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Abstract:
The mean residence time of river-runoff on the shelves and in the halocline of the Arctic
Ocean is estimated from salinity and tracer data (tritium, 3He and the 180/160 ratio). These estimates are derived from comparison of apparent tracer ages of the halocline waters using a combination of tracers that yield different information: (1) the tritium "vintage" age, which records
the time that has passed since the river-runoff entered the shelf; and (2) the tritium/3 He age, which reflects the time since the shelf waters left the shelf. The difference between the ages determined by
these two methods is about 3-6 years. Correction for the initial tritium/3He age of the shelf waters (about 0.5-1.5 years) yields a mean residence time of the river-runoff on the shelves of the Siberian
Seas of about 3.5 + 2 years.
