Nansen-Amundsen Basin Observational System (NABOS)

The overall purpose of the project is to provide a quantitative observationally based assessment of circulation, water mass transformations, and transformation mechanisms in the Eurasian (NABOS) and Canadian (CABOS) Basins of the Arctic Ocean.

The major objectives of this project are the following:

To quantify the structure and variability of the circulation in the upper, intermediate, and lower layers of the Eurasian and Canadian Basins;

To evaluate mechanisms by which the Atlantic Water is transformed on its pathway along the slope of the Eurasian and Canadian Basins;

To evaluate the impact of heat transport from the Atlantic Water on ice;

To investigate the strength and variability of the Fram Strait and the Barents Sea branches of the Atlantic Water;

To estimate the rate of exchange between the arctic shelves and the interior in order to clarify mechanisms of the arctic halocline formation;

To evaluate the storage and variability of heat and fresh water, particularly within the halocline of the Canada Basin;

To quantify Pacific water transport, variability, and water-mass transformation mechanisms from the Chukchi Sea shelf toward the Eurasian Basin.