Weddell Gyre Physical Oceanographic Studies

这项拟议的工作是威德尔海西部海洋结构综合研究计划的牵头项目。它将于1992年2月至6月在美国和苏联科学家共同占领的一个冰原上进行。该项目涉及大尺度海洋环流和韦德尔海边界流的可变性，以及它们如何影响区域水团的形成和修改过程。根据能量交换模式，威德尔海可以划分为三个区域。暖态出现在东部，温暖的环极地深水入侵使水温保持在1℃左右；冷态出现在中部，深水被厚厚的近冰冻混合层覆盖。然而，在这两个地区，季节性地将足够的热量输送到海冰，使其完全融化。在西部地区，海冰覆盖不融化，预计热力学过程将有所不同。水文数据，再加上作为该项目一部分的海流计观测、化学示踪剂实验、湍流通量测量和海冰动力学，将提供韦德尔海大陆坡度过程的独特图景。

The proposed work is the lead project in an integrated research program into the oceanographic structure of the western Weddell Sea. It is to be carried out from an ice camp jointly occupied by U.S. and USSR scientists from February to June 1992. This project concerns the large-scale oceanographic circulation and the variability of the Weddell Sea boundary current, and how these affect and are affected by the regional water mass formation and modification processes. The Weddell Sea may be divided into three regions on the basis of the energy exchange mode. The warm regime occurs in the east where the intrusion of warm circumpolar deep water keeps the water temperature nea +1 deg C. The cold regime occurs in the center, where deep water is overlain by a thick near freezing mixed layer. In both regions however enough heat is seasonally carried to the sea ice to melt it completely. In the western region, the sea ice cover does not melt, and it is expected that the thermodynamics processes will be different. Hydrographic data, coupled with the current meter observations, chemical tracer experiments, turbulent flux measurements, and sea ice dynamics that are part of this project, will provide a unique picture of the Weddell Sea continental slope processes.