The presence of Bering Sea water in the 

 Beaufort Sea has been discussed by Treshnikov 

 (1959), Coachman and Barnes (1961), and Kin- 

 ney et al. (1970). Bering Sea water can be found 

 in two separate layers: one at 75 meters depths, 

 (due to Bering Sea summer water and charac- 

 terized by a temperature maximum) and the other 

 at 150 meters depth (due to Bering Sea winter 

 water and identified by a subsurface temperature 

 minimum). 



A possibility for a third existence of Bering Sea 

 water in the western Beaufort Sea was first indi- 

 cated by Johnson (1956). He described a rela- 

 tively warm ( <0°C) near-surface water mass that 

 contained Bering Sea planktonic forms. The 

 water mass extended to 143°W in the Beaufort 

 Sea. There have been no other reports on this 

 possible third presence of Bering Sea water in the 

 Beaufort Sea. 



A major feature of the distribution of tempera- 

 ture in the near-surface waters of the western 

 Beaufort Sea during WEBSEC-71 and 72 was the 

 presence of a relatively warm (1971: 0.1 to5.0°C; 

 1972: 0.0 to 7.5°C) water mass (figs. 44, 50, 62 

 and 74) similar to the warm water reported by 

 Johnson (1956). Salinity, dissolved oxygen, and 

 nutrient concentrations of the warm layer in 1971 

 were similar to adjacent water and could not be 

 used to identify the layer (figs. 45-49, 51-55). 

 The horizontal distribution of the warm water was 

 traced from 143°42'W (0. 1°C) to 154°30'W 

 where the warmest temperature (5.0°C) was re- 

 corded (fig. 98). The water mass extended from 

 the 25 meter bottom contour on the continental 

 shelf north to at least 71°40'N, the northern 

 boundary of the survey area. 



A time series study was conducted at station 90 

 during WEBSEC-71 to examine temporal varia- 

 tions in the warm water mass. The results are 

 given in table 2. The core of the warm water 

 exhibited an increase in temperature (0. 16°C) 

 and decrease in salinity (0.425°/oo) over a 10.5 

 hour period. 



An XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph) 

 transect was taken for 9 hours along 71°21'N from 

 153°00'W to 154°30'W during WEBSEC-71 to 

 study the spatial distribution of temperature in 

 the warm water mass (fig. 100). The warm water 

 was found from 10 meters depth to as deep as 60 

 meters depth with an average thickness of 25 

 meters. The upper and lower boundaries of the 

 water mass seem to be indicated by the 0°C 

 isotherms. The horizontal distribution of tem- 

 perature showed fluctuation in the heat content 

 along the core. 



In 1972, the warm water layer was found from 

 the surface to 75 meters depth except for station 

 64 where the layer was found to a depth of 125 

 meters. The warm water layer was traced from 

 147°00'W to 1.53°40'W (fig. 31). Again the warm 

 layer extended from the 25 meter bottom contour 

 on the continental shelf to at least 71°40'N, the 

 northern boundary of the survey area. 



The dissolved oxygen concentrations (<8.0 

 ml/1) in the warm layer in 1972 were signific- 

 antly different then adjacent waters (>8.5 ml/1) 

 (figs. 64, 76, and 88). Concentrations of 6.5 to 

 7.0 ml/1 were found in the core of the layer. 

 These low concentrations are not only due to the 

 lower solubility of dissolved oxygen in the warmer 

 waters but probably also due to some oxygen 

 utilization as seen in the saturation values 



Table 2. -Time-series study of the warm water mass at 71 07 N, 153°00'W, 

 during September 15-16, 1971. 



10 



