Water mass properties used as flow indicators within the eastern Caribbean Sea during the winter of 1972 and fall of 1973

Abstract

Quasi-synoptic descriptions of the circulation and water mass distributions within the eastern Caribbean Sea are presented for the fall of 1973 and winter of 1972. Characteristics and dynamics on vertical sections within these basins and along the axes of the major passages into this region, together with property distributions on isopycnal surfaces (chosen to be representative of the principal water masses), are used to describe the circulation and property distributions. This includes identification of the flow paths of the various water masses into the region. The water masses identified within the eastern Caribbean Sea and their points of entrance into the region are as follows: Subtropical Underwater enters through the northern Lesser Antilles; 18°C Sargasso Sea Water enters through the Greater Antilles; Tropical Atlantic Central Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water enter through the southern Lesser Antilles; and North Atlantic Deep Water enters through Anegada-Jungfern Passage and between Jamaica and Hispaniola. The distribution of water masses within the eastern Caribbean Sea during both the fa ll and winter are consistent with a two-stream, westward-flowing Caribbean Current.