POCAHONTAS - Polar Climate and Heat Transport

The main objective of this project is to determine the mean and variation of the combined oceanic and atmospheric heat transports toward Svalbard and the European Arctic. The Norwegian and Arctic climate is much warmer than the local radiation budget woul d suggest, and this is due to oceanic and atmospheric heat transports into the region. Western Europe and the European Arctic are particularly warm for their latitudes. However, the relative importance of the oceanic and atmospheric heat transports in mai ntaining the temperate climate of the region is very controversial, with estimates of key heat flux components known only to a factor of two or worse. The vertical exchanges across the turbulent layers that separate the two are of fundamental importance. With the use of modern and paleo observations and numerical models, this project will determine the mean and variation of the oceanic heat transport and the role of the poleward atmospheric heat transport toward the European Arctic. In addition, column he at budgets at the Atmosphere-Ocean-Sea Ice interface will be assessed. By synthesizing the findings we will be able to provide estimates of the combined ocean-atmosphere heat transport into the European Arctic, and to explore the Bjerknes Compensation the ory, suggesting that the oceanic and atmospheric heat transports covaries in an out-of-phase manner, implying that a heat transport anomaly in either ocean or atmosphere would have to be compensated by the other.