HR: 11:50h
AN: C52A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: The variability of Atlantic water transport in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas and its influence on arctic sea ice
AU: * Zhang, J
EM: zhang@apl.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Applied Physics Lab, 1013 NE 40th St, Seattle, WA 98105
AU: Steele, M
EM: mas@apl.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Applied Physics Lab, 1013 NE 40th St, Seattle, WA 98105
AU: Rothrock, D
EM: rothrock@apl.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Applied Physics Lab, 1013 NE 40th St, Seattle, WA 98105
AU: Lindsay, R
EM: lindsay@apl.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Applied Physics Lab, 1013 NE 40th St, Seattle, WA 98105
AB: A retrospective investigation is conducted to examine the variability of exchanges between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans during 1948-2003 using a global ice-ocean model. Model results indicate that the transports of volume, heat, and freshwater at the Faroe-Scotland Passage, Denmark Strait, Fram Strait, and the Barents Sea Opening are closely correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), as are ice exports at Fram Strait and Denmark Strait. There is a noticeable increase in Atlantic inflow at the Faroe-Scotland Passage since 1960s, which is related to the elevation of the NAO in recent decades. As a result, there is an increase in northward heat transport in the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN) Sea and at Fram Strait and the Barents Sea Opening. The increase in heat transport is found to contribute to a continued thinning of arctic sea ice since 1966. The influence of the heat transport on sea ice is found to lag 2-3 years, which suppresses ice production even when the NAO temporarily dips. Because of this delay, the decline of arctic sea ice is likely to continue if the NAO does not shift to a sustained negative mode.
DE: 3339 Ocean/atmosphere interactions (0312, 4504)
DE: 4207 Arctic and Antarctic oceanography
DE: 4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting