Year: 2020
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The Bransfield Strait is a semi enclosed region located between the Antarctic Peninsula \nand the South Shetland Islands (SSI), where the most distinctive feature of the circulation \nis a baroclinic jet flowing northeastward along the southern slope of the SSI, the \nBransfield Current (BC; Niiler et al., 1991). Recent studies have shown that the BC \npropagates as a buoyant gravity current, recirculating around the north-eastern tip of the \nislands while shedding an anticyclonic eddy (Sangrà et al., 2011, 2017). However, most \nprevious works are based on summertime measurements and a more comprehensive \nspatio-temporal view of the regional circulation is still lacking to further understand the \ngoverning shelf dynamics. \nIn this study we provide the first year-round description of the Bransfield Current based \non an extensive dataset of direct velocity measurements. These measurements were \nroutinely collected along ship tracks from 275 cruises between 1999 and 2014. From these \nobservations, a climatological database has been developed to examine the seasonal \nvariability of the BC. Results support the BC is a recurrent feature of the circulation in \nBransfield Strait, flowing northeastward all along the southern slope of the SSI not only \nduring summer but also during spring and autumn. We note that winter data scarcity \nprevents us from a similar statement during this season but still enables the confirmation \nof a strong northeastward-flowing current at least south off Nelson Island. Lastly, the \nrecirculation of the BC around the northeasternmost tip of the SSI also appears apparent \nin all seasons but during winter due to lack of data and its fate is, therefore, yet to be \nconfirmed in the future.
Author: Marta Veny López
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3084163616