Monitoring of oceanic surface features in the central and south-western Kara Sea using NOAA-AVHRR imagery

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer satellite data were used to investigate marine environment study in the central and south-western Kara sea. Imagery shows that the whole sea is covered by ice most of the year. The influence of the Ob´ and Enisej rivers discharge, as well as the entrance of an upward flux of warm Atlantic-originated water is clearly seen in the central part of the sea. By early August, when most of the ice has disappeared, the inflow of warm water from the Barents Sea is observed, spreading eastward and then northward, along the coast of the Jamal Peninsula. During the summer months, northerly winds prevailing in the area involve the formation of upwellings; these upwelled coastal waters may have an essential role in regards to the transport of sediments and contaminants deposited on the seafloor