Weigel, Katja (2005) On the wind stress and air-sea interaction over the Barents Sea. (Diploma thesis), Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel, Germany, 78 pp.

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Abstract

The connections between the winter wind stress field and the ice conditions in the Barents Sea are examined on interannual time scales between 1970 and 2004. A hindcast data set of wind stress from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (DNMI) and several ice indices are used. Special attention is given to Storfjorden, a fjord located in the east of the Svalbard, which contains frequently a latent heat polynya. Therefore it is an important source of brine-enriched shelf water. The ice extent in the Barents Sea turns out to be governed mainly by the meridional wind stress component and to some extent also by the wind stress curl and divergence. Especially in the western and central Barents Sea the wind stress field is influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), while in the easten Barents Sea local processes might be more important. In Storfjorden a polynya model is used to model the polynya width and total ice production for the winters 2002/2003 and 2003/2004. The polynya width is adjusted to the width estimated from satellite images with factors which are controlling the ability of the polynya to open and close. An attampt is done to explain the interannual variations of these factors with the help of the wind stress field and ice extent in the areas surrounding Storfjorden.

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