Hydrographic conditions in the Fram Strait, summer 1982

Abstract

Hydrographic (CTD) observations obtained with R/V ‘Lance’ in July-August 1982 across the Fram Strait are presented. The extent and the presence of traditional water masses such as Atlantic Water, Polar Water and Greenland Sea Deep Water are discussed. The complicated hydrographical structure in the upper water masses due to eddies and fronts near the ice edge is noted. An intermediate water mass characterized by a salinity minimum is found all across the Strait, and is suggested to originate in the Greenland Sea. The deep water in the south-west part of the Strait shows strong horizontal salinity and temperature gradients, and the structure of the corresponding station profiles indicates large hydrographical activity. This is in contrast to the east-north-east part, where the horizontal gradients are much weaker and the profiles much smoother. Thus most of the deep- and bottom-water communication between the Greenland/ Norwegian Seas and the Arctic Ocean seems to take place west of the 0° meridian.