Svalbard temperature anomalies can affect climate?

jumpjack

I noticed these temperature anomalies around Svalbard islands:
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/ocean/primary/waves/anim=off/overlay=sea_surface_temp/orthographic=6.72,79.01,1213/loc=6.718,77.730
Googling around I found  that the eastern one is due to a volcanic range discovered in 2013, and I see the western one also matches with an underwater fracture, but can't find info about it.

So I have two questions:
1) are these temperature anomalies there since decades, or are they relatively new?
2) can they affect the climate? I see  15°C in an area where the sea is sually at 0°C! It's a lot of energy!

sryanbruen

The Barents Sea in general is very warm this year for some reason. Sea surface temperature anomalies are widely at least +3.0c above the average. The only other comparable year with a distribution of anomalies as similar to 2017 up there is 2016 I've found through the NOAA archive going back to 1980. However, the anomalies in 2016 were around only +1.0c above the average, so quite a few tiers below the extreme warmth that is taking place up there during the course of 2017. I think that they've been there for decades but just not to the extent that 2017 has brought.

I have no idea what this could mean for the climate of countries near Svalbard and the Barents Sea, as there's only one year that is quite close to matching 2017's distribution of the SST anomalies. I am keeping a close eye on the anomalies up there as we go along.

I'd like to know also what people think this could have an effect on with the climate?

jumpjack

I think sea currents can "spread" the anomaly well away from Svalbard.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/ocean/surface/currents/overlay=sea_surface_temp_anomaly/orthographic=-6.90,67.07,1213
https://www.windy.com/?sst,68.657,-8.086,3,m:ewcafgT,a:LIiIF

I wonder if it this could be the cause of such a warm Atlantic this year.