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Abstract.A distinct, subsurface density front along the eastern St. Anna Trough in the northern Kara Sea is inferred from hydrographic observations in 1996 and 2008-2010. Direct velocity measurements show a persistent northward subsurface current (∼ 18 cm s −1 ) along the St. Anna Trough eastern flank. This sheared flow, carrying the outflow from the Barents and Kara seas to the Arctic Ocean, is also evident from shipboard observations as well as from geostrophic velocities and numerical model simulations. Although we cannot substantiate our conclusions by direct observation-based estimates of mixing rates in the area, we hypothesize that the enhanced vertical mixing along the St. Anna Trough eastern flank favors the upward heat loss from the intermediate warm Atlantic water layer. Modeling results support this hypothesis. The upward heat flux inferred from hydrographic data and model simulations is of O(30-100) W m −2 . The region of lowered sea ice thickness and concentration seen both in sea ice remote sensing observations and model simulations marks the Atlantic water pathway in the St. Anna Trough and adjacent Nansen Basin continental margin. In fact, the sea ice shows a delayed freeze-up onset during fall and a reduction in the sea ice thickness during winter. This is consistent with our results on the enhanced Atlantic water heat loss along the Atlantic water pathway in the St. Anna Trough.

Sea‐surface temperature and salinity (SST/S) in the Arctic Ocean (AO) are largely governed by sea‐ice and continental runoff rather than evaporation and precipitation as in lower latitude oceans, and global satellite analyses and models which incorporate remotely observed SST/S may be inaccurate in the AO due to lack of direct measurements for calibrating satellite data. For this reason, we are motivated to validate several satellite sea‐surface temperature (SST) data products and SST/S models by comparing gridded data in the AO with oceanographic records from 2006 to 2013. Statistical analysis of product‐minus‐observation differences reveals that the satellite SST products considered have a temperature bias magnitude of less than 0.5 °C compared to ship‐based CTD measurements, and most of these biases are negative in sign. SST/S models also show an overall negative temperature bias, but no common sign or magnitude of salinity bias against CTD data. Ice tethered profiler (ITP) near‐surface data span the seasons of several years, and these measurements reflect a sea‐ice dominated region where the ocean surface cannot be remotely observed. Against this data, many of the considered models and products show large errors with detectable seasonal differences in SST bias. Possible sources of these errors are discussed, and two adjustments of product SST on the basis of sea‐ice concentration are suggested for reducing bias to within less than 0.01 °C of ITP near‐surface temperatures.

Abstract. Variability of surface water masses of the Laptev and the East Siberian seas in August–September 2018 is studied using in situ and satellite data. In situ data were collected during the ARKTIKA-2018 expedition and then complemented with satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST), salinity (SSS), sea surface height, wind speed, and sea ice concentration. The estimation of SSS fields is challenging in high-latitude regions, and the precision of soil moisture and ocean salinity (SMOS) SSS retrieval is improved by applying a threshold on SSS weekly error. For the first time in this region, the validity of DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute) SST and SMOS SSS products is thoroughly studied using ARKTIKA-2018 expedition continuous thermosalinograph measurements and conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) casts. They are found to be adequate to describe large surface gradients in this region. Surface gradients and mixing of the river and the sea water in the ice-free and ice-covered areas are described with a special attention to the marginal ice zone at a synoptic scale. We suggest that the freshwater is pushed northward, close to the marginal ice zone (MIZ) and under the sea ice, which is confirmed by the oxygen isotope analysis. The SST-SSS diagram based on satellite estimates shows the possibility of investigating the surface water mass transformation at a synoptic scale and reveals the presence of river water on the shelf of the East Siberian Sea. The Ekman transport is calculated to better understand the pathway of surface water displacement on the shelf and beyond.

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