Atlantic, Arctic, and Polar Front waters are consistent with topographic control of Atlantic water circulation. Seasonal buoyancy forcing disrupts the topographic control in the surface layer, altering the frontal structure, and affecting local water mass formation. In the winter, the topographic control is firmly established and both sides of the front are vertically well-mixed. Winter cooling creates sea-ice over Spitzbergen Bank and convectively formed Modified Atlantic Water in the Bear Island Trough and Hopen Trench. In the summer, heating melts the sea-ice, producing a surface meltwater pool that can cross the polar front, disrupting topographic control and substantially increasing the vertical thermohaline gradients in the frontal region. The meltwater pool produces the largest geostrophic shear in the region.
    Description
    Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution May 1996
    Collections
    • Physical Oceanography (PO)
    • WHOI Theses
    Suggested Citation
    Thesis: Harris, Carolyn L., "Water mass distribution and Polar Front structure in the Southwestern Barents Sea", 1996-05, DOI:10.1575/1912/5724, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5724
     

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Understanding the ocean carbon and sulfur cycles in the context of a variable ocean : a study of anthropogenic carbon storage and dimethylsulfide production in the Atlantic Ocean 

      Levine, Naomi M. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2010-02)
      Anthropogenic activity is rapidly changing the global climate through the emission of carbon dioxide. Ocean carbon and sulfur cycles have the potential to impact global climate directly and through feedback loops. Numerical ...
    • Thumbnail

      A study of ocean wave statistical properties using nonlinear, directional, phase-resolved ocean wave-field simulations 

      Henry, Legena Albertha (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2010-02)
      In the present work, we study the statistics of wavefields obtained from non-linear phase-resolved simulations. The numerical model used to generate the waves models wave-wave interactions based on the fully non-linear ...
    • Thumbnail

      Oceanic lithosphere magnetization : marine magnetic investigations of crustal accretion and tectonic processes in mid-ocean ridge environments 

      Williams, Clare M. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2007-09)
      The origin of symmetric alternating magnetic polarity stripes on the seafloor is investigated in two marine environments; along the ridge axis of the fast spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR) (9º 25’-9º 55’N) and at Kane ...
    All Items in WHOAS are protected by original copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. WHOAS also supports the use of the Creative Commons licenses for original content.
    A service of the MBLWHOI Library | About WHOAS
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Privacy Policy
    Core Trust Logo