Ice Spirals off Barrow as Seen by Satellite

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Solomon, Harold, Ahlnäs, Kristina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1980
• Subjects: Bathymetry; Movement; Ocean currents; Sea ice; Alaskan waters; Barrow; Point; waters; Alaska; Arctic; Beaufort Sea; Chukchi; Kamchatka; Point Barrow
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65605

An eddy-like feature, similar to ones observed in the Kamchatka Current, has been observed off the Alaskan coast near Barrow at the boundary of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas by the NOAA-5 satellite and radar imaging. Broken ice in the area was carried into a spiral pattern by complex current actions. Possible mechanisms for this phenomenon, including encounters between the Alaskan Coastal Current and the Beaufort Sea Gyre, local bathymetry, or sidewall friction effects caused by Point Barrow, are discussed.