FEATURES OF SURFACE CIRCULATION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC DURING THE CHANGES IN THE ICE COVER OF THE BARENTS SEA
Specific features of the spatial distribution of the surface currents velocity and the temperature in the North Atlantic were revealed using the ORA-S4 ocean reanalysis under the changing ice cover of the Barents Sea, estimated from the instrumental observations data for 1958-2014. Based on the analysis of spatial distribution of direct correlation coefficients and those with a one-year shift between the indicated parameters, the regions with significant correlation were identified. The highest correlation coefficients between the ice coverage in the Barents Sea were obtained for the regions at the northern boundaries of the Gulf Stream and the South Equatorial current, as well as for the Transpolar Drift Stream. The correlation coefficients of the mean annual temperature values in the Barents Sea with the temperature and velocity of currents in the Gulf Stream are 0,86 and 0,75, respectively. The ice coverage increases with the acceleration of the Transarctic Current. The correlation between temperature in the Barents Sea and the current velocity northwest of Spitsbergen is -0,72. Current velocities at the northern border of the Gulf Stream and the South Equatorial current, and temperature in the Gulf Stream and the Barents Sea have positive trends of interannual variability, while the velocity of the Transpolar Drift Stream and the ice coverage in the Barents Sea show negative ones.