Conditions of the formation and runoff of shelf waters in different water areas of the Arctic and Antarctic

Abstract

The comparative analysis of hydrometeorological and topographic conditions of the formation and runoff of dense shelf waters on the shelves and continental slopes in different water areas of the Arctic and Antarctic demonstrates that they are similar in many aspects but there are some differences as well. In the Antarctic, these conditions are more favorable. The thermohaline conditions of the formation and runoff of shelf waters in the Arctic and Antarctic are also similar. The similarity of different conditions enables to construct the adaptive physical model of the shelf and slope cascading of shelf waters generalized for different polar water areas. It is based on the analysis of historical and present-day in situ data in the areas of margins of shelves and slopes in the Arctic and Antarctic, observations in the areas of flaw polynyas, and passing ice and meteorological observations, as well as on taking account of some general results of laboratory and theoretical investigations of the dense liquid runoff along the inclined bottom.