| Summary: | The Bransfield Strait is a semi enclosed region located between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands (SSI), where the most distinctive feature of the circulation is a baroclinic jet flowing northeastward along the southern slope of the SSI, the Bransfield Current (BC; Niiler et al., 1991). Recent studies have shown that the BC propagates as a buoyant gravity current, recirculating around the north-eastern tip of the islands while shedding an anticyclonic eddy (Sangrà et al., 2011, 2017). However, most previous works are based on summertime measurements and a more comprehensive spatio-temporal view of the regional circulation is still lacking to further understand the governing shelf dynamics. In this study we provide the first year-round description of the Bransfield Current based on an extensive dataset of direct velocity measurements. These measurements were routinely collected along ship tracks from 275 cruises between 1999 and 2014. From these observations, a climatological database has been developed to examine the seasonal variability of the BC. Results support the BC is a recurrent feature of the circulation in Bransfield Strait, flowing northeastward all along the southern slope of the SSI not only during summer but also during spring and autumn. We note that winter data scarcity prevents us from a similar statement during this season but still enables the confirmation of a strong northeastward-flowing current at least south off Nelson Island. Lastly, the recirculation of the BC around the northeasternmost tip of the SSI also appears apparent in all seasons but during winter due to lack of data and its fate is, therefore, yet to be confirmed in the future. El Estrecho de Bransfield es una región semi-cerrada situada entre la Península Antártica y las Islas Shetland del Sur (SSI), donde la característica más singular de la circulación es una corriente baroclina que fluye al noreste a lo largo del talud sur de las SSI, la Corriente de Bransfield (BC; Niiler et al., 1991). Estudios ...
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