Episodic warming of near-bottom waters under the Arctic sea ice on the central Laptev Sea shelf.

Janout, Markus, Hölemann, Jens, Juhls, Bennet, Krumpen, Thomas, Rabe, Benjamin, Bauch, Dorothea , Wegner, Carolyn, Kassens, Heidemarie and Timokhov, Leonid (2016) Episodic warming of near-bottom waters under the Arctic sea ice on the central Laptev Sea shelf. Open Access Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (1). pp. 264-272. DOI 10.1002/2015GL066565.

[thumbnail of Janout.pdf]
Preview
Text
Janout.pdf - Published Version

Download (5MB) | Preview

Supplementary data:

Abstract

A multiyear mooring record (2007–2014) and satellite imagery highlight the strong temperature variability and unique hydrographic nature of the Laptev Sea. This Arctic shelf is a key region for river discharge and sea ice formation and export and includes submarine permafrost and methane deposits, which emphasizes the need to understand the thermal variability near the seafloor. Recent years were characterized by early ice retreat and a warming near-shore environment. However, warming was not observed on the deeper shelf until year-round under-ice measurements recorded unprecedented warm near-bottom waters of +0.6°C in winter 2012/2013, just after the Arctic sea ice extent featured a record minimum. In the Laptev Sea, early ice retreat in 2012 combined with Lena River heat and solar radiation produced anomalously warm summer surface waters, which were vertically mixed, trapped in the pycnocline, and subsequently transferred toward the bottom until the water column cooled when brine rejection eroded stratification.

Document Type: Article
Additional Information: WOS:000369014100031
Keywords: Central Laptev Sea, Arctic sea ice, episodic warming, RV Polarstern
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-P-OZ Paleo-Oceanography
HGF-AWI
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union), Wiley
Projects: Laptev Sea System, Transdrift
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 17 Dec 2015 08:46
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2019 22:56
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30660

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item