FY 1995

Water properties over the Bering Sea shelf: Climatology and variations

Reed, R.K.

NOAA Tech. Report ERL 452-PMEL 42, NTIS: PB95-241527, 15 pp (1995)

This study examines climatological water properties over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf during 1974-90. Maps of surface and bottom temperature, surface and bottom salinity, and mixed-layer depth are derived and presented for winter, spring, summer, and fall. Surface temperatures range from about -1 to 10°C over the year. Bottom temperatures range from about -1 to 7°C but are colder than surface temperatures except in winter. The patterns of bottom temperature and salinity indicate the path of inflow from Unimak Pass. Surface salinities vary from ~31.2 to 32.5; bottom salinities range from ~31.4 to 33.0. Mixed-layer depths are deepest (>50 m) in winter and fall and shoalest in summer (<15 m). Waters inshore of 50 m are not always well mixed, in contrast to findings in other studies. The most extreme bottom water temperatures (3°C colder than normal) occurred in 1976 as a result of extensive ice cover in winter.