The Arctic Ocean: Water Masses and Energy Exchanges

Abstract

A formulation of the earth’s heat balance was assembled by Oort and Vonder Haar (1976) using radiation data from earth-orbiting satellites, atmospheric observations from radiosonde balloons in the northern hemisphere, and long-term oceanographic temperature observations. They found the mean northward flux of energy of 0.5 × 10¹⁵W, advected by atmospheric movement past the 80°N parallel of latitude, to be balanced primarily by the net outflow of radiation from the top of the atmosphere into space. Oceanic energy fluxes through 80°N played a secondary role. The radiation balance at high latitudes is dominated by the presence or absence of snow and ice which will usually alter the albedo (controlling the amount of radiation reflected from the surface back into the atmosphere) at least six-fold. Thus any oceanic or other factors, albeit energetically minor, that materially affect the snow and ice cover in polar regions will affect the final disposition of the sun’s energy over the earth’s surface, and hence our climate.