Arctic long-term Observation

Overview

Schematic of ocean circulation between the Arctic and neighbouring oceans: warm water paths (red), cold/fresh polar water paths (blue), regions of AWI focus in orange and green. (Graphic: Alfred-Wegener-Institut)

The Arctic is an environment where global climate change is strongly manifested. The Arctic Amplification, represented by the atmospheric warming trend in the Arctic being about three times that of the global average, is also manifested in sea-ice and the ocean. We are establishing a strong baseline of important ocean quantities in a historically poorly observed region of the world. Additionally, we monitor and study the variability of the Arctic Ocean freshwater content and of the northward transport of warm and salty water from the Atlantic into the Arctic. For this we use a variety of autonomous systems in addition to icebreaker-based surveys. Our focus areas are the boundary current from the Fram Strait to the Siberian Arctic and the upper Arctic basin. There is a strong link between the variability of physical parameters in the ocean that we observe and changes in biogeochemistry and the ecosystem.

Team

Dr. Mario Hoppmann, Scientist
Dr. Markus Janout, Scientist
Prof. Dr. Torsten Kanzow, Scientist
Dr. Benjamin Rabe, Scientist
Dr. Wilken-Jon von Appen, Scientist

Polarsternexpedition ANT-XXVII/2
Polarstern Expedition ANT-XXVII/2

Atlantic Water is the main oceanic source of heat, salt, and nutrients of the Arctic Ocean. It enters the Arctic Ocean through the Barents Sea or Fram Strait. In the eastern Fram Strait, Atlantic Water flows northward in the West Spitsbergen Current…

arctic_schematic_circulation_verticalstructure_onlyverticalstructure.jpg

The central Arctic is an important component of the global climate system, not only by atmospheric

In addition to surveys with icebreaker support (profiles of temperature and salinity with devices from the ship and from nearby ice floes)

Data

You can download data from the AWI Physical Oceanography LTO at

PANGAEA,

MEEREISPORTAL,

WHOI Ice Tethered Profiler (ITP)

ARCGATE (AWI Project): Tsubouchi, Takamasa; Bacon, Sheldon; Naveira Garabato, Alberto C; Aksenov, Yevgeny; Schauer, Ursula; Beszczynska-Möller, Agnieszka; Hansen, Edmond H; de Steur, Laura; Lee, Craig; Curry, Beth; Ingvaldsen, Randi (2017): Pan-Arctic Oceanic volume, heat and freshwater transport time series during 2005 to 2006, link to model results in NetCDF Format. PANGAEA,

WAGHC: WOCE/Argo Global Hydrographic Climatology

UDASH: Unified Database for Arctic and Subarctic Hydrography

Publications

Behrendt, A., Sumata, H., Rabe, B., and Schauer, U.: UDASH – Unified Database for Arctic and Subarctic Hydrography, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1119-1138, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1119-2018, 2018.

Sumata, H., Kauker, F., Karcher, M., Rabe, B., Timmermans, M.-L., Behrendt, A., Gerdes, R., Schauer, U., Shimada, K., Cho, K.-H., and Kikuchi, T.: Decorrelation scales for Arctic Ocean Hydrography. Part I: Amerasian Basin, Ocean Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2017-70, in review, 2017.

Wang, Q. , Ilicak, M. , Gerdes, R. , Drange, H. , Aksenov, Y. , Bailey, D. , Bentsen, M. , Biastoch, A. , Bozec, A. , Böning, C. , Cassou, C. , Chassignet, E. , Coward, A. , Curry, B. , Danabasoglu, G. , Danilov, S. , Fernandez, E. , Fogli, P. , Fujii, Y. , Griffies, S. M. , Iovino, D. , Jahn, A. , Jung, T. , Large, W. G. , Lee, C. , Lique, C. , Lu, J. , Masina, S. , Nurser, G. , Rabe, B. , Roth, C. , Salas y Mélia, D. , Samuels, B. L. , Spence, P. , Tsujino, H. , Valcke, S. , Voldoire, A. , Wang, X. and Yeager, S. (2016) An assessment of the Arctic Ocean in a suite of interannual CORE-II simulations. Part II: Liquid freshwater , Ocean Modelling, 99 , pp. 86-109 . doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2015.12.009 , hdl:10013/epic.46927 [img] [img]

Wang, Q. , Ilicak, M. , Gerdes, R. , Drange, H. , Aksenov, Y. , Bailey, D. , Bentsen, M. , Biastoch, A. , Bozec, A. , Böning, C. , Cassou, C. , Chassignet, E. , Coward, A. , Curry, B. , Danabasoglu, G. , Danilov, S. , Fernandez, E. , Fogli, P. , Fujii, Y. , Griffies, S. M. , Iovino, D. , Jahn, A. , Jung, T. , Large, W. G. , Lee, C. , Lique, C. , Lu, J. , Masina, S. , Nurser, G. , Rabe, B. , Roth, C. , Salas y Mélia, D. , Samuels, B. L. , Spence, P. , Tsujino, H. , Valcke, S. , Voldoire, A. , Wang, X. and Yeager, S. (2016)An assessment of the Arctic Ocean in a suite of interannual CORE-II simulations. Part I: Sea ice and solid freshwater ,Ocean Modelling, 99 , pp. 110-132 .doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2015.12.008 , hdl:10013/epic.46926

Rudels, B. , Korhonen, M. , Schauer, U. , Pisarev, S. , Rabe, B. and Wisotzki, A. (2015)Circulation and transformation of Atlantic water in the Eurasian Basin and the contribution of the Fram Strait inflow branch to the Arctic Ocean heat budget ,Progress in Oceanography, 132 , pp. 128-152 .doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2014.04.003 , hdl:10013/epic.49091

Timmermans, M. L. , Ashik, I. , Frolov, I. , Ha, H. K. , Ingvaldsen, R. , Kikuchi, T. , Kim, T. W. , Krishfield, R. , Loeng, H. , Nishino, S. , Pickart, R. , Polyakov, I. , Rabe, B. , Schauer, U. , Schlosser, P. , Smethie, W. M. , Sokolov, V. , Steele, M. , Toole, J. , Williams, W. , Woodgate, R. and Zimmerman, S. (2014)[the Arctic] Ocean temperature and salinity [in: State of the Climate in 2013] ,

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 95 (7), S128-S132 .doi:10.1175/2014BAMSStateoftheClimate.1 , hdl:10013/epic.51261

Rabe, B. , Karcher, M. , Kauker, F. , Schauer, U. , Toole, J. M. , Krishfield, R. A. , Pisarev, S. , Kikuchi, T. and Su, J. (2014)Arctic Ocean basin liquid freshwater storage trend 1992 - 2012 ,Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (3), pp. 961-968 .doi:10.1002/2013GL058121 , hdl:10013/epic.43205

Rudels, B. , Schauer, U. , Björk, G. , Korhonen, M. , Pisarev, S. , Rabe, B. and Wisotzki, A. (2013)Observations of water masses and circulation in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean from the 1990s to the late 2000s ,OS Special Issue: Ice-Atmosphere-Ocean interactions in the Arctic Ocean during IPY: the Damocles project, 9 (1), pp. 147-169 .doi:10.5194/os-9-147-2013 , hdl:10013/epic.41115

Rabe, B. , Dodd, P. , Hansen, E. , Falck, E. , Schauer, U. , Mackensen, A. , Beszczynska-Möller, A. , Kattner, G. , Rohling, E. and Cox, K. (2013)Liquid export of Arctic freshwater components through the Fram Strait 1998 – 2011 ,Ocean Science, 9 , pp. 91-109 .doi:10.5194/os-9-91-2013 , hdl:10013/epic.40000

Timmermans, M. L. , Ashik, I. , Cao, Y. , Frolov, I. , Ingvaldsen, R. , Kikuchi, T. , Krishfield, R. , Loeng, H. , Nishino, S. , Pickart, R. , Rabe, B. , Semiletov, I. , Schauer, U. , Schlosser, P. , Shakhova, N. , Smethie, W. M. , Sokolov, V. , Steele, M. , Su, J. , Toole, J. , Williams, W. , Woodgate, R. , Zhao, J. , Zhong, W. and Zimmerman, S. (2013)[the Arctic] Ocean temperature and salinity [in: State of the Climate in 2012]

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94 (8), S128-S130.doi:10.1175/2013BAMSStateoftheClimate.1 , hdl:10013/epic.51263

Dodd, P. , Rabe, B. , Hansen, E. , Falck, E. , Mackensen, A. , Rohling, E. , Stedmon, C. and Kristiansen, S. (2012)The freshwater composition of the Fram Strait outflow derived from a decade of tracer measurements ,Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 117 (C11), C11005 .doi:10.1029/2012JC008011 , hdl:10013/epic.4026160.

Roeske, T. , Bauch, D. , Rutgers v. d. Loeff, M. and Rabe, B. (2012)Utility of dissolved Barium in distinguishing North American from Eurasian runoff in the Arctic Ocean ,Marine Chemistry., 132 , pp. 1-14 .doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2012.01.007 , hdl:10013/epic.39147

Rabe, B. , Karcher, M. , Schauer, U. , Toole, J. M. , Krischfield, R. A. , Pisarev, S. , Kauker, F. , Gerdes, R. and Kikuchi, T. (2011)An assessment of Arctic Ocean freshwater content changes from the 1990s to the 2006-2008 period ,Deep-Sea Research I, 58185, 173 .doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2010.12.002 , hdl:10013/epic.36728

Rabe, B. , Schauer, U. , Mackensen, A. , Karcher, M. , Hansen, E. and Beszczynska-Möller, A. (2009)Freshwater components and transports in the Fram Strait: - recent observations and changes since the late 1990s ,Ocean Sci., 5 , pp. 219-233 .hdl:10013/epic.32890

Wekerle, C., Q. Wang, W.-J. von Appen, S. Danilov, V. Schourup-Kristensen, and T. Jung, 2017: Eddy-resolving simulation of the Atlantic Water circulation in Fram Strait with focus on the seasonal cycle, Journal of Geophysical Research, 122, 8385– 8405; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JC012974

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JC012974
Schaffer, J., W.-J. von Appen, P. Dodd, C. Hofstede, C. Mayer, L. de Steur, and T. Kanzow, 2017: Warm water pathways towards Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier, Northeast Greenland, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122, 1–17; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012462

Håvik, L., R. S. Pickart, K. Våge, D. Torres, A. M. Thurnherr, A. Beszczynska-Möller, W. Walczowski, and W.-J. von Appen, 2016: Evolution of the East Greenland Current from Fram Strait to Denmark Strait: Synoptic measurements from summer 2012, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122, 1–21; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012228

Laukert, G., M. Frank, D. Bauch, E. Hathorne, B. Rabe, W.-J. von Appen, C. Wegner, M. Zieringer, and H. Kassens, 2017: Ocean circulation and freshwater pathways in the Arctic Mediterranean based on a combined Nd isotope, REE and oxygen isotope section across Fram Strait, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 202, 285– 309; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2016.12.028

Wekerle, C., Q. Wang, S. Danilov, V. Schourup-Kristensen, W.-J. von Appen, and T. Jung, 2016: Atlantic Water in the Nordic Seas: locally eddy-permitting ocean simulation in a global setup, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122, 1–27; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012121

Hattermann, T., P. E. Isachsen, W.-J. von Appen, J. Albretsen, and A. Sundfjord, 2016: Eddy-driven recirculation of Atlantic Water in Fram Strait, Geophysical Research Letters, 43, 1–9; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068323

von Appen, W.-J., U. Schauer, T. Hattermann, and A. Beszczynska-Möller, 2016: Seasonal cycle of mesoscale instability of the West Spitsbergen Current. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 46 (4), 1231–1254; http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-15-0184.1

Stöven, T., T. Tanhua, M. Hoppema, and W.-J. von Appen, 2016: Transient tracer distributions in the Fram Strait in 2012 and inferred anthropogenic carbon content and transport, Ocean Science, 12, 319–333; http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/os-12-319-2016

Metfies, K., W.-J. von Appen, E. Kilias, A. Nicolaus, and E.-M. Nöthig, 2016: Biogeography and Photosynthetic Biomass of Arctic Marine Pico-Eukaroytes during Summer of the Record Sea Ice Minimum 2012, PLOS ONE, 11 (2), 1–20; http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148512 WoS: 8, GS: 11

von Appen, W.-J., U. Schauer, R. Somavilla Cabrillo, E. Bauerfeind, and A. Beszczynska-Möller, 2015: Exchange of warming deep waters across Fram Strait, Deep-Sea Research I, 103, 86–100; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2015.06.003

Beszczynska-Möller, Agnieszka and Fahrbach, Eberhard and Schauer, Ursula and Hansen, Edmond, 2012: Variability in Atlantic water temperature and transport at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean, 1997-2010, ICES Journal of Marine Science 69 (5), 852-863; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss056

Akimova, Anna and Schauer, Ursula and Danilov, Sergey and Núñez-Riboni, Ismael, 2011: The role of the deep mixing in the Storfjorden shelf water plume, Deep-Sea Research I, 58 (4), 403-414; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2011.02.001