Seasonal and interannual variations in adjective heat fluxes in the ocean (dQoc) and the convergence of advective heat fluxes in the atmosphere (dQatm) in the Barents Sea region have been investigated over the period of 1993–2012 using the results of the MIT regional eddy-permitting model and ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalysis. Wavelet analysis and singular spectrum analysis are used to reveal concealed periodicities. Seasonal 2- to 4- and 5- to 8-year cycles are revealed in the dQoc and dQatm data. It is also found that seasonal variations in dQoc are primarily determined by the integrated volume fluxes through the western boundary of the Barents Sea, whereas the 20-year trend is determined by the temperature variation of the transported water. A cross-wavelet analysis of dQoc and dQatm in the Barents Sea region shows that the seasonal variations in dQoc and dQatm are nearly in-phase, while their interannual variations are out-of-phase. It is concluded that the basin of the Barents Sea plays an important role in maintaining the feedback mechanism (the Bjerknes compensation) of the ocean–atmosphere system in the Arctic region.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)213-222
Number of pages10
JournalIzvestiya - Atmospheric and Ocean Physics
Volume54
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2018

    Research areas

  • Barents Sea, Bjerknes compensation mechanism, coupled cycles in the ocean and the atmosphere, MIT eddy-permitting ocean model, oceanic and atmospheric heat fluxes, singular spectral analysis, wavelet analysis

    Scopus subject areas

  • Oceanography
  • Atmospheric Science

ID: 42537273