Arctic Ocean river inputs

The river inputs into the oceans vary between the oceans. Ten percent of the total inflow of 10 m s (1 Sverdrup, Sv) flows into the Arctic Ocean, whereby the normalized alkalinity (AtS/35) is increased in the outflow along the east coast of Greenland. The average composition of the major ions in river water is presented in Table 2. The ratios are quite different from the ratios for the major elements in sea water that may be calculated from the concentrations in Table 1. For example, the Na/K ratio in river water is 5.2 while the ratio in sea water is 46. This is most likely due to ion... 

Another way to view river fluxes is to consider the ocean basins into which they empty. While the Arctic Ocean occupies <5% of the global ocean basin area (17 x 10 km ), the total watershed draining into the Arctic is 21 x 10 km, meaning a land/ocean ratio of 1.2. In contrast, the South Pacific accounts for one-quarter of the global ocean area, but its land/ ocean ratio is only 0.05 (Table 4). The greatest fresh water input occurs in the North Atlantic (largely... 

Asia. Large rivers of Asia are clearly the less well documented in terms of trace-element concentrations. This is mainly due to their low abundances of trace elements, probably related to their high pH character. A couple of studies have focused on the riverine input of metals to the Arctic and Pacihc oceans. Himalayan rivers have not been documented for REEs (except the Indus river), but have been analyzed for particular elements such as strontium, uranium, osmium, and radium. There is clearly a need for data on trace elements in the rivers of Asia, particularly in the highly turbid peri-Himalayan rivers. 

Research into the impact of the spills has been aided by the passage of the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which included a provision establishing the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI). OSRI provides funding to support oil-spill related research as well as education and technology development for dealing with oil spills in the Arctic environment. The results of research it supported and other research, such as that funded as part of litigation activities, has been summarized in the 2002 National Research Council report Oil and the Sea Inputs, Fates and Effects. This report also puts into perspective the small contribution of tanker and pipeline spills as compared to other sources of ocean oil such as land-based runoff, polluted rivers, small boats and water craft, as well natural seeps from the sea floor. 

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