THE RECENT RETURN OF THE ALASKAN STREAM TO NEAR STRAIT

A hydrocast survey was conducted near the western Aleutian Islands and in the Bering Sea in September 1992. Presence of the Alaskan Stream w as indicated by temperatures > 4-degrees-C to depths in excess of 200 m. Geopotential topography showed the Alaskan Stream flowing through N ear Strait into the Bering Sea, with branches also flowing northward t hrough Amchitka and Buldir passes. Satellite-tracked drifter paths wer e in general agreement with these features. Transport through Near Str ait was approximately 5 X 10(6) m3 S-1. Previous research indicated th at the Stream had been absent from the Strait for more than a year. Da ta from three current moorings (13-mo duration), however, suggested th at the Alaskan Stream started flowing through Near Strait in October 1 991 and continued into September 1992. This inflow had periods of both steady and variable flow.