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.