Beaufort Gyre
The Beaufort Gyre is a wind-driven ocean current located in the Arctic Ocean polar region. The gyre contains both ice and water. It accumulates fresh water by the process of melting the ice floating on the surface of the water.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Studies
The gyre has formed a dome of freshwater that has risen by about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) since 2002; by 2011 it has grown to about 8,000 cubic kilometres (1,900 cu mi) in volume.[2] The freshwater represents about 10% of all freshwater in the Arctic; it comes mostly from Russian river runoff.[2]
Oceanographer Andrey Proshutinsky has theorized that if winds and the gyre are to weaken, high volumes of freshwater could leak out of the eastern side of the Arctic Ocean. The fresh water could leak into the Northern Atlantic Ocean, causing large impacts on ocean circulation and climate.[3]
Due to ice, The Beaufort Gyre is difficult to access in the winter, and the shorter days make necessary the use of artificial light.[1] Studies by Arthur S. Dyke and others show that if rivers increased discharges into the Beaufort Gyre, it might shift it to the right.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Lippsett, Lonny (2005), "The Flywheel of the Arctic Climate Engine: Remote Beaufort Gyre Expeditions Reveal Clues to Climate Change", Oceanus 44 (3): 28, http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=9208. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.
- ^ a b Amos, Jonathan (23 January 2012). "Arctic Ocean freshwater bulge detected". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16657122. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "On top of the World". Oceanus. FindArticles. September 2005. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3324/is_2_44/ai_n29210622/?tag=content;col1. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ Dyke, Arthur S. (1997), "Changes in Driftwood Delivery to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: the Hypothesis of Postglacial Oscillations of the Transpolar Drift", Arctic 50 (1): 1–16, http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic50-1-1.pdf. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.
[edit] External links
 |
This Arctic-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about a specific ocean current is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This oceanography article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
