The flow of heat to the Arctic takes place not only via the atmosphere. The Bering Strait is the route through which the warm waters of the Pacific flow into the Arctic Ocean. Unlike the Pacific "Blob" and other hot spots, the warm water in the Arctic is not kept in the surface layer, but in the deep sea. This is due to the difference in density between the water flowing in from the Pacific and the Arctic water, which is less salty due to the melting of large volumes of ocean ice and runoff from land. These conditions favor the distant heat expansion that contributes to the melting of sea ice, while enhancing water stratification and creating a feedback loop that promotes the loss of sea ice and changes in biological production and biogeochemical cycles. The results of the research on this phenomenon were published in Nature Communications by a team of oceanographers as part of the Stratified Ocean Dynamics of the Arctic (SODA) project under the aegis of The U.S. Office of Naval Research. Better understanding and the ability to model these processes will help improve models for a changing ecosystem and accelerating the loss of sea ice in the Arctic.

Link to the presented publication.

Grafics: UC San Diego , Scripps Institution of Oceanography