Abstract
Sediment transport processes in the northern North Atlantic have been investigated on the basis of various numerical models. A general circulation model has been used to investigate large-scale particle transport, a reduced gravity plume model has been used to investigate particle transport by cascading from the shelves into the deep basins, an ocean slice model has been used to investigate particle exchange processes between a bottom current and the ambient water mass, and a Bottom Boundary Layer model has been used to investigate particle interactions influencing the settling behavior of suspended particles. In this paper, the various processes investigated in these models are described (i) schematically, (ii) on the basis of field data, if available, and (iii) by employing results from numerical simulations. In a first attempt the northern North Atlantic will be divided into separate process defined areas, which can be used in carbon budgeting, for example.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aagaard, K, J. H. Swift, and E. C. Carmack, Thermohaline circulation in the Arctic mediterranean seas, J. Geophys. Res., 90 (C3), 4833–4846, 1985.
Aagaard, K., A synthesis of the Arctic Ocean circulation, Rap. P.-v. reun. Int. Explor. Mer, 188, 11–22, 1989.
Alldredge, A L., and M. W. Silver, Characteristics, dynamics and significance of marine snow, Prog. Oceanogr., 20, 41–82, 1988.
Backhaus, J. O., H. Fohrmann, J. Kampf, and A Rubino, Formation and Export of water masses produced in Arctic shelf polynyas, process studies on oceanic convection, ICES Journal of Marine Sciences, 54 (3), 366–382, 1997.
Berner, R.A, Burial of organic carbon and pyrite sulfur in the modem ocean: Its geochemical and environmental significance, Am. J. Sci., 282, 451–473, 1982.
Blaume, F., Hochakkumulationsgebiete am norwegischen Kontinentalhang: SedimentologischeAbbilder topographiegeführter Strömungsmuster, Ber. SFB 313, Univ. Kiel, 36, 170 pp., 1992.
Bryan, K, A numerical method for the study of the circulation of the world ocean, J. Comput. Phys., 4, 347–376, 1969.
Cox, M.D., A primitive equation, 3-dimensional model of the ocean, GFDL Ocean Group Technical Report No. 1, 250 pp., Princeton N.J., 1984.
Damuth, J.E., Echo character of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea: relationship to Quaternary sedimentation, Mar. Geol., 28, 1–36, 1978.
Dickson, R. R., Variability and continuity within the Atlantic current of the Norwegian Sea, Rap. P.-v. reun.lnt. Explor. Mer, 162, 167–183, 1972.
Eiken, O., and K Hinz, Contourites in the Fram Strait, Sedimentary Geology, 82, 15–32, 1993.
Elverhøi, A, and A Solheim, The physical environment of the western Barents Sea, 1:1,500,000 Sheet A: Surface sediment distribution, Norsk Polarinstituft Skrifter, 179, 3–14, 1983.
Fahrbach, E., and J. Meincke, High-frequency velocity fluctuations on a steep continental slope, Rap. P.-v. reun.lnt. Explor. Mer, 180, 76–77, 1982.
Fohrmann, H., Sedimente in bodengebundenen Dichteströ mungen-snumerische Fallstudien, Ber. SFB 313, Univ. Kiel, 66, 106 pp., 1996.
Fohrmann, H., J. O. Backhaus, F. Blaume, and J. Rumohr, Sediments in bottom arrested gravity plumesnumerical case studies, J. Phys. Oceanog r., 28 (11), 2250–2274, 1998.
Haupt, B. J., C. Schäfer-Neth, and K Stattegger, Modeling sediment drifts: A coupled oceanic circulation-sedimentation model of the northern North Atlantic, Paleoceanography, 9, 897–916, 1994.
Haupt, B.J., D. Seidov, and K Stattegger, SEDLOB and PATLOB: Two numerical tools for modeling climaticallyforced sediment and water volume transport in large ocean basins, in Modeling of Sedimentary Systems, edited by J. Harff, W. Lemke, and K Stattegger, 33 pp., Springer, Heidelberg, 1998.
Henrich, R., A calcite dissolution pulse in the Norwegian-Greenland-Sea during the last deglaciation, Geol. Rundsch., 75, 805–827, 1986.
Holtedahl, H., and K Bjerkli, Late Quaternary sediments and stratigraphy on the continental shelf off More-Trondelag, W. Norway, Mar. Geol., 45, 179–226, 1982.
Huthnance, J. M., Circulation, exchange and water masses at the ocean margin: the role of physical processes at the shelf edge, Prog. Oceanogr., 35, 353–431, 1995.
Hollender, F.-J., Untersuchung des ostgronlandischen Kontinentalrandes mit dem Weitwinkel-SeitensichtSonar GLORIA, Ber. SFB 313, Univ. Kiel, 67, 124 pp., 1996.
Hopkins, T. S., The Gin Sea Review of physical oceanography and literature from 1972, Saclantcen Report, Saclant Undersea Research Center, San Bartolomeo, Italy, Ser.nr.: SR-124, 195 pp., 1988.
Jungclaus, J. H., J. O. Backhaus, and H. Fohrmann, Outflow of dense water from the Storfjord in Svalbard: A numerical model study, J. Geophys. Res., 100 (CI2), 24719–24728, 1995.
Kämpf, J., Thermohaline Konvektion in Polynien arktischer Schelfmeere, Report of the Center of Marine and Climate Research, University Hamburg, 23, 192 pp., 1996.
Kämpf, J., H. Fohrmann, and J. O. Backhaus, On the potential role of sediments in Arctic slope-convection, Proceedings of the conference on Polar Processes and Global Climate, Rosario, Orcas Island, USA, 3 pp., 1997.
Kämpf, J., and J. O. Backhaus, Shallow, brine-driven free convection in polar oceans: nonhydrostatic numerical process studies, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 5577–5593, 1998.
Kenyon, N. H., Evidence from bedforms for a strong poleward current along the upper continental slope of northwest Europe, Mar. Geol., 72, 187–198, 1986.
Kerr, R. C., Erosion of stable density gradient by sediment-driven convection, Nature, 353, 423–425, 1991.
Killworth, P., Deep convection in the world ocean, Rev. Geophys. Space Physics, 21, 1–26, 1983.
Laberg, J. S., and T. O. Vorren, Late Weichselian submarine debris flow deposits on the Bear Island Trough Mouth Fan, Mar. Geol., 127, 45–72, 1995.
LeBlond, P.H., and L. A. Mysak, Waves in the Ocean, 602 pp., Elsevier Oceanography, New York, 1978.
Legutke, S., Modelluntersuchungen zur Variabilität im Strömungsmuster des Europäischen Nordmeeres, Report of the Center of Marine-and Climate Research, University Hamburg, 4, 209 pp., 1989.
Mienert, J., F.-J. Hollender, and N. H. Kenyon, GLORIA survey of the East Greenland margins: 70° N to 80° N, in Sea Floor Atlas of the Northern Norwegian-Greenland Sea, edited by K Crane, and A. Solheim, 172 pp., Norsk Polarinstitutt, Milasotampa S.p.A. Italy, Knut Hässlers Bokbinderi, Sweden, 1995.
Michels, K, The decomposition of polymodal settling velocity distributions for a comprehensive sedimentological description of sand-sized samples, Sedimentology, 42, 31–38, 1995.
McCave, I. N., Size spectra and aggregation of suspended particles in the deep ocean, Deep-Sea Res., 31, 329–352, 1984.
Munk, W., Internal Waves and Small-Scale Processes, in Evolution of Physical Oceanography, edited by B. A. Warren, and C. Wunsch, pp. 264–291, MIT Press, Massachusetts, 1981.
Pacanowski, R., K Dixon, and A. Rosati, The GFDL Modular Ocean Users Guide, GFDL Ocean Group Technical Report No. 2, GFDL/NOAA, Princeton University, 1993.
Pedlovsky, J., Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, 706 pp., Springer, New York, 1987.
Pfirman, S. L., Modem sedimentation in the northern Barents Sea: Input, dispersal, and deposition of suspended sediment from glacial meltwater, Mass. Inst. Tech./Woods Hole Oceanogr. Inst., Tech. Rep. WHOI-85-4, 382, 1985.
Poulain, P.-M., A. Warn-Varnas, and P. P. Niiler, Near surface circulation of the Nordic Seas as measured by Lagrangian Drifters, J. Geophys. Res., 101 (C8), 18237–18258, 1996.
Quadfasel, D., H. Kudrass, and A. Frische, Deep water renewal by turbidity currents in the Sulu Sea, Nature, 348, 320–322, 1988.
Quadfasel, D., B. Rudels, and K Kurz, Outflow of dense water from a Svalbard fjord into the Fram Strait, Deep-Sea Res., 35 (7), 1143–1150, 1990.
Rasmussen, A., Late Weichselian moraine chronology of the Vesterålen islands, North Norway, Nor. Geol. Tidsskr., 64, 193–219, 1984.
Ritzrau, W., and L. Thomsen, Spatial distribution of particle composition and microbial activity in benthic boundary layer (BBL) of the Northeast Water Polynya, Journal of Marine Science, 10, 415–428, 1997.
Ritzrau, W., and H. Fohrmann, Field and numerical studies of near bed aggregate dynamics, in Computerized Modeling of Sedimentary Systems, edited by J. Harff, W. Lemke, and K. Stattegger, pp.183–207, Springer, Heidelberg, 1998.
Ritzrau, W., G. Graf, A. Scheltz, and W. Queisser, Bentho-pelagic coupling and carbon dynamics in the northern North Atlantic, this volume.
Rudels, B., and D. Quadfasel, Convection and deep water formation in the Arctic Ocean-Greenland Sea system, J. Mar. Syst., 2, 435–450, 1991.
Rumohr, J., F. Blaume, H. Erlenkeuser, H. Fohrmann, F.-J. Hollender, J. Mienert, and C. Schäfer-Neth, Records and processes of near-bottom sediment transport along the Norwegian-Greenland Sea margins during Holocene and Late Weichselian (Termination I) times, this volume.
Ross, J., Modellexperimente zur topographischen Deformation einer ebenen Strömung, Diploma thesis, University Hamburg, 57 pp., 1991.
Schäfer, P., J. Thiede, S. Gerlach, G. Graf, E. Suess, and B. Zeitzschel, The environment of the northern North-Atlantic Ocean: Modem depositional processes and their historical documentation, this volume.
Schäfer-Neth, C., Modellierung der Paläoozeanographie des nördlichen Nordatlantiks zur letzten Maximalvereisung, Ber. SFB 313, Univ. Kiel, 51, 105 pp., 1994.
Schauer, U., The release of brine-enriched shelf water from the Storfjord into the Norwegian Sea, J. Geophys. Res., 100 (C8), 16015–16028, 1995.
Schlüter, M., E. I. Sauter, D. Schulz-Bull, W. Balzer, and E. Suess, Fluxes of organic carbon and biogenic silica reaching the seafloor: A comparison of high northern and southern latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean, this volume.
Seidov, D., Numerical modeling of the ocean circulation and paleocirculation, Mesozoic and Cenozoic oceans, Geodyn. Ser., 15, edited by K. J. Hsu, pp. 11–26, AGU, Washington, D.C., 1986.
Seidov, D., An intermediate model for large-scale ocean circulation studies, Dyn. Atmos. Oceans, 25/1, 25–55, 1996.
Seidov, D., and B. J. Haupt, Simulated ocean circulation and sediment transport in the North Atlantic during the last glacial maximum and today, Paleoceanography, 12, 281–305, 1997a.
Seidov, D., and B. J. Haupt, Global ocean thermohaline conveyor at present and in the late Quaternary, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 2817–2820, 1997b.
Sejrup, H. P., E. Jansen, H. Erlenkeuser, and H. Holtedahl, New faunal and isotopic evidence on the Late Weichselian-Holocene oceanographic changes in the Norwegian Sea, Quat. Res., 21, 74–84, 1984.
Stolzenbach, K. D., Scavenging of small particles by fast sinking porous aggregates, Deep-Sea Res., 40, 359–369, 1993.
Thiede, J., G.W. Diesen, B.-E. Knudsen, and T. Småre, Patterns of Cenozoic sedimentation in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, Mar. Geol., 69, 323–352, 1986.
Thomsen, C., F. Blaume, H. Fohrmann, J. Maaßen, I. Peeken, and U. Zeller, Particle transport processes at slope environments-event driven flux across the Barents Sea continental margin, submitted to Mar. Geol., 1998.
Thorpe, S.A., and M. White, A deep intermediate nepheloid layer, Deep-Sea Res., 35 (9), 1665–1671, 1988.
Vogt, P. R., Seafloor Topography, Sediments, and Paleoenvironments, in The Nordic Seas, edited by B. G. Hurdle, pp. 237–412, Springer, Heidelberg, 1986.
Vorren, T. O., J. S. Laberg, F. Blaume, J. A. Dodeswell, N. H. Kenyon, J. Mienert, J. Rumohr, and F. Werner, The Norwegian Greenland Sea Continental Margins: Morphology and Late Quaternary Sedimentary Processes and Environment, Quat. Sci. Rev., 17, 273–302, 1998.
Weber, M., Sedimentologische Untersuchungen eines Holozänen Hochakkumulationsgebietes auf dem Vøring Plateau Escarpment (Norwegische See) zur Frage des Sedimenttransportes in der Tiefsee, Diploma thesis, SFB 313, Univ. Kiel, 1995.
Woodgate, R. A, and E. Fahrbach, Benthic Storms in the Greenland Sea, Deep-Sea Res. 46, 2109–2127, 1999.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fohrmann, H. et al. (2001). Modern Ocean Current-Controlled Sediment Transport in the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN) Seas. In: Schäfer, P., Ritzrau, W., Schlüter, M., Thiede, J. (eds) The Northern North Atlantic. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56876-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56876-3_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63136-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56876-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive