Environmental influences on the production of Arctic halocline and deep water

Pease (1987) related the effects of atmospheric forcing, mainly temperature and wind fields, to the size of coastal polynas. Using Pease's formulation and Killworth's (1977) plume model as applied by Melling and Lewis (1982), the effects of atmospheric forcing on brine injection into the Arctic pycnocline are investigated. This paper will discuss the likelihood of coastal polynas as a source for denser abyssal waters. A standard case was developed for the model with initial conditions taken from Melling and Lewis (1982) and Pease (1987) for comparison with individual sensitivity experiments. Ten environmental parameters were individually examined for their influence on the plume depth after 90 days. The standard case resulted in a 90-day plume depth of 436 meters. A submarine canyon case was simulated, resulting in plume penetration to over 1300 meters in 90 days. Further experiments used actual T-S soundings. Finally, a 20 kilometer wide plume is shown to penetrate to almost 600 meters in 90 days. ; Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. ; Lieutenant, United States Navy ; http://archive.org/details/environmentalinf1094523209