Variability in upper-ocean water properties in the NE Pacific Ocean

A review of oceanographic properties in the vicinity of Ocean Station Papa (OSP) is presented, using data collected over the past 42 years. Average annual signals at OSP and seasonal characteristics along Line P represent variability on a large scale in the Gulf of Alaska. Between winter and summer, the upper ocean mixed layer varies between 120 and 40 m, monthly average winds decrease from 12 m/s in winter to 7 m/s in July, seawater temperatures warm from lows of 6°C to highs >12°C, waters freshen slightly in summer, and macronutrients are partially depleted by phytoplankton growth (removal of 7.8 μM NO₃ in 1970s and 6.5 μM NO₃ in 1990s). El Niño events influence this area by transporting heat northward. During the prolonged El Niño of the early 1990s, warming persisted at OSP through 1994, resulting in a reduced macronutrient supply during winter mixing. Changes in water properties over the four decades of observations are evident. There are trends towards warmer and less saline surface waters, lower winter nitrate and silicate levels, and less macronutrient utilisation in the 1990s compared to the 1970s. We speculate that these changes must be reducing the productivity of NE subarctic Pacific waters.