JO: Vol.50, No.3, pp.365-372, 1994 Abstract

Journal of Oceanography, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 365-372, 1994

Short Contribution

Step-Like Structure in Temperature and Salinity Profiles, Observed near Icebergs Trapped by Fast Ice, Antarctica

Kay I. Ohshima¹, Toshiyuki Kawamura¹, Takatoshi Takizawa² and Shuki Ushio³

¹The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060, Japan
²Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237, Japan
³National Institute of Polar Research, 9-10, Kaga 1-chome, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173, Japan

(Received 21 July 1993; in revised form 1 November 1993; accepted 1 November 1993)

Step-like thermohaline structure was observed near icebergs trapped by fast ice in Lützow-Holm Bay, Antarctica. The structure was developed within the draft depth of the icebergs. The typical vertical distance between the succeeding step surfaces is 20-30 in, and the temperature and salinity differences across the step surface are about 0.05-0.06 deg and 0.06-0.10 psu, respectively. The structure appears to be generated by a sea-water/iceberg interaction, and is explainable by a simple model in which an ice wall is placed in the ocean linearly stratified by vertical salinity gradient.