COASTAL OCEAN CIRCULATION NEAR BARBADOS, WEST-INDIES, SPRING 1990 AND1991

Results are presented of two oceanographic surveys of the coastal wate rs surrounding Barbados, West Indies, during April and May of 1990 and 1991. In both years, observations of the hydrographic structure were made with a dense grid of conductivity-temperature-depth stations over the upper 500 m of the water column. Acoustic Doppler current profile r (ADCP) measurements of currents in the upper 250 m were made on radi al transects from the island during three short surveys in each year. One fixed mooring was deployed south of the island for the duration of each cruise. Results from both years showed the circulation to be ene rgetic, highly variable over short timescales, and sometimes flowing c ontrary to historical means. Surface ADCP and geostrophic flow pattern s during 1990 suggested that the Barbados Ridge, north of the island, played an important role in steering the circulation north of the isla nd. The sudden reversal of the current south of the island between leg s 1 and 2 of 1990, coupled with the presence of low-salinity surface w ater, suggested we may have witnessed an encounter between the island and the northern edge of a thin (less than 35 m) mesoscale pool of Bra zilian Current retroflexion region origin. On the other hand, in 1991, several eddies, both cyclonic and anticyclonic, were observed near th e island, suggesting the possibility of shedding of Von Karman type ed dies from the island.