Arctic Ocean Temperatures off the scale

[Steve Hemphill]

Some exciting developments have begun unfolding in the Arctic
Ocean in the last few weeks. As the annual melting of about
2/3 of the sea ice area progresses, the water temperature
below, as observed here:
http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/PSB/EPS/SST/climo.html
is surfacing at temperatures greater than 5 deg C above
normal. (This is an experimental site, according to the
disclaimer they don't consider it operational and "do not
guarantee the availability of service or timely delivery of
data", but it's generally up.)

Of special interest is the northern Baffin Bay, for which a
sequence of the last six weeks is extracted here:
http://www.ihighway.com/~shemphill/watertemp.gif

An animation (~1 Meg) is available here:
http://manati.wwb.noaa.gov/orad/sub/sstlink.html

If this water is emerging from the north and west and is still
greater than 5 deg C above normal after traveling below the
sea ice, it could mean a highly increased rate of melt of the
Arctic sea ice this summer and fall. What this means for the
Thermohaline Circulation would, according to present theory,
be a decrease in NADW formation, although the potential for a
Younger Dryas type event is extremely unlikely because the
Arctic outflow is only reduced in salinity, rather than from a
massive freshwater source.

Also of interest is the Norton Sound Region of the Bering sea,
Western Alaska, where the water temperature is presently over
18 deg C, or 65 deg F:
http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/PSB/EPS/SST/data/FS_km14f1100.gif

--
Steve H

Climate Change:
http://www.ihighway.com/~shemphill/nino.html

Headed for Holocene Max:
http://www.gcrio.org/CONSEQUENCES/winter96/geoclimate.html

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[James G. Acker]

Steve Hemphill (shem...@ihighway.com) wrote:

: Some exciting developments have begun unfolding in the Arctic

I will note that this area was also the site of a large and
persistent coccolithophore bloom last year and apparently again this
year (though since the previous bloom lasted through September we don't
know how long-lived this one is, yet). Satellite imagery shows this
area in amazing detail. Try out this link:

http://rho.pmel.noaa.gov/vance/seawifs/BERING.HTML

Don't forget to read the press release about the 1997 event, which
significantly impacted fish stocks and bird populations in the area.
Another article of interest is in Eos, Vol. 79, #16, "Imminent Climate
and Circulation Shift in the Northeast Pacific Ocean Could Have
Major Impact on Marine Resources," by W. James Ingraham, Jr., Curtis
C. Ebbesmeyer, and Richard A. Hinrichsen, NOAA National Marine
Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA.

Jim Acker

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[Alastair McDonald]

Steve Hemphill wrote in message <35C4B25E...@ihighway.com>...

>If this water is emerging from the north and west and is still
>greater than 5 deg C above normal after traveling below the
>sea ice, it could mean a highly increased rate of melt of the
>Arctic sea ice this summer and fall. What this means for the
>Thermohaline Circulation would, according to present theory,
>be a decrease in NADW formation, although the potential for a
>Younger Dryas type event is extremely unlikely because the
>Arctic outflow is only reduced in salinity, rather than from a
>massive freshwater source.
>

Judging by the weather in the UK this summer (cold and wet) the NADW has
already stopped forming :-(

Alastair McDonald.

[Brian Sandle]

Alastair McDonald <mcdo...@dial.pipex.com> wrote:

: Steve Hemphill wrote in message <35C4B25E...@ihighway.com>...

Water at 5 degrees warmer must be producing more water vapour.