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Arctic layer salinity controls heat loss from deep Atlantic layer in seasonally ice‐covered areas of the Barents Sea
Author(s) -
Lind Sigrid,
Ingvaldsen Randi B.,
Furevik Tore
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl068421
Subject(s) - halocline , mixed layer , stratification (seeds) , oceanography , arctic , arctic ice pack , salinity , sea ice , heat flux , water column , geology , environmental science , climatology , temperature salinity diagrams , arctic dipole anomaly , arctic sea ice decline , drift ice , heat transfer , seed dormancy , botany , germination , physics , dormancy , biology , thermodynamics
In the seasonally ice‐covered northern Barents Sea an intermediate layer of cold and relatively fresh Arctic Water at ~25–110 m depth isolates the sea surface and ice cover from a layer of warm and saline Atlantic Water below, a situation that resembles the cold halocline layer in the Eurasian Basin. The upward heat flux from the Atlantic layer is of major concern. What causes variations in the heat flux and how is the Arctic layer maintained? Using observations, we found that interannual variability in Arctic layer salinity determines the heat flux from the Atlantic layer through its control of stratification and vertical mixing. A relatively fresh Arctic layer effectively suppresses the upward heat flux, while a more saline Arctic layer enhances the heat flux. The corresponding upward salt flux causes a positive feedback. The Arctic layer salinity and the water column structures have been remarkably stable during 1970–2011.