Episodic warming of near‐bottom waters under the Arctic sea ice on the central Laptev Sea shelf
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.
No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →
K. Aagaard, E. C. Carmack
Robert Max Holmes, James W. McClelland, Bruce J. Peterson et al.
Richard W. Reynolds, Nick A. Rayner, Thomas M. Smith et al.
M.‐L. Timmermans
Ye. I. Polyakova, I. M. Kryukova · 2021
- Published
- Jan 14, 2016
- Vol/Issue
- 43(1)
- Pages
- 264-272
- License
- View
You May Also Like
David B. Enfield, Alberto M. Mestas‐Nuñez · 2001
2,422 citations
B. D. Tapley, S. Bettadpur · 2004
2,402 citations
Richard M. Goldstein, Charles L. Werner · 1998
1,879 citations
Georg A. Grell, Dezső Dévényi · 2002
1,801 citations