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Hydrographic characteristics of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Hydrographic characteristics of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean
 
Creator Shirodkar, P.V.
Somayajulu, Y.K.
Sarma, Y.V.B.
Rathod, V.
 
Subject hydrographic surveys
hydrographic sections
thermohaline circulation
salinity
phytoplankton
zooplankton
deep-water masses
 
Description Oceanographic studies in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (58-61 degrees S and 30-40 degrees E) carried out during December 1995 and March 1996 indicate a 3-layer structure typical of summer in the oceanic domain south of the Antarctic Polar Front. The upper 300 m water column consists of three distinctive thermohaline characteristics. The surface layer (50 m) of summer surface water formed by seasonal warming with temperatures (0-2 degrees C) and low salinity (less than 33.8 PSU), the intermediate layer (50-150 m) of winter reminiscent water with negative temperatures (0 to 2 degrees C) and moderate salinity (33.8-34.3 PSU) and the deeper layer below 150 m) of Circumpolar Deep Watermass (CDW) with positive temperatures (0-2 degrees C) and higher salinity (34.3-34.8 PSU). The influence of the strong Antarctic Divergence between the east and west drifts is noticed at 61 degrees S, 34 degrees E marked by phytoplankton and zooplankton patches. The dissolved oxygen (DO) shows high concentrations (7.6 to greater than 8.0 ml l sup(-1)) in the upper layer. These higher levels of DO sometimes extend down to the intermediate layer and gradually decrease further downwards. Phytoplankton cell counts remain high (between 1.92 and 22.9 x 10 sup(4) per litre) while zooplankton biomass shows variations from 9.8 to 303.62 ml 100 m sup(-3). A marked drop of both phytoplankton and zooplankton in the region of krill swarm (between 60 degrees 40'-61 degrees 13'S and 33 degrees 34'-34 degrees 14'E), however, indicates active feeding by the latter on the planktonic communities.
 
Date 2009-01-10T11:29:05Z
2009-01-10T11:29:05Z
1999
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Current Science, Vol.77; 1273-1282p.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/1808
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyright [1999]. All efforts have been made to respect the copyright to the best of our knowledge. Inadvertent omissions, if brought to our notice, stand for correction and withdrawal of document from this repository.
 
Publisher Current Science Association, Bangalore, India