Northeast Gulf of Alaska Program

Subject: Physical Oceanography
Gulf of Alaska; Kodiak; Cook Inlet; Physical Oceanography; Hydrography; Meteorology; Currents

CSE Reference: Muench R, Schumacher J. 1978. Northeast Gulf of Alaska Program. US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. 86 p. Obligation No.: 14-12-0001-29171 RU-138. URL: https://espis.boem.gov/Final%20Reports/1397.pdf

Abstract: The report presents a summary of the major findings of Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) research into physical oceanographic conditions in the northwest Gulf of Alaska. The focus is on circulation features, because water circulation plays a major role in the transport and dispersal of surface contaminants. Water current, temperature and salinity, and meteorological data were collected. Information on currents was from moored current meter arrays, surface drift cards, satellite tracked drouges, drifters, and doppler-shift radar. Major circulation features in the northwest Gulf of Alaska are extremely complex. The various combinations of mean, low frequency fluctuating and tidally fluctuating flow lead to a regime wherein prediction of instantaneous flow is impossible. It is believed that the flow field has been sufficiently well defined to allow a good prediction of seasonal mean flow. This information, combined with a knowledge of the local and regional wind fields, allows at least an approximate predictability of contaminant dispersal and trajectory.