Eulerian Measurements in the Alaskan Stream near Kodiak Island

Abstract

A current record during February -August 1980 over the continental slope off Kodiak Island provided the first Eulerian measurements in the high-speed region of the Alaskan Stream. The net flow at 980 m during the 6-month period was 6 cm s?1 at 235°, but there were major low-frequency variations in the current. These appeared to result from the occasional advection of meanders past the mooring, however, rather than from features such as planetary waves. The ratio of fluctuating to mean kinetic energy was much lower than reported values in the Kuroshio and Gulf Stream, probably as a result of important kinematic differences in these flows.