marshes, and thaw lakes. Barrier islands are the distinctive feature of 

 this region. Estuarine waters exist between the islands and the coast. 



Ocean currents in the Beaufort Sea flow westward between Mackenzie 

 Bay and Point Barrow. Along this section of coast, the slow westerly 

 drift formed by the clockwise Beaufort Gyral flows directly against the 

 continental land mass. Local winds, however, may reverse the westward 

 drift and send the current easterly in nearshore reaches. Storms are 

 frequent, particularly during summer, and occasionally generate storm 

 surges that strongly impact the Arctic coast. 



Ice cover in the Beaufort Sea is essentially complete in winter 

 except for tLeads. Large chunks of floating sea ice, occasional pieces 

 of broken ice islands, and deep keels of pressure ridges often become 

 grounded in the shelf sediments which form deep gouges in the sea 

 floor. Freezeup and breakup dates are variable and unpredictable. At 

 Point Barrow, freezeup may occur anytime between early September and 

 late November. Breakup has occurred as early as mid- June and as late as 

 late August. Air temperature may be as high as 20C in the summer and 

 as low as minus 55C during winter. 



Biologically, the shallow coastal environment along and within the 

 barrier island chain is more productive than the open sea. About 71 

 species of fish live in the estuaries and marine areas of the Beaufort 

 Sea. Arctic cisco, least cisco, broad and humpbacked whitefish, char, 

 fourhorned sculpins and arctic flounders are abundant in inshore areas. 

 A small commercial fishery for cisco and whitefish occurs in the Colville 

 River delta. 



51 



