A case study of a polar low development over the Barents Sea

Abstract

The development of a polar low in the Bear Island region between the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea is studied. The polar low develops when an upper-level cold core vortex from the northeast is advected across the ice edge and the region of extreme sea surface temperature gradients in the Svalbard–Bear Island region. Strong convection is believed to play an important role in the transformation of the upper-level vortex into a polar low with greatest intensity near the surface.