Numerical Study of the Riverine Water Residence Time on the Shelf of the Eastern Arctic

The circulation features of the Siberian shelf in the period from 1985 to 2014 are studied using numerical large-scale model of ocean and sea ice circulation and atmospheric reanalysis data. It is shown that in the last two decades the residence time of river tracers in the shelf area has 2–4 times decreased. The most likely reason for this reduction is an increase in the duration of the ice-free period, combined with the prevailing wind effect, favorable for transport of tracers into the deep part of the Arctic Ocean.