surface salinity results from a combination of strong precipitation over the coastal rim
of mountains draining to the sea, abundant glacial meltwater and reduced wind stress
curl (relative to the North Atlantic subarctic) resulting from frictional erosion of
westerly winds over Asian mountains (Warren 1983). Also, the whole circuit of flow
is constrained by land at the north, a major difference from the Atlantic.
Fig. 11.3 Spring water-column stratification in the oceanic subarctic Pacific at Ocean
Station P. The “Fl” profile is chlorophyll fluorescence. The halocline, which
obviously determines the density (σt) profile, is close to the deepest descent made on
recurring internal waves. More surface warming develops as the seasons progress
through summer and fall.
(After Miller et al. 1991.)