Distribution and Vertical Structures of Water Masses around the Antarctic Continental Margin

Abstract

Spatial distribution and vertical structures of water masses around the Antarctic continental margin are described using synthesized hydrographic data. Antarctic Surface Water (AASW) over the shelf regime is distinguished from underlying other water masses by the cut-off salinity, varying from approximately 34.35 to 34.45 around Antarctica. Shelf Water, characterized by salinity greater than the cut-off salinity and potential temperature less than 1.7oC, is observed on the Ross Sea, off George V Land, off Wilkes Land, the Amery Basin, and the Weddell Sea, but in some shelves AASW occupies the entire shelf. Lower Circumpolar Deep Water is present everywhere around the Antarctic oceanic regime and in some places it mixes with Shelf Water, producing Antarctic Slope Front Water (ASFW). ASFW, characterized by potential temperature less than about 0oC and greater than 1.7oC, and salinity greater than the cut-off salinity, is found everywhere around Antarctica except in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen sector. The presence of different water masses over the Antarctic shelves and shelf edges produces mainly three types of water mass stratifications: no significant meridional property gradient in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas, single property gradient where ASFW presents, and a V-shaped front where Shelf Water exists.