Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1977A general oceanographic study of a shelf region in the Gulf of Alaska has revealed low-frequency, current fluctuations. A current meter mooring was located approximately 20 km offshore, in a water depth of 100 m. The time dependent flow is found to be baroclinic and semi-periodic. The effects of local bottom topography, nearshore dilution by river discharge, orographic coastal features, and an island barrier are important to the shelf circulation in this region. The movement of a boundary associated with the Copper River appears to be an important process in controlling the water motion at the mooring site