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The Marine Physical Environment During the Polar Night

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POLAR NIGHT Marine Ecology

Part of the book series: Advances in Polar Ecology ((AVPE,volume 4))

Abstract

The physical environment of the Arctic is captured in popular perception as being an isolated, frozen and intensely cold ocean. The reality is surprisingly different; an ocean system that supports warm inflow to the Arctic and exchange with the adjacent ocean basins, influenced by stormy weather systems that can originate in mid-latitudes, and having a sea-ice cover that is experiencing ongoing reduction in its extent and thickness. We review the primary oceanographic and bathymetric features of the Arctic Ocean, highlighting the significance of the Arctic in terms of the global oceans. An important feature of the Arctic is the increasing dominance of water originating in the Atlantic that brings heat to the Arctic influencing both the ocean and the sea ice. Within the seasonal cycle of the shallow coastal waters, we demonstrate fundamental ideas of how Polar Night is characterised by relative warmth, differing from the oceanic winter where water is close to freezing. The advective nature of the atmosphere is a further source of heat, and we consider the changes in storm systems during the Polar Night and the impact on ocean and ice through direct surface fluxes but also by driving shelf-exchange processes. Finally, the ice cover during the Polar Night is shown to be vulnerable to future changes to the heat balance in the Arctic both in terms of ice formation, thickness, and snow cover.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Defined as atmospheric events where the air temperatures exceed −5 °C

  2. 2.

    Extent is typically defined as the areal coverage of sea ice with at least 15% concentration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, Argyll, UK

    Finlo Cottier & Marie Porter

  2. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty for Bioscience, Fisheries and Economy, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Finlo Cottier

Authors
  1. Finlo Cottier
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  2. Marie Porter
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Correspondence to Finlo Cottier .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty for Bioscience, Fisheries and Economy, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations & Systems (AMOS), Trondhjem Biological Station, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

    Jørgen Berge

  2. Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations & Systems (AMOS), Trondhjem Biological Station, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway

    Geir Johnsen

  3. School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, USA

    Jonathan H. Cohen

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Cottier, F., Porter, M. (2020). The Marine Physical Environment During the Polar Night. In: Berge, J., Johnsen, G., Cohen, J. (eds) POLAR NIGHT Marine Ecology. Advances in Polar Ecology, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33208-2_2

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