Seasonal transport variations in the straits connecting Prince William Sound to the Gulf of Alaska

Halverson, Mark; Bélanger, Claude

doi:10.1016/j.csr.2012.06.017

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Contrary to this local impact, the seasonal increase of CaCO 3 corrosivity in the PWS surface layer may have farther-reaching effects. During the nondownwelling period of the year, the "flow-through" scenario seen in PWS is far less distinct (Niebauer et al, 1994;Halverson et al, 2012a) due to the constricted nature of this inland sea combined with reduced downwelling-favorable winds, and concomitant with this is the seasonal increase in CaCO 3 corrosivity. When downwelling-favorable winds increase in September, corrosive surface water that has built up in PWS would be rapidly evacuated to the continental shelf.…”

Section: Transmitting Corrosive Pws Water To the Continental Shelfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The red circle delineates the single station (PWS2) that was sampled during every survey of PWS from 2009 through 2012. surface layer (Niebauer et al, 1994;Musgrave et al, 2013;Halverson et al, 2012b;Vaughan et al, 2001). Downwellingfavorable winds, which dominate from September through May, drive surface flow into PWS through Hinchinbrook Entrance, with compensatory outflow through Montague Strait (Niebauer et al, 1994;Halverson et al, 2012a). This "flowthrough" scenario is reduced and more complex between May and September, when winds are only weakly downwelling favorable or upwelling favorable and surface flows are typically weaker with reversals through either strait becoming more common (Halverson et al, 2012a;Niebauer et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This observation has only been made once, and we speculate that this is related to the synchronicity between when our measurements were collected and when downwelling conditions abated on the shelf. Being that deep water renewal events occur during nondownwelling periods (Niebauer et al, 1994) and can flush bottom waters in as rapidly as a month (Halverson et al, 2012a), calcite undersaturation could build up during stagnant winter months in the deepest portions of PWS but be extinguished by the time our survey takes place in May given this is the time seasonal downwelling conditions are on the decline (Mathis et al, 2014b;Weingartner, 2007). Yearto-year differences in downwelling forcing on the shelf can be large (Mathis et al, 2014b), and likely determine if calcite undersaturation is observed given our set cruise schedule.…”

Section: Far-field Influence Of Glacial Meltmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This "flowthrough" scenario is reduced and more complex between May and September, when winds are only weakly downwelling favorable or upwelling favorable and surface flows are typically weaker with reversals through either strait becoming more common (Halverson et al, 2012a;Niebauer et al, 1994). However, transport at this time can be highly baroclinic, with inflow at depth flushing the deepest portions of PWS (> 400 m) in as fast as a month (Halverson et al, 2012a). The central region of PWS is a deep 400 m basin, which is silled from the adjacent GOA at a depth of approximately 250 m at Hinchinbrook Entrance and near 150 m at Montague Strait (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Downwellingfavorable winds, which dominate from September through May, drive surface flow into PWS through Hinchinbrook Entrance, with compensatory outflow through Montague Strait (Niebauer et al, 1994;Halverson et al, 2012a). This "flowthrough" scenario is reduced and more complex between May and September, when winds are only weakly downwelling favorable or upwelling favorable and surface flows are typically weaker with reversals through either strait becoming more common (Halverson et al, 2012a;Niebauer et al, 1994). However, transport at this time can be highly baroclinic, with inflow at depth flushing the deepest portions of PWS (> 400 m) in as fast as a month (Halverson et al, 2012a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Calcium carbonate corrosivity in an Alaskan inland sea

2014

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Abstract. Ocean acidification is the hydrogen ion increase caused by the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO 2 , and is a focal point in marine biogeochemistry, in part, because this chemical reaction reduces calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) saturation states ( ) to levels that are corrosive (i.e., ≤ 1) to shell-forming marine organisms. However, other processes can drive CaCO 3 corrosivity; specifically, the addition of tidewater glacial melt. Carbonate system data collected in May and September from 2009 through 2012 in Prince William Sound (PWS), a semienclosed inland sea located on the south-central coast of Alaska and ringed with fjords containing tidewater glaciers, reveal the unique impact of glacial melt on CaCO 3 corrosivity. Initial limited sampling was expanded in September 2011 to span large portions of the western and central sound, and included two fjords proximal to tidewater glaciers: Icy Bay and Columbia Bay. The observed conditions in these fjords affected CaCO 3 corrosivity in the upper water column (< 50 m) in PWS in two ways: (1) as spring-time formation sites of mode water with near-corrosive levels seen below the mixed layer over a portion of the sound, and (2) as point sources for surface plumes of glacial melt with corrosive levels ( for aragonite and calcite down to 0.60 and 1.02, respectively) and carbon dioxide partial pressures (pCO 2 ) well below atmospheric levels. CaCO 3 corrosivity in glacial melt plumes is poorly reflected by pCO 2 or pH T , indicating that either one of these carbonate parameters alone would fail to track in PWS. The unique and pCO 2 conditions in the glacial melt plumes enhances atmospheric CO 2 uptake, which, if not offset by mixing or primary productivity, would rapidly exacerbate CaCO 3 corrosivity in a positive feedback. The cumulative effects of glacial melt and air-sea gas exchange are likely responsible for the seasonal reduction of in PWS, making PWS highly sensitive to increasing atmospheric CO 2 and amplified CaCO 3 corrosivity.

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Section: Transmitting Corrosive Pws Water To the Continental Shelfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Far-field Influence Of Glacial Meltmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Calcium carbonate corrosivity in an Alaskan inland sea

2014

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Subtidal circulation in a deep‐silled fjord: Douglas Channel, British Columbia

et al. 2017

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Douglas Channel, a deep fjord on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, is the main waterway in the fjord system that connects the town of Kitimat to Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait. A 200 m depth sill divides Douglas Channel into an outer and an inner basin. This study examines the low‐frequency (from seasonal to meteorological bands) circulation in Douglas Channel from data collected at three moorings deployed during 2013–2015. The deep flows are dominated by a yearly renewal that takes place from May/June to early September. A dense bottom layer with a thickness of 100 m that cascades through the system at the speed of 0.1–0.2 m s−1, which is consistent with gravity currents. Estuarine flow dominates the circulation above the sill depth, and the observed landward net volume flux suggests that it is necessary to include the entire complex channel network to fully understand the estuarine circulation in the system. The influence of the wind forcing on the subtidal circulation is not only at the surface, but also at middepth. The along‐channel wind dominates the surface current velocity fluctuations and the sea level response to the wind produces a velocity signal at 100–120 m in the counter‐wind direction. Overall, the circulation in the seasonal and the meteorological bands is a mix of estuarine flow, direct wind‐driven flow, and the barotropic and baroclinic responses to changes to the surface pressure gradient caused by the wind stress.

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