Research Document 1997/62

Physical oceanographic conditions on the Scotian Shelf and in the Gulf of Maine during 1996

By K.F. Drinkwater, R. Pettipas, and L. 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 1996 is presented. For the second consecutive year, sea surface temperatures at Boothbay Harbor and St. Andrews were above normal throughout most of the year whereas at Halifax they were below normal. 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 continuing the temperature of recent years. This condition reflects the influence of warm slope water. Deep (200-300 m average) temperatures in Cabot Strait, however, remained near normal. In the 50-100 m layer over most of the Scotian Shelf and in the near-bottom waters in the northeastern Shelf, temperatures remained below normal by 1°C. These cold conditions have persisted since at least the mid-1980s.

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