Mozorov, E., Tarakanov, R., Ansorge I. J., Swart S.
Abstract

In December 2003, a hydrographic section across the Drake Passage was carried out by R/V Akademik Sergei Vavilov from King George Island to Tierra del Fuego with a Seabird 911 and lowered Doppler current (ADCP) profilers. A total of 25 stations were occupied across the passage from the surface to the bottom. The geostrophic water transport by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) above the bottom reference level is estimated at 111 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3/s), while the transport above the 3000 dbar reference level is equal to 97 Sv. These values are close to the smallest ones in the record of measurements of water transport through the Drake Passage since 1975. The geostrophic velocities are compared with the LADCP and shipborne ADCP measurements.

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Section of geostrophic velocities to the bottom in the Drake Passage

Section of geostrophic velocities to the bottom in the Drake Passage