Basin. Collin (1965) and Palfrey and Day 

 (1968) intei'preted similar density distribu- 

 tions as supporting: a pulsing flow of high sa- 

 linity Arctic Water into Smith Sound. 



High salinity water of Atlantic origin (>0° 

 C, >31.7%,i) was found below 300 meters in 

 Hall Basin (figs. 17 and 18). This Arctic Inter- 

 mediate Water is also eff"ectively blocked from 

 flowing southward into Baffin Bay by the shal- 

 low sill at 2r)0 meters in Kane Basin. 



Cold watei- of polar origin (<0° C, 

 <34.0''|)„) was found in the upper 200 meters 

 throughout Nares Strait (figs. 17 and 18). This 

 water makes up the major drift southward into 

 Baffin Bay. Water having a temperature less 

 than - 1.50 ■ C. was present to a depth of 75 

 meters in Hall Basin and to between 25 and 50 

 meters further .south in Kane Basin. 



A section across the southern end of Nares 

 Strait was occupied three times in rapid suc- 

 cession from 3-5 September 1970 in an at- 

 tempt to monitor the volume trans]iort between 

 Kane Basin and Smith Sound (fig. 2). Each 

 occupation consisted of 6 stations, and the three 

 occupations were completed in ai^proximately 

 38 hours. The reference level for geosti'ophic 

 calculations was selected based upon the 

 deepest usable set of observations on each oc- 

 cupation. The I'esults of the volume transport 

 calculations are presented in table I. 



Table I. Volume Transport From Smith Sound into 

 Kane Basin. 



Mean Temp. Net Transport 

 Stations Date (° C.) (xlO"m.Vsec.) 



Ito G 3-4 Sep 1970 -0.73 10.574 



7 to 12 4 Sep 1970 -.93 2.319 



13 to 18 4-5 Sep 1970 - .76 .558 



Average — .81 .484 



* Reference level .lOO decibars. 

 -Reference level 300 decibars. 



An average northeasterly transport of 0.48 

 xlO'TO.Vsec. between Smith Sound and Kane 

 Basin was computed from the September 1970 

 observations. This average transport is biased 

 due to the shallower sampling on the second 

 occupation of the section that necessitated a 

 shallower reference level for those calculations. 

 Moynihan (in press) computed an average 

 southward transport of 0.42 xlO''m.'/.sec. 

 through this same section in July 1969. 



These values agree with the results of the 

 previous investigatoi's in this region and 



further substantiate the variability of the flow 

 through Nares Strait. Collin (1965) cited Kiile- 

 rick's calculations of a 0.42 xlO'm.V- .sec. south- 

 ward flow in August 1928 as the earliest esti- 

 mate of the exchange through Kane Basin. 

 Bailey (1956) found an average northward 

 transport of 0.42 xlO'm.' .sec. based on four 

 sections in Smith Sound during August 1954 

 and Collin (1965) estimated an avei'age south- 

 ward transport of 0.21 xlO"m. sec. ba.sed on 

 five September sections from 1962, 1963, and 

 1964. 



The variability of these geostrophic flow cal- 

 culations indicates that the exchange of water 

 between Kane Rasiii and Smith Sound is af- 

 fected by fi'ictional eff"ects of the wind and 

 bottom and the eff"ect of tidal oscillations, as 

 well as by uncertainties of the geostrophic 

 method in shallow water. 



To examine the tidal efi'ect on flow from 

 Kane Basin into Smith Sound, profiles of sea 

 surface dynamic height from CGC WEST- 

 WIND stations 1 through 18 were compared 

 with the times and heights of high and low 

 water at the Port Foulke (78 '18'N., 72 45'W.) 

 tide .station (fig. 23). The Oceavofjraphic Atlas 

 of the Polar Seas, Part II (U.S. Naval hydro- 

 graphic Office, 1958) shows cotidal lines pro- 

 gressing from Baffin Bay northward into Kane 

 Basin indicating a northward tidal current on 

 the rising tide. Although each occupation of 

 the section between Kane Basin and Smith 

 Sound occurred on a falling tide, a north- 

 easterly geostrophic flow was calculated, sug- 

 gesting either a lagging effect between the 

 tidal pha.se and geostrophic flow or a reduced 

 northeasterly flow due to the tidal current. 

 Collin (19(i5) noted that ship drift records in 

 1962 indicated that in the center of the passage 

 there was a southwesterly set of 0.5 to 2.0 

 knots during the falling tide and an equally 

 strong northeasterly set with a rising tide. 



Day (1968) reported that direct current 

 measurements near 78 27'N. in Smith Sound 

 in 1963 indicate a circulation dominated by 

 semidiurnal tides with a net transi)ort to the 

 south. Muench (1971a) reported that current 

 measurements from a fixed ice camp in Kane 

 Basin indicate a general southward flow with 

 occasional flow reversals coinciding with the 

 diurnal tidal currents. 



A progressive wind vector diagram (fig. 



