New Local-scale hydrographic observation on the Flemish Cap in July 1996

Abstract

The research cruise "FC96" was made on the Flemish Cap area on board the RV Cornide de Saavedra from 28 June to 14 July 1996. The survey consisted of a series of 121 random bottom trawls over Flemish Cap inside the boundaries of the 732 m isobath. A CTD station was established either at the beginning or at the end of each trawl for a total of 116 stations. Three different water masses were detected. Two of them are already known: (a) Labrador Current waters, spreading around the Bank; (b) Central Cap seawater, the solar heated Labrador waters retained over the Cap. These waters made an anti-cyclonic gyre of 4–12 cm per sec. Both water masses tended to become stable at 200 m depth, with temperatures about 3.5°C and salinities about 34.85 psu. A third water mass which had not been previously described on Flemish Cap was the Slope Water, found in the southwest area of the Cap between 200–300 m, where it occupied two separate areas with temperatures higher than 4.5°C and salinities higher than 34.90 psu. These intrusions of Slope Water on the Flemish Cap seemed to affect the distribution of some fish species. In particular, they coincided with the breaking of continuity in the geographic distribution of some demersal species, like the redfish Sebastes marinus and S. fasciatus