HR: 0800h
AN: OS41A-0453    [Abstracts]
TI: Wind-forced Interannual Variability of the East-Siberian Sea Hydrography
AU: * Markova, N
EM: marknatalia@yandex.ru
AF: St.Petersburg State University, 33, 10th line of Vasilievskiy Island, St.Petersburg, 199178 Russian Federation
AU: Dmitrenko, I
EM: igordm@iarc.uaf.edu
AF: International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbenks, AK 99775-7340 United States
AU: Kirillov, S
EM: dia@aari.nw.ru
AF: Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, 38 Bering St, St.Petersburg, 199397 Russian Federation
AB: The East-Siberian Sea (ESS) is situated on the middle of the Siberian Arctic shelf within the zero vorticity contour, separated two predominant large-scale centers of the atmospheric circulation over the Arctic Ocean. This unique position makes ESS hydrography extremely sensitive to the variation of atmospheric vorticity. It provides the basic motivation for revision of historical hydrographic records (1957-2000) from the Laptev and the East Siberian seas in order to evaluate its response to the lager-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. It have been shown that cyclonic atmospheric circulation results in ESS salinity increase due to salty water input from the Chukchi Sea. The Kolyma and Indigirka river runoff plume is forced to move eastward to the New Siberian Islands and the Laptev Sea. Anticyclonic circulation induces Lena River runoff influx into the ESS and redistribution of freshened water further westward along the Siberian coastline. The high correlation between interannual variations of ESS summer salinity and atmosphere vorticity index (0.60 for surface and 0.74 for bottom water layer) have been obtained. For the winter period it is also surprisingly high (0.75 and 0.66) though the land fast ice covers the significant part of the ESS. It allows to speculate that atmospheric forcing appears to be the dominant driver of the East-Siberian Sea hydrography. During winter the land fast ice cover appears to be an effective medium for vertical momentum transfer from the atmosphere into the upper ocean. Apparently the energy flux from the atmosphere to the water through the fast ice provides sufficient forcing to drive winter hydrography interannual variability.
DE: 4504 Air/sea interactions (0312)
DE: 4512 Currents
DE: 4546 Nearshore processes
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting