The Canada Basin: Mean Circulation and Intermediate Scale Flow Features.
Recent direct current measurements and hydrographic data from the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean are examined. From these data, the mean circulation pattern is defined and some of the time dependent components of the flow field are isolated and discussed. The major feature of the mean surface flow...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1973
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| Online Access: | http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA005490 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA005490 |
| Summary: | Recent direct current measurements and hydrographic data from the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean are examined. From these data, the mean circulation pattern is defined and some of the time dependent components of the flow field are isolated and discussed. The major feature of the mean surface flow in the Canada Basin is an anticyclonic gyre, the Beaufort gyre. This circulation is maintained by the wind stress pattern as modified by the ice cover and, in the shallower areas near the coasts and arount the Chukchi Province, is strongly affected by the bottom topography. The mean flow of the Atlantic layer (centered at 500 m) is also anticyclonic within the deep basin; however, there is evidence for a subsurface countercurrent along the Chukchi Rise. This southeast counterflow apparently results from Atlantic water entering the Canada Basin directly across the deeper southern portions of the Chukchi Province. The time-dependent components of the flow field are identified from the simultaneous hydrographic and current data collected from the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIRJEX) studies. |
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