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TRACTOR Members; Johannessen, Truls; Cleveland, Frank; Kasajima, Yoshie; O'Dwyer, Jane; Valdimarsson, Héðinn (2011): Physical oceanography from the TRACTOR project [dataset publication series]. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Copenhagen, PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.772131

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Abstract:
Primary Objectives
- Describe and quantify the present strength and variability of the circulation and oceanic processes of the Nordic Seas regions using primarily observations of the long term spread of a tracer purposefully released into the Greenland Sea Gyre in 1996.
- Improve our understanding of ocean processes critical to the thermaholine circulation in the Nordic Seas regions so as to be able to predict how this region may respond to climate change.
- Assess the role of mixing and ageing of water masses on the carbon transport and the role of the thermohaline circulation in carbon storage using water transports and mixing coefficients derived from the tracer distribution.
Specific Objectives
Perform annual hydrographic, chemical and SF6 tracer surveys into the Nordic regions in order to:
- Measure lateral and diapycnal mixing rates in the Greenland Sea Gyre and in the surrounding regions.
- Document the depth and rates of convective mixing in the Greenland Sea using the SF6 and the water masses characteristics.
- Measure the transit time and transport of water from the Greenland Sea to surrounding seas and outflows. Document processes of water mass transformation and entrainment occurring to water emanating from the central Greenland Sea.
- Measure diapycnal mixing rates in the bottom and margins of the Greenland Sea basin using the SF6 signal observed there. Quantify the potential role of bottom boundary-layer mixing in the ventilation of the Greenland Sea Deep Water in absence of deep convection.
Monitor the variability of the entrainment of water from the Greenland Sea using time series auto-sampler moorings at strategic positions i.e., sill of the Denmark Strait, Labrador Sea, Jan Mayen fracture zone and Fram Strait. Relate the observed variability of the tracer signal in the outflows to convection events in the Greenland Sea and local wind stress events. Obtain a better description of deepwater overflow and entrainment processes in the Denmark Strait and Faeroe Bank Channel overflows and use these to improve modelling of deepwater overflows.
Monitor the tracer invasion into the North Atlantic using opportunistic SF6 measurements from other cruises: we anticipate that a number of oceanographic cruises will take place in the north-east Atlantic and the Labrador Sea. It should be possible to get samples from some cruises for SF6 measurements.
Use process models to describe the spread of the tracer to achieve better parameterisation for three-dimensional models. One reason that these are so resistant to prediction is that our best ocean models are as yet some distance from being good enough, to predict climate and climate change.
Project(s):
Tracer and Circulation in the Nordic Seas Region (TRACTOR)
Funding:
Fifth Framework Programme (FP5), grant/award no. EVK2-CT-2000-00080: Tracer and Circulation in the Nordic Seas Region
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 67.337244 * Median Longitude: -15.928298 * South-bound Latitude: 60.271500 * West-bound Longitude: -35.226000 * North-bound Latitude: 79.001700 * East-bound Longitude: 20.005200
Date/Time Start: 2001-04-06T19:03:00 * Date/Time End: 2003-10-13T16:47:00
Event(s):
46BS_2001-05/110 * Latitude: 64.335500 * Longitude: -27.977000 * Date/Time: 2001-05-15T23:45:00 * Elevation: -1010.0 m * Location: Greenland Sea * Campaign: 46BS_2001-05 * Basis: Bjarni Saemundsson * Method/Device: CTD/Rosette (CTD-RO)
46BS_2001-05/111 * Latitude: 64.335800 * Longitude: -28.928300 * Date/Time: 2001-05-16T04:35:00 * Elevation: -1481.0 m * Location: Greenland Sea * Campaign: 46BS_2001-05 * Basis: Bjarni Saemundsson * Method/Device: CTD/Rosette (CTD-RO)
46BS_2001-05/112 * Latitude: 64.353700 * Longitude: -30.021200 * Date/Time: 2001-05-16T08:50:00 * Elevation: -2260.0 m * Location: Greenland Sea * Campaign: 46BS_2001-05 * Basis: Bjarni Saemundsson * Method/Device: CTD/Rosette (CTD-RO)
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)
Size:
15 datasets

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Datasets listed in this publication series

  1. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Bjarni Saemundsson cruise 46BS_2001-05. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389694
  2. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Bjarni Saemundsson cruise 46BS_2001-08. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389702
  3. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Bjarni Saemundsson cruise 46BS_2001-11. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389703
  4. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Bjarni Saemundsson cruise 46BS_2002-02. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389709
  5. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Bjarni Saemundsson cruise 46BS_2002-05. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389718
  6. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Bjarni Saemundsson cruise 46BS_2002-08. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389721
  7. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Arni Fridriksson cruise 46FR_2002-11. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389727
  8. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Arni Fridriksson cruise 46FR_2003-01. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389729
  9. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Arni Fridriksson cruise 46FR_2003-02. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389731
  10. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Arni Fridriksson cruise 46FR_2003-03. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389733
  11. Valdimarsson, H (2006): Physical oceanography during Arni Fridriksson cruise 46FR_2003-05. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.389750
  12. Cleveland, F (2006): Physical oceanography during Håkon Mosby cruise 58AA_2001-04. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.391748
  13. Johannessen, T; Kasajima, Y (2006): Physical oceanography during Håkon Mosby cruise 58AA_2001-05. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.391865
  14. Johannessen, T; Kasajima, Y (2006): Physical oceanography during G. O. Sars cruise GS03/2. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.391966
  15. O'Dwyer, J (2006): Physical oceanography during LANCE cruise LA01. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.392023