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Arctic Ocean Distribution Trends Studied

Posted on: Monday, 16 April 2007, 18:00 CDT

U.S. scientists using satellite data have determined a reversal of the Arctic Ocean's circulation might be under way.

Satellite-detected distribution and magnitude of the salinity and bottom pressure in parts of the polar ocean suggest a shift from a clockwise to a counterclockwise pattern prevalent prior to the 1990s.

The researchers said changes in Arctic Ocean circulation are important to understanding seasonal weather patterns and decades-long trends in sea ice extent and thickness.

The scientists examined time-varying gravity field data produced by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite mission between 2002 and 2006. Comparisons of that data with new direct measurements of Arctic Ocean bottom pressure not only confirm the accuracy and utility of the satellite measurements, but show the declining trend in bottom pressure corresponds to decreasing upper ocean salinities near the North Pole and in the Arctic's Makarov Basin.

The research -- conducted by James Morison and Cecilia Peralta-Ferriz of the University of Washington-Seattle, John Wahr of the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Ron Kwok of the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- appears in the current issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Source: United Press International

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