Contact Information
Graduate Program in Marine Science and Limnology110 O'Neill
P.O. Box 757220
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-5184
janout@sfos.uaf.edu
Markus JanoutPh.D. Student
Thesis Title
Temperature and salinity controlling processes in the northern Gulf of Alaska
Affiliations
- The Oceanographic Society
- American Geophysical Union
Specialties
- Physical Oceanography
- Scientific diving
- Oceanographic data processing and analysis using MATLAB and FORTRAN
- Seagoing oceanography
Education
- M.Sc. 2003 University of Hamburg (Oceanography)
Research Overview
My research interests focus on the physical oceanography in the northern Gulf of Alaska (GOA) under supervision of Dr Tom Weingartner. My thesis work includes three subjects: 1) mesoscale eddies in the northern GOA; 2) the nature of the 2006/07 cooling on the northern GOA shelf; 3) Atmospheric and oceanic contributions on ocean temperatures in the northern GOA, which are aimed at advancing the understanding of the heat and freshwater budget, and the dynamics involved in biological production and nutrient supply to the northern GOA shelf.
1) The coastal oceanography in the GOA is governed by large coastal freshwater runoff. Freshwater (besides wind) is a driving factor for the Alaska Coastal Current, which impacts stratification and water masses as far as the Bering and Chukchi Seas. Little is known about the distribution and fate of the freshwater beyond the Seward Line, but large (~150-200 km) anticyclonic eddies are assumed to be one mechanism that could spread coastal freshwater offshore. The eddies have a positive sea level anomaly (~30-50 cm) in the center, and can be tracked by satellite altimetry. Some of these eddies, after formation off Sitka and Yakutat, propagate along the GOA shelfbreak past Kodiak and sometimes to the western Aleutians. Northern GOA eddies are among the longest lived eddies in the world’s ocean, with a maximum observed lifetime of >5 years. Small-scale surveys of an eddy off the Seward Line showed that eddy-induced exchange between nutrient-rich offshore waters, and nutrient-poor but iron-rich shelf waters benefits primary production.
2) In spring 2007, the NPRB funded continuation of the GLOBEC monitoring along the Seward Line showed the coldest water temperatures in the northern GOA in ~35 years. The water column at the inshore station (GAK1) was homogenously cold, and more saline in the upper 100 m and fresher than normal below 100 m, hence stratification was weak. We investigate mechanisms that lead to the cooling over the GAK1 timeseries from 1970-present. Low coastal runoff combined with strong wind mixing, downwelling, and atmospheric cooling appeared responsible for the cooling. Special focus lies on the role of freshwater runoff as a regulator for the deep (>100 m) GAK1 temperatures.
3) Soon to come …
Additional interests and experiences
Other research related interests and experiences besides my thesis work currently include participation in different projects:
- USCGC Healy cruises to investigate the impact of climate change on benthic communities in the northern Bering Sea (PI: Drs Jackie Grebmeier and Lee Cooper, University of Maryland) http://arctic.bio.utk.edu/nbs2008.htm
- Canada’s three Oceans (C3O); oceanographic monitoring in oceans surrounding Canada and Alaska., (PI: Dr Eddy Carmack, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Canada) http://www.ipy-api.gc.ca/intl/fs/ctho_e.html
- Mooring recovery in the Beaufort Sea as an AAUS scientific diver (PI: Dr Tom Weingartner)
Current Research Projects
- Heat flux variability in the northern Gulf of Alaska
- On the nature of the 2006/07 cooling on the northern Gulf of Alaska shelf
- Northern Gulf of Alaska Eddies and their impact on shelf break processes and pimary production
Links
Publications
Janout, M. A., T. J. Weingartner, S. R. Okkonen, T. E. Whitledge, and D. L. Musgrave (2009), Some characteristics of Yakutat eddies propagating along the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Alaska (in press, Deep-Sea Research II)
Janout, M.A., T.J. Weingartner, T.C. Royer, and S.L. Danielson, On the nature of winter cooling and the recent temperature shift on the northern Gulf of Alaska shelf (submitted to JGR, September 2009)