HR: 0800h
AN: U41A-0815    [Abstracts]
TI: The Role of River Runoff in the Freshwater Budget of the Arctic Ocean
AU: * Rennermalm, A
EM: arennerm@princeton.edu
AF: Princeton University, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering E-quad Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 United States
AU: Wood, E
EM: efwood@princeton.edu
AF: Princeton University, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering E-quad Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 United States
AU: Dery, S
EM: sdery@unbc.ca
AF: University of Northern British Columbia, Environmental Science and Engineering Program 8-414 Teaching Laboratory University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9 Canada
AU: Weaver, A
EM: weaver@uvic.ca
AF: University of Victoria, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences University of Victoria Gordon Head Complex PO Box 3055 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3P6 Canada
AB: The freshwater export through the Fram Strait is important in governing the strength of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic. Here we address the role of river runoff in the Arctic Ocean freshwater budget and how it in turn may affect the climate system on a larger scale though effects on the thermohaline circulation and sea ice cover. The role of runoff may be important in this regard because the riverine freshwater input is of similar magnitude as the freshwater export through the Fram Strait. An intermediate complexity general climate model (UVic ESCM) is used to conduct a series of experiments examining the role of the large rivers draining into the Arctic Ocean. In addition to studying the sensitivity caused by rivers draining into the Arctic Ocean we also study the rivers draining into Hudson Bay, the freshwater export through the Canadian Archipelago and finally freshwater import through Bering Strait Observations from the last few decades indicate that river runoff has increased into the Arctic Ocean and decreased into Hudson Bay. Our study contributes to understanding the implications of future changes in river runoff into the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay, and in better quantifying the importance of freshwater flow through Bering Strait and the Canadian Archipelago.
DE: 1616 Climate variability (1635, 3305, 3309, 4215, 4513)
DE: 1621 Cryospheric change (0776)
DE: 1630 Impacts of global change (1225)
DE: 1635 Oceans (1616, 3305, 4215, 4513)
DE: 1655 Water cycles (1836)
SC: Union [U]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005