Simulation of near-bottom water warming in the Laptev Sea

Abstract

A coupled ice-ocean model forced by atmospheric reanalysis data is used to examine a change in the bottom layer of the Laptev Sea on a scale of several decades. The model shows that since the mid-1980s there has been a warming of bottom waters in the shelf region. Analyzing values of bottom temperature averaged over a decade, we show that since 2005 the intensity of warming of the bottom layer has increased. The main reason for this is disappearance of ice cover in summer accompanied by an influx of heat into the surface layer of the sea. Also, an essential factor is the dynamic state of the atmosphere. The intensification of surface currents due to wind action promotes mixing of waters and heat transfer to the bottom layer of the sea. The heat anomalies entering the near-bottom layer of the sea during the autumn cooling could exist during the winter period.