The nutrient, salinity, and stable oxygen isotope composition of Bering and Chukchi Seas waters in and near the Bering Strait

Abstract

Seawater nutrient, salinity, and oxygen 18 data collected from 1990 to 1993 in the Bering and Chukchi Seas were used to identify potential sources of nutrients and water masses that result in formation of the Arctic Ocean upper halocline and its associated nutrient maximum. Water matching the δ18O values of the Arctic Ocean upper halocline and containing sufficient, or a nearly sufficient, nutrient and salinity concentration was collected in subsurface waters in the summer in portions of the Bering Sea, particularly the Gulf of Anadyr. However, nutrient concentrations significantly declined in this north flowing water over the shallow continental shelf before it reached the Bering Strait, as a consequence of biological utilization, and dilution with nutrient‐poor and oxygen 18‐depleted fresh water. Therefore it does not appear likely that the flow of unaltered water through the Bering Strait in the summer plays a critical role in the formation of the Arctic Ocean upper halocline. The role of other mechanisms for contributing Pacific‐derived waters to the Arctic Ocean nutrient maximum is considered.