FY 1977

Finestructure in outer Bristol Bay, Alaska

Coachman, L.K., and R.L. Charnell

Deep-Sea Res., 24, doi: 10.1016/0146-6291(77)90557-4, 869–889 (1977)

A salinity-temperature-depth (STD) cruise in Bristol Bay in the Bering Sea during March, 1976 showed the existence of a subsurface layer with large density inversions. This finestructure layer, which covered a horizontal distance of some 100 km, showed a maximum negative density gradient of 55 × 10 kg m. Stations showing these inversions were in the zone of interaction between Bering Sea water and the shelf water of Bristol Bay, which had been displaced ~100 km south of its usual location by strong northerly winds. The layer persisted for nearly one week. Hypotheses are advanced to account for its formation and persistence.