Nearly uniform distributions of temperature 

 and salinity were found through the center of 

 Kane Basin in the upper 150 meters. Below 150 

 meters the water is slightly warmer and more 

 saline to the north of the sill. Patches of low 

 temperature and salinity water, caused by local 

 ice conditions and the admixture of fresh melt- 

 water off the ice were found at the surface 

 (figs. 11, 12, 21, and 22). 



The dissolved oxygen concentration in Kane 

 Basin varied from super-saturated values 

 (>9.0 ml. 1.) near the surface to about 80 per- 

 cent saturated (<7.0 ml. /I.) below 100 meters 

 (figs. 14, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 40). The high 

 oxygen concentrations and low salinities of the 

 near surface waters can be attributed to the 

 melting of sea ice and the summer runoff from 

 the land. Particularly high oxygen concentra- 

 tions of 10.24 and 10.38 ml. 1. were found at 

 CGC SOUTHWIND stations 4 and 9 respec- 

 tively, which were located near the Humboldt 

 Glacier. 



The circulation of water in Kane Basin can 

 be interpreted from vertical sections of density 

 (figs. 21, 23, 27, 31, 35, and 39). Southerly flow 

 of arctic water is concentrated on the western 

 side over the channel connecting Kennedy 

 Channel to Smith Sound. This passage contains 

 the major flow of water between the Arctic 

 Ocean and Baffin Bay. A general counterclock- 

 wise circulation of the surface waters in Kane 

 Basin is indicated by the slope of the isopycnals 

 in the longitudinal sections (figs. 13 and 23). 



The volume transport through Kane Basin 

 relative to 350 decibars was calculated for the 

 three CGC WESTWIND occupations of a sec- 

 tion across Smith Sound (fig. 3). Each occupa- 

 tion consisted of 6 stations, and the section was 

 occupied three times within 39 hours. The re- 

 sults of the calculations are presented in table 1. 



TaBLK 1. — VOLUME .^ND HEAT TRANSPORT INTO SMITH 

 SOUND FROM KANE HASIN 



Previous attempts to calculate the exchange 

 through Kane Basin have been described by 



Collin (1963 and 1965). The earliest estimate 

 was a southward flow in August 1928 of 

 0.42 xlO'' m.-^/sec. (Kiilerich, 1939; as cited by 

 Collin). However, Bailey (1957) found a north- 

 ward volume transport of 0.42 xlO'' m.Vsec. in 

 August 1954. Collin (1965) estimated an aver- 

 age southward transport of 0.24 xlO'' m.^/sec. 

 based on five September sections from 1962, 

 1963, and 1964. but the actual transports calcu- 

 lated varied between 0.16 and 0.33 xlO'= m.Vsec. 



Several factors besides the uncertainties of 

 the geostrophic method can cause these large 

 variations in transports. Frictional effects of 

 the wind and the bottom, and the effect of the 

 tidal oscillations on the current through Kane 

 Basin are unknown. Collin (1965) reported that 

 tidal reversals of the surface currents may oc- 

 cur in Smith Sound. 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 

 transport to the south. Muench (1971) reported 

 that current measurements from a fixed ice 

 camp in Kane Basin during May 1969 indicate 

 a general southward flow with less frequent 

 flow reversals coinciding with the diurnal tidal 

 currents. 



To examine the tidal effect on the variation 

 of flow through Kane Basin, profiles of sea sui'- 

 face dynamic height from the CGC WEST- 

 WIND sections (stations 1-18) were compared 

 with the times and heights of high and low 

 water at the Port Foulke (78n8'N., 72°45'W.) 

 tide station (fig. 47). The Oceanographic 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 flood tide. Southward geostrophic flow on the 

 eastern side was less on each succeeding section 

 as the stations were occupied progressively 

 later on the rising tide cycle, suggesting a pos- 

 sible decrease in flow due to a flood tidal cur- 

 rent. Maximum southerly flow occurred be- 

 tween stations 17 and 18 which were occupied 

 during the latter part of a falling tidal cycle 

 on 30 July. However, no quantitative relation- 

 ship between the currents and the tide was 

 evident. 



A progressive wind vector diagram (fig. 48), 

 drawn from the surface wind observations of 



