Freshwater fluxes through the Western Fram Strait

Meredith, Michael, Heywood, Karen J., Dennis, Paul, Goldson, Laura, White, Rowan, Fahrbach, Eberhard, Schauer, Ursula and Østerhus, Svein (2001) Freshwater fluxes through the Western Fram Strait. Geophysical Research Letters, 28 (8). p. 1615. ISSN 0094-8276

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

Two hydrographic and d18O transects across Fram Strait (Aug-Sept 1997, 1998) are used to examine freshwater contributions to the East Greenland Current (EGC). The EGC featured up to ?~ 16% meteoric water in both years, but was made comparatively more saline through the formation of up to ?~11 m of sea ice. We derive meteoric water fluxes of ?~3680 km3yr-1 in Aug-Sept 1997, and ?~2000 km3yr-1 in Aug-Sept 1998. The 1997 and 1998 data show a long-term me~m sea ice flux through Fram Strait around half the long-term mean meteoric water flux. A 1991 d18O section [Bauch et al., 1995] yielded a very similar ratio. Our 1998 section reveals fresh, 1ow-6180 water on the East Greenland shelf whose comparatively large volume constitutes a potentially significant contribution to the total freshwater flux through Fram Strait. Such fluxes are important to the regional and global thermohaline circulation; we suggest that efforts towards monitoring both the EGC and East Greenland shelf waters are thus required.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017) Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Meteorology, Oceanography and Climate Dynamics (former - to 2017) Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climate, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017) Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Geosciences
Depositing User:	Rosie Cullington
Date Deposited:	26 May 2011 13:01
Last Modified:	30 Jan 2025 04:33
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/31472
DOI:

Actions (login required)

View Item