A Change of Seasonality of the Upper Arctic Ocean in Response to
Atmospheric and Sea Ice Forcing The PI proposes to investigate
the change of seasonality of the Arctic Ocean Ekman transport
and upwelling/downwelling, and their relationships to key
components of the arctic system. A systematic investigation of
the Arctic Ocean upwelling and its change of seasonality is
needed in order to understand complex interactions among
components of a rapidly changing arctic system. Upwelling is
arguably the single most important dynamical variable in
oceanography. It forces oceanic gyres through the Sverdrup
balance. Upwelling replenishes nutrients in the surface layer
and helps to sustain phytoplankton production. It is a conduit
for heat flux from the warm Atlantic Water layer of the Arctic
Ocean to the mixed layer, where it influences the sea ice
thermodynamics and the atmospheric circulation. Upwelling and
Ekman transport affect the surface salinity and thus play roles
in the oceanic thermohaline circulation. The mo