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ICES Cooperative Research Report Rapport des Recherches Collectives No. 275 July 2005 The Annual ICES Ocean Climate Status Summary 2004/2005 Prepared by the Working Group on Oceanic Hydrography Editors: Sarah L. Hughes & Alicia Lavín International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Conseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer H. C. Andersens Boulevard 44–46 · DK-1553 Copenhagen V · Denmark Telephone + 45 33 38 67 00 · Telefax +45 33 93 42 15 www.ices.dk · [email protected] Recommended format for purposes of citation: ICES. 2005. The Annual ICES Ocean Climate Status Summary 2004/2005. ICES Cooperative Research Report, No. 275. 37 pp. https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.5127 For permission to reproduce material from this publication, please apply to the General Secretary. ISBN 87-7482-038-9 978-87-7482-361-2 ISSN 2707-7144 Contents 1 Overview.................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Area summaries.......................................................................................................................................................... 1 3 Introduction................................................................................................................................................................ 6 4 Area descriptions...................................................................................................................................................... 11 Area 1 – West Greenland ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Area 2 – North West Atlantic: Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland, and Labrador Shelf ................................................. 12 Area 2b – Labrador Sea............................................................................................................................................ 15 Area 2c – Mid-Atlantic Bight................................................................................................................................... 16 Area 3 – Icelandic Waters ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Area 4 – Bay of Biscay and Eastern Atlantic ........................................................................................................... 21 Area 5 – Rockall Trough.......................................................................................................................................... 22 Area 5b – North Atlantic.......................................................................................................................................... 23 Area 6 – Faroe Bank Channel and Faroe Current .................................................................................................... 24 Area 7 – Faroe Shetland Channel............................................................................................................................. 25 Areas 8 and 9 – Northern and Southern North Sea .................................................................................................. 26 Area 9b – Skagerrak, Kattegat, and the Baltic ......................................................................................................... 30 Area 10 – Norwegian Sea......................................................................................................................................... 32 Area 11 – Barents Sea .............................................................................................................................................. 34 Area 12 – Greenland Sea and Fram Strait................................................................................................................ 35 ICES Cooperative Research Report, No. 275 i 1 Overview In almost all areas of the eastern and western North Atlantic during 2004, temperature and salinity in the upper layers remained higher than the long-term average, with new records set in numerous regions. There was isolated cooling off the eastern North American coast. In most areas the trend over the last decade (1994–2004) has been one of warming. Figure 1 shows annual-mean normalised temperature and salinity anomalies for selected time-series in the upper layers of the ocean around the North Atlantic Region. The trends in these data over the past 10 years are illustrated in Table 1. Table 2 contains additional information about each of the time-series. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index during the winter of 2004 was negative, but both the Iceland Low and the Azores High weakened. A mid-latitude low pressure anomaly associated with the reduced Azores High was stronger in the west, resulting in pressure anomaly patterns over the western North Atlantic consistent with a strongly negative NAO. 2 Area summaries Area 1 – West Greenland West Greenland experienced warmer than normal air temperatures in 2004. West Greenland shelf waters saw low ice conditions during winter 2003/2004. Mean 0–200 m water temperatures were up to 2°C warmer than normal in autumn 2004. Area 2 – Northwest Atlantic, Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf Annual mean air temperatures over the Northwest Atlantic remained above normal during 2004 north of the Scotian Shelf, while values to the south were below normal. Sea-ice coverage during 2004 decreased over conditions in 2003, remaining below normal for the 10th consecutive year on the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf. Ocean temperatures on the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf remained above normal, reaching record highs in some areas, continuing the warm trend experienced during the past several years. Further south on the Scotian Shelf, ocean temperatures were be- low normal (except for the deep basins) and in some areas they decreased to the lowest values since the cold period of the early 1990s. Shelf water salinities which increased to the highest observed in over a decade during 2002 remained above normal in 2004. Area 2b – Labrador Sea The upper layers of the Labrador Sea remained warmer and more saline than normal in 2004. Annual mean sea surface temperatures in the west-central Labrador Sea reached record high values. Area 2c – Mid-Atlantic Bight Temperatures in the upper layers on the continental slope were close to average in 2004. Further inshore, on the Georges Bank, temperatures were also close to normal, after a period of warming from the mid-1990s until 2003. Area 3 – Icelandic Waters Temperature and salinity were, in general, above the long-term mean. Both were well above the mean for the waters south, west and north of Iceland, while conditions were closer to average in the east. The extent of Atlantic water to the north in the northern area was less than the two previous years. Area 4 – Bay of Biscay and Eastern Atlantic Meteorological conditions in the north of the Iberian Peninsula indicate that 2004 was an average year resulting from a cold winter and a warm summer. Sea surface temperatures were above the monthly mean value of the time-series from June to October. No substantial changes in temperature and salinity were detected in the water column from below the thermocline down to 300 m due to low advection of warmer and saltier water (winter poleward current) in the southern Bay of Biscay in 2004, which resulted in an average year for temperature and salinity. Area 5 – Rockall Trough No update available for 2005. Area 5b – North Atlantic No update available for 2005. ICES Cooperative Research Report, No. 275 1 Area 6 – Faroe Bank Channel and Faroe Current No update available for 2005. Area 7 – Faroe Shetland Channel Atlantic Waters (NAW and MNAW) flowing through the Faroe Shetland Channel were again much warmer and saltier than normal in 2004, but slightly less than the record high values seen in 2003. Areas 8 and 9 – Northern and Southern North Sea In the North Sea, the temperature was above the long-term mean in 2004. The run of positive SST anomalies that started in June 2001 continued through into 2004. The summer SST was the second highest in the record since 1968; the annual maximum heat content has remained above average since 1998. The salinities in most parts of the North Sea were close to the long-term normal, showing increasing influence of the North Atlantic following negative salinity anomalies in recent years. Area 9b – Baltic, Kattegat and Skagerrak The hydrographic state of the Baltic Sea, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak were close to average during most of the year. A warm water inflow into the Baltic Sea in the summer had only minor effects on the conditions in the deeper parts of the Baltic. Area 10 – Norwegian Sea High values of temperature were observed in Norwegian Sea during 2004. In the southern Norwegian Sea averaged At- lantic water was about 0.5°C above the long-term mean. Along the Norwegian continental slope the core of Atlantic Water was in 2004 0.5–0.8°C warmer than normal with highest anomaly in the south. The salinity was also high in 2004, with values in the southern Norwegian Sea reaching record high values. Area 11 – Barents Sea The Barents Sea was warmer than average during 2004. The temperature was 0.3–0.8°C warmer than normal in Janu- ary–March. For the rest of the year, the temperature was approximately 0.6–1.1°C above the long-term average in the entire southern Barents Sea. Area 12 – Greenland Sea In June/July 2004 mean