NICOP - Identifying sources of fresher water in the Chukchi Sea in a warming Arctic Ocean
Abstract
Identifying sources of fresher water in the Chukchi Sea in a warming Arctic Ocean: In the winter of 2011/2012, an unexpected fresh water signature was detected in Barrow sea ice using oxygen isotope analysis (Smith et al., under review), which was assisted with an ONRG VSP. Mooring data confirmed unusual fresher water entering Barrow canyon in the winter (Smith et al., under review). Rivers in the immediate vicinity of Barrow are frozen during the winter, so the source of that fresher water remains a mystery. The research proposed in this NICOP will explore whether similar fresh water signals appeared in previous winters, or if 2011/2012 was a one-off event, and a harbinger of things to come as the Arctic continues to warm.B. This effort supports the Stratified Ocean Dynamics of the Arctic (SODA) DRI. C. Coordinated with Dr Scott Harper, ONR Code 32 D. The Objectives are:(1) To collate and analyze the archive of 10 years of sea ice isotope data available through ACADIS from NSF-funded research (Eicken et al., 2008 updated 2012); (2) To compare salinity distributions across the years with mooring data (Fukumachi et al., 2011 updated 2014); and (3) To test the sensitivity of the salinity distribution in the Arctic Ocean in response to enhanced fresh water sources in the CESM1-CAM5 to ascertain the source of the fresher water in 2011/2012.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2016
- Source ID
- N629091612152
Entities
People
- Inga J. Smith
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Otago