Currents and turbulent diffusion in the bottom boundary layer of the Barents Sea

The numerical analysis of the stationary field of current velocity on the upper boundary of the bottom boundary layer in the Barents Sea is performed on the basis of a simplified model taking into account the fields of wind velocity and density of water for the principal periods of the seasonal cycle and the bottom topography. The analysis is based on the climatic BarKode database and the data on the wind velocity over the Barents Sea for the last 50 yr. The numerical results demonstrate that the field of bottom currents is fairly nonuniform and the current velocities vary from several fractions of 1 cm/sec to 5 cm/sec in the zones with noticeable slopes of the bottom. The estimates of the thickness of the bottom boundary layer are obtained for the constant coefficient of bottom friction C _f = 0.04. In the major part of the water area of the Barents Sea, the thickness of the bottom boundary layer is close to 1 m. In the regions with significant slopes of the bottom, it increases to 2–2.5 m and, in the two zones of intensification of the bottom currents, becomes as large as 5 m. The maximum estimate of the coefficient of turbulent viscosity is close to 5 cm²/sec. The mean value of the coefficient of vertical density diffusion K _S is equal to 2.34 cm²/sec and its standard deviation is equal to 1.52 cm²/sec. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 31–49, September–October, 2007.