HR: 17:00h
AN: C54A-04    [Abstracts]
TI: The Freshwater Flux to the Arctic via the Bering Strait
AU: * Woodgate, R A
EM: woodgate@apl.washington.edu
AF: Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 United States
AU: Aagaard, K
EM: aagaard@apl.washington.edu
AF: Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 United States
AB: The freshwater flux to the Arctic via the Bering Strait has long been estimated at 1670 km$^{3}$/yr, based on an annual transport estimate of 0.8 Sv and a near-bottom mean salinity of 32.5 psu, referenced to 34.8 psu (Aagaard & Carmack, 1989). This is almost a third of the total freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean. We present 3 substantial modifications to this estimate. 1) The Alaskan Coastal Current - mooring data, ship data, and satellite imagery indicate a warm, fresh, generally coastally trapped current is present in the strait for many months of the year. The first year-round in situ measurements of the ca. 10 km wide current, indicate it alone may carry an additional ca. 400 km$^{3}$/yr of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean. 2) Effects of stratification - summer CTD sections suggest near-bottom measurements overestimate the mean salinity by order 0.5 psu, resulting in a ca. 300 km$^{3}$/yr increase in the freshwater flux estimate. 3) Interannual variability - a 13-year time-series of near-bottom moored measurements in the Bering Strait indicates the interannual variability in mean salinity is ca. 0.6 psu, resulting in a variability in the freshwater flux of order 400 km$^{3}$/yr. Combined, these measurements indicate that the prior estimate of 1670 km$^{3}$/yr may be underestimating the actual freshwater flux through the Bering Strait by order 50%.
UR: http://psc.apl.washington.edu/BeringStrait.html
DE: 4207 Arctic and Antarctic oceanography
DE: 4215 Climate and interannual variability (3309)
DE: 4223 Descriptive and regional oceanography
DE: 4532 General circulation
DE: 1836 Hydrologic budget (1655)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting