Arctic's new freshwater bulge

A huge bulge of freshwater has been detected in the Arctic Ocean, say scientists.

Around 8000 cubic km in size, the water-dome has risen about 15 cm in the last ten years. 


The team of scientists responsible for the detection believe that "it may be the result of strong winds whipping up a great clockwise current in the northern polar region called the Beaufort Gyre. 


This would force the water together, raising sea surface height, the group tells the journal Nature Geoscience.


"In the western Arctic, the Beaufort Gyre is driven by a permanent anti-cyclonic wind circulation. It drives the water, forcing it to pile up in the centre of gyre, and this domes the sea surface," explained lead author Dr Katharine Giles from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at University College London.

"In our data, we see the trend being biggest in the centre of the gyre and less around the edges," she told BBC News.

Dr Giles and colleagues made their discovery using radar satellites belonging to the European Space Agency (Esa).

These spacecraft can measure sea-surface height even when there is widespread ice cover because they are adept at picking out the cracks, or leads, that frequently appear in the frozen floes.

The data (1995-2010) indicates a significant swelling of water in the Beaufort Gyre, particularly since the early part of the 2000s. The rising trend has been running at 2cm per year."(BBC News)