Reduction of Deepwater Formation in the Greenland Sea During the 1980s: Evidence from Tracer Data

Hydrographic observations and measurements of the concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have suggested that the formation of Greenland Sea Deep Water (GSDW) slowed down considerably during the 1980s. Such a decrease is related to weakened convection in the Greenland Sea and thus could have si...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1991-03, Vol.251 (4997), p.1054-1056
Main Authors: Schlosser, Peter, Bönisch, Gerhard, Rhein, Monika, Bayer, Reinhold
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900 - Coal, Lignite, & Peat- Environmental Aspects
540320 - Environment, Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
540330 - Environment, Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
Chlorofluorocarbons
Cruises
DATA
Deep water
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GREENLAND
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HELIUM 3
HELIUM ISOTOPES
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INFORMATION
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
Marine
Meteors
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
Ocean circulation
Oceanic mixing
Oceanography
Oceans
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
RADIOISOTOPES
Salinity
Sea water
SEAS
STABLE ISOTOPES
Surface water
SURFACE WATERS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
TRITIUM
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
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Summary:Hydrographic observations and measurements of the concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have suggested that the formation of Greenland Sea Deep Water (GSDW) slowed down considerably during the 1980s. Such a decrease is related to weakened convection in the Greenland Sea and thus could have significant impact on the properties of the waters flowing over the Scotland-Iceland-Greenland ridge system into the deep Atlantic. Study of the variability of GSDW formation is relevant for understanding the impact of the circulation in the European Polar seas on regional and global deep water characteristics. New long-term multitracer observations from the Greenland Sea show that GSDW formation indeed was greatly reduced during the 1980s. A box model of deepwater formation and exchange in the European Polar seas tuned by the tracer data indicates that the reduction rate of GSDW formation was about 80 percent and that the start date of the reduction was between 1978 and 1982.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.251.4997.1054