Changes in thermohaline system on the west Spitsbergen shelf since 1950 to present time

Abstract

The west Spitsbergen shelf is the principal region for the Atlantic water pass and it is very dynamic area, which has been changing a lot in the last two centuries. Herein, the analysis results of long-term variability of thermohaline characteristics of West-Spitsbergen current (WSC) and Coastal current (CC) are presented for the period from 1950 to present time based on the in-situ oceanographic data from the “Nordic Seas” database created in the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI). Water temperature and salinity of WSC and CC were measured at 10 points and analyzed. It was concluded that the temperature and salinity in the study region were exposed to quasicyclic changes with common periods of about 5-6 and 10 years. Positive trends of water temperature for all points in the both currents were estimated (1.2°C per 60 years for WSC, and 2°C for CC, respectively). Correlation coefficients were calculated to describe the linear relationship between air temperature, atmospheric circulation indexes, the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation index, and water temperature in the region of the western shelf of the Spitsbergen.