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Warming of the West Spitsbergen Current and sea ice north of Svalbard

Piechura J., Walczowski W.

Oceanologia

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2009

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No. 51 (2)

147-164

EN

According to the results of recent research, besides the atmospheric circulation, it is heat transport to the Arctic Ocean (AO) by ocean currents, the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) in particular, that is playing a significant role in the process of Arctic warming. Data collected by the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAS), in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas, and Fram Strait during the last 20 years reveal considerable changes in the amount of heat transported by the WSC into the Arctic Ocean. An increase in Atlantic Water (AW) temperature and the intensification of heat transport were observed in 2004-06; after this period, both parameters decreased. The aim of this study was to find out whether the fluctuations in heat input by the WSC have influenced the sea-ice distribution around Svalbard. In fact they do, but oceanic heat transport should nonetheless be regarded as just one of many processes influencing sea-ice behaviour.

2

Decadal fluctuations in North Atlantic water inflow in the North Sea between 1958-2003: impacts on temperature and phytoplankton populations

Leterme S.C., Pingree R.D., Skogen M.D., Seuront L., Reid P.C., Attrill M.J.

Oceanologia

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2008

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No. 50 (1)

59-72

EN

The circulation of Atlantic water along the European continental slope, in particular the inflow into the North Sea, influences North Sea water characteristics with consequent changes in the environment affecting plankton community dynamics. The long-term effect of fluctuating oceanographic conditions on the North Sea pelagic ecosystem is assessed. It is shown that (i) there are similar regime shifts in the inflow through the northern North Sea and in Sea Surface Temperature, (ii) long-term phytoplankton trends are influenced by the inflow only in some North Sea regions, and (iii) the spatial variability in chemicophysical and biological parameters highlight the influence of smaller scale processes.

3

Heat and salt fluxes in the West Spitsbergen Current area in summer

Piechura J., Osiński R., Petelski T., Woźniak S. B.

Oceanologia

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2002

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No. 44 (3)

307-321

EN

Fluxes of radiation, sensible and latent heat, and fluxes of heat and salt within the upper layer of the ocean were calculated on the basis of measurements carried out in the area of the Norwegian-Atlantic and West Spitsbergen Currents during summer 2000. The sea surface radiation balance was calculated from direct measurements of downward and upward short-wave (solar) radiation, the net radiation fluxes and sea surface temperature. The daily doses of radiation energy reaching and leaving the sea surface were also estimated. To calculate the vertical heat fluxes in the atmospheric boundary layer the bulk parameterisation method was used. In most cases, the calculated heat fluxes were rather low, the average sensible heat flux was c. 10 W m-2, and the latent heat flux about one order of magnitude higher; this is what could be expected in summer. Salt fluxes to the air in the process of aerosol production are very small and can be neglected. In summer the highest quantities of heat and salt are exchanged during mixing with surrounding waters. According to our measurements, Atlantic Water on its northward course from about 70oN to 79oN loses about 100 TW of heat and 900 × 103 kg of salt. We thought it could be interesting to find out what happens to them. Some preliminary results of our investigation are presented here.