Variations in the cascading Barents Sea bottom water into the Norwegian Sea

Abstract

Based on observations variations of the bottom water in the Bear Island Channel and the faith of this water downstream in the Norwegian Sea is investigated in relation to the Atlantic Water flow into the Barents Sea. On the annual scale there is a marked seasonality both for temperature and current. The outflow of bottom water in the Bear Island Channel to the Norwegian Sea is at maximum during fall. The seasonal variation in the Atlantic Inflow is less clear except of a marked minimum in April. The bottom water in the Bear Island Channel has become markably lighter since 1990 compared to the period 1965-89, and the trace of this water in the Norwegian Sea has disappeared in terms in the T-S plane. A major cause of these variations in the bottom water in the Bear Island Channel can be linked to variations in the properties of Atlantic Water flowing into the Barents Sea less than 1 year earlier.