Currents North of Bering Strait in Winter1

Coachman, L. K.; Tripp, R.B.

doi:10.4319/lo.1970.15.4.0625

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Ice that passes through eastern Bering Strait follows the isobaths along the Alaska coast past Cape Lisburne toward Barrow Canyon. This division of the ice flow field north of Bering Strait is only approximate, since the variations caused by shifts in the wind regime can shut off the Alaska coastal current [Coachman and Tripp, 1970]. For instance, Thomas and Pritchard [1981] showed that floes passing close to Cape Prince of Wales joined the broad flow toward Wrangel Island as a result of a prolonged period of easterly winds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sea ice drift near Bering Strait during 1982

Pease¹,

Salo²

1987

J. Geophys. Res.

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Six Argos ice stations were deployed in the northeastern Bering Sea in January and February 1982. Four moved north through Bering Strait and made between one and five passes through the strait before they sank or were crushed by the ice, and two remained in western Norton Sound and Shpanberg Strait. Net winds in the region were directed toward the southwest and were relatively uniform geographically. Net currents were northward, and both mean velocity and mean speed were greater at Bering Strait than at Shpanberg Strait. Norton Sound contributed ice northward through Bering Strait in the mean during winter and spring. There was also a net divergence of ice near Cap Lisburne. A theory for open-shelf shallow water ice drift is developed that adds terms for bottom drag and stress feedback from the water column. A stress analysis for a station that remained in western Norton Sound and Shpanberg Strait showed that bottom drag did not contribute significantly but that stress feedback from the accelerated shallow water current can be of the same order as the Coriolis force. However, the analysis contained a residual, possibly associated with internal ice stress, coastal setup, or unknown measurement error, which was of roughly the same order as the wind and current stress. INTRODUCTION Bering Strait connects the Bering and Chukchi seas. it is the only shipping lane for marine transportation to th e northslope of Alaska and is the only sire of mass exchange between th e Pacific and Arctic oceans. The strait is 83 km across between Cape DeZhneva on the Chukotsk Peninsula and Cape Prince of Wales on the Seward Peninsula (Figure 1). It is divided midway by two small islands called Big Diomede (Siberia) and Little Diomede (Alaska) and, slightly south, by Fairway Rock (Alaska). Bottom depths along the section range from 38 to 53 m with a slight depression between Little Diomede and the Seward Peninsula (Figure 2). The Bering and ChukChi shelves within 300 km of the strait are typically shallower than 50 in. There is a qualitative north-south symmetry between •h e Berin g and Chukchi seas with Norton Sound opening off the northeast Bering Sea and Kotzebue Sound. opening Off the southeast Chukchi Sea. The large noticeable exceptio n to the symmetry is St. Lawrence Island (Figur e 1), which partially blocks the entrance to the strait fro m the south. The Straits to the west and east of St. Lawrence are called Anadyr and Shpanberg straits, respectively. In the last decade, experimental studies of ice motion in the eastern Bering Sea indicated that ice floes are created along the western coast of Alaska, in Norton Sound, and along the south side of islands such as St. Lawrence Island and drift southwestward untier the primary influence of northeasterly winds until the floes melt at the ice edge [Muench and Ahlniis, 1976; Pease, 1980; McNutt, 1981]. Ice drift measurements taken during the winter and spring of 1982 do not confirm this simple conveyor belt picture of ice motion. Instead, they indicate that the Bering Sea actually con...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sea ice drift near Bering Strait during 1982

Pease¹,

Salo²

1987

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…2 & 7) in association with the cold, highly saline, and nutrient-rich (Fig. 9) Anadyr Current that brings nutrients and zooplankton northward from the Bering Sea (Coachman et al 1975, Sambrotto et al 1984, Iken et al 2010). In contrast, the Alaskan Coastal Current that parallels the Alaskan coastline is relatively warm, low in salinity, and nutrient-poor (Fig.…”

Section: Distributions In Relation To Oceanographic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From land to sea: the fall migration of the red phalarope through the Western Hemisphere

Saalfeld,

Valcu,

Brown

et al. 2024

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Understanding how and where individuals migrate between breeding and wintering areas is important for assessing threats, identifying important areas for conservation, and determining a species’ vulnerability to changing environmental conditions. Between 2017 and 2020, we tracked post-breeding movements of 72 red phalaropes Phalaropus fulicarius with satellite tags from 7 Arctic-breeding sites in the Alaskan and Central Canadian Arctic. All tracked red phalaropes left their Arctic breeding grounds (i.e. were obligate migrants) but then switched to a more facultative migration strategy with a fly-and-forage migration pattern once in the marine environment. We documented high variability in migration timing and routes, with birds often taking indirect, circuitous routes with numerous stops that greatly lengthened both the duration and distance of their southward migration. Across nearly 500 stopover areas, which were often associated with areas of presumed greater food availability, individuals spent an average of 6 d and traveled within an average area of 1880 km2. Stopover areas were concentrated in onshore and nearshore habitats of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, the western edge of the Bering Strait, along the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, and near the Pribilof Islands in Alaska. Within the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, females frequently stopped within the marginal ice zone, whereas males tended to stay on land or in open water. Our results identified important marine areas that can aid future conservation and management decisions. However, conservation of the species will also need to address the numerous direct and indirect anthropogenic threats red phalaropes experience at sea, many of which are not site-specific.

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“…Basin, but in many northeastern Bering Sea areas surrounding it current velocity increases of 100% or more have been measured (Fleming and Heggarty, 1966;Coachman and Tripp, 1970;Coachman et al, 1976;Schumacher and Tripp, 1979;Cacchione and Drake, 1982). Even under moderate storm conditions, wave surge currents become important at the water depths of 20-40 m encountered in northeastern Bering Sea (Cacchione and Drake, 1982).…”

Section: Current Speeds Have Not Been Measured During Storms Within Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moderate in changes in storms occur each fall in the northeastern Bering Sea resulting atmospheric pressure and wind velocity that can cause sea level set up of 1 meter and current speeds to fluctuate by as much as 100% over periods of a day or more (Coachman and Tripp, 1970;Tripp and Schumacher, 1979;Cacchione and Drake, 1982). At the northeastern edge of Chirikov Basin (Fig.…”

Section: Storm Surgesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of gray whale feeding grounds and sea floor interaction in the northeastern Bering Sea

Nelson¹,

Johnson²,

Barber³

1983

Open-File Report

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A dense ampeliscid amphipod community in Chirikov Basin and around St. Lawrence Island in the northeastern Bering Sea has been outlined by summarizing biological studies, analyzing bioturbation in sediment samples, and examining sea floor photos and videotapes. The amphipod population is associated with a homogeneous, relict fine-grained sand body 0.10-1.5 m thick that was deposited during the marine transgression over the Bering land bridge 8,000-10,000 yr B.P. Modern current and water mass movements and perhaps whale feeding activity prevent modern deposition in this area.

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Currents North of Bering Strait in Winter1

Cited by 11 publications

References 3 publications

Sea ice drift near Bering Strait during 1982

Sea ice drift near Bering Strait during 1982

From land to sea: the fall migration of the red phalarope through the Western Hemisphere

Assessment of gray whale feeding grounds and sea floor interaction in the northeastern Bering Sea

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