Variations in Temperature, Salinity and Density in Bransfield Strait, 9-14 March, 1985, Part 2

摘要

During a test experiment of a drifting buoy, 7 hydrographic stations were made in Bransfield Strait during 9 to 14 March. Each station consisted of 2 hydrographic casts with Nansen bottles and reversing thermometers, made to a maximum depth of 300 m, to obtain temperature measurements and water samples for salinity determinations. Horizontal maps of temperature (T), salinity (S) and sigma-t (density) were constructed for 0 m and 10 m depth. Warmer surface water was observed along the west side of the Strait, in comparison with temperatures of 0.51 to 0.56 C along the east side. Surface salinity had a similar pattern with less saline water on the west side and salinities of 34.22 to 34.24 on the east side. The surface density field agreed with the combined effects of T and S, with less dense water on the west side and denser water on the east side. Warmest, less saline and least dense water was found just to the SE of Deception Island (Station 1). Maps of T, S and sigma-t for 10 m depth were generally similar to those at 0 m, but with cooler, more saline and dense water at 10 m depth. The relative geostrophic velocity field, was also determined, for 0 m and 10 m. Surface geostrophic flow was toward 020 deg at 4 cm/s near Deception Island. A T-S Diagram analysis of station data showed these data to be a combination of Brc and Brw water types.