A model study of the first ventilated regime of the Arctic Ocean during the early Miocene

Polar research

Martin Jakobsson¹  Bijoy Thompson²  Kristofer Döös³  Johan Nilsson³  Jonas Nycander³ 

[1] Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University , Stockholm 10691 SE Sweden;Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University , Stockholm 10691 SE Sweden Correspondence;Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University , Stockholm 10691 SE Sweden

关键词: Ocean modelling;    Miocene Arctic Ocean;    palaeoceanography;    ocean ventilation;    age tracer;   

DOI  :  10.3402/polar.v31i0.10859

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Co-Action Publishing

【 摘 要 】

The tectonic opening of Fram Strait during the Neogene was a significant geological event that transferred the Arctic Ocean from a poorly ventilated enclosed basin, with weak exchange with the North Atlantic, to a fully ventilated “ocean stage”. Previous tectonic and physical oceanographic analyses suggest that the early Miocene Fram Strait was likely several times narrower and less than half as deep as the present-day 400 km wide and 2550 m deep strait. Here we use an ocean general circulation model with a passive age tracer included to further address the effect of the Fram Strait opening on the early Miocene Arctic Ocean circulation. The model tracer age exhibits strong spatial gradient between the two major Arctic Ocean deep basins: the Eurasian and Amerasian basins. There is a two-layer stratification and the exchange flow through Fram Strait shows a bi-layer structure with a low salinity outflow from the Arctic confined to a relatively thin upper layer and a saline inflow from the North Atlantic bel...

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC