Ramifications of a longitudinally shifting Aleutian Low

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

North Pacific storm locations vary synoptically, seasonally, and inter-annually, subjecting the ecosystems of the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and beyond to the effects of non-stationary forcing. Examination of National Center for Environmental Prediction atmospheric Reanalysis fields over 1948-2014 shows that the amount of time the Bering Sea is subjected to energetic low pressure systems can vary by +/- 30 days per October-toApril winter season. These longitudinal relocations of the Aleutian Low help mediate the annual mean northward delivery of Pacific waters through Bering Strait. As a consequence, advection of heat, nutrients, and plankton into the Arctic can vary by 25% on inter-annual to decadal time scales. Coincident changes are found in the Bering Sea winter ice extent, setup of energetic continental shelf waves, Ekman suction rates in the Aleutian Basin and Gulf of Alaska, and sea surface height anomalies. This talk reviews and presents evidence for oceanic adjustments to longitudinal migrations of the Aleutian Low and describes some of the observed biological consequences, including changes in primary and secondary production, fish diets, and invertebrate abundances.