Heat Transport Through the Eastern Fram Strait from Satellite Altimetry and in situ Hydrograpy

In the eastern Fram Strait, the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) flows northward along Svalbard and into the Arctic Ocean. The current is topographically guided and earlier studies have shown that the WSC is mainly barotropic. In this study we combine satellite altimetry from AVISO with hydrographic data. The surface velocity is calculated from satellite altimetry (1994 - today). CTD-data from around Svalbard has been collected in a database and forms the basis for a climatology describing the density structure and extent of the Atlantic Water as it varies though the year. Absolute velocities are calculated from the altimeter derived surface velocities and the baroclinic contribution calculated from the horizontal density differences. With estimates of the strength, extent, and temperatures in the WSC, annual, inter-annual and decadal variations in volume and energy transport into the Arctic Ocean are investigated.