Dynamics of hydrometeorological conditions in the North Atlantic and West Arctic in the age of global climate changes

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to characterize the features of changes in environmental conditions in various regions of the North Atlantic and West Arctic over the past 40 years.The material for the study was oceanographic data obtained during surveys in the Barents Sea by the Polar branch of VNIRO. In addition, other available information on hydrometeorological conditions of the North Atlantic and West Arctic in 1981–2022 was used.Methods of descriptive statistics as well as comparative, correlation and spectral analyses were applied.Results: In the paper, changes in annual mean air and sea surface temperatures, ice extent, heat content of water masses, and storm activity in the Barents, Norwegian, Irminger, Kara seas, the Rockall Bank, and the Northwest Atlantic are analyzed over the last 40-year period. It is shown that there have been an increasing trend in air and water temperatures and a decreasing trend in ice extent in the North Atlantic and West Arctic since the early 1980s, against the background of increasing storm activity. The trends have been most clearly seen since the beginning of the 21st century. At the same time, variability in air and water temperatures as well as in ice extent and storm activity has a cyclical character. It is noted that there have been a cooling tendency in air and water temperatures and an increasing one in ice extent in the Barents and Norwegian seas since 2016.Practical significance: The obtained results are useful for better understanding the climatic processes occurring in the North Atlantic and West Arctic over the past 40 years and can be used to assess the influence of climate changes on the main objects of Russian fisheries in these regions.