A criterion is defined to compare seasonal ice coverage in the
Greenland Sea for the years 1900-57, and the areal coverage is
graphed using the 1898-1913 average as a standard. The factors
wielding possible influence on short-term variations of the ice cover
are examined individually and their relative importance established.
The influence of ocean currents is evaluated by analysis of
hydrosections across the East Greenland Current at 74°-76° N and
across the North Atlantic Current in the Faeroe-Shetland channel.
Data from the latter area are used for numerical analysis of heat
imported to the Greenland Sea by the North Atlantic Current in the
1927-52 period. Details about the Irminger Current's behavior are
derived from station data from Denmark Strait and from surface
temperatures at Selvogsbanki south of Iceland. Year-to-year variations
are found to exist in the flow volumes of all three currents, and correlations with seasonal ice coverage in the Greenland Sea
are shown.
Above-average precipitation in conjunction with below-average
storm activity is found to have negligible influence on the ice regime,
and no significant correlation is found. The possible effect of evaporation
is computed to be far below the threshold of detectability. Air
temperatures in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea region display a trend
of increase throughout the period studied, in harmony with a concurrent
trend of decreasing ice cover; but no causal relationship is in
evidence.
The effects of strengths and directions of predominant winds
are examined, and good correlations are shown between ice cover
fluctuations and easterly wind components at Norwegian coastal
stations. At the points of major currents' entrances to and exits
from the Greenland Sea the wind effects are complex and cannot be
fully evaluated on the basis of existing data.
The fluctuations of ocean currents entering and leaving the
Greenland Sea and of water movements within the Greenland Sea
remain as the apparent determinant of year-to-year variations of
the ice cover. / Graduation date: 1968
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28207 |
| Date | 24 October 1967 |
| Creators | Skov, Niels Aage |
| Contributors | Smith, Robert L. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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