The Monsoon over the Barents Sea and Kara Sea

Abstract

In the Arctic (mainly in its European sector) there is statistically detectable seasonal reversal wind pattern. The combination of seasonally warm (cold) land surfaces in arctic areas together with cool (cool) sea surface of Arctic seas not covered by ice is conducive to the formation of a monsoon like system. On the other hand, the predominance of the cyclonic regime during all seasons makes it difficult to answer the question of whether the Arctic region belongs to the monsoon type pattern. In this study, the monsoon features of atmospheric circulation over the Barents and Kara Seas were analysed. To extract specific monsoon signs, atmospheric circulation systems (separately for areas of each sea) were divided into ten weather types. Their appearance and statistics were compared with indicators of regional circulation. A significant part of intra-annual monsoon variability is associated with the configuration of such modes as the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Scandinavia teleconnection patterns. For example, during the winter season, the monsoon currents (from land to sea) occur only with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation index. With the prevalence of other modes of variability, the direction of the winds can be different, and the regular monsoon circulation pattern is changed by chaotic regime. In summer, northern streams (from sea to land) are realized on the western periphery of cyclones, regenerating and stabilizing over the Kara Sea. As for anomalies, the nature of the monsoons is manifested in the statistics of extreme winds even without selecting data on the regimes of variability. So, in winter, maximum speeds fall on the southern streams, and in the summer—on the northern ones. Large precipitation anomalies during all seasons, as one would expect, are encountered most often with the cyclonic type of circulation.