Articles | Volume 21, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2419-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2419-2025
Research article
 | 
16 Oct 2025
Research article |  | 16 Oct 2025

Mechanisms of warm-water intrusions onto the West Spitsbergen Shelf during winter

Lukas Frank, Jon Albretsen, Ragnheid Skogseth, Frank Nilsen, and Marius O. Jonassen

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Cited articles

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Bloshkina, E. V., Pavlov, A. K., and Filchuk, K.: Warming of Atlantic Water in three west Spitsbergen fjords: recent patterns and century-long trends, Polar Research, 40, https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5392, 2021. a
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Short summary
West of Svalbard, warm Atlantic Water frequently deviates from the West Spitsbergen Current onto shallow shelf areas, with significant implications for the regional climate system. The intrusions can be triggered by different processes, but their depths ultimately depend on the density difference between the intruding water and the ambient shelf water. These findings are an important step toward a better understanding of how warm Atlantic Water eventually reaches the fjords of Svalbard.
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