Detection of Overflow Events in the Shag Rocks Passage, Scotia Ridge

• Published in: Science
• Main Author: Zenk, Walter
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1981
• Subjects: Argentine; Pacific; Scotia Sea; Shag Rocks; Weddell; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.213.4512.1113; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.213.4512.1113

During an almost yearlong period of observations made with a current meter in the fracture zone between the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia, several overflow events were recorded at a depth of 3000 meters carrying cold bottom water from the Scotia Sea into the Argentine Basin. The outflow bursts of Scotia Sea bottom water, a mixing product of Weddell Sea and eastern Pacific bottom water, were associated with typical speeds of more than 28 centimeters per second toward the northwest and characteristic temperatures below 0.6°C. The maximum 24-hour average speed of 65 centimeters per second, together with a temperature of 0.29°C, was encountered on 14 November 1980 at a water depth of 2973 meters, 35 meters above the sea floor.