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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 33,
L19602,
doi:10.1029/2006GL026612,
2006
Some controls on flow and salinity in Bering Strait
Knut Aagaard
Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Thomas J. Weingartner
Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Seth L. Danielson
Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Rebecca A. Woodgate
Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Gregory C. Johnson
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, USA
Terry E. Whitledge
Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Abstract
During 1993–1994, steric forcing of flow through Bering Strait represented a northward sea level drop of ∼0.7 m from the Bering
Sea Basin to the adjacent deep Arctic Ocean, of which ∼2/3 was due to the salinity difference between the basins. Seasonal
variability of steric forcing appears small (<0.05 m), in contrast to large seasonal wind effects. Interannual changes in
steric forcing may exceed 20%, however, and warm inflow from the North Atlantic, accumulation of freshwater in the southwest
Canada Basin, and temperature and salinity changes in the upper Bering Sea have all contributed to recent changes. The mean
salinity balance in Bering Strait is primarily maintained by large runoff to the Bering shelf, dilute coastal inflow from
the Gulf of Alaska, and on-shelf movement of saline and nutrient-rich oceanic waters from the Bering Sea Basin. In Bering
Strait, therefore, both the throughflow and its salinity are affected by remote events.
Received 17
April
2006;
accepted 30
August
2006;
published 3
October
2006.
Index Terms: 1641 Global Change: Sea level change (1222, 1225, 4556); 4207 Oceanography: General: Arctic and Antarctic oceanography (9310, 9315); 4215 Oceanography: General: Climate and interannual variability (1616, 1635, 3305, 3309, 4513); 4227 Oceanography: General: Diurnal, seasonal, and annual cycles (0438); 4556 Oceanography: Physical: Sea level: variations and mean (1222, 1225, 1641).
Read Full Article (file size: 775389 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Aagaard, K., T. J. Weingartner, S. L. Danielson, R. A. Woodgate, G. C. Johnson, and T. E. Whitledge
(2006),
Some controls on flow and salinity in Bering Strait,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
33,
L19602,
doi:10.1029/2006GL026612.
Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.
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