Observations and Mechanisms of Near-Uniform Sea Level and Ocean Bottom Pressure Fluctuations Spanning the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas

Near-uniform variations of the ocean in the Arctic region from intra-seasonal to inter-annual time-scales are studied using satellite and in situ observations in conjunction with a global ocean general circulation model. The spatially coherent fluctuations extend across the deep ocean basins of the Arctic Ocean including the Nordic Seas with coincident variations in ocean bottom pressure and sea level. The variations are found to be associated with barotropic fluctuations of the ocean forced by changing winds at the shelf break along the continental margins of the Arctic domain. Observations of these variations will be described and the dynamics underlying the fluctuations discussed.