Oceanography of Nares Strait and northern Baffin Bay in 1986 with emphasis on deep and bottom water formation

Abstract

Temperatures and salinities were measured from northern Baffin Bay through Nares Strait to the southern edge of the Lincoln Sea in September 1986. The water properties and baroclinic circulation, in general, did not vary widely from earlier measurements, but close station spacing led to the recognition of the rapid rate of dilution of Arctic Intermediate Water as it debouches into deeper water from the southern end of Kane Basin. As a result, this intermediate water becomes a much less likely source for the deep and bottom waters of Baffin Bay. The formation of deep and bottom waters more likely is initiated by the formation of cold, saline water in winter in the shallows of eastern Smith Sound under the thin ice of the North Water. This water then undergoes multicomponent mixing with the waters en route from its origin to the deep basin of Baffin Bay.