Atmospheric, oceanic, and sea-ice variability along Nares Strait: a numerical model study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarisbel Garcia Quintana ◽  
Paul G. Myers ◽  
Kent Moore
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North Atlantic

<p>Nares Strait, between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, is one of the main pathways connecting the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic. The multi-year sea ice that is transported through the strait plays an important role in the mass balance of Arctic sea-ice as well as influencing the climate of the North Atlantic region. This transport is modulated by the formation of ice arches that form at the southern and northern of the strait.  The arches also play an important role in the maintenance of the North Water Polynya (NOW) that forms at the southern end of the strait. The NOW is one of the largest and most productive of Arctic polynyas. Given its significance, we use an eddy-permitting regional configuration of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) to explore sea-ice variability along Nares Strait, from 2002 to 2019. The model is coupled with the Louvain-la-Neuve (LIM2) sea ice thermodynamic and dynamic numerical model and is forced by the Canadian Meteorological Centre’s Global Deterministic Prediction System Reforecasts.</p><p>We use the model to explore the variability in ocean and sea ice characteristics along Nares Strait. The positive and negative degree days, measures of ice decay and growth, along the strait are consistent with the warming that the region is experiencing. Sea-ice production/decay did not show any significant change other than an enhanced decay during the summers of 2017-1019. Sea-ice thickness on the other hand has decreased significantly since 2007. This decrease has been more pronounced along the northern (north of Kane Basin) portion of the strait. What is more, ocean model data indicates that since 2007 the northern Nares Strait upper 100m layer has become fresher, indicating an increase in the freshwater export out of the Arctic Ocean and through the strait. The southern portion of the strait, on the other hand, has become warmer and saltier, which would be consistent with an influx of Irminger Water as proposed by previous modelling results. These changes could impact the formation and stability of the ice arch and hence the cessation of ice transport down Nares Strait as well as contributing to changes in the characteristics of the NOW. </p>

scholarly journals Circumpolar measurements of speciated mercury, ozone and carbon monoxide in the boundary layer of the Arctic Ocean

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 20913-20948 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sommar ◽  
M. E. Andersson ◽  
H.-W. Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. Using the Swedish icebreaker Oden as a platform, continuous measurements of airborne mercury (gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0), divalent mercury HgII(g) (acronym RGM) and mercury attached to particles (PHg)) and some long-lived trace gases (carbon monoxide CO and ozone O3) were performed over the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The measurements were performed for nearly three months (July–September, 2005) during the Beringia 2005 expedition (from Göteborg, Sweden via the proper Northwest Passage to the Beringia region Alaska – Chukchi Penninsula – Wrangel Island and in-turn via a north-polar transect to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen). The Beringia 2005 expedition was the first time that these species have been measured during summer over the Arctic Ocean going from 60° to 90° N. During the North Atlantic transect, concentration levels of Hg0, CO and O3 were measured comparable to typical levels for the ambient mid-hemispheric average. However, a rapid increase of Hg0 in air and surface water was observed when entering the ice-covered waters of the Canadian Arctic archipelago. Large parts of the measured waters were supersaturated with respect to Hg0, reflecting a strong disequilibrium. Heading through the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, a fraction of the strong Hg0} pulse in the water was spilled with some time-delay into the air samples collected ~20 m a.s.l. Several episodes of elevated Hg0(g) were encountered along the sea ice route with higher mean concentration (1.81±0.43 ng m−3) compared to the marine boundary layer over ice-free oceanic waters (1.55±0.21 ng m−3). In addition, an overall majority of the variance in the temporal series of Hg0 concentrations was observed during July. Atmospheric boundary layer {O3} mixing ratios decreased when initially sailing northward. In the Arctic, an O3 minimum around 15–20 ppbv was observed during summer (July–August). Alongside the polar transect during the beginning of autumn, a steady trend of increasing O3 mixing ratios was measured returning to initial levels of the expedition (>30 ppbv). Ambient CO was fairly stable (84&plusmn12 ppbv) during the expedition. However, from the Beaufort Sea and moving onwards steadily increasing CO mixing ratios were observed (0.3 ppbv day−1). On a comparison with coeval archived CO and O3 data from the Arctic coastal strip monitoring sites Barrow and Alert, the observations from Oden indicate these species to be homogeneously distributed over the Arctic Ocean. Neither correlated low ozone and GEM events nor elevated concentrations of RGM and PHg were at any extent sampled, suggesting that atmospheric mercury deposition to the Arctic basin is low during the Polar summer and autumn. Elevated levels of Hg0 and CO were episodically observed in air along the Chukchi Peninsula indicating transport of regional pollution.

scholarly journals Circumpolar measurements of speciated mercury, ozone and carbon monoxide in the boundary layer of the Arctic Ocean

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5031-5045 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sommar ◽  
M. E. Andersson ◽  
H.-W. Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. Using the Swedish icebreaker Oden as a platform, continuous measurements of airborne mercury (gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0), divalent gaseous mercury species HgIIX2(g) (acronym RGM) and mercury attached to particles (PHg)) and some long-lived trace gases (carbon monoxide CO and ozone O3) were performed over the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The measurements were performed for nearly three months (July–September 2005) during the Beringia 2005 expedition (from Göteborg, Sweden via the proper Northwest Passage to the Beringia region Alaska – Chukchi Penninsula – Wrangel Island and in-turn via a north-polar transect to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen). The Beringia 2005 expedition was the first time that these species have been measured during summer over the Arctic Ocean going from 60° to 90° N. During the North Atlantic transect, concentration levels of Hg0, CO and O3 were measured comparable to typical levels for the ambient mid-hemispheric average. However, a rapid increase of Hg0 in air and surface water was observed when entering the ice-covered waters of the Canadian Arctic archipelago. Large parts of the measured waters were supersaturated with respect to Hg0, reflecting a strong disequilibrium. Heading through the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, a fraction of the strong Hg0 pulse in the water was transferred with some time-delay into the air samples collected ~20 m above sea level. Several episodes of elevated Hg0 in air were encountered along the sea ice route with higher mean concentration (1.81±0.43 ng m−3) compared to the marine boundary layer over ice-free Arctic oceanic waters (1.55±0.21 ng m−3). In addition, the bulk of the variance in the temporal series of Hg0 concentrations was observed during July. The Oden Hg0 observations compare in this aspect very favourably with those at the coastal station Alert. Atmospheric boundary layer O3 mixing ratios decreased when initially sailing northward. In the Arctic, an O3 minimum around 15–20 ppbV was observed during summer (July–August). Alongside the polar transect during the beginning of autumn, a steady trend of increasing O3 mixing ratios was measured returning to initial levels of the expedition (>30 ppbV). Ambient CO was fairly stable (84±12 ppbV) during the expedition. However, from the Beaufort Sea and moving onwards steadily increasing CO mixing ratios were observed (0.3 ppbV day−1). On a comparison with coeval archived CO and O3 data from the Arctic coastal strip monitoring sites Barrow and Alert, the observations from Oden indicate these species to be homogeneously distributed over the Arctic Ocean. Neither correlated low ozone and Hg0 events nor elevated concentrations of RGM and PHg were at any extent sampled, suggesting that atmospheric mercury deposition to the Arctic basin is low during the Polar summer and autumn.

scholarly journals Carbon cycling in the Arctic Archipelago: the export of Pacific carbon to the North Atlantic

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 971-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Shadwick ◽  
T. Papakyriakou ◽  
A. E. F. Prowe ◽  
D. Leong ◽  
S. A. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. The Arctic Ocean is expected to be disproportionately sensitive to climatic changes, and is thought to be an area where such changes might be detected. The Arctic hydrological cycle is influenced by: runoff and precipitation, sea ice formation/melting, and the inflow of saline waters from Bering and Fram Straits and the Barents Sea Shelf. Pacific water is recognizable as intermediate salinity water, with high concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), flowing from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic via the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. We present DIC data from an east-west section through the Archipelago, as part of the Canadian International Polar Year initiatives. The fractions of Pacific and Arctic Ocean waters leaving the Archipelago and entering Baffin Bay, and subsequently the North Atlantic, are computed. The eastward transport of carbon from the Pacific, via the Arctic, to the North Atlantic is estimated. Altered mixing ratios of Pacific and freshwater in the Arctic Ocean have been recorded in recent decades. Any climatically driven alterations in the composition of waters leaving the Arctic Archipelago may have implications for anthropogenic CO2 uptake, and hence ocean acidification, in the subpolar and temperate North Atlantic.

scholarly journals Interpretation of Slar Imagery of Sea Ice in Nares Strait and the Arctic Ocean

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 193-213
Author(s):  
Moira Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Pole ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Forces ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Airborne Sensors

AbstractSLAR imagery of Nares Strait was obtained on three flights carried out in. January, March, and August of 1973 by Canadian Forces Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit in an Argus aircraft equipped with a Motorola APS-94D SLAR; the March flight also covered two lines in the Arctic Ocean, from Alert 10 the North Pole and from the Pole down the long. 4ºE. meridian to the ice edge at about lat. 80º N. No observations on the ground were possible, but -some back-up was available on all flights from visual observations recorded in the air, and on the March flight from infrared line-scan and vertical photography.The interpretation of ice features from the SLAR imagery is discussed, and the conclusion reached that in spite of certain ambiguities the technique has great potential which will increase with improving resolution, Extent of coverage per distance flown and independence of light and cloud conditions make it unique among airborne sensors.

scholarly journals Interpretation of Slar Imagery of Sea Ice in Nares Strait and the Arctic Ocean

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Pole ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Forces ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Airborne Sensors

Abstract SLAR imagery of Nares Strait was obtained on three flights carried out in. January, March, and August of 1973 by Canadian Forces Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit in an Argus aircraft equipped with a Motorola APS-94D SLAR; the March flight also covered two lines in the Arctic Ocean, from Alert 10 the North Pole and from the Pole down the long. 4ºE. meridian to the ice edge at about lat. 80º N. No observations on the ground were possible, but -some back-up was available on all flights from visual observations recorded in the air, and on the March flight from infrared line-scan and vertical photography. The interpretation of ice features from the SLAR imagery is discussed, and the conclusion reached that in spite of certain ambiguities the technique has great potential which will increase with improving resolution, Extent of coverage per distance flown and independence of light and cloud conditions make it unique among airborne sensors.

scholarly journals The Arctic Ocean as a dead end for floating plastics in the North Atlantic branch of the Thermohaline Circulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. e1600582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Cózar ◽  
Elisa Martí ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Juan García-de-Lomas ◽  
Erik van Sebille ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
Dead End ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North Atlantic
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