The Alaskan Gulf Large Marine Ecosystem

The Alaskan Gulf

SOURCE: http://www.lme.noaa.gov/LMEWeb/Images/Images_LME/lme2.jpg

The Alaskan Gulf is officially classified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) Region 2.

Geography

SOURCE: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Gulfofalaskamap.png

• The gulf of alaska LME lies off the southern coast of alaska and the western coast of Canada. It is separated from the East Bering sea LME by the Alaska peninsula. The cold subarctic current, as it bifurcates towards the south, serves as the boundary between the gulf of Alaska and the California current LME.
• SOURCE: Aquarone, M. C., and S. Adams. "Large Marine Ecosystems of the World." Large Marine Ecosystems of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Climate

SOURCE: http://a.static.trunity.net/files/168801_168900/168826/thumbs/gulfalaska_s2002140nasa_438x0_scale.jpg

"Climate"-  the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

• The climate of the Gulf of Alaska is a sub-Arctic environment. The climate of the North Pacific changes sharply over decadal periods of decades, centuries and millennia, in concert with larger climatic processes in other parts of the world, such as in the North Atlantic. In the fall to spring seasons there are prevailing low pressure systems in the western and southern regions of the Gulf of Alaska. This system is often called the Aleutian Low, and is an important forcing factor for the entire Northern Hemisphere. By contrast, these parts of the Gulf have characteristic high pressures dominating in the summer season.
• SOURCE:  http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/153188/ 

Meteorology

SOURCE: http://snowbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/powerful-gulf-alaska-storm-0926121.jpg

"Meteorology"-"The branch of science concerned with the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, esp. as a means of forecasting the weather."

• The Gulf is a great generator of storms. In addition to dumping vast quantities of snow and ice on southern Alaska, resulting in some of the largest concentrations south of theArctic Circle, many of the storms move south along the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and as far south as Southern California (primarily during El Nino events). Much of the seasonal rainfall and snowfall in thePacific Northwest and Southwestern United States comes from the Gulf of Alaska.
• SOURCE: Wikipedia.org

Productivity

"Productivity"- "In ecology, productivity or production refers to the rate of generation of biomass in an ecosystem. It is usually expressed in units of mass per unit surface (or volume) per unit time, for instance grams per square meter per day (g m^-2 d^-1). The mass unit may relate to dry matter or to the mass of carbon generated. Productivity of autotrophs such as plants is called primary productivity, while that of heterotrophs such as animals is called secondary productivity."

SOURCE: Allaby, Michael, ed. (2006) [1994]. A Dictionary of Ecology (Third ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-860905-6. 

The Gulf of Alaska LME is considered a Class II, moderately productive ecosystem (150- 300 gCm-2yr-1). The LME’s cold, nutrient-rich waters support a biologically diverse ecosystem. Large-scale atmospheric and oceanographic conditions affect the productivity of this LME. Changes in zooplankton biomass have been observed in both the Gulf of Alaska LME and the adjacent California Current LME. These biomass changes appear to be inversely related to each other.

SOURCE: Brodeur, R.D., Frost, B.W., Hare, S., Francis, R. and Ingraham, W.J. (1999). Interannual variations in zooplankton biomass in the Gulf of Alaska, and covariation with California Current zooplankton biomass, p 106-138 in: Sherman, K. and Tang, Q. (eds), Large Marine Ecosystems of the Pacific Rim: Assessment, Sustainability and Management. Blackwell Science, Malden, U.S.



SOURCE: Figure courtesy of J. O’Reilly and K. Hyde.