lA Gulf of Alaska/ Aleutian Islands 



James F. R. Gower 



Institute of Ocean Sciences 

 Sidney, B.C., Canada 



and 



Thomas C. Royer 



Institute of Marine Science 



University of Alaska 



Fairbanks, Alaska 



The relatively fresh surface water of the Gulf of Alaska converges into 

 the Alaska Current and then flows out into the Pacific via the Alaskan 

 Stream, a narrow boundary current that follows the continental slope 

 along the southeast side of the Aleutian Island chain. 



The following two CZCS images present rare glimpses of the flow 

 pattern in the Gulf of Alaska. They show the convergent flow of water into 

 the Alaska Current and Alaskan Stream; the movement of the stream 

 along the continental shelf breakoff, the Alaska Peninsula, and the 

 Aleutian Island arc; and the onset of eddy formation south of Unalaska 

 Island. 



Areas of high productivity are shown by the high pigment 

 concentrations on the continental shelf near Kodiak Island. Flow features 

 close to the coast, in and to the east of Cook Inlet, are traced out by 

 patterns of river and glacial silt introduced by the high run-off 

 characteristic of the region. 



