Journal
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
Volume 121, Issue 3, Pages 675-717Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2015JG003140
Keywords
Arctic; oceans; circulation; freshwater; carbon cycle; acidification
Funding
- World Climate Research Program-Climate and Cryosphere (WCRP-CliC)
- Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP)
- International Arctic Science Committee (IASC)
- Norwegian Ministry of Environment
- Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences (SSEESS)
- Swedish Polar Research Secretariat
- NSF [OCE 1130008, 1249133, AON-1203473, AON-1338948, OCE 1434041]
- CarbonBridge project - Polar Research Programme of the Norwegian Research Council [226415]
- NERC [NE/I029633/1, NE/I028947/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Natural Environment Research Council [noc010012, NE/I028947/1, NE/I029633/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Division Of Ocean Sciences [1433448] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Office of Polar Programs (OPP) [1022472] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Office of Polar Programs (OPP) [1203473, 1249133] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Ocean Sciences
- Directorate For Geosciences [1433170] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [26281004] Funding Source: KAKEN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The Arctic Ocean is a fundamental node in the global hydrological cycle and the ocean's thermohaline circulation. We here assess the system's key functions and processes: (1) the delivery of fresh and low-salinity waters to the Arctic Ocean by river inflow, net precipitation, distillation during the freeze/thaw cycle, and Pacific Ocean inflows; (2) the disposition (e.g., sources, pathways, and storage) of freshwater components within the Arctic Ocean; and (3) the release and export of freshwater components into the bordering convective domains of the North Atlantic. We then examine physical, chemical, or biological processes which are influenced or constrained by the local quantities and geochemical qualities of freshwater; these include stratification and vertical mixing, ocean heat flux, nutrient supply, primary production, ocean acidification, and biogeochemical cycling. Internal to the Arctic the joint effects of sea ice decline and hydrological cycle intensification have strengthened coupling between the ocean and the atmosphere (e.g., wind and ice drift stresses, solar radiation, and heat and moisture exchange), the bordering drainage basins (e.g., river discharge, sediment transport, and erosion), and terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., Arctic greening, dissolved and particulate carbon loading, and altered phenology of biotic components). External to the Arctic freshwater export acts as both a constraint to and a necessary ingredient for deep convection in the bordering subarctic gyres and thus affects the global thermohaline circulation. Geochemical fingerprints attained within the Arctic Ocean are likewise exported into the neighboring subarctic systems and beyond. Finally, we discuss observed and modeled functions and changes in this system on seasonal, annual, and decadal time scales and discuss mechanisms that link the marine system to atmospheric, terrestrial, and cryospheric systems.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available