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The dynamics of the transpolar drift current

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Robin Johnson

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.The governing equations for a viscous, incompressible fluid, in the thin-shell approximation, written in a coordinate frame which ensures validity at the North Pole, is simplified by invoking the f-plane approximation. Together with suitable stress conditions at the surface, describing the interaction of wind over ice and ice over water, a solution is developed for the Transpolar Drift current. This involves prescribing the near-surface geostrophic ocean flow and also, for ease of calculation, a simple version of the Ekman flow. Then, via the stress conditions at the surface, the near-surface wind consistent with these flows is obtained. An example, which exhibits the reduction in ice thickness as the flow moves over the North Pole towards the Fram Strait, and also describes the relative directions and speeds of the wind, ice and water, is presented in graphical form; this solution recovers what is observed. The considerable freedom available in this approach, allowing choices to be made for the geostrophic flow and the wind (both variable), and the ice profile at some initial position, is explained, opening the way to further, extensive investigations.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Constantin A, Johnson RS

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics

Year: 2024

Pages: epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 17/06/2024

Acceptance date: 25/04/2024

Date deposited: 24/06/2024

ISSN (print): 0309-1929

ISSN (electronic): 1029-0419

Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/03091929.2024.2351919

DOI: 10.1080/03091929.2024.2351919

Data Access Statement: All data for this paper are properly cited and referred to: the relevant data can be found in Morison and McPhee (Citation2001), Haller et al. (Citation2014), Ma et al. (Citation2017), Kwok (Citation2018), Morison et al. (Citation2018), Morison et al. (Citation2021), Wilson et al. (Citation2021), Jin et al. (Citation2023), and Ward and Tandon (Citation2024).


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
e Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [grant number Z 387-N]

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