Annotated Bibliography:

Etherington, L., Nooge, P., Hooge, E., Hill, D. 2007. Oceanography of Glacier Bay Alaska: Implications for Biological Patterns in a Glacial Fjord Estuary.  Estuaries and Coasts. 30: 927-944.

This paper summarizes a wide range of data on the biological and physical properties of Glacier Bay.  Included is an analysis of how the following physical conditions vary both spatially and temporally, with focus on seasonal variability; salinity, water temperature, stratification, turbidity, freshwater input, tidal currents, and wind driven currents.  Data and analysis is presented on the geographic and seasonal variation in the biological factors of euphotic depth, chlorophyll a, and phytoplankton distribution.   In addition to this information, an introduction is given to modeling, and its applications for study of tidal currents and fluxes.  While this paper reports broad study more than a specific experiment, the authors do come to one interesting conclusion.  The strong influx of fresh water competes with the strong tidal mixing over the sill.  Intermediate areas, where mixing and stratification balance, create patches of sunlit water which are high in nutrients and experience gentle mixing.  The authors believe this could be the driving mechanism behind high primary productivity in Glacier Bay.

Freeland, H., Farmer, D. 1980. Circulation and Energetics of a Deep, Strongly Stratified Inlet. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 1398-1410

This paper compares an analytic model of fjord circulation to experimental observations at Knight Inlet, BC.  Knight Inlet is similar to Glacier Bay in the presence of a sill at the mouth and large influx of fresh glacial meltwater.  This paper contains tables of data which can be used to build a theoretical basis for the upcoming work in Glacier Bay.  Specifically, the data published are energy flux across the mouth of the bay, locations in which this energy was dissipated, physical processes by which energy enters and leaves the system, and measurements of depth at which the first density interface was found.  In addition to tabular data, this paper serves as a reference for the basic mathematics used to describe fjord circulation.  The authors of this paper have concluded that the analytical model is useful, but not accurate in its predictions for Knight Inlet.  The authors found that the model overestimated the density interface depth at the inlet mouth and the importance of friction between isopycnal layers.  This comparison of model simulation to experimental data is similar to that which I would like to accomplish for Glacier Bay.