Transport of radionuclides from the Kara Sea. Potential ''shortcuts'' in space and time

Satellite images from the Kara Sea show that, until July, fast ice extends along the coast and fills the estuaries of the Ob and Yenisey rivers. It is separated from offshore drift ice by a region of open water, comprising a flaw lead/polynya. By August, much of the fast and drift ice has melted and retreated from the southwestern Kara Sea, leaving behind a persistent patch of ice east of Novaya Zemlya. The authors of the paper discuss the potential for exchange of water, ice and contaminants with the Barents Sea through Kara Gate (Karsikye Vorota), south of Novaya Zemlya, in the context of the temperature and turbidity distribution observed in the satellite images. 19 refs