Seasonal to Mesoscale Variability of Water Masses in Barrow Canyon,Chukchi Sea

Carolina Nobre, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst, Woods Hole, MA, United States, Robert S Pickart, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole, MA, United States, Kent Moore, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Carin J Ashjian, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States, Kevin R Arrigo, Stanford University, Earth System Science, Stanford, CA, United States, Jacqueline M Grebmeier, Univ MD Center Enviro Science, Solomons, MD, United States, Svein Vagle, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC, Canada, Motoyo Itoh, Japan Marine Sci & Tech Ctr, Yokosuka, Japan, Catherine Berchok, NOAA NMML, WA, United States, Phyllis J Stabeno, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, United States, Takashi Kikuchi, JAMSTEC Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa, Japan, Lee W Cooper, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; IASC Marine WG Chair, Solomons, MD, United States, Ian Hartwell, NOAA and Jiangheng He, Geological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Centre, Sidney, BC, Canada
Abstract:
Barrow Canyon is one of the primary conduits by which Pacific-origin water exits the Chukchi Sea into the Canada Basin. As such, it is an ideal location to monitor the different water masses through the year. At the same time, the canyon is an energetic environment where mixing and entrainment can occur, modifying the pacific-origin waters. As part of the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) program, a transect across the canyon was occupied 24 times between 2010-2013 by international ships of opportunity passing through the region during summer and early-fall. Here we present results from an analysis of these sections to determine the seasonal evolution of the water masses and to investigate the nature of the mesoscale variability. The mean state shows the clear presence of six water masses present at various times through the summer. The seasonal evolution of these summer water masses is characterized both in depth space and in temperature-salinity (T-S) space. Clear patterns emerge, including the arrival of Alaskan coastal water and its modification in early-fall. The primary mesoscale variability is associated with wind-driven upwelling events which occur predominantly in September. The atmospheric forcing of these events is investigated as is the oceanic response.
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