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A model has been developed and run with sufficiently high resolution (~9 km and 45 levels) and a large enough spatial domain to allow for realistic representation of flow through the narrow and shallow straits in the Bering Sea region. This is potentially important for quantification of long-term mean and time-dependent ocean circulation, and water mass and property exchanges between the Pacific and Arctic oceans. The mean modeled circulation in the Bering Sea is found to be in good agreement with the limited observational data. The Bering Sea Basin, Bering Slope Current, and straits on the northern shelf are identified as highly energetic regions based on eddy kinetic energy fields. Some high biological productivity regions of the northern Bering Sea identified in observational studies are coincident with regions of persistently high energy (up to 2600 cm2 s-2 at mid-depth) throughout the annual cycle. Over a twentythree year interval (1979-2001), mean transport through Bering Strait is estimated to be 0.65 Sv. Comparison of model results with published observations indicates that ocean circulation is not only variable at seasonal to interdecadal scales, but it is also responsive to short-term atmospheric forcing. Comparison with observations of nearbottom salinity indicates that the model is reasonably representing the major water mass properties. The long-term model results for the Bering Sea provide important insights into the ocean circulation and fluxes and they are a useful frame of reference for limited observations that are short-term and/or cover only a small geographic region.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / Large-scale circulations in the 15-25 day period over the western North Pacific during northern summer were determined using the leading modes of a Singular Value Decomposition of 850 hPa winds and outgoing longwave radiation. Composites were constructed to define the wave patterns' structural characteristics. Their evolution is characterized by alternating cyclonic and anticyclonic equatorial anomalies that are linked to anomalous convective activity. Mid-latitude perturbations appear to contribute to the growth of new equatorial disturbances. Variability within the cycle is examined relative to variations in the basic state vertical wind shear and zonal wind convergence or divergence in the region equator-10ðN, 140ðE-160ðE. For the 50 cases in a basic state with easterly vertical wind shear and convergence, westward-moving waves propagate farther northwestward, wavelength contraction is greater, their orientation changes from east-west to southwest-northeast, and waves appear to be coupled with a Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude wave train. For the zonal wind divergence set, wave activity occurs farther eastward, circulations maintain a longer wavelength and more zonal orientation, and linkage with the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes is minimal. A statistically-significant relationship exists between the 15-25 day wave phase and tropical cyclone activity. Formation frequency and preferred locations are modulated by the 15-25 day wave. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

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Graduation date: 1983

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1982. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-225).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-215).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, 1982. / Supervised by Gabriel T. Csanady. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-225).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1981. / Supervised by Peter B. Rhines. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-215).