USNS BARTLETT Cruise to the Greenland Sea in September 1989: Data Report

Abstract

As a component of the Greenland Sea Project, a hydrographic cruise was conducted on board the USNS BARTLETT during September 1989 in the southern Greenland Sea to characterize the water mass structure and circulation features of the Jan Mayen Current (JMC). A total of 48 high-quality CTD stations were occupied to depths of 1000 m; five stations extended to 3000 m or more. Five north-south tending transects permitted tracking of the JMC by its low temperature (< 0°C) , low salinity near-surface core. The JMC could also be well defined from its warm, saline intermediate water properties. Deep stations made in the trough of the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone suggest that the interchange of deep and bottom water from the Greenland and Norwegian Seas via this trough is a slow diffusive process and not an active advective feature as previously thought.