PAVE

The main objective of the PAVE project is to observe, analyze and explain variability of the Atlantic inflow into the Arctic Ocean along two main pathways and to recognize its impact on climate changes, in particular retreating sea ice cover, and changing ecosystems in the European Arctic.

WP1 Management

The main objective of WP1 is to warrant effective, smooth and high-quality performance of the PAVE project. WP1 takes care of the administration of the project, reporting, provision of deliverables, organization of meetings, and financial issues.

More...

Specific objectives include:

Organization of the project meetings including kick-off meeting, annual assembly and final science conference;
Establishing and maintaining communication with NCBIR through the responsible Scientific Officer;
Following up the project work plan including provision of deliverables according to the agreed deadlines and taking necessary actions in case of deviations;
Preparation and submission of all required project reports according to the reporting schedule;
Administration of financial/budgetary aspects of the project;
Establishing and maintaining communication between project partners by different means (website, emails, side meetings);
Setup and maintenance of the program data base, including data dissemination;
Coordination the dissemination and exploitation activities to ensure that the PAVE results are used optimally during and after the project;

Arranging the public outreach activities by maintaining the dedicated project web site, issuing press releases, organization of scientific seminars, conferences and outreach activities, including web-based platform applications.

WP2 Atlantic Water variability in the Fram Strait Branch

The main objective of WP2 is to gain new knowledge on variability of the Atlantic water properties and transport in the West Spitsbergen Current on the different time scales using available historical data and dedicated measurements.

More...

Specific objectives include:

To describe variability of AW properties in Fram Strait on seasonal to inter-annual time scales from historical and new data.
To identify the local and remote forcing mechanisms responsible for interannual variability of the AW transport in the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) including its splitting between the AW core entering the Arctic Ocean and the direct recirculation of AW in Fram Strait.
To study the role of mesoscale structures (eddies and fronts) in modification of the AW flow through Fram Strait.

WP3 Atlantic Water variability in the Barents Sea Branch

The main objective of WP3 is to gain new knowledge on variability of the Atlantic water transport in the Barents Sea using available historical data and dedicated measurements.

More...

Specific objectives include:

To describe variability of the Atlantic water properties and transport in the Barents Sea on different time scales based on available historical data and new measurements.
To investigate process and forcing that determines the inflow to the Barents Sea including effects of wind and buoyancy forcing, and the role of topographic waves.

WP4 AW splitting and modification in numerical simulations

The main objective of WP4 is to analyze variability of the Atlantic water transport and primary production in the Fram Strait and Barents Sea branches on the basis of state-of-the-art numerical simulations.

More...

Specific objectives include:

To describe the splitting of AW and the water mass modifications along the different pathways using numerical models.
To quantify the effect of different air-pressure/wind regimes on the variability of the two AW branches based on results from numerical models.

To estimate the primary production in Fram Strait from dedicated runs of the high resolution coupled physical-biological model.

WP5 Synthesis of observations and model results

WP5 is devoted to the synthesis of observations and model results in Fram Strait and Barents Sea with a focus on possible links of the heat transport into the Arctic Ocean to atmospheric forcing and air-sea interactions in the Nordic Seas region.

More...

Specific objectives:

To describe casual mechanisms which control the relative strength of two branches of AW inflow and amount of heat transported into the Arctic Ocean.
To identify the role of air-sea interactions in the Nordic Seas region in modification of the AW properties on the way into the Arctic Ocean.
To recognize the link of the AW variability in both branches with sea-ice conditions in Fram Strait and in the Barents Sea.

WP 6 AW impact on climate conditions and changing Arctic ecosystems

The main objective of WP6 is to assess the impact of varying strength the AW inflow along different pathways on the sea ice coverage the European Arctic and changing Arctic ecosystems.

More...

Specific objectives:

To identify the impact of varying AW branches on the European Arctic sea ice cover and its changes.
To assess the impact of AW variability on primary production in Fram Strait using numerical models, in situ observations and satellite data.
To investigate the impact of varying AW flow into Arctic via the Fram Strait and Barents Sea branches on distribution, composition, abundance and the development of the key Calanus species in the Nordic Seas, in the areas of co-occurrence of Atlantic and Arctic water masses.
To compare taxonomic composition and abundance of zooplankton of the two main pathways of the Atlantic Water inflow into the Arctic Ocean as well as to assess the changes in zooplankton communities in relation to variability in AW advection.
To assess the impact of varying AW branches on the changing ecosystems of the Barents Sea and the European Arctic (in particular the Svalbard region).