On the near-bottom variability in the northwestern Weddell Sea

The thermohaline data from the first Brazilian hydrographic cruise to the northwestern Weddell Sea (AR XVIII) revealed significant near-bottom changes in water-column properties over seasonal and interannual time scales. Favorable ice conditions in 2000 allowed a dense station coverage of the area including the main pathways for Weddell Sea deep and bottom waters. The new results are compared with the data from the 1998 German cruise ANT XV/4 and other historical data. A warming of the bottom layer was discovered that was more attributable to short-term seasonal or interannual fluctuations in the formation of cold bottom water than to a long-term trend. There was both consistency and variation between and within seasons. Invariant bottom-water characteristics were observed in different seasons (summer/winter), and variable bottom-water characteristics were observed in the same season (summer) at the same locations. This reduces the possibility of a dominant seasonal effect. Instead, we propose that the intermittent behavior of small cold-water sources along the Weddell Sea's periphery causes the variability measured in the deep northwestern Weddell Sea. The observed variability has consequences for the water-mass export across the South Scotia Ridge, as the absence of the fresher/lighter Weddell Sea Bottom Water south of South Orkney Plateau during AR XVIII might be linked to a reduced ventilation of the deep Scotia Sea. The results of this study show the need for ongoing efforts for establishing a long-term monitoring of this region with global importance. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.