Stockholm university

Research group The North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

In the North Atlantic, a mighty current system conveys, via the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current, warm surface waters to northerly subpolar areas where deep water is formed. This current system, which is an important link in the global ocean circulation connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, also carries warm Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean.

The North Atlantic–Arctic ocean circulation is driven by a complex interplay between the atmosphere and the ocean, which is influenced by regional processes as well as conditions remotely in the Southern and Pacific Oceans.  

Our research aims to understand the mechanisms of the ocean circulation in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, specifically the dynamics steering warm Atlantic Water into the Nordic Seas and the Arctic. Overarching questions concern the current systems' time variability, stability and impact on Arctic sea ice and marine glaciers.

In our research, we use observations from satellites and Arctic expeditions together with theoretical and numerical models. Research themes encompass the interplay between the large-scale circulation and bottom topography and small-scale eddies, and how Atlantic Water drives subsurface melt on glaciers in Greenlandic fjords. We also contribute to develop numerical models to examine the ocean–glacier interactions that control the subsurface melt processes.

Ocean and clouds. Photo: Johan Nilsson/MISU/Stockholm University
Photo: Johan Nilsson/MISU/Stockholm University

Group description

Apart from the current group members (listed below under the next heading), the following scientists participated previously in the ongoing research:

Arunraj Kondetharayil Soman
Eef van Dongen
Stefano Ottolenghi

Group members

Group managers

Inga Koszalka

Associate professor

Department of Meteorology
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Johan Nilsson

Professor of Meteorology

Department of Meteorology
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Jonas Nycander

Professor of Physical oceanography

Department of Meteorology
portrait of Jonas Nycander

Kristofer Döös

Professor of Climate modeling

Department of Meteorology
Kristofer Döös

Léon Chafik

Researcher

Department of Meteorology
Léon Chafik

Members

Ezra Eisbrenner

PhD student

Department of Meteorology

Jan-Adrian Henriksen Kallmyr

PhD student

Department of Meteorology
portrait

Jonathan Wiskandt

PhD student

Department of Meteorology
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Suraj Singh

Postdoctor

Department of Meteorology

Verena Nadine Jung

PhD-student

Department of Meteorology

Research projects