FY 1981

Observations in the Alaskan Stream during 1980

Wright, C.

NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL PMEL-23, NTIS: PB81-207441, 34 pp (1981)

From February 4 through March 9, 1980, the NOAA Ship DISCOVERER was used to make CTD casts in the Alaskan Stream and to deploy current meters at two locations off Kodiak Island. Horizontal and vertical sections of temperature, salinity, geostrophic flow, and volume transport are presented. All the temperature sections show a subsurface maximum between 100 and 350 m. Geostrophic coastal flow is southwestward with some recirculation occurring west of 170°W. Calculated volume transport values do not balance, implying intense baroclinic readjustment in some areas. Only one current meter produced a complete record. Flow at 980 m was to the southwest with a reversal to the northeast during a 30-day period in April and May. Net flow was to the southwest at 5.8 cm/sec. The largest concentration of energy is found in the very low-frequency bands followed by the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal bands.