Water Mass Distributions in the Canadian Beaufort Sea

An extensive oceanographic survey was conducted in the continental shelf waters of the Canadian sector of the Beaufort Sea, from 28 August to 8 September 1986. The objective of the oceanographic survey was to examine water mass distributions and physical oceanographic processes, as one component of an interdisciplinary study of the availability of food (zooplankton) for bowhead whales within the study area. Three types of physical oceanographic data were collected: (1) vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and transmissivity obtained at approximately 180 locations within the study area; (2) maps of the surface distribution of temperature and imagery; and (3) continuous ship-based measurements of surface temperature. Preliminary analyses of these data, along with wind measurements collected from the ship, and coastal stations, are used to describe the water mass distributions, and their response to varying wind conditions. Frontal features, associated with the Mackenzie River plume, were also mapped and examined in terms of surface wind forcing.