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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2005.01.007 Byline: Kelly Kenison Falkner (a), Michael Steele (b), Rebecca A. Woodgate (b), James H. Swift (c), Knut Aagaard (b), James Morison (b) Abstract: Dissolved oxygen (O.sub.2) profiling by new generation sensors was conducted in the Arctic Ocean via aircraft during May 2003 as part of the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) and Freshwater Switchyard (SWYD) projects. At stations extending from the North Pole to the shelf off Ellesmere Island, such profiles display what appear to be various O.sub.2 maxima (with concentrations 70% of saturation or less) over depths of 70-110m in the halocline, corresponding to salinity and temperature ranges of 33.3-33.9 and -1.7 to -1.5[degrees]C. The features appear to be widely distributed: Similar features based on bottle data were recently reported for a subset of the 1997-1998 SHEBA stations in the southern Canada Basin and in recent Beaufort Sea sensor profiles. Oxygen sensor data from August 2002 Chukchi Borderlands (CBL) and 1994 Arctic Ocean Section (AOS) projects suggest that such features arise from interleaving of shelf-derived, O.sub.2-depleted waters. This generates apparent oxygen maxima in Arctic Basin profiles that would otherwise trend more smoothly from near-saturation at the surface to lower concentrations at depth. For example, in the Eurasian Basin, relatively low O.sub.2 concentrations are observed at salinities of about 34.2 and 34.7. The less saline variant is identified as part of the lower halocline, a layer originally identified by a Eurasian Basin minimum in 'NO,' which, in the Canadian Basin, is reinforced by additional inputs. The more saline and thus denser variant appears to arise from transformations of Atlantic source waters over the Barents and/or Kara shelves. Additional low-oxygen waters are generated in the vicinity of the Chukchi Borderlands, from Pacific shelf water outflows that interleave with Eurasian waters that flow over the Lomonosov Ridge into the Makarov Basin and then into the Canada Basin. One such input is associated with the well-known silicate maximum that historically has been associated with a salinity of [approximately equal to]33.1. Above that (32 Author Affiliation: (a) College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences, 104 Ocean Admin Bldg., Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5503, USA (b) Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105-6698, USA (c) UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0214, USA

Research from three slope moorings along the Eurasian slope of the Arctic Ocean is presented, drawn from data taken between 1995 and 1996. In general, the mean flow was found to be weak, cyclonic, possessing an equivalent barotropic formation in the vertical, and is for the most part aligned along isobaths.

Research on the movement of episodic ocean bottom currents, or benthic storms, is presented. The influence of surface currents, wind speed, and sediment-driven plumes on benthic storms are examined.

Year-round in situ Bering Strait mooring data (1990–2015) document a long-term increase (∼0.01 Sv/yr) in the annual mean transport of Pacific waters into the Arctic. Between 2002 and 2015, all annual mean transports (except 2005 and 2012) are greater than the previously accepted climatology (∼0.8 Sv). The record-length maximum (2014: 1.2 ± 0.1 Sv) is 70% higher than the record-length minimum (2001: 0.7 ± 0.1 Sv), corresponding to a reduction in the flushing time of the Chukchi Sea (to ∼4.5 months from ∼7.5 months). The transport increase results from stronger northward flows (not fewer southward flow events), yielding a 150% increase in kinetic energy, presumably with impacts on bottom suspension, mixing, and erosion. Curiously, we find no significant trends in annual mean flow in the Alaskan Coastal Current (ACC), although note that these data are only available 2002–2015. Record-length trends in annually integrated heat and freshwater fluxes (primarily driven by volume flux trends) are large (0.06 ± 0.05 × 10 20  J/yr; 30 ± 20 km 3 /yr; relative to −1.9 °C and 34.8 psu), with heat flux lows in 2001 and 2012 (∼3 × 10 20  J) and highs in 2007 and 2015 (∼5.5 × 10 20  J), and a freshwater range of ∼2300 km 3 (2001) to ∼3500 km 3 (2014). High-flow year 2015 (volume transport ∼1.1 Sv) has the highest annual mean temperature recorded, ∼0.7 °C, astoundingly warmer than the record-length mean of 0.0 ± 0.2 °C, while low-flow year 2012 (∼0.8 Sv) is also remarkably cold (∼−0.6 °C), likely due to anomalously weak northward flow in January–March, partly driven by anomalously strong southward winds in March. A seasonal decomposition of properties of the main flow shows significant freshening in winter (∼0.03 psu/yr, January–March) likely due to sea-ice changes, but no trend (or perhaps salinization) in the rest of the year. A seasonal warming trend in the strait proper in May and June (∼0.04 °C/yr) is reflected in a trend to earlier arrival (0.9 ± 0.8 days/yr) of waters warmer than 0 °C. Contrastingly, no significant trend is found in the time of cooling of the strait. The strait’s seasonal increasing transport trends (∼0.02 Sv/yr) are largest from May–November, likely due to the large wind-driven variability masking the signal in other months. We show that Ekman set-up of waters along the coast in the strait can explain the strong correlation of the water velocity with along-strait winds (as opposed to across-strait winds). We highlight the strong seasonality of this relationship (r ∼ 0.8 in winter, but only ∼0.4 in summer), which reflects the weak influence of the (seasonally weak) winds in summer. By separating the flow into portions driven by (a) the local wind and (b) a far-field (Pacific-Arctic “pressure-head”) forcing, we find the increase in the Bering Strait throughflow is primarily due to a strong increase in the far-field forcing, not changes in the wind. We propose a higher annual mean transport for the strait for the 2000s, (1.0 ± 0.05 Sv) based on recent flow increases, and present estimated seasonal climatologies for properties and fluxes for the strait and for the ACC. Heat and freshwater seasonalities are strongly influenced by the ACC and stratification. Finally we conclude that year-round in situ mooring are still the only currently viable way of obtaining accurate quantifications of the properties of the Pacific input to the Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The minimal opening of the Bering Strait's eastern channel is 1.8 km2. • Much of the eastern channel has eroded by > 1 m between ∼ 1950 and ∼ 2010. • The erosion is most likely caused by increasing currents over recent decades. • Seafloor waves and an offshore bar were discovered in softer sediment areas. • A 75 km riverbed-like feature may be related to Norton Sound paleodrainages. The Bering Strait is the sole gateway and an oceanographic bottleneck for the seasonally warm and comparatively fresh and nutrient-rich Pacific waters to flow into the Arctic, melting ice, lowering salinity, and feeding bird, mammal, and fish populations. The Diomede Islands split this small strait into two main channels, both with northward flow (in the annual mean). The eastern channel, in U.S. waters, also seasonally carries the warmer, fresher Alaskan Coastal Current. Year-round in situ mooring observations (in place since 1990 with annual servicing) show a significant flow increase in the (northward) throughflow, along with seasonal and annual fluctuations. To help with measuring and modelling water flow estimates, we created the first detailed shore-to-shore bathymetric surface of the Bering Strait's eastern channel, located its narrowest cross-section (1.8 km2) as occurring 5–10 km south of the moorings, and quantified the cross-section across the moorings (2.0 km2), both slightly larger than previously estimated (1.6 km2). Overlaps between older (∼1950) and newer (∼2010) bathymetry data sets identified clear areas of erosion and deposition, with much of the eastern channel having eroded by > 1 m. Since the depth is uniformly ∼ 50 m across much of the eastern channel, the 1 m of erosion that we quantified would only slightly (2 %) increase the sizes of the cross-sections. Much of the seafloor is hard substrate and probably composed of cobbles, but we hypothesize that friction from strong (∼1 + knot) seafloor currents is the most likely explanation for the erosion that we observed. In softer and siltier areas, the bathymetry showed additional evidence of potential current impacts in the form of small seafloor waves (∼0.5 to ∼ 1.0 m tall) and a shore-parallel bar offshore of Cape Prince of Wales Spit. There are large (∼2 m tall) seafloor waves seaward of Cape Prince of Wales Shoal. A previously undescribed (∼1 to 2 km wide, ∼4 m deep) seafloor channel of unknown origin occurred along a linear north/south axis for the full 75 km extent of the bathymetric surface. The southern end of this seafloor channel was near the end of three larger seafloor channels extending westerly out of nearby Norton Sound, suggesting a common origin. These Norton Sound channels may be paleodrainages, as their eastern ends point toward Seward Peninsula inlets with large drainages where paleoglaciers were reported to have existed, but the morphology of these channels is also consistent with tidal channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The narrow Bering Strait provides the only gateway between the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic, bringing migrating marine mammals in close proximity to ships transiting the strait. We characterized ship activity in the Bering Strait during the open-water season (July–November) for 2013–2015 and quantified the impact of ship noise on third-octave sound levels (TOLs) for bands used by baleen whales (25–1000 Hz). Peak ship activity occurred in July–September with the greatest overlap in ship noise and whale vocalizations observed in October. Ships elevated sound levels by ∼4 dB on average for all TOL bands combined, and 250-Hz TOLs exceeding 100 dB re 1 μPa were recorded from two large vessels over 11 km away from the hydrophones. Our results show that ship noise has the potential to impact baleen whales in the Bering Strait and serve as a baseline for measuring future changes in ship activity in the region. • Peak ship activity is July–September in the Bering Strait. • Greatest overlap in ship noise and whale calls observed in October. • Wind and water speeds affect third-octave bands (63, 125, 250 Hz). • Ship noise elevated ambient sound levels ∼4 dB on average. • Ships produced 250-Hz third-octave sound levels >100 dB over 10 km away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 21,406 hydrographic profiles from 1979 to 2012, we present the first observational, pan-Arctic assessment of Mixed Layer (ML) properties, including quantification of seasonal and interannual variability, and identification of multiyear ML depth shoaling. Arctic Mixed Layer Depths (MLDs) vary strongly seasonally, being deeper (∼25 to >50 m) in winter than summer (∼5–30 m). Eastern Arctic MLDs (regional mean ∼20 m in summer, ∼70 to 100+ m in winter) are deeper than western Arctic MLDs (∼8 m in summer, 30 m in winter). Patchiness, likely related to small-scale sea ice cover variability, is large – standard deviations ∼40% of the regional mean. By binning data into 6 regions (i.e., Chukchi Sea, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada Basin, Makarov Basin, Eurasian Basin and Barents Sea), we quantify regional seasonal climatologies and interannual variability of ML depth, temperature and salinity. In most regions, ML changes are consistent with seasonal ice melt (∼1–3 m) with a ∼1.5 times greater sea ice change required in the western Arctic than in the eastern Arctic. In the Southern Beaufort Sea and the Canada Basin, however, other freshwater sources contribute to observed seasonality. MLDs are significantly correlated with wind only during ice-free times, and even then the relationship only explains 1–20% of the MLD variance. The same wind is 2–3 times more effective at deepening the ML in the eastern Arctic than in the (more stratified) western Arctic. Changes in underlying stratification (Δ ρ ) explain ∼60% of the MLD variance, with MLDs proportional to Δ ρ − 0.45 . Weak eastern Arctic stratification permits a wind–MLD coupling comparable to an Ekman model, while the stronger western Arctic stratifications reduce the wind’s effectiveness by a factor of 6. Remarkably, record-length (up to 30-year) trends indicate almost ubiquitous ML shoaling, order 0.5–1 m/yr, both in winter and summer over all the high Arctic (Canada, Makarov and Eurasian basins) and in winter in the peripheral seas (Chukchi, Southern Beaufort and Barents seas), coincident with ML freshening and increased stratification, while wind speed trends are either not significant or decreasing. The freshwater change related to this shoaling is small – order 100 km 3 /yr. In contrast, the Southern Beaufort Sea shows ML deepening, coincident with decreasing stratification, possibly related to river water being driven away from the coast. Changes in T – S space suggest decreased convection in the Eurasian Basin in the 2000s. Although in these results it is the absence of sea ice that allows wind-driven ML deepening, the dominance of stratification over wind in determining MLD suggests that even small changes in the Arctic freshwater budget may control MLD variability, with implications for mixing nutrients and heat up into the surface layer and photic zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A coupled sea ice–ocean model, combined with observational and reanalysis data, is used to explore the seasonal predictability of the distribution and extent of cold bottom waters on the Bering Sea shelf through numerical simulations or statistical analyses. The model captures the spatiotemporal variability of trawl survey observations of bottom water temperature over the period 1970–2009. Of the various winter air–ice–ocean parameters considered, the interannual variability of the winter on-shelf heat transport across the Bering Sea shelf break, dominated by changes in ocean flow, is most highly correlated with the interannual variability of the bottom layer properties (bottom temperature, and the distribution and extent of cold bottom waters) in spring–summer. This suggests that the winter heat transport may be the best seasonal predictor of the bottom layer properties. To varying degrees, the winter mean simulated sea surface temperature (SST), National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis surface air temperature (SAT), simulated and observed sea ice extent, the Bering Strait outflow, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation are also significantly correlated with the spring–summer bottom layer properties. This suggests that, with varying skill, they may also be useful for statistical seasonal predictions. Good agreement between observations and results of the coupled ice–ocean model suggests also the possibility of numerical seasonal predictions of the bottom layer properties. The simulated field of bottom layer temperature on the Bering Sea shelf on 31 May is a good predictor of the distribution and extent of cold bottom waters throughout late spring and summer. These variables, both in the model and in reality, do not change significantly from June to October, primarily owing to increased upper ocean stratification in late spring due to ice melt and surface warming, which tends to isolate and preserve the cold bottom waters on the shelf. However, the ocean stratification, and hence the isolation effect, is stronger in cold years than in warm years because more ice is available for melting in spring–summer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Year-long time-series of temperature, salinity and velocity from 12 locations throughout the Chukchi Sea from September 1990 to October 1991 document physical transformations and significant seasonal changes in the throughflow from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean for one year. In most of the Chukchi, the flow field responds rapidly to the local wind, with high spatial coherence over the basin scale—effectively the ocean takes on the lengthscales of the wind forcing. Although weekly transport variability is very large (ca. to ), the mean flow is northwards, opposed by the mean wind (which is southward), but presumably forced by a sea-level slope between the Pacific and the Arctic, which these data suggest may have significant variability on long (order a year) timescales. The high flow variability yields a significant range of residence times for waters in the Chukchi (i.e. one to six months for half the transit) with the larger values applicable in winter. Temperature and salinity (TS) records show a strong annual cycle of freezing, salinization, freshening and warming, with sizable interannual variability. The largest seasonal variability is seen in the east, where warm, fresh waters escape from the buoyant, coastally trapped Alaskan Coastal Current into the interior Chukchi. In the west, the seasonally present Siberian Coastal Current provides a source of cold, fresh waters and a flow field less linked to the local wind. Cold, dense polynya waters are observed near Cape Lisburne and occasional upwelling events bring lower Arctic Ocean halocline waters to the head of Barrow Canyon. For about half the year, at least at depth, the entire Chukchi is condensed into a small region of TS-space at the freezing temperature, suggesting ventilation occurs to near-bottom, driven by cooling and brine rejection in autumn/winter and by storm-mixing all year. In 1990–1991, the ca. 0.8Sv annual mean inflow through Bering Strait exits the Chukchi in four outflows—via Long Strait, Herald Valley, the Central Channel, and Barrow Canyon—each outflow being comparable (order 0.1–0.3Sv) and showing significant changes in volume and water properties (and hence equilibrium depth in the Arctic Ocean) throughout the year. The clearest seasonal cycle in properties and flow is in Herald Valley, where the outflow is only weakly related to the local wind. In this one year, the outflows ventilate above and below (but not in) the Arctic halocline mode of 33.1psu. A volumetric comparison with Bering Strait indicates significant cooling during transit through the Chukchi, but remarkably little change in salinity, at least in the denser waters. This suggests that, with the exception of (in this year small) polynya events, the salinity cycle in the Chukchi can be considered as being set by the input through Bering Strait and thus, since density is dominated by salinity at these temperatures, Bering Strait salinities are a reasonable predictor of ventilation of the Arctic Ocean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mooring and shipboard data collected between 1992 and 1995 delineate the circulation over the north central Chukchi shelf. Previous studies indicated that Pacific waters crossed the Chukchi shelf through Herald Valley (in the west) and Barrow Canyon (in the east). We find a third branch (through the Central Channel) onto the outer shelf. The Central Channel transport varies seasonally in phase with Bering Strait transport, and is ∼0.2Sv on average, although some of this might include water entrained from the outflow through Herald Valley. A portion of the Central Channel outflow moves eastward and converges with the Alaskan Coastal Current at the head of Barrow Canyon. The remainder appears to continue northeastward over the central outer shelf toward the shelfbreak, joined by outflow from Herald Valley. The mean flow opposes the prevailing winds and is primarily forced by the sea-level slope between the Pacific and Arctic oceans. Current variations are mainly wind forced, but baroclinic forcing, associated with upstream dense-water formation in coastal polynyas might occasionally be important. Winter water-mass modification depends crucially on the fall and winter winds, which control seasonal ice development. An extensive fall ice cover delays cooling, limits new ice formation, and results in little salinization. In such years, Bering shelf waters cross the Chukchi shelf with little modification. In contrast, extensive open water in fall leads to early and rapid cooling, and if accompanied by vigorous ice production within coastal polynyas, results in the production of high-salinity (>33) shelf waters. Such interannual variability likely affects slope processes and the transport of Pacific waters into the Arctic Ocean interior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) are common summer visitors to the Pacific Arctic, migrating through the Bering Strait and into the southern Chukchi Sea to feed on seasonally-abundant prey. The abundance and distribution of fin whales in the Chukchi Sea varies from year-to-year, possibly reflecting fluctuating environmental conditions. We hypothesized that fin whale calls were most likely to be detected in years and at sites where productive water masses were present, indicated by low temperatures and high salinities, and where strong northward water and wind velocities, resulting in increased prey advection, were prevalent. Using acoustic recordings from three moored hydrophones in the Bering Strait region from 2009–2015, we identified fin whale calls during the open-water season (July–November) and investigated potential environmental drivers of interannual variability in fin whale presence. We examined near-surface and near-bottom temperatures (T) and salinities (S), wind and water velocities through the strait, water mass presence as estimated using published T/S boundaries, and satellite-derived sea surface temperatures and sea-ice concentrations. Our results show significant interannual variability in the acoustic presence of fin whales with the greatest detections of calls in years with contrasting environmental conditions (2012 and 2015). Colder temperatures, lower salinities, slower water velocities, and weak southward winds prevailed in 2012 while warmer temperatures, higher salinities, faster water velocities, and moderate southward winds prevailed in 2015. Most detections (96%) were recorded at the mooring site nearest the confluence of the nutrient-rich Anadyr and Bering Shelf water masses, ~35 km north of Bering Strait, indicating that productive water masses may influence the occurrence of fin whales. The disparity in environmental conditions between 2012 and 2015 suggests there may be multiple combinations of environmental factors or other unexamined variables that draw fin whales into the Pacific Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many fish species have moved poleward with ocean warming, and species distribution shifts can occur because of adult fish movement, or juveniles can recruit to new areas. In the Bering Sea, recent studies document a dramatic northward shift in the distribution of Gadus macrocephalus (Pacific cod in English and tikhookeanskaya treska in Russian) during a period of ocean warming, but it is unknown whether the current northward distribution shift continues into the Chukchi Sea. Here, we use catch data from multiple gear types to present larval, age-0, and older Pacific cod distributions from before (2010 and 2012) and during (2017, 2018, and 2019) recent Chukchi Sea warming events. We also report on the habitat, diet, and condition of age-0 Pacific cod, which were present in the eastern Chukchi Sea in recent warm years (2017 and 2019), but were absent in a cold year (2012). We hypothesize that age-0 recruitment to the eastern Chukchi Sea is associated with recent warm temperatures and increased northward transport through the Bering Strait in the spring. Age-0 fish were present in both benthic and pelagic habitats and diets reflected prey resources at these capture locations. Age-1 Pacific cod were observed in the western Chukchi Sea in 2018 and 2019, indicating possible overwinter survival of age-0 fish, although there was little evidence that they survive and/or remain in the Chukchi Sea to age-2. Observed low lipid accumulation in age-0 Pacific cod from the Chukchi Sea suggests juvenile overwinter mortality may be relatively high compared to more boreal regions (e.g. Gulf of Alaska). Adult Pacific cod were also observed in the Chukchi Sea during 2018 and 2019. Although densities in the western Chukchi Sea were very low compared to the Bering Sea, the adults are the first known (to us) records from the Chukchi Sea. The increased presence of multiple age-classes of Pacific cod in the Chukchi Sea suggests poleward shifts in both nursery areas and adult summer habitat beyond the Bering Sea, but the quantity and quality (e.g. summer productivity and overwintering potential) of these habitats will require continued surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Bering Strait currents vary with the pressure head, local winds, and shelf waves. [•] E–W shifts of the Aleutian Low alter the Pacific–Arctic oceanic pressure gradient. [•] The longitude of N. Pacific storms drives nearshore divergence in western Alaska. [•] Polar easterlies drive divergence along north-facing arctic coastlines. [•] Coastal divergence triggers continental shelf waves in the Bering and Chukchi seas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The spin up and relaxation of an autumn upwelling event on the Beaufort slope is investigated using a combination of oceanic and atmospheric data and numerical models. The event occurred in November 2002 and was driven by an Aleutian low storm. The wind field was strongly influenced by the pack-ice distribution, resulting in enhanced winds over the open water of the Chukchi Sea. Flow distortion due to the Brooks mountain range was also evident. Mooring observations east of Barrow Canyon show that the Beaufort shelfbreak jet reversed to the west under strong easterly winds, followed by upwelling of Atlantic Water onto the shelf. After the winds subsided a deep eastward jet of Atlantic Water developed, centered at 250m depth. An idealized numerical model reproduces these results and suggests that the oceanic response to the local winds is modulated by a propagating signal from the western edge of the storm. The disparity in wave speeds between the sea surface height signal—traveling at the fast barotropic shelf wave speed—versus the interior density signal—traveling at the slow baroclinic wave speed—leads to the deep eastward jet. The broad-scale response to the storm over the Chukchi Sea is investigated using a regional numerical model. The strong gradient in windspeed at the ice edge results in convergence of the offshore Ekman transport, leading to the establishment of an anti-cyclonic gyre in the northern Chukchi Sea. Accordingly, the Chukchi shelfbreak jet accelerates to the east into the wind during the storm, and no upwelling occurs west of Barrow Canyon. Hence the storm response is fundamentally different on the Beaufort slope (upwelling) versus the Chukchi slope (no upwelling). The regional numerical model results are supported by additional mooring data in the Chukchi Sea. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]