The freshwater input from the Arctic into the North Atlantic is an important component
of the global climate system through its effects on deepwater formation. Part of this
freshwater is transported through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) via sea ice and
low density surface water, where it is able to set up buoyancy boundary currents
(BBCs). To infer the existence of freshwater transport via BBCs in the southwest CAA,
data are examined from summer cruises conducted in 1995, 1999, and 2000. The
hydrographic data are supplemented with traditional knowledge relevant to this study.
The presence, predominantly on the south side of channels, of driftwood originating from
the Mackenzie River confirms an eastward transport through the region. The
hydrographic data also show that the southwest CAA is relatively fresh compared to
surrounding regions, and that the sources of buoyancy forcing are large and from different
origins. The presence of BBCs on both sides of the channels appears to be a frequent
occurrence with, as shown in previous work, the fresher water being more often present
on the south shore. Some data from the summer 2000 show a different feature with much
fresher water on the north side. A subsequent strong wind event creates a complete
reversal of this situation, setting up a strong cross-channel horizontal salinity gradient and
an amplified BBC on the south shore. In this region, buoyancy and wind forcing act
together to force an eastward freshwater transport in the southwest CAA. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/8792 |
| Date | 08 November 2017 |
| Creators | Arfeuille, Gilles |
| Contributors | Weaver, Andrew J. (Andrew John), Carmack, E. C. (Eddy Clark) |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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