Flow analysis of the Arctic Ocean with a complicated density field

Abstract

In recent years, research has been underway to clarify the fate of radioactive wastes dumped into the Arctic Ocean (especially, the Kara Sea and the Barents Sea). These sea areas are very narrow, shallow and located close to land.

To analyze the diffusion of radionuclides and carry out exposure dose assessment by determining the circulation of seawater in these sea areas, it is necessary to identify the flow characteristics of the seas.

As the first step of research, the mechanism of flows in the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea in the Arctic Ocean was investigated. As the second step, the entire Arctic Ocean was studied.

Using the observation data (water temperature and salinity), the flow was analyzed using a hybrid box model, taking into account river flows and density structures in the seas. The results thus obtained agreed with the observed features in many aspects. Especially, stream flows in the Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea and Kara Sea showed fairly realistic features. The flow field in the surface layer in the central Arctic Ocean agreed with that in previously known data. In the intermediate and deep layers, there was a stream flow that agreed with the known cyclonic circulation. East of Greenland, a stream flow equivalent to the East Greenland Current was recognized.