Summer Hydrography and Circulation in Storfjorden, Svalbard, Following a Record Low Winter Sea-Ice Extent in the Barents Sea

Storfjorden, Svalbard, hosts a polynya in winter and is an important source region of Brine-enriched Shelf Water (BSW) that, if dense enough, feeds the Arctic Ocean deep water reservoir. Changes in the BSW production may thus have far-reaching impacts. We analyze the water mass distribution and circulation in Storfjorden and the trough south of it, Storfjordrenna, using hydrographic sections occupied in July 2016, following a winter characterized by the lowest ice coverage recorded in the Barents Sea. These observations reveal an unusual hydrographic state, characterized at the surface by the near absence of Melt Water and Storfjorden Surface Water, replaced by a saltier water mass. At depth, BSW (maximum salinity of 34.95) was found from the bottom up to 90 m, above the 120-m deep sill at the mouth to Storfjordrenna. However, no gravity driven overflow was observed downstream of the sill: the dome of BSW remained locked over the depression in a cyclonic circulation pattern consistent with a stratified Taylor column. Observations further reveal a previously unreported intrusion of Atlantic Water (AW) far into the fjord, promoting isopycnal mixing with entrapped Arctic Water. This intrusion was possibly favored by positive wind stress curl anomalies over Svalbardbanken and Storfjordrenna. The bottom plume exiting Storfjordrenna was weak, carrying Polar Front Water rather than BSW, too light to sink underneath the AW layer at Fram Strait. Whether Storfjorden switched durably to a new hydrographic state, following the observed Atlantification of the Barents Sea after 2005, remains to be established.

Automated summary

Storfjorden, Svalbard, is an important source region of Brine-enriched Shelf Water (BSW) for the Arctic Ocean deep water reservoir. Recent observations have revealed changes in the hydrographic state of the area, including a decrease in Melt Water and Storfjorden Surface Water at the surface and intrusion of Atlantic Water (AW) into the fjord. These changes may be related to wind stress anomalies around Svalbard.