Baffin Bay is a small
oceanic basin separating northern West Greenland from Baffin Island. Apart from
the eastern coastal area, Baffin Bay belongs to the High Arctic region.
Mean summer temperatures do not exceed 5°C, while in winter the mean
temperature is about 20°C, falling to as low as 40°C in areas with unbroken
snow-covered sea ice.
The regional weather
pattern is strongly influenced by the North American and Greenland land masses,
the latter covered by a vast ice cap, and the North Atlantic–Norwegian Sea and
Labrador Sea–Baffin Bay oceanic areas. The mean sea level pressure
distribution in January and July (Fig. 7) reflects the track of cyclones moving
northeastwards from Newfoundland past South Greenland and Iceland to the
Norwegian Sea, especially in the winter. However, some cyclones follow a low
pressure trough along the west coast of Greenland to reach Baffin Bay. Ingeneral
wind conditions in Baffin Bay are moderate, although local depressions can
develop at any time of year, causing severe winds in particular near the
Greenland coast (Fig. 9 and Table 1).
Precipitation in
Baffin Bay is low, on account of the low moisture content of the cold air. Most
precipitation falls in the form of snow, and most falls in the autumn and early
winter (Fig. 11).
Fog is a common
phenomenon in Baffin Bay, particularly in summer when fog covers open water
areas for 20–30% of the time.
Icing is a serious
potential hazard in Baffin Bay. Icing can be due either to freezing fog or to
freezing sea spray. The latter is most likely to occur in the period
October–December when temperatures are between zero and -15°C. Below -15°C
spray tends to freeze in the air so that it does not adhere to surfaces.
Due to the moderate wind
conditions and limited fetch in Baffin Bay, wave heights are
characteristically small; the level of 10% exceedance probability is 1.7 m (Fig.
13). When larger waves occur, these are usually of short duration.
The pattern of ocean
currents in Baffin Bay has a profound influence on the distribution of
temperature, sea ice and icebergs in the area. The main currents are a
relatively warm northwards-flowing current along the Greenland coast and the
cold southwards-flowing Baffin coast current (Fig. 4).
A statistical study of sea
ice has been carried out on the basis of records over a 36 year period (Figs
19–23). From late November until early June virtually the entire area is
covered by first year sea ice. This is from 100 to 170 cm thick, thickest in the
northwest and close to the Greenland coast. However, even at the height of the
ice season (March–April) fast ice is not stable, large leads developing with
the passage of depressions across the area. Winds also cause the development of
pressure ridges, rafting and hummocking.
Break-up of the sea ice
starts in the southeast due to the effect of winds and the relatively warm
current, while break-up in the northwest starts around the North Water polynya
at the southern end of Nares Strait (Fig. 1). Generally speaking, apart from the
coastal area, eastern Baffin Bay is ice-free by the middle of August, and by
mid-September ice-free conditions have spread across most of Baffin Bay. From
mid-October new ice begins to spread across the area, covering all but the
southeasternmost part of the area by early November. It must be emphasised,
however, that there is a considerable year-to-year variation in the behaviour of
the sea ice and the time of break-up and freeze-up, as can be seen from Figs 21
and 23.
Multi-year ice in
Baffin Bay is derived from Nares Strait and the Arctic Ocean and is virtually
confined to the western part of the area.
Icebergs of all
sizes are very numerous in Baffin Bay, but are very unevenly distributed across
the area.
All the icebergs originate
from glaciers descending to the sea from the Greenland Inland Ice, the vast
majority from glaciers between Disko Bay and Kap York in northern West
Greenland.
The size of the icebergs
encountered in Baffin Bay varies from a few metres high and a few tens of metres
across to more that 100 m high and a kilometre or more in length. The largest
icebergs have masses exceeding one hundred million tons, and their draughts may
exceed 400 m.
The distribution of
icebergs in Baffin Bay is governed by their origin from West Greenland glaciers
and the pattern of ocean currents in the area. On emerging from the fjords, most
icebergs drift north or northwestwards along the Greenland coast before crossing
the northern part of the bay into the path of the Baffin coast current which
takes them southwards to the Labrador shelf and beyond. Some icebergs, however,
get caught up in westwards-branching eddies and drift across Baffin Bay along
more southerly tracks. Once an iceberg escapes from the northwards-flowing
coastal current, its drift pattern can be very erratic (Fig. 29).
As a consequence of the
drift pattern described, by far the greatest concentration of icebergs is within
50 km of the Greenland coast (Figs 27 and 28). Farther offshore icebergs become
more dispersed, and more than 150 km from the coast they are only occasionally
encountered.
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