Frontal Zones in the Norwegian, Greenland, Barents and Bering Seas

Abstract

The Arctic Ocean and Subarctic seas are important components of the global climate system and are the most sensitive regions to climate change. Physical processes occurring in these regions influence regional and global circulation, heat and mass transfer through water exchange with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. One of the overall objectives of Arctic and Subarctic oceanographic research is to gain a better understanding of the mesoscale physical and biological processes in the seas. This review is based on the book “Physical Oceanography of Frontal Zones in the Subarctic Seas” by A.G. Kostianoy, J.C.J. Nihoul and V.B. Rodionov published in Elsevier in October 2004. The book presents the systematization and description of accumulated knowledge on oceanic fronts in the Norwegian, Greenland, Barents, and Bering seas. The work was based on numerous observ­ ational data, collected by the authors during special sea experiments directed to the investigation of physical processes and phenomena in areas of the North Polar Frontal Zone (NPFZ) and in the northern part of the Bering Sea, on archive data of the USSR Hydrometeocenter and other research institutions, as well as on a wide Russian and Western literature. The book contains general information on the oceanic fronts in the Subarctic seas, brief history of their investigation, state of the current knowledge, as well as detailed description of the thermohaline structure of all frontal zones in the Norwegian, Greenland, Barents, and Bering seas and of neighboring fronts of Arctic and coastal origins.