Understanding Arctic Ocean circulation may be critical to fully understanding the global oceanic salt and heat cycles and their response to climate variability. This thesis examines how one important aspect of Arctic Ocean circulation, the effect of freshwater inflow, may contribute to the variability of these cycles. The multiple roles that freshwater runoff performs in the Arctic Ocean include: (1) the formation of shelf and basin scale density currents; (2) maintenance of the strong density stratification; (3) control of the thickness and strength of the ice pack; and (4) control of deep convection. Sources and sinks of freshwater in the Arctic include: shoreline discharge as point and non-point runoff; influx through Bering, Fram and/or other straits; permafrost erosion; precipitation; formation and melting of glacial and sea ice shelf mixing and efflux through Fram Strait and the Canadian Archipelago. With newly acquired data, the annual runoff discharge cycle for most of the Arctic rivers for the 50 years up to 1987 and the Bering Strait freshwater flux for the years from 1943 to 1987 have been quantified. For the period 1973 to 1987, where data for most Arctic rivers overlap, the estimated mean annual discharge is 2646 km3$ yr-1 with a standard deviation of 150 km3 yr-1 and a coefficient of variation of 0.06.
Understanding the effect of freshwater inflow is necessary because variation in annual inflow of freshwater to the Arctic could impact deep convection in the northern North Atlantic. The data has been utilized in a numerical model of the Arctic mixed layer to establish a residence time for freshwater in the Arctic and to explain the ambiguity of previous residence times derived from tracer studies. The model results show that the freshwater outflow from the Arctic Ocean is generally insensitive to small observed interannual variations in Arctic freshwater inflow, but that a large enough variation may be a part of the conditions for the production of surface salinity anomalies in the northern North Atlantic.
","abstract_html":"<p>Understanding Arctic Ocean circulation may be critical to fully understanding the global oceanic salt and heat cycles and their response to climate variability. This thesis examines how one important aspect of Arctic Ocean circulation, the effect of freshwater inflow, may contribute to the variability of these cycles. The multiple roles that freshwater runoff performs in the Arctic Ocean include: (1) the formation of shelf and basin scale density currents; (2) maintenance of the strong density stratification; (3) control of the thickness and strength of the ice pack; and (4) control of deep convection. Sources and sinks of freshwater in the Arctic include: shoreline discharge as point and non-point runoff; influx through Bering, Fram and/or other straits; permafrost erosion; precipitation; formation and melting of glacial and sea ice shelf mixing and efflux through Fram Strait and the Canadian Archipelago. With newly acquired data, the annual runoff discharge cycle for most of the Arctic rivers for the 50 years up to 1987 and the Bering Strait freshwater flux for the years from 1943 to 1987 have been quantified. For the period 1973 to 1987, where data for most Arctic rivers overlap, the estimated mean annual discharge is 2646 km<sup>3</sup>$ yr<sup>-1</sup> with a standard deviation of 150 km<sup>3</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup> and a coefficient of variation of 0.06.</p> <p>Understanding the effect of freshwater inflow is necessary because variation in annual inflow of freshwater to the Arctic could impact deep convection in the northern North Atlantic. The data has been utilized in a numerical model of the Arctic mixed layer to establish a residence time for freshwater in the Arctic and to explain the ambiguity of previous residence times derived from tracer studies. The model results show that the freshwater outflow from the Arctic Ocean is generally insensitive to small observed interannual variations in Arctic freshwater inflow, but that a large enough variation may be a part of the conditions for the production of surface salinity anomalies in the northern North Atlantic.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Becker, Peter"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Ocean & Earth Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Larry P. Atkinson","A. D. Kirwan, Jr.","John M. Klinck","Sydney Levitus"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1995,"date_issued":"1995-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1995-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:34:39Z","subjects":["Ocean circulation","Runoff","Hydrology","Oceanography"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/29","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Larry P. Atkinson","A. D. Kirwan, Jr.","John M. Klinck","Sydney Levitus"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Becker, Peter"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-04-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Ocean & Earth Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Ocean circulation","Runoff","Hydrology","Oceanography"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/29"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Understanding Arctic Ocean circulation may be critical to fully understanding the global oceanic salt and heat cycles and their response to climate variability. This thesis examines how one important aspect of Arctic Ocean circulation, the effect of freshwater inflow, may contribute to the variability of these cycles. The multiple roles that freshwater runoff performs in the Arctic Ocean include: (1) the formation of shelf and basin scale density currents; (2) maintenance of the strong density stratification; (3) control of the thickness and strength of the ice pack; and (4) control of deep convection. Sources and sinks of freshwater in the Arctic include: shoreline discharge as point and non-point runoff; influx through Bering, Fram and/or other straits; permafrost erosion; precipitation; formation and melting of glacial and sea ice shelf mixing and efflux through Fram Strait and the Canadian Archipelago. With newly acquired data, the annual runoff discharge cycle for most of the Arctic rivers for the 50 years up to 1987 and the Bering Strait freshwater flux for the years from 1943 to 1987 have been quantified. For the period 1973 to 1987, where data for most Arctic rivers overlap, the estimated mean annual discharge is 2646 km3$ yr-1 with a standard deviation of 150 km3 yr-1 and a coefficient of variation of 0.06.
Understanding the effect of freshwater inflow is necessary because variation in annual inflow of freshwater to the Arctic could impact deep convection in the northern North Atlantic. The data has been utilized in a numerical model of the Arctic mixed layer to establish a residence time for freshwater in the Arctic and to explain the ambiguity of previous residence times derived from tracer studies. The model results show that the freshwater outflow from the Arctic Ocean is generally insensitive to small observed interannual variations in Arctic freshwater inflow, but that a large enough variation may be a part of the conditions for the production of surface salinity anomalies in the northern North Atlantic.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of Arctic River Hydrological Cycles on Arctic Ocean Circulation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Larry P. Atkinson","A. D. Kirwan, Jr.","John M. Klinck","Sydney Levitus"],"dc:creator":["Becker, Peter"],"dc:date.available":["2019-04-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Understanding Arctic Ocean circulation may be critical to fully understanding the global oceanic salt and heat cycles and their response to climate variability. This thesis examines how one important aspect of Arctic Ocean circulation, the effect of freshwater inflow, may contribute to the variability of these cycles. The multiple roles that freshwater runoff performs in the Arctic Ocean include: (1) the formation of shelf and basin scale density currents; (2) maintenance of the strong density stratification; (3) control of the thickness and strength of the ice pack; and (4) control of deep convection. Sources and sinks of freshwater in the Arctic include: shoreline discharge as point and non-point runoff; influx through Bering, Fram and/or other straits; permafrost erosion; precipitation; formation and melting of glacial and sea ice shelf mixing and efflux through Fram Strait and the Canadian Archipelago. With newly acquired data, the annual runoff discharge cycle for most of the Arctic rivers for the 50 years up to 1987 and the Bering Strait freshwater flux for the years from 1943 to 1987 have been quantified. For the period 1973 to 1987, where data for most Arctic rivers overlap, the estimated mean annual discharge is 2646 km3$ yr-1 with a standard deviation of 150 km3 yr-1 and a coefficient of variation of 0.06.
Understanding the effect of freshwater inflow is necessary because variation in annual inflow of freshwater to the Arctic could impact deep convection in the northern North Atlantic. The data has been utilized in a numerical model of the Arctic mixed layer to establish a residence time for freshwater in the Arctic and to explain the ambiguity of previous residence times derived from tracer studies. The model results show that the freshwater outflow from the Arctic Ocean is generally insensitive to small observed interannual variations in Arctic freshwater inflow, but that a large enough variation may be a part of the conditions for the production of surface salinity anomalies in the northern North Atlantic.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/29"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"],"dc:subject":["Ocean circulation","Runoff","Hydrology","Oceanography"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Arctic River Hydrological Cycles on Arctic Ocean Circulation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Ocean & Earth Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:34:39Z"}