POSSIBLE LUNAR TIDE EFFECTS ON CLIMATE AND ECOSYSTEM VARIABILITY IN THE NORDIC SEAS AND THE BARENTS SEA

The inflow of North Atlantic Water to the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea has a major influence on northern Europe climate and ecosystem dynamics in the Nordic Seas and the Barents Sea. In the period from 1900 to 2005, the temperature variability of North Atlantic Water and the Barents Sea temperature was correlated with the 18.6 year amplitude tide and the 9.3 yr phase tide. The deterministic property of these fluctuations suggests that forecasting climate and biomass fluctuations over the next 10 to 20 years might be possible. This study investigated the predicted fluctuations of North Atlantic Water and the temperature, zooplankton, and capelin of the Kola section of the Barents Sea over the next 15 years. The forecast is based on historic data and identified lunar nodal cycle periods trained in a Neural Network.