Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands
To examine the marine habitat of the endangered western stock of the Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), two interdisciplinary research cruises (June 2001 and May to June 2002) measured water properties in the eastern and central Aleutian Passes. Unimak, Akutan, Amukta, and Seguam Passes w...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org/ark:/13030/qt7mg942nv 2023-05-15T14:18:09+02:00 Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands Ladd, C Hunt, GL Mordy, CW Salo, SA Stabeno, PJ 22 - 38 2005-11-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mg942nv unknown eScholarship, University of California qt7mg942nv https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mg942nv CC-BY CC-BY Fisheries Oceanography, vol 14, iss SUPPL. 1 Aleutian Passes Bering Sea mixing nutrients water properties Fisheries Oceanography Fisheries Sciences article 2005 ftcdlib 2020-03-20T23:55:48Z To examine the marine habitat of the endangered western stock of the Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), two interdisciplinary research cruises (June 2001 and May to June 2002) measured water properties in the eastern and central Aleutian Passes. Unimak, Akutan, Amukta, and Seguam Passes were sampled in both years, and three additional passes (Umnak, Samalga, and Tanaga) were sampled in 2002. In the North Pacific (and to a lesser extent in the Bering Sea), a strong front in water properties was observed near Samalga Pass in June of both years, with significantly warmer, fresher, and more nitrate-poor water east of Samalga Pass than west of the pass. These water properties reflect differences in source waters (Alaska Coastal Current versus Alaskan Stream), mixing depth, and Bering Sea influence. Strong cross-Aleutian gradients were also observed with warmer, fresher water on the North Pacific side of the archipelago. The nutrient content of the waters flowing through the passes, combined with the effects of mixing within the passes, influences the transport of nutrients into the Bering Sea. As water moves away from the strong mixing of the passes and becomes more stratified, phytoplankton can take advantage of the enhanced nutrient concentrations. Thus, the northern side of the Aleutian Islands (especially in the lee of the islands) appears to be more productive. Combined with evidence of coincident changes in many ecosystem parameters near Samalga Pass, it is hypothesized that Samalga Pass forms a physical and biogeographic boundary between the eastern and central Aleutian marine ecosystems. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper Archipelago Bering Sea Alaska Aleutian Islands University of California: eScholarship Bering Sea Pacific |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Aleutian Passes Bering Sea mixing nutrients water properties Fisheries Oceanography Fisheries Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Aleutian Passes Bering Sea mixing nutrients water properties Fisheries Oceanography Fisheries Sciences Ladd, C Hunt, GL Mordy, CW Salo, SA Stabeno, PJ Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands |
topic_facet |
Aleutian Passes Bering Sea mixing nutrients water properties Fisheries Oceanography Fisheries Sciences |
description |
To examine the marine habitat of the endangered western stock of the Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), two interdisciplinary research cruises (June 2001 and May to June 2002) measured water properties in the eastern and central Aleutian Passes. Unimak, Akutan, Amukta, and Seguam Passes were sampled in both years, and three additional passes (Umnak, Samalga, and Tanaga) were sampled in 2002. In the North Pacific (and to a lesser extent in the Bering Sea), a strong front in water properties was observed near Samalga Pass in June of both years, with significantly warmer, fresher, and more nitrate-poor water east of Samalga Pass than west of the pass. These water properties reflect differences in source waters (Alaska Coastal Current versus Alaskan Stream), mixing depth, and Bering Sea influence. Strong cross-Aleutian gradients were also observed with warmer, fresher water on the North Pacific side of the archipelago. The nutrient content of the waters flowing through the passes, combined with the effects of mixing within the passes, influences the transport of nutrients into the Bering Sea. As water moves away from the strong mixing of the passes and becomes more stratified, phytoplankton can take advantage of the enhanced nutrient concentrations. Thus, the northern side of the Aleutian Islands (especially in the lee of the islands) appears to be more productive. Combined with evidence of coincident changes in many ecosystem parameters near Samalga Pass, it is hypothesized that Samalga Pass forms a physical and biogeographic boundary between the eastern and central Aleutian marine ecosystems. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ladd, C Hunt, GL Mordy, CW Salo, SA Stabeno, PJ |
author_facet |
Ladd, C Hunt, GL Mordy, CW Salo, SA Stabeno, PJ |
author_sort |
Ladd, C |
title |
Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands |
title_short |
Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands |
title_full |
Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands |
title_fullStr |
Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine environment of the eastern and central Aleutian Islands |
title_sort |
marine environment of the eastern and central aleutian islands |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mg942nv |
op_coverage |
22 - 38 |
geographic |
Bering Sea Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Bering Sea Pacific |
genre |
Archipelago Bering Sea Alaska Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
Archipelago Bering Sea Alaska Aleutian Islands |
op_source |
Fisheries Oceanography, vol 14, iss SUPPL. 1 |
op_relation |
qt7mg942nv https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mg942nv |
op_rights |
CC-BY |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1766289858536407040 |