Lagrangian Surface Current Measurements in Alaska

Subject: Physical Oceanography
Pribilof Islands; Physical Oceanography; Currents; Surface Drifters; Eddy; Satellite Tracking; Lagrangian; Gulf of Alaska; Kodiak; North Aleutian Basin; St George Basin; St Matthew Hall; Bowers Basin

CSE Reference: Hansen D. 1978. Lagrangian surface current measurements in Alaska. US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. 3 p. Obligation No.: 14-12-0001-29160 RU-217. URL: https://espis.boem.gov/Technical%20Summaries/1712.pdf

Abstract: With potential development of offshore oil reserves along the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea, there was concern over the fate of a possible hydrocarbon spill. Of particular interest were indications that the northern Gulf of Alaska may be an accumulation point for surface materials. Lagrangian drifter data collected as part of the North Pacific Experiment (NORPAX) and numerical models covering large areas of the North Pacific suggested that surface materials tend to be swept into the Gulf of Alaska where they impinge and ground along the coast. Of particular concern were the sensitive biological habitats along the Aleutian Islands. This OCSEAP study summarizes deployments of Lagrangian surface drifter deployments along the Alaskan OCS. The resulting Lagrangian current statistics were to form the basis for input to advanced surface contaminant dispersion models. In the spring and summer of 1976 and 1977, near-surface Lagrangian current data were collected within the northeast Gulf of Alaska from Yakutat Bay to Prince William Sound as well as the southeast Bering Sea.