Closing the Mass Budget between Bering Strait and the Arctic Basin: The Chukchi Slope Current

- Data from a collection of shipboard transects have revealed the presence of a heretofore unknown westward flowing current along the Chukchi Sea continental slope, which we call the Chukchi Slope Current. It transports 0.50±0.08 Sv of Pacific-origin water westward from Barrow Canyon.

- The Slope Current exhibits significant seasonal (+0.5 Sv) and interannual (+0.3 Sv) variability, which is likely wind-driven.

- The discovery of the Chukchi Slope Current brings us closer to closing the Pacific water mass budget of the Chukchi Sea.