FY 1999
A recent full-depth survey of the Alaskan Stream
Reed, R.K., and P.J. Stabeno
J. Oceanogr., 55(1), doi: 10.1023/A:1007813206897, 79–85 (1999) |
We examine results from a cruise in May 1997. CTD casts to near the bottom were made south of the Aleutian Islands, across Amchitka Pass, and north of the islands. We computed a westward geostrophic speed of 123 cm s−1 at 173.5°W in the Alaskan Stream. The computed volume transport there, referred to the bottom, was 25 × 106 m3 s−1. On other similar sections, transports were 8-15 × 106 m3 s−1. Various complex variations in geopotential height along the Stream apparently altered the cross-stream gradients, and hence the transports. Rotational tendencies were also present. Northward inflow through Amchitka Pass was quite strong (6 × 106 m3 s−1). Data north of the islands supported the existence of a zero-velocity reference level of variable depth. |
