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The Arctic Ocean: Physical Processes and their Effects on Climate and the Ecosystem
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The Arctic/Sub-Arctic Freshwater Cycle's Impact on North Atlantic Ocean Circulation (Invited)
Wednesday 9th @ 0930-0950, Conference Room 5
Thomas Haine* , Johns Hopkins University
Jan-Erik Tesdal, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Martha Buckley, George Mason University
An Nguyen, University of Texas at Austin
Presenter Email: thomas.haine@jhu.edu |
| Freshwater changes in the Arctic and subpolar North Atlantic have strong implications for climate, including their influence on deep water formation in the North Atlantic and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). There have been significant changes in the freshwater content of both the Arctic and the subpolar North Atlantic in the last 25 years. The Arctic has freshened and the subpolar North Atlantic has undergone a period of salinification, followed by a period of freshening. Furthermore, climate change is expected to significantly increase the liquid freshwater content of both the Arctic and subpolar North Atlantic, as the result of both an intensification of the water cycle and the loss of ice and glacial melting.
Major research challenges are to (1) determine the mechanisms for freshwater changes in the Arctic and subpolar North Atlantic over the last 25 years and (2) understand how these freshwater systems will evolve due to anthropogenic forcing in the next 25+ years. This talk will review the state of knowledge on these issues and discuss future prospects. |
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