Investigation of Shelf Water Input and Deep Boundary Currents in the Eurasian Basin Using Chlorofluorocarbons

Research will be conducted on the circulation of Arctic Ocean water masses and will be carried out under the auspices of the ARCSS/OAII global change research program. This work will investigate the input of shelf water from the Barents, Kara, and Laptev seas of the Arctic Ocean into the subsurface water masses of the Eurasian Basin and investigate the circulation of these subsurface water masses along the continental slope in this region. These objectives will be met by measuring anthropogenic halocarbons on samples collected during the summer and autumn 1993 cruise of the German Research icebreaker POLARSTERN. Shelf waters will have a relatively high anthropogenic halocarbon signal because they interact extensively with the atmosphere. The halocarbon distributions will be used to determine locations of shelf water inflow, to investigate formation of subsurface water masses in the Eurasian Basin by mixing between shelf waters and deep water, and to investigate the transport of newly formed subsurface water masses in the deep cyclonic boundary current that has been postulated to flow around the Eurasian Basin. This work will be carried out in conjunction with several German investigators. The research objectives address the ARCSS research priority area of Circulation of the Arctic Ocean.