Atlantic Fisheries Research Document 1996/018

Physical oceanographic conditions on the Scotian Shelf and in the Gulf of Maine during 1995

By K.F. Drinkwater; R.G. Pettipas; W.M.Petrie

Abstract

A review of physical oceanographic conditions on the continental shelves and adjacent offshore areas off the Scotian Shelf and Gulf of Maine during 1995 is presented. At Boothbay Harbor and St. Andrews, sea surface temperatures were above normal throughout most of the year whereas at Halifax they were below nomal. In the deep basins and channels on the Scotian Shelf and in the Gulf of Maine, the lower layer waters remained approximately 1-2°C warmer than normal although at Cabot Strait temperatures fell relative to last year to near normal values. These warm temperatures reflect the presence of warm slope water. In the 50-100 m layer over most of the Scotian Shelf and in the deep waters in the northeast, temperatures remained colder-than-normal by 1°C. These cold conditions have persisted since at least the mid-1980s and although they appear to be moderating in the southwestern Scotian Shelf there is little evidence of moderating temperatures in the northeast.

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