Gulf of Alaska

Major breeding failures of seabird populations are sometimes attributed to reduced egg laying or abandonment of incubation due to nutritional stress, yet diets during these reproductive stages are often poorly characterized. We used stable isotopes and fatty acid (FA) signatures to infer age-(adult vs. nestling) and stage-dependent foraging niches of tufted puffins Fratercula cirrhata captured in Chiniak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA, from 2003 to 2005. Whole blood δ 15 N values indicated a seasonal shift in trophic niche of adults: 15 N enrichment was consistent with a 0.47 to 0.68 increase in trophic level of feeding from pre-lay to late chick-rearing. Although incomplete turnover of blood cells from the pre-lay period likely contributed to intermediate δ 15 N values of incubating puffins, this was insufficient to account for differences between incubating and chick-rearing adults. Differences in δ 15 N and δ 13 C between chick-rearing adults and nestlings were small and inconsistent between years. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) using the 14 most abundant FAs classified individuals by reproductive stage and age within each year with a high level of accuracy (linear DFA: 93 to 99%; quadratic DFA: 80 to 92%). When all years were combined, accuracy of cross-validated classification remained high (linear DFA: 90%; quadratic DFA: 76%). Based on stable isotopes and FA signatures, we conclude that foraging niches are stage-dependent in this species and suggest that chick-rearing adults do not typically feed at a lower trophic level than nestlings but likely consume a different array of prey species.

On 30 April 1994, Public Law 103-238 was enacted allowing significant changes to provisions within the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Interactions between marine mammals and commercial fisheries are addressed under three new sections. This new regime replaced the interim exemption that has regulated fisheriesrelated incidental takes since 1988. Section 117, Stock Assessments, required the establishment of three regional scientific review groups to advise and report on the status of marine mammal stocks within Alaska waters, along the Pacific Coast (including Hawaii), and the Atlantic Coast (including the Gulf of Mexico). This report provides information on the marine mammal stocks of Alaska under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Each stock assessment includes, when available, a description of the stock's geographic range, a minimum population estimate, current population trends, current and maximum net productivity rates, optimum sustainable population levels and allowable removal levels, and estimates of annual human-caused mortality and serious injury through interactions with commercial fisheries and subsistence hunters. These data will be used to evaluate the progress of each fishery towards achieving the MMPA's goal of zero fishery-related mortality and serious injury of marine mammals. The Stock Assessment Reports should be considered working documents, as they are updated as new information becomes available. The Stock Assessment Reports were originally developed in 1995 (Small and DeMaster 1995). Revisions have been published for the following years:

Preliminary information is presented on international cooperative salmon research conducted during the June-July 1997 cruise of the Oshoro maru. An objective of cooperative high-seas salmon research conducted under the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Science Plan is salmon stock assessment through annual surveys along standard transects in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Salmon surveys conducted aboard the Oshoro maru along 1800 longitude in the central North Pacific Ocean in June since 1978 have provided a valuable time series of fisheries and oceanographic data. This was the fourth consecutive year of cooperative Japan-U.S. sampling for salmon along a 145°W-longitude transect in the central Gulf of Alaska in early July. The primary objective of the 1997 cooperative research was to continue the collection of oceanographic and biological data along the 180°and 145°W transects. In 1997, mid-June mean sea surface temperatures (SSTs; 9.2°C) at gillnet fishing stations were 2.1°C cooler along the 180°transect and early July mean SSTs (12.4°C) were 2.5°C warmer along the 145°W transect than in 1996. This reverses a warming trend in mean SSTs at 180°stations and a cooling trend at 145°W stations that was observed over the previous three years. Catches by gillnet totaled 2,036 salmonids, including 225 salmonids (361 in 1996) in the central North Pacific Ocean (180°transect) and 1,811 salmonids (1,982 in 1996) in the Gulf of Alaska. At longline stations, 11 salmon (17 in 1996) in the central North Pacific Ocean and 28 salmon (33 salmon in 1996) in the Gulf of Alaska were tagged and released. One tagged sockeye salmon (maturing, age 1.2) released at 145°W, 54°N on 10 July was recovered in a commercial fishery in the San Juan Islands, Washington, on 12 August 1997. One coded-wire tagged steelhead (juvenile, age 1.0), which originated from a release of hatchery fish into a coastal Washington stream in 1997, was recovered at 145°W, 52°N on 8 July. Biological samples and data were collected for various other cooperative studies of salmon distribution, abundance, stock origins, maturity and growth, food habits, bioenergetics, and other aspects of ocean biology and ecology; results will be reported later.

received throughout the course of this project from a large number of individuals in the seafood processing industry and in various government agencies, in obtaining data necessary to this study. While space constraints make it impossible to list all those who assisted in providing information, mention should be made of a number of people who deserve recognition for their contributions.

WRF/Chem simulations were performed using the meteorological conditions of January 2000 and alternatively the emissions of January 1990 and 2000 to examine whether increases in emissions may have caused the increasing trends in observed sulfate-aerosol concentrations at coastal Alaska sites. The analysis focused on six regions in Alaska that are exposed differently to the main emission sources. Meteorological observations at 59 sites and aerosol measurements at three sites showed that WRF/Chem captured the meteorological situation over Alaska well and simulated the aerosol concentrations acceptably. Except for the region adjacent to the Arctic Ocean that is influenced by local SO 2 -emissions, Alaska SO 2 and SO 4 2À -aerosol distributions are affected by long-range transport of SO 2 from ship emissions and/or emissions in Canada and southern Siberia. Local changes in emissions between 1990 and 2000 are not the main cause for concentrations changes in the six regions. The increases of SO 4 2À -aerosols and SO 4 2À -in-cloud along the Gulf of Alaska are caused by increased ship or Canadian emissions. The study provides evidence that the increased ship and Canadian emissions during the last decades can cause increases in sulfate aerosols.

Se presentan 1.812 referencias sobre taxonomía, sistemática y distribución geográfica de los peces óseos marinos y que siendo marinos penetran en estuarios de Chile. Se consideran peces de la costa de Chile en el continente sudamericano y también de las islas oceánicas chilenas.

This paper defines the principal architectural elements present within the Pleistocene, glaciolacustrine basin-fill of the Copper River Basin in Alaska. The Copper River drains an intermontane basin via a single deeply incised trench through the Chugach Mountains to the Gulf of Alaska. This trench was blocked by ice during the last glacial cycle and a large ice-dammed lake, referred to as Lake Atna, filled much of the Copper Basin. Facies analysis within the basin floor allows a series of associations to be defined consistent with the basinward transport of sediment deposited along calving ice margins and at the basin edge. Basinward transport involves a continuum of gravity driven processes, including slumping, cohesive debris flow, hyperconcentrated/concentrated density flows, and turbidity currents. This basinward transport results in the deposition of a series of subaqueous fans, of which two main types are recognised. (1) Large, stratified, basin floor fans, which extend over at least 5 km and are exposed in the basin centre. These fans are composed of multiple lobes, incised by large mega-channels, giving fan architectures that are dominated by horizontal strata and large, cross-cutting channel-fills. Individual lobes and channel-fills consist of combinations of: diamict derived from iceberg rainout and the ice-marginal release of subglacial sediment; multiple units of fining upward gravels which grade vertically into parallel laminated and rippled fine sands and silts, deposited by a range of density flows and currents derived from the subaqueous discharge of meltwater; and rhythmites grading vertically into diamicts deposited from a range of sediment-density flows remobilising sediment deposited by either iceberg rainout or the ice-marginal release of sediment. (2) Small, complex, proximal fans, which extend over less than 2 km, and are exposed in the southern part of the basin. These fans are composed of coalescing and prograding lobes of diamict and gravel deposited both directly by subaqueous meltwater and from sediment-density flows. These lobes are cross-cut by a range of sand and gravel-filled troughs and channels cut by subaqueous outwash, and either overlie or are overlain by horizontal sheets of gravel and diamict deposited from a range of sediment-density flows. The fans are, therefore, characterised by a complex, and laterally variable facies, architecture. Water depth, proglacial topography, stability of meltwater portals and sediment supply may all be important in determining the type of subaqueous fan present at any one location. We suggest that the Copper River basin-fill is dominated by packages of sediment containing multiple subaqueous fans with individual fans separated by units of diamict. Each sediment package is in turn separated from the next by a palaeo-landsurface shaped by interstadial/interglacial fluvial processes and by volcanic debris flows.

Forensic environmental chemistry involves the use of trace chemical techniques for investigating environmental spills in an effort to determine civil or criminal liability. The field can be broken down into two broad areas based on the techniques used to determine liability: chemical fingerprinting and spatial association. In chemical fingerprinting, complex mixtures of chemicals or chemical isotopes are used to associate a spill or environmental release with a source. In spatial association, geographical information systems and geochemical techniques are used to attribute the location of a contaminant with a possible source in physical space.

North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water (NPSTMW) is an essential feature of the North Pacific subtropical gyre imparting significant influence on regional SST evolution on seasonal and longer time scales and, as such, is an important component of basin-scale North Pacific climate variability. This study examines the seasonal-to-interannual variability of NPSTMW, the physical processes responsible for this variability, and the connections between NPSTMW and basin-scale climate signals using an eddy-permitting 1979–2006 ocean simulation made available by the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2). The monthly mean seasonal cycle of NPSTMW in the simulation exhibits three distinct phases: (i) formation during November–March, (ii) isolation during March–June, and (iii) dissipation during June–November—each corresponding to significant changes in upper-ocean structure. An interannual signal is also evident in NPSTMW volume and other characteristic properties w...

Sea lion and seal populations in Alaskan waters underwent various degrees of decline during the latter half of the twentieth century and the cause(s) for the declines remain uncertain. The stable carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) isotope ratios in bone collagen from wild Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska were measured for the period 1951-1997 to test the hypothesis that a change in trophic level may have occurred during this interval and contributed to the population declines. A significant change in δ 15 N in pinniped tissues over time would imply a marked change in trophic level. No significant change in bone collagen δ 15 N was found for any of the three species during the past 47 years in either the Bering Sea or the Gulf of Alaska. However, the 15 N in the Steller sea lion collagen was significantly higher than both northern fur seals and harbor seals. A significant decline in δ 13 C (almost 2 ‰ over the 47 years) was evident in Steller sea lions, while a declining trend, though not significant, was evident in harbor seals and northern fur seals. Changes in foraging location, in combination with a trophic shift, may offer one possible explanation. Nevertheless, a decrease in δ 13 C over time with no accompanying change in δ 15 N suggests an environmental change affecting the base of the foodweb rather than a trophic level change due to prey switching. A decline in the seasonal primary production in the region, possibly resulting from decreased phytoplankton growth rates, would exhibit itself as a decline in δ 13 C. Declining production could be an indication of a reduced carrying capacity in the North Pacific Ocean. Sufficient quantities of optimal prey species may have fallen below threshold sustaining densities for these pinnipeds, particularly for yearlings and subadults who have not yet developed adequate foraging skills.

The identi®cation and allocation of multiple hydrocarbon sources in marine sediments is best achieved using an holistic approach. Total organic carbon (TOC) is one important tool that can constrain the contributions of speci®c sources and rule out incorrect source allocations in cases where inputs are dominated by fossil organic carbon. In a study of the benthic sediments from Prince William Sound (PWS) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), we ®nd excellent agreement between measured TOC and TOC calculated from hydrocarbon ®ngerprint matches of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and chemical biomarkers. Con®rmation by two such independent source indicators (TOC and ®ngerprint matches) provides evidence that source allocations determined by the ®ngerprint matches are robust and that the major TOC sources have been correctly identi®ed. Fingerprint matches quantify the hydrocarbon contributions of various sources to the benthic sediments and the degree of hydrocarbon winnowing by waves and currents. TOC contents are then calculated using source allocation results from ®ngerprint matches and the TOCs of contributing sources. Comparisons of the actual sediment TOC values and those calculated from source allocation support our earlier published ®ndings that the natural petrogenic hydrocarbon background in sediments in this area comes from eroding Tertiary shales and associated oil seeps along the northern GOA coast and exclude thermally mature area coals from being important contributors to the PWS background due to their high TOC content.

Oil stranded by the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill has persisted in subsurface sediments of exposed shores for 16 years. With annualized loss rates declining from ∼68% yr-1 prior to 1992 to ∼4% yr-1 after 2001, weathering processes are retarded in both sediments and residual emulsified oil ("oil mousse"), and retention of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is prolonged. The n-alkanes, typically very readily oxidized by microbes, instead remain abundant in many stranded emulsified oil samples from the Gulf of Alaska. They are less abundant in Prince William Sound samples, where stranded oil was less viscous. Our results indicate that, at some locations, remaining subsurface oil may persist for decades with little change.

can be learned about seabird foraging behavior through biologging. I guess the lack of a broader context and clear aims is related to the fact that the manuscript forms part of a special issue, and that the authors are trying to show how seabirds can play a part in an ocean observation network. However, in my opinion the manuscript should also be accessible and interesting to readers who’re unfamiliar with COSYNA, and this will require a bit more context, more clearly defined aims, and a discussion of the pros and cons of the chosen approach in terms of reaching those aims.

We examined fossil pigments in a 210 Pb-dated sediment core to document the temporal variations in phytoplankton biomass over the past 150 years in a semienclosed bay, Beppu Bay, in the western Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The flux of fossil pigments was used as an index of phytoplankton biomass, which we reconstructed after removing the effect of post-burial degradation on the concentrations of fossil pigments. The flux doubled from the 1960s to the early 1970s, decreased or remained stable in the early 1980s, and increased again from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The first increase in phytoplankton biomass during the 1960s was likely caused by eutrophication due to an increase in terrestrial nutrient fluxes from watersheds. The decreasing phytoplankton biomass in the early 1980s was likely related to the establishment of a sewage treatment system that reduced the terrestrial nutrient fluxes to the sea. However, the terrestrial nutrient fluxes could not explain the second increase from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Intensification of the influx of nutrients from the shelf slope to the sea was likely the cause of the second increase in phytoplankton biomass. This is supported by the inverse relationship between phytoplankton biomass and sea level at the shelf slope, the latter being an index of the intensity of the influx of oceanic nutrients from the shelf slope to the sea. The supply of oceanic nutrients may be therefore a critical factor in the determination of primary production in the western Seto Inland Sea.

Marine reserves have been suggested as an important tool for rockfish management and conservation in the northeast Pacific Ocean. One issue confronting effective reserve design is to ensure that larvae released within a reserve system are not lost through dispersal but actually contribute to the population within the reserve areas and beyond. As a first attempt to address this issue for marine reserves in the Aleutian Islands (AI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA), we modified the particle-tracking module of a three-dimensional circulation model for the northeast Pacific to incorporate simple larval behaviors such as diel vertical migration. We used the model to simulate dispersal of rockfish larvae during peak months of larval release from a suite of potential reserve locations in the AI and GOA. Because larval behavioral patterns are unknown for most rockfish species, we incorporated several alternative behavioral models in the simulations. We also addressed intra-and interannual variation in dispersal by repeating the simulations with larval release occurring during several different months for two different years. Model results indicate that retention of larvae near release sites is greatest for sites in the AI and least for sites in the GOA. However, we regard these results as preliminary and as a demonstration of the modeling approach rather than as an actual basis for selecting reserve areas.

The hypothesis that commercial whaling caused a sequential megafaunal collapse in the North Pacific Ocean by forcing killer whales to eat progressively smaller species of marine mammals is not supported by what is known about the biology of large whales, the ecology of killer whales, and the patterns of ecosystem change that took place in Alaska, British Columbia, and elsewhere in the world following whaling. A comparative analysis shows that populations of seals, sea lions, and sea otters increased in British Columbia following commercial whaling, unlike the declines noted in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands. The declines of seals and sea lions that began in western Alaska around 1977 were mirrored by increases in numbers of these species in British Columbia. A more likely explanation is that the seal and sea lion declines and other ecosystem changes in Alaska stem from a major oceanic regime shift that occurred in 1977. Killer whales are unquestionably a significant predato...

Satellite telemetry was used to identify the foraging distributions of three congeneric species of albatrosses that nest in the tropics/subtropics. Breeding waved albatrosses Phoebastria irrorata from the Galápagos Islands travelled to the productive upwelling near the Peruvian coast and nearby areas during the rearing period in 1996. Black‐footed albatrosses P. nigripes and Laysan albatrosses P. immutabilis nesting in the Hawaiian Islands and tracked during the 1997–98 and 1998–99 breeding seasons also performed long foraging trips, to continental shelf areas of North America. In both years, breeding black‐footed albatrosses made long trips to the west coast of North America (British Columbia to California). In 1997–98, breeding Laysan albatrosses travelled primarily to the north of the Hawaiian Islands and reached the waters of the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska. In 1998–99, Laysan albatrosses had a complete breeding failure, and no long trips by breeders were tracked as ...

KEFJ, and the two efforts were closely coordinated, providing an opportunity to integrate results over a broader region. Also in 2010, the EVOSTC provided funding for additional surveys to monitor the recovery of the sea otter population in WPWS, as an amendment to Project 10100750 (Restoration Project 10100750A). The findings of that work are included in this report. In 2012, the EVOSTC funded implementation of the 20-year Gulf Watch Alaska program (GWA; Restoration Project 12120114; ), a multi-dimensional monitoring and research program directed at environmental drivers and pelagic and nearshore food webs in the Gulf of Alaska. The ongoing nearshore monitoring efforts in WPWS, KATM, and KEFJ were assembled under the Nearshore component of the new GWA program, with support for 5 more years of monitoring (2012 -2016) from the EVOSTC, and additional funding from USGS and NPS. The years, areas, and funding sources for the series of nearshore monitoring activities are summarized in Table below. Nearshore monitoring is anticipated to be continued after 2016, potentially as part of the Gulf Watch Alaska program, and at KATM and KEFJ, through NPS SWAN. Here, we provide a final report for EVOS Restoration Project 10100750, including amendment 10100750A, recognizing that the work and data streams will be carried forward as part of GWA. Data that have been collected under this project will be integrated in GWA program syntheses, as interpretation of data collected over broader ecologic, geographic and temporal scales may be more meaningful in terms of understanding large-scale ecosystem processes and patterns. This report is submitted as a final product for Project 10100750, but we emphasize that data collection continues under the NPS SWAN I&M and GWA programs.

We measured stream temperature continuously during the 2011 summer runoff season (May through October) in nine watersheds of Southeast Alaska that provide spawning habitat for Pacific salmon. The nine watersheds have glacier coverage ranging from 0% to 63%. Our goal was to determine how air temperature and watershed land cover, particularly glacier coverage, influence stream temperature across the seasonal glacial meltwater hydrograph. Multiple linear regression models identified mean watershed elevation (related to glacier extent) and watershed lake coverage (%) as the strongest landscape controls on mean monthly stream temperature, with the weakest (May) and strongest (July) models explaining 86% and 97% of the temperature variability, respectively. Mean weekly stream temperature was significantly correlated with mean weekly air temperature in seven streams; however, the relationships were weak to non-significant in the streams influenced by glacial runoff. Streams with >30% glacier coverage showed decreasing stream temperatures with rising summer air temperatures, whereas those with <30% glacier coverage exhibited summertime warming. Glaciers also had a cooling effect on monthly mean stream temperature during the summer (July through September) equivalent to a decrease of 1.1 C for each 10% increase in glacier coverage. The maximum weekly average temperature (an index of thermal suitability for salmon) in the six glacial streams was substantially below the lower threshold for optimum salmon growth. This finding suggests that although glaciers are important for moderating summer stream temperatures, future reductions in glacier runoff may actually improve the thermal suitability of some glacially dominated streams in Southeast Alaska for salmon.

films were evaporated on the disk surfaces, yielding well-defined internal markers of fault offsets. All deformed specimens were observed by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM); all half-tone figures are back-scattered electron images taken at 20 kV acceleration voltage with a Philips XL-30 SEM with a field emission gun.

Scale pattern analysis was used to estimate the age and stock composition of immature sockeye salmon in R/V TINRO trawl catches in the western Bering Sea and northwestern North Pacific Ocean in fall (September-October) 2002. Baseline data from adult sockeye salmon in Asia and North America (ages 1.3 and 2.3 in 2001-2002) were used to estimate the stock composition of dominant age groups (1.1, 2.1, 2.1, and 2.2) of immature fish in the R/V TINRO samples. Based on similarity in scale patterns the baseline data were grouped into four stock complexes: (1) West Kamchatka, (2) East Kamchatka, (3) Chukotka, and (4) Alaska (Bristol Bay)/Northeast Kamchatka. The mean accuracies of 100% simulations of these baselines ranged from 92.4%-93.5%. The results indicate that Asian stocks dominated R/V TINRO catches across the entire region (67-95% of age-.1 fish, 77-89% of age-.2 fish). Alaska /Northeast Kamchatka stocks occurred only in Bering Sea catches, and estimates for these stocks were highest in district 8 (33% of age .1 fish, 23% of age .2 fish), which was the district located closest to the coast of Alaska. East Kamchatka was the dominant Asian stock (44-69% of age-.1 fish, 42-73% of age-.2 fish). West Kamchatka stocks were prevalent only among age-.2 fish (27-42%). Chukotka stocks occurred only in the Bering Sea, and were prevalent only among age-.1 fish (12-21%). In general these results are corroborated by the results of previous studies of the distribution of immature Asian and American sockeye salmon during their fall feeding migrations in the western Bering Sea and northwestern North Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, the stock composition estimates reported in this document are considered preliminary, as final estimates will be made using brood-year specific scale baselines from adult returns in 2003 and 2004.

March–August sea surface temperatures (SST) are reconstructed for the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) from 1750–1983 based on tree‐ring data from coastal and south‐central Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Some of the trends resemble those documented in other northern instrumental and proxy records, including cooler SSTs in the early and middle 1800s, during the Little Ice Age. There is overall warming in this century, including a positive trend from the mid‐1970s to 1980s, following cooler 1960s–1970s. The twentieth century warming exceeds maxima in the reconstructed SSTs back to AD 1750 and is consistent with other evidence for unusual Northern Hemisphere warming. Changes over the period of recorded North Pacific SST have been linked to a pattern of variability known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Maps comparing the reconstruction to the North Pacific SST field and other analyses suggest that it may reflect variations related to the PDO over several centuries.

Ocean analysis/reanalysis experiments are conducted with the MRI ocean data assimilation system MOVE/MRI.COM. The system adopts a multivariate 3DVAR scheme, in which adopted are a coupled temperature-salinity empirical orthogonal functional decomposition in vertical and horizontal Gaussian structure for the background error covariance matrix. The multivariate scheme enables us to estimates salinity field from temperature and remote-sensed sea level. The analysis/reanalysis experiments are conducted in global and the North Pacific with different model resolutions, which are contributions to the international research projects of GOOS/GODAE and CLIVAR/GSOP Ocean Reanalysis. Comparison of ocean state and water mass of the datasets with observation show how much the datasets are accurate. Using these analysis/reanalysis datasets, water mass distributions and variability have been investigated as an example of ocean climate variation. In this paper, we introduce the system configuration ...

Aleutian Low variations provide vorticity, buoyancy, and heat-flux forcing to the North Pacific Ocean, which in turn cause changes in ocean circulation, mixed layer characteristics and sea ice coverage. In this process the white noise atmospheric characteristics are integrated dynamically and thermodynamically to generate red noise ocean spectra. Using the Community Earth System Model (version 1.0.3) we study the resulting biogeochemical and ecosystem responses in the North Pacific. We find that ocean dynamical variables have an impact on the tendencies of key nutrients and biological production, which leads to a further reddening of biogeochemical spectra resulting in potential predictability on time scales of 2-4 years. However, this low-pass filtering does not apply to all biogeochemical variables and is regionally dependent. It is shown that phytoplankton biomass in the Central North Pacific adjusts to the much shorter-term variability associated with changes in mixed layer depth, light availability, and zooplankton grazing, thus limiting the predictability of phytoplankton anomalies to about 1 year. In the eastern North Pacific the slow advection of anomalous nutrient concentrations leads to longer persistence of phytoplankton variability and increased potential predictability of up to 3 years.

Holocene glacier fluctuations in College Fjord in south-central Alaska provide an integrated proxy record of climatic and related environmental changes through this critical geologic epoch. During the early Holocene around 10,000 yr BP, ice was receding from lower Port Wells but was still present in College Fjord. With the beginning of the Holocene Climatic Optimum, recession increased and the ice front reached the Golden Moraine site 1 by 7680 cal yr BP, starting its long early to middle Holocene retreat to the head of tidewater. An ice-free fjord existed between 7680 cal yr BP and about 5190 yr BP. A middle Holocene advance started between approximately 5190 and 4470 yr BP with ice arriving at the mouth of the fjord before 2470 cal yr BP. The late Holocene was characterized by various standstills and minor readvance positions as the glacier fell back and by significant Little Ice Age expansions and retreats of individual glaciers present in the fjord. During the late Holocene, the glacier built four large and distinctive moraines all representative of at least four standstill positions of College Fjord Glacier before 2470, 2060, 1330, and approximately 1120 cal yr BP.

Introduction their presence year-round in Cook Inlet (Rugh et al., 2000), and evidence of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, are genetic discreteness (O'Corry-Crowe et distributed throughout Arctic and sub-al., 1997), the belugas found in Cook arctic waters of the Northern Hemi-Inlet appear to be isolated from beluga sphere (Hazard, 1988). Belugas in Cook populations found in western and north-Inlet, Alaska, sometimes range between ern Alaska. Yakutat Bay and Shelikof Strait (Fig.1); The apparent decline of this stock however, sightings outside of Cook Inlet during the 1990's (Hobbs et al., 2000) are infrequent and generally limited to has been attributed, in part, to overexploismall numbers (Laidre et al., 2000). Due tation by hunters. Subsequently, Cook to the absence of sightings south of the Inlet belugas were designated in 2000 as Alaska Peninsula (Laidre et al., 2000), depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) (NMFS, 2000a). This paper reviews and describes beluga use and harvest levels B. A. Mahoney

founded in 1934, ofers exhibits, lectures, outreach to schools and maintains permanent collections in anthropology, biology, geology and paleontology. As an academic unit of the university, the museum ofers academic courses and wilderness ield studies, sponsors research, and publishes occasional monographs. he purpose of the museum is to enhance an understanding and delight in the natural and cultural history of the region.

Eddies in the Gulf of Alaska are important sources of coastal water and associated nutrients, iron, and biota to the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll central Gulf of Alaska. Three primary eddy formation regions along the eastern boundary of the gulf have been identified, (from south to north, Haida, Sitka, and Yakutat). In the spring of 2005, three eddies (one of each type) were sampled soon after their formation. The subsurface eddy core water in all three eddies was defined by high iron concentrations and low dissolved oxygen compared with surrounding basin water. The Sitka and Yakutat core waters also exhibited a subsurface temperature maximum (mesothermal water) coincident in depth with the iron maximum, suggesting that eddies may play a role in the formation of temperature inversions observed throughout the Gulf of Alaska. The data suggest different formation regions, with the Yakutat eddy forming in shallow shelf water with riverine input, while the Sitka and Haida eddies appear to form in deeper water.

Past studies determined that concentrations of arsenic in the liver of flathead sole from Alaska were generally higher than those found in fish from other locations sampled along the west coast of the United States (Meador et al. 1994). A study was conducted to examine arsenic concentrations and patterns of bioaccumulation in fish and potential prey species from two geographic locations. Flathead sole were collected from four sites in the Gulf of Alaska and white croaker and English sole were collected from five sites in California. Potential prey species from each site were also examined and found to contain high concentrations of arsenic. In California, the sites with the lowest sediment concentrations of arsenic, total organic carbon, and acid-volatile sulfides (AVS) contained invertebrates with the highest tissue concentrations. Regression analysis determined that arsenic in polychaetes was highly correlated to sediment concentrations of arsenic normalized to AVS but was higher overall for the California samples. Even though invertebrates from several of the California sites exhibited much higher concentrations of arsenic than invertebrates from the Alaska sites, liver and muscle tissue from flathead sole collected in Alaska usually exhibited higher concentrations than fish from the California sites. When concentrations of arsenic in fish liver were plotted against concentrations of arsenic in sediment normalized to AVS levels, a very high correlation was obtained for all sites. This suggests that AVS, or some factor correlated with AVS, may have been responsible for controlling arsenic bioaccumulation in these fish species through dietary uptake and exposure to arsenic in water. Based on the available data, it appears that dietary uptake may be related to fish tissue concentrations, but uptake of aqueous arsenic may be responsible for the higher tissue concentrations in fish from Alaska.

Mention of a commercial company or product does not constitute an endorsement by NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories. Use for publicity or advertising. purposes of information from this publication concerning proprietary products or the tests of such products is not authorized. For sale by Ihe National Technical Informal ion Sen ice. 52R5 Pon Royal Road Sp. in~field, \&apos;A 22161 ii CONTENTS

The Seasat satellite launched in Summer 1978 carried a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Although Seasat failed after 105 days in orbit, it provided observations that demonstrate the potential to examine and monitor upper oceanic processes. Seasat made five passes over lower Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait, Alaska, during Summer 1978. SAR images from the passes show oceanographic features, including a meander in a front, a pair of mesoscale eddies, and internal waves. These features are compared with contemporary and representative images from a satellite-borne Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), with water property data, and with current observations from moored instruments. The results indicate that SAR data can be used to monitor mesoscale oceanographic features.

The development of the 1982-1983 El Nifio event is described by reference to the oceanographic conditions prevailing off Ecuador during the period 1982-1984. The first signs of the anomaly's onset off the Ecuadorian coast were observed in August 1982: the 16øC isotherm was found some 50 m deeper than normal along 82ø30'W; this observation preceded by approximately 2 months the rapid rise in sea level, the appearance of warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, and heavy rainfalls. By February 1983, the whole area off Ecuador was covered by very warm (29ø-30øC) and low salinity (less than 33.0 parts per thousand) surface water. Two mechanisms seemed to be involved in the formation of the low-salinity water: advection of northern water and dilution by local rainfall. Although the ocean surface was 4øC warmer than normal, the most notable changes took place throughout the water column: a strong depression of the thermocline and all the isotherms down to 15øC, the largest anomalies being observed over the 100-m water column, up to 9øC at 50-m depth. During the subsequent months SSTs continued to increase; thus the highest SST anomalies (6.3øC) were observed in May and June. Recovery from the 1982-1983 anomaly started in July 1983 with a general uprising of the isotherms and a fall in sea level. By October, the warm SST anomalies had dropped to 1.5øC. In November 1983, the presence of the equatorial front also attested to the return to normal of the oceanographic conditions in the region.

Liu, H., Dagg, J. M., Napp, J. M., and Sato, R. 2008. Mesozooplankton grazing in the coastal Gulf of Alaska: Neocalanus spp. vs. other mesozooplankton. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 351–360. Three species of large calanoid copepod, Neocalanus flemingeri, Neocalanus plumchrus, and Neocalanus cristatus, dominate the spring biomass of mesozooplankton in the Subarctic Pacific. We compared the grazing impact of Neocalanus species on phytoplankton with grazing by the remainder of the mesozooplankton community in the coastal and shelf waters of the Gulf of Alaska during spring and summer 2003. Neocalanus spp. and other mesozooplankton fed mainly on particles &gt;20 µm, and phytoplankton in the smaller size-fractions (&lt;20 µm) increased in the presence of mesozooplankton, possibly because of a trophic cascade resulting from mesozooplankton consumption of microzooplankton. Neocalanus spp. accounted for most of the mesozooplankton biomass and herbivory in the shelf water of the Gulf...

The 500-km coastline of the Gulf of Alaska between Cape Suckling and Cape Spencer contains several segments that may be the most actively changing and dynamic on the earth's surface. Included in the changes during the twentieth century are the filling of two bays, the formation of a third bay, and the erosion and retreat of more than 250 km of coastline, some by more than 2 km. Associated with morphological changes are changes in depositional environment, changes in sediment transport regimes, and changes in resultant sedimentary deposits.