FY 1993

The recent return of the Alaskan Stream to Near Strait

Reed, R.K., and P.J. Stabeno

J. Mar. Res., 51(3), doi: 10.1357/0022240933224025, 515–527 (1993)

A hydrocast survey was conducted near the western Aleutian Islands and in the Bering Sea in September 1992. Presence of the Alaskan Stream was indicated by temperatures >4°C to depths in excess of 200 m. Geopotential topography showed the Alaskan Stream flowing through Near Strait into the Bering Sea, with branches also flowing northward through Amchitka and Buldir passes. Satellite-tracked drifter paths were in general agreement with these features. Transport through Near Strait was ~5 × 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹. Previous research indicated that the Stream had been absent from the Strait for more than a year. Data from three current moorings (13-mo duration), however, suggested that the Alaskan Stream started flowing through Near Strait in October 1991 and continued into September 1992. This inflow had periods of both steady and variable flow.