Paper 19 



TEMPERATURE STRUCTURE ON THE CONTINENTAL SHELF 

 AND SLOPE SOUTH OF NEW ENGLAND DURING 1976 



R. Wylie Crist and J. Lock.jood ChamberLin' 



INTRODUCTION 



This report continues for a third year a series of analyses 

 beginning with 1974 (ChamberLin ^976f 1978) that are intended to 

 reveal the principal temperature variations on the continental 

 shelf and upper continental slope south of New England/' with 

 emphasis on bottom temperatures. Includea are the vertical 

 temperature sections on which the analysis is basedr as well as a 

 contoured diagram of bottom temperatures derived from the 

 sections. Siiailar bottom temperature diagrams for 1974 and 1975/' 

 and a lono-term monthly mean bottom temperature diagram for the 

 years 1940-66r are available for comparison in the report for 

 1975 (ChamberLin 1978). 



PREPARATION DF VERTICAL SECTIONS AND BOTTOM TEMPERATURE DIAGRAM 



As in previous years^ this analysis has depended on the 

 cooperation of scientists who made data available from cruises 

 thct traversed the shelf south of New England in a generally 

 north-south direction (Fig. 19.1). Sixteen sections have been 

 used (Appendix 19.1)/ obtained from cruises of eight different 

 research vessels. These temperature sections are not from along 

 a single line/ but from an area up to 90 nm (173 km) wide at the 

 southern end centering on about 71WO0' (Fig. 19.1). Ambiguities 

 introduced to the analyses by the lack of spatial coincidence 

 amono the sections have been previously discussed (Chamberlin 

 1976/ 19<'o). 



The vertical temperature sections constructed for each transect 

 have uniform distance and depth scales (Appendix 19.1). All 

 sections were constructed froTi expendable bathythermograph (XBT) 



'Atlantic Environmental Group/ National 

 Service/ NOAA/ Narranansett/ RI 28 8 2. 



Marine 



Fisheries 



315 



