NOAA/PMEL and NOAA/AFSC
Seattle, Washington 98115
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POLEWARD THERMOHALINE CIRCULATION ON THE SOUTHEAST BERING SEA SHELFE.D. Cokelet, NOAA/PMEL
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| To understand future effects of climate variation in the SE Bering Sea, we need to understand the response to present conditions. Previous investigations of the continental shelf have included closely spaced hydrographic (CTD) casts, but along isolated sections that were too far apart to draw detailed inferences about water properties and flow between sections. We present measurements from 3 summers (2008-2010) on a 37x37-km-spaced grid of approximately 300 CTD casts covering most of the shelf during NOAA’s bottom trawl surveys. This gives the first comprehensive 3-D view of the temperature, salinity and density fields including the multi-layered nature and ecologically important Cold Pool (temperature < 2 C). Geostrophic velocity vectors from the gridded observations reveal the thermohaline circulation. Results from all 3 years show consistent poleward flow of warm water along the outer temperature front (above the 100-m isobath) from the Pribilof Islands, across the shelf, past St. Matthew Island and into Russian waters. Satellite-tracked drifter trajectories confirm this circulation. The observations come from 3 “cold” years; inferences about climate change await future “warm” year measurements. |
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EcoFOCI Project Office NOAA/PMEL and NOAA/AFSC |
| 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, Washington 98115 Comments and information |
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