In the 'weather kitchen,' the interplay between the Azores High and Icelandic Low has a substantial effect on how much warm water the Atlantic transports to the Arctic along the Norwegian coast. But this rhythm can be thrown off for years at a time.
Atlantic Water pathway through the Nordic Seas into the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. Overview of bathymetry, main currents transporting Atlantic Water towards the Arctic Ocean, and names of important islands, seas and currents. The BSO section where transports are evaluated in the model is highlighted by a white line. The wider shelf of Svalbard is encircled by a dashed white line.
Climate researchers want to take a closer look at these fluctuations so that their computer models can better predict how Arctic sea-ice extent will change over the next several decades. The problem: We still don't completely understand the cause of these fluctuations in the complex air and When the NAO is more pronounced, it creates powerful air currents, which drive low-pressure areas across the North Atlantic and past Norway on their way north. When the atmospheric pressure difference lessens, both the winds and the low-pressure areas run out of momentum.