Observation of Arctic surface currents using data from a surface drifting buoy

During the 10th Chinese Arctic scientific expedition carried out in the summer of 2019, the surface current in the high-latitude areas of the Arctic Ocean was observed using a self-developed surface drifting buoy, which was initially deployed in the Chukchi Sea. The buoy traversed the Chukchi Sea, Chukchi Abyssal Plain, Mendeleev Ridge, Makarov Basin, and Canada Basin over a period of 632 d. After returning to the Mendeleev Ridge, it continued to drift toward the pole. Overall, the track of the buoy reflected the characteristics of the transpolar drift and Chukchi Slope Current, as well as the inertial flow, cross-ridge surface flow, and even the surface disorganized flow for some time intervals. The results showed that: (1) the transpolar drift mainly occurs in the Chukchi Abyssal Plain, Mendeleev Ridge, and western Canada Basin to the east of the ridge where sea ice concentration is high, and the average northward flow velocity in the region between 79.41°N and 86.32°N was 5.1 cm/s; (2) the average surface velocity of the Chukchi Slope Current was 13.5 cm/s, and while this current moves westward along the continental slope, it also extends northwestward across the continental slope and flows to the deep sea; and (3) when sea ice concentration was less than 50%, the inertial flow was more significant (the maximum observed inertial flow was 26 cm/s, and the radius of the inertia circle was 3.6 km).