scholarly journals Feedback Mechanism Among Decadal Oscillations in Northern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation, Sea Ice, and Ocean Circulation

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 120-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Ikeda
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
The Barents Sea

Decadal oscillations of the ice cover in the Barents Sea are examined for the period since 1950. They are highly correlated with atmospheric circulation when that circulation has an anomalous low pressure over the Barents Sea and Eurasian Basin, while the ice cover is weakly correlated with local air temperature. A feedback mechanism between Barents Sea ice and the atmospheric circulation is suggested; increased cyclonic wind-stress curl reduces cold Arctic flow to the Barents Sea and reduces the sea ice. The reduced ice cover encourages heat flux from the Barents Sea to the atmosphere, tending to reinforce the low pressure. This positive feedback amplifies the oscillations of the air–ice–ocean system driven by external forcing with relatively weak decadal variability. A two-level ocean model, which is driven by prescribed buoyancy flux and wind stresses, confirms that Arctic outflow to the Barents Sea decreases during a cyclonic wind stress.

scholarly journals Feedback Mechanism Among Decadal Oscillations in Northern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation, Sea Ice, and Ocean Circulation

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 120-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Ikeda
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
The Barents Sea

Decadal oscillations of the ice cover in the Barents Sea are examined for the period since 1950. They are highly correlated with atmospheric circulation when that circulation has an anomalous low pressure over the Barents Sea and Eurasian Basin, while the ice cover is weakly correlated with local air temperature. A feedback mechanism between Barents Sea ice and the atmospheric circulation is suggested; increased cyclonic wind-stress curl reduces cold Arctic flow to the Barents Sea and reduces the sea ice. The reduced ice cover encourages heat flux from the Barents Sea to the atmosphere, tending to reinforce the low pressure. This positive feedback amplifies the oscillations of the air–ice–ocean system driven by external forcing with relatively weak decadal variability. A two-level ocean model, which is driven by prescribed buoyancy flux and wind stresses, confirms that Arctic outflow to the Barents Sea decreases during a cyclonic wind stress.

scholarly journals Wind-Driven Atlantic Water Flow as a Direct Mode for Reduced Barents Sea Ice Cover

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 803-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidar S. Lien ◽  
Pawel Schlichtholz ◽  
Øystein Skagseth ◽  
Frode B. Vikebø
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Heat Transport ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
The Barents Sea

Variability in the Barents Sea ice cover on interannual and longer time scales has previously been shown to be governed by oceanic heat transport. Based on analysis of observations and results from an ocean circulation model during an event of reduced sea ice cover in the northeastern Barents Sea in winter 1993, it is shown that the ocean also plays a direct role within seasons. Positive wind stress curl and associated Ekman divergence causes a coherent increase in the Atlantic water transport along the negative thermal gradient through the Barents Sea. The immediate response connected to the associated local winds in the northeastern Barents Sea is a decrease in the sea ice cover due to advection. Despite a subsequent anomalous ocean-to-air heat loss on the order of 100 W m−2 due to the open water, the increase in the ocean heat content caused by the circulation anomaly reduced refreezing on a time scale of order one month. Furthermore, it is found that coherent ocean heat transport anomalies occurred more frequently in the latter part of the last five decades during periods of positive North Atlantic Oscillation index, coinciding with the Barents Sea winter sea ice cover decline from the 1990s and onward.

Palynological evidence of sea-surface conditions in the Barents Sea off northeast Svalbard during the postglacial period

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Camille Brice ◽  
Anne de Vernal ◽  
Elena Ivanova ◽  
Simon van Bellen ◽  
Nicolas Van Nieuwenhove
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Salinity ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
The Barents Sea

Abstract Postglacial changes in sea-surface conditions, including sea-ice cover, summer temperature, salinity, and productivity were reconstructed from the analyses of dinocyst assemblages in core S2528 collected in the northwestern Barents Sea. The results show glaciomarine-type conditions until about 11,300 ± 300 cal yr BP and limited influence of Atlantic water at the surface into the Barents Sea possibly due to the proximity of the Svalbard-Barents Sea ice sheet. This was followed by a transitional period generally characterized by cold conditions with dense sea-ice cover and low-salinity pulses likely related to episodic freshwater or meltwater discharge, which lasted until 8700 ± 700 cal yr BP. The onset of “interglacial” conditions in surface waters was marked by a major change in dinocyst assemblages, from dominant heterotrophic to dominant phototrophic taxa. Until 4100 ± 150 cal yr BP, however, sea-surface conditions remained cold, while sea-surface salinity and sea-ice cover recorded large amplitude variations. By ~4000 cal yr BP optimum sea-surface temperature of up to 4°C in summer and maximum salinity of ~34 psu suggest enhanced influence of Atlantic water, and productivity reached up to 150 gC/m2/yr. After 2200 ± 1300 cal yr BP, a distinct cooling trend accompanied by sea-ice spreading characterized surface waters. Hence, during the Holocene, with exception of an interval spanning about 4000 to 2000 cal yr BP, the northern Barents Sea experienced harsh environments, relatively low productivity, and unstable conditions probably unsuitable for human settlements.

Linear predictability of Barents Sea ice cover: effects of coupling and resolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuncheng Guo ◽  
Aleksi Nummelin
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Response Function ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Coupled System ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Statistical Prediction ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Small Set

<p>Wintertime Barents Sea ice cover has been strongly linked to heat transport through the Barents Sea opening and Barents Sea heat content. Previous studies have shown predictability at seasonal timescales with short lead times. However, studies that have used statistical prediction have focused on a small set of predictors in the vicinity of the Barents Sea. Here we will extend the analysis further south following the path of the Norwegian Atlantic Current and show that monthly predictability with lead times up to 1-2 years can be achieved in CMIP6 models using Climate Response Function (CRF's). We further examine the effects of model resolution and coupling in the predictability and compare the results to CRF derived from observations. Our results suggest that higher resolution generally leads to stronger predictability and the fully coupled system provides the most realistic response function. The ocean provides a narrow range of lead times corresponding to an advective timescale, while coupling to the atmosphere broadens the lead times that are important for prediction. Finally, we show that even the upstream sea surface temperatures provide relatively high predictability of the Barents Sea ice cover both in the models and in the observations.</p>

scholarly journals Climatic variations of the Arctic front and the Barents sea ice cover in winter time

2015 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Zolotokrylin ◽  
T. B. Titkova ◽  
A. Yu. Mikhailov
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Arctic Front ◽  
Winter Time

Relationships between wintertime sea ice cover in the Barents Sea and ocean temperature anomalies in the era of satellite observations

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-65
Author(s):  
Pawel Schlichtholz
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ocean Temperature ◽  
Temperature Anomalies ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Skill Scores

AbstractInvestigation of the predictability of sea ice cover in the Barents Sea is of paramount importance since sea ice changes in this part of the Arctic not only affect local marine ecosystems and human activities but may also influence weather and climate in northern mid-latitudes. Here, observational data from the period 1981-2018 are used to identify statistical linkages of wintertime sea ice cover in the Barents Sea region to preceding sea surface temperature (SST) and Atlantic water temperature anomalies in that region. We find that the ocean temperature anomalies formed by local air-sea interactions during the winter-to-spring season are a significant source of predictability for sea ice area (SIA) in the Barents Sea region the following winter. Optimal areas for constructing SST predictors of Barents Sea SIA and skill scores from retrospective statistical forecasts are shown to differ between the periods to and since the onset of rapid sea ice decline in the region. In the EARLY period (1982-2003), springtime SSTs in the western Barents Sea predicted 44% of the variance of the following winter Barents Sea SIA. In the LATE period (2003-2017), springtime SSTs in the southern Barents Sea predicted 70% of the variance of the following winter Barents Sea SIA. Regression analysis suggests that feedbacks from anomalous winds may be important for the predictability of wintertime sea ice cover in the Barents Sea region.

scholarly journals Subsurface ocean flywheel of coupled climate variability in the Barents Sea hotspot of global warming

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawel Schlichtholz
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Subsurface Ocean ◽  
Recent Climate

Abstract Accelerated shrinkage of the Arctic sea ice cover is the main reason for the recent Arctic amplification of global warming. There is growing evidence that the ocean is involved in this phenomenon, but to what extent remains unknown. Here, a unique dataset of hydrographic profiles is used to infer the regional pattern of recent subsurface ocean warming and construct a skillful predictor for surface climate variability in the Barents Sea region - a hotspot of the recent climate change. It is shown that, in the era of satellite observations (1981–2018), summertime temperature anomalies of Atlantic water heading for the Arctic Ocean explain more than 80% of the variance of the leading mode of variability in the following winter sea ice concentration over the entire Northern Hemisphere, with main centers of action just in the Barents Sea region. Results from empirical forecast experiments demonstrate that predictability of the wintertime sea ice cover in the Barents Sea from subsurface ocean heat anomalies might have increased since the Arctic climate shift of the mid-2000s. In contrast, the corresponding predictability of the sea ice cover in the nearby Greenland Sea has been lost.

scholarly journals Does Arctic warming reduce preservation of organic matter in Barents Sea sediments?

2020 ◽  
Vol 378 (2181) ◽  
pp. 20190364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan C. Faust ◽  
Mark A. Stevenson ◽  
Geoffrey D. Abbott ◽  
Jochen Knies ◽  
Allyson Tessin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Arctic Warming ◽  
Reactive Iron ◽  
The Barents Sea

Over the last few decades, the Barents Sea experienced substantial warming, an expansion of relatively warm Atlantic water and a reduction in sea ice cover. This environmental change forces the entire Barents Sea ecosystem to adapt and restructure and therefore changes in pelagic–benthic coupling, organic matter sedimentation and long-term carbon sequestration are expected. Here we combine new and existing organic and inorganic geochemical surface sediment data from the western Barents Sea and show a clear link between the modern ecosystem structure, sea ice cover and the organic carbon and CaCO 3 contents in Barents Sea surface sediments. Furthermore, we discuss the sources of total and reactive iron phases and evaluate the spatial distribution of organic carbon bound to reactive iron. Consistent with a recent global estimate we find that on average 21.0 ± 8.3 per cent of the total organic carbon is associated to reactive iron (fOC-Fe R ) in Barents Sea surface sediments. The spatial distribution of fOC-Fe R , however, seems to be unrelated to sea ice cover, Atlantic water inflow or proximity to land. Future Arctic warming might, therefore, neither increase nor decrease the burial rates of iron-associated organic carbon. However, our results also imply that ongoing sea ice reduction and the associated alteration of vertical carbon fluxes might cause accompanied shifts in the Barents Sea surface sedimentary organic carbon content, which might result in overall reduced carbon sequestration in the future. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning’.

Postglacial paleoceanography and paleoenvironments in the northwestern Barents Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 430-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Ivanova ◽  
Ivar Murdmaa ◽  
Anne de Vernal ◽  
Bjørg Risebrobakken ◽  
Alexander Peyve ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Surface Warming ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Suitable Location

AbstractThe Barents Sea offers a suitable location for documenting advection of warm and saline Atlantic Water (AW) into the Arctic and its impact on deglaciation and postglacial conditions. We investigate the timing, succession, and mechanisms of the transition from proximal glaciomarine to marine environment in the northwestern Barents Sea. Two studied sediment cores demonstrate diachronous retreat of the grounded ice sheet from the Kvitøya Trough (core S2528) to Erik Eriksen Trough (core S2519). Oxygen isotope records from core S2528 depict a two-step pattern, with lower δ18O values prior to the Younger Dryas (YD), and higher values afterward because of advection of the more saline, 18O-enriched AW. At this location, subsurface AW penetration increased during the Allerød and YD/Preboreal transition. In the study area, foraminiferal and dinocyst data from the YD interval suggest cold conditions, extensive sea-ice cover, and brine formation, along with the flow of chilled AW at subsurface and the development of a high-productivity polynya in the Erik Eriksen Trough. Dense winter sea-ice cover with seasonal productivity persisted in the Kvitøya Trough area during the early Holocene, whereas surface warming seems to have occurred during the middle Holocene interval.

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