On apparent upwelling in the southern Beaufort Sea

Hydrographic data collected in the southern Beaufort Sea during August 1972 revealed anomalous chemical properties (salinity, dissolved oxygen, and inorganic nutrients) in the near-bottom waters on the continental shelf near Barter Island. The apparent source of the anomalies is upwelling of nutrient rich water from 125 m onto the shelf. Estimation of offshore transport associated with the upwelling during a 24-hour period was 2.6×108 g/cm. Vertical velocities at the base of the surface layer (40 m) decreased from 7.63×10−3 cm/s inshore to 0.27×10−5 cm/s 50 km offshore. This is the first known account of upwelling observed in the arctic coastal waters of the north slope of Alaska.