Hydrography of the Gulf of Maine and Massachusetts Bay, data report for R/V OCEANUS cruise 181, 5-15 February 1987

This report presents hydrographic data obtained on R/V OCEANUS Cruise 181 from February 5-15, 1987. The hydrographic measurements (pressure, temperature, salinity, oxygen, beam attenuation, phosphate, silicate and nitrate/nitrite) were obtained in Georges, Jordan, and Wilkinson Basin in the Gulf of Maine and directly east of Boston across Massachusetts Bay as part of a study of currents and sediment transport in this region (figure 1).

During Cruise 181, a total of 95 hydrographic profiles were obtained by means of a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiler. Stations are numbered sequentially and station information is tabulated in table 1. The stations were arranged in ten transects (figure 1). Section 1 was across the Great South Channel and section 7 was across the Northeast Channel--the two main oceanic entrances and exits of the Gulf of Maine. Section 2 was along a saddle (Rodgers Pass) separating Wilkinson Basin from Georges Basin. Sections 3,5, and 10 were across different regions of Wilkinson Basin and all intersected at the longterm mooring site W1 in the center of Wilkinson Basin; section 8 was a dog-leg section through the southern portion of Jordan Basin; and sections 6 (east-west) and 9 (north-south) were within Georges Basin. A severe winter storm (see table 2 and 3) occurred between February 9 and 10 and work was stopped while the OCEANUS rode out the storm in Cape Cod Bay and repaired storm damage. Section 4 across Massachusetts Bay and section 5 across Wilkinson Basin, were repeated twice, once before the storm (sections 4a and 5a) and once after the storm (sections 4b and 5b).