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Glen G. Gawarkiewicz
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Start Date: September 15, 1991
Expire: February 28, 1994 (Estimated)
Expected Total Amt.: $333,718 (Estimated)
Fld Science: Polar Programs
Abstract:
This proposal is part of a systematic study of the Arctic environment and its role in global change which is promoted by NSF's Arctic System Science Program. It is a three year project to understand the dynamics of the thermohaline circulation associated with surface salinity fluxes by applying a numerical model in a sequence of process-oriented studies. Surface cooling and brine rejection during ice formation lead to large surface salinity fluxes in many areas of the Arctic Ocean, particularly over the continental shelves. This negative buoyancy input increases the water density to such an extent that it may sink to the bottom and induce thermohaline circulation patterns with may generate dense-water bottom currents in the form of plumes. Such dense-water plumes may transport shelf water across the shelf and deposit it into the deep Arctic basins, thus contributing to the large-scale Arctic circulation.