Water structure and currents in the Bear Island Trough in July–August 2017

Abstract

We analyzed CTD and ADCP measurements in the western Barents Sea carried out onboard the Russian R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh (cruise 68) in July–August 2017. We studied the water structure over a meridional section between Norway and Svalbard. The velocities of the bottom flow were measured on a mooring deployed in the deepest part of the trough. We compared direct velocity measurements with the tidal velocities calculated from satellite altimetry data. Despite strong barotropic tides in the region, the mean bottom flow was permanently directed from the Barents to the Norwegian Sea, which corresponds to the measured thermohaline structure of the deep waters.