52 CTD stations covering the Pacific edge area of Tierra del Fuego, the Pacific entrance to the Strait of Magellan, the Punta Arenas basin, up to the Atlantic Ocean

Air pressure; Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents)

Unknown

The CTD data were collected in the framework of the monitoring program scheduled with an interdisciplinary approach to study the sedimentology of the basin. In particular, the CTD stations were so distributed: 5 stations in the Pacific Ocean; 6 stations within the Canal Beagle; 2 stations Brazo del Noroeste; 2 stations Canal Ballenero and Brecknock; 3 stations Canal Cockburn; 3 stations Canal Magdalena; 22 stations in the Punta Arenas basin; 9 stations in the Atlantic Ocean. A preliminary data analysis shows the different hydrological features encountered in Canales Beagle, Ballenero, Brecknock, Cockburn and Magdalena. The easternmost stretch of Canal Beagle is affected by the inflow of typically oceanic waters. Beyond the shelf next to the Pacific entrance, the influence of Periantarctic waters in the deep layers of the water column can be observed. The Brazo del Noroeste area of Canal Beagle is characterized by cold, low-salinity waters due to the mixing of sea waters and fluvio-glacial waters flowing down from the wide frozen areas of Cordillera Darwin. In Canales Ballenero, Brecknock and in the southernmost edge of Canales Cockburn and Canal Magdalena more typically marine features can be noticed due to the inflow of waters from the Pacific Ocean through the channels of the southern archipelago. Surface waters in Canal Magdalena are influenced by cold, less salty water coming from the Seno Keats, whereas the deepest layers of the water column seem to be partly influenced by the inflow of low-temperature, high-density water coming from the deepest zones of the Strait of Magellan (Punta Arenas basin).

University of Trieste, Department of Biology
Via E Weiss 2
Trieste

34127
Italy