gun, the splierical floats were found at the sur- 

 face, indicating that tlie nylon line had stretched 

 considerably more than the 5% allowed for in 

 the manufacturer's specifications. The maximum 

 observed stretch was, in fact, 55m in 62()m or 

 nearly 10%. The effect upon the meters of having 

 the float at the surface is uncertain. It is possible 

 that enough motion may have been transmitted 

 down the line due to surface wave action to affect 

 slightly the speed readings of the meters, but no 

 quantitative estimates are available for this effect. 



RESULTS 



Vertical Sections 



The hydrographic results are presented in 

 standard station data form in this report (Ap- 

 pendix A) and are also depicted in a series of 

 vertical sections of temperature and salinity (figs. 

 3-22). Vertical sections depicting sigma-t and 

 specific volume anomaly were not constructed 

 since, due to the dominant role of salinity in 

 control of density at tlie observed low water 

 temperatures, these would essentially duplicate 

 the salinity sections. 



Latitudinal sections showing distributions of 

 phosphate, nitrate and silicate are not included 

 in this report. Tlie phosphate, nitrate and silicate 

 data are included, however, with the standard 

 station data in Appendix A. 



Approximately the upper 50 m of each vertical 

 section was left uncontoured, it being impossible 

 to depict the steep vertical gradients in this near 

 surface region using the given vertical scale, with- 

 out confusion. The station data may be consulted 

 for parameters in the upper 50-m layer. 



Smith Sound 



Smith Sound (figs. 2 and 4) was characterized 

 by a uniformly cold (<0°C) water column. A 

 temperature minimum (below — 1°C) occurred in 

 the 50-100 m layer, and temperatures increased 

 below this minimum to bottom values between 

 — 0.3 and — 0.4°C. No appreciable difference was 

 found in the temperature structure between north- 

 ern (fig. 3) and southern (fig. 4) Smith Sound. 



Salinities in Smith Sound (figs. 5 and 6) 

 varied regularly from less than 32%o near the 

 surface to more than 34.4%o near the bottom. 

 Taken as an indication of the distribution of 

 mass, the isohalines indicated a net southward 

 baroclinic flow above 100 m in northern Smith 

 Sound (fig. 5), while northward currents were 



suggested at 150 m between stations 52 and 53 

 and at 250 m between stations 51 and 52. Simi- 

 larly, southern Smith Sound (fig. 6) contained a 

 net southward baroclinic flow above 100 m, north- 

 ward flow between 100 and 200 m and a net 

 southward flow below 200 m. The overall slope of 

 the isohalines across the entire width of the sound 

 indicated a net southward flow for both northern 

 and southern Smith Sound. 



Smith Bay-H vahsu nd 



The Smith Bay-Hvalsund section was occupied 

 twice. Temperature distributions (figs. 7 and 8) 

 indicated a warm water mass (0.0 to ±1.0C°) 

 with a maximum greater than +1.0°C in the 

 topograpliic deep just west of Hvalsund and ex- 

 tending westward as a tongue between 200-400 m 

 nearly to stations 16 and 66. Westward extension 

 below 400 m appeared to be prevented by a 

 topographic rise, possibly a ridge, at stations 13 

 and 63 A slightly colder (+0.52 to +0.60C°) 

 core occurred below station 12 at 200-300 m on 

 9 Sept. (fig. 7), but by 18 Sept. (fig. 8) this had 

 disappeared leaving a uniform increase from the 

 0°C isotherm to a maximum near the bottom. 

 Overall temperatures in the warm water mass 

 appeared higher during the later occupation of 

 tlie section. 



The western and near-surface portions of this 

 section were characterized by low (<0°C) tem- 

 peratures. A minimum of less than — 1°C at 

 about 100 m occurred in the central portion and 

 tlie temperature increased gradually downward 

 towards near-bottom values of — 0.2 to — 0.3C° 

 just west of the topographic rise. A lack of data 

 from the western portion of tlie section on 9-10 

 September (fig. 7) precludes conclusions regard- 

 ing the temperature structure there, but a single 

 station (86) in the western portion on 23 Sept. 

 (fig. 8) indicated minimum near-surface tem- 

 peratures, a maximum near 125 m and a mini- 

 mum near 250 m. The upper minimum appeared 

 due to local surface cooling; the temperature 

 being too low to have been advected from Smith 

 Sound or from the south. 



Salinities for tliis section (figs 9 and 10) did 

 not vary significantly between the two occupa- 

 tions. Slopes of the isohalines indicated a north- 

 ward baroclinic flow east of the topographic 

 rise, and a southward flow west of the rise. These 

 flow patterns imply that the cold water in the 

 central and western portions of this section origi- 

 nated jirimarily from Smith Sound and was flow- 



