Anomalous hydrographic conditions in the western Barents Sea observed in March 2014

• Atlantic Water inflow in the Western Barents Sea in March 2014.
• Anomalous northern Polar Front position.
• Unique CTD-measurements in the Olga Basin in winter season north of 77.7°N.

Observational data have been collected during a cruise to the western Barents Sea in March 2014 covering 33 stations along three west–east sections at 76.34°N, 77.26°N and 78.49°N and along one south–north section at 19.47°E. Our observations suggest a wedge-like water masses structure with colder and fresher Arctic Water moving southward, gliding over warmer and more saline Atlantic Water which below the surface moves to the north. Atlantic Water in the Storfjorden Trench reached farther north than 76.5°N and was present on the eastern and western slopes of the Spitsbergen Bank. Our measurements indicate limited dense water formation in the Storfjorden. A comparison with historical data over the years 1923–2011 reveal an anomalous northern location of the Polar Front for this time of the year in March 2014. A point by point comparison with ten historical stations in 1983 and 1986 shows significantly warmer (by up to 3.8 °C) and saltier (by up to 2.49 psu) conditions in 2014 for nine out of ten stations. Moreover, stations dominated by the Atlantic inflow experienced the largest changes, whereas in stations located in the area of the Arctic outflow the changes were smallest. Furthermore, we used satellite and decadal reanalysis data to estimate the climate variability defined by a range of two standard deviations. We found that in the Storfjorden Trench in March 2014 the water transport was within the range, while the water temperature exceeded the upper limit of climate variability. The sea ice extent in the western Barents Sea was below the lower limit of climate variability from mid-February to mid-March 2014. Combining in situ, satellite and model data, we were able to attribute the warm anomaly observed in March 2014 to two main reasons: (1) an increase of Atlantic water temperature which was evident already in the beginning of 2014 and (2) very little cooling in February and March 2014. From these results we conclude that the north-western Barents Sea is a key region to monitor local response on climate change signals in the Arctic Ocean.