Effects of agricultural and urban land cover on New Zealand’s estuarine water quality

ABSTRACT

National-scale analyses of land cover effects on water quality can aid in directing environmental policy. We compiled a coastal water quality database for New Zealand comprising 320 estuarine and coastal sites with records between 2013 and 2018. Previous literature had shown strong effects of agricultural and urban land cover on the quality of New Zealand’s rivers, so we examined their effects on estuaries, while controlling for marine dilution and freshwater flushing. Sites with greater freshwater influence had higher nutrient and faecal indicator bacteria concentrations, and turbidity, indicating that open coast and estuarine water quality is reduced predominantly via flows from the land. Nitrate, ammonium, total and dissolved reactive phosphorus, and water column chlorophyll-a concentrations were greater in estuaries with higher urban land cover and total phosphorus concentrations were greater with higher agricultural land cover. There was a marginally significant increase in turbidity as agricultural land cover increased. This is the first national-scale compilation and analysis of New Zealand coastal water quality data, and the first national analysis of land cover effects on water quality in New Zealand estuaries.     

Observations of sea ice interannual variations and spring bloom occurrences at the Japanese scallop farming area in the Okhotsk Sea using satellite imageries

The dynamics of ice formation and phytoplankton bloom development in the coastal region of the Okhotsk Sea, Hokkaido, where the Japanese scallop, Mizuhopecten yessoensis, are cultured were investigated using seven years (1998–2004) satellite data from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The interannual variability of sea ice cover and timing of spring bloom occurrences were analyzed. Longer ice cover in 1999, 2001 and 2003 with the presence of ice until early April and shortened ice cover in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 with the occurrence of ice until early March were recognized at this area. Variability in the timing of sea ice retreat and development of spring blooms at the scallop areas were observed. Progression of a single ice edge bloom showed higher Chl-a concentration compared to development of an initial ice edge bloom followed by a later open water bloom. Higher concentration of phytoplankton biomass was observed in the initial bloom when sea ice melting is delayed compared to when the sea ice leaves earlier. Wind events were also observed to affect the occurrences of spring bloom.     

Dynamics of the ice cover and peculiarities of the ice transportation of the sediments at the tidal flats of the Kandalaksha Gulf of the White Sea

Ten years of semistationary studies of the interaction of the ice cover and the coastal relief of the Kandalakhsa Gulf in the White Sea allowed us to reveal the peculiarities of these processes in the warm and cold years and the mechanisms of the origination of ice forms, including ice tents, which govern the character of the tidal flats. Three dynamic fast ice zones are distinguished by their geomorphological location, morphology, and ice dynamics. The dependence of the mechanisms and volumes of the enrichment of the fast ice in the sediments on the coastal zone??s relief was established. At the coast of the Kindo Peninsula (Velikaya Salma Strait), the ice mostly contains fine-sandy sediments. Coarser sediments, including boulders, are occasional and frozen into the ice at the contact of the fast ice and the bottom. At the expense of the ice??s spreading by 4?C6 times in the warm years and 2?C4 times in the cold years, several thousand tons of sediments mostly from the tidal flat??s surface (100?C700 m³ from 1 km of coast in the wide tidal flats and <50 m³ on the steep coasts) are delivered to the water area.     

Sources, pathways and sinks of particulate organic matter in Hudson Bay: Evidence from lignin distributions

Hudson Bay is a large, estuarine, shelf-like sea at the southern margin of the Arctic, where changes in seasonal ice cover and river discharge appear already to be underway. Here we present lignin data for dated sediments from eleven box cores and evaluate sources of terrigenous carbon, transport pathways, and whether terrigenous organic matter has been influenced by recent environmental change. Lignin yields (0.04 to 1.46 mg/100 mg organic carbon) decreased from the margin to the interior and from south to north, broadly reflecting the distribution of river inputs. Lignin compositional patterns indicated distinct regional sources with boreal forest (woody gymnosperm) vegetation an important source in the south, vs. tundra (non-woody angiosperm) in the north. Lignin patterns suggest redistribution of a fine-grained, mineral-associated fraction of the southern-derived terrigenous carbon to the northeast part of the Bay and ultimately into west Hudson Strait with the Bay's cyclonic coastal circulation. A small component of the carbon makes it to the central basins of Hudson Bay but most of the terrigenous organic material in that area appears to derive from resuspension of older, isostatically-rebounding coastal and inner shelf deposits. Most modern plant debris appears to be retained near river mouths due to hydrodynamic sorting, with the exception of the southwest inner shelf, where these materials extend > 30 km from shore. Temporal changes in the composition of terrigenous organic carbon recorded in most of the southern Hudson Bay cores perhaps reflect increases in erosion and cross-shelf transport from coastal deposits, possibly mediated by change in ice climate. In contrast, temporal changes in the northwest may relate to changes in the supply of modern plant debris under recent warmer conditions. On the western shelf, changes may relate to ice climate and the distribution of northern coastal water and/or changes in the delivery of materials by the Churchill River due to water diversion. Although the cores show evidence of change related to the ice climate, there is little evidence that ice itself transports terrigenous organic carbon within the system.     

Studies of hydrocarbons in the waters and snow-ice cover of the southeast sector of the antarctic

Data are presented on the content of hydrocarbons (HC) relative to the concentrations of particulate matter, lipids, C_org, and chlorophyll a in the surface waters and snow-ice cover of the East Antarctic coastal areas. It was shown that the growth of the concentrations of aliphatic HC (AHC) to 30 μg/l in the surface waters takes place in the frontal zones and under the young ice formation. The AHC content in the snow increases with the growth of the aerosol content in the atmosphere. In the lower part of the ice at the boundary with the seawater, despite the low temperatures, the autochthonous processes may provide high AHC concentrations (up to 289 μg/l). Within the snow-ice cover on fast ice, synchronous content variations of all the compounds considered take place.     

Mechanism of sea ice formation based on comprehensive observation data in Liaodong Bay,China

Sea ice disaster is one of the principal natural hazards that affect some coastal areas of China,and the formation of ice cover in a wave field has important characteristics.However,analysis of the mechanism in which waves affect the thermodynamic process of sea ice is lacking,and the influence of waves is not taken into consideration in numerical models of sea ice,largely because of a lack of simultaneous observations of waves and sea ice.Using observational data of the sea ice cycle in the coastal waters of Liaodong Bay(China),we analyzed the characteristics of hydrology,meteorology,and sea ice thickness during the formation of sea ice,and explored the changes in the interrelationships among heat fluxes,waves,and sea ice under actual sea conditions.The results could provide a decision-making support as a reference to the establishment and improvement of China's early waming system to sea ice disasters,and the protection of ice drilling operations and production platform safety.     

Modeling the evolution of snow, snow ice and ice in the Baltic Sea

A numerical 1‐dimensional fine grid sea ice thermodynamic model is constructed accounting specially for: (1) slush formation via flooding and percolation of rain‐ and snow meltwater, (2) the consequent snow ice formation via slush freezing, and (3) the effects of snow compaction on heat diffusion in snow cover. The model simulations from ice winter period 1979–90 are viewed against corresponding observations at the Kemi fast ice station (65 °39.8' N, 24° 31.4' E). The 11‐year averaged model results show good overall consistency with corresponding total ice thickness observations. The model slightly overestimates the snow ice thickness and underestimates the snow thickness in February and March, which is mainly addressed to the model assumption of isostatic balance (i.e., slush formation via flooding), which was probably not fully satisfied at the coastal Kemi fast ice station. Supposing that this assumption is nevertheless generally valid away from the very coastal fast ice zone, an estimate for sea ice sensitivity to changes in winter precipitation rate is produced. Increased precipitation leads to an increase only in snow ice thickness with little change in total ice thickness, while a reduction in precipitation of more than {213}50% causes a significant increase in total ice thickness. The difference in modeled total ice thickness for the case of artificially neglecting snow ice physics is about 25%, which indicates the importance of including snow ice physics in a sea ice model dealing with the seasonal sea ice zone.     

东南极中山站陆缘固定冰2011/2012年度的时空变化

Annual observations of first-year ice(FYI) and second-year ice(SYI) near Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica,were conducted for the first time from December 2011 to December 2012. Melt ponds appeared from early December 2011. Landfast ice partly broke in late January, 2012 after a strong cyclone. Open water was refrozen to form new ice cover in mid-February, and then FYI and SYI co-existed in March with a growth rate of 0.8 cm/d for FYI and a melting rate of 2.7 cm/d for SYI. This difference was due to the oceanic heat flux and the thickness of ice,with weaker heat flux through thicker ice. From May onward, FYI and SYI showed a similar growth by 0.5 cm/d.Their maximum thickness reached 160.5 cm and 167.0 cm, respectively, in late October. Drillings showed variations of FYI thickness to be generally less than 1.0 cm, but variations were up to 33.0 cm for SYI in March,suggesting that the SYI bottom was particularly uneven. Snow distribution was strongly affected by wind and surface roughness, leading to large thickness differences in the different sites. Snow and ice thickness in Nella Fjord had a similar "east thicker, west thinner" spatial distribution. Easterly prevailing wind and local topography led to this snow pattern. Superimposed ice induced by snow cover melting in summer thickened multi-year ice,causing it to be thicker than the snow-free SYI. The estimated monthly oceanic heat flux was ～30.0 W/m2 in March–May, reducing to ～10.0 W/m2 during July–October, and increasing to ～15.0 W/m2 in November. The seasonal change and mean value of 15.6 W/m2 was similar to the findings of previous research. The results can be used to further our understanding of landfast ice for climate change study and Chinese Antarctic Expedition services.     

西伯利亚极地海域表层沉积硅藻分布特征及其与海洋环境变量的相关性研究

北冰洋西伯利亚陆架海是北极气候快速变化最为显著的海域之一,而沉积硅藻作为极地海洋生态系统的重要组成部分,对环境变化具有敏感的响应。对楚科奇海、东西伯利亚海和拉普捷夫海表层沉积物开展了硅藻组成鉴定,利用典型对应分析方法分析了硅藻属种与1986～2015年环境变量之间的关系。结果表明,夏季和秋季海冰密集度、表层海水盐度是影响研究区表层硅藻分布特征最主要的因素。此外,根据表层站位与环境变量的典型对应分析,可将西伯利亚极地海域划分为4个区域,分别为海冰硅藻组合带、暖水硅藻组合带、沿岸硅藻组合带和混合硅藻组合带。这些表层站位的分区与相应区域的海流模式有明显的相关性,海冰硅藻组合带仅分布于研究区北部的高纬度地区;暖水硅藻组合带位于受白令水和太平洋海水的分支——阿拉斯加沿岸水影响为主的区域;拉普捷夫海南部的沿岸硅藻组合带则受到河流径流和西伯利亚沿岸流的强烈影响;混合硅藻组合带受极地冷水、海冰覆盖、太平洋暖水和陆地径流的共同影响。     

普里兹湾海冰季节性变化的高分辨率数值模拟

普里兹湾海冰以一年冰为主,海冰覆盖存在较大的季节性变化.海冰的分布及其季节性变化主要受当地大气环流及海流的影响.基于一个海洋-海冰耦和模式,模拟研究了该海区海冰的季节性变化特征.海洋模式基于MIT环流模式(MITgcm),海冰动力学模式参考Hibler类型的VP模型,热力学过程取自Winton三层模型.模式区域覆盖整个...     

Dimethylsulphide and dimethylsulphoniopropionate in Antarctic sea ice and their release during sea ice melting

This study presents concentrations of dimethylsulphide (DMS) and its precursor compound dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) in a variety of sea ice and seawater habitats in the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone (ASIZ) during spring and summer. Sixty-two sea ice cores of pack and fast ice were collected from twenty-seven sites across an area of the eastern ASIZ (64°E to 110°E; and the Antarctic coastline north to 62°S). Concentrations of DMS in 81 sections of sea ice ranged from < 0.3 to 75 nM, with an average of 12 nM. DMSP in 60 whole sea ice cores ranged from 25 to 796 nM and showed a negative relationship with ice thickness (y = 125x^− 0.8). Extremely high DMSP concentrations were found in 2 cores of rafted sea ice (2910 and 1110 nM). The relationship of DMSP with ice thickness (excluding rafted ice) suggests that the release of large amounts of DMSP during sea ice melting may occur in discrete areas defined by ice thickness distribution, and may produce ‘hot spots’ of elevated seawater DMS concentration of the order of 100 nM. During early summer across a 500 km transect through melting pack ice, elevated DMS concentrations (range 21–37 nM, mean 31 nM, n = 15) were found in surface seawater. This band of elevated DMS concentration appeared to have been associated with the release of sea ice DMS and DMSP rather than in situ production by an ice edge algal bloom, as chlorophyll a concentrations were relatively low (0.09–0.42 μg l^− 1). During fast ice melting in the area of Davis station, Prydz Bay, sea ice DMSP was released mostly as extracellular DMSP, since intracellular DMSP was negligible in both hyposaline brine (5 ppt) and in a melt water lens (4–5 ppt), while extracellular DMSP concentrations were as high as 149 and 54 nM, respectively in these habitats. DMS in a melt water lens was relatively high at 11 nM. During the ice-free summer in the coastal Davis area, DMS concentrations in surface seawater were highest immediately following breakout of the fast ice cover in late December (range 5–14 nM), and then remained at relatively low concentrations through to late February (< 0.3–6 nM). These measurements support the view that the melting of Antarctic sea ice produces elevated seawater DMS due to release of sea ice DMS and DMSP.     

Spatial patterns of primary production on the shelf, slope and basin of the Western Arctic in 2002

In the spring and summer of 2002 primary production in the Chukchi Sea was measured, using ¹⁴C uptake experiments. Our cruise track encompassed the shelf and continental slope area of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas progressing into deep water over the Canada Basin. The study area experienced upwards of 90% ice cover during the spring, with ice retreating into the basin during the summer. Production in the spring was light-limited due to ice cover, with average euphotic zone production rates of <0.3 g C m⁻² d⁻¹. Values of 8 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ were observed in association with surface bloom conditions during the initial ice breakup. Considerable nutrient reduction in the surface waters took place between the spring and summer cruise, and although not observed, this was attributed to a spring bloom. Decreased ice cover and increased clarity of surface waters in the summer allowed greater light penetration. The highest rates of production during the second cruise were found at 25–30 m, coincident with the top of the nutricline. Daily euphotic zone productivity in the summer averaged 0.78 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ on the shelf and 0.32 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ on the edge of the Canada basin. These data provide an estimated annual production of 90 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ in the study area.     

Phytoplankton community adaptation to changing light levels in the southern Beaufort Sea,Canadian Arctic

The chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient of phytoplankton, a_φ^∗(λ) is an important parameter to determine for primary production models and for the estimation of phytoplankton physiological condition. Knowledge of this parameter at high latitudes where nutrient rich cold water submitted to low incident light is a common environment is almost nonexistent. To address this issue, we investigated the light absorption properties of phytoplankton as a function of irradiance, temperature, and nutrients using a large data set in the southern Beaufort Sea during the open water to ice cover transition period. The a_φ^∗(λ) tended to increase from autumn when open water still existed to early winter when sea ice cover was formed, resulting from a biological selection of smaller-size phytoplankton more efficient to absorb light. There was no significant correlation between a_φ^∗(λ) and irradiance or temperature for both seasons. However, a_φ^∗(λ) showed a significant positive correlation with NO₃ + NO₂. Implications of the results for phytoplankton community adaptation to changing light levels are discussed.     

Long‐term spatial dynamics in vegetated seascapes: fragmentation and habitat loss in a human‐impacted subtropical lagoon

Vegetated coastal seascapes exhibit dynamic spatial patterning, some of which is directly linked to human coastal activities. Human activities (e.g. coastal development) have modified freshwater flow to marine environments, resulting in significant changes to submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) communities. Yet, very little is known about the spatially complex process of SAV habitat loss and fragmentation that affects ecosystem function. Using habitat mapping from aerial photography spanning 71 years (1938–2009) for Biscayne Bay (Florida, USA), we quantify both SAV habitat loss and fragmentation using a novel fragmentation index. To understand the influence of water management practices on SAV seascapes, habitat loss and fragmentation were compared between nearshore and offshore locations, as well as locations adjacent to and distant from canals that transport freshwater into the marine environment. Habitat loss and fragmentation were significantly higher along the shoreline compared with offshore seascapes. Nearshore habitats experienced a net loss of 3.31% of the total SAV mapped (2.57 km²) over the time series. While areas adjacent to canals had significantly higher SAV cover, they still experienced wide fluctuations in cover and fragmentation over time. All sites exhibited higher fragmentation in 2009 compared with 1938, with four sites exhibiting high fragmentation levels between the 1990s and 2000s. We demonstrate that freshwater inputs into coastal bays modify the amount of SAV and the fragmentation dynamics of SAV habitats. Spatial changes are greater close to shore and canals, indicating that these coastal developments have transformative impacts on vegetated habitats, with undetermined consequences for the provisioning of ecosystem goods and services.     

The role of sea ice formation in cycling of aluminium in northern Marguerite Bay,Antarctica

The use of dissolved Al as a tracer for oceanic water masses and atmospheric dust deposition of biologically important elements, such as iron, requires the quantitative assessment of its sources and sinks in seawater. Here, we address the relative importance of oceanic versus atmospheric inputs of Al, and the relationship with nutrient cycling, in a region of high biological productivity in coastal Antarctica. We investigate the concentrations of dissolved Al in seawater, sea ice, meteoric water and sediments collected from northern Marguerite Bay, off the West Antarctic Peninsula, from 2005 to 2006. Dissolved Al concentrations at 15 m water depth varied between 2 and 27 nM, showing a peak between two phytoplankton blooms. We find that, in this coastal setting, upwelling and incorporation of waters from below the surface mixed layer are responsible for this peak in dissolved Al as well as renewal of nutrients. This means that changes in the intensity and frequency of upwelling events may result in changes in biological production and carbon uptake. The waters below the mixed layer are most likely enriched in Al as a result of sea ice formation, either causing the injection of Al-rich brines or the resuspension of sediments and entrainment of pore fluids by brine cascades. Glacial, snow and sea ice melt contribute secondarily to the supply of Al to surface waters. Total particulate Al ranges from 93 to 2057 mg/g, and increases with meteoric water input towards the end of the summer, indicating glacial runoff is an important source of particulate Al. The (Al/Si)_opal of sediment core top material is considerably higher than water column opal collected by sediment traps, indicative of a diagenetic overprint and incorporation of Al at the sediment–water interface. Opal that remains buried in the sediment could represent a significant sink of Al from seawater.     

Sediment transport by sea ice in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas: Increasing importance due to changing ice conditions?

Sediment-laden sea ice is widespread over the shallow, wide Siberian Arctic shelves, with off-shelf export from the Laptev and East Siberian Seas contributing substantially to the Arctic Ocean's sediment budget. By contrast, the North American shelves, owing to their narrow width and greater water depths, have not been deemed as important for basin-wide sediment transport by sea ice. Observations over the Chukchi and Beaufort shelves in 2001/02 revealed the widespread occurrence of sediment-laden ice over an area of more than 100,000 km² between 68 and 74°N and 155 and 170°W. Ice stratigraphic studies indicate that sediment inclusions were associated with entrainment of frazil ice into deformed, multiple layers of rafted nilas, indicative of a flaw-lead environment adjacent to the landfast ice of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. This is corroborated by buoy trajectories and satellite imagery indicating entrainment in a coastal polynya in the eastern Chukchi Sea in February of 2002 as well as formation of sediment-laden ice along the Beaufort Sea coast as far eastward as the Mackenzie shelf. Moored upward-looking sonar on the Mackenzie shelf provides further insight into the ice growth and deformation regime governing sediment entrainment. Analysis of Radarsat Synthetic Aperture (SAR) imagery in conjunction with bathymetric data help constrain the water depth of sediment resuspension and subsequent ice entrainment (>20 m for the Chukchi Sea). Sediment loads averaged at 128 t km^–2, with sediment occurring in layers of roughly 0.5 m thickness, mostly in the lower ice layers. The total amount of sediment transported by sea ice (mostly out of the narrow zone between the landfast ice edge and waters too deep for resuspension and entrainment) is at minimum 4×10⁶ t in the sampling area and is estimated at 5–8×10⁶ t over the entire Chukchi and Beaufort shelves in 2001/02, representing a significant term in the sediment budget of the western Arctic Ocean. Recent changes in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea ice regimes (reduced summer minimum ice extent, ice thinning, reduction in multi-year ice extent, altered drift paths and mid-winter landfast ice break-out events) have likely resulted in an increase of sediment-laden ice in the area. Apart from contributing substantially to along- and across-shelf particulate flow, an increase in the amount of dirty ice significantly impacts (sub-)ice algal production and may enhance the dispersal of pollutants.     

Sea-ice retreat in the Sea of Okhotsk and the ice–ocean albedo feedback effect on it

Sea-ice retreat processes are examined in the Sea of Okhotsk. A heat budget analysis in the sea-ice zone shows that net heat flux from the atmosphere at the water surface is about 77 W m⁻² on average in the active ice melt season (April) due to large solar heating, while that at the ice surface is about 12 W m⁻² because of the difference in surface albedo. The temporal variation of the heat input into the upper ocean through the open water fraction corresponds well to that of the latent heat required for ice retreat. These results suggest that heat input into the ice–upper ocean system from the atmosphere mainly occurs at the open water fraction, and this heat input into the upper ocean is an important heat source for ice melting. The decrease in ice area in the active melt season (April) and the geostrophic wind just before the melt season (March) show a correlation: the decrease is large when the offshoreward wind is strong. This relationship can be explained by the following process. Once ice concentration is decreased (increased) by the offshoreward (onshoreward) wind just before the melt season, solar heating of the upper ocean through the increased (decreased) open water fraction is enhanced (reduced), leading to (suppressing) a further decrease in ice concentration. This positive feedback is regarded as the ice–ocean albedo feedback, and explains in part the large interannual variability of the ice cover in the ice melt season.     

Paleoceanographic records in the Chukchi Basin, western Arctic Ocean during the late Quaternary

The late Quaternary paleoceanographic changes in the western Arctic Ocean are revealed by quantitative studies of foraminiferal abundance, ice-rafted detritus (IRD) and its mineralogical and petrological compositions, planktonic Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sin.) (Nps)-δ¹⁸O and -δ¹³C, biogenic and non-biogenic components in Core M03 token from the Chukchi Basin during the Second Chinese National Arctic Expedition cruise. Seven IRD events appeared at MIS 7, 5, 3 and 1. These IRD were carried in massive icebergs, which were exported to the Beaufort Sea through the M'Clure Strait Ice Stream, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and then transported into the Chukchi Basin by the Beaufort Gyre. Low IRD deposition occurred during the glacial times when more extended ice cover and weakened Beaufort Gyre, while the open water condition and the intensified Beaufort Gyre during interglacial periods favored the IRD deposition. Therefore, the IRD events not only indicate the provenance of coarser detritus and ice export events, but also reflect the evolutionary histories of the Beaufort Gyre and North American ice sheet. Seven light Nps-δ¹⁸O and -δ¹³C excursions could respond to enhanced rates of sea ice formation resulting in the production and sinking of isotopically light brines, but was irrelevant to the warm Atlantic water and freshwater inputs. Whereas, the heavy Nps-δ¹⁸O and -δ¹³C values separately reflect the lessened Arctic freshwater and Pacific water, and well-ventilated surface water from the continental shelf and halocline water. Variations of CaCO₃ content and planktonic foraminiferal abundance during the interglacial and glacial periods can demonstrate the incremental or diminishing input of the Atlantic water, while the total organic carbon (TOC) and opal contents increased and decreased during the glacial and interglacial periods, respectively, which could be related to the TOC degradation, opal dissolution and redox conditions of interface between the bottom water and sediments.     

Circulation on the north central Chukchi Sea shelf

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 0.2 Sv 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.     

Observations and modeling of the ice-ocean conditions in the coastal Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas include several important hydrological features： inflow of the Pacific water, Alaska coast current （ ACC ）, the seasonal to perennial sea ice cover, and landfast ice ＇along the Alaskan coast. The dynamics of this coupled ice-ocean system is important for both regional scale oceanography and large-scale global climate change research. A mumber of moorings were deployed in the area by JAMSTEC since 1992, and the data revealed highly variable characteristics of the hydrological environment. A regional high-resolution coupled ice-ocean model of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas was established to simulate the ice-ocean environment and unique seasonal landfast ice in the coastal Beaufort Sea. The model results reproduced the Beaufort gyre and the ACC. The depthaveraged annual mean ocean currents along the Beaufort Sea coast and shelf hreak compared well with data from four moored ADCPs, but the simulated velocity had smaller standard deviations, which indicate small-scale eddies were frequent in the region. The model resuits captured the sea,real variations of sea ice area as compared with remote sensing data, and the simulated sea ice velocity showed an ahnost stationary area along the Beaufort Sea coast that was similar to the observed landfast ice extent. It is the combined effects of the weak oceanic current near the coast, a prevailing wind with an onshore component, the opposite direction of the ocean current, and the blocking hy the coastline that make the Beaufort Sea coastal areas prone to the formation of landfast ice.