Velocity and temperature variability on the Chukchi Slope

• Main Author: Elmer, Cassandra
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Delaware 2020
• Subjects: Chukchi Sea; Chukchi Slope Current; Empirical orthogonal function; Canada; Pacific; Andreas; canada basin; Chukchi; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/28164

The Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE) surveyed the Chukchi Slope in 2016 and 2017 with shipboard and moored measurements. I used their hydrography and velocity measurements, as well as wind and sea ice measurements, to characterize the Chukchi Slope variability. In general, the velocity on the Chukchi Slope shows two cores. The shallow portion flows westward along the shelfbreak as the Slope Current and the deeper portion flows eastward as the Shelfbreak Jet. The temperature profile has three major layers: meltwater, Pacific water, and Atlantic water. These features are not constant, and sea ice is the greatest predictor of the Chukchi Slope Current variability. The first mode of the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis explains 65% of the variance in the temperature for 2016-2017. This mode resembles the mean temperature in summer and winter as defined by sea ice cover. When the sea ice forms and melts, the Slope Current reverses direction. I investigated the effects of wind stress and Ekman veering, but do not find significant correlation. Note, however, that the presence of sea ice limits the influence of wind stress on the water column, and that the shallowest velocity measurement is 20 m. Muenchow, Andreas M.S. University of Delaware, School of Marine Science and Policy