2.22.2009

info on Beaufort Sea from Arctic Report Card



Canada Basin and Beaufort Gyre

The 2007 Canada Basin and the Beaufort Gyre summer conditions exhibited very strong freshening relative to 2006 and previous years of observations (Richter-Menge et al. 2006). Data collected as part of the Beaufort Gyre Environmental Observatory (BGEO, www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/index.html) show that in 2000–07, the total freshwater content in the Beaufort Gyre has not changed dramatically relative to climatology (although the absolute maximum was observed in 2007), but there was a significant change in the freshwater distribution (Fig. O3(c,d)). The center of the freshwater maximum shifted toward Canada and significantly intensified relative to climatology. This region of the Beaufort Gyre is much fresher than 30 yr ago.


http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/ocean.html

and some more arctic maps here: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/maps.html

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