  Sea surface height anomalies observed by satellites in 1993--2012 are
combined with simulation and observations by surface drifters and Argo floats
to study water flow pattern in the Near Strait (NS) connected the Pacific Ocean
with the Bering Sea. Daily Lagrangian latitudinal maps, computed with the AVISO
surface velocity field, and calculation of the transport across the strait show
that the flow through the NS is highly variable and controlled by mesoscale and
submesoscale eddies in the area. On the seasonal scale, the flux through the
western part of the NR is negatively correlated with the flux through its
eastern part ($r=-0.93$). On the interannual time scale, a significant positive
correlation ($r=0.72$) is diagnosed between the NS transport and the wind
stress in winter. Increased southward component of the wind stress decreases
the northward water transport through the strait. Positive wind stress curl
over the strait area in winter--spring generates the cyclonic circulation and
thereby enhances the southward flow in the western part ($r=-0.68$) and
northward flow in the eastern part ($r=0.61$) of the NR. In fall, the water
transport in different parts of the NS is determined by the strength of the
anticyclonic mesoscale eddy located in the Alaskan Stream area.
