Satellite observations of circulation features associated with a bowhead whale feeding ‘hotspot’ near Barrow, Alaska |
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Authors: | Stephen R. Okkonen Carin J. Ashjian Janet T. Clarke Kevin D. Taylor |
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Affiliation: | a Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USAb Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USAc Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882, USAd SAIC, 14620 268th Ave. E., Buckley, Washington 98321, USAe NOAA/Fisheries Science & Technology-OERD2, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington 98115, USA |
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Abstract: | Satellite images, along with oceanographic, meteorological, and whale aerial survey data, are used to illustrate aspects of ocean circulation associated with a bowhead whale feeding ‘hotspot’ near Barrow, Alaska. In response to weak winds, a strong front forms near the shelf-break along the southern edge of Barrow Canyon when the Alaska Coastal Current flows adjacent to the southern flank of Barrow Canyon or intrudes onto the western Beaufort shelf. This front is of particular local interest because it is indicative of aggregation and retention of zooplankton on the western Beaufort shelf and, as a result, is a locus for bowhead whales pausing to feed during their westward fall migration. Groups (4 or more individuals) of bowhead whales are primarily seen on the western Beaufort shelf following wind conditions that promote the formation of this front. |
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Keywords: | Bowhead whales Fronts Synthetic aperture radar Oceanography Shelf break currents |
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