{"id":{"repo_id":"uhi-uk","oai_identifier":"oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uhi-uk/oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c","repository":{"repo_id":"uhi-uk","name":"University of the Highlands and Islands","base_url":"https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/oai"},"display":{"title":"The Impact of Wind-Driven Mixing in the Barents Sea","abstract":"The Arctic is changing rapidly, and the characteristic sea ice cover that defines<br/>the Arctic Ocean is retreating rapidly. Despite extensive study and<br/>investigation of many parameters and processes, it remains uncertain how a<br/>future Arctic will respond to reduction of sea ice. The loss of multi-year and<br/>high concentration sea ice cover is predicted to increase the extent of wind<br/>forcing on the Arctic Ocean, compounded by the projected increase in<br/>frequency of storms. Increased wind forcing is likely to lead to enhanced<br/>mixing and associated fluxes of nutrients and heat to the surface from warmer<br/>and nutrient rich waters below. However, there remains a lack of<br/>understanding and quantification of how wind forcing will impact these fluxes<br/>and productivity over short timescales of days. This thesis investigates how<br/>wind, sea ice and stratification influence the surface mixing layer and its<br/>impact on nitrate fluxes.<br/>The study is based on a set of turbulence observations from an MSS 90 freefall<br/>profiler, taken over 2 cruises in spring and summer 2018 in the Barents Sea<br/>and on the shelf north of Svalbard. Additionally, profile data of temperature<br/>and salinity, nitrate concentrations and uptake rates and a 2-year<br/>temperature time series data from 2 moorings deployed on the shelf are also<br/>used. This in situ data is supplemented by satellite remote sensing data for sea<br/>ice and reanalysis data for wind and surface heat fluxes and empirically<br/>derived values for the air-ocean transfer of energy from the literature.<br/>In Chapter 3 profiles from the MSS are used to quantify the mixing depth<br/>parameter and investigate how it varies with wind, sea ice and stratification.<br/>We develop a new empirical model linking the input of energy from wind at the<br/>surface of the ocean with the mixing depth, modified by sea ice and<br/>stratification. We derived a new linear relationship based on measurements<br/>between wind speeds of 2 and 11.4 ms-1 in open water under both stratified<br/>and unstratified conditions.<br/>We then investigate the depth relationship between mixing depth and the<br/>nitracline during the summer post-bloom period in Chapter 4, and the impact on nitrate resupply, uptake and f-ratio. We define a new parameter, the<br/>mixing – nitracline overlap, which quantifies the depth relationship between<br/>mixing depth and the depth of the nitracline and is indicative of the potential<br/>magnitude of the nitrate flux. We estimate the mixing – nitracline overlap for<br/>a south-north transect at 30°E through the Barents Sea using the new<br/>empirical model of mixing depth from Chapter 3. We found that where the<br/>mixing – nitracline overlap is positive the flux of nitrate to the surface is<br/>enhanced by up to an order of magnitude. Periods where the mixing depth<br/>overlaps with the nitracline occur sporadically throughout the summer, but<br/>only north of the Polar Front. The strength and frequency of strong wind<br/>events, and the local stratification environment control how often these periods<br/>lead to an associated enhancement of nitrate flux.","abstract_html":"The Arctic is changing rapidly, and the characteristic sea ice cover that defines&lt;br/&gt;the Arctic Ocean is retreating rapidly. Despite extensive study and&lt;br/&gt;investigation of many parameters and processes, it remains uncertain how a&lt;br/&gt;future Arctic will respond to reduction of sea ice. The loss of multi-year and&lt;br/&gt;high concentration sea ice cover is predicted to increase the extent of wind&lt;br/&gt;forcing on the Arctic Ocean, compounded by the projected increase in&lt;br/&gt;frequency of storms. Increased wind forcing is likely to lead to enhanced&lt;br/&gt;mixing and associated fluxes of nutrients and heat to the surface from warmer&lt;br/&gt;and nutrient rich waters below. However, there remains a lack of&lt;br/&gt;understanding and quantification of how wind forcing will impact these fluxes&lt;br/&gt;and productivity over short timescales of days. This thesis investigates how&lt;br/&gt;wind, sea ice and stratification influence the surface mixing layer and its&lt;br/&gt;impact on nitrate fluxes.&lt;br/&gt;The study is based on a set of turbulence observations from an MSS 90 freefall&lt;br/&gt;profiler, taken over 2 cruises in spring and summer 2018 in the Barents Sea&lt;br/&gt;and on the shelf north of Svalbard. Additionally, profile data of temperature&lt;br/&gt;and salinity, nitrate concentrations and uptake rates and a 2-year&lt;br/&gt;temperature time series data from 2 moorings deployed on the shelf are also&lt;br/&gt;used. This in situ data is supplemented by satellite remote sensing data for sea&lt;br/&gt;ice and reanalysis data for wind and surface heat fluxes and empirically&lt;br/&gt;derived values for the air-ocean transfer of energy from the literature.&lt;br/&gt;In Chapter 3 profiles from the MSS are used to quantify the mixing depth&lt;br/&gt;parameter and investigate how it varies with wind, sea ice and stratification.&lt;br/&gt;We develop a new empirical model linking the input of energy from wind at the&lt;br/&gt;surface of the ocean with the mixing depth, modified by sea ice and&lt;br/&gt;stratification. We derived a new linear relationship based on measurements&lt;br/&gt;between wind speeds of 2 and 11.4 ms-1 in open water under both stratified&lt;br/&gt;and unstratified conditions.&lt;br/&gt;We then investigate the depth relationship between mixing depth and the&lt;br/&gt;nitracline during the summer post-bloom period in Chapter 4, and the impact on nitrate resupply, uptake and f-ratio. We define a new parameter, the&lt;br/&gt;mixing – nitracline overlap, which quantifies the depth relationship between&lt;br/&gt;mixing depth and the depth of the nitracline and is indicative of the potential&lt;br/&gt;magnitude of the nitrate flux. We estimate the mixing – nitracline overlap for&lt;br/&gt;a south-north transect at 30°E through the Barents Sea using the new&lt;br/&gt;empirical model of mixing depth from Chapter 3. We found that where the&lt;br/&gt;mixing – nitracline overlap is positive the flux of nitrate to the surface is&lt;br/&gt;enhanced by up to an order of magnitude. Periods where the mixing depth&lt;br/&gt;overlaps with the nitracline occur sporadically throughout the summer, but&lt;br/&gt;only north of the Polar Front. The strength and frequency of strong wind&lt;br/&gt;events, and the local stratification environment control how often these periods&lt;br/&gt;lead to an associated enhancement of nitrate flux.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rodgers, James"],"institution":"University of the Highlands and Islands","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (awarded by UHI)","degree_level":"Doctoral Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Davies, Gareth","Inall, Mark"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-7-11","date_published":"2022-7-11","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:12:07Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c"],"render_values":[{"text":"oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Davies, Gareth","Inall, Mark"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["NERC"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rodgers, James"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2022-7-11"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2022-7-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["The Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of the Highlands and Islands"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (awarded by UHI)"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c","https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/files/43109141/James_Rodgers_final_thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Arctic is changing rapidly, and the characteristic sea ice cover that defines<br/>the Arctic Ocean is retreating rapidly. Despite extensive study and<br/>investigation of many parameters and processes, it remains uncertain how a<br/>future Arctic will respond to reduction of sea ice. The loss of multi-year and<br/>high concentration sea ice cover is predicted to increase the extent of wind<br/>forcing on the Arctic Ocean, compounded by the projected increase in<br/>frequency of storms. Increased wind forcing is likely to lead to enhanced<br/>mixing and associated fluxes of nutrients and heat to the surface from warmer<br/>and nutrient rich waters below. However, there remains a lack of<br/>understanding and quantification of how wind forcing will impact these fluxes<br/>and productivity over short timescales of days. This thesis investigates how<br/>wind, sea ice and stratification influence the surface mixing layer and its<br/>impact on nitrate fluxes.<br/>The study is based on a set of turbulence observations from an MSS 90 freefall<br/>profiler, taken over 2 cruises in spring and summer 2018 in the Barents Sea<br/>and on the shelf north of Svalbard. Additionally, profile data of temperature<br/>and salinity, nitrate concentrations and uptake rates and a 2-year<br/>temperature time series data from 2 moorings deployed on the shelf are also<br/>used. This in situ data is supplemented by satellite remote sensing data for sea<br/>ice and reanalysis data for wind and surface heat fluxes and empirically<br/>derived values for the air-ocean transfer of energy from the literature.<br/>In Chapter 3 profiles from the MSS are used to quantify the mixing depth<br/>parameter and investigate how it varies with wind, sea ice and stratification.<br/>We develop a new empirical model linking the input of energy from wind at the<br/>surface of the ocean with the mixing depth, modified by sea ice and<br/>stratification. We derived a new linear relationship based on measurements<br/>between wind speeds of 2 and 11.4 ms-1 in open water under both stratified<br/>and unstratified conditions.<br/>We then investigate the depth relationship between mixing depth and the<br/>nitracline during the summer post-bloom period in Chapter 4, and the impact on nitrate resupply, uptake and f-ratio. We define a new parameter, the<br/>mixing – nitracline overlap, which quantifies the depth relationship between<br/>mixing depth and the depth of the nitracline and is indicative of the potential<br/>magnitude of the nitrate flux. We estimate the mixing – nitracline overlap for<br/>a south-north transect at 30°E through the Barents Sea using the new<br/>empirical model of mixing depth from Chapter 3. We found that where the<br/>mixing – nitracline overlap is positive the flux of nitrate to the surface is<br/>enhanced by up to an order of magnitude. Periods where the mixing depth<br/>overlaps with the nitracline occur sporadically throughout the summer, but<br/>only north of the Polar Front. The strength and frequency of strong wind<br/>events, and the local stratification environment control how often these periods<br/>lead to an associated enhancement of nitrate flux."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Impact of Wind-Driven Mixing in the Barents Sea"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Davies, Gareth","Inall, Mark"],"dc:contributor.sponsor":["NERC"],"dc:creator":["Rodgers, James"],"dc:date":["2022-7-11"],"dc:date.issued":["2022-7-11"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Arctic is changing rapidly, and the characteristic sea ice cover that defines<br/>the Arctic Ocean is retreating rapidly. Despite extensive study and<br/>investigation of many parameters and processes, it remains uncertain how a<br/>future Arctic will respond to reduction of sea ice. The loss of multi-year and<br/>high concentration sea ice cover is predicted to increase the extent of wind<br/>forcing on the Arctic Ocean, compounded by the projected increase in<br/>frequency of storms. Increased wind forcing is likely to lead to enhanced<br/>mixing and associated fluxes of nutrients and heat to the surface from warmer<br/>and nutrient rich waters below. However, there remains a lack of<br/>understanding and quantification of how wind forcing will impact these fluxes<br/>and productivity over short timescales of days. This thesis investigates how<br/>wind, sea ice and stratification influence the surface mixing layer and its<br/>impact on nitrate fluxes.<br/>The study is based on a set of turbulence observations from an MSS 90 freefall<br/>profiler, taken over 2 cruises in spring and summer 2018 in the Barents Sea<br/>and on the shelf north of Svalbard. Additionally, profile data of temperature<br/>and salinity, nitrate concentrations and uptake rates and a 2-year<br/>temperature time series data from 2 moorings deployed on the shelf are also<br/>used. This in situ data is supplemented by satellite remote sensing data for sea<br/>ice and reanalysis data for wind and surface heat fluxes and empirically<br/>derived values for the air-ocean transfer of energy from the literature.<br/>In Chapter 3 profiles from the MSS are used to quantify the mixing depth<br/>parameter and investigate how it varies with wind, sea ice and stratification.<br/>We develop a new empirical model linking the input of energy from wind at the<br/>surface of the ocean with the mixing depth, modified by sea ice and<br/>stratification. We derived a new linear relationship based on measurements<br/>between wind speeds of 2 and 11.4 ms-1 in open water under both stratified<br/>and unstratified conditions.<br/>We then investigate the depth relationship between mixing depth and the<br/>nitracline during the summer post-bloom period in Chapter 4, and the impact on nitrate resupply, uptake and f-ratio. We define a new parameter, the<br/>mixing – nitracline overlap, which quantifies the depth relationship between<br/>mixing depth and the depth of the nitracline and is indicative of the potential<br/>magnitude of the nitrate flux. We estimate the mixing – nitracline overlap for<br/>a south-north transect at 30°E through the Barents Sea using the new<br/>empirical model of mixing depth from Chapter 3. We found that where the<br/>mixing – nitracline overlap is positive the flux of nitrate to the surface is<br/>enhanced by up to an order of magnitude. Periods where the mixing depth<br/>overlaps with the nitracline occur sporadically throughout the summer, but<br/>only north of the Polar Front. The strength and frequency of strong wind<br/>events, and the local stratification environment control how often these periods<br/>lead to an associated enhancement of nitrate flux."],"dc:identifier":["oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c","https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/files/43109141/James_Rodgers_final_thesis.pdf"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["The Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of the Highlands and Islands"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/8ca41181-8ac2-483f-b4d2-3de9ea0c489c"],"dc:title":["The Impact of Wind-Driven Mixing in the Barents Sea"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Doctor of Philosophy (awarded by UHI)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:12:07Z"}