Abstract
As part of an interdisciplinary field project performed during the austral summer 1994/95 devoted to examine the physical and bio-geochemical characteristics of the Ross Sea, hydrological stations were operated in the western sector off Victoria Land and water samples were collected at different depths of the water column to determine the particulate matter content. These investigations were carried out in the framework of the CLIMA (Climatic Long-Term Interaction for the Mass Balance in Antarctica) project of the Italian PNRA (National Program of Research in Antarctica).
The three-dimensional thermohaline field was analyzed to define the most relevant physical features of this region and it has been linked with the geological data.
Hydrological data reveal that the Antarctic Slope Front was altered by a 200-km southward penetration of Circumpolar Deep Water at 174°E. This warm intrusion onto the shelf appears to be continuous and may be a typical feature, as inferred by our geological data and also by the recent long-term current meter series collected by other Italian groups.
The thermohaline field shows two distinct circulations in the Drygalsky Basin associated with the southward patterns of the modified Circumpolar Deep Water and the northward flow of the High Salinity Shelf Water.
Water masses have been characterized also on the basis of their suspended matter contents. The geological information is in good agreement with the hydrological data as shown by means of a comparative analysis.
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Budillon, G., Tucci, S., Artegiani, A., Spezie, G. (2000). Water Masses and Suspended Matter Characteristics of the Western Ross Sea. In: Faranda, F.M., Guglielmo, L., Ianora, A. (eds) Ross Sea Ecology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59607-0_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59607-0_6
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