Collaborative Research: The Nordic Seas: Water Masses, Circulation, and Connection between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

University Of California-San Diego Scripps Inst Of Oceanography, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

0118033 Swift This project focuses on understanding the interactions of the Arctic Ocean outflow waters and Nordic Sea waters as they create the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) and the Iceland-Scotland Overflow water (ISOW) on the one hand and the Arctic Ocean influenced layers in the Nordic Seas on the other. Specific goals include: (1) determining the sources and pathways of fresh water out of the Arctic Ocean and studying the processes modifying downstream water masses; (2) determining the sources and characteristics of intermediate and deep waters of Arctic origin and their subsequent modification as they are exported in the Nordic Seas and North Atlantic Ocean; and (3) determining the pathways of Atlantic water through the Nordic Seas and into the Arctic Ocean and how it transforms Nordic Seas water masses. This new synoptic survey of the Nordic Seas will provide a baseline observation to understand the links between the various ocean basins in the region. This project is collaborative with Swedish scientists and is a contribution to the Climate variability and predictability program (CLIVAR).