Wind-driven summer surface hydrography of the eastern Siberian shelf

High interannual variability of summer surface salinity over the Laptev and East Siberian Sea shelves derived from historical records of the 1950s - 2000s is attributed to atmospheric vorticity variations. In the cyclonic regime ( positive vorticity) the eastward diversion of the Laptev Sea riverine water results in a negative salinity anomaly to the east of the Lena Delta and farther to the East Siberian Sea, and a positive anomaly to the north of the Lena Delta. Anticyclonic ( negative) vorticity results in negative salinity anomalies northward from the Lena Delta due to freshwater advection toward the north, and a corresponding salinity increase eastward.