ISSN 00014370, Oceanology, 2012, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 467–477. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2012.

Original Russian Text © A.P. Nedashkovsky, 2012, published in Okeanologiya, 2012, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 498–508.

MARINE
CHEMISTRY

Hydrochemical Variability in the Surface Mixed Layer

along the Drift Path of the North Pole 35 Station
A. P. Nedashkovsky
Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia
Email: nealpa@mail.ru
Received September 2, 2010; in final form, April 13, 2011

Abstract—The variability of the phosphates, silicates, alkalinity, oxygen, CO2 pressure, salinity, and temper
ature in the surface mixed layer (SML), as well as the variations of its thickness along the drift passage of the
North Pole 35 station, are considered. The station drifted over the Nansen Basin mainly eastwards from ~105
to ~30° E. The surveys were performed from October of 2007 till June of 2008 at threeday intervals. The SML
parameters are mainly determined by the advection and mixing with the underlying waters. The analysis of
the hydrochemical variability shows that the surface waters at the eastern and western areas of the drift are of
different origins. The waters of the eastern area were subjected to the impact of riverine runoff. These waters
were spread westwards. The fraction of riverine waters in the eastern area amounts to 3%. In the western area
of the drift, presumably transformed Atlantic waters were observed, which spread eastwards from the Fram
Strait. The drift path of the station crosses the boundary of the water masses near 85° N and 45° E.
DOI: 10.1134/S0001437012040066

INTRODUCTION the surveys, 89 hydrochemical stations were executed,

The surface mixed layer (SML) in the Arctic Ocean
plays a significant role in the processes determining
the ice formation and in the heat exchange between
the ocean and the atmosphere. This causes the interest
in the studies of the SML, mainly of its physical
parameters [2, 22]. The hydrochemical variability of
the SML is now less understood. Meanwhile, hydro
chemical surveys are required for the studies of the
regional ecosystem and of the gas exchange between
the ocean and the atmosphere. Moreover, the hydro
chemical characteristics of the surface layer (first, the
silicates and the alkalinity–chloride ratio) were used
successfully in the analysis of the water mass’s expan
sion in the Arctic region [7–9]. In view of this, the
presentday data on the hydrochemical variability in
the SML seem to be topical. The report presents the
results based upon the surveys we performed in the
Nansen Basin during the drift of the North Pole 35
(NP 35) station in 2007–2008.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The location scheme of the stations is presented in
Fig. 1. The surveys were performed from October of
2007 till June of 2008. The water was sampled with
Niskin bottle samplers at the layers of 3 and 7 m within
the surface layer (once every three days) and in the
water mass from the surface to the depth of 2000 m.
The distances between the deepwater hydrochemical
stations were 100 km at the most. During the time of
including 15 deepwater sites. The deepwater stations
were numbered from 1 to 15. The stations of water
sampling exclusively from the surface layer were num
bered from 1.1 to 14.6.
The measured parameters were the phosphates, sil
icates, oxygen, total alkalinity, and pH value. The sili
cates and phosphates were determined with a KFK 3
photometer by the standard procedure accepted in
marine chemistry [10]. The experimental errors
amounted to 0.01 and 0.02 μM for the phosphates and
silicates, respectively. The total alkalinity (TA) was
determined using direct titration by Bruevich with
final potentiometry [10] by means of an ATP 02 auto
matic titrator (manufactured by the Akvilon Co., Rus
sia). A solution of sodium carbonate was used as the
standard. The error of the alkalinity determination
amounted to 0.004 meq/L at most. The pH value was
determined by potentiometry at 15.0°С in a thermo
static cell protected from CO2 exchange with the
atmosphere. The cell’s EMF was measured by means
of a Seven Multi S80 K converter (manufactured by
Mettler Toledo Co., Switzerland) to an accuracy of
0.1 mV. The measuring electrode was calibrated
with standard buffer solutions, manufactured by
VNIIFTRI3, Russia. The error of the pH measuring
amounted to ~0.005 pH unit. To calculate the pressure
of the СО2, the constants for carbonic and boric acids,
as well as the СО2 solubility by [16], were used. In the
course of the calculations, the pH value on the scale of
the total concentration of hydrogen ions (pHtris [10])
was taken, which was calculated by means of the

467
468 NEDASHKOVSKY

180° 135° E

1
4 2
5
90°
E
8

11
W
85° N
W1

13
W2
N
15 80°

45°

0°

Fig. 1. Location scheme of the stations for the hydrochemical surveys at the NP 35 station. The black circles are the stations of
sampling in the water mass from the surface to ~2000 m. The light circles are the stations of sampling from the layers of 3 and 7 m.
The figures are the station nos. The dotted line across the drift path shows the boundary between the E and W areas. The W area
consists of the W1 and W2 subareas being different in the transformation degrees of the AW involved into the SML formation. The
arrows of the eastward direction show the probable spreading of the surface waters of the Atlantic origin, which are supplied by
the West Spitsbergen current. The arrows of the westward direction mark the surface Arctic waters extending from the Novosibir
skie Islands and the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago.

empirical equation [20] from the measured pH value
on the NBS scale.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 1 shows that the station drifted mainly over
the Nansen Basin (westwards in general). The same
direction is characteristic of the Transpolar transfer
with its primary flow located nearer to the pole [1].
According to [12], the station’s drift area is the region
of the expansion of the main stream of warm Atlantic
waters (from the Fram Strait to the center of the
Laptev Sea). The main body of these waters is situated
at the depths of 200–300 m. The drift path may be sub
divided into three areas: (1) the initial part (stations 1–
4), where the drift was perpendicular to the continen
tal slope; (2) the main part (stations 4.1–13), where
the drift was parallel to the slope; and (3) the final part
(stations 13.1–15.3), where the drift was anew
directed towards the continental slope. The vertical
structure of the water masses in the drift area belongs
to the Severnaya Zemlya type, which includes the fol
lowing primary layers: the SML, the cold halocline
(CHC), the layer of Atlantic waters (AW), and the
nearbottom waters [1, 6]. The characteristic vertical
profiles of the temperature and salinity within the
depth range of 2–200 m are presented in Fig. 2.
The surveys performed at deepwater stations show
that the hydrochemical parameters varied monotonely
in the upper part of the water mass (from 0 to 150–200 m),
being characterized by the increase of the temperature
and salinity and including the SML, CHC, and upper
thermocline (the upper part of the AW). The silicates,
phosphates, and partial pressure of СО2 (Р(СО2))
increased. The oxygen, normalized total alkalinity
(NTA), and pH value at the measurement temperature
decreased. The hydrochemical characteristics
remained constant over the entire SML’s thickness.
The average values of the considered parameters
within the SML along the drift path are given in Table 1.

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 HYDROCHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN THE SURFACE MIXED LAYER
H, m
0
Station 6
SML
40
SML
CHC
80
120
160
200
–2 –1 0 1 2 3 –2 –1
33.6 34.0 34.4 34.8 33.6
Fig. 2. Typical vertical profiles of the temperature and salinity (the dotted line) for the layer of 0–200 m. Stations 6, 12.1, and 14.5
were located in the E, W1, and W2 areas, respectively. The horizontal lines show the boundaries between the SML and CHC. The
vertical dotted lines show the SML’s salinity.
Their common features are the following. The con
centrations of silicates and phosphates are low, and
their atomic ratio is far less than the Si/P ratio in the
diatomic phytoplankton of the Arctic region (11–15)
[19, 24]. The oxygen saturation in the surface layer is
close to the equilibrium values (97 ± 3 %). On the con
trary, the pressure of the carbon dioxide is far below the
equilibrium (283 ± 19 μatm, ~74%). Considerable vari
ability of the studied characteristics is seen (Fig. 3).
The SML’s thickness increased from about 20 to
90 m with a simultaneous decrease of the CHC’s
thickness down to its complete degeneration in the
first area of the drift and in the first half of the second
area to station 10 (Fig. 3a). These areas are also char
acterized by the pronounced growth of the salinity
from 33.4 to 34.1 psu (Fig. 3b). Evidently, the observed
variations were mainly caused by the vertical mixing,
which produced an increase of the thickness and salin
ity of the SML at the expense of the cold halocline.
The SML’s thickness remained large (80–110 m) to
the end of the drift area (2) (station 13); at that, the
CHC is still degenerated. Along the third area (the
drift towards the slope), the SML’s thickness
decreased rapidly and the CHC appeared anew. Once
the surface layer reaches its maximum thickness, the
SML’s salinity remains high to the drift’s finishing.
Starting with station 9, a growth of the difference
between the water temperature and the freezing point
([t – tfr]) in the SML is registered (Fig. 3c). We think
that this might be caused by the profound vertical mix
ing, which results in the CHC’s degeneration and the
OCEANOLOGY Vol. 52 No. 4 2012
469
Station 12.1 Station 14.5
SML
CHC
t, °C
0 1 2 3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
34.0 34.4 34.8 33.6 34.0 34.4 34.8
Salinity, psu
involving of the waters of the upper thermocline into
the SML. Probably, because of this, the maximum of
the [t – tfr] difference, being accompanied by a small
peak of the salinity, was registered near station 10.3,
where the SML’s thickness was the greatest. The pro
nounced minima of the salinity near stations 2 and 4.3,
as well as the considerable decrease of the SML’s
thickness in the final part of the drift, are evidently caused
by advection. The drastic decrease of the [t – tfr] differ
ence in this area of the drift correlating with a small
decrease of the salinity from 34.3 to 34.2 psu is prob
ably related to the carrying out of the ice field on
which the station was situated to the area of the
melt’s beginning.
In view of the variability of the normalized total
alkalinity (NTA, Fig. 3d), the drift path may be subdi
vided into the eastern and western areas (E and W,
respectively). The NTA = (TA/Sal)×35, where TA is
the total alkalinity and Sal is the salinity of the seawa
ter. The E area is characterized by increased NTA val
ues with wide variability (2.333 ± 0.011 meq/kg). The
NTA values are lower in the W area with no pro
nounced variations (2.312 ± 0.004 meq/kg). The E
area includes part (1) and most of part (2) of the drift
path. The boundary between these areas (Fig. 1) is
located near station 10.3 (85°6′ N, 45°25′ E). The
recent studies show that the formation and melting of
the sea ice evidently should not affect the normalized
alkalinity of the seawater because the alkalinity–salin
ity ratio in the Arctic sea ice is close to the TA/Sal ratio
in the Arctic surface water [4, 5, 14, 15]. Based on this,
470 NEDASHKOVSKY

Table 1. Hydrochemical characteristics in the UQUL along the drift path of the NP 35 station
3–
P(CO2), Si, PO 4 , NTA,
t, °C Sal, psu TC/TA % O2 Si/P
µatm µM/kg µM/kg mgequiv/kg

Total data set

Average –1.85 33.9 0.934 283 2.3 0.47 97 4.8 2.325
1σ 0.02 0.4 0.004 19 0.6 0.09 3 0.9 0.014
max –1.80 34.34 0.944 325 3.9 0.71 101 7.8 2.364
min –1.87 32.79 0.926 250 1.3 0.29 89 3.2 2.302
E area
Average –1.84 33.7 0.935 286 2.1 0.42 99 5.0 2.333
1σ 0.02 0.4 0.003 19 0.4 0.06 2 1.0 0.011
max –1.80 34.25 0.944 325 2.8 0.54 101 7.8 2.364
min –1.86 32.79 0.927 250 1.3 0.29 94.5 3.2 2.310
W1 area, stations 1–13
Average –1.859 34.20 0.928 262 1.89 0.47 97.4 4.1 2.313
1σ 0.005 0.02 0.002 6 0.09 0.02 0.9 0.2 0.002
max –1.844 34.24 0.932 278 2.07 0.50 98.6 4.4 2.318
min –1.868 34.16 0.926 253 1.74 0.41 95.9 3.8 2.309
W2 area, stations 14–15.3
Average –1.82 34.29 0.937 301 3.4 0.65 90.6 5.2 2.310
1σ 0.02 0.06 0.001 7 0.4 0.04 0.6 0.4 0.004
max –1.80 34.34 0.939 308 3.9 0.72 91.7 5.8 2.315
min –1.85 34.15 0.934 285 2.7 0.61 89.4 4.5 2.302

one may suppose that the increased NTA value in the
E area points to the effect of the riverine waters.
Considering the features of the variability of the
parameters surveyed in the distinguished areas in more
detail, one may note the following. Two zones of salin
ity decrease are well distinguished in the E area (near
stations 2 and 4.3). The horizontal extension of these
anomalies is about 100 km. The salinity decrease is
accompanied by the growth of the NTA value and the
СО2 pressure (Fig. 3f), especially near station 4.3.
Moreover, a pronounced growth of the silicates is reg
istered here (Fig. 3f) with increased Si/P ratios over
both anomalies (Fig. 3g). The increased values of the
Р(СО2), silicates, and Si/P atomic ratio, as well as the
increased NTA values, are tracers of the riverine
waters. This is seen from Table 2 containing the aver
aged characteristics of the upper 10m layer affected
by the runoff of the Lena River (stations 76–79).
These stations were executed in late August 2008
(cruise 26 of the R/V Akademik Fedorov). Their coor
dinates were 73°29.7′ N, 131°46.6′ E (station 76);
76°49.8′ N, 134°45.2′ E (station 77); 76°33.2′ N,
145°22.6′ E (station 78); and 76°33.2′ N, 145°22.6′ E
(station 79). Compared to the surface waters treated
(Table 1), the waters affected by the runoff of the Lena
River show a considerably higher silicate–phosphate
atomic ratio and СО2 content. This is revealed in the
increased ratio of the total inorganic carbon (TC) and
the total alkalinity. We think that both anomalies of the
salinity may be considered as wellpronounced traces
of the riverine waters. The distinction of station 2 (the
absence of a silicate maximum) is probably related to
its location. This station was situated on the slope, and
the low content of silicates might be caused by their
bioassimilation because the phytoplankton activity is
more pronounced in the waters located nearer to the
shelf. The more evident maximum of the salinity at
station 2 might be caused by the additional effect of
meltwaters. Note that the nearest sources of riverine
waters (the estuarine zones of the Ob and Yenisei riv
ers) are located over 1300 km from the survey area.
Excluding the big jumps of the salinity and hydro
chemical parameters nearby stations 2 and 4.3, one
may conclude that area E on the whole is characterized
by the decrease of the oxygen (Figs. 3h and 3j), the
growth of the СО2 pressure (Fig. 3e), and by the increase
of the silicates and phosphates (Figs. 3f and 3i). At the
rate of the surface currents of about 2 cm/s in area E

Fig. 3. The variability of the hydrochemical parameters in the SML along the drift path.

OCEANOLOGY Vol. 52 No. 4 2012

 HYDROCHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN THE SURFACE MIXED LAYER 471

120 HSML, HSHS, m (a) 34.4 Salinity, psu (b)

34.2
100
34.0
80 33.8

33.6
60
33.4
40
33.2

20 33.0

15 1413 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 4 3 2 1 32.8
0 Deepwater stations 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1
Distance, km 32.6 Deepwater stations Distance, km
1800 1400 1000 600 200 1800 1400 1000 600 200
May March January November May March January November
0.12 t–tfr, °С (c) 2.38 NTA, meq/kg (d)

2.36
0.08

2.34
0.04
2.32

0
2.30
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1
Deepwater stations Deepwater stations
–0.04 Distance, km 2.28 Distance, km
1800 1400 1000 600 200 1800 1400 1000 600 200
May March January November May March January November
340 P(CO2), μatm (e) 4.0 Si, μM/kg (f)

3.6
320
3.2

300 2.8

2.4
280
2.0

260 1.6

1.2
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1
240 Deepwater stations Distance, km Deepwater stations Distance, km
1800 1400 1000 600 200 1800 1400 1000 600 200
May March January November May March January November

OCEANOLOGY Vol. 52 No. 4 2012

472 NEDASHKOVSKY

8 Si/P, M/M (g) %O2 (h)

100
7

6 96

5
92
4

15 1413 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 4 3 2 1 15 1413 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1
3 88
Deepwater stations Deepwater stations
Distance, km Distance, km
1800 1400 1000 600 200 1800 1400 1000 600 200
May March January November May March January November
0.8 PO3–
4 , μM/kg (i) 380 O 2, μM/kg (j)

0.7 370

0.6 360

0.5 350

0.4 340

0.3 330

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 43 2 1
0.2 Deepwater stations Distance, km 320 Deepwater stations Distance, km
1800 1400 1000 600 200 1800 1400 1000 600 200
May March January November May March January November

Fig. 3. (Contd.)

[1], the time of the expansion of the surface waters
from the drift’s start (station 1) to station 10.3 amounts
to ~500 days. If the oxygen decrease (~25 μM) is
determined only by its utilization for the oxidation of
organic matter, the rate of this decrease (dO2/dt) in area
E would be equal to 25/500 = 0.05 μM/day. According to
[26], the rate of the oxygen utilization in the surface
waters of the Arctic Basin amounts to 0.01–0.02 μM/day,
i.e., far less than our estimates of the dO2/dt values.
The difference is evidently caused by the fact that the
hydrochemical characteristics of the SML in area E
are mainly determined by the mixing with the CHC
waters. These latter are depleted in oxygen and char
acterized by higher nutrient concentrations and
P(CO2) values. This is in agreement with the above
assumption of the reasons for the variability of the
thickness and salinity of the SML. One must note that
a decrease of the silicates and CO2 is registered in the
west of area E, whereas the phosphates are still grow
ing and the oxygen falls. Evidently, the decrease of the
silicates and P(CO2) is caused by the decrease of the
contribution of the riverine waters, because of the cor
relation to the NTA’s fall.
In the initial (eastern) part of area W, the oxygen
increases rapidly, while the carbon dioxide, phos
phates, and silicates decrease. During the further drift
over the area of ~300 km extension, the hydrochemi
cal parameters varied slightly (stations 11–13, area W1

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 HYDROCHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN THE SURFACE MIXED LAYER 473

Table 2. Hydrochemical characteristics of the waters affected by the Lena River runoff (stations 76–79, cruise 26 of the
R/V Akademik Fedorov)

Fraction of riverine
Data set t, °C Sal, psu TC/TA P(CO2), µatm NTA, mgequiv/kg Si/P
waters

Station 76, 0–10 m 4.12 24.29 0.98 434 2.74 49 0.38

Station 77, 0–10 m 2.99 23.49 0.98 447 2.75 48 0.37

Station 78, 0–10 m 3.13 25.69 0.97 354 2.54 15 0.21

Station 79, 0–10 m 2.39 24.87 0.97 354 2.56 13 0.23

in Fig. 1). We think that the increased oxygen and
decreased nutrients and CO2 registered in this part of
the drift path despite the maximum SML thickness
were caused by a different origin of the surface waters
here. One may suppose that the surface waters occur
ring in this part of the drift path consist of the trans
formed AW supplied through the Fram Strait to the
north from the Spitsbergen Archipelago and spread
eastwards [18, 21]. The transformation consists in the
desalination under the mixing with the waters formed
by the melting of the carriedover ice and the homog
enizing under the winter convection [22, 23]. No
CHC is present in these waters; only a deep ther
moclinereaching SML is observed. Just the structure
as such is characteristic for area W1 (Fig. 2, station
12.1). The increased oxygen, decreased P(CO2), and
low nutrient contents in these waters might be caused
by the activity of phytoplankton. According to [19],
the concentrations of phosphates and silicates amount
to 0.73 and 7.0 μM, respectively, in the upper 300m
layer of the AW supplied to the North European Basin.
The new production during the season causes the
decrease of the phosphate and silicate concentrations
by 0.3 and 3.1 μM, respectively, in the layer of 0–100 m.
Probably, by the moment of reaching the drift area by
these waters, their hydrochemical parameters (Table 1)
should show wellpronounces traces of production activ
ity, as is evidently observed in area W1.
In the final part of the drift path between stations 13
and 14 (area W2, Fig. 1), a vast decrease of the oxygen
with a sharp increase of the nutrients and P(CO2) take
place. Within this part of the drift path, unlike the pre
vious survey data, the decrease of the oxygen and the
growth of the nutrients correlate with the decrease of
the SML’s thickness. Despite the considerable distinc
tions between areas W1 and W2, we suppose that area
W2 also contains waters of Atlantic origin, which
extends eastwards. A probable reason for the features
of area W2 consists of the following. The time for
reaching area W2 by the waters of the Atlantic origin
evidently is quite shorter than that for area W1.
Because of this, the surface waters in area W2 are far
less transformed than those in area W1. This results in
the lesser homogeneity of the surface layer, which is
revealed in the occurrence of the CHC, as well as in
the closeness of the SML’s hydrochemical character
istics in area W2 (Table 1) to those of the core of the
warm AW (increased nutrient contents and P(CO2); a
lower content of oxygen). Moreover, the lowtrans
formed AW is located shallower over the continental
slope, which causes the lesser depth of the SML.
Table 3 presents the determination coefficients of
the hydrochemical parameters. The Table 3 shows that
suitable correlations take place between the phos
phates and oxygen, on the one hand, and between the
silicates and CO2 pressure, on the other hand. The
presence of the correlation between the silicates and
P(CO2) and the absence of a correlation between these
parameters and the oxygen and phosphates is caused,
as we think, by the effect of riverine waters. The con
centration of silicates and P(CO2) in the SML varied
in the same direction with a change of the contribution
of the CHC under the vertical mixing, the produc
tion–destruction processes, and the variation of the
contribution of the riverine waters. Because of this, the
correlation between the silicates and P(CO2) is traced
throughout the drift path. Seemingly, the concentra
tions of oxygen and phosphates in the SML are mainly
determined by the contribution of the underlying
waters and by the production–destruction processes.
In this case, the influence of the riverine waters chang
ing the concentration of the silicates and P(CO2) show
just no action upon the variability of the phosphates
Table 3. The determination coefficients of the hydrochem
ical parameters in the UQUL for stations 1–14.4
O2 PO 4
3–
Si P(CO2)
O2 0.85 0.33 0.05
3–
PO 4 0.85 0.33 0.04
Si 0.33 0.33 0.70
P(CO2) 0.05 0.04 0.70

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474 NEDASHKOVSKY
and oxygen, which reduces the correlation between
the phosphates and oxygen, on the one hand, and
between the silicates and P(CO2), on the other hand.
Assuming that the alkalinity and salinity of the
treated surface waters are formed at the mixing of the
riverine waters, the waters produced by the melting–
formation of sea ice, and the Atlantic waters, one may
evaluate the fraction of each type of waters by solving
a system of three equations:
α × Sriv + β × Sice + γ × SAtl = S, (1)
α × TAriv + β × TAice + γ × TAAtl = TA, (2)
α + β + γ = 1, (3)
where Sriv, Sice, SAtl, and S are the salinities of the riv
erine, the melted, the Atlantic, and the considered
surface waters, respectively;
TAriv, TAice, TAAtl, and TA are the total alkalinities
of the riverine, melted, Atlantic, and considered sur
face waters, respectively;
α, β, γ are the fractions of the riverine, melted, and
Atlantic waters, respectively, in the considered surface
waters.
As the parameters of the Atlantic waters for the cal
culations, we used the average values in the AW’s core
according to the results of the present surveys: TAAtl =
2.301 meq/kg and SalAtl = 34.90 psu. The summer
melting affects the upper ice layer of about a meter’s
thickness. By our surveys performed during the
present expedition, as well as by the North Pole 34 sta
tion [4], the salinity of the upper 1m layer of the one
year ice before its melting in the Nansen and Amund
sen basins amounted to 5–8 psu. It amounted to 0.6–
1.4 psu for the upper 1m layer of the ice after the sum
mer melting. According to [3], the fraction of one
year ice in the Arctic Basin amounts to ~0.2. At that,
the average salinity of the meltwater is estimated as
~2 psu. It was noted above that the alkaline–saline
ratios are practically equal in the Arctic sea ice and in
the Arctic surface waters. Because of this, the alkalin
ity of the sea ice may be expressed in the following way:
TA = k ×Sal, where the constant of the proportionality
k is the alkaline–saline ratio for the underice water
(k ~ 0.067 in the drift area of the NP 35 station [5]).
Based on this, the following characteristics are
accepted for the waters produced by the melting of the
sea ice: Sal = 2.0 psu and TA = 0.134 meq/kg. One
must note that the calculated fractions of the riverine
and melted waters are weakly dependent on the ice’s
salinity (within 1–8 psu) and on the variations of the
alkalinity–salinity ratio in the ice (within 0.06–0.07).
The value of the total alkalinity of the riverine
waters accepted by different authors in calculations
like this widely varies (from 0.73 [25] to 1.4 meq/kg
[15]). The surveys performed in September in the Kara
Sea resulted in values of 0.65 and 1.14 meq/L for the
Ob and Yenisei rivers, respectively [11]. At the nearly
equal annual flows of these rivers, one may take TAriv ~
0.9 meq/L for the Kara Sea. For the surface desali
nated waters (Sal = 3–33 psu) in the zone of the Lena
River’s affect in late August of 2007, we obtained a
value of TAriv = 0.65 ± 0.04 meq/kg (cruise 26 of the
R/V Akademik Fedorov). This is close to the value of
the total inorganic carbon in the Lena River’s mouth
in September of 1991 (0.61 mM) [17], which is mainly
determined by the hydrocarbonates. In view of the
annual average water discharges, one may take the
average alkalinity of the three greatest Siberian rivers
(about 70% of the Eurasian runoff) to be ~0.8 meq/kg.
We used this value in our estimation of the fractions of
the riverine and melted waters in the SML. Note that
the calculated fractions of the riverine and melted
waters are highly dependent on the value of the river
ine water’s alkalinity. When changing the TAriv value
from 0.7 to 0.9 meq/kg, the fraction of the riverine
waters decreases from 0.07 to 0.05 (by ~30%).
Generally, one must keep in mind that the
increased normalized alkalinity may be caused by the
effect of the Bering Sea waters. According to [13],
Sal = 31.2 psu and NTA = 2.412 in the layer of 0–45 m
for the waters supplied through the Bering Strait. The
characteristics of the Bering Sea waters allow one to
consider them as a mixture of the Atlantic, riverine,
and melted waters. For example, the Bering Sea waters
of the above composition may be considered as a mix
ture of 90% Atlantic, 12% riverine, and 1% melted
waters (a negative value means sea ice formation). The
calculated fraction of the riverine waters (α) would
include the contribution of the desalination owing to
the Bering Sea waters of decreased salinity. Namely,
α = αriv + αB × δB (here, αriv is the fraction of the Eur
asian riverine waters, αB is the apparent fraction of the
Eurasian riverine waters in the Bering Sea waters, and
δB is the fraction of the Bering Sea waters). For the
above evaluation of the apparent contribution of the
riverine waters into the BeringSea waters, we obtain
α = αriv + 0.12 × δB. By [7, 8], the contribution of the
Bering Sea waters in the area studied amounts to sev
eral percents or below. Therefore, one may consider
the value α as a true estimate of the contribution of the
Eurasian rivers.
Figure 4a shows that the fraction of riverine waters
in area E amounts to 2–7%; i.e., it is considerably
higher than that in area W. According to [15], the frac
tion of riverine waters in the northern part of the
Nansen Basin amounts to 2–3%. This is close to our
data in view of the fact that report [15] took the frac
tion of riverine waters to be ~1.4 meq/kg (higher alka
linity decreases the contribution of the riverine waters)
and the ice characteristics to be the following: Sal = 4 psu
and TA = 0.263 meq/kg. In the initial part of the drift
path, the melting contributes to the SML’s desalina
tion along with the riverine runoff (Fig. 4b). In area E,
OCEANOLOGY Vol. 52 No. 4 2012
 HYDROCHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN THE SURFACE MIXED LAYER
(a)
0.08 Fraction of the riverine water
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
–0.02
–0.04 15 1413 12 11 10 9 8 7 65 4 3 2 1 –0.04 15 1413 12 11 10 9 8
Deepwater stations
Distance, km
1800 1400 1000 600
May March January
Fig. 4. The variability of the fractions of the riverine (a) and melt (b) waters in the SML along the drift path.
a negative effect of the meltwaters was observed along
the main part of the drift path (between stations 4 and
10, Fig. 4b). This shows that the ice formation
removed here the meltwater formed before. The con
tribution of melting to the desalination appears anew
in area W.
The features of the hydrochemical variability along
the drift path may be explained by means of the
scheme showing the expansion of the surface waters
over the region considered (Fig. 1). Drift area E is sit
uated in the region of the western transfer of the sur
face waters being desalinated with the riverine runoff
to the Kara and Laptev seas, which is located at the
periphery of the Transpolar Stream. The frontal
boundary between areas E and W separates the western
transfer of the surface waters from the eastern supply
of the transformed Atlantic waters. Within area W, the
boundary between subareas W1 and W2 separates the
nearslope newly formed surface layer from the sur
face waters of quite earlier formation. It is seen in
Fig. 4a that the fraction of riverine waters is nonzero in
area W. In our view, this is caused by the fact that the
Arctic surface waters affected by the riverine runoff
and carried away from the Arctic Basin through the
Fram Strait take part in the transformation of the AW
supplied to the Arctic basin [1]. Probably, because of
this, a small contribution of riverine runoff is regis
tered in area W1, where to the transformed AW are
supplied. No riverine waters are found in area W2
within the limits of the error.
OCEANOLOGY Vol. 52 No. 4 2012
475
(b)
0.04 Fraction of the meltwaters
0.02
0
–0.02
7 65 43 2 1
Deepwater stations
Distance, km
200 1800 1400 1000 600 200
November May March January November
The considered variability between the eastern and
western areas is caused by the general change in the
parameters of the surface waters and may be treated as
a largescale process. Along with this, mesoscale vari
ations of the nutrients and oxygen are seen throughout
the drift area. Excluding the maximum of the silicates
near station 4.3 and their fall at the end of the eastern
part (stations 9 and 10.3) from the consideration, what
was said about the phosphates relates to the silicates as
well. The variations are of sawtooth shape to a first
approximation. The extents of the areas of the growth
and decrease were about 100 km on average (from 30
to 290 km). We think that the mesoscale variations are
caused by the stream’s meandering. At that, the drifting
station traversed different parts of a stream where the
hydrochemical parameters were somewhat different.
Finally, let us dwell on the fact we noted (Table 1) a
low partial pressure of СО2 in the underice water
throughout the drift path of the NP 35 station. It is evi
dent from the foregoing that the maximum contribu
tion to the SML in the area studied is made by the
waters of Atlantic origin. There are two factors
(besides the production) that may decrease the
Р(СО2) value under the transformation of the Atlantic
waters included into the SML’s formation. These are
the cooling of the AW and their dilution with the
waters produced by the melting of sea ice, which are
quite unsaturated in СО2 [5]. The rough estimations
show that the AW’s cooling by several degrees and
their dilution with melting ice to the salinity value we
476 NEDASHKOVSKY
saw in the SML may cause a decrease of the Р(СО2) by
80–100 μatm. Hence, the Atlantic waters supplied to
the Nansen Basin, being in equilibrium with the atmo
sphere or even somewhat supersaturated after the
desalination with melting ice and cooling, may show a
Р(СО2) value near that we observed. The alkalinity of
the seawater results in the fact that the time to
approach the equilibrium in a definite volume of sea
water should be considerably longer (sometimes by an
order of magnitude) for СО2 than that for О2. Because
of this, the underice water we examined is character
ized by a nearequilibrium oxygen concentration
despite the pronounced declination from the equilib
rium for СО2.
CONCLUSIONS
The SML along the path of the NP 35 station’s drift
over the Nansen Basin is characterized by low concen
trations of nutrients (Si = 2.3 ± 0.6 μM/kg and
3–
PO 4 = 0.47 ± 0.9 μM/kg). Their ratio is far below the
atomic Si/P ratio in the Arctic region. The oxygen sat
uration of the surface layer is close to the equilibrium
value (97 ± 3%). In contrast, the pressure of the car
bon dioxide is considerably below the equilibrium
(283 ± 19 μatm). Because of this, the surface waters con
stitute a potential drainage of the atmospheric СО2.
The variability of the hydrochemical parameters in
the SML is determined by its formation under the ver
tical mixing and by the advection as well. The charac
ter of the variability of the hydrochemical parameters
allows one to distinguish two types of surface waters.
Their boundary was traversed by the drift path near 85° N,
45° E. To the east and north, the surface waters situ
ated at the periphery of the Transpolar transfer and
affected by the riverine runoff are extending west
wards. To the west and south, the transformed waters
of Atlantic origin supplied to the Arctic Basin from the
Fram Strait are extending eastwards. Within the waters
of the Atlantic origin, one may distinguish two flows of
different degrees of the transformation of the surface
layers. Flow (1) extends along the continental slope;
its SML was formed quite recently and shows a small
thickness and relatively high nutrient concentrations.
Flow (2) is situated northerner and characterized by a
deep SML (~100 m) and low nutrient concentrations,
which points to its quite older age.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author is grateful to S.B. Lesenkov and
E.N. Kozhevnikov (members of the NP 35 expedi
tion) for their assistance in the hydrological surveys.
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