Physical Oceanography of the Frontal Zones in Sub-Arctic Seas (eBook)

Cover 1
Contents 10
Preface 6
Chapter 1. Terminology, definitions, basic characteristics and methods of investigation 12
1.1. Definition of frontal zones and fronts 12
1.2. Basic characteristics of frontal zones and fronts 14
1.3. Modern methods of investigation of frontal zones 23
Chapter 2. Brief history of exploration and oceanographic investigations in the Subarctic Seas 30
2.1. Historical overview of exploration of the Norwegian, Greenland, and Barents Seas 30
2.2. Exploration of the Northeast Passage, the Far East, and the Bering Sea 41
2.3. State of the art in the research of oceanic fronts in the Subarctic Seas 48
Chapter 3. Frontal zones in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas 60
3.1. General physical and geographical characteristics of the seas 60
3.2. Systematization of frontal zones 67
3.3. Norwegian Current Frontal Zone 84
3.4. Coastal Frontal Zone of the Norwegian Sea 89
3.5. Iceland-Faeroe Frontal Zone 93
3.6. East Greenland Frontal Zone 95
3.7. Iceland Coastal Frontal Zone 99
3.8. Jan Mayen Frontal Zone 100
3.9. Mohn Ridge Frontal Zone and Northern Greenland Sea Frontal Zone 102
3.10. West Spitsbergen Frontal Zone 107
Chapter 4. Frontal zones in the Barents and White Seas 110
4.1. General physical and geographical characteristics of the Barents Sea 110
4.2. General physical and geographical characteristics of the White Sea 115
4.3. Systematization of frontal zones 118
4.4. Bear Island Frontal Zone 123
4.5. Western Trough Frontal Zone 129
4.6. Central Rise Frontal Zone 130
4.7. Marginal Ice (Arctic) Frontal Zone 133
4.8. Central Trough Frontal Zone 136
4.9. Eastern Barents Sea Frontal Zones 138
4.10. Coastal Frontal Zones of the Barents Sea 138
4.11. North Cape Frontal Zone 142
4.12. The frontal zones of the White Sea 143
Chapter 5. Frontal zones in the Bering Sea 146
5.1. General physical and geographical characteristics of the Bering Sea 146
5.2. Systematization of frontal zones 154
5.3. Introduction to three-dimensional general circulation modeling of the northern Bering Sea 164
5.4. The GHER direct model 166
5.5. Mathematical visualization of the northern Bering Sea's general circulation ecohydrodynamics in typical summer conditions 167
5.6. The GHER inverse model 195
5.7. Reconstruction of the northern Bering Sea's general circulation ecohydrodynamics from observations 196
5.8. Natural variability of the northern Bering Sea's general circulation ecohydrodynamics 197
Chapter 6. Structure of hydrophysical fields inside frontal zones 202
6.1. Multifrontal structure of frontal zones 202
6.2. General types of internal structures of frontal zones 208
6.3. Thermohaline structure of frontal zones 222
6.4. Vertical fine structure in the North Polar Frontal Zone 227
Chapter 7. Mesoscale processes responsible for the internal structure of frontal zones 238
7.1. Mesoscale structures in frontal zones 238
7.2. Sources of formation of mesoscale structures in frontal zones 243
7.3. Cross-frontal "vortical" heat and salt exchange 245
7.4. On the nature of the internal structures of frontal zones 247
7.5. Investigation of the mesoscale structures in the Barents Sea 255
7.6. Lens-like eddies in the Arctic Ocean 267
7.7. Vortical dipoles 277
7.8. Mesoscale structures as a factor for secondary frontogenesis 283
Conclusions 286
References 296
Key to abbreviations 326