Arctic Currents Danni Walser, Emily Bakker, Emma Heron, Haley Wilcox, Lauren Levesque

Types of Arctic Currents Warm Water Currents North Atlantic Irminger Norwegian / North Cape Cold Water Currents Labrador Beaufort Gyre Transpolar Drift East Greenland http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/arctic/circulation.html

Surface and Deep Currents Lower layer ocean currents Cold temperature High salt concentration Density Surface currents Circulate ice caps Generated by winds Circulation http://www.surf-forecast.com/photos/294 http://www.aquatic.uoguelph.ca/oceans/ArticOceanWeb/Currents/maincur.htm

Salinity Plays A Roll Concentration Halocline layer Two layered system http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/ Concentration Two layered system Caused by release of sea salt Halocline layer Slow moving, non-freezing Less nutrients Concentration plays a roll in the formation of a two layered system that is mostly specific to the arctic waters. The first layer is a thin less dense surface layer that resides just below the polar ice and is on average about 50m deep. As you can see in the diagram this first layer is the cold, fresh water layer. The second layer is a dense layer of relative high salinity. This second layer is formed when sea salt is being released as ice is forming on the surface. Since the released salt causes the surrounding water to have a higher salt concentration it becomes more dense. The water sinks and forms a layer that is called a Halocline layer. This halocline layer, although dense and slow-moving, it is just that, moving, it provides a constant flow of water because it cannot freeze. The above thin fresh water layer can freeze and may at times interfere with surface currents. The halocline layer being of relative higher salt concentration lass less nutrients and makes it hard for animals to live in this environment. As can been seen in this diagram where temperature is represented by red and salinity is shown in blue. The first 50m of water is cold and less salty. The halocline area is represented by the area at about 100-200m just like the previous picture, but this graph goes much deeper into the ocean after that than the first picture. The halocline here is where the graph moves sharply to the right. This steep concentration gradient helps in the movment of water and deep ocean currents. http://www.enso.info/enso-lexikon/lexikon.html

Glaciers and Warm Water Increased heat absorption Summer solstice Accelerated melting of arctic ice http://io9.com/5945658/what-the-hell-is-happening-to-the-arctic-sea-ice

Conclusion Intertwining currents Deep and surface currents Ice movement Warm versus cold Salinity Can help predict future cycles

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Arctic Currents Danni Walser, Emily Bakker, Emma Heron, Haley Wilcox, Lauren Levesque