The barrow submarine canyon: A drain for the Chukchi Sea

Garrison, G. R.; Becker, Peter

doi:10.1029/jc081i024p04445

Cited by 39 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…During the cold season (November–April), strong reversals (flow toward the south‐southwest) were common (Figure ). At C1, these periods of southwestward flow were often associated with inflow of relatively warm (>1°C) Atlantic Water (Ladd et al, ), and as observed by prior work (e.g., Aagaard & Roach, ; Bourke & Paquette, ; Garrison & Becker, ; Mountain et al, ; Woodgate et al, ). Ladd et al () also noted that the number of occurrences of Atlantic Water varied seasonally (usually occurring between October and May) and among years with 2010–2011 having more events (3) than the other years.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 59%

Flow Patterns in the Eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010–2015

et al. 2018

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From 2010 to 2015, moorings were deployed on the northern Chukchi Sea at nine sites. Deployment duration varied from 5 years at a site off Icy Cape to 1 year at a site north of Hanna Shoal. In addition, 39 satellite‐tracked drifters (drogue depth 25–30 m) were deployed in the region during 2012–2015. The goals of this manuscript are to describe currents in the Chukchi Sea and their relationship to ice and winds. The north‐south pressure gradient results in, on average, a northward flow over the Chukchi shelf, which is modified by local winds. The volume transport near Icy Cape (∼0.4 Sv) was ∼40% of flow through Bering Strait and varied seasonally, accounting for >50% of summer and ∼20% of winter transport in Bering Strait. Current direction was strongly influenced by bathymetry, with northward flow through the Central Channel and eastward flow south of Hanna Shoal. The latter joined the coastal flow exiting the shelf via Barrow Canyon. Drifter trajectories indicated the transit from Bering Strait to the mouth of Barrow Canyon took ∼90 days during the ice‐free season. Most (∼70%) of the drifters turned westward at the mouth of Barrow Canyon and continued westward in the Chukchi Slope Current. This slope flow was largely confined to the upper 300 m, and although it existed year‐round, it was strongest in spring and summer. Drifter trajectories indicated that the Chukchi Slope Current extends as far west as the mouth of Herald Canyon. The remaining ∼30% of the drifters turned eastward or were intercepted by sea ice.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 59%

Flow Patterns in the Eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010–2015

et al. 2018

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“…In late winter to early summer the situation is even less certain. The traditional view is that after the winter winds relax, much of the dense water from the eastern Chukchi Sea flows down Barrow Canyon and directly enters the interior Canada Basin [ Garrison and Becker , 1976; Weingartner et al , 1998]. However, dynamical constraints, supported by recent model results [ Chapman , 2000], suggest that a large fraction of the dense wintertime water approaching Barrow Canyon may not exit through the canyon, but instead might adjust to deeper isobaths and also turn eastward.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shelfbreak circulation in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea: Mean structure and variability

2004

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Historical hydrographic and current meter data are used to investigate the properties and circulation at the shelf edge of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Thirty‐three individual cross‐sections, spanning the time period 1950 to 1987, are combined in a topographical framework to produce mean vertical hydrographic sections, as well as a section of mean absolute geostrophic velocity referenced using the current meter data. This reveals the presence of a narrow (order 20 km) eastward current, referred to as the Beaufort shelfbreak jet. The jet has three distinct seasonal configurations: In late‐spring to late‐summer, cold, winter‐transformed Bering water is advected in a subsurface current; from mid‐summer to early fall a surface intensified current advects predominantly Bering summer water; and from mid‐fall to mid‐spring, under easterly winds, the jet transports upwelled Atlantic water. The volume transport of the jet represents a significant fraction of the inflowing transport through Bering Strait. While the characteristics and flow of the winter‐transformed Bering water vary interannually, this water mass ventilates predominantly the upper halocline.

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“…It is now commonly accepted that the cold halocline of the Arctic Ocean is predominantly maintained by lateral processes [ Aagaard et al , 1981]. In particular, dense water formed on the shelves is transported by a variety of processes into the interior basins [e.g., Garrison and Becker , 1976; Spall et al , 2008]. In the western Arctic much of this dense water emanates from the polynyas in the Chukchi Sea [ Cavalieri and Martin , 1994; Winsor and Björk , 2000].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Wrangel Island Polynya in early summer: Trends and relationships to other polynyas and the Beaufort Sea High

Moore¹,

Pickart²

2012

Geophysical Research Letters

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Polynyas, regions of reduced sea ice concentration relative to their surroundings, are important features of the polar climate system in which enhanced fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum can occur between the atmosphere and ocean. As such, they play a significant role in many atmospheric, oceanographic and biological processes. There are concerns that in a warming climate, in which there is a trend towards a reduction in sea ice cover, that the location, size and duration of many polynyas may change resulting in climatological and ecological impacts. In this paper, we identify an early summer manifestation of the Wrangel Island polynya that forms in the western Chuckchi Sea. We show that over the past 30 years there has been an increased frequency of occurrence as well as a doubling in the size of the polynya. The polynya is shown to form when there is an enhanced easterly flow over the Chukchi Sea that is associated with an anomalously intense Beaufort Sea High (BSH), a closed anti‐cyclonic atmospheric circulation that forms over the Beaufort Sea. We also show that there has been a concomitant trend towards a more intense BSH over the same time period and we propose that this trend is responsible for the observed changes in the Wrangel Island polynya. Given its large and increasing size, the early summer polynya may also play an important and unaccounted role in the physical and biological oceanography of the western Chukchi Sea.

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The barrow submarine canyon: A drain for the Chukchi Sea

Cited by 39 publications

References 6 publications

Flow Patterns in the Eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010–2015

Flow Patterns in the Eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010–2015

Shelfbreak circulation in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea: Mean structure and variability

The Wrangel Island Polynya in early summer: Trends and relationships to other polynyas and the Beaufort Sea High

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