Seasonal cycle of near surface temperature and salinity in temporarily ice covered regions

Wieczorek, G.; Holfort, J.

EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003.

To get an overall understanding of the thermohaline circulation in the Arctic Ocean, the processes and transports related to the freshwater balance play an important part. A large part of the fresh water transport southwards occurs in the form of ice and liquid water within the East Greenland Current. A new type of mooring, in which a long tube prevents damage of the instruments due to ice, was designed and deployed in two locations (about 63° N and 74°N) on the shelf in the East Greenland Current. Some minor technical problems during the first year of deployment were solved by using an improved mooring design. From a two year long record of temperature and salinity mesurements, we will show how the stratification near the surface changes during the course of the year and how it relates to the changing ice distribution.