Bering Strait

Figure 4.13. Elements of the global water balance with the role of the ocean taken into account. Notations wA0L, wA0P, wA0I, wA0P precipitation Hpo, Hop Straits of Gibraltar Rp, Rj, RL rivers EPA, E1A, EPA, ELA evaporation Apl, A1P the Antarctic Current MP1 the Cape Igolny Current CPj the East-Australian Current fiPL Bering Strait 1LP Arctic ice DPP Drake Passage IP Antarctic ice NPI Indonesian seas Slf> Sfl straits.

The circulation of water in the Arctic Basin is a complex system of cycles and currents with different scales. Block HB simulates the dynamics of Arctic Basin water by the system of sub-blocks presented in Figure 6.2. The water dynamics in 2 is presented by flows between compartments Eijk. The directions of water exchanges are represented on every level zk = z0 + (k — 1 )A k according to Aota et al. (1992) in conformity with the current maps assigned as SSMAE input. The external boundary of 2 is determined by the coastline, the sea bottom, the Bering Strait, the southern boundary of the Norwegian Sea, and the water-atmosphere interface. 

The hydrological data are synthesized via a four-level structure according to the seasons (block MWD). The velocity of current in the Bering Strait is estimated by the following binary function ... 

The influence of water exchanges between the Arctic Basin and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on the pollution level in Q is described by block MPT. It is supposed that the watersheds of the Norwegian Sea QiV and the Bering Strait are characterized by currents with varying directions given as a scenario. 

The results of the simulation experiment are given in Table 6.13. We can see that the average content of heavy metals across the full water area of the Arctic Basin stabilizes after 3-5 years. Under this stable regime, the concentration of heavy metals in compartments Qp U Op (river mouths and ports) is six times higher than in the Central aquatory and twice as high in Or U Op U Q.N (near-shore waters, the Bering Strait, and the southern boundary of the Norwegian Sea). The concentration of heavy metals in phytoplankton is 18% lower than in zooplankton and 29% lower... 

While studying the global fate and transport of POPs, Iwata et al. (1993) measured POPs in the atmosphere over the South China Sea and the East Sea and detected HCH, chlordane, DDTs, and PCBs. The concentrations of EDDTs in the East and South China Sea were 2.9 43 and 7.8-140pgm-3, higher than the concentrations measured in the Bering Strait, North Atlantic, and the East Indian Ocean, while close to those measured in the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Mexico Bay andlower than those measured in the Strait of Malacca and Bengal Bay (Iwata et al., 1993). 

Sambrotto, R. N., Goering, J. J., McRoy, C. P. (1984). Large yearly production ofphytoplankton in the western Bering Strait. Science 225, 1147-1150. 

The major restricting factor is the ocean. Both continental coastal areas and areas of islands are exposed to cold oceanic currents. The Arctic oceanic basin is separated from the warm influence of currents from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans owing to the existence of both narrow channels like the Bering Strait and submarine ranges. 

Codispoti, L.A. and Owens, T.G. (1975) Nutrient transport through Lancaster Sound in relation to the Arctic Ocean s reactive silicate budget and the outflow of Bering Strait Waters. Limnology and Oceanography, 2d, 115-119. 

Cooper, L.W., Whitledge, T.E., Grebmeier, J.M. and Weingartner, T. (1997) The nutrient, salinity, and stable oxygen isotope composition of Bering and Chukchi Seas waters in and near the Bering Strait. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102, 12563-12573. 

Walsh, J.J., Dieterle, D.A., Muller-Karger, F.E., Aagaard, K., Roach, A.T., Whitledge, T.E. and Stockwell, D. (1997) C02 cycling in the coastal ocean. II. Seasonal organic loading to the Canadian Basin from source waters south of Bering Strait. Continental Shelf Research, 17, 1-36. 

Lynne Cox (1957- ), Long distance swimmer who broke the men s and women s English channel record at age 15 and the first swimmer to cross the Bering Strait. 

Species evolution also plays a large part in the differences between the Indians and their European invaders. During the last Ice Age, about 15,000 years ago, water levels were lower, due to the accumulation of ice covering the planet s land surface. Primitive Asiatics crossed the then dry Bering Strait and moved into the American continent. 

The Mongols then migrated to North America across the Bering Strait land bridge, which at that time linked Siberia and Alaska. This bridge closed some thirty thousand years ago but became available again in the period from twelve thousand to ten thousand years ago. While the... 

He finished the Civil War in Virginia, working with torpedo boats. After war he served as first assistant engineer on several ships. He undertook in 1879 an Arctic expedition, trying to find a quick way to the North Pole via Bering Strait, which failed, however. 

As the climate warming causes the Arctic sea ice to thin, the Northern Sea Route can be used more intensively. So far the Route has been open for 2 months per year but researchers predict that that the time window will increase. The Northern Sea Route offers a route from Europe to the Pacific Ocean that is 14,000 km shorter compared to the current one, allowing reduced shipping time and associated costs. The ports in the Barents area are likely to become busier as more ships start to pass through. Obstacles still exist, as the coastline between Barents and the Bering Strait... 

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