Water mass distribution and Polar Front structure in the Southwestern Barents Sea
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5724Location
Barents Sea Polar FrontDOI
10.1575/1912/5724Keyword
Ocean circulation; Oceanic mixing; Climatic changesAbstract
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
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/1912/5724Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
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 ... -
Trace element geochemistry of oceanic peridotites and silicate melt inclusions : implications for mantle melting and ocean ridge magmagenesis
Johnson, Kevin T. M. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1990-06-15)The mantle melting process is fundamental to basalt genesis and crustal accretion at mid-ocean ridges. It is believed that melts ascend more rapidly than the surrounding mantle, implying a process similar to fractional ... -
Near-inertial and thermal upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean
Silverthorne, Katherine E. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2010-06)Observational and modeling techniques are employed to investigate the thermal and inertial upper ocean response to wind and buoyancy forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean. First, the seasonal kinetic energy variability of ...