Large sand waves in Navarinsky Canyon head,Bering Sea

Sand waves are present in the heads of large submarine canyons in the northwestern Bering Sea. They vary in height between 2 to 15 m and have wavelengths of 600 m. They are not only expressed on the seafloor, but are also well defined in the subsurface and resemble enormous climbing bed forms. We conjecture that the sand waves originated during lower stands of sea level in the Pleistocene. Although we cannot explain the mechanics of formation of the sand waves, internal-wave generated currents are among four types of current that could account for these large structures.     

白令海Navarinsky海底峡谷地震剖面解译

第五次北极科学考察在北极区的白令海首次进行了高分辨率单道地震作业。Navarinsky峡谷头部测线BL11-12剖面中部识别出不对称沙波,陡的一面朝向陆架,波高约为9m、波长约为882m。结合站位U1345的沉积速率及站位U1344表层纵波速率推测沙波沉积可以追溯到中更新世(距今约0.258Ma),同时近陆架的洼地逐渐填平。将地层分为3个沉积层,分析沉积物变化情况,结合0.25Ma以来白令海海平面变化历史,推测最大海退事件对应的界面。结合沙波的地理位置及海平面变化情况,认为内波对沙波的形成起主要作用。     

1999年白令海夏季水文特征分析

利用1999年7～9月中国首次北极科学考察队北极科学考察,在白令海获得的42个站次的CTD资料,分析了白令海中北部的温度、盐度垂直分布特征,讨论了白令海的夏季表层水和冬季残留水的分布和结构,以及陆架坡折处温盐锋及白令海的水因特征.与多年平均资料相比,1999年7月夏季白令海冷中间层的温度,比多年平均温度低1℃以上,盐度低0.2左右.     

日本海、鄂霍次克海和白令海的古海洋学研究进展

边缘海的存在使大陆和大洋之间的物质和能量交换变得相当复杂。在构造运动和海平面升降的控制下,边缘海和大洋之间时而连通时而隔绝,各种古气候变化信号都在一定程度上被放大。基于近期有关西北太平洋边缘海的古海洋学研究成果,简要概述了日本海、鄂霍次克海、白令海以及北太平洋地区自中新世以来的古气候和古海洋环境演化特征,并认为它们与全球其它地区一样也受控于因地球轨道参数变化引起的太阳辐射率的变化,大尺度的气候变化具有与地球轨道偏心率周期相对应的100ka周期,而41ka的小尺度周期则受地球自转轴斜率变化的控制。一些突发性的气候变化则是由气候不稳定性、海峡的关闭与开启和其它一些地球气候系统的非线性活动所驱动。但同时作为中高纬度边缘海,它们的古海平面、古海水温度、古洋流等古海洋环境因子的变化特征还受到冰盖扩张和退缩、构造运动、冰川性地壳均衡补偿、东亚季风等因素的影响,具有一定的区域特点。     

Some characteristic features of the vertical profile of organic matter in recent sediment from the Bering Sea

Sedimentary samples were collected from a site (57°02.9N, 176°57.4W: 3,650 m) in the Aleutian Basin of the Bering Sea and analyzed for organic carbon, total nitrogen and various organic materials. Organic carbon and total nitrogen were measured in the range of 0.1–1.9% and 0.01–0.2% of the dry weight of the sediment, these values tended to decrease with depth, but considerably lower values were obtained in the volcanogenic sediment layers. Carbohydrate, amino acid and protein and lipid carbons accounted for 40% of the total organic carbon on the surface of the sediment, and this value tended to decrease with depth to 20% at 10m depth from the top of the core sample. The carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios ranged from 6.3 to 9.0. Vertical change in the values of the ratios can be understood in terms of a higher decay rate of amino acids and proteins.Radiocarbon age determinations on five sedimentary samples yielded sedimentation rates ranging from 37 to 90cm/1,000y.     

Structure and sediment distribution in the western Bering Sea

Eleven seismic reflection profiles across Shirshov Ridge and the adjacent deep-water sedimentary basins (Komandorsky and Aleutian Basins) are presented to illustrate the sediment distribution in the western Bering Sea. A prominent seismic reflecting horizon, Reflector P (Middle—Late Miocene in age), is observed throughout both the Aleutian and Komandorsky Basins at an approximate subbottom depth of 1 km. This reflector is also present, in places, on the flanks and along the crest of Shirshov Ridge. The thickness of sediments beneath Reflector P is significantly different within the two abyssal basins. In the Aleutian Basin, the total subbottom depth to acoustic basement (basalt?) is about 4 km, while in the Komandorsky Basin the depth is about 2 km.Shirshov Ridge, a Cenozoic volcanic feature that separates the Aleutian and Komandorsky Basins, is an asymmetric bathymetric ridge characterized by thick sediments along its eastern flank and steep scarps on its western side. The southern portion of the ridge has more structural relief that includes several deep, sediment-filled basins along its summit.Velocity data from sonobuoy measurements indicate that acoustic basement in the Komandorsky Basin has an average compressional wave velocity of 5.90 km/sec. This value is considerably larger than the velocities measured for acoustic basement in the northwestern Aleutian Basin (about 5.00 km/sec) and in the central Aleutian Basin (5.40–5.57 km/sec). In the northwestern Aleutian Basin, the low-velocity acoustic basement may be volcaniclastic sediments or other indurated sediments that are overlying true basaltic basement. A refracting horizon with similar velocities (4.6–5.0 km/sec) as acoustic basement dips steeply beneath the Siberian continental margin, reaching a maximum subbottom depth of about 8 km. The thick welt of sediment at the base of the Siberian margin may be the result of sediment loading or tectonic depression prior to Late Cenozoic time.     

Diets of short-tailed shearwaters in the southeastern Bering Sea

In the late 1990s, the southeastern Bering Sea exhibited a number of anomalous conditions, including a major die-off of short-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris), a trans-equatorial migrant that constitutes a major portion of the marine bird biomass in the southeastern Bering Sea. As part of a larger study of the ecological role of the inner or structural front over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, in 1997–1999, we collected short-tailed shearwaters to determine diet composition. In spring 1997, we found that short-tailed shearwaters were consuming predominately the euphausiid Thysanoessa raschii, a diet expected on the basis of past studies. However, in subsequent years, short-tailed shearwater diets in spring contained increasingly larger proportions of fish, in particular, sandlance (Ammodytes hexapterus), as well as other species of euphausiids (T. inermis in 1999). In summer and fall collections, short-tailed shearwater diets were more varied than in spring, and included both fish (age-0 gadids, 21–35% by weight) and a wider variety of euphausiid species (T. inermis and T. spinifera). In summer and fall, crab zoea (August 1998) and copepods (August 1999) were eaten by shearwaters collected while feeding within the inner front. Diets in 1997–1999 were broader than those found in previous studies of short-tailed shearwaters over the inner shelf and Bristol Bay, which had documented diets composed almost solely of T. raschii. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that euphausiids were less available to short-tailed shearwaters foraging over the middle and coastal domains of the southeastern Bering Sea in 1997–1999 than has previously been true. Our results are also consistent with hypothesis that the inner front can affect the availability of prey to shearwaters.     

Late quaternary oceanographic conditions in the Western Bering Sea

The benthic and planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and the distribution of coarse grain-size factions were studied in the upper 4.5 m of the Core SO201-2-85KL (57°30.30′ N, 170°24.79′ E, water depth 968 m) retrieved from the Shirshov Ridge. This part of the core covers 7.5 to 50 kyr BP. The glacial period is established to be characterized by low surface water productivity, the wide distribution of sea ice and/or icebergs in this area, and a high oxygen concentration in the bottom layer. Enhanced productivity is inferred from the maximum abundance of planktonic foraminifers at the very beginning of the deglaciation. The late Bølling-Allerød interstadial and the early Holocene were marked by the further two-phase increase in the surface productivity and the weakened ventilation of the bottom water.     

On geostrophic reference levels in the Bering Sea basin

Various data sets in the deep Bering Sea are examined in an effort to find suitable reference levels for geostrophic transport computations. Because of the lack of other data, classical methods are used: mainly vertical structure of differences in geopotential (method of Defant) and mass conservation. In the western Bering Sea, maximum transports are usually, but not always, obtained by using reference levels near the bottom. In the central region, there is considerable variability, both spatial and temporal, in the depth of the most suitable reference level, which varies from 500 to at least 1500 db. The variations seem to be related to depth of inflow in the passes, to near-surface salinity gradients, and to features such as upward movement of water or well-developed eddies.     

Phytoplankton communities in the Bering Sea and adjacent seas

Vertical distribution of phytoplankton in early warming season in the eastern Bering Sea and adjacent sea areas was investigated. In the surface layer which was under the influence of newly melted sea ice in the shelf water region of the Bering Sea in May, remarkably dense populations ofThalassiosira hyalina andT. nordenskiöldii and relatively large populations ofFragilaria andNavicula occupied large part of phytoplankton community. In June, although theThalassiosira populations sunk into the bottom layer and withered, a certain part of theFragilaria-Navicula populations was still suspended in subsurface layer. Thus,Fragilaria-Navicula were the leading components of the June community in the shelf region.In the Bering Basin region, no dense phytoplankton populations were developed until a shallow thermocline was established. In June when the shallow thermocline developed near shelf edge,Thalassiosira decipiens burst out. As the shallow thermocline extended from near shelf to central part of the Basin region with surface warming, the areas of blooming also shifted from near shelf to the central part.Contribution No. 73 from the Research Institute of North Pacific Fisheries, Hokkaido University.     

Pebbly mud transport in the head of Wilmington Canyon

Direct visual observation of the Wilmington Canyon axis by research submersible shows that the fill is a very poorly sorted mix of coarse fragments (pebbles, cobbles) dispersed in a muddy matrix. This facies resembles pebbly mudstone units not infrequently associated with ancient deep marine sequences. Earlier dredge, television and camera surveys reveal the widespread nature of slump deposits on the adjacent canyon walls; this type of failure is the major process in the canyon head in terms of sediment volume displaced. Surprisingly, however, only a thin fill occupies the V-shaped axial channel. It is proposed here that down-wall slumps are transformed to debris flow in the axis, and the latter serves as the canyon head flushing mechanism.     

Mesoscale Eddies in the Bering Sea from Satellite Altimetry Data

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The dynamics of mesoscale eddies in the Bering Sea is studied by the method for automated eddy identification on the basis of altimetry-derived...     

The Aleutian Low, storm tracks, and winter climate variability in the Bering Sea

Previous studies have found inconsistent results regarding how wintertime conditions in the Bering Sea relate to variations in the North Pacific climate system. This problem is addressed through analysis of data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis for the period 1950–2003. Composite patterns of sea-level pressure, 500 hPa geopotential heights, storm tracks and surface air temperature are presented for four situations: periods of strong Aleutian Low, weak Aleutian Low, warm Bering Sea air temperatures, and cold Bering Sea air temperatures. Winter temperatures in the Bering Sea are only marginally related to the strength of the Aleutian Low, and are much more sensitive to the position of the Aleutian Low and to variations in storm tracks. In particular, relatively warm temperatures are associated with either an enhanced storm track off the coast of Siberia, and hence anomalous southerly low-level flow, or an enhanced storm track entering the eastern Bering Sea from the southeast. These latter storms do not systematically affect the mean meridional winds, but rather serve to transport mild air of maritime origin over the Bering Sea. The leading indices for the North Pacific, such as the NP and PNA, are more representative of the patterns of tropospheric circulation and storm track anomalies associated with the strength of the Aleutian Low than patterns associated with warm and cold wintertime conditions in the Bering Sea.     

The petroleum resource potential of the Bering Sea region

The Bering Sea sedimentary basin comprises the Bering Sea and the adjacent intermontane depressions on the continents. It includes the following subordinate sedimentary basins: the Norton; Bethel; Saint Lawrence; Anadyr; Navarin; Khatyrka; Saint George; Bristol; Cook Inlet; and Aleutian consisting of the autonomous Aleutian, Bowers, and Komandor basins. All of them exhibit significant geological similarity. The Middle and Upper Miocene terrigenous sequences, which are petroliferous through the entire periphery of the Pacific Ocean, are characterized by their high petroleum resource potential in the Bering Sea continental margin as well, which is confirmed by the oil and gas pools discovered in neighboring onshore lowlands. The younger (Pliocene) and older (up to Upper Cretaceous) sedimentary formations are also promising with respect to hydrocarbons. The integral potential oil and gas resources of the Bering Sea sedimentary basin, including the continental slopes, are estimated by the US Geological Survey to be 1120 × 10⁶ t and 965 × 10⁹ m³, respectively.     

Oxygen-carbon dioxide-nutrients relationships in the Southeastern Region of the Bering Sea

The vertical distribution of density, salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, apparent oxygen utilization, nutrients, preformed phosphate, pH, alkalinity, alkalinity: chlorinity ratio, in situ partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and percent saturation of calcite and aragonite, for the Southeastern Bering Sea, is studied and explained in terms of biological and physical processes. Some hydrological interactions between the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean are explained. The horizontal distribution of dissolved oxygen at 2000 and 2500 m depths, throughout the Bering Sea, indicates that deep water is flowing from the Pacific, through the Kamchatka Strait, and then northward and eastward in the Bering Sea. Based on the dissolved oxygen distribution we estimate roughly that it takes 20 years for the deep waters to move from the Kamchatka Strait to the Southeastern part of the eastern basin. The surface concentration of nutrients is higher in the Bering Sea than in the North Pacific Ocean, probably because of upwelling and intense vertical mixing in the Bering Sea. A multivariable regression analysis of dissolved oxygen as a function of phosphate concentration and potential temperature was applied for the region where the potential temperature-salinity diagram is straight, and the confidence interval of the PO₄ coefficient, at the 95% probability level, was found consistent with theRedfield biochemical oxidation model. The calcium carbonate saturation calculations show that the Bering Sea is supersaturated with aragonite in the upper 100 m, and with calcite in the upper 200 m. Below these depths seawater is undersaturated with respect to these two minerals.     

Sedimentary environments of the east-central Bering Sea continental shelf

A factor analysis of 180 bottom sediment samples from the east-central Bering Sea continental shelf identifies five factors that account for 95% of the variation in the 17 whole ø size classes that were used as variables. Factor I represents coarse sediments that have been bypassed in areas of active water circulation. Factors II and III represent fine and very fine sands that have been hydraulically sorted, reworked, and mixed. Factor IV represents coarse to medium silt that has been segregated from areas of relatively high energy. Factor V represents both the production of sediments finer than medium silt and deposition within the lowest-energy environment in this area.Modern and palimpsest sediments are areally prevalent over this section of the shelf. Relict sediments occur in only a few small areas. The dispersal of sediments is affected by surface and tidal currents as well as wave action. Ice rafting is not an important geological agent. Data from the eastcentral Bering Sea shelf indicate that sediments on subarctic continental shelves are not necessarily characterized by an abundance of rocky sediments or gravel.     

Water properties and flow over the deep Bering Sea basin, summer 1991

Observational data from a joint U.S.-Russian cruise over the deep Bering Sea basin in August 1991 are analysed and discussed. The low-salinity surface water and warm subsurface water associated with the Alaskan Stream were not present in the Bering Sea. The surface geostrophic flow indicated a weak northward flow of mixed (relatively cold) water through western Near Strait. Some of this water eventually flowed into the Kamchatka Current, and the rest flowed southward through Amchitka Pass. Thus there was lack of a strong Alaskan tream inflow through Near Strait, plus a weak Kamchatka Current.