Oceans

Tracer-derived freshwater composition of the Siberian continental shelf and slope following the extreme Arctic summer of 2007

  1. E. Povl Abrahamsen1,
  2. Michael P. Meredith1,
  3. Kelly Kenison Falkner2,
  4. Sinhue Torres-Valdes3,
  5. Melanie J. Leng4,
  6. Matthew B. Alkire2,
  7. Sheldon Bacon3,
  8. Seymour W. Laxon5,
  9. Igor Polyakov6,
  10. Vladimir Ivanov7

Article first published online: 2 APR 2009

DOI: 10.1029/2009GL037341

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Abrahamsen, E. P., M. P. Meredith, K. K. Falkner, S. Torres-Valdes, M. J. Leng, M. B. Alkire, S. Bacon, S. W. Laxon, I. Polyakov, and V. Ivanov (2009), Tracer-derived freshwater composition of the Siberian continental shelf and slope following the extreme Arctic summer of 2007, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L07602, doi:10.1029/2009GL037341.

Author Information

  1. 1

    British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK

  2. 2

    College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

  3. 3

    National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK

  4. 4

    NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, UK

  5. 5

    Centre for Polar Observations and Modelling, University College London, London, UK

  6. 6

    International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

  7. 7

    Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, UK

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 2 APR 2009
  2. Article first published online: 2 APR 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 5 MAR 2009
  4. Manuscript Revised: 20 FEB 2009
  5. Manuscript Received: 18 JAN 2009

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Keywords:

  • Arctic;
  • stable isotopes;
  • dissolved barium

[1] We investigate the freshwater composition of the shelf and slope of the Arctic Ocean north of the New Siberian Islands using geochemical tracer data (δ18O, Ba, and PO*4) collected following the extreme summer of 2007. We find that the anomalous wind patterns that partly explained the sea ice minimum at this time also led to significant quantities of Pacific-derived surface water in the westernmost part of the Makarov Basin. We also find larger quantities of meteoric water near Lomonosov Ridge than were found in 1995. Dissolved barium is depleted in the upper layers in one region of our study area, probably as a result of biological activity in open waters. Increasingly ice-free conditions compromise the quantitative use of barium as a tracer of river water in the Arctic Ocean.

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