Carbon Dioxide Flux at the Water–Air Boundary at the Continental Slope in the Kara Sea

The values and direction of carbon dioxide flux in the area of the continental slope in the north of the Kara Sea (St. Anna Trough) are calculated based on field studies in 2020 within the Siberian Arctic Sea Ecosystems program. The existence of a stable frontal zone in this area has been confirmed, which is formed by an alongslope current and limits the northward spread of surface waters freshened by the continental runoff. The simultaneous analysis of the carbonate system in the upper sea layer and the CO2 concentration in the surface air layer shows the CO2 flux with a rate of 0.2 to 22 mmol/m2 day to be directed from the atmosphere into the water in the area of the outer shelf, which is affected by the river runoff, and in the area of the continental slope, which is beyond this effect. The highest rates of CO2 absorption by the sea surface layer are localized above the continental slope. Local processes in the area of the slope frontal zone determine the CO2 emission into the atmosphere with a rate of 0.34 mmol/m2 day.

Late Weichselian ice-sheet flow directions in the Russian northern Barents Sea from high-resolution imagery of submarine glacial landforms

The locations and orientations of more than 1000 late Quaternary subglacial and ice-marginal landforms, including streamlined sedimentary bed forms, glacitectonic hill-hole pairs, meltwater channels, and eskers, were mapped from blocks of multibeam data (area of 4861 km2) in the little-known Russian Barents Sea. Between Sentralbanken and Admiralty Bank, at ~75°N, there is evidence for southward ice flow. Ice-flow indicators between Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya show northeast flow into the head of St. Anna Trough. There is also evidence of southeast flow off the bank to the south of Franz Josef Land, and of flow convergence with northeast-flowing ice in Sedov Trough. Northeast flow of ice between Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land suggests that the latter archipelago was not overrun by ice flowing north from the Barents Sea and, therefore, that a subsidiary ice dome was likely on Franz Josef Land. A major ice divide was also present at ~76°N –77°N in the Russian Barents Sea.

New data on the fauna and the biogeographic structure of the Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa and Alcyonacea (Anthozoa) of the Kara Sea

The paper considers the species composition of the fauna of several cnidarian groups of the Kara Sea. The author presents a list of species of the studied groups and indicates the types of habitat for each species. The analysis was based on the literature data, the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and material collected in the Kara Sea during the expedition to the R/V Professor Multanovsky in 2019. In total, 87 species of Hydrozoa, 3 species of Scyphozoa, 4 species of Staurozoa, and 5 species of the order Alcyonacea from the class Anthozoa were recorded for the fauna of the Kara Sea, based on the new material obtained by the author and published literature data. The report presents the biogeographic structure of the discussed cnidarian groups. According to the types of biogeographic ranges, the fauna of the above-mentioned cnidarian groups in the Kara Sea mostly consists of representatives of the Boreal-Arctic type of habitat (63%), the Boreal and Amphiboreal biogeographic groups each containing 12% of the total number of described species, and the Panoceanic and Arctic groups together accounting for only 9% and 4% of the fauna of the Kara Sea. Two species new for the Kara Sea, Neoturris pileata (Forsskål, 1775) and Neoturris pileata (Forsskål, 1775), are described. Neoturris pileata is an element of the warm-water Atlantic fauna that penetrated into the Kara Sea with waters of Atlantic genesis. Nausithoe werneri is an element of the cold-water Arctic fauna that penetrated into the Novaya Zemlya Trough of the Kara Sea from the north-western side from the St. Anna Trough, which was open to the Polar Basin.

The nature of regional magnetic anomalies in the northeast of the Barents-Kara continental margin based on the results of seismic data interpretation

Based on the interpretation of seismic sections via seismic reflection method, the lines of which intersect the positive magnetic anomalies in the St. Anna Trough and on the North Kara Shelf, the authors have substantiated the position of the Early Cretaceous dike belt in the north of the Barents-Kara platform for the first time. They traced the belt from the arch-block elevation of arch. Franz Josef Land, which belongs to the Svalbard platе through the Saint Anna Trough and further into the Kara platе to arch. Severnaya Zemlya. The distinguished dyke belt has discordant relationships with the structural-tectonic plan of the region under consideration. The authors illustrate the manifestations of dyke magmatism in the marked tectonic elements in seismic sections, and conclude that the dyke belt relates to the formation of the structural system of the Arctic basin.

Variability of the thermohaline structure and transport of Atlantic water in the Arctic Ocean based on NABOS (Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observing System) hydrography data

Conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) transects across continental slope of the Eurasian Basin and the St. Anna Trough performed during NABOS (Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observing System) project in 2002–2015 and a transect from the 1996 Polarstern expedition are used to describe the temperature and salinity characteristics and volume flow rates (volume transports) of the current carrying the Atlantic water (AW) in the Arctic Ocean. The variability of the AW on its pathway along the slope of the Eurasian Basin is investigated. A dynamic Fram Strait branch of the Atlantic water (FSBW) is identified in all transects, including two transects in the Makarov Basin (along 159∘ E), while the cold waters on the eastern transects along 126, 142, and 159∘ E, which can be associated with the influence of the Barents Sea branch of the Atlantic water (BSBW), were observed in the depth range below 800 m and had a negligible effect on the spatial structure of isopycnic surfaces. The geostrophic volume transport of AW decreases farther away from the areas of the AW inflow to the Eurasian Basin, decreasing by 1 order of magnitude in the Makarov Basin at 159∘ E, implying that the major part of the AW entering the Arctic Ocean circulates cyclonically within the Nansen and Amundsen basins. There is an absolute maximum of θmax (AW core temperature) in 2006–2008 time series and a maximum in 2013, but only at 103∘ E. Salinity S(θmax) (AW core salinity) time series display a trend of an increase in AW salinity over time, which can be referred to as an AW salinization in the early 2000s. The maxima of θmax and S(θmax) in 2006 and 2013 are accompanied by the volume transport maxima. The time average geostrophic volume transports of AW are 0.5 Sv in the longitude range 31–92∘ E, 0.8 Sv in the St. Anna Trough, and 1.1 Sv in the longitude range 94–107∘ E.

Assessment of variability of the thermohaline structure and transport of Atlantic water in the Arctic Ocean based on NABOS CTD data

Data of CTD transects across continental slope of the Eurasian Basin and the St. Anna Trough performed during NABOS (Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observing System) project in 2003–2015 are used to assess transport and propagation features of the Atlantic Water (AW) in the Arctic Ocean. Estimates of θ-S indices and volume flow rate of the current carrying the AW in the Eurasian Basin were obtained. The assessments were based on the analysis of CTD data including 33 sections in the Eurasian Basin, 4 transects in the St. Anna Trough and 2 transects in the Makarov Basin; additionally a CTD transect of the PolarStern-1996 expedition (PS-96) was considered. Using spatial distributions of temperature, salinity, and density on the transects and applying θ-S analysis, the variability of thermohaline pattern on the AW pathway along the slope of Eurasian Basin was investigated. The Fram Strait branch of the Atlantic Water (FSBW) was satisfactorily identified on all transects, including two transects in the Makarov Basin (along 159° E), while the сold waters, which can be associated with the influence of the Barents Sea branch of the Atlantic water (BSBW), on the transects along 126° E, 142° E and 159° E, were observed in the depth range below 800 m and had a negligible effect on the spatial structure of isopycnic surfaces. Special attention was paid to the variability of the volume flow rate of the AW propagating along the continental slope of the Eurasian Basin. The geostrophic volume flow rate was calculated using the dynamic method. An interpretation of the spatial and temporal variability of hydrological parameters characterizing the flow of the AW in the Eurasian Basin is presented. The geostrophic volume flow rate decreases significantly farther away from the areas of the AW inflow to the Eurasian Basin. Thus, the geostrophic estimate of the volume rate for the AW flow in the Makarov Basin at 159° E was found to be more than an order of magnitude smaller than the estimates of the volume flow rate in the Eurasian Basin, implying that the major part of the AW entering the Arctic Ocean circulates cyclonically within the Nansen and Amundsen Basins. There is an absolute maximum of θmax (AW core temperature) in 2006–2008 time series and a maximum in 2013, but only at 103° E. Salinity S(θmax) (AW core salinity) time series display an increase of the AW salinity in 2006–2008 and 2013 (at 103° E) that can be referred to as a AW salinization in the early 2000-ies. The maxima of θmax and S(θmax) in 2006–2008 and 2013 were accompanied by the volume flow rate highs. Additionally the time average volume rates were calculated for the FSBW flow (in the longitude range 31–92° E), for the BSBW flow in the St. Anna Trough and for a combined FSBW and BSBW flow in longitude range 94–107° E. A detailed discussion of the results is presented.

Combining physical and geochemical methods to investigate lower halocline water formation and modification along the Siberian continental slope

A series of cross-slope transects were occupied in 2013 and 2015 that extended eastward from St. Anna Trough to the Lomonosov Ridge. High-resolution physical and chemical observations collected along these transects revealed fronts in the potential temperature and the stable oxygen isotopic ratio (δ18O) that were observed north of Severnaya Zemlya (SZ). Using linear regressions, we describe mixing regimes on either side of the front that characterize a transition from a seasonal halocline to a permanent halocline. This transition describes the formation of lower halocline water (LHW) and the cold halocline layer via a mechanism that has been previously postulated by Rudels et al. (1996). Initial freshening of Atlantic Water (AW) by sea-ice meltwater occurs west of SZ, whereas higher influences of meteoric water and brine result in a transition to a separate mixing regime that alters LHW through mixing with overlying waters and shifts the characteristic temperature–salinity bend from higher (34.4 ≤ S ≤ 34.5) toward lower (34.2 ≤ S ≤ 34.3) salinities. These mixing regimes appear to have been robust since at least 2000.

Combining physical and geochemical methods to investigate lower halocline water formation and modification along the Siberian continental slope

A series of cross-slope transects were occupied in 2013 and 2015 that extended eastward from St. Anna Trough to the Lomonosov Ridge. High-resolution physical and chemical observations collected along these transects revealed fronts in the potential temperature and the stable oxygen isotopic ratio (δ18O) that were observed north of Severnaya Zemlya (SZ). Using linear regressions, we describe mixing regimes on either side of the front that characterize the convective formation of lower halocline water (LHW) and the cold halocline layer. Initial freshening of Atlantic water by sea-ice meltwater occurs west of SZ whereas higher influences of meteoric water and brine result in a transition to a separate mixing regime that alters LHW through mixing with overlying waters and shifts the characteristic temperature-salinity bend from higher (34.4 ≤ S ≤ 34.5) toward lower (34.2 ≤ S ≤ 34.3) salinities. These mixing regimes appear to have been robust since at least 2000.