Hydrographic and hydrodynamic characteristics of the eastern basin of the Bransfield Strait (Antarctica)

Hydrographic station and current meter data are used to estimate circulation and transport in the eastern basin of the Bransfield Strait. The short distance between adjacent hydrographic stations (20 km) allows evaluation of structures at scales seldom addressed in previous studies. The main feature of the derived circulation is the Bransfield Front and its associated baroclinic jet (the Bransfield Current). This frontal current crosses the northern half of the basin in a generally SW-NE direction, has maximum geostrophic speeds of 22 cm s(-1) (at the jet entrance), and has geostrophic transport relative to 500 dbar estimated to be 1 Sv. Dynamically significant mesoscale features associated with the Bransfield Current are seen to be relevant down to 500 dbar. Specific aspects inferred from our analysis are the apparent high degree of stationarity of the described circulation, the shallow intrusions of Circumpolar Deep Water through the northern boundary of the domain (from the Drake Passage), and the northward sinking of Weddell Sea water over most of the domain. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.