Arctic | Climate and Oceanography
Boundary currents at the northern edge of the Chukchi Sea at 166°W Presenter: Min Li , limin_gdou@hotmail.com, Guangdong Ocean University Robert Pickart , rpickart@whoi.edu, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Peigen Lin , plin@whoi.edu Rebecca Woodgate , woodgate@uw.edu Guiyuan Wang , 2112002018@stu.gdou.edu.cn Lingling Xie , llingxie@163.com
Data from two moorings deployed at 166°W on the northern Chukchi shelf and slope from summer 2002 to fall 2004, as part of the Western Arctic Shelf-Basin Interactions (SBI) program, are analyzed to investigate the characteristics and variability of the flow in this region. The mean velocity at the outer-shelf mooring (71 m) is northeastward and bottom- intensified, while that at the upper-slope mooring (108 m) is northwestward and surface-intensified. This, together with results from a high resolution ocean and sea ice reanalysis, indicates that the outer-shelf mooring sampled the seaward edge of the Chukchi Shelfbreak Jet, while the upper-slope mooring sampled the shoreward edge of the Chukchi Slope Current. The coupled variability in velocity at both sites is related to the wind stress curl over the Chukchi Sea shelf, likely via Ekman dynamics and geostrophic set up, analogous to the dynamics of both currents closer to Barrow Canyon. Hydrographic signals are analyzed to elucidate the origin of the water masses present at this location. It is argued that the annual appearance of Pacific-origin warm water at the inner (outer) mooring in late-fall and winter originates from Herald (Barrow) Canyon some months earlier. Our results constitute the first robust evidence that the westward-flowing Chukchi Slope Current persists this far west of Barrow Canyon.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 116
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker