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Vertical structure and temporal variability of currents over the Chukchi Sea continental slope



Details

  • Journal Title:
    Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
  • Description:
    Observations from a single mooring site on the northern Chukchi Sea continental slope near the 1000-m isobath are presented. This site was occupied consecutively for three years (spanning September 2014–August 2017). Vertically the flow divides into three depth ranges: the upper ~200 m, ~200–~850 m and near-bottom flow. In the upper ~200 m, the mean flow was northwestward and strongest in the summer months. During winter months, currents decreased in magnitude, and in some years even reversed in direction. Satellite-tracked drifter trajectories (drogue depth ~30 m) show this along-slope flow persists at least from 156 to 165 °W, with an average velocity of ~17 cm s−1. This northwestward flowing current is the Chukchi Slope Current. From ~250 m to ~850 m, the flow reversed; this weak flow is the Arctic-wide cyclonic boundary current advecting Atlantic Water. The mean flow at ~900 m is weak and on an annual time scale not significantly different from 0 cm s−1. It consists of Arctic deep water. In the upper two layers, currents vary on the scale of days to seasons, with short-term reversals common. Currents below 40 m were not significantly correlated with local winds nor wind stress curl. We hypothesize that the northwestward flowing Chukchi Slope Current is a consequence of dynamics associated with the Beaufort Gyre.
  • Keywords:
  • Source:
    Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 177, 104805
  • DOI:
  • ISSN:
    0967-0645
  • Format:
    PDF
  • Publisher:
    Elsevier BV
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Funding:
    Grant no. NA15OAR4320063
  • Rights Information:
    Accepted Manuscript
  • Compliance:
    Library
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha256:2805da7319a874b7d483c15c1c85475e9c6308eed376d5dbfe81fed55ad4a770
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 4.27 MB ]
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