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Changes in the hydrography of the Arctic Ocean have recently been reported. The upper ocean has been freshening and pulses of warm AtlanticWater have been observed to spread into the Arctic Ocean. Although these changes have been intensively studied, salinity and temperature variations have less frequently been considered together. Here hydrographic observations, obtained by icebreaker expeditions conducted between 1991 and 2011, are analyzed and discussed. Five different water masses in the upper 1000m of the water column are examined in five sub-basins of the Arctic Ocean. This allows for studying the variations of the distributions of the freshwater and heat contents in the Arctic Ocean not only in time but also laterally and vertically. In addition, the seasonal ice melt contribution is separated from the permanent, winter, freshwater content of the Polar Mixed Layer. Because the positions of the icebreaker stations vary between the years, the icebreaker observations are at each specific point in space and time compared with the Polar Science Center Hydrographic Climatology to separate the effects of space and time variability on the observations. The hydrographic melt water estimate is discussed and compared with the potential ice melt induced by atmospheric heat input estimated from the ERA-Interim and NCEP/NCAR reanalyses. After a period of increased salinity in the upper ocean during the 1990s, both the Polar Mixed Layer and the upper halocline have been freshening. The increase in freshwater content in the Polar Mixed Layer is primarily driven by a decrease in salinity, not by changes in Polar Mixed Layer depth, whereas the freshwater is accumulating in the upper halocline mainly through the increasing thickness of the halocline. This is especially evident in the Northern Canada Basin, where the most substantial freshening is observed. The warming, and to some extent also the increase in salinity, of the Atlantic Water during the early 1990s extended from the Nansen Basin into the Amundsen and Makarov basins, while the warm and saline inflows occurring during the 2000s appear to be confined to the Nansen Basin, suggesting that the warm and saline inflow through Fram Strait largely recirculates in the Nansen Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circulation and water mass properties in the Eurasian Basin are discussed based on a review of previous research and an examination of observations made in recent years within, or parallel to, DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). The discussion is strongly biased towards observations made from icebreakers and particularly from the cruise with R/V Polarstern 2007 during the International Polar Year (IPY). Focus is on the Barents Sea inflow branch and its mixing with the Fram Strait inflow branch. It is proposed that the Barents Sea branch contributes not just intermediate water but also most of the water to the At lantic layer in the Amundsen Basin and also in the Makarov and Canada basins. Only occasionally would high temperature pulses originating from the Fram Strait branch penetrate along the Laptev Sea slope across the Gakkel Ridge into the Amundsen Basin. Interactions between the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait branches lead to formation of intrusive layers, in the Atlantic layer and in the intermediate waters. The intrusion characteristics found downstream, north of the Laptev Sea are similar to those observed in the northern Nansen Basin and over the Gakkel Ridge, suggesting a flow from the Laptev Sea towards Fram Strait. The formation mechanisms for the intrusions at the continental slope, or in the interior of the basins if they are reformed there, have not been identified. The temperature of the deep water of the Eurasian Basin has increased in the last 10 yr rather more than expected from geothermal heating. That geothermal heating does influence the deep water column was obvious from 2007 Polarstern observations made close to a hydrothermal vent in the Gakkel Ridge, where the temperature minimum usually found above the 600-800m thick homogenous bottom layer was absent. However, heat entrained from the Atlantic water into descending, saline boundary plumes may also contribute to the warming of the deeper layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circulation and water mass properties in the Eurasian Basin are discussed based on a review of previous research and an examination of observations made in recent years within, or parallel to, DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). The discussion is strongly biased towards observations made from icebreakers and particularly from the cruise with R/V Polarstern 2007 during the International Polar Year (IPY). Focus is on the Barents Sea inflow branch and its mixing with the Fram Strait inflow branch. It is proposed that the Barents Sea branch contributes not just intermediate water but also most of the Atlantic layer that is found in the Amundsen Basin and also in the Makarov and Canada basins. Only occasionally would high temperature pulses originating from the Fram Strait branch penetrate along the Laptev Sea slope across the Gakkel Ridge into the Amundsen Basin. Interactions between the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait branches lead to formation of intrusive layers, in the Atlantic layer and in the intermediate waters. The intrusion characteristics found downstream north of the Laptev Sea are similar to those observed in the Northern Nansen Basin and over the Gakkel Ridge, implying a flow from the Laptev Sea towards Fram Strait. The formation mechanisms for the intrusions at the continental slope, or in the interior of the basins if they are reformed there, have not been identified. The temperature of the deep water of the Eurasian Basin has increased in the last 10 yr rather more than expected from geothermal heating. That geothermal heating does influence the deep water column was obvious from 2007 Polarstern observations made close to a hydrothermal vent in the Gakkel Ridge, where the temperature minimum usually found above the 600- 800m thick homogenous bottom layer was absent. However, heat entrained from the Atlantic water into descending boundary plumes may also contribute to the warming of the deeper layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic Ocean gains freshwater mainly through river discharge, precipitation and the inflowing low salinity waters from the Pacific Ocean. In addition the recent reduction in sea ice volume is likely to influence the surface salinity and thus contribute to he freshwater content in the upper ocean. The present day freshwater storage in the Arctic Ocean appears to be sufficient to maintain the upper ocean stratification and to protect the sea ice from the deep ocean heat content. The recent freshening has not, despite the established strong stratification, been able to restrain the accelerating ice loss and other possible heat sources besides the Atlantic Water, such as the waters advecting from the Pacific Ocean and the solar insolation warming the Polar Mixed Layer, are investigated. Since the ongoing freshening, oceanic heat sources and the sea ice melt are closely related, this study, based on hydrographic observations, attempts to examine the ongoing variability in time and space in relation to these three properties. The largest time and space variability of freshwater content occurs in the Polar Mixed Layer and the upper halocline. The freshening of the upper ocean during the 2000s is ubiquitous in the Arctic Ocean although the most substantial increase occurs in the Canada Basin where the freshwater is accumulating in the thickening upper halocline. Whereas the salinity of the upper halocline is nearly constant, the freshwater content in the Polar Mixed Layer is increasing due to decreasing salinity. The decrease in salinity is likely to result from the recent changes in ice formation and melting. In contrast, in the Eurasian Basin where the seasonal ice melt has remained rather modest, the freshening of both the Polar Mixed Layer and the upper halocline is mainly of advective origin. While the warming of the Atlantic inflow was widespread in the Arctic Ocean during the 1990s, the warm and saline inflow events in the early 2000s appear to circulate mainly in the Nansen Basin. Nevertheless, even in the Nansen Basin the seasonal ice melt appears independent of the continuously increasing heat content in the Atlantic layer. As no other oceanic heat sources can be identified in the upper layers, it is likely that increased absorption of solar energy has been causing the ice melt prior to the observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]