HE43A:
The Changing Thermohaline Structure of the Arctic Ocean: Mechanisms and Impacts I
HE43A:
The Changing Thermohaline Structure of the Arctic Ocean: Mechanisms and Impacts I
The Changing Thermohaline Structure of the Arctic Ocean: Mechanisms and Impacts I
Session ID#: 92381
Session Description:
The thermohaline structure of the Arctic Ocean greatly impacts local and global elements of the Earth system. Observations indicate rapid changes in the Arctic heat and freshwater distributions over the past few decades, with increased heat transport from the Atlantic (“Atlantification”), increased freshwater content in the Beaufort Gyre, and reduced stratification. However, the driving mechanisms of these changes and their potential impacts are poorly understood. This session invites contributions that address the controls on the changing Arctic thermohaline structure and stratification, including multi-scale oceanic processes (e.g., general circulations, stirring and mixing, subducting eddies, enhanced small-scale upper ocean variability), surface and lateral fluxes (e.g., surface heat and freshwater fluxes, marginal inflows, transport through major straits), and atmosphere-sea ice-ocean interactions and feedbacks (e.g., climate patterns, increased open water areas, ice-albedo cycle, winds and waves). It also invites contributions that address the potential impacts of these changes on sea ice, acoustic propagation, deep water formation, and biological systems. It aims to bring together perspectives from in situ observations, remote sensing, theory, and numerical models to understand past changes, their impacts, and the implications for predictability.
Co-Sponsor(s):
- AI - Air-Sea Interactions
- OM - Ocean Modeling
- PI - Physical-Biological Interactions
- PL - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Larger
- PL - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Larger
- PS - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller
Index Terms:
4207 Arctic and Antarctic oceanography [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4520 Eddies and mesoscale processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
4568 Turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
Primary Chair: Jiaxu Zhang, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
Co-chairs: James M Thomson, Applied Physics Lab (UW), Seattle, United States, Matthew A. Dzieciuch, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States and Verma Tarun, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States
Primary Liaison: Jiaxu Zhang, University of Washington, CICOES, Seattle, United States
Moderators: Jiaxu Zhang, University of Washington, CICOES, Seattle, United States, James M Thomson, Applied Physics Lab (UW), Seattle, United States, Matthew A. Dzieciuch, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States and Verma Tarun, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States
Student Paper Review Liaisons: Jiaxu Zhang, University of Washington, CICOES, Seattle, United States and James M Thomson, Applied Physics Lab (UW), Seattle, United States
Abstracts Submitted to this Session:
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