HR: 14:00h
AN: U33B-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Acceleration of the Arctic and Subarctic Freshwater Cycle
AU: * Peterson, B
EM: peterson@mbl.edu
AF: Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystems Center 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: McClelland, J
EM: jmcclelland@mbl.edu
AF: Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystems Center 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Holmes, R
EM: rmholmes@whrc.org
AF: The Woods Hole Research Center, P.O. Box 296, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Curry, R
EM: rcurry@whoi.edu
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole, MA 02543
AU: Walsh, J
EM: jwalsh@iarc.uaf.edu
AF: International Arctic Research Center, 930 Koyukuk Drive P.O. Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Aagaard, K
EM: aagaard@apl.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory 1013 NE 40th street, Seattle, WA 98105 United States
AB: A marked freshening occurred in the Nordic Seas and Subpolar Basins of the North Atlantic Ocean over the 1955 to 1995 period. A synthesis of new and recently published hydrologic information reveals that increasing river discharge, precipitation minus evaporation on the ocean, and net melting of glaciers contributed about 5,000 km3 of excess freshwater to these northern oceans within the same time period. Net melting of arctic sea ice provided another 8250 km3. The sum of anomalous inputs from sea ice and other freshwater sources was approximately equal to the freshwater accumulation observed in the Nordic Seas and Subpolar Basins. Rates of high northern latitude freshwater forcing are continuing to increase with potential consequences for the arctic system and global ocean circulation.
DE: 1621 Cryospheric change (0776)
DE: 1630 Impacts of global change (1225)
DE: 1655 Water cycles (1836)
SC: Union [U]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005