Dynamics of the Arctic Ocean Boundary Current: A Numerical Modeling Study of Key Locations

北冰洋边界流(AOBC)是一种相对较窄的洋流，主要沿北冰洋大部分地区的大陆上坡流动，是热量、盐分、污染物和示踪剂等水性质在北冰洋周围分布并输送到深盆地中间深处的主要途径。AOBC起源于格陵兰-挪威海，在那里相对温暖的大西洋海水通过两个分支流入北极，一个通过弗拉姆海峡，另一个横跨巴伦支海。在其路径上，AOBC遇到了复杂的水深测量区域，在那里，洋流被改变、重定向并部分混合到深盆地中。提供资金用于研究AOBC在三个关键地点的基本动态：圣安娜海槽、Lomonosov山脊和门捷列夫山脊/楚科奇边界。一个高分辨率、三维、原始方程的数值模式将在理想和现实配置下使用，以了解AOBC对水深测量的平差细节。现有的观测结果将被用来提供真实的流入条件，并与数值结果进行比较。人们对这些关键地点的动态了解甚少，而且大规模的泛北极模式不能解决它们的细节问题，因此进行这样的区域过程研究的时机已经成熟

The Arctic Ocean Boundary Current (AOBC) is a relatively narrow current that flows mainly along the upper continental slope around much of the Arctic Ocean, serving as the major pathway by which water properties, such as heat, salt, contaminants, and tracers are distributed around the Arctic perimeter and delivered to the intermediate depths of the deep basins. The AOBC originates in the Greenland-Norwegian Sea, where relatively warm Atlantic waters flow into the Arctic via two branches, one through Fram Strait and one across the Barents Sea. Along its path, the AOBC encounters regions of complex bathymetry, where the current is altered, redirected and partially mixed into the deep basins. Funds are provided to investigate the fundamental dynamics of the AOBC at three key locations: St. Anna Trough, the Lomonosov Ridge, and the Mendeleyev Ridge/Chukchi Borderland. A high-resolution, three-dimensional, primitive-equation, numerical model will be used in both idealized and realistic configurations to understand the details of the adjustment of the AOBC to the bathymetry. Existing observations will be used both to provide realistic inflow conditions and to compare with the numerical results. The dynamics of these key locations are poorly understood, and large-scale pan-Arctic models do not resolve their details, so the time is ripe for such a regional process study