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The Outflow of Fresh Water from the Canadian Archipelago: Synoptic Currents, Hydrography, and Long Term Forcing

Investigator:

Andreas Munchow
Jennifer Francis
Rutgers University
Start Date: June 15, 1997
Expire: May 31, 1999 (Estimated)
Expected Total Amt.: $182,417 (Estimated)
Fld Science: Polar Programs, Climate Related Activities

Abstract:

This project will utilize a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker to conduct a series of oceanographic transects from Baffin Bay, through the Canadian archipelago, to the Beaufort Sea where a large, multidisciplinary research program, Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) Ocean, will be conducted. A measurement program of tracer concentrations will be used to track fresh water flow out of the Arctic Ocean through a series of outlets in the Canadian Archipelago. The strength and volume of the outflow will be determined within a framework of physical and atmospheric dynamics that control the circulation. This project will add an important component to the understanding of global change on linkages of the Arctic Ocean to the global ocean through one of the least studied "valves" in the globalplumbing system.

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