with about the same thickness and temperature as that which supplies 

 the coastal current. But it must flow more slowly, so it cools in a 

 shorter distance along its path, either by loss of heat to the atmosphere 

 or because of a sporadic macro-diffusion of ice southward. The local 

 density differences which result when large quantities of ice are being 

 melted at different but rapid rates are now much smaller and interleaving 

 of waters of different temperatures is a languid rather than a violent 

 process. Hence little mesostructure results. 



One should not postulate that conditions still farther to the 

 west need be similar. The average ice conditions for late August 

 (U. W. Naval Oceanographic Office, 1958) show a deep lobe of melting 

 with its axis directed toward Wrangel Island. Our most westerly station 

 is on the eastern margin of this lobe. The size of the lobe suggests 

 that the melting occurring there is more extensive and perhaps as in- 

 tensive as along the Alaskan coast. Hence, the water flow may be 

 similar to those near the coastal current. 



E. CONCLUSIONS 



In 1972 the area surveyed was mostly well to the west of the 

 coastal current. However, enough stations were in locations similar 

 to those of 1971 to support the conclusion that the coastal current was 

 like it was in 1971, possibly a little warmer. Perhaps the higher tem- 

 peratures were due to the ice being farther north rather than to any 

 change in temperature at the source in Bering Strait. 



The entire area south of the ice and westward to 167°W, which 

 is 140-190 miles from shore, was found to contain warm water, as warm 

 as 10° C, in a layer up to 20 m thick riding on what is apparently a 

 layer of relict water formed during the winter. This is similar to condi- 

 tions near the coast, though somewhat warmer, but the deep layer is 

 now colder than -1.65 C with few exceptions. The interface between 

 the two layers is sharp but there is often a rounding of the tempera- 

 ture trace before the deep isothermal layer is reached. There appears 

 to be no gap between the warm water in the coastal current and the warm 

 water seaward . Thus , the splitting of the northward-flowing water at 

 Pt. Hope which is mentioned by Aagard . and Coachman (1964) does not 

 seem to result in a complete separation of the two branches. 



Well away from the coastal current the phenomena associated 

 with interaction of warm water and ice are mild. Most of the warm 

 layer is usually gone within about one to three miles inside the ice 

 margin, leaving a residual slightly warmer nose at between 5 and 10 m 

 depth. Indeed, cooling of the warm layer toward the north occurred 

 even in the absence of ice. Mesoscale structure in the temperature 



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