On the circulation and water masses over the Antarctic continental slope and rise between 80 and 150 degrees E

The circulation and water masses in the region between 80 and 150 degrees E and from the Antarctic continental shelf to the Southern Boundary of the A ntarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) (similar to 62 degrees S) are described from hydrographic and surface drifter data taken as part of the multi-disci plinary experiment, Baseline Research on Oceanography Krill and the Environ ment (BROKE). Two types of bottom water are identified, Adelie Land Bottom Water, formed locally between 140 and 150 degrees E, and Ross Sea Bottom Wa ter. Ross Sea Bottom Water is found only at 150 degrees E, whereas Adelie L and Bottom Water is found throughout the survey region. The bottom water ma ss properties become progressively warmer and saltier to the west, suggesti ng a westward flow. All of the eight meridional CTD sections show an Antarc tic Slope Front of varying strength and position with respect to the shelf break. In the water formation areas (between 140 and 150"E) and 104 degrees E, the Antarctic Slope Front is more "V" shaped, while elsewhere it is one -sided. The shape of the slope front, and the presence or absence of water formation there, are consistent with other meridional sections in the Wedde l Sea and simple theories of bottom-water formation Gill, 1973. Deep-Sea Re search 20, 111-140; Whitworth et al., 1998. In: Jacobs and Weiss (Eds.), Oc ean, Ice and Atmosphere: Interactions at the Antartic Continental Margin, A ntarctic Research Series. American Geophysical Union, Washington, pp. (1 - 27). ADCP surface velocities and buoy drift tracks show a strong westward f low over the shelf and slope regions. In the region 90-100 degrees E there is a strong eastward flow of the waters just south of the Southern Boundary of the ACC, suggesting a recirculation of the westward slope current and t he presence of a weak cyclonic gyre. Using the ADCP velocities as a referen ce for the CTD data, the average westward transport in this region is 29.4 +/- 14.7 Sv. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.